Director of a Suspense Film

“This tutorial was used only to hook me in. Other than that, it didn’t give a lot of useful hints… Just how do I increase the scream value, or increase my plot exploration? All of this is blank.”

　　He wore a simple shirt that couldn’t be any simpler. It left his elbows out in the cold, freezing him half to death.

　　At this moment, the silent toilet suddenly started making a weird noise from deep within.

　　“Chiii– chiii– chii–” (t/n: sfx for something heavy getting dragged around/ groaning kinda sound i dunno the explanation was weird but my brain prolly just stopped working)

　　In a mental hospital that has been abandoned for a long time, deserted and has had multiple appalling events, such a voice was undoubtedly quite strange.

　　Zong qi furrowed his brows and listened intently. However, he couldn’t tell if it was man-made or natural. 

　　What he could tell, though, was that after the voice appeared, the pitiful scream value of 5 slowly rose by 2 points. 

　　His eyes brightened.

　　Could it be that creepy sounds could be converted to scream value?

　　Zong qi turned on his flashlight again, walking around in the small toilet before turning back and pressing down on the flush button. 

　　Logically speaking, there should have been no more water after being abandoned for so long, but after Zong qi pressed it, the sudden sound of water could be heard in the dark toilet.

 　　“Huahuahuahua” (t/n: sfx for water)

  　　The white water rushed down from the dirty surroundings of the squatting toilet and spiralled into the hole.

　　Scream Value increased 3 points.

　　This easy??? Zong qi found it too good to be true. 

　　He felt like he had found the cheat code to making scream value increase. 

　　Thus, in the next few minutes, Zong qi worked hard to make noise in the small room. For example, flushing the toilet, stomping and coughing, banging the door and dancing ‘The Magic Of Love Turns In Circles’. [1]

　　Unfortunately, Zong qi found that no matter how loud of a sound he made, the scream value never increased again after it reached 20.

　　“Looks like 20 is the limit. If I want it to increase, I’ll have to look for other clues.”

　　Since there were no clues for now, Zong qi stopped and continued thinking.

　　He was a directing major. Although this major wasn’t much of a big deal, there was still an advantage compared to the others. 

　　Since this system was called “Horror Film Director”, then obviously everything would follow the way movies were filmed. If he thought of it as a live action movie, it wasn’t hard to understand. 

　　Regardless of scream value or actors alive, these were all numbers that were used to decide whether or not his movie was good.

　　“Although I couldn’t find a job after graduating, I somehow still stumbled onto the road of my major in the end. The director should feel relieved if he… knew.” (t/n: wasn’t his graduation delayed???? Wtf is this man on)

　　But there was something Zong qi couldn’t understand.

　　“Why did the plot exploration start at 2%?”

　　He thought about it again but still couldn’t make heads from tails, so he held the handle of the door, preparing to leave the cubicle and see if there were other clues. 　　　It was also then when another hair raising noise sounded in the abandoned toilet.

　　“Dong, dong, dong…”

　　Someone raised his hammer and began to smash it, one after another, making a crisp and dull sound. 

　　The sound continued for a few seconds, making the scream value increase all the way to 30.

　　The hand Zong qi placed on the handle froze.

　　There was someone in the toilet. 

　　It wasn’t technically a surprise. Since there were footprints outside and the door was blocked, the other party didn’t bother covering his tracks in the first place. 

　　But other than someone with nothing better to do except for ghost hunting, who else would come?

　　“Peng—” (t/n: unfortunately I have no idea what this sfx is for m(_ _)m) 

　　As Zong qi hesitated to check the situation outside, he heard the old door from deep within the toilet being pushed open.

　　“Da, da, da.”

　　Followed by the sound of footsteps. 

　　The owner of the sound walked unhurriedly, almost as if he didn’t notice that he was currently making noises in a burnt hospital full of dust and spiderwebs.

　　With every step he took, the scream value in Zong qi’s eyes increased by 5. 

　　When the footsteps stopped outside his cubicle, it had already passed 50. 

　　Finally, the footstep sounds stopped. Just outside of his cubicle. (t/n: i know they said it in the last sentence but the raws r like dis for some reason)

　　The light from the flashlight stopped at the dirty bricks on the floor. 

　　It shone past the small opening on the bottom of the room, just enough to see the group of shadows on the ground. 

　　Separated between a door, the black-haired youth stared at the numbers in his eyes, silent.

　　There are different genres to movies. 

　　It was obvious that he was currently filming a horror film. And if it was horror… 

　　In the next second, there was a knocking sound coming from the other side. 

　　Someone bent his joints, hurriedly knocking on the door.

　　A hoarse and sinister voice sounded.

　　“Oi. Open the door, I need paper.”

　　Zong qi: …… 

　　He almost stopped breathing. 

　　Borrowing paper in this kind of place, crazy bastard!!! 

　　The man’s voice sounded like sandpaper rubbing on the ground. It was hoarse and dry, making it easy for people to associate with patients with severe pharyngitis.

　　Maybe because he didn’t hear a reply, the man outside repeated coldly, “Open the door.”

 　　Fine. At least he could talk and he was still a person. Even if it was a bad person, it’s still better than non-humans, no reason to have a ghost appear out if nowhere.

　　In the time he spent spacing out, Zong qi noticed that the scream value that had been 50 after the footsteps stopped suddenly rose to 65!　　

　　This increase was almost a bit too fast. Just pressing the flush button only made it rise by 2 points, but in these short few seconds, it had shot up from 20 to 65.

　　He had made such a large commotion just now. There’s no way he didn’t hear it if he was in the toilet this whole time, there was really no need to do something this extra.

　　Zong qi prepared for his grand exit. (t/n: remember the leaving drum thing, author3 has said it again!)

　　He was filming a horror film, nothing is more important than his life. 

　　Yep, his life is more important.

　　Thus, Zong qi pretended to be awkward and coughed softly, “That… I’m still doing my business.”

　　“I heard you twist the door just now.”

　　“My stomach’s being annoying, suddenly going and stopping, there’s no way I can finish it in one go so I stood up and did a little stretching. Humans have three needs, I hope you understand.” (t/n: peeing pooing and apparently farting?? The three needs, if you wanted to know jesus this is weird) 

　　This sentence deflected all the questions, making the abandoned toilet dead silent. 

　　After this conversation, the scream value had successfully gone past the line of 70, even the plot exploration who hadn’t moved once increased by 2%. 

　　Is talking to the bad person in a horror film the new cheat code?

　　Zong qi tapped his chin, preparing to do a Lazzi. [2]

　　“Sigh. Brother, this place had been abandoned for so long, ghost stories are also commonplace… why would you come here to go to the toilet?”

　　The bad guy’s tone was hostile, “None of your business.”

　　Zong qi sighed, pretending to be oblivious, “You see, I came here to stream and just closed it, I still have to restart it later.”

　　He spoke as he raised his ears to hear the movements of the bad guy.

　　As he expected, the man’s seemed to get annoyed after hearing that, the tip of his shoes rubbing on the ground with a sharp sound, as if possessed by a manic disease.

　　Zong qi could pretty much guess that the person outside had a problem, even more afraid of pissing him off, “Brother could you wait a while, I just ate something wrong, I can’t help it. That… is it urgent? How about this, I’ll squeeze it out through the gap below the door.”

　　The toilets here had a step, under the door was also a small gap, not covering the entire space.

　　Zong qi was empathetic, believing in the little chances that the other person really didn’t bring any paper.

　　Bad guys and good guys all have to go to the toilet, how could such a kind person like him not help? 

　　The black-haired youth squatted on the ground, taking out pieces of crumpled paper from his pocket and shoving it into the gap on the ground. 

　　“I don’t have much paper. Brother, bear with it a little and use it sparingly.”

　　He squeezed his finger out by accident and the scream value directly went up 5 points. Zong qi’s heart jumped, quickly pulling it back, leaving only the tissue packet outside.

　　It was clear that uselessly making conversation like this was making the bad guy’s patience run thin.

　　“Bang!”

　　In the next second, a heavy kick landed on the door. He even held the top of the door, wishing to tear it open by force. 

　　Zong qi threw away his pretense, immediately pressing against the door. 

　　The man outside scoffed. Just as he was about to continue, a sudden ringtone cut him off.

　　“Ding ling ling ling–” (t/n: why is english sfx so boring, this is ringtone sfx btw) 

　　Taking advantage of this time, Zong qi secretly turned on his phone camera, raising it high and trying to see the scene outside. 

　　But this was too hard. It was way too dark in this abandoned toilet, so he didn’t manage to get any information. 

　　“Hi? It’s done. Yeah… I met a small bug.” 

　　The man’s hoarse voice was dark, without any intention of hiding it. 

　　Oh shit, this is probably another crime scene he had accidentally chanced upon.

　　Zong qi’s heart went “…….” and he took out a small swiss army knife after turning on the recording function on his phone. After that, he started calling 110 emergency number. 

　　Thank god emergency calls don’t take call credit.

　　“Give me some time, I can deal with… what?”

　　The voice stopped, his tone taking a sharp turn. 

　　After a few seconds, he didn’t know what the caller had said, but the person outside huffed, his anger levels exploding.

　　“Since the organisation is responsible, I’ll leave.”

　　He said through clenched teeth, hanging up the phone.

　　After having a conversation with no start or end, the man left the toilet in a hurry. Though he didn’t forget to smash the back of the door with his hammer before leaving, years old dust landed on the ground.

　　“Heh, consider yourself lucky.” (t/n: so cliche ewwwwww)

　　Listening to the other party’s footsteps get further from his cubicle, the surroundings returned to silence. Zong qi remained in the room patiently, focusing intently on the sounds around him. 

　　It was only when he didn’t detect any discrepancies did he turn on his camera and lifted it onto the door frame, sticking to the wall as he raised his hand little by little, using the flashlight to observe the door. 

　　Jingoism. If Zong qi said he was first, there was no one that would dare say they were second. (t/n: no idea what the word in chinese was and google didnt wanna help me and it gave me jingoism and it doesnt make senseeeeeeeee) 

　　The outside was still dark, the light was so faint that the basin and the dirty wall behind it seemed to fuse. It was like a towering black shadow, inexplicably frightening.

　　After sweeping around and making sure there was no one, Zong qi finally released the breath he was holding in. 

　　In order not to be bullied by bullies back when he was in secondary school, he had learnt a few moves from the martial art school in his neighbourhood. But if he had to fight properly, he would still be a little scared. Not to mention that conversation just now, Zong qi kept feeling like they were doing something… (t/n: hes basically thinking they’re affliated with what crime, i didnt know how to add it into the sentence lol)

　　The scream value on his eyes had been stuck at 75, plot exploration stopped at 10%, and the remaining actors alive was still 1.

　　“What does this mean? Is it saying it’s still filming? I still haven’t completed the quest?”

　　Zong qi kept his phone, raising his knife as he turned the lock on the door catiously, not forgetting to keep note of the movements on the outside. 

　　The toilet was so quiet it was scary. He was also sure that he had heard the other’s footsteps get further, not a sign of him coming back. 

　　That gangster-like kid had left in a hurry after getting a call. Not only did he not bother hiding his identity, he even said something about someone else coming to help. (t/n: word in chinese is gangster around 16/17 years old)

　　Zong qi had a farfetched theory, but for some reason, he felt like the other party found out that he had called the police from that phone call. 

　　Though he had chanced upon crime scenes multiple times while ghost hunting, a system had never appeared before. Besides, the police had gone to the scene really quickly and the people in his chat had solved the crime with him, it had been very reassuring.

　　Because the system was still filming, Zong qi felt an ominous feeling in his heart.

　　No, I need to get out of here quickly. 

　　He pushed open the door, cautiously pushing out half of his body, his hand gripped the phone tightly, 110’s phone call and recording were still going. 

　　“The location is Jiang Zhou city’s Jujube Mental Hospital.”

　　The toilet was deathly quiet, the numbers equally still. 

　　The brunt walls didn’t show any change, even the entire floor of dust was the same. 

　　Zong qi raised his flashlight, bending down to observe better but he didn’t find anything. 

　　What he did notice, though, is that as long he stepped further into the toilet, he could let the scream value and plot exploration, who had stopped moving, increase. 

　　This hint couldn’t be any more obvious.

　　Zong qi thought for a while before choosing to turn back instead of leaving immediately. He lifted his selfie stick and walked to the last cubicle.

　　If it was before, he would leave the moment he met danger. But he was in the middle of filming and he didn’t want to bear the consequences of failing a quest.

　　It was really dark here, the door of the room had also started rusting, looking a deep yellow. The old window on the other side had already been nailed with thick planks as if sealing a coffin.

　　As he reached the end, the scream value only needed 10 more points.

　　Zong qi took a deep breath, kicking open the door with almost no hesitation.

　　“Bang!” (t/n: wow im using english sfx what happened to me)

　　An unpleasant and strong smell suffocated him, mixed with a stench of rot that had been rotting for a long time. 

　　Surprisingly, there was nothing inside. 

　　“Did I make a mistake?”

　　He mumbled to himself as he turned around, his eyes unintentionally sweeping past the white door handle, his pupils instantly shrinking.

　　On the handle was blood, crimson red and fierce, solidifying into a horrifying black and red. 

　　A little higher than that was an ouroboros mark. 

　　Zong qi’s adam’s apple rolled.

　　He held the flashlight in his hand and whipped his body around, slowly pushing the door open, exposing the things behind him. 

　　The moment the light shone on the door, the plot exploration had jumped from 2% to 30%, his phone screen had also started lighting up.

　　[Newbie quest has been completed]

　　[Recieved: 100 points, plot ‘Desolate Village’] 

　　[23 hours remain on your improvisational theatre, you can choose to stop any time. Caution: Your three values shall be recalculated after filming has stopped, the highest point achievable is 500 points]

　　[Congratulations on completing your Newbie Quest, you have risen up to D-rank Director. All director authorities shall be handed to you, you may check by clicking the profile menu. Use these authorities reasonably and create even better projects!]

　　Behind the small and dark door were two heads– filled with Chinese ash[3]– nailed onto the board. 

　　Their mouths had been cruelly torn upwards, painted into a gruel red with paint. They were forcefully twisted into a big smile, creepy and weird, making cold sweat go down people’s backs. 

　　Zong qi never would have thought that the person separated with a wall was… a perverted murderer! 

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Bxz5knup4Y its like a meme song but in china

[2] Lazzi (/ˈlɑːtsi/; from the Italian lazzo, a joke or witticism) are stock comedic routines that are associated with Commedia dell’arte. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazzi [3] Fraxinus chinensis, the Chinese ash, is a species of flowering trees. Its leaves are used in traditional Chinese medicine for dysentery disorders. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraxinus_chinensis