Chapter 335
Chapter 335
Of course, Lu Jing could also simply choose one of the three Scripts before him.
The problem was that the three Scripts the writer had offered were utterly ordinary, without a single distinguishing feature. Even Lu Jing found them far too childish. If they followed a Script like that, could they really gain any Popularity?
“Director, haven’t you decided yet? We only have one minute left,” the writer NPC reminded him.
Lu Jing snapped back to his senses.
He had never expected there to be a time limit on choosing a Script. Wasn’t that just making things difficult for him?
Difficult or not, Lu Jing still had to make a decision.
They could not follow any of these Scripts, but he could not come up with anything himself, either. Lu Jing felt as if his head might split.
Very soon, however, inspiration suddenly flashed through his mind.
“This Script.” Lu Jing pointed at one at random, then said, “Reveal the entire Script to the cast members. Of course, we’ll need to make a few changes to the version we actually use.”
They would think they had the Script and could sail through by following it, when in fact, the Script would be only half true.
Lu Jing went on enthusiastically, “Right. Before the game starts, have the cast members draw items. Make sure each of them draws a copy of this original Script, but forbid them from telling their companions about it. Then change the real Script. For example, if the original says a ghost will appear here, move it behind another door. Reverse the order of the digits in this password. Of course, some parts should still follow the original Script.”
Once he finished, Lu Jing felt that he truly was brilliant.
The NPC would not reject Lu Jing’s proposal. Soon after he made his decision, the Script for the first episode of Escape Room was generated.
Qin Nan and the other two, who had been locked inside their small dark rooms, finally received visits from staff members.
Each staff member held an item for them to draw as their special advantage.
As the plot dictated, Qin Nan drew the Script.
“They can do that?” Qin Nan exclaimed. He was about to launch into a long speech when he suddenly remembered his taciturn persona. Silently, he shut his mouth again and began ranting inwardly instead.
An escape room that handed out its Script?
This was absurdity taken to its absolute limit.
What was more, Qin Nan took one look at the Script and was rendered speechless.
That was it?
That was it?
Would anyone watch a show with this lousy Script? Were they supposed to watch Jian Fan coast along on his looks?
Originally, Qin Nan could at least have livened up the atmosphere. Even with an ordinary Script, he could have cracked a few more jokes and kept things entertaining. Now that he could only be taciturn, he instantly felt that their variety show was beyond saving. It was dead on arrival.
Things were not going well for Yellow Hair’s group, either.
As cast members, Yellow Hair and Lin Junruo received exactly the same treatment as Qin Nan and the others: they were locked inside small dark rooms.
Because one of their Players had drawn the role of scriptwriter, Yang Zhen had to produce at least three Scripts for the director, Zhou Jingying, to choose from.
Romance Scripts. Yang Zhen went numb.
Naturally, writing the Scripts also came with a time limit. If Yang Zhen failed to hand them in, she would face being fired. In other words, if she could not write them, she would most likely be erased outright.
What else could Yang Zhen do?
She could only grit her teeth and start writing.
She had never been in love and had barely watched any television dramas. Still, the first thing that came to mind when she thought of romance was naturally a date. Even Yang Zhen knew that dating involved such a step.
And so, Yang Zhen wrote her first Script.
A male Player and a female Player go on a date.
On second thought, that was too simple and could easily go wrong. Yang Zhen put her little head to work again and finally added a location: an upscale restaurant for couples.
While abroad, she had vaguely heard of some methods the upper classes used to court women.
The most common stories were about so-and-so inviting someone to dinner at some upscale restaurant, after which the two of them ended up together.
Yang Zhen decided that this location was perfect. She absolutely had to include it.
Afterward, Yang Zhen racked her brains over the second Script.
Dating, hmm… There had to be intimate contact, of course, so they could hold hands and kiss. Yang Zhen at least knew that going all the way would be censored. That alone was not enough, so she added a location as well. Under the Starry Sky–perfect. Romantic.
Lin Junruo had casually mentioned something like that before.
Yang Zhen felt all her brain cells spring to life.
Next came the third one.
When people dated, there had to be a confession of love, right? Yes, she would write a confession. Looking at the locations in her first two ideas, she added one to this Script as well. Where should it take place? Hmm, an amusement park would do.
She had simply thought of the setting in the Card Person game.
Given the time limit, a Player could not possibly write three complete Scripts. Yang Zhen only needed to provide a general outline, after which the System would generate full Scripts from the keywords she supplied.
Just as the three Scripts were generated, a notification suddenly sounded in Yang Zhen’s mind.
“Character violation. The Scripts are not sweet enough. As the infraction is minor, the Player will lose 10,000 Popularity. Current variety-show Popularity: -10,000. Player Popularity: -10,000.”
Yang Zhen was utterly baffled.
What the hell?
She knew her assigned persona was sweet, naive, and innocent, but who said a sweet, naive, and innocent person had to write sweet Scripts?
That made no sense!
Yang Zhen had no way to resist, however. She could only let the System coldly deduct her Popularity.
Since an individual’s Popularity directly affected the entire variety show’s Popularity, Yellow Hair and the others received the notification as well.
“Due to a Player’s Character violation, 10,000 Popularity has been deducted. Current variety-show Popularity: -10,000.”
Yellow Hair, Lin Junruo, Zhou Jingying, and Shen Xianglan were all baffled.
What the hell?
The show had not even begun, and they had already lost 10,000 Popularity?
Well, wasn’t that something.
Not one of them had ever imagined such an opening.
Yang Zhen had already taken the three Scripts to see Zhou Jingying.
In truth, the Scripts Yang Zhen had stumbled into writing were not unusable. After all, Scripts for dating shows were not especially complicated. What mattered was how the cast members interacted and performed.
Of course, Yang Zhen’s scenarios could not be used for the first episode, nor could they be used exactly as written.
They needed some highlights.
Fortunately, although Zhou Jingying had never appeared on a dating show, she had acted in romantic scenes. This was something she knew well.
She could not help feeling grateful that she had drawn the role of director, which allowed her to alter the plot.
They could not launch straight into a passionate romance in the first episode, either.
Zhou Jingying thought for a moment and soon settled on the Script for the first episode.
The male and female cast members would each prepare a gift for the other before meeting. At the end of the first day, they would each prepare another gift for their partner.
As for the main romantic segment, she chose the date Yang Zhen had proposed. However, instead of specifying a location, she set a theme: the male cast member had to plan a date filled with pure, innocent romance for the female cast member.
Zhou Jingying placed the design of the date in the cast members’ hands.
Of course, to keep the cast members from going blank and failing to make things sweet enough, Zhou Jingying added another requirement. During the first day’s date, the female cast member had to hug her partner at three different times, for a total of three hugs that day.