chapter 6

Filming base.

That single detail made Qin Nan connect everything.

There was no such thing as *Death Premonition*. They were filming *Death Crew*. They hadn’t been transported into the movie-they’d been transported into the crew shooting it. Every Player among them was an actor in this production.

The movie he’d seen before crossing over-the focus hadn’t been the high-altitude fall itself, but the shrunken reflection in the dead person’s eyes. That hadn’t been a hallucination; he’d been standing right within the victim’s field of vision.

In other words, he was someone inside the film, not an outsider.

And the actors in the film were this group of Players.

The reason it was the filming crew rather than the film itself was that, aside from the death scenes matching the script, everything else was clearly different. On top of that, the NPCs kept letting things slip in their wording.

After Fatty died, Old Wang showed up and said, “Next scene.” At the hotel, Old Wang said, “Change sets.”

If they’d truly been transported into the movie, then after each death the crew NPCs should have reacted with panic and fear, and followed the script-calling the police, handling the aftermath, and so on-instead of using the kind of terminology you’d only hear on a set.

But how were they supposed to break the deadlock?

Qin Nan was a complete rookie. Even though he’d figured out what was going on, he still felt at a loss.

Jian Fan was thinking even further ahead.

There was another crucial point here: the camera.

When Fatty died, it happened on set, where cameras were already present, so it didn’t stand out. It was easy to miss-and they really had missed it. But in the hotel room, that camera was impossible to overlook if you paid even a little attention.

The Player who died in the hotel room wasn’t a cameraman. A camera appearing in his room made no sense.

Anything that didn’t make sense was very likely the key to clearing the stage.

Jian Fan swept his gaze around and quickly locked onto a spot. He was currently hanging in midair, unable to do anything with his own hands. If it came down to it, he’d have to spend his Points.

He’d already opened the Points Store in his mind.

Inside were items and skills that could be exchanged for Points-lifesavers at critical moments. Jian Fan quickly found what he needed: an item costing 500 Points that could destroy an object from a distance.

Just as he was about to redeem it, he noticed Qin Nan suddenly move.

Qin Nan might be a New Player, but he loved playing deduction games in his everyday life. That experience helped him immensely right now.

He’d also locked onto two key pieces of information.

The out-of-place camera in the hotel room, and the high-altitude fall he’d seen.

The camera might be the key to breaking the deadlock. And if he wanted to find the camera used to film the death scene, then the clip he’d watched on his computer became an all-important clue.

From what angle could you capture the falling shot?

Qin Nan had an answer almost immediately-and he fixed on a target.

When Qin Nan charged toward the camera hidden behind the backdrop, Jian Fan looked a little surprised, but his expression quickly returned to calm.

He didn’t redeem the item, but he also didn’t close the Points Store.

He didn’t mind taking a free win for once. Even if he handled it himself, the Points he earned would more than cover the cost of the item. But what he needed more urgently was a partner.

Of course, he would never hand his life over to someone else. Better to rely on yourself than beg others. He had to make sure that if Qin Nan dropped the ball, he could still break the deadlock before he died and clear the stage.

Qin Nan knew a bit about filming and understood the basic operation of a camera. But no matter how long he pressed stop, the camera didn’t respond.

Anxiety rising, he looked toward Jian Fan.

The wire, which had been intact, suddenly snapped.

Jian Fan dropped from midair.

Qin Nan’s face changed. There was no time to think. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed a chair from the side and smashed it straight into the camera.
Bang.

The chair smashed into the camera with a thunderous crash. At the same time, everything on set seemed to have been hit with a pause button. The last thing Qin Nan saw was Jian Fan’s falling figure frozen in midair-then that strangely familiar white light appeared in front of him again.

Qin Nan instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes. When the glare finally faded and he lowered his hand, the scene around him had already changed.

He was now in a completely pure-white space. Directly ahead of him stood several things lined up in a row, shaped like doors. Other than that, there was nothing.

Where was this now?

Qin Nan got his answer quickly.

A mechanical electronic voice sounded in his mind: “Congratulations to the Player for passing the beginner trial and officially becoming a Game Player of the Realm of Death. Points settings will now be activated for the Player.”

As the voice fell silent, a floating control panel appeared before Qin Nan’s eyes. On a first entry, there were written instructions. After he finished reading them and understood the basic rules, two new sections appeared on the panel.

One was the Points Store, but it was currently locked. Only after entering a game world would the Points Store refresh with the corresponding items and skills.

The other was the Points Qin Nan had accumulated.

He currently had 1300 Points: 500 for clearing the stage, and 800 awarded because, excluding him, eight Players had survived.

The panel was simple to operate.

Qin Nan was about to familiarize himself with it more when a woman’s voice sounded by his ear.

“Hi, handsome.”

Qin Nan closed the control panel and looked over.

The woman looked around twenty. She was smiling at him, and when she saw him turn, she quickly extended a hand and introduced herself. “My name’s Lin Junruo. What should I call you?”

Lin Junruo was one of the four-person team-two men and two women. In the last game world, they had lost one companion.

Qin Nan didn’t intend to make enemies with other Players. He lightly shook her fingertips. “Qin Nan. New Player. I’ll be relying on you to look out for me in the future.”

“New Player?” Lin Junruo’s expression perfectly conveyed a mix of surprise and admiration. “Qin Nan, you’re seriously amazing. Boss, you’ve gotta carry me from now on.”

Qin Nan smiled. “I just got lucky. That’s all.”

“You’re way too modest. The first time I entered the Realm of Death, I was totally clueless…” Lin Junruo seemed determined to chat him up. Qin Nan listened politely, but his eyes were already sweeping the surroundings.

All the surviving Players had appeared in this white space.

Xia Zeqin’s six-person team had been reduced to four. Xia Zeqin looked the calmest of them all, one arm around the waist of the woman beside him as he headed for one of the doors. The other two members of his team still lingered where they were, their gazes flicking toward Qin Nan from time to time, hesitation written on their faces.

Not far away, the two Players traveling with Lin Junruo-one man and one woman-were standing together and talking.

Qin Nan’s gaze skimmed over them quickly, then finally settled on Jian Fan.

Jian Fan clearly had no intention of dealing with him. He was already walking toward a door.

“Miss, sorry, I’ve got something to do. We’ll talk later.” Qin Nan cut off Lin Junruo’s empty small talk and jogged a few steps to catch up with Jian Fan.

When he reached him, Qin Nan lifted a hand and patted Jian Fan on the shoulder, grinning as he spoke. “Jian Fan.”

Jian Fan had already reached the door. He turned at the sound, expression blank and voice indifferent. “What?”

Qin Nan froze for a moment, then quickly laughed. “Come on, we went through life and death together. Don’t you think you’re being a little cold?”

Jian Fan lifted his eyes and repeated, “What?”

Qin Nan withdrew his hand and shook his head. Seeing that, Jian Fan turned away without hesitation, tapped the door with his hand, then stepped forward and vanished from the spot.

Tch. Qin Nan puffed out his cheeks. Jian Fan really was… The most fitting phrase popped into his head-burning the bridge after crossing it.