Yang Weiyang’s voice rose in pitch.
“That looks like…”
“It’s firearms!”
“Actual firearms!”
“There are guns hidden here?”
Ling Qianhe leaped up, while Yang Weiyang, so tense she was almost digging her nails into Lin Mianci’s arm, watched as Ling Qianhe spoke.
“They’re not real, just props for filming.”
“Let’s hold onto them for now.”
Hearing him say this, Yang Weiyang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This damn game… If she had known this was part of it, she absolutely wouldn’t have come.
Fei Siyu, sensing her nervousness, deliberately teased her with a smile.
“What’s wrong, are you scared?”
“Aren’t you an all-rounder? Why would you be scared?”
Yang Weiyang let out a small huff.
Well, she was a girl, after all.
Fei Siyu glanced at her and suddenly proposed,
“Well, if you’re really scared, you can hug me. Even if something unexpected happens, I’ll shield you. How about that? Hmm?”
He looked at Yang Weiyang with a playful smile.
A hint of amusement flickered across her delicate, shy face.
Lin Mianci saw that Yang Weiyang was wavering but didn’t step forward.
“I have Xiao Ci, I don’t want to hug you.”
Fei Siyu continued to smile, showing no signs of disappointment.
“No matter what, my arms are always open to you.”
So, Fei Siyu was actually quite a cunning fellow.
It was predictable, being Ling Qianhe’s friend.
How could he possibly be genuinely naive and sweet!
As Lin Mianci was thinking this, a piercing alarm suddenly blared throughout the entire cruise ship!
Lin Mianci frowned, the shrill alarm sounding repeatedly, as if… from the top deck?
Yang Weiyang cried out.
She lunged towards Fei Siyu.
Fei Siyu extended his hand, smiling without a word.
He reached out and patted her back,
Comforting her.
“Don’t be scared, I’m here.”
“And it’s just a game, it’s all fake, isn’t it?”
Yang Weiyang was still terribly nervous. Her breathing was erratic. She buried her face in Fei Siyu’s chest, afraid to open her eyes. After a while, she groggily looked up at him.
“Huh? How did I end up in your arms?”
Fei Siyu looked at her.
“You crawled into them yourself.”
Yang Weiyang fell silent.
After a long moment, Yang Weiyang mumbled,
“Ah… is that so.”
She had… crawled into Fei Siyu’s arms herself?
Ling Qianhe and Lin Mianci had already moved forward. Blushing, she quickly followed.
She absolutely refused to admit that she had become as timid as a dog in front of Fei Siyu!
…
The alarm was coming from the second floor.
Lin Mianci went up to the second floor and saw Hanks and Vivian running towards them. Vivian’s expression was not good.
She asked Lin Mianci,
“Have you seen Ma Yingying?”
She was very anxious.
Lin Mianci was slightly taken aback, her mind not quite catching up.
“Ma Yingying? What’s wrong?”
Hanks explained.
“Ma Yingying and Li Mike are missing. We ran into them upstairs, and they said they were going to check the captain’s cabin next door. Vivian and I heard screams from the corridor, and when we went to check, they were gone.”
He shrugged.
“We don’t know where they went. The windows were locked, and we were outside the door, yet they managed to disappear—it feels like a locked room, but the people are gone.”
Something like this happened?
Lin Mianci said,
“Perhaps they coordinated with the staff beforehand.”
“And left through a secret passage.”
That was also a very plausible scenario.
The production team would do anything to build atmosphere.
The enduring popularity of various variety shows’ spooky specials was proof enough.
Who didn’t want to see celebrities trembling with fear?
The alarm continued to sound from the rooftop. Lin Mianci headed upstairs, pushed open the door on the top floor leading to the deck, and then heard a piercing scream.
“Ah!”
The screams were continuous.
She went up and saw Ma Yingying and Li Mike, actually tied up on the deck!
Ma Yingying was crying from fear; the scream had come from her.
And beside her,
Li Mike’s face was also grim.
These two were bound to the deck.
And beside them stood a man wearing a top hat and a white tailcoat. The man’s head was bowed, obscuring his face.
Yang Weiyang was so frightened she began to tremble again.
She could no longer care about her dignity and burrowed into Fei Siyu’s arms.
She didn’t dare to open her eyes.
Ling Qianhe, however, let out a light chuckle.
“It’s you?”
“Why are you here?”
He knew this man in the white tailcoat?
Lin Mianci initially thought it might be Feng Yuting or Yang Lanyan, but were they that idle?
Judging by his build, it didn’t seem like it.
As she was still wondering,
The man in the white tailcoat opposite raised his head.
He revealed a refined, slender, yet somewhat sickly face. His skin was extremely pale, giving him a vampire-like pallor.
It was evident he wasn’t very tall. The entire person exuded a peculiar, refined yet hysterical morbidity. Then he looked up and gave a slight nod towards Lin Mianci and Ling Qianhe.
Lin Mianci heard him say,
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“I am the owner of this ship.”
“Count Evergreen.”
So, he was an NPC on this cruise ship?
This face was unfamiliar to Lin Mianci, but Ling Qianhe’s earlier words clearly indicated he knew him.
Ling Qianhe leaned in and explained to her.
“It’s Franklin.”
“I don’t know why he’s here on this ship playing an NPC…”
On the black market, he was almost globally wanted, yet he publicly showed up for Fox’s program and played such a character who clearly wasn’t a good person.
Franklin’s mental fortitude was quite strong!
Yang Weiyang couldn’t help but sneak a glance.
But she couldn’t help but sigh.
“He’s so handsome…”
Franklin possessed a pale, beautiful aura.
Unlike Hanks’s intense handsomeness that could burn like the scorching sun.
His beauty was more like a volcano covered in pristine snow.
Cold and fragile.
Yet, it concealed an extremely fervent explosive power!
He smiled, pursed his lips, and said,
“Since you are guests, I should host you properly. However, someone broke into my captain’s cabin and shattered my collectibles.”
“I believe that since you all appeared as part of the same group, you must know each other?”
“If you wish to save these two, one of you will come with me for a duel.”
“If you lose, I will throw them into the sea.”
“If you win, I will forgive their transgression of breaking my rare collection and let them go.”
“Allow them to rejoin their group!”
Even knowing it was just part of the script, Ma Yingying was almost crying from fear. She looked hopefully at the three CP pairs opposite them.
“Save me! Please, hurry and save me…”
Yang Weiyang mumbled.
“It would be better to just throw her into the sea… Cough, cough, since we came together, we must support each other!”
There were definitely hidden cameras nearby.
She couldn’t carelessly reveal her true thoughts.
Yang Weiyang looked up, her gaze fixed on the “Count Evergreen” opposite her.
“How do we play?”
The man opposite smiled.
“I will choose one person.”
“Let me see. I have already made my decision.”
He extended his hand and pointed at Lin Mianci.
He looked at Lin Mianci, then beckoned with his finger.
He had chosen Lin Mianci.
Just as Lin Mianci was about to step forward to compete with him, Ling Qianhe blocked her path and nonchalantly spouted nonsense.
“You chose me, right? I’ll compete with you.”
Before Franklin opposite could even speak, Ling Qianhe quickly walked up to him.
He knew there were cameras here.
But he happened to be with his back to the cameras and quickly communicated with Franklin using lip-reading.
“Don’t mess around.”
Franklin looked at him, and a gradual smile rippled through his clear, cool eyes.
“I came to save you.”
He squinted, then glanced at Ling Qianhe, quickly making a gesture.
He slipped a note to Ling Qianhe.
“This is your question.”
【On the black market, someone has accepted a contract to kill you. Fox’s high management has been bribed by your stepmother, Madam Ling. They’ve likely arranged for people on the ship, as accidents are normal during variety show recordings.】
【I knocked out the originally assigned NPC and infiltrated this place just to warn you and protect you.】
【I don’t want my only partner to die here in such a muddled way.】
Below this was the actual question.
Ling Qianhe read the question himself.
【What is the name of the person you love most?】
Lin Mianci stood behind him.
She directly retorted.
“How could that possibly be a real question! Ling Qianhe, you’re using this for personal gain again!”
“Did you make up this question yourself? Will you admit it!”
Franklin spoke.
“Be serious! If you’re not serious, I’ll push these two unlucky companions of yours into the sea!”
Lin Mianci: “……”
As if that threat were effective.
Who cared… whether Ma Yingying and Li Mike fell into the sea? It was obvious there were staff members below!
Ling Qianhe crumpled the note into a ball and tossed it into the sea.
“The person I love most is Lin Mianci.”
He said this without any hesitation.
Everyone behind them was stunned. Yang Weiyang thought to herself, he really dares to…
Answering like that was too brave.
Absolutely no hesitation at all.
Franklin looked at him and then asked,
“If it were the end of the world, and only one person could live, you or her, who would you choose?”
Ling Qianhe looked at Franklin.
Deep within Franklin’s eyes, inexplicably moving emotions flickered.
Even though it was just a script-reading game, Lin Mianci heard a system notification in her mind.
【Ling Qianhe’s answer may very well influence some of Franklin’s choices…】
But it was too late to remind Ling Qianhe now!
She was so nervous her palms were sweating.
Ling Qianhe was silent for a moment.
He said,
“There will be no end of the world.”
“This question is invalid.”
Franklin opposite, however, became somewhat impatient.
“You must answer?
“End of the world, choose one of two, who do you choose to live?”
Ling Qianhe looked up and said,
“She will live.”
“I can die.”
“Because I know that even if I die, she should have the ability to find me.”
He said this with confidence and certainty.
Yang Weiyang was a bit perplexed.
“Does he mean he chooses for you to live, and he’ll wait for you at the Bridge of Sighs?”
“If you live a hundred years without worries, he will willingly wait for you on the Bridge of Sighs no matter how long.”
Lin Mianci understood his meaning.
He knew—she would find him.
She had the system.
She could save him.
He was willing to trust her.