Chapter 43: Snowstorm Villa Murder

Main Star System, Capital Star.

“After wishing on stars and waiting for the moon every day, it’s finally airing!”

Ever since Jiang Xindong had seen “Moebius Sea” at the Dreamweaver entrance exam in the Exile Star System, she had become interested in horror-style works, and gradually became obsessed.

Shang Jingyan’s style was too unique; it was to the point where no substitute could be found across the entire star network. She had to watch the first few works over and over again. Recently, she had also become addicted to the horror hide-and-seek game, dragging her fans to play with her every day.

Her fans joked that she was about to transform from a food blogger into a gaming and broadcasting streamer.

“I also ordered the fish skeleton and the music box. I wonder when they’ll arrive.”

She never thought she’d one day order merchandise from the Exile Star System. But while she could buy the merchandise, she could only stare longingly at the haunted house.

“If only it could open in our Main Star System…”

Seeing the countdown getting closer, Jiang Xindong was both excited and apprehensive. How would the actual series of “Infinite Heartbeat” be? Would it be like many shows where “all the best parts are in the trailer”?…

In her wild thoughts, midnight arrived, the music played, and the title appeared on the screen.

The first day’s broadcast would include two episodes in a row. Compared to Director Shang’s previous works, “Infinite Heartbeat” was much more formal, with an opening theme song.

Jiang Xindong quickly focused. The opening often provided a lot of information.

[It really is Yun Yongxue composing!! Yunyun has been so productive lately. Is he inspired by Director Shang? Hahaha.]

[It’s ethereal and grand, with a bit of excitement. It gave me goosebumps. It’s a style Yun Yongxue rarely composed before.]

[It feels like there’s a hint of wind and snow. It’s so good…]

Jiang Xindong noticed that the entire opening only featured two types of backgrounds: the modern setting where the female lead originally lived, and a mansion in a blizzard. It wasn’t like the previous trailer, which mixed multiple eras.

“Could it be that the theme song will change for each world? That would be great!” Jiang Xindong guessed. The comments were filled with [Double chef ecstasy^[1]“Double chef ecstasy” is internet slang, referring to loving both creators and being happy they are collaborating].

When the opening ended, a line of smaller subtitle text appeared under the title “Infinite Heartbeat”—[The Witch of the Blizzard].

Just like in the trailer, the beginning first showed Lan Qing, busy in the restaurant.

“Is table three’s steak ready?…”

“Yes, coming right up!…”

But unlike the trailer, this segment didn’t have shaky camera work. It was a realistic scene, full of the warmth of everyday life, trivial and mundane.

It turned out that Lan Qing’s family consisted of three people. She, her mother, and her younger sister depended on each other. The family ran a small restaurant. Although they weren’t wealthy, their life was fulfilling.

She had also just achieved good grades, and her future was bright and full of promise.

But amidst this tranquility, there were some unusual elements, reminding the audience that this wasn’t a slice-of-life show.

From the conversations of the restaurant customers, Jiang Xindong heard this information:

Three months ago, a satellite-like sphere suddenly appeared outside the planet. It was completely silver-white, without a single seam. All countries sent instruments to investigate, but nothing was found.

Three months passed, and people gradually returned to their daily lives from the various discussions. After all, the sphere just stayed there, doing nothing to humanity. Even if humans were terrified, what could they do? They still couldn’t do anything about it.

“The introduction said, ‘The trial grounds have descended.’ I guess that’s represented by this white sphere,” Jiang Xindong said.

Everything seemed like an ordinary day. But when Lan Qing went to sleep that night, everyone on the entire planet heard a mechanical child’s voice—

“Ding—Trial ground program successfully loaded on Planet A, Group 18. The trial ground is about to descend. Randomly drawing the first batch of ten thousand challengers… Ding—Drawing successful. Five thousand males, five thousand females…”

With this sound, Lan Qing in the scene suddenly opened her eyes and found that the ceiling above her head was no longer the ceiling of her home, but a crystal chandelier!

Jiang Xindong couldn’t hide her excitement. “She’s transmigrated! The main plot is here!”

“Where is this? I think I heard something about a ‘trial ground’ before I fell asleep…”

“Damn! I’m freezing to death. Who’s playing this prank…”

“I just went to sleep. How did I end up here?”

Before them was a huge, luxuriously decorated room. There were thirteen people present in total. Six of them, like Lan Qing, were clearly confused. The remaining seven people had woken up long ago, their faces solemn and serious. The two sides were clearly distinct.

Outside the window was pitch black, with snow on the window frames. Everyone was in a room of a building, seemingly a large villa.

Through conversation, it was revealed that the six newcomers had all heard a similar mechanical sound before arriving. After they discussed it among themselves, leaderless, the seven veterans spoke up.

“Don’t ask anything now. Stay quiet. Nighttime is the most dangerous.”

Through the veterans’ brief explanation, the newcomers, along with the audience, roughly understood that they had been pulled into a “trial ground” by some force, and only by clearing it could they leave.

The comments were still unaware of the danger, and were particularly curious:

[It sounds quite interesting, but how do you clear it?]

[I think I get it. The trial is made up of individual instances like this, right?]

[This kind of adventure theme is also fun. But according to Director Shang’s habits, there will definitely be a lot of horror elements…]

The newcomers were wearing all sorts of clothes, but fortunately, they could all understand each other’s words. Among them was a young girl in a black round-collared robe. Jiang Xindong immediately recognized her: “It’s Wu Rui’s General! She’s with the female lead from the beginning? …The other one isn’t here. She’ll probably appear later.”

Most people, after hearing this, whether they believed it or not, generally settled down, deciding to listen to the veterans and wait in the room for a night. Only one couple, the man disdainful and the woman arrogant, both wearing gold and silver, exuded a nouveau riche vibe.

“Some production crew must have set this up to fool us. I don’t believe it. Come on, honey, let’s go out and see! I think staying with these people will be dangerous.”

The two slammed the door and left. The others heard them walk through the corridor, open the villa’s front door, and go out.

Interstellar audiences didn’t yet know the “character death flag” trope, so when they saw this scene, they could only sigh.

[Oh my god, those two are so brave.]

[It feels so dangerous. Will something really happen?]

[It’s better to stay with everyone…]

Jiang Xindong’s premonition was going crazy, she had a strong feeling that something bad would happen, and the veterans didn’t stop them. On the first night, Lan Qing curled up and slept uneasily. In the middle of the night, she heard the howling wind and snow outside the window, and what seemed to be the bellowing of wild animals.

Even without anything else, going out into the snowy mountains and forests alone on such a night was very dangerous. Could those two survive?

The next morning, the veterans allowed everyone to leave the room and also opened the front door of the building to explore outside. This was indeed a villa, built on a cliff, with pine forests below, isolated from the world.

There were ingredients in the restaurant, no one knew who prepared them. As a food blogger, Jiang Xindong keenly noticed that these foods were only enough for thirteen people to eat for five days. What would happen after that?

Lan Qing’s family ran a restaurant, and from her expression, she had also noticed this.

The entire morning, there were no abnormalities. It was unknown where that couple had gone. The newcomers had suddenly been teleported here and didn’t really believe the veterans’ warnings about danger. They became restless and complained again. Most of the audience members at this point were also curious, rather than feeling a sense of crisis.

It wasn’t until after breakfast, when everyone began to explore the environment, that Lan Qing walked down the snow slope and suddenly saw something in the snow reflecting the dazzling sunlight, glittering.

The female lead approached and found that it was a ring. To be precise, it was a ring still on a human hand—

The same one worn by the woman in the couple!

The woman’s severed hand was scattered in the snow. Lan Qing’s pupils contracted, and she slowly looked up. She saw a huge snowman below the snow slope not far away.

It was made of ice, snow, and flesh. The couple’s limbs were tangled together, and internal organs were vaguely visible, like a demon’s masterpiece!

The comments were caught off guard and exploded:

[Ahhhh!!]

[Help! This scene almost made me throw up my food!!]

[What a high-energy opening, it’s too exciting!!]

Jiang Xindong’s hands and feet were numb, and she rubbed her arms. “As expected of Director Shang, she sacrificed a couple right at the beginning…”

She didn’t know what she was thinking, but inspiration suddenly struck like a runaway horse. “Wh-Why don’t you treat this as strawberry shaved ice? …Huh? I suddenly feel like I could recreate it.”

As a food blogger, Jiang Xindong’s first claim to fame was using fondant to recreate the wedding scene of the protagonist in a work, which was reposted by the production crew.

Her favorite joke was also “I think I could recreate this xx.”

[? I’m actually a little curious…]

[Ahhh Dongzi, you’re the devil!]

[Recreating everything will only harm you!]

The female lead was just a recent graduate, after all. Seeing this scene, she couldn’t help but cover her mouth, her face pale. The others heard the commotion and ran over, and then the sound of vomiting could be heard.

The veterans could remain calm. Among the newcomers, only one person didn’t show fear or disgust, just a bit of pity, as if she had also seen similar scenes many times—it was the sister in the round-collared robe.

“The official code name for her is also General. If she really came from an ancient battlefield, then she indeed wouldn’t be too moved…” Jiang Xindong, resisting her discomfort, analyzed, “Director Shang’s characterization is so masterful.”

Just from this one scene, it was clear which people had better psychological resilience.

The female lead was also very surprising. Apart from the initial shock, she had already forced herself to start carefully observing the snowman and looking for more clues. She didn’t even vomit.

Just then, the same mechanical child’s voice as at the beginning sounded in the sky above the snowfield:

“Hello everyone, welcome to the ‘Infinite Heartbeat’ trial grounds. This trial ground is called ‘The Witch of the Blizzard.’ Difficulty level: Novice field, D-level.”

“Clearance condition: Survive for seven days.”

“Bonus question: Explore the witch’s secret.”

“The trial officially begins. Good luck to the challengers, and enjoy the challenge!”

A veteran said, “This is a treatment only available in novice fields. Just survive.”

Her tone was complex. “In C-level and above trial grounds, in addition to the bonus question, there is also a main question. If the main question is not answered, points will be given according to each challenger’s contribution. Those who don’t reach the required score will be eliminated. In some fields, not a single person survives in the end.”

Although the audience had some guesses, they could only feel that it was an adventure story at most. Therefore, when the rules were revealed, the comments exploded even more.

[Holy crap!! This is too cruel. So the so-called ‘trial’ is like this?]

[So terrifying, ahhh. I’m already yelling ‘Mom, I want to go home’ just imagining it QAQ]

[Two people died at the beginning, and it’s still only novice level! …]

The newcomers’ thoughts were similar to the comments. Some were on the verge of collapse, some couldn’t believe it, and some were yelling at the mechanical sound in the sky.

But the mechanical sound disappeared after the broadcast, leaving only the bodies on the cold snow.

After inspection, Lan Qing found that the tool used to dismember the couple was most likely a kitchen knife. Checking back in the villa, it was confirmed that the box containing the kitchen knives was not full, and two were missing.

The veterans judged that the two had died last night, between two and three in the morning, according to the villa’s clock.

Jiang Xindong couldn’t help but say, “Only intelligent species can use tools and deliberately assemble the corpses into a snowman…”

This was much more terrifying than the guess of wild animals!

Under the veterans’ direction, everyone barely managed to avoid acting like headless chickens. First, they collected the couple’s bodies, and then returned to the villa to find any tools that could be used for self-defense. The goal was to survive for ten days.

There was no communication equipment in the villa. During this process, the audience also saw that the trialists were indeed from various time periods. Some were familiar with letters, some with mobile phones, and some with light brains.

Lan Qing chose her usual kitchen knife. Everyone ate very little for lunch and dinner, having seen such a scene.

That night, a member found a radio in the mansion. Everyone opened it with hope, but after trying all the frequencies, there was only static.

Only channel “13” was broadcasting a food program, and it was repeating over and over, with only one recipe.

A fat man said irritably, “Damn! What do I need to listen to food for?”

But Lan Qing turned the volume to the maximum and said gravely, “No, listen carefully.”

Everyone quieted down. A cheerful female voice came from the radio. Because the signal was poor, it was intermittent and stuttered, making it seem a bit eerie when combined with the sound of the snowstorm outside.

“…The next dish is called… the witch’s… deeelicious soup… like magic… incredibly tasty…”

“The first ingredient is… a couple’s rings, adding the sizzle sizzle sizzle flavor of love… The second ingredient is… is is is dad’s lighter. Dad’s lungs are bad, I hope dad can quit smoking after drinking this… Third third… the driver’s gloves…”

Everyone’s faces had already changed when they heard “a couple’s rings.” As they listened further, they became more and more unsteady.

[?? What kind of weird soup is this? Won’t you get sick if you drink it?]

[I’m so scared I’m crying, ahhh. Is it hinting? The first to die were a couple. Will people die in this order next?]

[No way! Help! What if that couple had taken off their rings beforehand? Would they have survived??]

“Is the second one referring to me?”

“…The third, i-is me…”

“Crazy, this is crazy! What the hell is this!!”

“Dad” pointed to the fat man, who had yellow teeth, clearly an old smoker.

The female voice in the radio became more and more stuttered towards the end, with a kind of mental pollution feeling.

“The ninth ingredient is… gen gen general’s… finger… I hope I can also draw a bow and shoot arrows… Tenth—ten…”

“…The twelfth ingredi-di-dient is is is is the stu-stu-student’s brain! I hope I can become s-s-smart after eating it!”

“My recipe is finished la la la la la la how is it it it it it is is is very very very de-de-delicious everyone come and and and and try it——try——!”

Someone couldn’t take it anymore and started crying loudly. The fat man couldn’t stand it any longer, grabbed the radio, and smashed it to pieces on the ground. “Bah! What is this? It’s all fake!”

–

Blue River Moon.

In Shang Jingyan’s previous life, fans of mystery novels knew that the “snowstorm villa^[2]or isolated island setting” model referred to a group of people who, for various reasons, were trapped in a place isolated from the outside world, and murder cases occurred in this place.

The most suitable pairing for it was, of course, the “no one lives” murder method, pioneered by the queen of mystery novels, Agatha Christie.

Before making this first instance, Shang Jingyan searched and found that a similar mystery trope had already appeared in this world in the previous stellar calendar. It was just that in this stellar calendar, mysteries were in decline, so it had been thrown into the dustbin of history. Except for scholars who specialized in it, most people had never even heard of “snowstorm villa.”

Bringing this model out was considered “reheating old rice,” and she was a little unsure before the broadcast. But now, seeing the audience’s response, it was quite enthusiastic.

…Shang Jingyan didn’t know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. If it was like this, why hadn’t any Dreamweavers done it before her?

X71 was also watching with her. If it had a physical body, it would have shrunk into a ball by now: [QAQ So scary! Yanyan, how are you not afraid?]

In the screen, after the fat man smashed the radio, he was accused of destroying important clues. But Lan Qing said it was okay, she had memorized the entire content.

Everyone found their corresponding items, and only the female lead’s item would result in death. The ninth-ranked general would at most be disabled but could still survive. Why would others care about Lan Qing’s life?

–

In the live broadcast room, Jiang Xindong cursed, “The trial grounds are really good at manipulating people’s hearts.”

Everyone seemed to have reached a consensus, but was that really the case?

The others all had physical items, only the female lead’s would cause death, the ninth-ranked general would be disabled at worst, but still able to survive. Why must others consider Lan Qing’s life?

[It’s more like Director Shang is good at manipulating people’s hearts. Now it feels like the scariest thing is not the ghosts, but our fellow humans, ahhh!]

[How can they survive? I’m so scared for the fat man QAQ]

[If the condition for survival is ‘everyone must offer the items on the recipe,’ then the female lead is really in danger. takes a deep breath]

Tonight, everyone had planned to sleep together in the previous room, but after that recipe came out, the atmosphere became strange. Lan Qing, also wary, took the initiative to propose separate rooms.

There were many rooms in the villa, enough to accommodate everyone. Lan Qing’s room was right next to the fat man’s room.

Before closing the door, the fat man took out his lighters. He actually carried several lighters with him. He piled them up outside his door.

“Hehe, I’ll just try it. If it doesn’t work, we’ll see…”

The fat man, as the person pointed to by the second line of the recipe, was definitely the most panicked.

On the second night, everyone went to sleep with their own thoughts. This night was quiet, terrifyingly quiet.

On the morning of the second day, the sky wasn’t even bright yet, and Lan Qing had already woken up. She packed her knives and was about to open the door, still yawning a little. But after not taking two steps, she suddenly stopped.

A viscous liquid dripped onto her face. In the dim light, it was so dark it was almost black. It was blood!

Lan Qing’s pupils contracted, and she looked up—

Jiang Xindong’s heart rate had already reached its peak, waiting nervously for the scene, but what appeared in front of her was only a line of words: [End of Episode Two].

“How could it end there?!” she exclaimed in disappointment.

[Ah!! Damn you, Director Shang!]

[Two episodes gone so fast. I just realized I’ve been staying up until almost dawn in our time…]

[Ahhhh, why did I have to click on it? I wish I could see the ending in one go!!]

Jiang Xindong couldn’t come back to herself for a long time. She just realized that she hadn’t thought about “whether this was enough to meet her expectations” at all during the viewing process—there was no better explanation for “meeting expectations” than this!

So, what were the reviews of “Infinite Heartbeat” on the star network? Jiang Xindong couldn’t resist discussing it with others and switched to the webpage—

–

“Infinite Heartbeat” was a hit right from the start!

At this early hour, its popularity and data surprisingly quickly surpassed the series previously broadcast during prime time in the Exile Star System. The trending hashtag was simply #InfiniteHeartbeatNotEnough#.

And visibly, many viewers were afraid to chase it in the middle of the night and would wait until the next day to watch, when the popularity would be even higher.

Recently, there hadn’t been any particularly popular Dreamweaver works in the Exile Star System. As soon as this newcomer, Shang Jingyan, appeared, she faintly showed a trend of becoming the season’s leader.

Before this, no new Dreamweaver had ever risen to fame so quickly.

Shang Jingyan tentatively posted in a forum: [I happen to know that Director Shang used the ‘snowstorm villa’ model for this instance, using the creativity of the previous stellar calendar, old wine in a new bottle. Do you have anything to say about it?]

Main post: [[Data link][Screenshot].]

The first floor quickly replied: [Not everyone can make old tropes popular. OP, stop being so passive-aggressive. Who are you trying to defend?]

Shang Jingyan: “…”

To tell you the truth, the person you’re saying I’m trying to defend is Director Shang herself…

She facepalmed and added: [I’m not being passive-aggressive. I just want to ask why no one did this before?]

[That’s a good question. Because it was too scary before?]

[What other reason could there be? Because our Director Shang has innovative thinking!]

[Maybe it was too niche, and not many people knew about it…]

After discovering that the OP wasn’t here to cause trouble, the following replies were scattered. Shang Jingyan browsed for a while, and felt that at first glance, they made sense, but on closer inspection, they didn’t quite hit the mark.

The system, unsure of her intentions, said cautiously: [Maybe it’s just a coincidence?]

Shang Jingyan: […Maybe.]

She then thought of the segment of tentacle she had captured in Wei Wenbing’s mental realm. It had been brought to her own mental space and now seemed completely lifeless, its surface iridescence faded, like some kind of jellyfish salad ingredient.

Shang Jingyan lowered her eyelashes and didn’t think about it further.

–

Shang Jingyan slept very comfortably this time, getting the maximum relaxation in her new home.

The next morning, she was woken up by a dense stream of message notifications. She opened her light brain with sleepy eyes and saw that the messages were all:

[Yanyan, you’re trending!]

[Check the trending topics!]

[Hahaha, what a terrifying trending topic. I bet you can’t handle it either (dog head).]

Shang Jingyan: “?”

Wasn’t she always trending? What was so strange about it?

Looking closely, she realized that it wasn’t the Exile Star System, but the top ten trending topics in the Main Star System.

The message column was overflowing with @’s. Shang Jingyan found the original, and saw that it was a food blogger.

WinterGingerTea v: [Bloody warning. Made a dessert from “Infinite Heartbeat.” Daring to tag Director Shang. @Jingyan]

The picture, like the original work, required viewers to be over twenty to open it. The fans were all very curious and clicked, and then were greatly shocked.

This blogger had imitated the snowman from the first episode, using strawberry and cherry sauce for blood, syrup and candy to create the shape of flesh, and shaved ice for the outside. Even the shape was a one-to-one replica.

Among the many drawings, edits, fanfics, and cosplays, this “fan work” stood out particularly.

[Ahhhh, before I clicked, I wondered why there was a bloody warning. Now I get it!!]

[Little Ginger Tea, you and Director Shang are both terrifying!]

[?? How did the food blogger I follow align herself with the horror genre?]

[Damn, I looked at it and wanted to throw up. I have absolutely no appetite!!]

[Upstairs, it would be more concerning if you did have an appetite after seeing that!]

[If that’s the case, then the witch’s soup in the original work…]

Shang Jingyan: “Oh my god.”

Wow, her fans were really something else.

Unexpectedly, her work first trended in the Mainstream Star System because of a food blogger’s monstrosity.

Jingyan v reposted: [You guys eat first, I’ll wait a step. @InfiniteHeartbeatProductionTeam]

Top comment: [Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter. Turns out Director Shang is also afraid of something (dog head).]

The trending hashtag was #InfiniteHeartbeatFood#, Shang Jingyan: “…”

You’re committing fraud, fraud!

Even more ridiculous, she continued to scroll down and actually saw a well-known food program asking if she wanted to co-direct an episode!