Chapter 46: Paradise

[Are we at odds? I had a decent impression of her.] Shang Jingyan said.

—However, that little girl definitely had the intention of competing with her. Moreover, Hua Feitian’s taste was really bad; how could she be interested in Guan Gaoyang?

Qin Xiao: [So, Director Shang, are you coming? If you’re willing, I’ll send the contract over right away! (rose) (starry eyes)]

Shang Jingyan tapped her finger on the table, recalling Hua Feitian’s works. She found that, from the perspective of personal characteristics, Hua Feitian was a very suitable candidate.

Hua Feitian’s protagonists always had the same rebellious spirit as herself. Besides love, elements like steampunk, post-apocalyptic wastelands, mechs, and space pirates often appeared, revealing a kind of crazy, romantic atmosphere like a falling star about to crash.

Even her entrance exam work, “The Heaven-Sent Starship,” had a very family-friendly fairytale background, yet the core of the story still featured a fantastical starship.

Moreover, compared to her, although Hua Feitian was the same age, she was already a Dreamweaver with many years of experience. Her style was relatively stable, and some viewers called her style “Meteor Punk.” In addition to Hua Feitian, there were also similar niche genres in the Main Star System.

But how would such a style be used to design a restaurant?

Shang Jingyan couldn’t help but be a little curious. She didn’t immediately agree, saying: [I’ll discuss it with my editor.]

Qin Xiao: [!! Okay!]

Being willing to discuss it with her editor already indicated a significant loosening of her stance. Shang Jingyan’s mind even began to involuntarily conceive of how the restaurant should be designed.

X71: [Yanyan, you’re really so hardworking! You’re going to film “Infinite Heartbeat” and prepare for the variety show.]

Shang Jingyan smiled: [This is considered hardworking? When I was this age in my previous life, I was much busier than I am now.]

Shang Jingyan’s fans from her previous life all knew that Director Shang’s experiences were very bumpy.

She was an orphan. According to the director of the orphanage, she was wrapped in swaddling clothes and left at the orphanage’s gate as a child. In those days, there wasn’t much surveillance, so it was unknown where she really came from.

A healthy child without any illnesses, and even good-looking like her, was actually very easy to adopt—the director even wondered why she was abandoned back then.

Perhaps Shang Jingyan was just unlucky. Her first adoptive parents regretted it after having their own child. Although they didn’t terminate the relationship, Shang Jingyan’s relationship with her adoptive parents was neither good nor bad, existing in an awkward zone. Financial support was provided as required, but the emotional connection could only be described as lukewarm at best.

Despite such a childhood and adolescence, Shang Jingyan became a famous director. The legendary and tortuous nature of her journey goes without saying.

But for Shang Jingyan herself, she seemed to have always known what she should do and what she liked, and her personality had always been very stable. This past didn’t leave too deep a scar on her heart.

Her psychiatrist friend from her previous life found it incredible after hearing about it. This almost didn’t conform to the normal psychological development of humans.

Recalling her past life, what Shang Jingyan could remember most was the busy time she spent striving to become a director.

On a whim, she started telling X71: [After I got into university, I had to pay for my own tuition and living expenses. The field of arts are a money-burning industry. To earn money, I did a lot of jobs. At my busiest, I only slept four or five hours a day. Tutoring and running errands were the most basic. I also worked as an online store model. Pfft, the photoshopped pictures and I could be said to be two completely different people…]

[…And once I took on a job. It was the first time in my life that I independently operated such high-end… well, let’s just call it filming equipment. You probably couldn’t even find a picture of it here. It’s too primitive for the interstellar era. But at the time, I had never even seen that kind of equipment up close. Afraid that others would see my nervousness, I spent a week in advance researching information and asking senior students for help. I really don’t know why that person booked me. In the end, she didn’t even realize I was a newbie…]

X71 listened attentively. It couldn’t explore Shang Jingyan’s memories. Its understanding of Shang Jingyan’s past relied on these fragmented words.

Theoretically, AI didn’t have the ability to “actively imagine,” but listening to Shang Jingyan’s words, an image of a nineteen-year-old Shang Jingyan with black hair and black eyes appeared in its mind. Her eyes were not as clear and green as they were now, but they must have been as bright as midsummer.

Shang Jingyan shared a few short experiences with X71. Unknowingly, the topic returned to “Starry River Wandering Kitchen.”

Her mind was brimming with food-related horror stories, ranging from the human meat buns of Water Margin^[1]In Water Margin (also known as Outlaws of the Marsh), there are several instances of unscrupulous innkeepers or restaurant owners who murder travelers, and then use their flesh to make baozi (steamed … Continue reading to Hannibal Lecter – a collection spanning ancient and modern, East and West.

For restaurant or tavern-based stories, however, her first thought was still of the Liaozhai Zhiyi^[2]It is a classic collection of supernatural tales in Chinese literature written by Pu Songling during the Qing Dynasty, contains nearly 500 short stories, often involve romantic relationships between … Continue reading model of Chinese horror: Pu Songling’s tea stall, where travelers traded stories for a bowl of tea.

These stories would string together individual units, and if it were a modern work, it would gradually lead to a main storyline.

If it was just for a variety show, it would only be necessary to consider how to set up the “tea shed” and how to use horror elements to attract diners.

But Shang Jingyan was a director. Thinking to this step, she couldn’t help but start thinking further. She had directed similar works in her previous life. But she already had “Infinite Heartbeat” for an anthology series, and she didn’t want to film another one for the time being.

Then… use this inspiration to make a game?

Shang Jingyan twirled her pen and added it to her inspiration memo.

–

After Su’s Cultural Tourism began its promotion, the construction of the haunted house began offline simultaneously. It would be completed within a week. The “Opening Countdown: X Days” sign was already hung on the official website.

In this era, building houses wasn’t difficult. With the power of Su’s Cultural Tourism, the contract could be signed on the first day, and the haunted house could be built on the second. The longest time spent was actually on repeatedly discussing and revising the design draft of the haunted house.

The plan Shang Jingyan and they had established was that the haunted house should be integrated with local characteristics as much as possible and blend into the local style. In this world where holography was so developed, offline industries had to put in even more effort.

Hashtags like #ExileStarSystemHauntedHouse# and #FrightHouse# took turns trending. For people in the Main Star System, the two times they heard of the concept of “haunted house” were both related to the Exile Star System. It was almost as if the two were bound together.

If you were to do a street interview now and grab a young person from the Beta Star System, asking “What is the characteristic style of the Exile Star System?”, she might hesitantly answer: It’s… the dark horror genre? I’ve heard it’s very popular there recently.

The people of the Exile Star System couldn’t be indifferent to the news of Su’s Cultural Tourism either. Besides marveling at Shang Jingyan, they also felt a sense of hometown pride.

[Rational discussion: Is Director Shang the Exile Star System Dreamweaver who has reached the mainstream the fastest?]

[If someone had told me a year ago that our Exile Star System would have a heaven-sent Dreamweaver prodigy, that she would become a hit as soon as she debuted, would participate in and win first place in the entrance examination in just a few months, and would extend offline IP development to the Main Star System in less than a year… I would have thought that person was dreaming! But everything has actually happened.]

[Not only the fastest, but also the most accomplished. Even if Dreamweavers from our Exile Star System cooperate with IP developers like the Su family, they only get offline derivatives like themed restaurants at most. Director Shang has themed houses and even theme parks!]

In Shang Jingyan’s personal forum, “haunted house” became a hot topic again this week, on par with “Infinite Heartbeat.”

Among them, a summary post was pinned, titled: [Summary! Taking the Eldritch God Castle as an example, discovering the various ingenious designs in Director Shang’s haunted house IP series.]

Main post: [OP is a Eldritch God Castle enthusiast. Some forum members may have seen my travel log post before. I have already visited every “Eldritch God” themed haunted house currently available in the Exile Star System. Forum members suggested that I make a summary post, so this building was created.]

[There’s no need to talk about the Rose Heart castle. There are too many check-in posts in the forum. OP’s hometown is in V059, and my favorite is also the newly opened haunted house there. It should also be Director Shang’s hometown, right? It can be seen that Xue’s Cultural Tourism put a lot of effort into the production. Haha, the Eldritch God Castle here has a lot of ocean elements!]

[First of all, in the lowest dungeon, other castles are dry, but the V059 castle is half-submerged in water. Visitors will be given rain boots before entering. Running in the water is particularly difficult!]

[If you accidentally fall, you can also have the “lucky” experience of seafood hitting your face… That mechanical octopus will even get stuck in your hair! I didn’t find it until I left the haunted house [crying].]

[Next is the Eldritch God Castle on Blue River Moon. Perhaps to take care of the elderly population, I think this Eldritch God Castle is the least scary one. The NPCs inside chase people the slowest…]

[But I remember a fun little detail. The red moon props in other planet castles only have one, but Blue River Moon has two, because it has two natural satellites, hahaha.]

[PS: I heard that the haunted school on Blue River Moon is super well done. Unfortunately, the tickets were sold out when I went last time, so I didn’t get to visit.]

[Next, V061, our Alpha’s “Star of Universities.” The NPCs in the haunted house are almost all work-study college students. I feel that if there really were ghosts, the cultural level of the ghosts in the castle would be higher than mine (covering face).]

[This planet’s haunted house has the most decryption elements. I think it can be called a horror version of an escape room. It’s especially embarrassing that I got stuck and couldn’t get out at all. It was the octopus man NPC who came to rescue me, ahhhh…]

[When I went, the derivative haunted house next door, “Building 18,” was being built. I heard that it’s different from the original and will be set in a university instead of a high school? As expected of a planet full of universities.]

[Finally, I went to the castle on V066 on the opening day! V066 is the commercial center of the Exile Star System, with a large young population. I think the scariness of the haunted house here is even higher than the initial version of Rose Heart, mainly because there are more bloody scenes.]

[The brochures distributed to tourists also have character biographies of the NPCs. You can collect designated props along the way according to the brochure. If you collect them all, you can get a signature from Director Shang. There are many other small ideas like this. The staff responsible for this must be business geniuses.]

[Those NPC short stories also have a very horror feel. I heard they were written by soliciting contributions from fans. The horror genre is really starting to develop. I’m very optimistic. Maybe it will be our Exile Star System’s signature genre in the future!]

Being able to experience all the haunted houses was rare even among Jing Rice Flowers. The OP stated that his goal was to follow the updates of the haunted house series and play them—[I find it incredible myself. I used to be the least interested in offline parks and only loved holography, but Director Shang changed me. I’m not going to say anymore, I’m going to buy tickets!]

[My god! There are so many details. I only went to the original Rose Heart Castle and was so scared that I swore I would never go again. But after listening to the OP, I’m tempted again…]

[Damn it, I really want to check in at each one! But it must be very expensive to play them all. It hurts my wallet a little.]

[The OP’s IP is changing. Is he space jumping? He’s almost in the Main Star System. Wow, the haunted house over there in the Main Star System is opening today. Is the OP going to check in at the newly built haunted house of Su’s Cultural Tourism over there? Remember to live broadcast in the building when the time comes!!]

–

Main Star System.

“My dear, the line is really long!” Helen exclaimed.

Shini’er muttered: “I thought the little Dreamweaver from the Exile Star System wasn’t very famous in the Main Star System…”

The fact was, even if only one in ten thousand people had heard of Shang Jingyan and wanted to see the haunted house, that would be enough to make the reservations full for several rounds.

The two were listeners of Yun Yongxue. Since watching “Moebius Sea,” they had been paying attention to Shang Jingyan, but they hadn’t caught up on all her previous works, only following “Infinite Heartbeat.” They had previously even bought the hide-and-seek game accounts to play.

Most viewers were like them, not particularly fanatical, but they would spend money for Dreamweavers they liked.

On the one hand, they appreciated the horror style, and on the other hand, they inevitably had some stereotypes:

Was the newcomer from the Exile Star System really that powerful? Would it be a flash in the pan, lacking staying power? Was Su’s Cultural Tourism really that optimistic about her? …

Similar arguments appeared on the Star Network, and had been going on for days.

[Is Su’s Cultural Tourism cursed? I saw that the blueprints they released not only have haunted houses, but also park landscapes. This is equivalent to building a theme park! The other party is just a newcomer…]

[Still from the Exile Star System. If it weren’t for the fact that Su Tong doesn’t have a daughter, I’d suspect Shang Jingyan was her long-lost relative.]

[The scariest thing is that Su Tong said, “The main inspiration for this construction comes from Director Shang.” I admit that Shang Jingyan’s works are indeed good, but she’s only eighteen years old and has no prior experience. What could she design?]

“We shouldn’t have too high expectations in advance. After all, she’s still a newcomer. I think it’s probably mostly hype, and the actual design is still mainly done by the Su family.”

Before coming, Shini’er had given this warning.

That being said, the two still bought tickets in advance and came on the opening day.

And when the queue ended and they entered the park, Shini’er couldn’t say anything critical.

—Su’s Cultural Tourism focused on promoting the haunted house, but when it was actually built, they made it a whole horror-themed amusement park, in a retro style.

The gate was painted black, with two gateposts on either side burning with ghostly blue flames. Black chains were attached to two human-headed lion monsters. Shini’er heard a tour guide nearby explaining: “…The inspiration for this monster comes from an ancient legend, ‘the Sphinx with the body of a lion and the head of a human.’ If passersby could not answer its questions, they would be turned to stone. Ours is a ticket checker, of course, haha, if you don’t have a ticket, you won’t be turned to stone, you’ll just be carried out by it…”

As soon as they stepped through the gate, their vision darkened.

The sky of the park was simulated as night by optical instruments, with a blood moon hanging high. Under the night, the theme park was generally divided into three areas: amusement ride area, comfortable rest area, and haunted house area.

In the amusement ride area, the facilities in ordinary amusement parks were all in dreamy candy colors, but here, black was the main color. The roller coaster was pulled by three-headed hellhounds with flames jumping, the rotating pendulum hammer was in the shape of the Grim Reaper’s scythe, the pirate ship had a witch’s iron pot with firewood burning underneath, and the drop tower was in the shape of a crazy guillotine…

The screams coming from this area seemed to be much louder than in ordinary amusement parks. Just listening to them made people’s legs tremble with fear.

“The Su family really spent a lot of money…” Helen clicked her tongue. Such a theme park seemed to be not just “optimistic”, but a result that could only be from a higher up ‘valuing’ it.

She vaguely remembered that Su’s Cultural Tourism originally planned to use this land to promote their own Dreamweavers and build an IP paradise. But there had been no suitable candidates, so other Dreamweavers in the Main Star System were very interested. Who knew that a newcomer from the Exile Star System would suddenly appear?

The comfortable rest area was packed with people. There was a food street.

“Would you like to buy my food?”

An NPC’s synthesized, aged voice inquired. She was wearing a black cloak, covering most of her face, only revealing a pair of cloudy eyes. Her outstretched hands had also been made up with special effects, looking dry and thin.

The ice cream was a pale purple color, looking very ominous, and it actually contained brown insect corpses!

Shini’er’s eyes widened in surprise: “Ugh! What is this, is it really made with dried insects?”

Helen was eager to try: “I’ll buy one!”

She closed her eyes and quickly took a bite, slowly savoring it. “Hmm… Honey, it tastes very good. The purple is taro-flavored, and the insect corpses are chocolate… It’s crunchy.”

Shini’er was still hesitant, but Helen had already been won over.

Besides the insect ice cream, the other foods on this street were also very scary: eyeball-shaped jellies, heart-shaped cakes, bone-shaped candies drizzled with red jam…

Not far away, a streamer said in an exaggerated tone: “Viewers, I’m now going to try this terrifying insect bread! For every thousand additional tips, I’ll take another bite…”

Shini’er clutched his chest, muttering fearfully, “Just looking at it makes my blood pressure go up. Why would anyone buy that?”

Then he turned his head and saw his wife eating with gusto, and she had even bought a skull-shaped balloon from somewhere, holding it in her hand. At first glance, it could scare ten or eight children.

Shini’er: “…”

Well, count that Dreamweaver as having some skill!

In the final haunted house area, because the styles were jarring, the Su Corporation ultimately did not build a derivative Chinese-style haunted house for “Rouge Comb,” and “Building 18” became a medieval theological seminary from the previous stellar calendar.

Under the shroud of holographic projection, phantom bats flew out of the forest, their eyes red and flashing, turning into a puff of black smoke when they bumped into tourists.

Of course, the theme park wouldn’t be without character NPCs. At a glance, Shini’er and Helen saw the Duchess from “Catch Me If You Can,” shaking her folding fan, her black veil covering her face, walking with an arrogant gait.

The protagonist NPCs in ordinary amusement parks were used to satisfy the fantasies of tourists, such as randomly giving tourists a rose symbolizing love. But the Duchess said in a cold voice: “Have you seen my damn ex-husband? He should be buried, but I can’t find his head.”

Shini’er and Helen: “…”

As expected of Shang Jingyan!

The Duchess’s hands were as pale as a corpse’s, and her nails were painted all black, sharp like animal claws. Behind her, other NPCs were randomly interacting with tourists. It could be described as a gathering of demons and a hundred ghosts dancing in the night.

Helen and Shini’er both felt a chill on their backs, as if horror had truly walked into reality.

Such a big change, how could it be something that Su’s Cultural Tourism thought of on their own? Everything, absolutely everything, must be because of that newcomer Dreamweaver from the Exile Star System, Shang Jingyan.

On the first day of opening, she proved to the people of the Main Star System that her strength was undeniable!

–

From the day the horror theme park opened, photos taken by tourists spread all over the star network. Fans of the Exile Star System were all green with envy.

As a person from the Capital Star, Ao Qingxue certainly went early. After returning, she excitedly shared her experiences with her fans.

It was Friday again. As usual, she would broadcast with everyone watching “Infinite Heartbeat.” Before that, it was time to relax and chat.

Her viewer base was half from the Exile Star System, and they cried out in envy:

[Ahhhh, how come the Main Star System has a theme park first! I’m so envious my tears are falling from the corners of my mouth.]

[Su’s is so generous, building a top-tier luxury park with a wave of their hand. But don’t worry, I saw that President Xue also announced a park plan. And besides the same ones as them, there’s also a completely different style of Chinese-style theme park.]

[!! Really? I’m so excited. But how will a Chinese-style horror theme park be made? By building a large area of antique buildings?]

“Chinese-style horror theme?” Now it was Ao Qingxue’s turn to be envious. She secretly decided that this time, she must go to the Exile Star System to play!

For ordinary people, interstellar travel was still quite expensive and time-consuming. Ao Qingxue didn’t have financial concerns, but she was previously afraid of interrupting the broadcast rhythm. But now, her yearning for the theme park overwhelmed everything.

Just as they were chatting, a comment suddenly said: [Anchor! A variety show in our Exile Star System just made an official announcement. Director Shang is a guest!]

It was the announcement of the guest list for the eleventh season of “Starry River Wandering Kitchen”!

Ao Qingxue was stunned. She usually didn’t follow variety shows, but hearing this news, she was overjoyed. She immediately found that post and read the guest names: “…Director Shang is participating! Yun Yongxue and Hua Feitian are also there… And Sheng Pingsha?”

She let out a low exclamation, and the comments were also shocked.

Sheng Pingsha, this was a famous Dreamweaver that truly no one in the Exile Star System didn’t know. He had once created two famous works that became the childhood of a generation in the Exile Star System. He had also been popular in the Mainstream Star Systems. Even Ao Qingxue had watched his “Moonlight River.”

But later, he seemed to retire, and his label in the eyes of the outside world was a low-key veteran artist.

Unexpectedly, he had accepted an invitation to a variety show this time!

Was this a good thing or a bad thing? Ao Qingxue thought for a moment and felt that there should be nothing wrong with it, so she didn’t pay any more attention to it—in less than three minutes, the fourth episode of “Infinite Heartbeat” would be up, and she would look at the comments later.

At midnight, she switched into the episode on time.

Just like the audience was made to feel the chills in reality, that plastic sheet also made the Challengers’ expressions look ugly.

The darker it got, and the more snow fell, the group had no time to inspect further, but took the body back to the villa. But they had no desire to place it near them, and Lan Qing and the General were not squeamish, however, the driver had less courage. Thus, in the end, the corpse was placed in the banquet hall.

“I will sleep a little farther away from you, as I don’t wish to become a particular burden. If anything occurs…you will have a better opportunity to flee.” Before bed, the driver smiled bitterly. “I’ll explain more details about the rules of ‘Infinite Heartbeat’ to you. Have you noticed the weapons? Those are items gifted by the trial grounds, and you only have a chance to obtain them after completing bonus questions. Besides them, we Challengers can’t take anything away. If I die, my weapon will be given to you.”

The driver’s backpack contained a spatial storage box, which should also be an item. She first took out a laser gun for self-defense, but what else was inside was unknown.

Ao Qingxue’s heart was slightly touched, and she said, “A little flash of humanity in adversity is the most heartbreaking…”

Like that couple and the fat man, they showed selfishness and stupidity, and when they died, it only made people scared, not sad. But Ao Qingxue felt that if this driver died, she would be very disappointed.

The General looked at the driver and said, “No, I will try my best to protect you.”

The General and Lan Qing had different personalities. The former was clearly righteous and had a strong sense of responsibility, while Lan Qing paused, and also said, “I agree with her view. We should protect you as much as possible.”

Ao Qingxue could see that her thoughts were more out of practical considerations—the death of one more person would not benefit anyone. It only meant that the Grim Reaper’s footsteps were closer.

Lan Qing didn’t intend to sleep, sitting on the sofa in the room, facing the door. However, when midnight came, her head couldn’t help but nod off little by little, as if there was a magical power forcing her to fall asleep.

“Can’t sleep… can’t sleep!” She gritted her teeth and made a cut on her hand, gaining a brief moment of clarity.

But when she looked up, she found that the door, which had been tightly closed before, had opened at some point!

[Holy crap ahhhh! Bullet screen protection!]

[Is a ghost going to jump out? So nervous!]

[So terrifying, to fall asleep involuntarily. There are problems everywhere in this villa!]

Lan Qing hurriedly gripped her knife and stood up. This room had two doors. The General was guarding the other side, while the driver was by the bed in the center of the room. Both of them were currently in an unknown state.

She moved cautiously. Ao Qingxue’s heart was almost in her throat because of this long shot. She felt that the curtains and chairs in the room were hiding ghosts.

When she reached the center of the room, the driver was nowhere to be seen!

Could she be hiding on the bed?

This was a retro bed with a light gauze canopy. Lan Qing hurriedly lifted the curtain, but under the moonlight, there was no one inside.

Suddenly, at this moment—

“Hee hee.”

A silvery girl’s voice rang in Lan Qing’s ear, “Sister, why aren’t you sleeping?”