kernel

The recording location of this "Running Man" program is located in a film and television base in the Republic of China. The program team generously booked the entire base and equipped each NPC that appeared here with their own story line and plot.

Although the production team has been criticized for its marketing, "Running Man" has never failed to deliver when it comes to spending money and creating grand scenes.

Looking at the NPCs around him, who were dressed in various styles of the Republic of China, some in long gowns and some in cheongsams, Su Mu, who was strolling on the street, really felt like he had traveled back to the Republic of China.

"Sir, would you like a bowl of wontons?" The owner of the roadside wonton stand greeted Su Mu enthusiastically, "Even the third daughter of the Zhu family praised our wontons!"

The third daughter of the Zhu family?

The entire game has a limited time, so the NPCs will never mention anything that is irrelevant to the plot. So Su Mu walked towards the boss and asked with interest in line with the plot: "May I ask this boss, who is the third daughter of the Zhu family?"

"You don't even know the famous third daughter of the Zhu family in South City?" The boss looked at him in surprise and stopped cooking wontons: "The Zhu family is the richest family in South City!"

"Let's talk about the plot, don't delay making me wontons!"

Su Mu stared at the wonton bowl and couldn't take his eyes off it. He just wanted to eat the wonton that the third daughter of the Zhu family praised. But the boss was determined to follow the plot. Seeing Su Mu's indifference, he simply put the colander on the table and said loudly: "Something big happened to the Zhu family recently!"

"...What's the big deal?"

Seeing that Su Mu finally took up his question, the boss raised his eyebrows, leaned closer to Su Mu, and said mysteriously: "The second master of the Zhu family passed away a few days ago! The eldest master of the Zhu family was very sad for several days and wanted to arrange a ghost marriage for his younger brother!"

Su Mu: "Um...ah?"

How can there still be feudal dregs? Love is a horror book!

"If you have a girl you like, you'd better keep an eye on her!" The boss lowered his voice and said, "Mr. Zhu is looking for a girl of the right age all over the city!"

As soon as the words fell, everyone's cell phones in their arm bags suddenly rang without warning.

The abrupt and extremely modern ringtone was incompatible with the Republican-style buildings, and also pulled Su Mu back to reality from the story.

"The second master of the Zhu family in the South City, Zhu Dehao, died suddenly. The first master of the Zhu family, Zhu Degui, was heartbroken and decided to select a suitable woman from all the women in the city to marry him after death. In order to prevent the women from sneaking out of the city, Zhu Degui ordered people to close the gate of the South City. From now on, when all female team members move, the device on their waists will sound an alarm. To trigger the alarm, male team members need to take the "birth date card" from the waist bag of the female team members and deliver it to the Zhu family mansion. If the alarm of all female team members cannot be lifted within 20 minutes, the gate will be permanently closed and the map area will be reduced by one third. "

There are now four hunters and 29 players in the film and television base. The film and television base covers a large area. At first glance, the ratio of players to hunters seems to be very large, and the probability of encountering hunters in the entire base is also very small. But in fact, large and small buildings have occupied one-third of the base's space, and most of them are inaccessible. Not to mention that the program seems to be a fair competition, but there is a director team secretly controlling it behind the scenes. Once the players hide for too long or do not actively participate in the mission, the director team will locate the players through the surveillance cameras and real-time camera videos that can be seen everywhere, and send the information to nearby hunters.

Not to mention that the program team will only find ways to cram people into the game, and they have previously created the incredible "1V100" operation.

It can be said that the more open space there is, the more convenient it is for players to hide and escape. Therefore, regardless of whether the elimination of female players is beneficial to male players, the reduction of the map alone is enough for all male players to take risks.

Su Mu took a look at the map given by the program team. He was currently in the "South City Market" in the north, which was relatively close to the suspension room, and still a certain distance from the "Zhu Family Old House" in the southeast. In addition to finding female teammates and helping them to relieve the alarm, he also had to beware of the "hunters" who might appear at any time. With only 20 minutes in total, this mission was a bit risky...

But Su Mu didn't hate this excitement. As for the game, no matter how difficult it was or how competitive it was, it had to be fun.

As for winning or losing, Su Mudao had no intention of competing for first place in this kind of game. The only ones who could ignite his ambition to rank high were the students in Class 9.

The only pity was that I didn’t get to eat a bowl of hot and fragrant wontons in the end.

"Thank you, boss. I'll be leaving first." Su Mu said dejectedly.

The boss was stunned and tried to persuade him to stay: "Sir, please finish your wontons before leaving!"

But Su Mu had already seen through these boring tricks. How could this plot, which was obviously arranged by the director team, really allow him to eat anything!

He waved his hands and looked around to see if there were any hunters approaching. After making sure it was safe, he found a secluded place to hide first, then took out his cell phone and called Lin Lang.

Since they had to complete the task, it would be more convenient to find Lin Lang than those unfamiliar guests. Anyway, the production team was happy to sell the couple of them, so why not Su Mu?

The phone beeped twice, and Lin Lang's voice floated out from the receiver: "Su Mu? Why are you calling me?"

"Mission." Su Mu said: "Didn't you see the text message just now?"

"No." Lin Lang answered confidently. Just when Su Mu was speechless, the cameraman who was filming him suddenly handed his walkie-talkie to Su Mu, as if he was very anxious.

Su Mu took the intercom in confusion, and the director's anxious voice quickly came from it: "Su Mu! Go ask Lin Lang where she went! We can't find her at all, and the surveillance cameras can't capture her at all!"

Can’t we just call if we can’t find the person on surveillance camera?

Just as Su Mu was thinking this, Lin Lang, who heard the voice on the intercom, chuckled, his tone full of joy: "Su Mu, tell the director not to worry, I'll be out soon."

"...What are you going to do?" Su Mu had a bad feeling.

"Nothing, just following the plot with... the NPC." Lin Lang said, and then said briskly: "I'm hanging up first."

“Beep—”

The busy tone sounded again. Su Mu put down the phone inexplicably and was about to relay Lin Lang's words to the director team. However, the director had already known the conversation between the two through the images sent back by the surveillance camera. He wailed helplessly: "Ancestor, why didn't you stop her!"

"Can't you contact her?" Su Mu asked in confusion.

"We need to be able to contact her!" The director sighed. "We have asked everyone we can to call her, but only when you call her will the other side not be 'out of service area'."

In order to facilitate the contact between Su Mu and Lin Lang, the director even forced the hunters to temporarily bypass the area where Su Mu was.

This matter is really too strange. The film and television base is not in the middle of nowhere. There is a signal station nearby, and the Internet speed is faster than other places. How could there be a place that is "out of service area"!

Moreover, as for what Lin Lang mentioned about "following the plot", he had real-time monitoring of all NPCs and did not see any trace of Lin Lang at all.

People in the entertainment industry are more or less feudal and superstitious, and directors are no exception.

I heard that this film and television base was previously built on the site of a well-known haunted house. For their filming this time, the screenwriter also referred to the story of the haunted house...

When the director touched his bald head, he felt a chill on his back - this was a bit weird!

Unlike the director's fear, Su Mu, who knew magic, guessed Lin Lang's condition at the first moment - Lin Lang's phone could not be reached, probably because she was in the barrier at the moment and the signal was directly intercepted.

Lin Lang would definitely not do this when recording a show. In this kind of competitive game, even if the two did not communicate in advance, they knew that the other party would not use magic to destroy the fairness of the game. Including throwing the dice, it was just done purely by skill.

The only possibility is that Lin Lang was entangled by something, and the other party had the ability to create a barrier. If nothing unexpected happened, it was most likely a mutant.

The corner of Su Mu's mouth twitched, and he couldn't help but be speechless: Why do I have to face mutants just to record a show?

These days are getting more and more busy!

As for the NPC mentioned by Lin Lang, it must be used to hide the identity of the mutant. But if that's the case, why use the term "follow the plot"?

...Hey, hey, that can’t be the case. Could it be that the plot of this game just happened to collide with mutants?

Su Mu couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

He originally thought that since Lin Lang didn't need him to bother, he would just find a place to hide away peacefully until the end of the game. But now, given Lin Lang's personality, there will probably be a big deal next time.

This is tormenting me!

Su Mu's sigh reached the director's ears through the intercom. The director thought that Su Mu shared the same pain as him and was worried about Lin Lang's "missing". He couldn't help but sigh and comforted Su Mu: "Don't worry, since Lin Lang said he will be out soon, we just need to wait patiently."

Su Mu: "...Yeah."

This director is quite nice.

...

Since Lin Lang specifically mentioned the "plot", in order to prevent any mistakes in the game and the entire film and television base, Su Mu had to take the initiative to participate in the game and try his best to figure out the plot of the entire game first.

In addition to Lin Lang, there were nine other female players who also participated in this game.

The current map is not very big, and Su Mu quickly contacted a female player and went straight to the "Zhu Family Old House" with her birth card.

Unlike the romantic streets of the Republic of China, the closer you get to the Zhu family's old house, the weirder the atmosphere becomes. Red and white, mixed with the black mansion, form the main colors here. It's only late autumn, but all the plants near the mansion seem to have been drained of their vitality, leaving them bare and increasingly bleak and decayed.

Su Mu knocked on the closed door. Not long after, a middle-aged man in a black jacket and a white cloth on his right arm came out. He looked at Su Mu with a little surprise and said, "The Zhu Mansion is not receiving visitors recently. Please go back."

"I heard that Master Zhu Er was going to get married in the afterlife, so I came here specially to give him the birth date and horoscope of a woman of the right age." Su Mu followed the middle-aged man's words and bowed, saying very respectfully: "I hope this..."

"Butler Wu."

"Oh, Butler Wu can accommodate me and let me in."

The NPC who played the role of Wu Butler glanced at him, nodded with satisfaction, pushed the door open, and motioned for Su Mu to enter: "Follow me."

The two of them walked through the front hall and came to the patio in the center of the old house. They pointed to a very plastic-looking machine in the middle and said, "Put your birth date on it."

Behind the machine, two hunters were locked in a tall iron cage, which looked quite oppressive.

It seems that this old house is related to other tasks, otherwise why would it leave the cage here for no reason?

While Su Mu was thinking about the task, he placed the card on the machine.

"Beep—"

"Player "Su Mu" lifted the alarm of player "Fang Ling""

"Unfortunately, this is not the birth date our master wants." The housekeeper, who was originally quite friendly to Su Mu, immediately turned cold and pointed outside the door and said to Su Mu: "Dear guest, please leave."

"Isn't this too heartless? Can't you let me stay here a little longer?"

Su Mu pretended to be regretful and said to the camera beside him: "I thought I could hide from the hunters here for a while!"

A tall and thin man suddenly appeared in the corner of the patio at this moment. He was dressed in black, standing in the shadows, his eyes staring straight in Su Mu's direction, like a lifeless soul.

"Who is this?" Su Mu asked, pointing at the man in the corner.

Butler Wu paused in his action of chasing people away, and looked in the direction Su Mu pointed. His face suddenly darkened: "Master, you are not feeling well. Why are you coming to a place like this instead of resting in your room?"

The young master stared at Su Mu for a while, then said faintly, "I just came down to relax and will be back soon."

With the young master's interruption, the originally tense atmosphere suddenly eased a lot. Butler Wu looked at Su Mu again and answered the question he had asked before: "This is the only son of our eldest master, Zhu Bieshu."

Su Mu: “…”

The screenwriter's naming is too casual. It would be fine if the house is expensive or good, but it is even more acceptable to just name the son "living in a villa", as if he is afraid that others don't know that the family is rich.

After answering part of the story setting using Su Mu's topic, Butler Wu drove people away again.

There was no other way, Su Mu could only leave Zhu's house pretending to be regretful.

Just then, another male player, Ding Wenbo, arrived at Zhu's Mansion. He looked around and saw no trace of hunters, so he greeted Su Mu enthusiastically.

"Hello, hello!" Ding Wenbo shook Su Mu's hand with an excited expression: "I'm your fan, I didn't expect to see you here!"

"I don't deserve it!" Su Mu quickly replied politely, "I'm also your fan."

Ding Wenbo is also an artist. He has played the second and third male roles in several popular dramas and is quite popular.

The two exchanged a few polite words at the door before turning the topic to the current task.

"Have you collected any information?" Ding Wenbo asked curiously.

Now that the game has just begun, it is still time to expand the plot and complete tasks. Players do not need to intrigue against each other, so the overall atmosphere between players is relatively harmonious and they are happy to exchange game information with each other.

So Su Mu told the other party the information he had obtained.

As luck would have it, Ding Wenbo just happened to know some information about "Zhu Bieshu": "I heard that this young master was madly in love with his childhood sweetheart recently, but they were forced to break up due to family obstruction. Now this young master is locked up at home and is very unhappy."

Young Master, childhood sweetheart, breakup, family coercion, ghost marriage...

This routine is a bit too common. If nothing unexpected happens, this young master and his childhood sweetheart will be the protagonists of the whole story.

Just as the two were exchanging information, a black figure suddenly appeared in Su Mu's sight.

Before Su Mu could warn Ding Wenbo of the approach of the hunter, the other party exclaimed first: "Hunter!"

——Two hunters ran towards them one after the other, forming a double-sided situation.

It was Ding Wenbo’s first time participating in “Running Man” and also the first time he felt the direct siege of hunters. He was so scared that his face turned pale, and for a moment he didn’t know how to react.

Seeing the two hunters about to rush in front of him, Su Mu suddenly asked: "Do you believe me?"

Ding Wenbo's mind went blank and he nodded blankly.

"Then follow my instructions." Su Mu said calmly.

At this moment, he did not look like a seventeen-year-old boy, but was as calm as a seasoned emperor.

Su Mu's voice seemed to have a special magic that made Ding Wenbo calm down involuntarily. Although the hunters were approaching and the two were about to be eliminated, Ding Wenbo felt that as long as Su Mu was there, they would be able to turn the tables.

Just when the two hunters were about to touch them, Su Mu pushed hard with his right hand, and Ding Wenbo staggered a few steps uncontrollably, just in time to avoid the hunters' touching hands.

At the same time, Su Mu grabbed the hem of the hunter in front of him, exerted force with both hands, and dodged the hunter's grabbing action with an extremely agile movement, while using the force to push the hunter towards another hunter.

The hunter who originally tried to capture Su Mu missed his target and fell forward due to inertia. His center of gravity was slightly disrupted, and under Su Mu's force, he staggered and fell onto another hunter, disrupting the other party's capture attempt.

While the two were forced to entangle together, Su Mu quickly stood firm, grabbed Ding Wenbo, who had not yet reacted to the current situation, and ran towards the corner.

The hunter's rule is that once the prey is beyond his sight, he must stop chasing immediately. Therefore, running to the corner is the most suitable way to escape the hunter's pursuit.

Of course, if you are fast enough and have the confidence that you can outrun these professional athletes specially invited from the Sports College, it is not impossible to fight them head-on.

As a person with magic power, Su Mu's physical fitness is definitely not comparable to these hunters. However, his physical fitness is already blessed by magic power, and if he still goes all out when competing with these hunters, it would be a bit too much. Therefore, Su Mu is more willing to use his combat skills and agility to "confront" the hunters head-on.

Pulling Ding Wenbo around Zhu's house for a few turns and leaving the hunter completely behind, Su Mu finally let go of Ding Wenbo's wrist and gave him a friendly smile: "Okay, it's safe now."

Ding Wenbo leaned against the wall and gasped for breath, finally coming back to his senses from the excitement of facing the hunter.

He touched his frantically beating heart and said with lingering fear: "Thanks to you, otherwise I would have been eliminated here."

"You told me the information, and I helped you escape the hunters, so we're even now." Su Mu smiled and said unconvincingly, "You continue to do your mission, and I'll see if there's any other information I can collect."

"Wait!" Ding Wenbo quickly pulled Su Mu back. Although he felt a little embarrassed, he couldn't help but said, "Well... let's form an alliance!"

Although Ding Wenbo is not good at running or hiding, he has a pretty good eye.

He could see that Su Mu seemed more interested in the plot of the game than winning in the end, so he said, "I have a lot of contact with other players, so I can get information for you - you want to know about the eldest young master of the Zhu family and his childhood sweetheart, right?"

Ding Wenbo didn't beat around the bush and say any polite words, which made Su Mu look at him in surprise.

Compared to this game, the mutant behind it is the most important thing. So Su Mu nodded, but did not directly agree to Ding Wenbo's request.

But this nod was enough for Ding Wenbo to understand Su Mu's intention. Ding Wenbo smiled and said, "From now on, we will investigate separately and share intelligence. If there is a mission, we can help each other. What do you think?"

Seeing that Ding Wenbo did not ask him to run with him, Su Mu asked curiously: "Isn't this doing you any good?"

Ding Wenbo answered straightforwardly, and he didn't think it was too mercenary to say this in front of the camera: "Where will the footage come from if you don't complete the main mission?"

Ding Wenbo could see that Su Mu was capable of completing the task on his own, and the director team also needed enough shots to perfect the story, and it was impossible to just focus on the players. Therefore, Su Mu, who took the initiative to complete the task, would definitely get a lot of shots and be a key figure throughout the game.

Dante Wenbo had enough understanding of his own strength. This time, with Su Mu there, he managed to escape by luck, but what about next time?

Sooner or later, he would be caught, and he would not be able to contribute much to the entire mission. But as long as he could cling to Su Mu's thigh, constantly inquire about news and provide information for him, he would definitely leave a highlight moment in the game's mission.

This highlight moment is enough to surpass the bonus for passing the game.

After hearing what Ding Wenbo said, Su Mu remembered that for an artist, the camera is countless times more important than money.

It turns out that I still haven't fully entered the identity of an artist. I've learned a lesson.

Su Mu said in his heart, and his eyes became much kinder when he looked at Ding Wenbo. So he stretched out his hand and smiled at Ding Wenbo: "Happy cooperation."

"Then I'll go to Zhu's house to hand in the card first." Ding Wenbo was very happy. He nodded at him and ran towards the gate of Zhu's house.

It was not until this moment that Su Mu suddenly realized an extremely crucial thing: Who will unlock Lin Lang's birth card?

Su Mu quickly picked up his phone and called Lin Lang again.

"Hey, what's the matter again?" Lin Lang seemed to be busy with something, and his voice was a little impatient.

"Your card!" Su Mu said anxiously, "I need to help you unlock the alarm, otherwise the map will be narrowed down."

"Oh, about that." Lin Lang didn't care much: "I can handle that myself, you don't have to worry about it for me."

Seeing Lin Lang say this, Su Mu felt relieved: "What are you busy with?"

Lin Lang's voice was a little teasing: "Marry the Second Master."

Su Mu: “???”

The director behind the camera looked at the screenwriter blankly: "Do we have this segment?"

Screenwriter: “I don’t know either!”