Chapter 2
Lu Xiao's struggles became noticeably more intense; it was no longer an act, but a genuine instinct for survival!
He suddenly opened his eyes, his beautiful, glassy pupils widening in terror underwater, filled with disbelief and panic. His hands frantically clawed upwards, and more bubbles uncontrollably gushed from his mouth.
"Cut! What's going on? Wire work! What's the wire work team up to?!"
The director also noticed something was wrong, and jumped up from behind the monitor, his voice filled with shock and anger, "Save them! Quick! Where are the lifeguards?!"
The staff on the shore suddenly realized what was happening and rushed to the poolside in a panic. But the incident happened so suddenly that some people tried to unfasten the harnesses, some tried to reach for the harnesses, and others frantically searched for life rings. The scene quickly descended into chaos.
In the pool, Lu Xiao's struggling movements had become weak, and his body began to twitch unconsciously. He had obviously choked on water and was losing consciousness. He was being dragged deeper and more dangerous to the bottom of the pool by the malfunctioning wire and his own weight!
The last trace of languor in Zhuohua's eyes vanished instantly. She casually tossed the half-melted popsicle stick onto the ground, her movement so swift that it left only a blur in her wake.
Just as the staff were scrambling around and the director's roar was about to lift the roof off the studio, an indescribable, bone-chilling aura suddenly spread out without warning!
It wasn't the cold air from an air conditioner, but a chilling cold that originated from antiquity and carried a sense of absolute annihilation!
Centered on the chair where Zhuohua had just sat, a layer of visible, crystal-clear, ice-blue frost spread rapidly along the ground like a living vine! Wherever it passed, the air emitted a subtle "crackling" sound, condensing into tiny ice crystals.
So fast it only takes a breath!
The layer of frost rushed towards the huge pool with lightning speed! The instant it touched the water's surface, a terrifying scene unfolded!
Whoosh—!
With a loud, muffled freezing sound, the entire blue artificial pool, tens of meters square and several meters deep, was instantly plunged into an extreme cold inferno! The surging water froze completely in less than half a second!
The rolling waves, the splashing water droplets, even the ripples caused by Lu Xiao's struggle... all the dynamic water was frozen in time!
The deep blue, murky water had transformed into a massive, hard, eerily blue ice block! The surface was as smooth as a mirror, clearly reflecting the stark white lights overhead and the terrified, distorted faces of the people around them.
Dead silence!
Absolute silence enveloped the entire set. The chaos and noise of the previous second were instantly frozen, leaving only dozens of pairs of eyes wide open, mouths agape unconsciously, as if collectively frozen in place. The air itself seemed to solidify, heavy and suffocating.
Time was paused at this moment.
The director stared, mouth agape, the script slipping silently from his hand and falling to the floor with a soft "thud," its sound jarring in the deathly silence. The crew member trying to unfasten the wire harness remained frozen in mid-air, his fingertips just centimeters from the cold steel, yet an insurmountable chasm loomed between them. The man looking for the lifebuoy stood there, clutching an empty, deflated orange one, dumbfounded.
Zhuohua moved amidst this utter stillness.
She didn't look at anyone, as if the petrified statues around her didn't exist. She didn't even walk on the steps by the pool, but went straight to the frozen surface of ice that had just frozen and was radiating a terrifying chill.
clatter.
She was wearing the most ordinary canvas shoes, and the soles of her shoes gently stepped onto the smooth, mirror-like ice surface.
The expected slippery surface did not materialize. The ice beneath her feet was as smooth and solid as the most solid ground. She walked step by step toward the center of the ice, her pace leisurely and her demeanor as relaxed as if she were taking a stroll in her own garden on a spring day.
The canvas shoes did not make the sound that should have been heard when they stepped on the ice; instead, there was only a strange, muffled sound, as if stepping on a thick velvet carpet.
Wherever she passed, the ice surface even rippled with faint, gentle halos of light, spreading silently and neutralizing any possible slippery force.
Everyone's gaze was drawn as if by invisible threads, fixed on the girl in the cheap T-shirt, slender yet exuding an indescribable aura of power.
Watching her stroll leisurely towards the center of the frozen pool, towards the figure frozen beneath the deep blue ice, whose fate remained unknown.
Beneath the ice, the murky water was frozen solid like a giant piece of amber. Lu Xiao's figure was clearly preserved within it, about two meters below the surface.
His eyes were closed, his face was a horrifying pale white, and his soaked white clothes clung to his body, outlining his young and thin frame.
Several thick, black steel wires, like ugly chains, were deeply embedded in his costume, fixing him in a twisted position within the ice, like a butterfly nailed to a specimen board. A string of fine bubbles at his mouth and nose were also frozen, congealed on his pale lips, silently telling of the despair of suffocation he had just experienced.
Zhuohua hovered directly above Lu Xiao, looking down at the lifeless, prematurely young face beneath the ice. Her glassy eyes were closed, devoid of the gleam that had once stirred her heart. Her face was expressionless, but her gaze was as deep and still as an ancient, icy pool.
She slowly lifted her right foot, and then, seemingly casually, lightly stomped on the hard, iron-like ice beneath her feet.
Thump!
A muffled thud, not deafening, but like a heavy hammer blow to everyone's hearts!
Centered on the point where her toes landed, spiderweb-like cracks instantly exploded on the thick ice surface! The cracks spread rapidly, emitting a teeth-grinding "crackling" sound, and instantly covered the entire surface of the ice!
Immediately afterwards—
boom!
The ice shattered with a deafening roar! Not into countless ice shards, but as if precisely sliced and peeled away by an invisible giant hand!
The massive ice block within a two-meter radius around Lu Xiao bulged upwards and broke apart! The shards of ice scattered everywhere, reflecting a dazzling, fragmented light under the lamplight.
Lu Xiao, along with the enormous "human-shaped ice coffin" that encased him, was lifted up by a gentle yet irresistible force, slowly rising and breaking through the water's surface!
Whoosh!
The ice shards and water droplets fell back into the ice hole, making an even louder sound.
Zhuohua stretched out her arm, her movement as natural as catching a falling feather. Her slender arm steadily supported the heavy block of ice carrying Lu Xiao, while her other hand gently brushed across the surface of the ice.
A warm current, imperceptible to the naked eye, emanated from her palm.
Click…click…
The ice encasing Lu Xiao made a series of fine cracking sounds as it rapidly melted and vaporized, dissipating into wisps of white mist without a single drop of water splashing onto him.
Without the support of the ice, Lu Xiao's soaking wet, cold, and unconscious body slumped forward, landing right in Zhuo Hua's open arms.
A standard princess hug.
Zhuohua caught him steadily. Lu Xiao's head rested limply on her thin shoulder, his wet, cold hair brushing against her neck, bringing a chill to his bones. His whole body was trembling slightly uncontrollably, his pale face devoid of color, and his lips were frozen purple.
Zhuohua hugged him, turned around, and her gaze, sharp as an ice-cold blade, slowly swept over the crowd on the shore who were still in a petrified state, finally fixing precisely on the director's face, which was deathly pale as if he had seen a ghost.
Her voice wasn't loud, and it was even rather flat, yet it clearly pierced through the deathly silence of the set, carrying a cold, condescending tone that struck everyone's eardrums:
"Is the film crew so poor they can't even afford to eat? They can't even afford a decent lifeguard?"
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