The lights at Jiangcheng Industrial Headquarters are sparse.

As a company whose main business is real estate, Jiangcheng Industrial has no culture of overtime. After get off work, except for a few departments, most employees have left.

In the chairman's lounge on a high floor, Song Yunyan was sitting on the sofa with her secretary Li Zijian standing beside her. Lu Ban was sitting diagonally opposite her. A projection screen was hung on the wall of the lounge, ready to play Lu Ban's video.

"This video is about twelve minutes long, which is not too long."

Lu Ban casually explained.

Secretary Li Zijian picked up the remote control and pressed play.

"Is this another horror-themed one?"

Song Yunyan asked curiously. She saw a camera that looked like a surveillance camera, as if it was in a car.

"I don't think it's very scary, it's like Indiana Jones, an adventure theme!"

Lu Ban answered immediately.

"?"

Song Yunyan was stunned.

She turned her gaze to the projection screen.

…

Twelve minutes later, the video ends.

The expressions of the two earliest viewers of this video, Song Yunyan and Li Zijian, were completely different.

"Zijian, tell me what you think."

Song Yunyan rubbed her temples and let the secretary speak.

Upon hearing this, Li Zijian's expression became somewhat excited.

"This video is very well made, with a thrilling atmosphere and very realistic special effects. The monster at the beginning was elusive, which made people feel very nervous. Later, the appearance of the fish pushed the audience's emotions to the edge of the cliff. And the last part, when the protagonist escaped and saw his teammates smiling, it really made me feel like my heart was beating a little slower."

He analyzed it over and over, probably wanting to show off his appreciation ability in front of Song Yunyan.

After all, the boss who usually doesn't have much entertainment activities suddenly became interested in this kind of video. It can't be because Lu Ban is handsome. He must want to invest in this field and make more achievements.

When asking for my opinions now, I am sure I am also checking how much my subordinates know about this field.

Fortunately, I was careful when I looked for Lu Ban in the middle of the night, and later I did some review on the creation and analysis theory of horror movies, so I am not so scared now.

"By the way, the idea of ​​plants growing out of the body is really good, and the special effects are so realistic that I feel itchy all over. Plants that look insignificant at ordinary times suddenly become predators, which also gives people a sense of insecurity that their daily routine is disrupted. I like this style very much!"

Listening to Li Zijian's analysis, Lu Ban nodded.

In fact, he didn't think that much.

I simply edited out the shots that I thought would be attractive.

There is no serious design or idea to break the daily insecurity.

"I think the white humanoid monster is pretty good too. It looks like a human, but it actually looks different from humans. This is probably called the uncanny valley effect. So when its mouth opens and its tongue sticks out, it makes people feel their scalps tingle."

Li Zijian talked incessantly, and Lu Ban felt embarrassed listening to him.

"As for the shortcomings, whether it's the grass, the mutated humanoid monsters, or the fish flying in the sky, they're all a bit too surreal. For Chinese people, the ghosts might be more frightening."

"Then the eating scene in the middle is a little different from the rest of the video. Although it looks tempting, I don't think it matches well."

Finally, the secretary also pointed out the shortcomings of Lu Ban’s video.

“I learned that.”

Lu Ban nodded in agreement, which made Li Zijian's expression brighten a little.

"You go out first."

Song Yunyan did not comment. She just let Li Zijian leave, leaving her and Lu Ban alone.

After Li Zijian carefully closed the door and left, Song Yunyan remained silent.

In the lounge with the lights on, Lu Ban saw that Song Yunyan's hands were trembling slightly.

This charming chairman has seen all kinds of storms, but she still felt fear when faced with what was shown in Lu Ban's video.

It's not that these things look scary or that Lu Ban's editing skills are unique and superb, but that these images remind her of that night twenty years ago.

"Where did you film these things? The dead people in this video were eaten just like that?"

Song Yunyan did not ask Lu Ban about the authenticity of these videos, because she knew very well that these must be Lu Ban's personal experiences.

What she was most curious about now was where these things existed.

When she thought about if there really were plants that could grow between flesh and blood and turn humans into plants, when she thought about those human-looking monsters with horrible mouthparts that might attack her in the dark, when she thought about those huge fish swimming in the air that would devour human remains, Song Yunyan felt a shudder from the bottom of her heart.

That's the fear of the unknown.

"You can rest assured that this is not something from this world."

Lu Ban did not explain the Wasted City and the Silent Land in detail. For someone like Song Yunyan who had come into contact with related things, she should be able to imagine some of it. The more she knew, the more dangerous it might be for her.

"As for the deceased, I regret that I could not save them."

"Not this world..."

Song Yunyan chewed over this word over and over again. She looked at Lu Ban and felt that she could not see through this young man at all.

"Don't you feel scared when facing these monsters?"

"How should I put it? Actually, when something like this really happens, there is no time to feel scared. If you don't move, you will die immediately."

Lu Ban said as a matter of course.

"The reason you filmed these videos is also because of what happened 'over there'?"

Song Yunyan asked again as if to confirm.

"Of course, that's exactly why I came to see you, Ms. Song."

Lu Ban paused and continued.

"You are scared of the content of the video and the monsters in it, right?"

Song Yunyan nodded hesitantly.

"You are afraid because these are unknown things, or they are variations of things that exist in reality, which makes you feel like you have come to a strange place and creates a natural fear."

Lu Ban followed suit and put his own spin on what Li Zijian had just said.

"These things, when shown to other people, will also produce similar horror, and the reason why I make videos is to let people know about these things in advance."

"Think about it, from ancient times to the present, human imagination has created many monsters, such as ghosts, monsters, and alien demons. But while these things bring fear to people, they also make some people accept their existence, thus reducing the fear."

“So, I think that as long as these hopeful images can be shown to the world, although they may bring fear for a while, over time, people will gradually accept these abnormal things and eventually eliminate their fear.”

"The best way to eliminate fear is to face it. If similar monsters appear in the human world in the future, humans who are prepared in advance will not fall into panic."

Lu Ban’s explanation was so logical that even he almost believed it.

“…You mean, those things could appear in this world?”

Song Yunyan only captured this point.

Considering that the videos Lu Ban had previously shot were all taken in his own room and Jiangcheng Grand Theater, it shows that there must be some strange things in this world.

Perhaps these mysterious and strange things are slowly recovering.

In this case, money and power are no match for such a monster. Instead, people with extraordinary powers like Lu Ban may be the real pillars of support.

In that case, there's nothing wrong with spending some money to buy peace of mind and building a good relationship with Lu Ban.

Song Yunyan, who had experienced these things personally, had an idea.

"Okay, I'll invest in you..."

As she answered, she looked at Lu Ban, only to find that something was wriggling under the skin on the inside of Lu Ban's arm.

Just like the new sprouts about to break through the soil in the video.

Song Yunyan felt her heart and lungs stop beating.

Noticing Song Yunyan's gaze, Lu Ban looked at his arm.

He lifted it up, saw the restless bulge, and gently smoothed it out.

"Please don't worry about it, Ms. Song. These are just minor issues. You will always have to pay for what you have done."

Lu Ban smiled, which made Song Yunyan shiver.

It’s hard to describe whether those monsters are scarier or the young man in front of me is scarier.

"I didn't scare you or threaten you, did I?"

Lu Ban politely confirmed Song Yunyan's investment.

"No, no."

Song Yunyan found that her right hand seemed to be shaking even more violently. She held it with her left hand and shook her head repeatedly.

"Then it's a pleasure to work with you."

Lu Ban stretched out his right hand, and the thing wriggling under his skin flashed past.