Chapter 30 Chapter 30 Variety show "House of Despair" (2 in 1)...
[Chapter 30, Chamber of Despair]
In the blink of an eye it was mid-September. On Monday, Xu Baichuan sent a message in the group early: "The flight to Nancheng will be at 9 am this Saturday. The variety show recording will start at 8 pm. I will return to Jiangzhou at 8 pm on Sunday. I will send the flight information to the group."
As artists who are still in school, they must make good use of every weekend, and they should slowly get used to such a tight schedule.
However, as it was their first time to experience the “weekend round trip” announcement, the five of them were very excited.
Fu Fei said in the group: "The fuller the artist's schedule, the more popular they are, hahahaha, we are also gradually getting better!"
I thought that since Shengyao Group was a makeshift group that debuted in such a hurry, they wouldn't make a splash so soon. As a result, with their first performance on the 10th anniversary concert and their first appearance on a variety show, this small and obscure group gradually gained popularity.
Tan Junwen asked in the group: "Xiao Fei, have you ever played a real-life escape room game? Should we do some homework in advance?"
Fu Fei said honestly: "No. I usually only play mobile games or PS stand-alone games. I feel it's troublesome to play script-killing games and escape room games with friends in real life, so I have never played them."
Tang Che said: "I haven't played it either."
Of course, Mo Xun and Fang Yinnian had never played an escape room game, so this variety show was still an unfamiliar area for the five of them.
The experience of losing three games in a row in the previous "Red and Blue Competition" was not good. Everyone has a desire to win and lose, and who likes to lose all the time? Although that episode was hilarious and even became a hot topic, they don’t want to leave people with a “funny” impression all the time.
They didn't expect that their agent would let them take on "Chamber of Despair", which is quite popular among mystery/brain battle variety shows.
Clearing the secret room requires intelligence and teamwork.
The style of this variety show is completely different from "Red and Blue Competition". The main features are tension, excitement and brain-burning.
If they continue to be at a loss after entering the secret room and make all kinds of "rookie mistakes", the audience will say they are "a bunch of idiots."
Different variety shows have different audiences, and they need to understand the rules of the new variety show as soon as possible and adjust their status.
Mo Xun assigned tasks in the group: "There is still one week left. Everyone should read the previous episodes of "House of Despair" to have a general idea of what to expect."
In the following time, every night after coming back from dance class at the company, everyone would cast the screen in the living room to watch the variety show "House of Despair".
This variety show has been aired for seven episodes, and they are going to participate in the eighth episode.
We quickly went through the previous few issues and found that there was no obvious pattern to passing them.
Mo Xun said: "The theme of each episode is different. Judging from the scenes, they should be made recently. No wonder it is only broadcast once a month. The scene production also takes time."
Fang Yinnian speculated: "They should have found an empty house to use as a secret room. They changed the wallpaper and furniture in each episode and decorated it with a new theme. If we can know the structure of this house, it will be much easier to pass it."
Mo Xun smiled and said, "Then we definitely can't reveal the internal structure in advance. This is equivalent to getting a clearance map from a God's perspective."
Tan Junwen couldn't help scratching his head when he heard this: "I saw that there were large secret rooms in the previous episodes. If I encounter a maze, I will be dead. Brothers, save me!"
Mo Xun patted his shoulder: "Don't worry, I won't abandon you."
Tang Che asked, "I wonder if there will be NPCs chasing us?"
Fu Fei couldn't help but look forward to it: "The levels of the secret room are mild terror, moderate terror, and severe terror. Hehe, let's not encounter severe terror!"
Fang Yinnian: "How terrifying is severe terror?"
Fu Fei scratched his head: "I haven't encountered it, I don't know!"
Mo Xun said, "Xiao Fei, go look for information on the types of mechanisms in the secret room. We can all memorize them later. It might be useful."
Xiao Fei has always been at the forefront of the group, and he is also good at searching for information. He quickly sent a word document to the group: "Common chamber traps, you can make up for it temporarily."
Everyone quickly opened the document and started reading it.
When recording this kind of variety show, you can't just rush in without knowing anything.
The Red and Blue teams were wiped out in the competition, but everyone could still have a few laughs. If everyone was wiped out at the beginning of the Despair Chamber, the audience would just say “that’s too bad”.
Fang Yinnian carefully looked at the common types of mechanisms in secret rooms, and then looked at the secret rooms in the previous issues in detail.
I have to say that this program team is really creative.
The previous episode was on the vampire theme, and the secret room was directly changed into a dark European castle style. There were bloodstains all over the walls, and NPCs were chasing them, which scared the two guests so much that they almost cried.
I wonder what will be waiting for them this time?
The variety show "House of Despair" is so popular, in addition to the different themes of each episode that make the audience feel fresh, there is another reason -
It is also live.
There are very few live variety shows nowadays, most of them are recorded. But one advantage of horror chamber live broadcast is the extremely strong "immersive experience".
No one knows whether the flying guests in this episode can pass the level. Following the guests in the secret room in real time will make the audience nervous.
The weekend is getting closer.
Although the five people did some homework in advance, they didn't know the theme of the secret room, and they were completely unsure before officially entering the secret room.
On Friday night, everyone packed their luggage in advance.
Mo Xun and Fang Yinnian still brought a suitcase. This short weekend flight will only last for two days in South City, so there is no need to bring much spare clothes. Mo Xun’s small carry-on suitcase can easily hold all the belongings of two people.
On Saturday morning, they set out for South City with their agent.
On the way, Xu Baichuan explained: "The theme and rules of each episode of Despair Chamber are changing. Before the recording begins, the production team will not reveal the contents of the chamber to anyone, so that the most authentic panic and fear of the guests can be recorded."
"Many people in the industry want to go to this show but don't dare to. After all, it's easy to lose control of your facial expressions in a scary place and end up with a lot of scary pictures."
All five of them laughed - the expressions made by being scared must not look good. Especially for those stars who need to maintain their elegance and cool persona, if they are frightened and scream and collapse in a secret room, it will cause their "image collapse."
Fu Fei said excitedly: "I'm not afraid of the black pictures. Anyway, we at FTM are almost becoming big users of emoticons."
Tan Junwen smiled and said, "That's right, we need to provide more materials for fans to make emoticons."
Xu Baichuan said: "Don't worry about being an idol, just have fun. Passing the level is not a hard and fast target, and many guests failed to pass the level in the previous episodes."
This sentence made everyone feel a lot more relaxed.
After all, it's a variety show, not a real-life battle royale where "if you can't pass it, you'll die". It would be best if they could stay calm and cooperate with their teammates.
Mo Xun asked curiously, "Brother Xu, I think the variety show "Escape Room" is quite popular. With our popularity, how can we get such good resources?"
Xu Baichuan explained: "You guys are lucky. The guest for the September episode had already been agreed upon, but something went wrong and I got the chance."
The five people immediately perked up.
Fu Fei asked hurriedly: "Who were the original guests? With so many flying guests in each episode, it's impossible for them to have accidents at the same time, right?"
Xu Baichuan turned around and looked at the five people: "You're right, it happened at the same time. The original guest was the Sonic boy band, but they were going to a music festival and couldn't come, so the production team urgently filled the spot, so I used my connections to get this opportunity."
Five people: “…”
This is the first time that the five of them face the fierce competition in the entertainment industry.
Many opportunities are fleeting. Especially for endorsements and variety shows, if you don’t come, someone else will naturally be willing to come.
With FTM's current popularity, it is certain that they would not be able to get such a good variety show. This was originally the resource of the Sonic boy band, but the other party gave up temporarily due to schedule conflicts. Mr. Xu has extensive connections in the circle, and he grabbed the opportunity as soon as he got the news.
The five people didn't know what to say. If Sonic could come, the production team would definitely not consider them, right?
Xu Baichuan smiled slightly: "Don't be embarrassed. Since you have already accepted the variety show, try your best to seize every opportunity."
"You performed really well in the last variety show, and Taohe took the initiative to extend an olive branch to invite you to record a special. Do you know how happy I was the first time someone took the initiative to ask me to invite you to be a guest?"
The five people could understand the agent's feelings. It is a completely different experience for parents to fight for resources for their children and for their children to actively come to them for resources because of their excellent performance.
Good agents all have the initiative to "select resources".
Did Sonic really have a schedule conflict, or was it because he was so popular and had so many resources that he gave up on this escape room episode when something better became available? They don't know the inside story.
But the other party's giving up gave them a chance to show their face.
It’s also pretty good to pick up leaks.
Fu Fei smiled and scratched his head, saying, "If we work hard to become popular, will more resources come to us?"
Xu Baichuan said: "Of course. I look forward to the day when producers come to beg me to let FTM be on the show, instead of me begging them."
The five people looked at each other, and a little passion was silently ignited in their hearts.
They will definitely try their best to seize every opportunity.
***
Depart for the airport in the morning and arrive in Nancheng at noon.
This is Fang Yinnian’s first time in South City.
He looked out the window at the tall buildings and the hustle and bustle of traffic outside, and he could hardly conceal his excitement along the way.
The streets of this city are clean. The prosperous first-tier cities are no worse than Jiangzhou, and the entertainment industry here is very developed.
The headquarters of Nanxing Satellite TV is also located in this city, which is one of the top local satellite TV stations in the country in terms of ratings.
Music variety shows such as "The King of Singers", "The Voice of China" and "Music Time Machine" are national hit variety shows created by this satellite TV station.
Fang Yinnian has followed many music variety shows on Nanxing Satellite TV, and the one he wants to be on the most is also a music variety show, but they are not qualified to participate in music competition programs yet.
The "Chamber of Despair" to be recorded today is actually closely related to Nanxing Satellite TV - it is a "web variety show" jointly created by the director and producer team of Nanxing Satellite TV and Taohe Video Platform.
Online variety shows cannot be broadcast on TV stations, and they also need an "Internet Distribution License" from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, so the review process will be relatively relaxed.
Horror-style variety shows have a limited audience, and broadcasting them live on TV is likely to scare the elderly and children and lead to complaints. In order to retain some exciting scenes, the program crew chose to broadcast them online, which just caters to the audience of this type of variety show.
The broadcast platform is Taohe Video, with one episode produced every month, from 20:00 to 22:00 on Saturday night in the middle of each month.
After the five people arrived in Nancheng, Xu Baichuan arranged for them to check in to the hotel. Because the recording time was very late, everyone could rest in the hotel for an afternoon.
On the way to the hotel, Fang Yinnian saw many girls holding cheering items. He asked curiously, "There are so many fans. Is there any activity going on?"
Xu Baichuan said: "The hotel we stayed in was near Nanxing TV Station. There were many variety shows recorded on weekends, and fans could be seen on these two streets almost every day."
Fu Fei gossiped, "The new season of 'The Voice of Heaven' is about to start, right? There is also the 'Saturday Billboard' drama promotion variety show and the popular love variety show 'The Sound of Heartbeat', which are both being recorded in South City recently. There will be many big stars."
In a city with a thriving entertainment industry, celebrities come and go, and fans often gather offline to support them.
FTM currently has no offline fans. Even though the studio account had released the itinerary long ago, no fans came to pick them up at the airport. After all, they were just starting out, the fan club hadn't been formally established, and few people were willing to go offline.
They did not go out in the afternoon, but stayed in the hotel to read various secret room materials.
At 7 o'clock in the evening, everyone arrived at the recording site early.
The production team of the variety show "House of Despair" does not provide costumes, so guests have to bring their own. The five of them put on the sportswear that Xu Baichuan had ordered earlier.
The white background is decorated with amber stripes, which is simple and elegant, and the FTM team logo is printed on the back. The long-sleeved and long-pants sportswear makes movement easier and can also protect them from getting scratched to a certain extent while escaping.
The design is very simple and can be done in half an hour.
The five people followed their agent to the recording site.
Then, everyone was stunned——
The recording venue is a five-story building.
What a rich guy! They actually built a building specifically for recording variety shows?
Xu Baichuan introduced: "This building was invested and built by Nanxing TV Station. It is quite old. The inside is completely hollowed out and turned into a rough house. The rooms and mechanisms of the secret room are redesigned for each episode, which also costs a lot of money."
No wonder "Chamber of Despair" is so popular. It took a lot of time and energy just to make the chamber, and the program crew was also very attentive in creating and designing the scene.
The car drove into the underground garage and Xu Baichuan introduced them to the staff.
"This is Director Liu," Xu Baichuan introduced.
"Hello, Director Liu." Everyone bowed 90 degrees in an orderly manner.
"Haha, the kids are very polite." Director Liu said with a smile, "The variety show you guys did last time was really popular. I saw a lot of emoticons. You have a talent for comedy."
"They are a few newbies. It's their first time on a variety show and they have no experience." Xu Baichuan said politely, "They don't know how to act in today's variety show."
"It's okay, there will be process guidance." Director Liu said, "Our variety shows are usually about solving puzzles and passing levels. If you die within half an hour, you will be given a chance to use the resurrection card to save yourself, otherwise the time will not be enough, haha."
“……”All five of them were amused by the director.
Live variety shows do face this problem. If there is a death judgment, the guests may be too incompetent and die soon after the start. It is impossible for the show to be completed in 30 minutes.
In order to control the duration, the program team will have various countermeasures. For example, giving guests resurrection cards, some clues, a one-click help button, etc.
The program duration is usually around 3 hours.
If you cannot pass the level within 3 hours, you have failed.
"Don't worry, we have a master control backstage who will keep an eye on you and ensure the safety of the recording guests. Just follow the system's instructions." Director Liu became serious and said, "This episode is quite difficult. You should try your best to pass it."
"Get ready, recording will start at 8 o'clock sharp."
The five of them immediately got ready and went to the toilet together.
At 7:55, they arrived at the recording site.
The staff blindfolded them and took them into the room before taking off the blindfolds, but there was no light in the hall and it was pitch black.
None of the five dared to make a sound. They waited anxiously, and could clearly hear the ticking sound of the clock in their ears.
Until there was a "ding" sound, the hour hand seemed to point to the hour.
Then, suddenly, a light appeared in the hall.
Fang Yinnian found himself standing in a circular empty hall. In front of him was a huge LCD screen with a spherical icon appearing on the screen.
As if sensing everyone's gaze, the ball suddenly started to spin.
A processed cold mechanical voice sounded in my ears: "Welcome to the eighth episode of the Chamber of Despair. I am the Chamber Supervisor System."
"Challenger information loading."
"Mo Xun."
After the system called out his name, a ball of blue light projected down on Mo Xun, just like a character in a game logging in.
Mo Xun was stunned and thought: How advanced.
There was already an obvious look of excitement in Fu Fei's eyes.
Looks like so much fun!
System: “Fang Yinnian.”
Every time a name was called out, the light from the roof would be projected down and gently envelope them, and it really felt like playing a science fiction game.
No wonder this escape room variety show is so popular.
Fang Yinnian listened quietly as the system "read" the names of the five team members.
At this time, the challenger's business card in the live broadcast room will pop up in real time.
For example, when the system reads "Challenger Fang Yinnian", a transparent information box will appear on the screen - Fang Yinnian, member of the FTM boy group, 18 years old, 181cm tall, specializing in piano, etc.
These information are provided by the agents and are consistent with their encyclopedia information, so they can also be considered a way of publicity.
Many viewers saw the information frame and started to post comments.
[Today’s guest stars are a group of young handsome guys! 】
[It seems to be an idol group?] FTM group, never heard of it]
[He looks quite handsome!] 】
[I bet they won’t survive for 10 minutes]
[Let’s see who dies first, hahahaha, I guess the one with blond hair]
[The golden head is too obvious in the dark]
Fu Fei, with his short golden hair, looked excited at this moment - this was much fresher and more exciting than the mobile game he played.
The system begins to read out the game background.
"In a beautiful castle, there lives a talented music producer named Allen. He has been obsessed with creation all his life, leaving behind countless touching songs and melodies, and has also created hit music albums for countless singers."
"However, at his 30th birthday party, guests came to the castle to celebrate his birthday, but they only saw a body lying in a pool of blood."
"It was raining heavily outside and traffic was blocked."
"The castle gates were closed, and no one could escape. The guests who entered the castle died one after another, as if cursed by some unknown force."
When the system read to this point, there was a sudden rustling sound in the ears, and a woman's scream so sharp that it could pierce the eardrum.
The five people's faces changed at the same time.
No way? Are they so unlucky that they encounter a horror plot chamber? It is also a music-themed secret room.
No wonder the program team chose boy bands as guests.
In the music-themed escape room, many puzzles will be difficult to solve if you have no vocal foundation.
"Next, you will step into this cursed castle."
"I hope you can get out of this alive."
After the system finished saying this, the shabby door in front of it suddenly opened with a creaky sound. In the darkness, the sound was like sharp nails scratching across a blackboard, making people's scalps numb.
The five of them looked at each other in bewilderment.
The dark passage at the door was like a monster with its mouth open, ready to devour all living things. Fang Yinnian could hear the sound of his own heart beating violently.
Good, so exciting!
Are variety shows so big nowadays?
System: "Escape from the cursed music castle. Countdown 3 hours. The game officially begins."
A countdown clock appeared on the big screen.
Mo Xun hurriedly said, "Everyone go in together, follow your teammates closely and don't get separated."
The castle gate opened, and it was pitch black inside and nothing could be seen. Mo Xun took the initiative to hold Fang Yinnian's wrist. Tan Junwen was afraid of getting lost, so he gently grabbed the corner of Fang Yinnian's clothes, and the five of them lined up in a vertical line and groped their way forward along the wall.
When they walked into the castle, the door behind them slammed shut again. Fu Fei's scalp tingled and he whispered, "Is there any lighting equipment? We can't just keep walking in the dark."
Mo Xun said calmly: "Look along the wall to see if there is a switch."
The teammates groped in the dark looking for the switch. Fang Yinnian squatted down and touched the floor. The floor felt like marble. He groped forward and touched a long thing that looked like... a stick.
Just then, Mo Xun finally touched the switch on the wall and turned on the light with a click. The dazzling light from the crystal lamp was projected onto the marble floor, and the team members could finally see the scene in front of them clearly.
Fang Yinnian was lying on the ground, and less than half a meter away from him was a... human skeleton.
His hand was currently holding the skeleton's leg bone, and there was a lot of dried blood near the skeleton.
Fu Fei screamed in fear: "Ahhhh——"
The skeleton appeared so suddenly that Xiao Fei was so scared that he made a "cracked" emoticon. This caused the screen to be flooded with comments like “Hahahahaha”.
Fang Yinnian blinked, retracted his hand calmly, and said, "I thought it was a prop like a stick."
Everyone: “…”
Mo Xun walked over quickly, and seeing Fang Yinnian's calm face, he couldn't help but smile and said, "Aren't you afraid?"
Fang Yinnian said: "Why are there any skeletons to be afraid of? They are all dead and will not stand up and attack us."
There were a lot of question marks in the barrage area.
【? ? ? 】
[I was scared when I watched the live broadcast. He was face to face with the skeleton and blinked his eyes. He was so calm]
[This newcomer is so brave!] 】
[Will Yinnian be responsible for decrypting FTM? 】
[Xiao Fei is the atmosphere creator, hahahaha, without him, the brothers don’t feel scared]
[His scream is the most terrifying~]
Tan Junwen scratched his hair, looked at Fu Fei and said, "You are disturbing my ears."
Fu Fei took a deep breath, hid behind him and said, "You, you guys can help me win by doing nothing, okay? I'm most afraid of ghosts, corpses and the like!"
Tang Che looked around and said, "This is the living room of the castle. The skeletons should be the people who died at the concert that year, right?"
Fang Yinnian nodded: "Well, according to the plot background, no one who came to the castle survived."
Tang Che said: "An adult male with a height of 176cm, look for the fatal injury."
Fu Fei poked his head out and asked curiously, "How can you tell the height and gender just by looking at a skeleton?"
Tang Che said calmly: "Those with narrow pelvis are males, and those with wide and round pelvis are females. The floor here is a standard 80×80 square. When he lies flat, his length takes up 2.2 floors. He is 176cm tall, which is easy to judge."
Tan Junwen gave a thumbs up: "The floor has become your measuring tool."
Fang Yinnian squatted down and carefully observed the skull, pointing to the back: "There are scratches on the ribs left by a sharp object. The left side is where the heart is."
Tang Che concluded: "Someone stabbed him in the heart from behind?"
The two looked at each other: "Murder case?"
Seeing the two begin to analyze the cause of death, Tan Junwen also came over with a smile and said, "Have we become the FTM investigation team?"
Fu Fei was just frightened by the terrifying atmosphere and his face showed an expression. As a result, Fang Yinnian and Tang Che quickly entered the "analysis and reasoning mode". His mood calmed down a little. He took a deep breath and continued to observe the situation curiously.
Mo Xun asked, "Is it a serial murder case?"
Fang Yinnian turned around and looked at him and said, "Well, the musician Allen held a birthday party, and he must have invited his friends. They should all be very familiar with each other. I suspect the murderer is among the guests attending the concert."
Tang Che agreed: "Plot Chamber, if we want to leave this 'cursed castle', we must solve the truth of the murder case. First we need to find all the guests' information, so that we can analyze who is the most suspicious?"
Mo Xun nodded and said, "Let's search this room first. Everyone should search separately until all the bodies of the deceased are found."
The audience was surprised to see this.
[The idols have very clear ideas! 】
[My impression of the boy band has changed a little bit. I think Fang Yinnian and Tang Che are quite smart.]
[Xiao Fei continues to be a big emoticon user, haha, I was so scared just now]
[Come on, Xiao Hu Tuan, I will watch variety shows with you despite my fear]
This castle is really spooky.
At this moment, a strange piano music suddenly rang in everyone's ears. In the dark and silent castle, the inexplicable piano sound scared everyone.
Fang Yinnian pointed to the ceiling and said, "It seems to be coming from upstairs."
Fu Fei's face turned pale: "Is there anyone here?"
Tan Junwen also got goosebumps: "Could it be... the murderer is playing the piano? This is a bit scary brothers."
Mo Xun said simply, "You guys continue to stay in the living room and look for clues. Yinnian and I will go upstairs to check."
The time to clear the level is limited, so it is fastest to act separately.
Mo Xun and Fang Yinnian looked at each other, quickly walked to the corner of the living room, and went up the stairs to the second floor.
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