Chapter 516: Chapter 446: A Real Genius_2
Zhao pulled Yang Xiao over to the sofa to sit down, curious, he asked, "Little Yang, how did you do it?"
"It’s just playing the script. My scripts are of high quality, which gave them an immersive feeling," Yang Xiao boasted shamelessly.
"Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I can testify to that. Teacher Yang has a real talent for playing NPCs. Boss, you didn’t see it, but those people were all crying. They passed out with excitement first and then woke up and continued to cry," Xiao Mei declared emphatically, saying that she had never seen players so invested during all the time she had been there.
With the trouble already resolved, Yang Xiao, based on his personal experience, made some innovative suggestions for improving the Fengmen Ghost Play script, including increasing the number of plastic mannequins. They could consider fitting simple mechanisms on the mannequins to adjust their poses during the interval when lights go on and off to ramp up the scare factor. They could also consider having staff blend in with the mannequins and provide players with surprises at critical moments in the story.
Yang Xiao also modified some of the script’s stiff transitions. He drew inspiration from the torments the ghosts in Feng Family Mansion subjected Yellow Hair and the others to and added some subplot narratives, proposing reward and penalty measures to further enrich the playability of the Fengmen Ghost Play script.
"This proposal is good," Zhao immediately recognized the foresight in these suggestions, based on his years of experience. "In this way, the content of the script is greatly enriched. Depending on the choices players make in the game, different outcomes will ensue, even influencing the life and death of other players."
"Hardcore players aiming to unlock all achievements would play through multiple times. We could turn this script into a brand effect; maybe there’ll even be sequels in the future, instead of it being just a disposable item," Zhao said, becoming more excited. He pulled Yang Xiao to the script room and had him mark all the parts he thought needed improvement while Xiao Mei stood by, listening attentively and taking notes.
After all this, by the time Yang Xiao got back to his apartment, it had already turned dark. The scenes he had experienced at the Script Club flashed through his mind like a slideshow. He was very curious about what exactly had happened under that dark red vortex.
The more he thought about it, the less sense it made, so Yang Xiao decided he couldn’t wait any longer. He had to start collecting information actively. The Mirror Ghost and the Nine-Story Demon Tower were both major concerns for him.
There was still no news from the secret competition at Ru Lin Academy, so Yang Xiao’s hopes were now pinned on Peace Hotel. He tentatively sent a message to the hotel, hoping for a swift transaction.
The hotel responded quickly. The transaction was scheduled for midnight at 12 o’clock the next day, in Fierce Character Room No. 9.
Perhaps due to extreme fatigue, Yang Xiao didn’t sleep well that night. He dreamed of many strange images, and when he woke up, it was already noon the next day. The first message on his phone was from Zhao, asking him to come to the club after seeing it.
"Yellow Hair and his gang dare to cause trouble again?" Having slept poorly, Yang Xiao left without eating, his mood sour as he hurried over.
But upon arriving at the Script Club, he was completely stunned by the sight before him. A long line was snaking outside the door, with several security guards working hard to maintain order.
Behind the glass door of the Script Club, it was even more crowded with people, and he could see a few uniformed staff patiently explaining to everyone.
Yang Xiao didn’t see Yellow Hair and his gang, and this didn’t look like someone was making trouble at all. This... this clearly meant the script was a hit!
"Hey, dude, don’t cut in line, we’ve been here for an hour!" someone behind Yang Xiao said in a displeased tone.
Turning around, Yang Xiao saw a man in his early twenties with long hair, ear piercings, and a trendy duckbill cap on his head.
"Bro, why are so many people queuing up here?" Yang Xiao pretended to ask out of curiosity.
"To play the script. What, you don’t know?" The young man chewed his gum, his face full of confusion, as if wondering why Yang Xiao was there if he had no clue.
"I just happened to pass by and saw so many people queuing up. Are people these days really so bored? A script game is getting this hot."
Seeing Yang Xiao knew nothing, the young man in a duckbill cap said mysteriously, "If you don’t know, don’t talk nonsense. This script is different from the others. No, this script is exclusive to this place, the Fengmen Ghost Play!"
After a pause, the duckbill cap lowered his voice and showed a nervous yet thrilled expression, "Let me tell you, this script has evilness to it, it truly has ghosts."
"Ghosts?"
"Yes, don’t you go online? This has been spreading all over. Yesterday, a few people came to play, and as soon as the lights went out, they bumped into a ghost and were taken to an abandoned ancient mansion, which is the rumoured Eighteen Levels of Hell," the duckbill cap grew more sinister as he spoke, with a very serious expression.
Yang Xiao’s face turned awkward, "Come on, it can’t be that sinister."
"Hey, if you don’t believe it, forget it. Anyway, we want to give it a try. We’ve already made a bet with the girls from our company. We have to take a look. If we really see a ghost, that would be thrilling." The duckbill cap no longer paid attention to Yang Xiao and just queued up on his own.
However, the duckbill cap’s companion also spoke up, a slightly overweight, not very tall man, with very pale skin, who giggled with a sleazy smile, "What I heard is different from his. Those people did run into a ghost, but it was a female ghost, really pretty, a mature woman you know, who took them around a big mansion for fun. They played games, the kind with punishments. They were lying on the floor, and the female ghost rode on their backs and whipped them, heh heh heh..."
"It wasn’t a mature woman, but a blonde loli with animal ears, the kind that goes ’meow meow meow’ when you hit her. It’s definitely a female clerk from their Script Club in disguise. It’s all a gimmick," another companion with glasses licked his lips, "But I like it."
"What a mess this all is..."
Yang Xiao automatically ignored these people, but by now he had figured it out. It seemed that those who were queuing were all attracted by the so-called supernatural event, which must have been spread by Yellow Hair and the others who were scared away yesterday.
"Little Yang, what are you doing here?"
Following the voice, Yang Xiao saw Zhao pushing through the crowd and coming over. It took quite an effort for him to drag Yang Xiao into the shop. Excitedly, Zhao told Yang Xiao that the Fengmen Ghost Play script had suddenly become popular, and he was also called over by the clerk.
But when Yang Xiao and he discussed the reason, Zhao waved it off, laughing, "How it got popular isn’t important, the important thing is that it’s hot now. And I’ve studied this script carefully—it’s high quality, it won’t let everyone down."
Yang Xiao had confidence in his own script, but a script game takes a long time to prepare. Looking at the long line outside the door, even queuing up all day wouldn’t guarantee a turn. Zhao had a plan for this too; he patted Yang Xiao on the shoulder to reassure him: "Don’t be silly, do you think these people are all here for some ghost? Many of them aren’t that brave, they just come to check in, randomly pick a not-so-scary script to play, then take a group photo and post it on their circles of friends."
Soon enough, Zhao’s words were proven true as they saw several very kawaii girls gathered around a life-sized cutout of a red-dressed female ghost, posing for photos, frequently adjusting their positions, taking turns being in the center. A female clerk was squatting down to take pictures for them.
Yang Xiao could even imagine how absurd the girls’ social media posts would be, including but not limited to "Lucky to meet the Red Dress Sister, she’s so cool," or "It was nothing special, played with a poker face till the end, even fell asleep in the middle, got woken up by a ghost."
While instructing the clerks to hurry up with distributing souvenirs to the customers, Zhao pulled Yang Xiao into the boss’s office and closed the door. The excitement on Zhao’s face was unmistakable, "Little Yang, I really underestimated you. You’re so smart; not only did you scare off those hoodlums yesterday, but you also stirred up this event. This is a huge traffic wave; we must seize it!"
"Zhao, listen to me, I really..."
Zhao hurriedly waved his hand, showing a knowing smile like a sly fox, "I get it, I get everything, ah, making money, right? But this ghost stunt in a horror script was a great marketing success!"
"Little Yang, you are a genius!" Zhao raised his thumb in approval.
