A real killer playing a villain; the guy surnamed Zhen in Detective, run!

The door to the NPC preparation lounge was pushed open.

A dozen or so people were crammed into the room, and the strong smell of latex and paint filled the air.

A row of makeup mirrors lined the wall, in front of which sat three female NPCs with half-decapitated makeup. The fake skin peeked out from their brow bones, revealing a fluorescent green silicone base underneath. In the corner stood two women dressed in blood-stained nurse uniforms, holding prop syringes with needles thicker than chopsticks.

In the center of the room, a clip from the film "Black Gold" was playing on a projector.

The NPCs gathered around the projector, their expressions excited.

The largest man stood with his back to the door, holding a heavy silicone blood axe sixty centimeters long, its blade covered in still-wet artificial blood. He wore a full chainsaw butcher's leather apron, his mask pulled up over his forehead, revealing a fierce-looking face.

Old Ghost. A top-rated NPC for all five seasons of Escape Room, widely recognized in the industry as the "King of Scares".

He stared at the frozen image on the wall, a slight smirk playing on his lips, and turned to face Yan Ji.

"Director Yan, you can rest assured. In the first room, in the ten-meter aisle, I'll personally be squatting in the wardrobe. I, Old Ghost, have got this big-screen monster's first scream covered!"

The surrounding NPCs joined in the commotion, creating an atmosphere like a locker room before a match.

Jiang Yan stood at the door, watching the group of people yelling and shouting in front of the projector, trying to force someone who could break through a serial killer's mental defenses with their bare hands to scream.

"stop."

"How close is the angle of that sudden, direct attack you're going to make?"

Old Ghost tilted his head to look at her: "Standard distance, within 30 centimeters, pop up close to the face."

"A confined corridor, zero light, 105 decibels of ambient noise, and someone 30 centimeters in his face." Jiang Yan enunciated each word carefully. "Do you know what his stress response would be under these conditions?"

Old Ghost scratched the back of his head and grinned: "Screaming? Covering your head? Crouching down? I've been in this business for five years, I've seen all kinds of reactions—"

"He won't scream."

"He won't cover his head, he won't crouch down, he won't run." Jiang Yan took a step forward, her gaze falling on the blood axe on the old ghost's shoulder.

"It's a counter-attack. A pure, zero-delay, muscle-memory-driven physical counter-attack. The closer you are, the greater the damage. In his stress response model, there's no question of whether the opponent is a tool. Stimulus input, counter-output, the cognitive processing in between is completely skipped."

She paused for a moment, "The instant you rushed out of the darkness with this axe, in his nervous system, you weren't an NPC. You were the threat source. And the way he dealt with the threat source—"

"Stop." Old Ghost lowered the blood axe from his shoulder, the handle tapping on the floor. His split-face makeup contorted into a new crease as his facial muscles tightened. "Captain Jiang, I respect you as a proper police officer. But what you're saying is an insult to me."

He took half a step forward.

"I've been an NPC for five years. I've been kicked, pushed, slapped, what haven't I seen? Guests have been so scared they hit people, I've been hit at least twenty times. A Taekwondo champion came to our escape room and was so scared he threw a flying kick, I dodged to the side and he still chased after me. I'm more professional at this job than anyone else."

The emotions of the thirteen NPCs behind him were ignited.

"Exactly! You've been watching too many movies, haven't you? That's all acting!"

"The foam props we used weighed less than 300 grams. How could we possibly hurt him, a grown man?"

"Five seasons of escape room adventures, zero safety incidents! Our record speaks for itself!"

Old Ghost slung the Blood Axe back onto his shoulder, chin raised: "President Yan, don't listen to this amateur's nonsense. Our team will take on tonight's job. Any problems that arise, it's on me."

Yan Ji glanced at Jiang Yan, then spread his hands, the meaning clear—see? Professional team.

Jiang Yan stood still, glancing around at the group of people with dismembered limbs painted on, wielding foam chainsaws, and burning with passion as they prepared to hunt down the big-screen villain.

They rushed into the tiger cage carrying their toys, and were even discussing how to pull the tiger's whiskers!

She swallowed the profanity that was on the tip of her tongue.

Jiang Yan turned and walked out of the preparation room, took out her walkie-talkie and switched to the security channel.

A hissing sound came from the channel.

"First Aid Team 1, First Aid Team 2."

"receive."

"Prepare two ambulances, with a full trauma first aid kit on board, and two sets each of orthopedic splints and endotracheal intubation kits. Confirm with me once the accompanying medical personnel are in position."

There was silence on the other end of the walkie-talkie.

The medical team leader's voice drifted out, tinged with barely concealed confusion: "Team Leader Jiang... this is a variety show recording, not a live-fire exercise, right? Under what circumstances would you need tracheal intubation—"

"implement."

The channel was cut off, and Jiang Yan stuffed the walkie-talkie back into her tactical vest.

Those two ambulances weren't prepared for Lu Yuan.

---

A white minivan was idling in the parking lot outside the main entrance of the venue.

Lu Yuan followed the other guests out. He carried his thermos in his left hand, and the plastic bag of spicy snacks had been crumpled up and stuffed into his windbreaker pocket.

He Rihuo walked at the very back of the group, maintaining a precise two-meter distance from Lu Yuan.

Shen Yiming turned around and called out, "Brother Lu, where would you like to sit? There are two empty seats inside."

"Either is fine." Lu Yuan bent down and climbed into the van, sitting down in the last row by the window, with his thermos cup between his legs.

The car door closed. The engine started.

He Rihuo sat in the middle row, his back ramrod straight, his hands neatly placed on his knees.

Through the gap in the headrest, he saw Lu Yuan in the back row taking out his phone, his thumb rapidly swiping across the screen.

The screen displays a limited-time discount page for a pet supplies app. An automatic cat-teasing laser pen, originally priced at 59 yuan, is available for 19.9 yuan after a coupon.

Lu Yuan hesitated for three seconds and did not place an order.

He took a screenshot of the page and sent it to Su Qinghan.

"Can this be reimbursed? It's considered Lao Liu's work equipment."

Su Qinghan replied with a single word immediately.

"roll."

Lu Yuan locked the screen, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes to catch up on sleep.

The van drove out of the parking lot and onto the main road. Outside the window, two white ambulances were slowly following behind.

Inside the broadcast van, eight screens simultaneously transmitted footage from inside the van.

In the back seat by the window, Lu Yuan's head was tilted against the back of the seat, his mouth was slightly open, and his breathing was steady. He was asleep!

Yan Ji stared at the face for five seconds, then licked his cheek with his tongue.

He picked up the car radio and switched the channel to the driver's line.

"Old Zhou, execute Plan A in thirty seconds."

"receive."

Yan Ji put down the walkie-talkie and interlocked his ten fingers on the edge of the control panel.

Appetizers are served.

Without warning, the Bluetooth speaker in the carriage suddenly emitted a piercing electronic alert.

"beep--"

Everyone's shoulders bounced at the same time.

Immediately afterwards, a cold, synthesized female voice filled the entire carriage:

"Distinguished guests, this recording session has now officially entered a fully closed mode. Please immediately hand over all personal communication devices and wear the designated eye shields located in the storage pocket to the left of your seat."