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

Old Fang, forcing himself to speak, continued: "It's a horror variety show where the guests dismantle traps and mechanisms along the way. A top-tier NPC faints from fright, morgue staff offer the guests ginger tea, and finally, the door to the final obstacle is kicked open."

"If we release the announcement truthfully, netizens won't call it an escape room incident; they'll say it's Professor Lu going to the grassroots to guide the rectification of government departments."

Xiao Zhao sat in front of the editing table, hovering the mouse over the timeline, but hesitated to click for a long time.

Yan Ji pulled the footage back.

At the water prison checkpoint, Lu Yuan looked down at the yellow dot on his sleeve.

In this frame, the scene is dark, and the shadow of the water tank overhead looms down, revealing something that can be used.

"stop!"

Xiao Zhao's hand trembled.

Yan Ji pushed his chair forward, bringing his face close to the screen. "This part works."

Old Fang was taken aback: "He's worried about the clothes."

"The audience doesn't know."

Yan Ji pointed to the screen, "They will only see Lu Yuan standing in the water dungeon, afraid to move, his face unresponsive, the oppressive atmosphere overwhelming."

Old Fang stopped drinking his coffee.

Yan Ji turned to look at Xiao Zhao, "Let's get started."

"In the scene where Lao Gui comes out of the closet, don't show him wetting his pants. Instead, show a close-up of him splitting his axe. Use a three-frame fast cut: the axe blade, the blood, and a close-up of Lu Yuan's eyes. Then follow with the moment he looks down."

Xiao Zhao hesitated: "Looking down at your cuffs?"

"Cut off the cuffs." Yan Ji slammed the script on the table. "The audience will only see him looking down."

Yan Ji spoke more and more fluently.

"Fill the gas chamber with dry ice, but don't release the carbon monoxide they mentioned in their conversation. Just release smoke and screams, and have Meng Ying crouch down. Then give Lu Yuan a shot of his back, accompanied by low-frequency string music."

"Keep the entire countdown in the water dungeon. Three minutes, two minutes, one minute. Include Da Yan's line, 'I'm picking out a filter for my funeral photo.'"

Old Fang whispered a reminder: "That's the funny part."

"tuning."

Yan Ji stared at the screen. "Change the tone, lower it, drag it out. Turn it into a broken, delirious rant."

Xiao Zhao's fingers flew across the keyboard.

After seven years of editing, this was the first time he felt like he was performing cosmetic surgery on the facts.

A few hours later, the one-and-a-half-minute trailer was released.

The film begins in the corridor of a mental hospital.

Flashing lights, a blood-red axe, and a sudden attack. Lu Yuan stood in the shadows, his face expressionless.

The second segment is the gas chamber. White mist engulfs ankles, a countdown broadcasts, guests cough, and the camera shakes.

The third section involves entering the water dungeon. Iron cages, chains, a sewage tank, and a red countdown timer.

Lu Yuan was trapped between iron bars by the upward-facing camera, with the shadow of flowing water falling on his head, and the background music was at its lowest point.

Finally, the screen went black.

A scarlet caption pops up: When an assassin encounters a real ghost, fear will have nowhere to hide.

After watching the entire film, Xiao Zhao felt a tingling sensation in his back.

"Mr. Yan, won't Teacher Lu sue us for this?"

Yan Ji looked up. "Accused of what? Did we spread rumors?"

Xiao Zhao opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Yan Ji tapped the table. "What we're showcasing is the high-pressure atmosphere of the program, the editing perspective. Understand? Perspective!"

Xiao Zhao asked in a low voice, "Promotional slogans?"

Yan Ji took the pen and wrote a line on the whiteboard.

[The cold-blooded villain Shen Yibai falls from grace! The darkest moment of the screen's killing machine, a moment of terror and loss of control!]

Old Fang stared at the words for a long time without saying a word.

He's seen the cutthroat world of variety shows.

This is the first time the Demon King has been portrayed as a victim.

-

At noon, the official Weibo account of Escape Room released the final trailer for the special episode.

At the same time, short video platforms, portal homepages, entertainment trending lists, and splash screens all pushed the message.

The trailer opens with a bloody axe flying in your face.

A zombie-themed NPC popped out of the darkness, dry ice rolled across the ground, and a red countdown timer in the water prison pushed forward, suppressing the sound of a heartbeat.

When that last subtitle appeared, the comment section immediately went besieged.

[Was Lu Yuan really scared?]

[Has Shen Yibai finally met his match?]

[Hahaha, the screen killer meets an NPC in an escape room game; turns out he's just a paper tiger.]

Come and watch the Demon King wet his pants at 8 PM tonight!

[Don't make unfounded accusations; that's called physiological catatonia, where the brain is so frightened that it stops processing information.]

[Has the Black Gold Powder broken through your defenses? Your Cold Noodles Butcher has been healed by the Ghost Nurse.]

Several marketing accounts reacted the fastest.

"Lu Yuan's first attempt at Escape Room backfired."

"Zero-degree performance or zero guts?"

"From assassin to coward, all that's missing is an NPC suddenly appearing in front of you."

The video was cut into a nine-grid layout.

Lu Yuan remained motionless in the corridor!

Lu Yuan lowered his head!

Lu Yuan stood inside the iron cage, shrouded in shadow!

Three of the top ten trending topics were on the list.

#Lu Yuan was so scared during the escape room incident that he lost control#

#Shen Yibai falls from grace#

#Watch the God of War Break Down at 8 PM Tonight#

Haters celebrate the Lunar New Year, bystanders watch the drama unfold, and fans simultaneously curse the show's editing team and honestly book their tickets.

The backend data jumps up.

Five million! Seven million! Nine million! Over ten million!

Yan Ji stared at the backstage curve and finally burst out laughing.

-

The group chat for the guests still has the same name as the one created on the day of recording.

[Escape Room Special Episode: Family Reunion]

Big Smoke first asked a question mark.

Meng Ying posted a screenshot of the trailer, showing Lu Yuan standing in an iron cage.

[Meng Ying: Don't they feel any remorse for cutting Lu Ge's hair like this?]

He Rihuo replied.

[He Rihuo: The production team has no conscience, only KPIs.]

Shen Yiming remained silent for a long time.

He watched the trailer three times, and his temples throbbed violently.

He witnessed firsthand how Lu Yuan carried the camera, dismantled the gas chamber, and navigated the maze with his eyes closed.

The whole internet is saying Lu Yuan was scared to death.

This isn't just outrageous, it's like cutting the sun into lumps of coal!

He opened Weibo to clarify the truth, and posted a message using his main account:

[Shen Yiming: Brother Lu's performance in the escape room was truly "amazing," beyond human comprehension. I suggest everyone tune in at 8 PM tonight; it's guaranteed to shatter your understanding of reality.]

After sending it, he felt he had made himself clear enough.

Ten minutes later, the marketing accounts started creating derivative works.

[Teammate confirms! Shen Yiming says Lu Yuan's behavior in the locked room was "inhuman," suggesting he may have been frightened and reacted abnormally.]

[Shocking! Top celebrity confirms Lu Yuan's shocking downfall.]

Shen Yiming nearly bent his phone as he looked at the repost.

Da Yan sent a voice message in the group: "Brother Ming, your reminder is like handing them a knife."

He Rihuo replied: "This humble monk suggests you don't read the comments tonight; it will drain your energy."

-

In Su Qinghan's studio, a tablet sits on the conference table, where a trailer has just finished playing.

The PR director swore, "This is malicious misdirection."

The legal department has already opened the contract.

Su Qinghan sat in the main seat, her fingers hovering over the edge of the tablet.

She didn't speak. The camera work couldn't lie to her.

Lu Yuan lowered his head not out of fear.

Just as I was about to speak, my phone vibrated.

Yan Ji sent a screenshot of the backend: Number of reservations: 1008 million.

This was followed by a voice message.

"Director Su, I swear on my life, the final cut won't be drastically altered. The trailer only focuses on emotions; when it airs tonight, Teacher Lu will be even more explosive than he is now. You're the director, you understand contrast."

After listening, Su Qinghan turned off the voice message.

The legal representative asked, "Director Su, should we send a letter?"

Su Qinghan looked at the mocking topics on the trending searches, and after a few seconds, she put her phone down.

"No rush."