I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

Lu Ban took out his phone.

"Let's go to the screening room."

He swung the hammer with great joy.

If we had a sample video, producing music would be a piece of cake.

He led Lu Ban to the studio's small screening room, copied the film onto the projector, and clicked play.

The film opens with a small boat bobbing on the waves, shot from above. Hammer thinks a drone must have been used to create this lonely and desolate atmosphere.

"The water is really blue, the environment is really nice."

Hammer gave a compliment.

Then, following Lu Ban's gaze, he saw the enormous monster in the sea.

The azure sea and the pitch-black monster loomed over the small boat like a black hole, creating a suffocating sense of dread.

This is a manifestation of thalassophobia.

Hammer initially thought it was just a movie, but as the shadows on the seabed gradually intensified, he still felt instinctively tense.

*Pfft*

The monster burst forth from the waves, creating enormous billows. It was an extremely dangerous scene, but for some reason, Hammer found a touch of beauty in it.

Like a giant blue whale rising to breathe, swimming in the sea, the magnificence of nature's creation is breathtaking.

"Is this special effects? Filming it like that in real life would be too dangerous..."

Hammer muttered something.

Then, the small boat was capsized, and Lu Ban sank underwater. Through his eyes, Hammer saw the clear seabed.

Countless enormous, writhing tentacles made up the monster's body, stretching out in all directions as if to pull people into an abyss. The camera zoomed out, revealing Lu Ban's small figure floating in the sea, creating a stark contrast with the colossal creature.

In that instant, the insignificance of humankind and the magnificence of nature were fully revealed.

Hammer took a light breath.

This kind of visual enjoyment requires no understanding. Just as humans prostrate themselves at the sight of thunder or tremble at the sight of a raging flood, simply watching this scene is enough to make one forget to breathe.

Just as Hammer felt the so realistic and somewhat oppressive scene making it hard for him to breathe, he realized that he really couldn't breathe anymore.

Just like being in water, a drowning person's lungs will be filled with water until all the air in each alveolus is squeezed out. He will feel as if his whole body is being gripped in pain, and no matter how much he struggles, he will find it difficult to escape the fate of death.

Drowning is one of the most painful ways to die.

Hammer felt a tightness in his chest and shortness of breath until a beam of light descended from the sky and landed on the huge monster.

hum-

Just as a swarm of bees was dispersed by flames, the enormous monster instantly split into countless tiny beings, which were then scorched by the flames, shining with a dazzling brilliance on the seabed.

Hammer gasped for breath, gazing at the pale fire stretching for miles on the seabed, and suddenly felt a sense of holiness, solemnity, and reverence.

As Lu Ban was pulled up in the movie, Hammer finally came to his senses. The first few minutes, although there was almost no dialogue, had an excellent overall visual quality and was full of tension. He had been completely absorbed in watching it.

"Lu Ban... Mr. Lu Ban, your movie is quite something."

Hammer savored the subtle suffocation he had felt earlier, the loneliness of being in the middle of the ocean, and the sense of redemption he felt upon seeing the pale flames. Few images could evoke such a rich experience in him now. As a highly inspired music producer, that experience alone had given Hammer several different melodies.

These melodies crawled into his mind like insects, as if they were meant to be that way.

"Hmm, so-so."

Lu Ban nodded in agreement, but he was somewhat puzzled by the performance of the music producer next to him.

Isn't there something off about this video?

Chapter 122 Immersive Experience

Lu Ban himself was sure he would have no problem watching the movie.

He's already reviewed so much material and spent a week working on the editing; if there were problems with the video footage, wouldn't he know?

But looking at the reaction of the music producer next to me now, it seems that people watching movies will have a corresponding physical reaction?

Is it because he is special, or because this movie is special?

Lu Ban wasn't quite sure.

The film basically follows Lu Ban's experiences, only vaguely explaining his reasons for coming here and indirectly providing some background information. After a transitional plot introducing the background and characters, the film leads to the part where he meets Hongye and goes to investigate the missing painter.

Lu Ban had already watched it countless times, so his focus was not on the screen, but on the reaction of the hammer beside him.

He found that when he saw the bloody, mangled painting, which resembled a scroll of hell, Hammer's breath caught in his throat.

The image only lingered on the large projection screen for a moment, but Hammer remained immersed in the frenzied and chaotic painting. It was as if a deep darkness appeared before his eyes, or a colorful rainbow appeared. For a moment, he was completely mesmerized.

"This painting is hard for me to describe, I can't put it into words, but I was deeply impressed. The art direction of this film is amazing. These pavilions, these courtyards, did you film them on location abroad?"

Hammer asked in a low voice.

"That's it."

Lu Ban felt that there might really be something wrong with the video.

The guy next to me who was playing the video also had his eyes glued to the screen, looking dazed, as if he had been completely captivated by something magical.

Could it be that I've developed immunity because I've seen it so often?

Lu Ban decided to consider the subsequent impact.

Hammer was still admiring the scenery of Song Island and praising Lu Ban's art style when the plot took a turn, and they arrived at the place where Lu Ban and Hongye went up the mountain.

Beneath the dark torii gate, Lu Ban adopted a first-person perspective, surrounded by vast darkness, with only a faint glimmer of light visible in the immediate vicinity.

Hammer could hear his own heartbeat, thump, thump. Suddenly, a heart-wrenching melody began to play. He could only understand a few words, but the emotions it conveyed truly penetrated Hammer's heart.

He felt cold in his limbs, as if the screening room had turned into a cold winter street. Goosebumps rose on his skin, and Hammer couldn't help but shiver.

In such an environment, and seeing that white fog, Hammer's heart raced, and he felt cold sweat breaking out on his brow.

He was naturally quite brave and could handle most horror movies, but this was the first time he had ever had such a physiological reaction to a film.

It's as if I've arrived at that long, endless torii road, all alone, with no beginning and no end in sight.

For some reason, Hammer recalled a time when he was walking alone at night.

It was a very dark night. He was walking alone on the road, unable to see the road ahead or behind. If it weren't for the occasional dim streetlights, he would have thought he had entered another world. In that absolute silence and darkness, fear was awakened and began to grow.

Everything paused in the film as it swept past the hem of the woman dressed as a shrine maiden.

Hammer felt a ringing in his ears, unable to think of anything, followed by a rapid heartbeat and the sudden relaxation of his body, which had been tense since the beginning.

In certain special circumstances, when a person's body is highly tense due to focus, and then releases the pressure and completely relaxes when encountering something terrifying, some muscles that shouldn't be relaxed may also relax, which is why people might wet themselves in fear.

Of course, Hammer didn't wet himself in fear. He just felt like his whole body was covered in hair, and every inch of his skin was contracting and relaxing. When he came to his senses, he was covered in sweat.

Was the scene really scary? Hammer thought about it for a moment and felt that it wasn't entirely scary. It just reminded him of walking alone at night when he was a child, which made him feel a little worried. The shadow of the witch was not as shocking as the sudden appearance of a ghost face.

But why am I so afraid?

Where have I seen that witch's face before?

Hammer tried to close his eyes to calm himself down, but found that even with his eyes closed, he could still see the witch's face.

"!"

He couldn't help but straighten his body.

Seeing Lu Ban and Hongye enter the shrine and see the shrine maidens and priests sitting in a row, Hammer couldn't help but admire the composition of the scene.

"I don't think this movie is plot-driven; it's more about storyboarding and art direction, truly showcasing skill."

Hammer had roughly heard that a director's style can be seen from their background. Directors with a background in screenwriting and production pay special attention to the plot and character relationships, while directors with a background in cinematography and art direction have a strong sense of the camera.

Of course, there are also some directors whose visuals are excellent, but whose plots are terrible. As far as Hammer thinks, Lu Ban's movies have been going so far, and the plots are just average, typical thriller and suspense films.

However, when it came to playing "Hyakunin Isshu", Hammer felt something was wrong.

He felt the entire screening room had become dark.

The flickering candlelight made Hammer squint.

He felt as if the voice reciting the poem no longer existed only on the screen, but was coming from all four corners.

The sound moved slowly from the left front to the left rear, and then from the left rear to the right rear.

Moved by the scene, Hammer couldn't help but slow his breathing. He saw Red Leaf walk towards the pale-faced shrine maiden holding a candle in the corner, and his heart jumped into his throat.

Hammer wanted to say something, but found that he couldn't open his mouth. His whole body was as if it was being pressed down by a heavy object, and he couldn't move. He couldn't even close his eyes. He could only watch helplessly as Hongye walked step by step in front of the hideous witch.

"What's wrong? Am I scared?"

Hammer was terrified; he hadn't expected a movie to cause such a situation.

He watched as the pale and terrifying witch drew closer and closer, until her face almost filled the entire screen.

hum-

A loud noise broke the stiffness in Hammer's body, allowing him to catch his breath. Looking at Lu Ban on the screen who had saved Hongye, he even felt a little grateful.

Seeing this, Hammer felt he needed to take a break.

"Let's take a break, I need to use the restroom."

He said in a slightly trembling voice that he asked his assistant to pause the video and then went to the company restroom.

After relieving some stress, Hammer pulled up his pants and turned on the tap to wash his hands.

Hammer splashed water on his face, then looked up at himself in the mirror.

She looked a bit haggard, with dark circles under her eyes, as if she had just gone through some kind of ordeal.

"This movie has such a strong atmosphere..."

He muttered something, turned off the tap, and took one last look at himself in the mirror.

He saw himself smiling at him in the mirror.

But he didn't laugh at all.

"..."