I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

"It's you?"

Lu Ban noticed the eyeball and it immediately shrank back, leaving only a wisp of hair sticking out, like a swaying sea anemone.

"You're not the coward."

He muttered to himself, then stood up and went to the wardrobe.

Open the closet door, and among the autumn clothes, a shadowy figure huddled up, like a shivering cat.

"It doesn't seem like you, staying at home all the time."

Lu Ban turned his head and leaned down to look under the bed.

Under the spotless bed, a comical doll was slowly crawling. Seemingly noticing Lu Ban, it turned its head and revealed a sinister smile.

"You're too slow, that's not right."

Lu Ban walked out of the bedroom and into the bathroom. The light was off, but the outside light shone through the frosted glass of the window, making the room dimly lit.

He looked in the mirror.

There was nothing in the mirror.

"Ok?"

Lu Ban looked closer and realized that Lu Ban's reflection in the mirror was in a corner, seemingly frightened by something.

"It seems it's not you either."

He returned to his bedroom and spoke to the air friend beside him.

"Could it be you?"

No response.

"You mean if it were you, I wouldn't even wake up? Okay."

Lu Ban checked around and found that none of his roommates seemed to be the one who had disturbed his sleep earlier.

Is he a newcomer?

Lu Ban looked at the table, where the crimson crystals dimmed in the dim light.

He thought for a moment, then adjusted the playlist, changing it to a background music album made by Hammer Technology, which mostly contained eerie melodies and background music.

The soft murmur of the woman echoed in the bedroom, accompanied by the melody of Japanese musical instruments. Just listening to it made one feel that a large black and white photo of her head should be displayed, along with two candles and an incense burner, so that the incense burner would emit purple smoke in the sunlight.

It is absolutely pure and righteous funeral music.

Listening to the music, Lu Ban lay down contentedly and slept soundly until dawn, leaving no fatigue or stress for the next day.

In the morning, Lu Ban ate breakfast and studied as usual. Around noon, he opened a webpage to check the trending topics.

This time, he saw himself directly on the leaderboard, ranked fourth among several old video website self-produced movies and TV series.

He was satisfied with the result, considering it was only the first day and the duration wasn't long enough.

Before opening the background apps, Lu Ban saw a push notification on his phone from "Did you understand?"

How would you rate the new video "Hyakunin Isshu" by the former video blogger "One Who Doesn't Move"?

He clicked on it.

Chapter 129 Thank you for the invitation

"Do you understand?" They always like to ask questions like this.

Lu Ban was quite interested.

He saw that the question was posted last night, and he didn't know whether it was posted by a fan or a hater, but it was quite popular, otherwise it wouldn't have been pushed to the screen.

Lu Ban first looked at the answer with the most likes.

This is a professional film critic, the kind who writes 10,000-word reviews for every movie, good or bad, and whose comments on movie rating websites can easily garner hundreds of likes.

"This film is quite experimental, including its use of special effects and its creation of atmosphere."

"...From a special effects perspective, the special effects in this film can be described as extremely outstanding. I don't know whether it was Legendary Studios or Fireworks Studios that they hired, but I can say for sure that these special effects are the best that audiences can see right now. I even feel a little regretful that this is a web movie rather than a theatrical film, because the settings of streaming media are limited to 1080p, and the lack of high-resolution sources has compromised the special effects of this movie. But even so, the level is still extremely high!"

"...Like the special effects in the first few minutes, which perfectly blend natural scenery with computer-generated effects and are imaginative, this kind of visual is what gives people a sense of suffocation and evokes the deepest fear in people's hearts. I believe that when you saw this scene, you felt chest tightness, shortness of breath, and difficulty breathing. This is normal. It is to evoke people's instincts through realistic visuals, just like how watching those clips of people walking at high altitudes makes people's legs go weak..."

"...Furthermore, by creating an atmosphere and using various hints and foreshadowing, the reader is encouraged to imagine and anticipate the upcoming plot, thus increasing the sense of eeriness. For example, in the scene at the mountain shrine, many people are shocked to see the standing priests and seated shrine maidens. This is because it has been foreshadowed earlier, telling everyone that the people of the shrine are the main force against pollution, and now, these people who can protect everyone are dying here without any resistance, which creates a sense of shock..."

The other party wrote several thousand words in their reply alone, showing great care.

Lu Ban carefully read all of his answers and felt that what this person said was very true.

"I never imagined I had such a deep intention. I'm so grateful to this classmate, otherwise I wouldn't have realized it."

Lu Ban gave him a thumbs up.

Scroll down, and you'll find another answer from an actor who has studied Brecht's performance style.

"Thank you for the invitation. I'm in the capital and just got off the plane. Everyone has already talked about other aspects of this movie, so I'll just talk about the acting. First of all, the acting level in this movie can be divided into three levels, with the highest being the female lead, Hongye. In just one hour, she presented us with an independent, strong, gentle, and tragic female character. Every frown and smile was full of drama, and the performance was consistent throughout. It was quite excellent, especially considering that she was a newcomer."

"...And the worst, I must say, is the protagonist, Lu Ban. His acting doesn't resemble a rational explorer at all; he's more like a lively, entertaining character, which dilutes much of the eerie atmosphere. It's not that this kind of role is bad, but as the protagonist, it's hard for the audience to empathize with him. Personally, I don't like it..."

After reading his comments, Lu Ban felt that he had learned a lot.

"It seems there's still a lot I can improve on. I should buy a copy of 'An Actor Prepares' and study it carefully."

He told himself this.

Lu Ban studied film and television directing in college, but he didn't study acting. His understanding of acting skills was only superficial.

Some students might ask, if you don't even know how to act yourself, how will you teach other actors to act in the future?

This is indeed a problem. Many famous directors are themselves well-known actors and have a lot of experience in acting. But if Lu Ban also masters excellent acting skills, then with his good looks, other actors will have no chance at all, and the audience's threshold for appreciation will continue to rise.

Therefore, Lu Ban did not seriously study acting skills for the sake of the healthy development and future of the entire film and television industry.

His painstaking efforts are evident.

He then looked at the third highly-rated answer.

This is an answerer specializing in anime, and their personal profile is filled with text that normal people can't understand.

"...I really wanted to be Miss Momiji's dog, but Miss Momiji said she liked cats, and I cried. I know why I cried, since I'm neither a dog nor a cat, because I'm actually a mouse..."

"...My soul peered through the window into the room, where the hanging bells were ringing softly. Miss Hongye was lounging on the sofa, a perfectly docile orange cat perched on her shoulder, and the firelight from the fireplace illuminated her face. My frozen heart warmed slightly in the breeze..."

This is a long and passionate short essay, focusing entirely on cats and dogs, to express the author's humble love for the red leaves. It is sincere, touching, and deeply moving.

"What the hell is that?"

Lu Ban thought people these days were really strange, and he didn't really understand anime and manga either.

However, judging from the description, this person probably really likes autumn leaves.

Lu Ban touched the crimson crystal on the table, feeling happy for Hongye, and then sent a message to the person.

[Stand still]: I will convey your feelings to Hongye on your behalf.

The other person will surely be very happy!

After looking around, so far, "Hyakunin Isshu" has received mostly positive reviews.

Actually, it makes sense when you think about it. In terms of visuals, especially the visuals of the extraordinary storyline, "Hyakunin Isshu" is definitely the best. After all, it's all real scenes, and no special effects can surpass reality.

The movie itself is only available online for one hour, so viewers will naturally have lower expectations. The plot of the movie is not a big problem, so the special effects alone are worth the ticket price.

Just like many popcorn blockbusters in theaters, audiences don't need a sophisticated script or filming techniques. As long as the big scenes are impressive and exciting enough, they can watch without thinking and kill time without any problem.

For example, if Lu Ban's movie were a 100-minute film, a proper big-screen movie that you could watch in a theater for 60 yuan, then perhaps some people would come out and complain about the plot, the visuals, and the actors' performances.

But since it's free for members, why be so demanding?

No need.

More importantly, Lu Ban's films have a certain power to influence reality. Everyone who watches the films will feel as if they are experiencing the same things as the characters in the films, which is quite unsolvable.

What ocean scene can compare to a truly breathtaking moment? 4D movies just shake the chair and spray water on your face; how can that compare to the burning sensation of actually being in that fog? It's like having a tube inserted into the back of your head—a devastating blow to the keyboard and mouse.

Lu Ban glanced at the comments on the old video website and quickly noticed a reply from someone in the comments section.

Last night, some friends and I tried that weird little game, and it seems like we really encountered something unclean!!!

"Ok?"

Lu Ban clicked on the video link attached to his answer.

Chapter 130 contains a conjecture, which may not be correct.

This video has tens of thousands of views. The uploader is clearly a personal account with less than two hundred followers, just like Lu Ban before he became famous.

Oh, no, at least Lu Ban has cat videos.

The video shot by the phone was a bit shaky, but it quickly stabilized. It was taken in a room, with the phone placed on the table, capturing most of the room's view.

It looks like a bedroom.

"We're going to try this 'Hyakunin Isshu' now. Well, we don't know any waka poems, so we'll just recite some ancient poems. The candles are from the supermarket, so there shouldn't be any problems."

The person, who appeared to be the content creator, said a few words, then put down their phone, took a candle, and stood in the corner.

You can see three people here, and there should be another person standing next to the phone.

There were many comments, mostly meaningless remarks like checking in, signing in, or coming from "Hyakunin Isshu". However, there was one yellow character who was seriously saying something.

"This is a variation of a paranormal game. In the original game, an extra person appears later on. There is always someone reciting poetry, and there are candles in the four corners. No one knows who the extra person is. It's very eerie."

They spoke with such conviction, as if it were the truth.

"Isn't this what I said in my movie..."

Lu Ban read it carefully, only realizing its meaning belatedly.

However, he was quite grateful for the repost.

In the video, the game begins, and initially everything is normal, just like when Lu Ban played this game on Song Island. The two of them take turns reciting poems and then begin to move.

The room wasn't completely dark; because it was small, the candlelight was enough to see the person opposite.

When the third person moves and comes to the phone that is taking the picture, the game is considered to have completed one round.