I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

At the same time, more and more people are paying attention to Lu Ban and the Silence Project he mentioned.

Although no specific data was shown, Lu Ban later uploaded "The Nameless City" to major video websites under the account of the Silent Project. The total number of views across the internet exceeded 10 million in one day, and a week later, with the arrival of New Year's Day, the number of followers of Lu Ban's Silent Project had reached seven million.

Breaking the 10 million mark within three months is almost a certainty.

On the well-known RPG website [Dongleme], discussions about "Nameless City" and the Silent Project are in full swing.

"...The horror of 'The City Without a Name' mainly lies in its questioning of human self-identity. The mercenaries and hunters in the film believe they are human, but in reality they are insects. This sense of incongruity is the source of the terrifying experience, because when cognition is questioned, everything is an illusion, even the self is denied, which is a deeper level of fear..."

"...I don't think this Silence Project is a good idea. Let me put it this way, I find these movies scary, not because they're actually scary, but because I don't know what's going to happen while watching them, so I'm always worried. But now he's going to integrate all these films into one world, then I'll definitely know that the main characters won't get into trouble, which reduces the sense of fear and turns them into mass-produced movies..."

"...Actually, these films reveal that Lu Ban's greatest strength lies in his control over the visuals and the uniqueness of his plot arrangements. His performances and the pairings with other actors are quite casual. The advantage of this is that the filming cycle is quite short. From 'Hyakunin Isshu' to 'Crying,' and now the latest 'Nameless City,' the three films have only taken about half a year. But if he wanted to film continuously, the personnel scheduling and project management would be beyond what a small workshop model could handle. I wonder if he can manage it..."

"...I think the actors' acting has improved a lot, except for Lu Ban, especially the hunters this time. Their struggle and pain at the end, their blank expressions, and their numb and dazed appearance at the end, I think it can be rated as the best performance of the year. Without rich experience and talent, it is impossible to present such an effect. In comparison, the acting of many actors now can only be described as rubbish. They can't even do the most basic dialogue delivery. It is really a tragedy for the industry..."

There were countless discussions, some optimistic about Lu Ban and the Silent Project, and others pessimistic. However, due to Lu Ban's previous performances, most people did not make any definitive statements, lest they be proven wrong later, since the internet remembers everything.

Most people's conclusions ultimately point to one thing: how long will it take for Lu Ban to release a new work within this worldview? The quality of this work will directly affect people's confidence in Lu Ban.

Lu Ban himself was completely unaware of this.

On New Year's Day, people came and went on the streets. Many citizens of Jiangcheng chose to go to the city square in the old street of Jiangcheng to welcome the New Year.

Wearing a mask, Lu Ban walked among the crowd, appearing exceptionally lonely.

Instead of joining the crowd, he walked to the other side and arrived at the entrance of a movie theater.

This is one of the cinemas where "The Crying" premiered nationwide, and it's also the place Feng Yu had told Lu Ban to come to today.

Lu Ban didn't send a message to the other party beforehand. He was somewhat skeptical about what Feng Yu had mentioned, so Lu Ban decided to take his chances. If he could run into Feng Yu, he would follow her and see what would happen. If he didn't happen to run into her, then it would be fine.

As soon as Lu Ban entered the movie theater, whether it was lucky or unlucky, he saw Feng Yu standing at the ticket counter, looking up at the movie trailer playing on the electronic screen.

As the year drew to a close, the weather in Jiangcheng was already quite cold, as if it could snow lightly at any moment. She wore a hooded duffle coat, paired with cargo pants and sneakers, looking like any other young person you'd see anywhere.

Noticing Lu Ban's gaze, Feng Yu waved the movie ticket in his hand and smiled.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Chapter 205 Horror Cinema

What will happen today?

Lu Ban had checked astronomical data before coming. There were no special astronomical phenomena today. There was no Perseid meteor shower, no transit of Mercury, and the nearest comet would not approach Earth for another forty years.

It's just an ordinary end of the year.

"Let's check the tickets first."

Feng Yu did not answer, but walked towards the ticket gate with Lu Ban.

The two walked one in front of the other, just like ordinary friends.

After taking his seat, Lu Ban realized that it was a seat on the right rear, which wasn't great. He could only see roughly half of the screening room, but it was perfect for couples to do something sneakily.

As for the movie, it was naturally Lu Ban's "Crying". When the screening was about to start, Lu Ban found that the theater was almost full. He was quite surprised that someone would choose a horror movie for their first movie of the new year.

"You don't just want me to go to the movies with you one more time, do you?"

Lu Ban asked in a low voice.

"You don't want to?"

Feng Yu naturally retorted.

"That's not the issue..."

As Lu Ban carefully considered his words, he suddenly felt something was off.

Is the black screen time after the advertisement ends a bit too long?

He looked up at the screen, only to find that the entire theater had gone dark.

The audience had vanished, leaving only a desolate and dark space, the empty seats resembling coffins awaiting corpses.

"This is……"

The professional chosen ones dared to make judgments, and Lu Ban quickly understood that this was a kind of space similar to the alien realm.

It was like the Jiangcheng Grand Theater that night, and also like the Nanhua Private Renji Hospital that day.

"Shhh."

Feng Yu gestured for silence and pointed to one side.

Lu Ban noticed that there were two other people in the huge screening room.

At first glance, the two people looked like ordinary passersby, but upon closer inspection, Lu Ban noticed that their clothes were somewhat unusual.

One of them was wearing a cloak similar to Sia's, and was a tall man.

The other person was wearing a cheongsam and looked like a woman.

"...The Chosen One?"

Lu Ban quickly understood the situation.

Based on his past experience, the place he was in was also a strange realm in the Silent Land. So, since Lu Ban could go to other strange realms to explore, why couldn't people from other strange realms come to his world?

“The Silent Land can confuse perception; at first, I couldn’t recognize them as people from other realms.”

In Lu Ban's initial view, these two people were just ordinary people. It wasn't until some time later that he realized they weren't natives of this world. Perhaps he himself had encountered similar situations when he went to other alien realms. The Silent Land rewrote the locals' perceptions, making the appearance of the Chosen Ones seem less abrupt.

Looking at it this way, many rumors about paranormal events may not be false, but rather anomalies caused by the arrival of the chosen ones.

But why was Lu Ban able to see through the illusion this time?

Was it Feng Yu's help?

Lu Ban glanced at the woman beside him.

"I suggest you pretend you didn't find it."

Feng Yu said softly.

Lu Ban saw the two people stand up, talking and looking around. They spotted Lu Ban and Feng Yu and walked over.

……

"Are these two the ones who will guide us this time...?"

Remington immediately spotted a man and a woman sitting in the corner. He muttered to himself and then looked at the woman beside him.

The woman looked extremely frail, dressed in short clothes that accentuated her figure, and seemed to have no fighting ability whatsoever.

“My name is Remington, from the Black Tower. It seems you are my companion this time.”

He greeted them first.

"Yes, yes, my name is Zitang."

The woman had an endearing look in her eyes; if they hadn't met in this place, Remington might have preferred to spend more time with her and enjoy a pleasant evening together.

Now, we have the beauty, and we have the night, but it's not a pleasant experience.

Before Remington's eyes, flickering text projections appeared on the blank screen.

[Horror Cinema]

Movie theaters represent fantasy, aspirations, and all hope.

Countless loves and hates unfold here; joys and sorrows are but fleeting moments of realization; grand deaths and humble exits are all illusions on the stage.

You've come to this movie theater, searching for a way to survive. Do those film reels hold the secret to survival? Let's wait and see.

[Mission Difficulty: Polluted]

[Task Requirement: Witness the ending of a story]

[Mission Objective: Survive in the movie theater until dawn]

"Movies and real life are different; real life is much harder."

"Survival mission..."

Remington had already completed ten missions in the Otherworld, including two on the [Erosion] difficulty level, and he was well aware of the dangers of the Silent Lands.

The most dangerous of these are missions where the objective is to survive.

Even at the lowest difficulty level of "Mortal," if the Chosen Ones remain stationary, strange things will harass them and pose a threat to them.

Not to mention the high difficulty level.

"I excel at stealth combat and have certain methods to counter monsters lurking in the dark. What about you?"

Remington explained his strengths, saying that when there are companions, it is easier for each person to explain their own fighting style to cooperate and clear the game.

"I...I can see some dirty things."

Zi Tang said somewhat timidly.

"What else?"

Remington raised an eyebrow.

"……sorry."

Zi Tang didn't know what to say, so she could only close her eyes and apologize.

"Who gave you the audacity to choose the [Contamination] difficulty level?"

Remington had already categorized this woman as a burden.

In the Quiet Place, the more you know, the more susceptible you are to corruption and madness. If a person's only ability is to see more, then he is of no use other than to ruin his teammates; he is simply a real burden.

Well, if all else fails, we can use her as a trial and error.

In the Silent Land, if your companions are not strong enough, they can easily be used as cannon fodder. If you have no one to blame, you can only blame yourself.

In short, this place is similar to a theater, and it seems that their mission, in addition to surviving, is to explore the place and obtain something, perhaps a script or something, so they can't just sit and wait to die.

Remington thought to himself as he walked toward the man and woman.

Are you staff members here?

He asked the question.