After fifty minutes into the game, the first disagreement between Jian Jing and Cao Yu surfaced. The others were quick to notice the discord, and kept quiet.
Jian Jing, always the compromiser, said "We've just gotten a gun, we should try it out on the first monster we've encountered to get a sense of the situation." She added with a smile, "Although we've searched the office, there may still be new clues that need cross-referencing later, so it's best we tidy up now to avoid trouble down the line."
But Cao Yu disagreed. "Professor Jian, you haven't directly encountered that thing yet. It's very fast. We've only found one gun with five bullets - hardly enough."
"How about this - I'll try first, if it doesn't work, we can lure it back out?" Jian Jing gently persuaded, exuding composure and confidence.
Cao Yu's eyes flickered as he rapidly weighed the pros and cons. He was older, and had no issues letting her take the action lead, but strategizing was his specialty, his trademark: "Is this really necessary? Bit risky."
Coco looked between them and asked, "Professor Jian, are you confident?"
"I'll give it a shot," Jian Jing decided. "It's not that hard. Give me the flashlight and gun. You all hide behind the door, just have someone help me open it."
With things laid out like that, Cao Yu couldn't reasonably object further, only acquiesce.
Jian Jing held the gun in her right hand and the tactical flashlight in her left, bracing her right wrist under her right hand joint to stabilize both hands. The tail switch on the flashlight allowed easy one-handed operation with her thumb.
This was the classic Harris grip, suited for shooting in low light conditions.
"Open the door," she angled herself towards the crack.
Jiang Baiyan slowly turned the handle and eased the door open.
The pitch black room was void of movement or sound.
Jian Jing held her breath, forcefully hitting the flashlight switch. A beam of light instantly burst forth, and in less than a second, a bloodied, blurred figure hurtled towards her.
Facing such a fast monster head-on was truly terrifying.
In that moment, her heartbeat thundered while her breathing halted. One had to suppress not just the mind's terror, but the body's instincts as well.
Jian Jing didn't use the aim buff, only the composure buff, sinking her mind and keeping her physiology normal.
Then, she pulled the trigger.
Bang, bang, bang, three shots.
By the time the third shot rang out, the monster had already reached her.
Jiang Baiyan swiftly shut the door.
--
After airing:
The studio guests were unable to discern any bullet marks given the weak lighting and brief glimpse. But the audience had a god's eye view.
As soon as Jian Jing fired, the screen split to show the simulation NPC's sensory interface.
On the green monster outline appeared three red dots, two on the torso, one grazing past its head. Nothing could be clearer.
Comment 1: Badass! What tech is this??
Comment 2: Wow, this is real, not an AR game??
Comment 3: So extravagant!
Comment 4: All three shots hit??
Comment 5: Too bad she didn't headshot.
Comment 6: Those saying headshot definitely haven't done this for real. Hitting the head isn't that easy.
Comment 7: Right, three shots with two hits is already amazing since the target's alive and moving!
Comment 8: Stationary targets are hard enough, let alone moving ones, with that monster's speed...
Comment 9: And weak lighting makes it even harder.
Comment 10: ...Uh, the professional analyses are kinda freaking me out, is this the variety show I know?
Comment 11: Shivering in fear, totally lost.
Comment 12: So the sister's just awesome huh?
...
--
"Seems like I hit it," Jian Jing mused. She couldn't tell as clearly as the audience. Her practice at the shooting club was decent, but this sort of "live combat" was a first. She wasn't confident.
Jiang Baiyan hesitated, then cracked the door open a sliver to peek inside.
Just a step away, something let out an eerie wail.
Only then did he open the door fully.
Jian Jing clicked on the flashlight, illuminating a lump of writhing flesh on the ground. She crouched down after a moment to poke at it - the texture was rough, very realistic. She rummaged around in the gore and pulled out an iron tag.
Number: 011
On the back was a strange emblem.
She removed the tag and tossed it in her backpack.
Zheng Keyan opened up a cabinet and found a new backpack with a flashlight inside.
Han Bo and Coco searched the doctor's corpse, finding a large key in the lab coat pocket, presumably for the padlocked door.
They excitedly ran out to try it, and indeed got the door open, unlocking access to the other side of this floor's hallway.
With things going so smoothly, everyone's mood naturally improved. Despite messing up earlier, Han Bo didn't resent Jian Jing, and instead asked, "Professor Jian, your aim is very accurate, have you specially trained for it?"
Cao Yu jovially added, "Yes, we couldn't tell at all beforehand."
Jian Jing seemed oblivious, answering, "I researched it a bit for writing, but I'm no expert. The gun I practice with is different too, this one's too big and heavy for me... I just got lucky this time."
While she demurred, the others certainly wouldn't let it go at just her words.
Going on variety shows was of course for money, but not only money - more so for popularity.
And different shows had different highlight reels - cooking shows demonstrated interpersonal skills and culinary arts, travel shows companionship and talents, dating shows eloquence and values.
Horror-themed shows like this had two main draws: wisdom and courage.
Cao Yu's specialty was wisdom, Zheng Keyan beauty and perseverance - aka despite my fear, I'm willing to sacrifice for the team - Han Bo brave initiative, Coco looking to leverage boldness and beauty.
But Jian Jing?
Smart, capable, and pretty - wasn't that going overboard?
Hard to shine beside someone like her. What was even the point?
The guests were all aware of the problem, hence splitting off in unspoken agreement.
"This place is too big, let's split up."
"Yeah, no need to waste time."
"We have three flashlights, so three groups works."
Team selection went far quicker than imagined.
Cao Yu and Coco were already familiar, with a sizable age gap, naturally forming a wisdom + boldness uncle-nephew duo.
Han Bo actively paired up with Zheng Keyan - one, he couldn't compare to Jian Jing and didn't want to be foiled, two, Zheng Keyan had ample potential for gossip as a big star, with only a five to six year age difference between them, easy to stir up sibling romance rumors.
As for Jiang Baiyan, no choice nor need for one, just sticking with Jian Jing.
There were several rows of rooms lining both sides of the hallway, all operation rooms, examination rooms, observation rooms and such. The other two groups, whether intentionally or not, headed into the first rooms on each side.
Leaving Jian Jing's group with the rest.
"Let's check the bathroom," she casually suggested, turning back towards the one beside the office.
--
After airing:
Comment 1: What's going on, they split into three groups??? Not scared of dying?
Comment 2: Hmm, three male-female pairings? Kinda weird.
Comment 3: Professor Jian is too outstanding, detrimental to team harmony.
Comment 4: Right, teamwork requires division of labor and cooperation, prima donnas cause trouble.
Comment 5: How are you guys sensing disharmony? Splitting up in a big area is perfectly normal right?
...
--
The bathroom smelled awful.
As Jian Jing swept her flashlight around, she leaned towards the mic and softly asked, "You already realized early on right?"
Jiang Baiyan whispered back, "Slow and steady wins the race."
Jian Jing couldn't help turning to glance at him.
Jiang Baiyan curved his eyes into an innocent, harmless smile.
She shook her head, inwardly quite impressed.
Just minutes ago, she'd finally understood Jiang Baiyan's cunning - were wisdom and courage the only highlights of horror variety shows? No, no, there was also cowardice.
If some wanted the spotlight, others had to be foils. During the first recording, Jiang Baiyan was just a fairly popular actor, unable to contend with the other guests.
But rather than settling for mediocrity and being outshone - see Han Bo in the first episode - why not leave a lasting impression as a scaredy cat?
He could highlight others' strengths while avoiding their ire. And best of all, no matter the caliber of future guests - even if as outstanding as Jian Jing - he could still play the CP role, especially now with everyone unwilling to partner with Jian Jing, his willing "sacrifice" earned major goodwill points.
I'm timid. I'm afraid of anyone. Who else would be as timid as him?
If there really is someone, then he must be a fool, only highlighting his courage - the courage of a coward, far more valuable than the courage of a hero.
This is called adversity.
What a sly little fox.
Jiang BaiYan seemed to understand her belly complaint, his smile grew sweeter and more obedient, but his tone was very serious: "There seems to be nothing here."
Under the pillar of light, the condition of the bathroom was in full view.
On one side were three urinals, on the other were four squat toilets. The white tiles had turned yellow, the mirrors were covered with a layer of dark gray dirt that made reflections impossible to discern.
There were remnants of minced meat and blood on the floor, extremely disgusting.
Jian Jing said, "Do you remember the notebook we got?"
"Little Helen's?" Jiang BaiYan had a good memory.
She said, "Yes, that was a very obvious clue. He had already realized something was wrong with this hospital and would definitely try to investigate."
Jiang BaiYan asked, "Why not just record it casually?"
"The last page wasn't finished writing," Jian Jing hinted. "Think about what was under the bed again."
Jiang BaiYan sucked in a breath of cold air.
Jian Jing pushed open the stall and lifted the toilet lid one by one.
Nothing, nothing, nothing.
But Jiang BaiYan was very supportive: "The ward can be ransacked by nurses, the office is generally inaccessible, the hallway is locked with an iron door, if you want to hide something, only the toilet will do."
Jian Jing said, "Maybe I guessed wrong."
"We'll see after we look," Jiang BaiYan tapped on the walls and finally aimed at the ceiling, "There's a cavity up here."
Jian Jing tried stepping on the toilet and reaching up with her arms straight.
Ten centimeters short.
Jiang BaiYan quickly said, "Let me, let me."
"Be careful, the toilet is a little broken," Jian Jing didn't pretend to be strong, and cautioned, "Don't step in the middle, it's empty."
"I've lost seven, eight kilos recently, not even a hundred anymore, no problem," Jiang BaiYan was very confident and nimbly climbed up, bracing his fingers against the ceiling and gently pushing up.
Jian Jing adjusted the light source: "Left side."
Jiang BaiYan groped with his fingers and grabbed something, quickly taking it down.
It was a package wrapped in newspaper and plastic wrap. Unwrapping it, there were several photos and a handgun.
"Great," Jian Jing's spirits were lifted and she praised him, "Good boy."
Jiang BaiYan was stunned for a moment, glanced at her, and slowly said, "Teacher Jian Jing, I'm not a little kid."
