【Script pre-enactment complete. Do you wish to make changes?】
Song Mo chose no.
The characters swirled in the air and slowly vanished.
At the same time, along a national highway seven kilometers away from the residential building, a swaying figure suddenly appeared.
The walking corpse stood by the roadside, its face deathly pale.
A passing truck driver honked his horn furiously and cursed loudly:
“...If you're in such a rush to reincarnate, go jump in a river! What are you doing dazing off on the side of the road?! You old bastard!”
...
...
...
【Script enactment successful, materializing... Script Rank Evaluation: D. Rating: D+. Number of Participants: 236. Number of Premium Viewers: 1】
【Obtained: Screenwriter Points 50, Lifespan 480 hours, Incense Candles 5, Joss Paper 20, Coffin Fungus 5, RMB 5,000】
【Premium Viewer Rewards (2):
1. Reinforced Riot Fork (Iron) (Item): Attack +5, Speed +1, Defense +2】
2. Rooster Crow Phantom (Skill): The rooster's crow represents Yang; dawn dispels Yin. When ghosts hear a rooster's crow between the Zi and Mao hours, they will turn into green smoke, gaining increased movement speed and becoming unobservable.】
She could actually get skill rewards too?
Inside the dilapidated residential building, Song Mo stared at the long list of rewards and fell into thought.
Although she was highly uncertain of her current state, if she could gain skills just by writing scripts—she would absolutely love writing.
Just imagine: the stories she wrote became reality, and she could even obtain skills and items like in a video game...
How was she any different from a creator deity?
“Before the plot materializes, I can modify it as I wish. And once materialized, the script truly happens in reality—
In that case, can I assume that as long as I have enough Screenwriter Points, I could even materialize myths and legends in reality in the future?”
Song Mo scratched the back of her skull, half of which was held together with adhesive tape. The anxiety brought on by her ticking lifespan countdown eased up considerably.
Myths and legends were filled with things that could grant longevity—all kinds of heavenly treasures and earthly materials, like the Flat Peaches of Immortality that let you live for three thousand years just by smelling them, the Ginseng Fruits that granted life coequal with heaven and earth with a single bite, or the Fountain of Youth from Western fairy tales that granted eternal youth with a single sip...
As long as she could keep writing, she would be a god.
At this thought, her heart, which had gone still due to death and rebirth, seemed to come alive once more.
Song Mo pulled out her desk chair, drew the curtains, and made sure there were no other cameras in the room before retrieving her rewards to inspect them one by one.
The incense candles and joss paper looked no different from what was sold in funeral shops, but each incense candle was glossy and smooth, feeling like oiled ivory to the touch.
The joss paper was made of yellow sheets, with each stack stamped with red ink. The ink bled through the back of the paper, appearing as bright as fresh blood.
The coffin fungus looked like some sort of mushroom with a red cap, covered in a layer of black mycelium that closely resembled the black fuzz on the living corpse's face.
Regardless, Song Mo had no intention of trying to eat it.
The five thousand RMB was indeed real cash—a thick stack of red banknotes that felt substantial in her hand.
As for her only skill, Song Mo hadn't figured out how to use it yet.
“So the scripts are rated and ranked, and then reward Screenwriter Points and lifespan accordingly... Does that mean only 'Premium Viewer Rewards' will produce skill books and items?”
Song Mo reached out. The pitch-black text before her dispersed, and the words 【Reinforced Riot Fork】 condensed into a physical object, hitting the floor with a loud clang.
Outside, Cui Lili heard the noise and came over to knock on her door.
“Song Mo, the two of us are ordering milk tea. Yuanyuan has a coupon for twenty-five off on orders over thirty-eight. Do you want one?”
“No, thanks...”
Song Mo picked up the riot fork and weighed it in her hand with satisfaction. She originally wanted to brush her off with a casual refusal, but thinking of tonight's "performance," she changed her mind:
“Wait a moment, I'll be right out.”
...
...
The original "Song Mo" was introverted and had always wanted to be a screenwriter. With no support from her family, she had ended up renting a room with others in the old district.
Cui Lili was lively and had been working since she was nineteen. At twenty-eight, she was the oldest of the three.
Ma Aiyuan was a local, but both of her parents were sick and hospitalized, so she had to hand over half of her monthly salary to them.
Jiangcheng wasn't a first-tier city, but the cost of living was still considerable.
This apartment was originally rented by the hot pot restaurant where the two worked to serve as a staff dormitory. Later, to make extra money, the boss acted as a subletter and rented out the remaining room.
Because of this, Song Mo had to pay two hundred and fifty yuan more in rent each month than her roommates.
...
“I'm exhausted. Song Mo, you've got it so good. You can make money just by typing on a computer. If I had known back in school that being a waitress would be this exhausting, I would've studied my butt off no matter what.”
Cui Lili took a sip of her milk tea, slumped onto the old-fashioned wooden sofa, and grumbled, “The landlord said he'd replace this sofa for us, but it digs into my back every time I lie on it...”
“How could the landlord be that nice? Just make do with it.
Oh, Song Mo, let me tell you. Yesterday, Sister Chen and Sister Zhang were playing tricks on us, rushing us to take over before our shift even started. Lili and I plan to show up half an hour late today to see what they have to say.”
Ma Aiyuan chewed on the boba in her milk tea. She didn't care that Song Mo didn't answer, complaining away to herself.
Song Mo didn't say anything either, silently listening while holding her milk tea cup.
The two girls' idle chatter contained limited information, but it was easy to tell from their words that neither of them knew someone had broken in last night.
...
“When I was moving my desk today, I found this in my room's lampshade. It doesn't look like a part of the lamp.”
Seeing them in high spirits, Song Mo feigned hesitation, opening her palm to show them a crushed pinhole camera.
“Maybe... you guys should check if there's one in your rooms too?”
Cui Lili and Ma Aiyuan froze. The former instantly realized what it was, and her temper flared up in a flash.
“Fucking bastard! We're all human, it's just the same skin and bones, what is there to sneak a peek at?! Did he crawl out of his mother's womb having never seen a woman before?!”
Ma Aiyuan bolted into her room like a startled rabbit. She came out shortly after, her face pale.
“There's one inside our lampshade too. I don't know when it was put there. Let's call the police.”
“Don't, not yet. Even if he gets caught, he'll only get detained for a few days at most.
Besides, the two of us have to work tonight. Song Mo will be home alone. If the landlord... bah, if that scumbag comes over to make trouble, what then?”
Cui Lili's anger subsided slightly as her eyes darted around.
“Put it back exactly as it was. Tomorrow we'll call the landlord over to replace the sofa. I'll get a few friends to corner him here and make him compensate us. We'll bleed him dry.”
At this point, Cui Lili patted Song Mo's shoulder. She found it shockingly cold, but she didn't think much of it and coaxed her:
“Song Mo, what if he has videos or photos of the three of us?
You're still young, you don't know how malicious people can be. Making a big scene by calling the police won't benefit any of us. Just pretend you don't know anything for now, and let me handle it, okay?”
Beside her, Ma Aiyuan saw Cui Lili winking at her. Although somewhat reluctant, she stopped clamoring to call the police.
Song Mo felt a slight tinge of regret. She had wanted them to call the police to see if it would affect the subsequent development of "The Corpse Awakes" script.
But judging by their intentions, they didn't want to involve the police and instead planned to extort Wang Dazhi.
Too bad Wang Dazhi was already dead.
But this was fine too. When the official investigation took place later, even if someone traced the relationship between "Song Mo" and Wang Dazhi, they wouldn't suspect her.
So Song Mo pretended to be convinced and slowly walked back to her room.
As soon as she entered, she tossed the milk tea cup, of which she had only taken a few sips, into the trash. The ruined camera was still floating inside.
She now absolutely certain that she was a living dead.
The sweet drinks she used to love not only tasted completely bland in her mouth, but even had a faint, fishy stench.
Song Mo looked at her remaining 50 Screenwriter Points, ultimately reluctant to spend them on putting her skull back together.
—Anyway, it was just a draft in the back of her head. Worst case, she could just cut her hair short to cover it up and wear a hat.
...
...
Song Mo waited patiently through the night, pretending nothing had happened. She waited until Cui Lili and Ma Aiyuan returned from their night shift, and until dawn the next day.
Sure enough, just as the sound of someone moving around the apartment echoed, she heard Ma Aiyuan knock over a cup:
“Dead?! When did this happen? No, how did he die? Why... Ah, really dead? You're not lying to me, right? How could...”
Then Cui Lili came over and pounded on her door, her face a mix of horror and an irrepressible excitement of witnessing drama:
“Song Mo, Song Mo! Do you know? Our landlord is dead! Wang Dazhi! I heard his entire family of three was wiped out yesterday, and they didn't even spare their dog—”
Humans were strange creatures.
Even though Cui Lili had spent hours cursing Wang Dazhi yesterday, upon hearing the news today, she couldn't suppress the curiosity and excitement in her heart.
“Wiped out?”
Song Mo repeated Cui Lili's words. “Someone really died? No way, public security in our area has always been pretty good. How could—”
“Haven't you looked at the neighborhood group chat? I heard Hongguang Community, where they lived, is haunted! A ghost killed Wang Dazhi's family and even escaped to kill other people. Lots of people died!”
Cui Lili was so excited her pores were practically trembling. She lay on the sofa with her legs crossed, eagerly sharing the gossip with her colleagues and friends:
“...Hey, look at what I just sent you. I'm telling you, my landlord's whole family was killed by a ghost... Seriously, why would I lie to you?
Gosh, go look, it's going crazy in so many neighborhood group chats...
Exactly, I think heaven finally opened its eyes. Karma caught up with that bastard. The old pervert got what he deserved... Seriously, let me tell you...”
Song Mo sat down and scrolled through her phone. Among the original owner's meager list of contacts, messages kept popping up in the neighborhood chat group, and someone had even forwarded the chat history from the Hongguang Community group.
Everyone was discussing the supernatural incident that had occurred last night.
...
...
【Resident - Building 3, Apt 405: I heard that in the middle of the night, police cars and ambulances from all over the city went to Hongguang Community and carried out tons of people. I've never seen such a massive commotion in my life!】
【Resident - Building 1, Apt 102: That many dead? No way, wouldn't that count as a major disaster?】
【Resident - Building 5, Apt 301: The property management group chat said it was a toxic gas leak, but I don't believe it. What kind of gas leak could poison so many people? Today, the Fourth Hospital is completely packed with people from Hongguang Community.】
【Resident - Building 2, Apt 502: I have a relative who was an eyewitness. They said it was definitely a ghost. The husband bit his own wife and son to death!】
【Group Owner - Property Manager Wang: Everyone, please do not spread rumors! The official announcement states it was residual harmful gas! Please do not manufacture or spread rumors!】
【Resident - Building 3: Bullshit, my father-in-law lives in that community. He saw it with his own eyes. He said Wang Dazhi died and then his corpse came back to life!】
【Resident - Building 3: A dead body reanimated, got it?!】
The entire chat was instantly flooded as dozens of messages scrolled rapidly.
【Resident - Building 6, Apt 402: ?? A reanimated corpse??? For real???】
【Resident - Building 2, Apt 101: Holy crap! I was wondering why there were so many police cars at the entrance of that community on my way to work today, and it even smelled like rotting corpses!】
【Resident - Building 3: They say the guy was stabbed to death by his son, and his body came back to life after being brought home, and even ate their dog!】
【Resident - Building 3, Apt 202: Someone said they peeked through the crack of the door and saw it. The corpse had fur growing on its face and fangs! It looked exactly like a jiangshi in the movies!】
【Resident - Building 5, Apt 504: Oh my god!!!!!】
【Resident - Building 6, Apt 201: I thought the zombies online were all fake. Does corpse reanimation actually exist?】
【Resident - Building 1, Apt 602: Don't talk nonsense. They say the wife is still alive, though the son and husband are dead.】
【Resident - Building 3: Here comes the most important part!!! Everyone saw his son get his Yang energy sucked dry!!! They said he was a young guy in his twenties, but when he died, he shriveled up like a seventy- or eighty-year-old man, with skin like old tree bark.】
【Resident - Building 2, Apt 505: Holy shit!! Sucking Yang energy? Did a TV show plot just become real? For real? Did anyone see it with their own eyes?】
【Resident - Building 6, Apt 302: So how is the surviving woman doing now? Was she saved? What's the word?】
【Resident - Building 3: No idea! The police completely sealed off information. My father-in-law was called in to give a statement. I heard all photos and videos were confiscated, and we're not allowed to post them.】
【Resident - Building 1, Apt 503: What's the point of talking without photos? Just go to sleep.】
【Resident - Building 4, Apt 205: I feel like it's real. I went to Hongguang Community to deliver water today, and tons of people were moving out. (Photo) (Photo)】
【Resident - Building 2, Apt 401: Of course they have to move. Three people died, and it's haunted. No way, I'm getting chills down my spine just thinking about it.】
【Resident - Building 3: My father-in-law didn't have a single scratch on him, but he was scared out of his wits. He's already planning to move out, doesn't dare live there anymore.】
【Resident - Building 6, Apt 403: Normal! Who would dare live in a murder house?】
【Resident - Building 1, Apt 202: Why did I hear that the police opened fire? Did they fail to kill the reanimated corpse?】
【Resident - Building 4, Apt 502: I'm getting goosebumps...】
...
Song Mo didn't scroll down to read the rest of the messages.
Outside the window, the community plaza seemed several times livelier than usual. People gathered in groups of twos and threes, their faces filled with a suppressed mixture of excitement and fear.
Everyone was eager to share the "inside scoop" they knew with others, and then appropriately express shock, pity, sympathy, and surprise.
Song Mo had seen this kind of rapt attention on her audience's faces before.
But audiences were often fickle, so this excitement would only last for a very short time before being overwritten by new emotions.
A truly excellent script should be able to stand the test of time.
So Song Mo opened her computer and began searching for local supernatural stories in Jiangcheng.
—Under the pressure of time, her first script had not been perfect. Thus, she planned to properly polish her second script.
It seemed that every city had its own supernatural legends, and Jiangcheng was certainly no exception.
Song Mo's gaze fell upon an urban legend that had been forwarded and reposted nearly to death:
《The Route 404 Ghost Bus Incident》
Rate on N.U.
