Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 177: Chapter 155: Found It

"Let’s talk about this when we get back," looking outside at the pitch-black door, Song Yan couldn’t help but worry, "Let’s just take care of ourselves for now. It’s so dark outside, how are we going to get back?"

"Call Director Ding," Pei Qiuyu responded immediately.

Perhaps having thought of something, Pei Qiuyu quickly added, "Ask Director Ding to send a few more people to pick us up, preferably two cars."

As Song Yan took out his phone, Yang Xiao reached out to stop him, "Wait, what about Nie Hexiang’s situation?"

"That’s easy, just say she’s missing. Anyway, she seemed to be in a bad mental state, both Director Ding and that Xia Xiuyan saw her. We can say... say that Nie Hexiang was triggered by something, and that she ran off while we were filming the extras. We don’t know where she went," Lu Ji casually fabricated a reason. He stood in place, nervously rubbing his arms, constantly scanning the surroundings with vigilant eyes, eager to leave this ghostly place not a second later.

After thinking for a moment, Yang Xiao shook his head, "That won’t do. Xia Xiuyan isn’t just an expendable supporting role. If she goes missing out of the blue, Director Ding won’t let it go so easily."

"Director Ding will make us stay here until we find her and then let us go back," Song Yan sighed while pinching his phone as though he could picture Director Ding’s roaring face. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

"Stay here..." Yu Mi couldn’t help but shrink in fear. Nie Hexiang was already taken away by a ghost, where could they possibly find her?

Feeling the darkness envelop the surroundings, everyone had an eerie sense of being watched, an entirely instinctual feeling. That suspicious gaze seemed to drift around, as if coming from all directions.

"Creak—" Suddenly, the sound of a door opening startled everyone. The noise came from deep in the hallway, as one of the classroom doors was pulled open.

Without anyone organizing it, Yang Xiao was the first to run out the door, with everyone else immediately following. Even though it was dark outside, it was better than being trapped in a corner.

In the rush, Yang Xiao heard disordered footsteps, as if apart from them, there were other things running.

Reaching the open space outside the building, Song Yan had a stroke of genius and quickly thought up an excuse to call Director Ding. Thankfully, the call connected right away.

As expected, upon hearing that Nie Hexiang was missing, Director Ding flew into a rage. Even through the phone, one could sense his anger. But Song Yan explained that Nie Hexiang refused to shoot, claiming she was too scared to tell Director Ding face-to-face, thus had asked him to inform Director Ding on her behalf.

"Where is she now?" Director Ding asked, suppressing his fury.

"I don’t know. Oh right, before she left, she said something to Yu Mi. Maybe she went home," Song Yan said, not completely sure if Nie Hexiang’s home was still there, so he didn’t confirm it.

Hearing this, the other side fell silent for a moment, then with a parting remark to wait for them to come and pick them up, hung up the phone.

After putting down the phone, Song Yan noticed Yang Xiao still gazing behind at the new teaching building. Following his gaze involuntarily, he saw that most of the lights on the first floor were out, the remaining few were dim and flickering as if they could go out at any moment. The halls behind the glass door were shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere, unnervingly unsettling upon longer observation.

"What are you looking at?" Song Yan withdrew his gaze, slightly frowning.

"I’m not sure, but when we were running out just now, I heard footsteps. Something felt off," Yang Xiao recalled, "It seemed like something was following us."

Upon hearing this, Yu Mi couldn’t take it anymore, "Mr. Chu, please stop. You’re not saying that something is standing right behind us now, are you?"

To Yu Mi’s despair, Yang Xiao actually took the question seriously and pondered for a moment before shaking his head, "Probably not, the footsteps became more orderly once we left that building."

"How can that be... I... Why didn’t I hear anything?" The continuous frights left Yu Mi on edge, feeling unsafe no matter where she considered hiding.

Seeing someone else had spoken up, Pei Qiuyu, too, followed with her sarcasm, faking surprise, "How strange, why is it Mr. Chu who always finds things first?" She hoped to shift the blame towards Yang Xiao.

Lu Ji, who disliked traitors, couldn’t help but sneer, "Chu Xi, let me translate Ms. Pei’s words for you. What she means is that the reason you always discover something first is not because you’re observant. It’s because the ghost has its eyes on you, and even now, it doesn’t intend to let you go. It’s best for everyone to stay away from you."

"Bullshit!!" Pei Qiuyu couldn’t maintain her ladylike demeanor any longer and burst out with profanity. ƒrēewebnovel.com

"Enough, all of you!" Song Yan stepped forward to stabilize the situation, "Pei Qiuyu, cut out the snarky comments from now on. And, Lu Ji, you too, stop bluntly stating the facts. We’re all in the same boat here. We’ve already lost three teammates. Do you want more people to die?"

Witnessing Song Yan’s composure, Yu Mi was dazzled with admiration. Anytime, especially in times of crisis, the presence of a man who could steady the group and show leadership was the most attractive.

"Song Yan is right!" Yu Mi was the first to echo.

"Shut it, rookie. Listen more, speak less," Song Yan shot her a glance.

Even if it was a bucket of cold water over her head, it didn’t dampen Yu Mi’s ardor. She knew that only by sticking close to Song Yan could she have a chance to survive.

"And that Chu Xi, he’s in cahoots with Song Yan’s brother."

Before long, the stark white light pierced through the night, and two cars, one following the other, drove along the edge of the square, finally stopping in front of several people.

One was a white van and the other a blue sedan, both familiar. Several people alighted, among them Ms. Zhao from the film crew, her makeup heavy, waving at them impatiently, "Get in quickly, don’t delay tomorrow’s shoot."

Nobody moved; Song Yan took out his cellphone, searched for Ms. Zhao’s number, and called. Soon, Ms. Zhao’s phone rang in her pocket.

"Get in."

Because it wasn’t on their way, Yang Xiao, Song Yan, and Yu Mi got into the first van, while Pei Qiuyu and Lu Ji boarded the second one. As the cars turned around, their headlights swept across the new academic building momentarily, and Yang Xiao and others were stunned. They saw a row of people standing in the otherwise empty first-floor hall, just behind the glass doors, each with their head bowed low, their necks pulled very long, very long.

Because it was only a fleeting moment, they didn’t manage to discern the true identities of these people, but it wasn’t hard to guess—they were probably those who were forever left in the classrooms.

The two cars didn’t go far after leaving the school gates before they separated.

After a moment of shock, Song Yan and Chu Xi adjusted their mood; Chu Xi gave Song Yan a look, and he understood immediately.

"Ms. Zhao, Nie Hexiang isn’t filming anymore. Who’s replacing her?" Song Yan leaned slightly forward as he asked Ms. Zhao, who was sitting in the passenger seat.

"She says she’s not filming anymore? The contract has been signed, and she’s taken the deposit. Director Ding said this isn’t over; someone has already been sent to her house to find her. Not filming? If she doesn’t film, she’ll have to pay the penalty fee, and that’s a substantial amount of money. Even selling her house wouldn’t cover it."

Ms. Zhao was also very angry discussing this; originally sleeping soundly, she was woken up and scolded by Director Ding, after all, she was the one responsible for such matters.

"Oh, that’s good, after all, everyone has been getting used to each other for so long; changing actors at the last minute really isn’t ideal." Song Yan chuckled.

"Right." Ms. Zhao turned her head, stared at Song Yan, and reminded him seriously: "Song Yan, and you, Chu Xi, listen up, the investor is coming tomorrow. They want to do a live scene test, keep your wits about you."

"The investor?"

"Yes, several investors are coming, but there’s one you should pay attention to. She’s a major player, and she’s very important for the success of the film. You guys know Ms. Shengnan, right?"

"We’ve always heard Director Ding say that Ms. Shengnan is really powerful and has a lot of influence online." Chu Xi said, half-feigning, half-fishing for information.

"Well, just be aware. This film is almost entirely up to her; even Director Ding has to watch her mood, and the other investors invested because of her connections. She also arranged the dealings with the school authorities; you understand the extent of her influence."

"Understood; we will definitely perform well." Finally, they would be able to see the true face of this person, Yang Xiao felt the day when everything would become clear was close at hand.

"By the way, Ms. Zhao, which scene are we test acting tomorrow? So we can prepare in advance." Song Yan spoke politely.

Ms. Zhao rummaged through her bag for the itinerary, looked at it and replied, "The original plan was to test two scenes, the ones we shot today. The first scene involves a beastly male teacher assaulting a female student in her dormitory, the second, a female teacher accidentally discovers the male teacher’s beastly act, but she is threatened by the principal. When the threats don’t work, it turns into a chase."

"Director Ding said, if Nie Hexiang cooperates tomorrow, we will shoot it again. If she doesn’t, then it’s fine; the footage we have is also very good, we can just edit it," Ms. Zhao said, not forgetting to glance at Yang Xiao, "Hey, I didn’t expect that a student fresh out of school would have such good acting skills. That last fierce scene scared all of us who have been with the crew for years, it seemed so real."

Yang Xiao forced a smile; he couldn’t very well tell her that the final scene was actually acted out by the real male teacher, who had just used his body.

Since Nie Hexiang was taken away by the "ghost," Yang Xiao’s scenes won’t be filmed tomorrow; that left only Song Yan’s scene where he had to chase Xia Xiuyan, who played the female teacher, at night.

In other words, the "ghost’s" likely targets tomorrow would be Song Yan and Xia Xiuyan, but it wasn’t certain; after all, Ms. Shengnan, who orchestrated this tragedy, would also be on the set—if Yang Xiao were the ghost, she would be the first he’d kill.

Now, not many people know the details of the case, and those directly related were concentrated on Xia Xiuyan, Nie Hexiang, and Azhen. However, the latter two have already met with tragic deaths, one after another. To uncover the inside story, they must get answers from Xia Xiuyan’s mouth.

Therefore, the key now was how to pry open Xia Xiuyan’s mouth. After several encounters, Yang Xiao knew that she was the core of the three, with a fiery personality and the most difficult to handle.

"Buzz..."

"Buzz..."

Yang Xiao was pondering when a sudden vibration of a cellphone caught his attention. Ms. Zhao immediately answered the call, and after a few words, her mood visibly lifted, her tone rising, "Found her? That’s great, you talk to her first... hurry, hurry and tell Director Ding!"

After hanging up the phone, Ms. Zhao turned around with a smile on her face, but the words she spoke sent a chill down the spines of Yang Xiao, Song Yan, and the third person.

"Don’t worry, we’ve found Nie Hexiang!"