Chapter 2: Soul-Judging Bell

After receiving the strange text message, the glaring sunlight pierced through her irises, casting an eerie green glow. A semi-transparent functional interface floated before her eyes, seemingly within arm’s reach.

Three grayed-out avatars were locked in the interface, with the male lead Du Yueze’s portrait being the only one lit up. Below it was a peculiar red progress bar annotated: Please maintain your little white flower persona in front of key targets. If the male lead’s progress bar turns black, the difficulty of your Soul-Judging task will increase.

The semi-transparent character interface resembled a strategy screen from a mobile game. The mysterious woman she had encountered on set said that the three wisps of Evil Soul Fragments were in her phone, and she had neurotically claimed to be a Ferryman who needed to capture those three Evil Souls to return to her original world via the Yin-Yang Station.

Lu Zhiyu anxiously pinched the Ancestral Jade Stone hanging from her chest and rubbed her chin in thought. Could it be that while she was playing on her phone in the subway car, she had already entered a parallel dimension? The Yellow Springs Exit C that the mysterious woman had pointed her toward was a gateway to this mobile game’s otherworldly realm.

She selected the main menu interface and searched for a long time but couldn’t find any save or load options in the functional interface…

That meant if she died in this game, she was really done for.

A chill broke out on her back, but she quickly regained her composure.

Hah, mobile games had six Bad End routes, but she had perfectly achieved the one and only Happy End on her first try. She was an expert at vicious supporting female roles in the entertainment industry—what type hadn’t she seen? When it came to familiarity with malicious concubines, Lu Zhiyu said one, and no one dared say two. The main danger to her was probably that playboy pervert of a male lead.

As Lu Zhiyu pondered this, in the blink of an eye, the functional interface vanished, replaced by a grayish-white sky under a scorching sun.

The dizzyingly hot sunlight reminded Lu Zhiyu, who was still in a fatigued midnight state, that she was now in an entirely different world.

Vehicles streamed endlessly along the asphalt road, with bus stops by the roadside, pedestrian overpasses at intersections, and the Zhenhua Office Building across the street. The familiar surroundings seemed no different from the real world at first glance, but upon closer inspection, the coffee ad poster at the bus stop had been replaced by a magazine cover featuring some unfamiliar trendy model, the Zhenhua Office Building had become the Zhenhua Plastic Surgery Building, and the bus stop had buses with never-before-seen single-digit-plus-letter route numbers.

A hot gust carried deep green leaves from the phoenix tree branches along the street, brushing against her cheeks. The airflow slipped into her sleeveless white dress. Lu Zhiyu didn’t know when she had broken into a sweat all over and shivered. Suddenly, the Ancestral Jade Stone around her neck grew scalding hot, and a small prompt box appeared before her eyes.

【Hello, Ferryman. To better serve newbies, please customize the activation method for the Soul-Judging Bell. This cannot be changed once selected.】

This Soul-Judging Bell was too troublesome. Couldn’t it be activated like in TV dramas about Taoist exorcists—just by chanting a spell or shaking it?

Lu Zhiyu grumbled inwardly. Before she could ask how to customize it, hurried footsteps approached from nearby. She looked up and saw a tall, slender woman with light linen-colored long hair crossing the zebra crossing on the asphalt road. Her outstanding aura made her stand out in the crowd.

The woman wore a black mask and an Italian-brand long slit dress embroidered with gold and silver threads, paired with white block-heeled short boots. She seemed to be avoiding someone, glancing around at the traffic light intersection before hurrying toward Lu Zhiyu—apparently heading for the subway entrance.

【The Yin-Yang Station channel will close in thirty seconds. Stop the person about to take the subway, or the world will collapse, and the Ferryman will be forcibly erased.】

A line of red warning text floated before her eyes.

Lu Zhiyu looked up and saw that the entrance to Subway Line 1 was enveloped in a layer of green light, which was slowly shrinking but not yet fully gone. If she didn’t stop this woman from entering the subway station, she’d be a fool to fail right at the start.

The woman was about to pass her and head to the subway entrance. Without thinking, Lu Zhiyu grabbed her arm. The woman was caught off guard, and her black Roma bag dropped to the ground. She looked up at Lu Zhiyu in surprise, her European-style fine light-brown eyebrows arching. Those pale gray eyes, sunken in her distinctly mixed-race contours, held a magnetic depth as they stared at her.

Lu Zhiyu had grabbed her too hastily and hadn’t prepared any excuse. Embarrassed under the woman’s puzzled gaze, she said awkwardly, “Sorry, I mistook you for someone else.”

The woman picked up her bag and looked at her like she was crazy. She seemed to mutter something under her breath, but it carried a strange PR-like inflection—probably Italian, which Lu Zhiyu couldn’t quite understand.

Lu Zhiyu saw that the green light of the Yin-Yang Station still had a small gap and hadn’t disappeared. Watching the woman try to go around her, she cursed inwardly and grabbed her arm again. Her face flushed as she anxiously said, “Please wait, I… I have something to tell you.”

The woman looked at her impatiently and yanked her arm free. Finally, she spoke to her. “Have you been squatting here waiting for me for a long time? There are plenty of handsome guys and beauties in the entertainment industry. Don’t always think about taking shortcuts. You’re not even vase material. Didn’t Du Yueze teach you? A dog should obediently listen to its master. Sticking like candy only makes people disgusted. I’ll give Director Du some face and negotiate a supporting role for you, but after that, don’t push your luck.”

The woman with the linen long hair spoke Chinese with a strange, awkward accent, but it was elegant and pleasant. Her beautiful pale gray eyes glanced sideways at her with contempt and disdain.

Lu Zhiyu was stunned. This woman seemed to know her and the male lead Du Yueze, but in her memory of the game and book, there was no character with linen long hair and pale gray eyes. However, the not-quite-fluent Italian-accented Chinese and mixed-race features reminded her of the final boss-level supporting female character before clearing the game: Gu Yinsu.

Gu Yinsu, a Chinese-Italian mixed-race international film star, had won Best Actress in a Drama at the Oscars and Golden Globes. She founded Gu Ye Global Film Company and, to break into the Chinese film market, collaborated with Du Yueze’s Star Emperor Entertainment Company. Rumors of an ambiguous relationship swirled due to their multiple collaborations.

In reality, insiders knew Gu Yinsu was a lesbian who changed girlfriends as often as she changed clothes—there was no romantic involvement between them.

Gu Yinsu saw Du Yueze as a rival. In the original story, the female lead, due to her sugar daddy relationship with the male lead, was repeatedly targeted by Gu Yinsu. Many good resources the female lead landed were suppressed and recast by her behind the scenes. Even the Golden Phoenix Award at the end was won with great difficulty.

If this person in front of her was really Gu Yinsu, did she mistake her for one of those people driven by greed, trying to climb into her bed for a casting couch deal?

The words “Yin-Yang Station” gradually faded, and the Subway Line 1 entrance was normally exposed to the sunlight.

Lu Zhiyu finally breathed a sigh of relief. She glanced at the masked woman beside her, who didn’t spare her a look and called the only contact in her phone list before brushing past her shoulder and entering the subway.

Whoever this woman was, the Yin-Yang Station was gone now, so this passerby had nothing to do with her. The most important thing was to figure out her next step.

She didn’t know where to go. The contacts in her phone only had her agent’s number—clearly a clue left by the game for her to call.

Lu Zhiyu’s gaze lingered on the phone screen for a few seconds. Just as she was about to dial, an icy cold hand landed on her shoulder, and the eerie chime of the Soul-Judging Bell rang out abruptly.

What? The evil-ghost-possessed person was here?

This bewildered question flashed through her mind. Cold air chilled her neck, catching her completely off guard and startling her. Her legs went weak, and she reflexively pitched forward down the rolling escalator.

In her panic, she tried to grab the handrail, but her arm was suddenly yanked back forcefully. The next second, she crashed into a warm embrace scented with a faint fragrance. Her nose slammed straight into the other’s chin, sending pain shooting through her nasal bridge.

【Reminder: Before customizing the Soul-Judging Bell, evil-possessed individuals can only be activated by direct touch. Soul-Judging Bell customization complete. You may check the interface. Congratulations, Ferryman! You have found one of the evil-possessed: {Gu Yinsu}. Task interface unlocked.】

Lu Zhiyu’s gaze locked straight onto those pale gray eyes in that mixed-race face. Embarrassment crossed her features, her pupils contracting slightly. This was Gu Yinsu—why was she different from the game?

Click, click. The sound of photos being taken rang out.

“A few private detectives were tailing me. I could have shaken them off, but it’s all your fault, you nuisance. Now they’ve probably snapped plenty of shots.”

Gu Yinsu coldly brushed past Lu Zhiyu’s shoulder, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes. She said, “I didn’t want to kill anyone at first—it’s troublesome in China. Now I have no choice but to take them out.”

Lu Zhiyu let out an “Ah?” feeling utterly bewildered. Suddenly, a napkin was stuffed into her hand.

Gu Yinsu frowned at Lu Zhiyu, pulling away from her in disgust. “Wipe your nose—it’s bleeding. You’re Du Yueze’s woman. If you get hurt on my watch, I don’t want him misunderstanding.”

Lu Zhiyu touched her nose, and her fingers came away bloody. The impact from that collision had been too strong; her nose still burned with pain.

She had just plugged her nose with the napkin when several black-clad bodyguards suddenly appeared. The leader whispered something in Gu Yinsu’s ear.

A chill flashed in Gu Yinsu’s pale gray eyes. Her lashes lowered for a moment before she spoke in a slightly rough but elegant Italian dialect to the bodyguards, which Lu Zhiyu couldn’t understand. Then, her gaze deepened as she looked at Lu Zhiyu.

“Throw this woman in the back seat of the car, tie her up, and send her back to Du Mansion. Consider it a favor from me as a newcomer to Mr. Du. After dealing with those detectives, take photos and email them to S Agency. I’ve already done my makeup—send me straight to the set for filming.”

Gu Yinsu’s words fell lightly, and Lu Zhiyu was immediately bound hand and foot by the burly men and tossed into the back of a black nanny van. Her back slammed hard onto the leather seat, the impact jarring her head and blackening her vision as dizziness overwhelmed her.

The back seat jolted with the wheels’ vibrations. Lu Zhiyu lay there, unable to move her limbs, while her mind raced at full speed.