A Max-Level Film Queen Takes on the Scumbag Alpha Script [Transmigration] - Chapter 56

Jiang Baihe led the group out of the courtyard gate, walking at the very front alongside Lin Yiqiu. Neither of them had put down their brooms, while the other three trailed closely behind. They proceeded down the path in this bizarre formation.

Xiang Meng whispered, “Is it really okay for us to just walk out like this? What if there’s a problem?”

Lin Yiqiu’s hem was being tugged by Xiang Meng. After a few unsuccessful attempts to break free, she gave a shallow roll of her eyes and replied, “We have to believe in science.”

Hearing this, Jiang Baihe couldn’t help but glance at the broom in Lin Yiqiu’s hand and raised an eyebrow, as if saying silently with her eyes: You’re carrying that thing while talking about believing in science?

Lin Yiqiu rubbed her nose awkwardly and fell silent.

Along the way, there were no noises other than their own footsteps and hushed conversation. Just as the Xiang sisters had described, the village was pitch black; not even a single lamp was lit. A cold wind blew through the dark scenery, creating a distinctly eerie atmosphere.

Jiang Baihe remarked, “Something feels a bit off.”

Lin Yiqiu was also puzzled. “It seems… too quiet here?”

Ye Qing, walking behind Jiang Baihe, asked in confusion, “Do the people here really go to bed this early? And all the crew members seem to have vanished too.”

“Is it possible the production team is pranking us on purpose?”

As they walked, the group gradually regained their composure and began to speculate on the situation. Jiang Baihe scanned the surroundings, forming a few theories in her mind, but since the situation was still unclear, she didn’t speak up.

They soon approached the small alley where the others had seen the light. Xiang Xi swallowed hard, her voice trembling, “M-my legs are feeling a bit weak.”

Ye Qing added with a miserable face, “How about the two of us just wait here? I’m scared too.”

“We’ve already made it this far,” Lin Yiqiu said, gripping her broom tighter to stay calm. “What’s there to panic about?”

Seeing their reactions, Jiang Baihe’s mischievous streak flared up again. She lowered her voice and said in a somewhat sinister tone, “Do you really think… you’ll be safe if you stay here?”

“Waaaaah…”

Imagination is the most potent weapon. Ye Qing and the others, clearly overthinking, shook their heads frantically and decided to stick with the main group.

Rounding a corner, a small alley unfolded before them. Dim yellow lights flickered along the path. Under the pale moonlight, the shadows of the trees on both sides swayed like ghosts. From somewhere, an eerie echo drifted out, making their skin crawl.

A group of “unknown persons” wandered the alley, dressed in tattered, blood-stained garments. Because of the distance, Jiang Baihe and the others could only vaguely see that these people weren’t walking like normal humans; they seemed to “float” past.

“Aaaaaah!!”

Ye Qing and Xiang Meng, lacking mental fortitude, screamed, their voices piercing the silent night. To Jiang Baihe, these two were far scarier than the “ghosts” in the distance. Even Lin Yiqiu couldn’t help but curse under her breath, muttering like a mantra: “Prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony…”

The commotion was so loud it drew Ning Yu’an over. She waved at them, looking perfectly relaxed. “Hi, you guys finally showed up.”

Ye Qing, eyes closed and trembling, stuttered, “I-is… is she possessed by something dirty?”

Jiang Baihe looked down: She has a shadow.

She then looked around more carefully. Although hidden well, there were indeed micro-cameras and sound receivers planted throughout the area. Jiang Baihe breathed a sigh of relief and said to those behind her, “Don’t be afraid, they’re all alive.”

Turning back, she asked Ning Yu’an, “What’s going on here exactly?”

Ning Yu’an realized immediately what they had been afraid of. She spread her hands and said, “It’s all special effects makeup. I didn’t get a chance to tell them earlier before they got scared and ran away.” As a popular “traffic starlet,” Ning Yu’an had done her fair share of acting. She looked at the Xiang sisters with a hint of disdain. “You couldn’t even tell?”

Xiang Meng looked embarrassed, while Xiang Xi retorted defiantly, “How were we supposed to know!”

“Tsk, making a fuss over nothing.” Lin Yiqiu chimed in, then asked, “But how come they don’t seem to use their feet to walk?”

Ning Yu’an replied, “Oh, they’re wearing roller skates under their clothes.”

The group: “…”

Ye Qing added, “And the sound? What is that sound echoing everywhere? It’s giving me goosebumps.”

“It’s likely a waterphone,” Jiang Baihe listened closely and noticed the sound was on a loop. She described it: “A… unique instrument. Its sound is very common in horror movie soundtracks.”

With the mystery solved, everyone understood. Xiang Xi stamped her foot in frustration. “So annoying!”

Ning Yu’an stood with her arms crossed, mocking them ruthlessly: “It’s just that you guys were too cowardly.”

“You!”

Ignoring their bickering, Jiang Baihe called out to Lin Yiqiu, and the two stepped forward to observe the eerie-looking group. Upon closer inspection, there were about a dozen people, all quite young. They were dressed in rags, and their faces, hands, and clothes were covered in dark red special effects blood. They moved silently, not saying a word, “floating” through the area with faint, quiet, and creepy smiles.

After walking through the alley, Lin Yiqiu was still confused. “What is the crew trying to do by putting a bunch of extras here? Did we accidentally discover tomorrow’s task early?”

“And where did all the staff go…?”

Hearing Lin Yiqiu’s words, Jiang Baihe looked closer and spotted that these people were holding slips of paper in their hands. Seeing the others still arguing, she shouted, “Stop fighting! Come over here, there’s a clue.”

As everyone gathered around, Jiang Baihe pulled a slip from one of their hands. It had three words on it—a dish name: Scallion Oil Chicken.

Ning Yu’an looked at the slip, puzzled. “Scallion Oil Chicken? This is just like the clue from the bus—random and senseless.”

Lin Yiqiu speculated, “Could it be that we’re supposed to cook for them?”

Jiang Baihe suggested, “Let’s grab a few more and see.”

Xiang Xi immediately snatched two more from other extras. She wanted to take more, but by the third one, the extras tightened their fists and wouldn’t let her take any more. They spread out the slips and found similar dish names: “Steamed Fish” and “Ammu’s Handmade Corn Dumplings.”

After looking at the three slips, Jiang Baihe reached a conclusion: “It seems the appearance of these slips isn’t accidental. We really are going to have to cook for them.”

“But we can barely feed ourselves,” Xiang Meng frowned. “Where are we going to get the ingredients for these dishes?”

“We definitely have chicken,” Ye Qing thought for a moment. “There’s a brood of chickens in the lot in front of our house.”

“The crew should have it arranged,” Jiang Baihe said with a twinkle in her eye. “You can’t make a meal without ingredients; they won’t make us pull dishes out of thin air.”

“Let’s head back,” Lin Yiqiu said, stretching now that things were clear. “A whole night wasted on nothing! Tomorrow we’ll divide the work and explore the village together.”

The proposal was agreed upon, and the six started heading back. On the way, Jiang Baihe glanced back at the extras still “working” in the alley and whispered to herself, “Waiting for the husband’s return… sons of the village?“

Lin Yiqiu seemed to hear her but didn’t catch the words. “Baihe, what are you muttering?”

“Nothing.” Jiang Baihe smiled. “Let’s get some rest early tonight.”

“Mhm, goodnight.”

The next morning, after waking up, everyone gathered in Jiang Baihe’s small courtyard for a brief meeting. They split into three groups of two and decided to explore the village. The crew members seemed to have vanished since the night before, but the various cameras were still running. With no guidance or hints, they were essentially being “free-ranged,” so they had to take it one step at a time.

Fortunately, their guesses were correct. After a long day, the team tallied their rewards and found they matched the three dishes from the night before. Lin Yiqiu and Jiang Baihe managed to get a chicken; Ye Qing and Xiang Meng got a river fish. The hardest part was Ning Yu’an’s group—they found the corn and meat filling for the dumplings but no wrappers. They had to start from scratch with flour to make them.

Out of the six, only Jiang Baihe was a skilled cook; the others were mediocre at best. After a day of effort, they successfully replicated the three required dishes.

That evening, the group brought the three dishes back to the alley and found the “travelers” corresponding to the slips. Fortunately, their hard work paid off. After receiving the food, the extras gave them two copper coins each.

Three dishes, six copper coins. Although they didn’t know what the coins were for yet, they kept them safe. Jiang Baihe had also figured out the show’s style; compared to previous themes like “agritainment” or “island survival,” their mission this time was likely “business simulation”—constantly meeting the needs of these “travelers.” Based on her exploration and clues, she also had some theories about the identities of these travelers.

They spent several days busy in this “painfully happy” routine until the second to last night, when a heavy rainstorm began. The long-missing crew members finally appeared to announce that filming was suspended for the night to avoid accidents.

Thunder and lightning rumbled outside. Jiang Baihe sat on the sofa, she and Lin Yiqiu taking turns massaging each other’s shoulders.

“These past few days have been the death of me,” Lin Yiqiu complained. She seemed to recall the morning’s task and felt a bit of a mental breakdown. “Do you know how hard it was to clean that pigpen today? Where does the crew find all these messy jobs for us? I feel like I can still smell it even after showering.”

Jiang Baihe comforted her, “Just two more days and it’s over.”

“Sigh, this bitter life is finally ending.” Lin Yiqiu lamented, then added, “It’s a rare rest tonight, let’s sleep early.”

“Mhm, I’ll sit for a bit longer.”

“Then I’m heading up first. Bye-bye.”

Lin Yiqiu went upstairs. Jiang Baihe boiled some water for herself in the living room. There was no tea or coffee here; at most, she could only drink hot water. She held the steaming cup and stood by the window, staring blankly at the curtain of rain.

She had been filming here for nearly a week. Without a phone, she hadn’t seen Yan Shu for six days and sixteen hours. During the day, she was too busy filming to think, but at night, the worry bubbled up: I wonder if Yan Shu’s work in Y-Country is resolved? Did Yan Jue make things difficult for her? Is Yan Shu already back in the country?

Jiang Baihe couldn’t help but sigh. No wonder the ancients loved to write poetry about rainy nights. In this atmosphere of torrential rain, her melancholic thoughts were unstoppable, and she didn’t want to hit the brakes. Her words could be stubborn, but her heart wouldn’t lie.

She just missed “Little President Yan” a little.