STB Chapter 39: Neglect

This is machine translated and all copyrights belong to the author. Please note that the translator might take creative liberties for better readability. Thank you for reading.

---

Mushrooms~(≧▽≦)/~ Not listening, just not listening!

---

The incident caused today’s filming to be inevitably scrapped.

Director Lu squatted in front of the camera, studying the footage with a crowd gathered around.

No matter how they paused or which camera footage they viewed, the man seemed to appear out of nowhere.

For two seconds after his appearance, he was defying gravity, floating; the way he fell could be used directly in a horror movie without any editing.

Assistant Director Liu, driven by impulse, ran to check the set, suspecting hidden hooks or invisible wires used for the stunt, a trick he often employed in low-budget films in his youth. However, he found nothing.

The studio, located on the outskirts of the capital, required a three-hour drive to receive the “Welcome to the Capital” message on mobile phones.

Before the ambulance arrived, the set’s doctor sighed in regret, announcing that the severely injured man who abruptly appeared was now deceased.

The actors gathered on the other side of the studio. Hearing the news, some insisted on returning to the hotel.

“We can’t leave until the police have inspected the scene. Otherwise, we’ll just be called back immediately,” said an older actor, around forty, holding a cigarette with narrowed eyes behind the smoke.

Wearing a brand-name grey-blue suit provided by sponsors, his position among the crowd indicated his significant status.

“You’re right, Senior Ren,” Li Fei added appropriately.

In the film industry, seniority is respected, and this actor, playing the antagonist in the film, had more experience and awards than Li Fei but was now less active due to his age.

“Your stunt double has good mental strength,” the veteran actor commented to Li Fei.

Among those who had experienced the “ghostly” incident, several fainted or trembled with fear, and others turned pale. Only Jian Hua followed the crew to watch the footage captured by the camera.

“A stunt double has to be brave,” Li Fei deflected.

The veteran actor looked at him knowingly, “You’re so young and already thinking of promoting juniors?”

Others perked up their ears, but Li Fei didn’t respond, just smiling gently.

Despite everyone’s probing, they couldn’t extract more information. The stars, both first and second-tier, forced themselves not to dwell on the incident, diverting their attention to gossip.

“Why not talk about Li Fei’s secret crush instead?”

“Come on, you must give some clues. What’s their age? Long or short hair?”

Everyone carefully avoided mentioning gender, but the implication was clear: they suspected Li Fei was gay and his crush, if long-haired, was likely not a celebrity but someone related to the film industry.

“Just say it, maybe they’ll be moved!”

“Is there really someone? Don’t pressure Dean!”

Li Fei remained unmoved, his gentle smile unchanging. As the conversation turned uninteresting, they returned to discussing the strange event at the studio.

“I’m glad I was eating away from there; I didn’t see what happened. Tan was so scared.”

“Tan” referred to the third male lead. Unbeknownst to everyone, a crew member had broken the rules by uploading a video of the incident, shot on their phone, to an anonymous gossip social media forum.

With no bizarre fall, the body lying across the scene looked like part of the script. Unfortunately, the video had no sound, only showing the third male lead in an embarrassing state, ruining his image.

The comments below the video expressed surprise, wondering if this was an attempt to win awards.

Fans of the actor criticized the director and screenwriter for ruining their idol’s image. The thread was peaceful, with no mention of the death in the studio.

Ren, a veteran actor, was the only one who sensed something off about Li Fei.

He observed the younger actor with a sidelong glance. Li Fei’s smile was stiff, clearly distracted. Though sitting still, he frequently scanned his surroundings, not out of boredom but well-concealed unease.

In Li Fei’s eyes, the studio was swinging like a pendulum again.

Sounds and scenes around him were intermittently normal and then slow-motion, disorienting, and unsettling.

Jian Hua was the only constant in Li Fei’s view.

“I have a bad feeling,” Li Fei said clearly in the fluctuating studio, across the intermittently moving crowd. “Your ability brought back someone attacked by a monster. The real world and the Abandoned World are overlapping. What do you think will happen here if the battlefield is indeed in the studio?”

Jian Hua’s face twitched.

“Imagine people falling into the Abandoned World, escaping to our outskirts, entering the studio to close the door against monsters. When their bodies, or they themselves, return to the real world, and the overlap point reappears, what do you think will happen around us?”

Would everything be destroyed, lights and cameras wrecked, leaving everyone standing in ruins?

No, considering the tragedy on Ginkgo Avenue in Huai City, people might be crushed under falling scenery, or burned by mercury lights. This was more than just a haunted studio!

The entire crew might end up in the hospital, paralyzing the production, and possibly leading to the film being scrapped.

Jian Hua didn’t want to think further.

“Though I don’t like to meddle, this involves our personal interests and safety,” Li Fei analyzed calmly, gesturing to their surroundings. “How many people in the studio are standing in a safe place right now?”

Jian Hua’s gaze swept over the props, wires, and lights, his heart sinking.

“What if I use my ability to support the studio…” Could the mycelium grow wildly, forming a cushion of mushrooms, ensuring everyone’s safety even if the studio turned to ruins?

Jian Hua quickly dismissed the thought.

Mycelium could be hidden, but mushrooms were tangible! He never wanted his mushroom ability to be exposed. Even if many knew about it, he wouldn’t reveal it.

“Let’s open the Abandoned World with our abilities and rescue the studio,” Jian Hua decided grimly.

They had no other choice.

“Relax, it’s all for work, and work is for the Hummer.”

Li Fei referred to the Ferrari destroyed by the Rainforest Squid, costing eight figures.

“If we encounter a group of Rainforest Squids in the Abandoned World, a Hummer won’t help. Why not just buy a tank?” Jian Hua retorted instinctively.

“If I could, I would,” Li Fei agreed immediately.

Safety first, life was at stake.

Jian Hua’s mood was complex, not understanding why he was discussing tanks with Li Fei. Was the pressure of entering the Abandoned World so intense that he subconsciously shifted his focus?

While contemplating, Jian Hua tried to activate his ability, but the mycelium responded sluggishly.

“…”

Li Fei was also surprised. The studio was filled with flaky black fog, yet the mycelium remained lethargic, not moving at all. What was happening? Had they mutated?

Li Fei’s gaze uncontrollably drifted to the corpse on the ground.

The dark red bloodstains were striking, and Li Fei “saw” the mycelium spreading in the studio, reminiscent of something ominous.

He suddenly understood why Jian Hua was somewhat irritable.

Had the mycelium caused the person to die faster?

“Since it didn’t devour Geng Tian and Zhang Yaojin, it certainly wouldn’t actively consume other humans,” Li Fei reasoned.

“When it wrapped around that person, it got stained with blood…” Jian Hua stopped himself mid-sentence, annoyed at himself for losing vigilance and almost revealing his thoughts because of Li Fei’s words.

Jian Hua’s demeanor became cold again. He didn’t like getting too close to people or explaining too much.

His irritability was just a momentary loss of control in a crisis, facing a friend.

Li Fei noticed the change and explained patiently, “You asked it to hide its tracks, but how can it hide with bloodstains on it?”

“…”

“It probably just consumed the blood it came into contact with. Do you see any mycelium interested in the blood on the ground?”

Indeed, the mycelium was avoiding that area.

Jian Hua’s expression slowly relaxed, left with one question: “If they’re not satiated, why won’t they move?” Just moments ago, they were eagerly trying to rush into the Abandoned World, but now they lay quietly on the walls and floor.

If his ability attacked and consumed human life, what was the difference between it and a man-eating pet?

“I have a peculiar guess,” Li Fei said slowly.

Jian Hua looked at him.

They spoke across a considerable distance, the surrounding scenery vague and indistinct.

Staying put was to prevent the sudden end of the phenomenon, forcing them back to reality.

It was a strange feeling; distance wasn’t an issue because their voices were the only consistent and coherent presence in this fragmented world.

Though it felt like they had been talking for a long time, only seconds had passed in the real world.

“Considering the situation in your apartment building’s hallway, even if you don’t enter the Abandoned World, mushrooms can grow there,” Li Fei said, despite Jian Hua’s displeased look. “But you didn’t notice before.”

Jian Hua replied, “That’s because my ability hadn’t awakened.”

“In the real world, there’s only mycelium in the hallway. You’ve been here for seven days, and it’s only grown this much.”

It seemed to dislike the real world.

Jian Hua’s thoughts almost got sidetracked: “If it likes the Abandoned World, why now…”

He stopped abruptly and forcefully commanded the mycelium to pry open the portal to the Abandoned World.

The fine white filaments were lackadaisical, exemplifying their reluctance to work. It took about five minutes for them to gather and another five to find a breakthrough point for excavation. Fortunately, Jian Hua and Li Fei, caught between two worlds, had plenty of time to spare.

The mycelium, working grudgingly at an increasingly slower pace, began to slack off.

Jian Hua, using his willpower, coerced them into forming a cluster, and they finally opened a dark void. The whole studio shook more intensely.

“Let’s go!”

Li Fei didn’t hesitate to run towards the void, grabbing and sealing several lunch boxes from their earlier meal in a plastic bag along the way.

Jian Hua: “…”

Crossing the void, everything went dark for a moment.

Jian Hua quickly opened his eyes, pulling the mycelium in front of him to guard against any monster attacks. However, he bumped his forehead against something soft, and then his feet.

…mushrooms.

The studio was unrecognizable. The tallest mushrooms had reached the ceiling, arrogantly shaking and tossing the freshly killed body of a long-armed monkey to the smaller mushrooms below.

Everywhere Jian Hua looked, hordes of long-armed monkeys were frantically fleeing, with mushrooms sprouting rapidly from the ground in pursuit.

They grew in straight lines and circles, trapping the monkeys while continuing to increase in size and girth, preventing any escape.

Jian Hua tripped over the mushrooms, and Li Fei almost dropped the lunch boxes he was holding.

Li Fei murmured, “As I thought, they’ve already transported themselves here, taking over the battlefield.”

“And behind my back,” Jian Hua said darkly, his face stern.

---

 The author has something to say：

Here’s what happened —

The mycelium penetrated the Abandoned World, Jian Hua asked it to come back, and the mycelium was unhappy and brought back a person… but part of the mycelium actually didn’t return…

——————

To those fixing the BUG, the name of the third male lead here doesn’t match with the one used later.

---

Last Edit: December 20, 2023 at 3:37 PM

This is machine translated and all copyrights belong to the author. Please note that the translator might take creative liberties for better readability. Thank you for reading.