Horror Movie Set: This extra is too good at playing the tricks.

Chapter 70: Disconnected Again

"Sizzle—"

The electrical noise was like a saw, severing a nerve.

Lu Dan's consciousness was like a computer whose power was forcibly unplugged, instantly going black.

"Thump—"

His body slammed heavily onto the bed with a dull thud.

Only one second had passed.

"Hmph... Hmph..."

Lu Dan suddenly sprang up from the bed, his chest heaving violently as he greedily devoured the air. Cold sweat soaked his vest, and a surreal yet incredibly real pain exploded in his neck.

He instinctively raised his hands and covered his neck tightly, his fingers frantically searching for it.

"What happened? Wasn't I dead?"

Lu Dan's eyes were unfocused, and the image of himself becoming a headless corpse still lingered in his pupils.

"No...no!"

He shook his head violently, trying to shake the mess in his mind out.

A sharp pain shot through my left ankle.

Lu Dan slapped his forehead: "Damn it, how could I have forgotten about that?"

He rolled up his trouser leg: "Hey, roommate, stop playing dead! What just happened? What's the situation now?"

As the thigh that had been possessing him all along, this female ghost roommate certainly didn't have any "blackouts".

A few seconds later, a fragmented voice echoed deep within Lu Dan's mind: "Sun...Moon...Mountain...Twin Villages..."

The voice was erratic and extremely difficult to understand.

"Dead...alive...courage...demon Yao..." A few fragmented words popped out, and then there was no more sound.

"this one?"

He rubbed his ankle with a hint of exasperation: "Weren't you so arrogant back then? Now you can't even speak properly?"

Although he didn't understand it clearly, these keywords were undoubtedly reminding him of something. Combining his own experience, Lu Dan vaguely grasped the key point.

He took a deep breath, got out of bed, and, using the faint red light coming in from the window, saw the furnishings in the room. It was still the familiar main room.

He walked to the door of the east wing, pushed it open, and saw two people lying on the bed, their sleeping postures stiff.

Lu Dan squinted, trying to make out who the two people were in the dim light.

He touched his pocket and was surprised to find that his slingshot was out of bullets.

Did you use it up during the day?

There is still time.

He walked to the bedside and looked down at Ye Jianguo, who was fast asleep.

The retired cadre had a furrowed brow, as if he were fighting against something in his dream.

Lu Dan first shook him vigorously, but Ye Jianguo remained asleep like a dead pig.

He then flexed his wrists, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes: "Time to get up and pee."

"Snapped!"

A crisp, loud slap landed squarely on Ye Jianguo's face.

"Who?!"

Ye Jianguo sprang out of bed instantly, assuming a standard fighting defensive stance, arms protecting his head, his eyes glaring fiercely ahead.

Upon recognizing Lu Dan standing before him, Ye Jianguo's murderous intent quickly vanished. He lowered his arm, rubbed his burning cheek, and asked with a hint of helplessness and confusion, "Comrade Dan, what are you doing? Is this some kind of special wake-up service in your village?"

Now it was Lu Dan's turn to be dumbfounded. He took two steps back and slightly pulled the rubber band of the slingshot in his hand.

Do you know me?

According to his memory, he had never met this person before, and the only person who resembled him had been ridden like a "horse".

"May I ask who you are?" Lu Dan asked tentatively.

Ye Jianguo paused for a moment, put down his hand that was rubbing his face, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

He didn't answer immediately, but turned around and walked quickly to the window, pulling back the curtains.

Outside the window, there was a gloomy, deathly silence. The old locust tree was covered with pale white banners, which fluttered in the cold wind.

Only a crescent moon, radiating a chill, hung in the sky.

"It really is the dark side." He muttered to himself, then turned around and looked at Lu Dan with a complicated expression. "Comrade Dan, I'm Ye Jianguo, here to conduct the 'census.' It seems you don't remember what happened during the day?"

"During the day?" Lu Dan frowned, his mind filled with excruciating pain.

"It seems there's a gap in his memory." Ye Jianguo sighed, offering no further explanation. Instead, he turned and walked to another bed, grabbed Da Lu by the collar, and shook him violently. "Da Lu, wake up! Don't sleep!"

Da Lu woke up with a scream, waving his hands wildly in the air, clearly having had a nightmare.

When he saw Ye Jianguo standing before him, tears welled up in his eyes: "Team Leader Ye, thank goodness! You came to save me? I was almost eaten in my dream!"

"Hey, where are we? Why did it get dark so fast?"

Ye Jianguo pointed to Lu Dan beside him: "Do you still recognize him?"

Da Lu turned to look at Lu Dan, his eyes filled with confusion before turning wary: "Who's this? The new comrade in our census team? Why does he look so fierce? And he's holding a slingshot."

Lu Dan: "..."

"Alright, Comrade Da Lu has forgotten too." Ye Jianguo didn't waste any words, turned around and rushed out of the east wing, heading straight for the west wing.

Lu Dan followed closely behind, never putting down the empty slingshot in his hand.

In the west wing, Chen Hua and Zhang Min were woken up.

The first thing Chen Hua did when he opened his eyes was to reach for his waist. He only breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Ye Jianguo: "Team Leader Ye, where are we?"

Zhang Min huddled in the corner, her eyes filled with fear as she looked at the crowd, clearly recognizing them.

The five people gathered again around the eight-immortal table in the main room, and the atmosphere was somewhat eerie.

On the left sit the trio who still remember: Ye Jianguo, Chen Hua, and Zhang Min.

On the right sat Da Lu, looking completely bewildered, and Lu Dan, looking wary and ready to run away at any moment.

"We've roughly figured out the situation." Ye Jianguo rubbed his still slightly swollen cheeks and said in a deep voice, "It seems that only those who actually crossed that mountain during the day and came to the 'shady side' village to conduct the 'census' can retain the memory of the daytime 'census' during this period."

He pointed to himself and Chen Hua: "Comrade Chen Hua and I have been here before." Then he looked at Zhang Min, "Based on our previous reasoning, Comrade Zhang Min should have been here long ago."

As Lu Dan listened to the conversation, the fragments in his mind began to slowly piece together.

Although he has no memory of the daytime, this kind of logical deduction is his strength.

Lu Dan slowly lowered the slingshot, his eyes becoming deep and unfathomable.

"So, I'm now a loser who only remembers the night?"

"That's one way to understand it," Chen Hua nodded.

"Then here's the question." Lu Dan suddenly smiled, a chilling smile spreading across his face.

He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a soft tapping sound. "So, according to you, we woke up at this point in time and took over this body in the 'yin' side to conduct a 'census,' right?"

Ye Jianguo nodded; this was his deduction.

Lu Dan raised his head, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, his voice extremely low: "So at this very moment, in the sunlit 'sunny side' village, what are our original bodies—that is... those of us who didn't come here—doing right now...?"