With two days remaining before the entry into the next horror movie, everyone was fully prepared, whether it was weaponry or auxiliary gear like high-potency bandages, hemostatic spray, simplified rations, and solid freshwater. Almost everyone was set, and after sparring sessions, the group genuinely needed time to rest, especially after learning the basement could manifest a forest. Everyone had created their own personal retreat, places indistinguishable from the real world, save for the absence of other people.

“When we get back to the real world, let’s find a quiet, elegant place just like this to settle down. We’ll be incredibly wealthy by then, won’t we? Haha. If I get too bored, I’ll wear my underwear on the outside like Superman, occasionally save the world, and spend my free time shopping and traveling with you. Don’t laugh so hard; did I say anything wrong?” Zheng Zha sat quietly with Luoli on a patch of emerald grass, a faint night breeze sweeping by. Apart from the lack of a crimson sunset on the horizon, every aspect of the natural environment was present, even the gentle softness of the breeze.

Luoli hadn't seen many American Superman movies before she died, but in this world of horror films, besides watching scary movies with Zheng Zha, she often caught up on recent blockbusters. She now had a basic concept of the American Superman, so when she heard Zheng Zha mention wearing underwear outside his clothes, she immediately giggled. A soft gust of wind blew, caressing both their faces gently, causing the sea of grass before their eyes to ripple in circles.

Neither spoke, simply holding each other close to soak in the shared moment—silence speaking volumes. It wasn't until long, long afterwards, when Zheng Zha’s fingers slipped into the opening of Luoli’s collar, that the young girl let out a soft moan as another breath of wind arrived.

In Zhang Heng’s room, the young man was aiming his ancient bow, the Celestial Wolf Shooter, at a small tree a thousand meters away. Possessing Elven blood, his agility, eyesight, and the sure grip needed for archery had all improved significantly. Coupled with his innate sensitivity to the bow, he had adapted to the Celestial Wolf Shooter over these few days, not just mastering the weapon, but substantially honing his own archery skills.

“Bending Arrow!” “Explosion Arrow!” These two archery techniques were skills he had acquired accidentally from an ancient, inherited book. There were other techniques described, skills that seemed utterly fantastical and unimaginable to ordinary people. Given Zhang Heng’s diligence and effort, he had only managed to grasp the “Bending Arrow”; he had assumed the other skills were merely exaggerated fantasies of the ancients. However, after entering the horror film Reincarnation, he actually discovered the exchange options for those very archery skills under the “Main God,” finally realizing these techniques were truly real. This realization spurred him to painstakingly train the “Explosion Arrow.”

The “Explosion Arrow” involved consecutively firing two or more arrows, infusing power into the later shafts, causing them to impact the preceding arrow mid-flight and detonate. That force would violently increase the power and speed of the first arrow by more than double. Legend held that the most skilled practitioners could fire nine consecutive arrows, though at that level of extreme velocity and power, the technique was no longer called the “Explosion Arrow,” but rather the “Nine Arrows that Shot Down the Sun!”

Zhang Heng knew he possessed some talent for the bow, but he was no prodigy. More crucially, he lacked the courage to shoot a second arrow at an enemy. Therefore, he could only compensate for his deficiencies with sheer sweat. To avoid dragging down the entire team, he had to pour all his hope into that initial shot!

Regrettably, firing two arrows with the Explosion Arrow was his current limit. A three-arrow sequence remained too difficult for him now. It seemed he needed to further enhance his Elven bloodline, at the very least mastering the two-arrow Explosion Arrow.

Drops of blood flowed down the ancient bow; Zhang Heng’s hands were covered in wounds, and the bowstring was already blurred with crimson smears. He frowned, turning again toward the first floor, muttering, “Still over eight hundred reward points left. That should be enough for eighty more full repairs, right?” The vast majority of it was blood and sweat, especially on the arrow that shattered the small tree—it was covered entirely in blood and sweat.

In Zhan Lan’s room, she sat up in bed, eyes closed, meditating. After a long while, she finally lay back down lazily. Her eyes held a hazy look. After staring blankly for a moment, she suddenly grabbed a pillow behind her and began patting it lightly, murmuring “Fool” and “Idiot” as she did so. After another long period, she clutched the pillow and drifted back into her daze. “Am I an idiot? They—they clearly aren't the same person, so why don't I just create him again? Have I really changed my mind and started liking two people? No, that’s not it. It’s because…”

Zhan Lan murmured things without conscious thought, like someone talking in their sleep; in reality, even she didn't know what nonsense she was spouting. She only felt two figures shifting and wrestling within her mind in stages, until finally, these two shadows slowly merged. Yet, this only made her more distressed.

Helplessly, Zhan Lan sat up in bed. Carefully, she reached for a small, locked notebook on her bedside table, opened it, and began to read. “What a strange place. Perhaps this isn't a way back, as Zhang Jie claimed; maybe this is Hell? Can I see you again here? I’m almost forgetting what you look like…” “It’s been several days since we entered this horror film Reincarnation. Zhang Jie said we face the next film in ten days. I truly hope this time we are as lucky as last time. I nearly died under the monster’s claws; in that moment, I realized that I, too, am afraid to die. No, not just afraid to die—I am more afraid of forgetting everything, you and me, love and hate…” “Tomorrow we leave for the next horror film. That man named Zheng Zha is very lucky. But the elders say lucky people usually aren't happy. Yet, his smile looks so blissful. Should I create a replacement for you? I don’t know, truly, I don’t. Death means absolute finality; a person created would no longer be you. The thought of someone identical to you, someone with your forgotten appearance touching me, makes my whole body tremble with fear. Am I afraid of meeting you again? Or do I hate you so much I never want to see you? I’ll write more when I get back. I have to go now; I hope I can return.”

Reading this, Zhan Lan laughed, but the smile was laced with crystalline tears. Drops fell onto the diary, forming small, bead-like stains, like pearls. “He, he was supposed to be a good man, but he was too rigid, too kind. In this world, kindness has become rigidity, hasn’t it? In that situation, he should have abandoned me and fled alone. He was as rigid and kind as you were—a fool…” “The moment the Alien dragged me away, I suddenly understood that girl’s feelings back then. She must have been so desperate that she clung fiercely to this world, right? Even someone wanting to die will find something in this world to cling to. In that instant, I truly took him for you…” “Today I suddenly felt sympathy for those third parties—both disgusted and sympathetic. Not for their actions, but for their feelings. How pitiful…” “Suddenly so heartbroken because I saw him tightly embrace Xiao Li’er.”

Seeing this, Zhan Lan was sobbing uncontrollably. She cried for a long time before finally taking out a pen and writing in the diary: “I truly give up. Forgive me, please? From today on, I will never love anyone again. I will stay with you and apologize when we reach Hell.” The tears would not stop falling.

In Xiao Honglv’s room, the young boy was feverishly assembling various mechanical parts. Mid-assembly, sparks suddenly flew from the machinery, followed by a sharp crack. When the smoke cleared, Xiao Honglv was sitting there, his face covered in black soot. He rubbed the grime off his face and then burst into loud laughter.

“Young Master, what you’re doing is too worrying. Shouldn’t you put on some protective gear?” Standing a short distance behind Xiao Honglv was a beautiful woman in her late twenties, wearing a qipao. She appeared alluring and gorgeous, radiating the captivating aura of a mature woman, and her figure was astonishingly superb: full-breasted, slender-waisted. Dressed in the qipao, she was enough to spark every fantasy a man might hold.

Xiao Honglv shook his head. “I told you not to follow me, Sister Lan, but you wouldn't listen. Didn’t I ask you to call me 'Little Brother'? Alright, alright. These machines are low-power, non-explosive devices; they cause no real damage even if they blow up. Do you think I don’t know how to avoid danger? Hehe, relax.”

The beautiful woman opened her mouth as if to say something, but she finally let out a sigh, reaching into her bosom to pull out a handkerchief to wipe Xiao Honglv’s face. “Little Brother, wearing this dress... maybe I should put on my undergarments?”

Xiao Honglv chuckled slyly. He patted the beautiful woman’s pert rear. “That won’t do, Sister Lan. You’re not going out to the plaza; there are no outsiders here to see you. Don't you want me to see you?”

The beautiful woman’s face instantly flushed crimson. She muttered softly, “It’s not that—it’s just that wearing it like this isn't quite right…”

Xiao Honglv turned back and bent over to reassemble the mechanical parts. As he worked, he said, “That won’t do. I like seeing Sister Lan dressed like this. You have to wear that kind of sleepwear at night too, hehe. And you have to hold me tight when we sleep. Now, let’s continue. I must get this assembled today.”

The sound of smashing came again. The parts in Xiao Honglv’s hands exploded into blackened scrap metal, and his face was once again smeared with black ash, along with the fragrant touch of the beautiful woman’s handkerchief.