It was a human face.
It looked like a mask made directly from skin peeled off a person's face, carrying a deeply unsettling realism.
A face wearing a human-face mask.
"Welcome everyone to the Entertainment to Death Live Streaming Platform."
A tall person in the middle spoke first; the mask on his face was that of a small-eyed man, and the skin wrinkled as he spoke.
"Congratulations to everyone for being selected by our platform. You are all excellent streamers, and we hope you will continue to attract more viewers to follow us on this platform."
"Everyone has already signed the contract; we hope you all abide by the platform's regulations, as you will be held responsible for any consequences that occur during the broadcast."
Nan Yue: ...What contract? How is it that a contract was already signed the moment we arrived?
"Now, everyone come and claim your streaming equipment. This is the streaming map; you can discuss among yourselves exactly where you will go to stream."
The other two people wearing human-face masks silently distributed the small boxes piled in the corner to the people sitting on the floor, one by one.
Nan Yue took the small black box and opened it to find a small handheld camcorder and a micro-camera that could be worn on the ear for a first-person perspective.
The school had provided an introduction to streaming, but it was only a brief overview; after all, they had too many things to learn to cover everything in detail.
Nan Yue began to consider whether she needed to recruit a local NPC into her team.
"Well then, I wish you all a successful broadcast. Remember our slogan: Entertainment to death."
The man's voice had no tonal inflection at all, sounding like a soulless robot reciting lines, which created a strange sense of dissonance.
After speaking, the three masked men left, and the atmosphere in the room immediately relaxed as everyone began to whisper to one another.
Nan Yue finally had the chance to look over her teammates for this mission.
Judging by their expressions and ages, there were about twenty scavengers, which was a normal number for a mission.
The number of NPCs seemed to be higher than the number of scavengers; Nan Yue's heart sank slightly, knowing that in such a setting, NPCs could easily become stones for testing the path.
"Ah! The streaming map this time is for the Zhou Family Compound! We've hit the jackpot!"
"Yeah, who hasn't grown up hearing stories about the Zhou Family Compound? But I heard that place is under strict management now, and you can't even get in without a pass."
"That's why it's called Entertainment to death; they have that much power."
"Speaking of which, is there something special about the Zhou Family Compound?"
Nan Yue heard a somewhat familiar voice; she turned her head and saw Xu Yuan, who had survived with them at the Zhengmiao Childcare School.
After not seeing him for a while, Xu Yuan looked much more mature than before; sitting beside him was a short boy with glasses, likely his teammate.
"You haven't heard of the Zhou Family Compound?"
The girl being questioned gave him a strange look. "How could you possibly have not heard of the Zhou Family Compound?"
Xu Yuan quickly explained, "Ah, I only arrived in this city recently. I've only heard the name, but no one is willing to tell me exactly what happened."
The girl looked at Xu Yuan with a hint of suspicion. "...To think someone like you could be chosen by Entertainment to death."
Xu Yuan: ...Do you think I wanted this?
"The Zhou Family Compound belonged to the wealthiest family in our Xuan City a hundred years ago. Everyone died on the night the young master of the Zhou family got married, and the entire compound was practically submerged in blood. Since then, it has been a haunted house."
The boy with glasses had been listening quietly until now, when he finally spoke up. "Ah... a haunted house. Doesn't that mean we'll make a fortune streaming there?"
Xu Yuan swallowed the words he was about to say, looking at his companion with a pained, awkward expression.
However, the girl seemed to find this incredibly exciting and nodded enthusiastically.
"Exactly! There are always so many streamers on Entertainment to death, and you know the competition is fierce, but we were actually assigned to stream at the Zhou Family Compound. This will definitely attract a lot of viewers!"
Nan Yue stopped listening and turned to look at a girl next to her who seemed to be dazed.
Nan Yue nudged her with her elbow. "Are you scared?"
The girl immediately shook her head. "...No, I was just thinking that I must achieve good results in this stream. The boy I like is watching me."
Nan Yue had a general idea of what kind of livestream this was, so she was a bit surprised to hear the girl say that.
"You should know that this stream carries risks, right? He's willing to let you come?"
The girl looked a bit embarrassed. "He's the one who told me to come. He said that if I succeed in the stream, he'll be with me."
Nan Yue wore an expression that was difficult to describe; if it weren't for the fact that everyone had already signed the contract, she would have even considered advising the girl to go back.
"It's fine. Although streaming is risky, there are no ghosts in this world. We're just exploring these places; it's not like we'll actually die."
The girl looked very nervous; unlike the others who joined out of pure interest, she seemed to be saying this to convince herself rather than Nan Yue.
Nan Yue sighed inwardly. Little sister, it's hard to say if there are ghosts in the world, but you will definitely be seeing them this time.
"By the way, do you remember the contract? I didn't look at it very closely before I signed."
Nan Yue put on a look of regret, and fortunately, the girl actually remembered it.
Because she wasn't as swept up in the excitement as the others, she had read every single clause carefully.
"There are only four rules in total; I remember them very clearly."
Some of the other scavengers noticed Nan Yue's conversation and quickly leaned in. It was then that Xu Yuan noticed Nan Yue and greeted her excitedly, but there was no time for small talk as everyone listened intently to the girl's recollection.
"First, you must never remove the streaming equipment at any time; the broadcast must be continuous throughout."
"Second, you cannot perform any actions that damage the Entertainment to Death Live Streaming Platform's reputation, nor can you offend the audience."
"Third, there will be prompts on your own equipment regarding your assigned streaming time; you must start your broadcast strictly according to those prompts."
"Fourth, once the contract is signed, it cannot be breached regardless of what happens. Entertainment to death, until the very end."
The girl's face turned a bit pale, and she gave a couple of dry laughs. "I think it's just a gimmick. They wouldn't be able to explain it if someone actually lost their life, right?"
Wen Xiang Yuan had been listening from the side, and she finally whispered, "How handsome could this guy be that he's worth risking your life for?"
The girl immediately pulled up a photo on her phone; the group leaned in to take a look and then walked away without saying a word.
Sure enough, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Nan Yue thought sadly.
The others also firmly committed these rules to memory; unlike the NPCs, the scavengers knew these were life-threatening rules.
"Let's head out now; the Zhou Family Compound is just across the street."
A boy stood up. "Once we reach the Zhou Family Compound, our streaming durations should be assigned."
Rate on N.U.
