Chapter 302 Theatrical Performances

Yang Kexin nodded. "Brother Chen Yu... be careful, we'll wait for you outside..."

Chen Yu nodded. "Mm."

"Big Brother! Take care! Don't die in there!"

"Big Brother, I hope we can still see you come out!"

"Big Brother! I still want to hear you rap!"

The three of them said goodbye in a rather serious manner, though it looked a bit tragic, making Flyer's expression even worse.

Just like that, under the worried gazes of the six people behind, Chen Yu stood behind the door of the backstage passage and made a gesture of invitation.

Flyer swallowed, glanced back at the teammates, and then resolutely took the first step.

Boots stepping on the wooden floor made a dull thud, like knocking on an empty coffin.

The pitch-black passage was deeper than it looked. Faded posters were pasted on the walls on both sides, depicting people in costumes, their faces rotted away by water stains, leaving only a blank white expanse.

It was even more terrifying.

Every few steps there was a wall lamp, but they had long since stopped working.

"Brother Chen Yu, are you looking for something here?" Flyer, walking in front, asked again.

Chen Yu spoke indifferently. "You don't need to worry about that. Your only task is to obey."

After walking for about twenty seconds, a door appeared ahead. It was dark red, the paint bubbling. On the wall above the door frame, a brass plate was nailed, with three characters engraved on it: "Dressing Room"!

Flyer stopped and looked back at Chen Yu.

Chen Yu: "Push it open."

Flyer braced himself, placed a hand on the door panel, and pushed the door open.

A musty smell rushed out to meet them.

The dressing room was about forty square meters. A row of vanity tables lined the wall, each with an oval mirror embedded in the surface. The mirrors were not large, just enough to reflect one face.

Costumes hung on the racks against the wall—red, green, pink—one after another, packed tightly together. The wind blew in from outside the door, causing the costumes on the racks to sway gently.

Several wooden boxes were piled in the corner, lids half-open, revealing props inside: a whisk, folding fans, headpieces...

All of this indicated that this was just an ordinary, vintage dressing room.

The only thing worth noting was that the ceiling height of this room was over three meters, which was quite rare.

"What is this?" Flyer walked in front, looking around, but didn't dare to touch anything, only daring to observe briefly.

Chen Yu followed behind, also earnestly searching for the target, which was the Proof of the Past.

According to the analysis, the Proof of the Past, as the name implied, was very likely something with a date on it.

"Eh?" Flyer suddenly turned around and looked at Chen Yu.

Chen Yu: "?"

Flyer was a bit confused. "Didn't you just nudge me?"

Chen Yu frowned. "Absolutely not."

Flyer's expression stiffened. "You... don't scare me..."

Chen Yu was a bit speechless.

Seeing Chen Yu's expression, Flyer naturally realized that Chen Yu was not lying.

"But, someone really poked me just now."

Flyer was a little panicked, quickly scanning the surroundings, but saw nothing.

"Whoosh—" But in the next second, a sudden change occurred!

A rope, emerging from nowhere, suddenly shot up!

Flyer's reaction was fast enough; he immediately tilted his head, and the rope brushed past his ear, missing its mark!

But the rope didn't fall back down. It turned back, faster and more viciously, re-wrapping around Flyer's neck and yanking upward.

"Holy shit!" Flyer's feet left the ground, and the whole person was hoisted into mid-air!

The most terrifying thing was that the rope was tightening, getting tighter and tighter!

On Chen Yu's side, things weren't any better... "!!!"

From the shadows of the overhead beam, a rope directly looped around the neck, yanking up violently! A blind spot in vision!

In less than a second, Chen Yu had already been hoisted to a height of one meter off the ground!

"?" Chen Yu immediately grabbed the rope. Based on the feel... the rope was made of twisted hemp, as thick as a thumb, and soaked in oil! A normal person would never be able to break free!

But Chen Yu certainly wasn't a normal person. Grabbing the middle section of the rope, both arms exerted force! "Rip!" The loop was torn apart from the middle!

On the other side—the struggle was still intense and urgent!

"My head is small and my neck is thin, no matter how tight the loop, it won't cut off my breath. I have infinite strength and strange bones, breaking free from this shitty rope takes no effort. I shrink my shoulders and lower my head, no matter how hard you choke, it's meaningless!"

"My head is small, small as a date!"

"My neck is thin, thin as grass!"

"Fuck, it's not cutting off my air! I'm dying, I'm dying!"

"Thud!" At the final moment, Flyer managed to wriggle out of the rope's snare, thanks to the solid rhyming skills!

Lying on the ground, gasping for air: "No way... this place is not for people to stay..."

Flyer looked at Chen Yu, who was already wandering around, fiddling with this and that. At Chen Yu's feet were two pieces of broken rope.

"Is this guy really human..." Flyer touched the neck, where a red, swollen ring had formed from the strangulation: "Sigh."

After a simple scan of the room, Chen Yu's attention was completely drawn to a booklet pressed on the table at the far end of the vanity.

The cover was red, with the words: [Theater Repertoire] written on it.

Chen Yu opened the repertoire. The pages were yellowed and brittle, with curled edges. Some pages were stuck together, requiring them to be gently pried open with a fingernail.

Every page was printed with the play, date, and lead actors.

"The Drunken Concubine", June 21, 1998. Starring: Lin Xiulan, Zhou Guiying, Wang Qiaoyun.

"Farewell My Concubine", June 28, 1998. Starring: Yang Yuzhen, Li Xiaofeng, Zhang Guilan.

"Picking Up the Jade Bracelet", July 3, 1998. Starring: Liu Qiaoyun, Wang Xiaofeng, Zhao Yuzhen.

Upon seeing this date, Chen Yu confirmed almost immediately that this was definitely the hidden clue, the Proof of the Past.

Sure enough, in the next second, a familiar notification appeared: [Key clue detected: Theater Repertoire]

[Hidden task "Cage of Memories" activated]

[Task Goal: Collect seven Proofs of the Past (2/7)]

[Task Reward: Xiaoguang's Doll]

"1998? This repertoire is way too old!" Flyer's voice came from behind; the teammate had been looking at it for a while too. "Might as well host a hip-hop music festival. Who even listens to these tunes anymore? Gotta keep up with the times!"

Chen Yu shook the head, offered no explanation, and threw the repertoire directly into the personal inventory.

Seeing this, Flyer frowned but didn't ask further, clearly having been smart for once.

"Let's go." Chen Yu also felt that the surrounding atmosphere was a bit strange. Always uncomfortable.

This feeling was just like... just like... a water-soaked quilt wrapped around the body, heavy and sinking?

Chen Yu didn't speak and turned to walk toward the door. With a hand on the doorknob, Chen Yu... suddenly stopped!

That's not right? I clearly didn't close the door?!

A chill instantly shot up! At the same time... "Ahhh—!" "Holy shit!!!!"

Chen Yu turned back abruptly. Flyer had been hoisted up again, and this time, instantly to the ceiling!