Chapter 19: The Mission Is to Escape the Castle

"Sister!"
"A-Xing!"

Two voices rang out simultaneously, belonging to two different people. The camera focused on them, revealing their faces to everyone in the live stream.

The young girl was sixteen or seventeen, wearing her hair in cute twin tails, her guileless face still possessing a touch of baby fat. She ran toward Jiang Yunyao, her light blue skirt tracing a beautiful arc through the air. The boy wore a black baseball cap and a punk-style outfit, with headphones hanging around his neck; the moment he stepped through the door, he made a beeline for Xie Yixing.

[Wow, wow, wow! The young lady is so kawaii!!]
[Is this Jiang Yunyao’s younger sister? I’m jealous! Why does Jiang Yunyao have such a cute sister!]
[Baby, have you considered debuting? I want to be one of your "mommy fans!"]
[Is no one noticing the boy next to her? He’s so handsome too! The production team really has an eye for talent!]

Seeing the girl, Jiang Yunyao’s eyes lit up. "Xiaonuo!"

She set down her script, caught the girl who had thrown herself at her, and couldn't help but ask with concern, "Why are you here? Did you get motion sickness on the way? Do you feel unwell now?"

In truth, she also wanted to ask how the Qingfeng Temple was faring, how her master was doing, and if they had received the letter sent by Xiaojin. However, hindered by the cameras, Jiang Yunyao swallowed these questions and instead checked Xiaonuo’s complexion. Seeing that the girl’s face was rosy and her eyes were clear, with no signs of discomfort, she felt slightly relieved.

Ran Yinuo buried herself in Jiang Yunyao’s arms, hugging her and acting spoiled. "Sister, I’m fine! It’s just that I haven’t seen you in such a long time! I missed you so much!"

Jiang Yunyao was an only child in this life; she had met this junior sister when she was eighteen, at which time the girl was only ten. Over the years, the sisters' bond had grown deeper and deeper, just like real siblings. However, after Jiang Yunyao graduated from university, she became busy with her career, returning to Qingfeng Temple only during holidays, and even then, only when she had free time. It had been over two months since her last visit.

Jiang Yunyao had no resistance to her sister’s pouting and affection. She leaned in close, "I missed you too, Xiaonuo!"

On the other side, seeing the boy, Xie Yixing blurted out, "Jiang Yue, why are you here?!"

Jiang Yue’s steps faltered, a flash of embarrassment crossing his eyes. He suppressed his inner distaste and put on a bright smile. "A-Xing, I heard the production team was looking for special guests, and I was worried that as someone outside the industry, you’d be lonely on the variety show, so I specifically signed up to keep you company!"

Xie Yixing was deeply moved and punched him on the shoulder. "You really are a good brother! That’s loyal!"

A total of four special guests had arrived this time, each connected to one of the main guests. The special guest connected to Lu Mucheng was named Liu Tingpeng, a man in his forties or fifties. He was also an actor, but when he first debuted, he had offended an industry bigwig by helping the wrong person and was subsequently blacklisted. It was only after that bigwig fell from power that he reappeared in the public eye. Unfortunately, because of his age, he couldn't land good roles even after his comeback, so he remained obscure. Later, while discussing acting techniques with Lu Mucheng on the set of a spy thriller, they discovered they were kindred spirits and became close friends despite their age gap. After the show aired, Liu Tingpeng’s acting received universal acclaim, and the public finally remembered him. Coincidentally, the character he played was also surnamed Liu and was addressed as "Uncle Liu" in the show, a title that stuck in real life.

The other special guest was named Wen Xiao, in her thirties, known in the industry as "Sister Xiao," a famous diva of the music scene. She and Lin Wanwan were artists from the same company, and she was very fond of the humble and hardworking junior. Because of this fondness, she had self-recommended to sing the theme song for *Heart of Diamonds* and had even promoted Lin Wanwan to her fans, bringing considerable attention to both the show and the actress.

Jiang Yunyao received a system notification, realizing she had triggered the plot again.

{*Ten Thousand Favors: The Black-Bellied Movie King’s Koi Wife*: Goldfinger Supporting Male: Liu Tingpeng}
{*Ten Thousand Favors: The Black-Bellied Movie King’s Koi Wife*: Goldfinger Supporting Female: Wen Xiao}

Jiang Yunyao looked at the words "Goldfinger," initially confused, but after reading their plot lines, she understood instantly. In the middle and late stages of the story, the male lead’s company would require a technical expert, and Liu Tingpeng happened to know that person, so he would introduce them to the male lead. As for Wen Xiao, there was no need to mention her early role in bringing exposure and heat to the female lead’s career. In the later stages, upon learning the female lead wanted to enter the film industry, she would recommend her to a temperamental big-name director, allowing the female lead to successfully step into the movie world. The existence of these two was indeed a bona fide "Goldfinger" for the protagonists!

Seeing that everyone had arrived, the director had the special guests introduce themselves briefly before picking up a megaphone to announce today's task.

"Today’s task is to escape the castle. The guests’ identities are family members of the castle owner."
"Due to a massive fire, the castle owner has perished in the flames. After the funeral, everyone began arguing endlessly over the inheritance!"
"At this moment, all escape routes from the castle have been locked, and a great fire has broken out outside once again!"
"To survive, everyone must temporarily set aside their quarrels and work together to find a way to escape the castle!"
"However, what everyone didn't expect is that among them, three people have joined the wizard’s evil plan, igniting these two fires with the goal of seizing the castle owner’s property!"
"The fire is spreading; in four hours, the castle will be swallowed by the flames. The legitimate family members of the castle owner must identify the wizard’s minions and successfully escape this castle!"

"Note: The wizard has used sorcery to build a 'Little Dark Room.' Once caught by the wizard’s minions and thrown into the Little Dark Room, you will be consumed by it!"
"The legitimate family members must identify the minions and escape! If all legitimate family members are consumed, or if no one escapes in time, the minions win!"

[Four hours? That’s enough time for firefighters to make dozens of trips! If the family members had just one cell phone, they wouldn't have to go through all this trouble!]
[Castle, wizard... these elements all have an ancient Western flavor; surely there’s no such thing as 'firefighters' in this setting?]
[Hey, hey, hey, the guests' cell phones have been confiscated, but the production team gave them new ones!]
[Ha! The production team definitely confiscated the phones for fear of us leaking information to the guests!]
[Who do you think the three minions are?]
[Hmph! Jiang Liangliang is so unlikable, she must be a minion!]
[Can the haters stop typing? It’s just a game, why bring reality into this?!]

After the guests received their new phones, the director continued to announce the rules.
"Aside from the group chat on the phones, guests cannot create new groups. If necessary, please use private messages!"
"Now, please open your phones and claim your electronic ID cards!"

The minions' ID cards had four extra characters: "You are a minion." Once a guest had viewed their ID card, it could no longer be accessed, which, to a certain extent, helped the minions hide their identities.

Once all guests had confirmed their roles, staff members brought out blindfolds for the guests to wear. The staff member responsible for the minions' blindfolds performed a sleight of hand and signaled them to open their eyes. With preparations complete, the production team led the guests toward the castle.

After the guests were separated and taken to different locations, the director announced, "The countdown to escape the castle has begun, guests, please remove your blindfolds!"

As soon as Jiang Yunyao took off her blindfold, she immediately surveyed her surroundings. Before her was a three-story bookshelf, next to a desk and chair, with potted plants on the windowsill; the layout looked like a study. Realizing this was a room, she quickly walked out into the corridor.

Just as Jiang Yunyao was thinking about what to do next, the phone provided by the production team vibrated. She took it out and saw that someone had sent a message in the group chat.