Ruins exploration.

Duanmu Huai had watched similar videos before crossing over. Simply put, due to various urbanization reasons, many places have some abandoned buildings and unfinished structures. They gradually get forgotten, and some streamers go to these places to explore, but...

"Let’s forget it; there’s really nothing good to explore in such places."

Duanmu Huai felt he should dissuade Banai from this idea.

"What if you’re walking in there and encounter a corpse? That wouldn’t be fun at all."

"A c-corpse!?"

Sure enough, upon hearing the word, Banai jumped up immediately.

"Yes, these ruins are generally deserted, so sometimes people choose to hang themselves there, or they might be killed and have their bodies hidden there. You wouldn’t want to turn a corner and see a hanging person staring straight at you, right?"

Duanmu Huai wasn’t exaggerating; he had indeed seen videos before crossing over where streamers go exploring in ruins, only to be scared away when they encounter a corpse.

The probability is almost the same as the Fishing Man fishing a corpse at night...

"Ugh... Then forget it..."

Sure enough, after hearing Duanmu Huai’s words, Banai immediately gave up on her idea, and Chitanda beside her shook her head repeatedly. She never liked listening to stories where people die, and if she saw a dead person in person, she might faint directly.

"Ah! In that case, can’t we publish our club magazine this issue? I don’t want that!"

Perhaps the dessert Strength had been exhausted, Banai once again lay down on the table, and Duanmu Huai understood why Banai was so disappointed.

The two previous issues of the Classical Studies Club magazine were very popular. During the cultural festival, the Classical Studies Club’s Literature and Dessert Special Edition was well-received among students and parents. The second issue, Food and Ghost Stories, was printed with five hundred copies, all sold out. Banai also mentioned that students from the regular department often ask her when the next issue will be published, so it’s no wonder she’s anxious.

By the way, Duanmu Huai also saw some students from the performance department reading the magazine, but given his reputation, they didn’t dare approach him.

Positive feedback, everyone likes it, so naturally Banai hopes to do better progressively. Initially, she used to loaf around in the Classical Studies Club, eating snacks, but now she actively wants to participate in club activities.

"We’ve taken a lot of photos and done plenty of research before, that should be enough."

Although Banai wasn’t satisfied, Duanmu Huai had already joined them in exploring haunted houses and other similar places, taking some photos. After all, this is a classical literature periodical, and the theme is merely verifying the connection between ghost stories and haunted houses, not a supernatural magazine that must capture Evil Spirits—if it were the latter, Duanmu Huai would directly catch a Curse Spirit for them to photograph to their heart’s content.

"But it still feels like we’re missing something... How to put it, it’s like after having a hamburger meal for dessert, you still need ramen as the main course; that’s right, the main course! These are just appetizers! I feel there’s still a lack of impact!"

Only you would eat a hamburger meal as an appetizer.

Duanmu Huai rolled his eyes; just listening to Banai say that made him full.

Although the analogy is ridiculous, the understanding is clear enough.

"I think so too."

Chitanda nodded her head.

"As Anan said, this information is indeed sufficient, but... it’s lacking a definitive theme, the connection between ghost stories and haunted houses in literature. We need material that can verify the theme..."

"Hmm..."

Regarding this, Duanmu Huai didn’t have any ideas, but that’s okay.

"I’ll find someone with ideas to ask."

The person Duanmu Huai referred to with ideas, of course, was... Director Qing Shui.

"Hahaha, haunted house? Are you guys a Classical Literature Department or a Supernatural Department?"

"As long as it relates to literature, it works."

Hearing Director Qing Shui’s ridicule, Duanmu Huai snorted lightly.

"So, do you have any good suggestions?"

"The literary nature of haunted house ghost stories? It’s indeed a bit tricky, but... I actually thought of a related concept."

At this point, Director Qing Shui chuckled.

"Have you heard of AFOF?"

"What the heck is that?"

"A FRIEND OF FRIEND. The Friend of a Friend, you know a lot of ghost stories start like that? This is something my friend’s friend experienced..."

"Oh, indeed."

Many of the supernatural TV shows and variety programs Duanmu Huai watched, indeed most are adapted from viewer letters, and often start with "This is something my friend experienced" or "This is something my friend’s friend experienced."

But...

"Isn’t this just making up friends out of thin air?"

It’s better if the friend you talk about is not yourself; everyone is accustomed to it.

"But for storytelling, this is very important; you see, if you want to tell a story, starting with once upon a time, nobody feels it’s scary, right? After all, it’s a story from a long time ago. But if you say this is an experience of my friend’s friend, even though everyone knows this friend might not exist, they also know it’s a contemporary event and feel more connected."

"If you put it that way, it makes a bit of sense."

Duanmu Huai nodded.

"This is a topic researched by a popular foreign scholar, AFOF, Friend of a Friend, passed down by word of mouth, creating a sense of immersion and authenticity. I noticed the materials you submitted earlier, quite a few were like this, right? From this angle, planning it might be more unique. Also, although we are making a horror film, most of the time, those stories themselves aren’t actually scary, it’s just the artificially added artistry and literary elements that make them appear frightening; ghost stories are like this too."

"I understand, thank you for the advice. By the way, how’s the movie going?"

"Everything is going smoothly. Currently, the main focus is post-production; I don’t have to worry about things like promotion. To be honest, I’m still a bit nervous since this is a big production and it’s going to be released globally at the same time..."

"The box office shouldn’t be bad."

Duanmu Huai has confidence in Director Qingshui’s ability, and for him———this movie absolutely cannot fail.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Duanmu Huai hung up the phone and then conveyed Director Qingshui’s suggestion to Banai and Chitanda.

"Got it!"

The meal seemed to have helped Banai’s quick thinking; she quickly came to her senses and gave the table a hard slap.

"We’ve been trapped in a misconception!"

"Misconception?"

"Exactly, we’ve been going to those murder houses looking for ghosts, but think about it, how could ghosts and such possibly exist! Approaching it from this angle is definitely going to lead nowhere, but these rumors must have original stories! We can totally choose a murder house topic, then unravel the details and find out the truth from this ghost story! Just like solving a case!"

Banai spoke while smiling at the two.

"How about it?"

"You mean solving it like a detective?"

"That’s right!"

Banai proudly pointed to the materials at hand.

"Look, all the murder houses we’ve gathered are said to be places where people were killed because they were cursed or affected by evil spirits. At the time, we merely used that as the story’s backdrop, but upon closer examination, is this claim accurate? Did the people in this house move away? Or did they actually die? Nobody really knows! If we can conduct such an investigation, it would surely become the centerpiece of this issue’s club publication!"

"I’m very curious!"

Upon hearing Banai’s proposal, Chitanda’s eyes also lit up, indicating that Banai’s proposal indeed appealed to her.

"Solving a case, seems quite interesting."

Duanmu Huai didn’t oppose it either, he had experience being a detective, and it was indeed more interesting than simply testing courage looking for ghosts in a murder house.

"How about this one?"

Banai quickly tackled the idea and started searching on her phone.

"Inugami Village rumors! I heard everyone in the village mysteriously disappeared overnight, not known where they are! Recently, it’s become a hot topic for ghost stories online!"

"...Let’s try a different one."

"Eh? Why? Isn’t this interesting?"

"I think there’s nothing much to investigate."

After all, the culprit is standing right here, would it mean Duanmu Huai would need to confess?

"Yes, Anan."

Chitanda also advised from the side.

"An entire village disappearing is quite unlikely, probably they just moved away, or maybe it’s just a casually spread rumor."

"Eh? But I saw many people claim beneath the post that they can’t contact family or friends in Inugami Village..."

"It’s the internet, lots of people for entertainment, like to join in the fun, who knows if it’s true or not."

Duanmu Huai could only say this, it seems the Magic World controlled the media but couldn’t control the internet, though these baseless rumors are probably just regarded as entertainment by everyone. Someone like Chitanda doesn’t believe in it, which is preferable...Hmm...Believing would be troublesome.

"Then how about this one!"

Banai immediately shifted her focus.

"The mysterious Western-style house in N city, I heard mysterious deaths occurred there, and it was abandoned, everyone who went there exploring went missing! Ah...However, N city is quite far away..."

"No problem, I’ll drive you there."

"Eh?"

Hearing Duanmu Huai speak, both were stunned.

"Xiao Ai, you can drive? You’re not old enough for a driver’s license, right?"

"Haha."

Looking at the dumbfounded pair, Duanmu Huai chuckled.

"You’ll know by then."

Then, he continued.