I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 123 - 123 122. Immersive_1

Chapter 123: 122. Immersive_1 Chapter 123: 122. Immersive_1 Lu Ban was certain there wouldn’t be a problem when he watched the movie himself.

He had already viewed so much footage and fiddled with the editing for a week; if there were any issues with the video material, wouldn’t he know?

But now, observing the reaction of the music producer next to him, it seemed like the movie was causing physical responses in the viewers?

Was it because he was special, or was the movie special?

Lu Ban wasn’t quite sure.

The film essentially followed Lu Ban’s experiences, only vaguely explaining his reasons for coming here and indirectly stating some background information. After a segment introducing the setting and the characters, it moved on to the part about meeting Red Leaf and the investigation into the missing painter.

Lu Ban had watched it countless times, so he focused not on the screen but on Hammer’s reaction beside him.

He noticed that Hammer’s breath had halted for a moment when the screen showed that sheerly gruesome painting, resembling a scroll from Hell.

That image lingered on the projector screen only briefly, yet Hammer remained immersed in the chaotic madness of the painting, as if deep darkness appeared before his eyes or perhaps a vibrant rainbow, and he was momentarily spellbound.

“This painting, I can hardly describe it, I can’t put it into words, but I’m deeply shocked. The art direction in this movie is incredible, these towers, these courtyards, did you shoot them on location abroad?”

Hammer asked in a low voice.

“Something like that.”

Lu Ban felt that there might indeed be something wrong with the film.

Because the guy responsible for playing the movie was also staring at the screen, his eyes had become blurred as if he was captivated by some bewitching entity that had seized all his attention.

Could it be that because he had seen it so often, he had become immune to it?

Lu Ban decided to consider the subsequent effects.

Hammer was still enraptured by the scenery of Song Island, raving about Lu Ban’s artistic style, when the plot took a turn and reached the part where Lu Ban and Red Leaf started their climb up the mountain.

Beneath the dark torii, Lu Ban adopted the first-person perspective, surrounded by vast darkness with only a faint glimmer of light near.

Hammer could hear his own heartbeat, thump, thump, when suddenly a heart-wrenching song began to play. He could only understand bits and pieces, but the emotions conveyed went straight into Hammer’s heart.

He felt a chill in his limbs, as the theater seemed to transform into a wintry street, goosebumps erupting and making Hammer shiver involuntarily.

In such an environment, with the white fog all around, Hammer’s heartbeat accelerated, and he realized he was breaking out in a cold sweat.

He was naturally brave and could handle normal horror films, but this was the first time a movie had caused such a physiological reaction in him.

It was as if he had entered that long, endless path lined with torii gates, alone in its midst, unable to see the beginning or the end.

For some reason, Hammer started remembering a time when he walked alone at night.

It was a very dark night, he was walking by himself, unable to see the path ahead or behind. If it weren’t for the sporadic, dim streetlights, he would have thought he had entered Another World, where fear was awakened and bred in the absolute silence and darkness.

Everything in the film paused when it swept past the hem of the Shrine Maiden’s costume.

Hammer felt a ringing in his ears and couldn’t think of anything. Then came the violent beating of his heart and the sudden relaxation of his body that had been tense since the beginning.

In certain special circumstances, when a person’s body is highly tense due to concentration, the release of pressure from something terrifying can lead to complete relaxation. At times, this may even cause muscles that shouldn’t relax to do so, which is why some people wet themselves with fear.

Of course, Hammer didn’t wet himself, but he felt as if his entire body had grown hair, with every inch of skin contracting and relaxing. Coming back to his senses, his back was drenched in sweat.

Was that scene really scary? Hammer perused his memories and felt it wasn’t necessarily so. It reminded him of walking alone at night as a child, which made him feel a bit worried, but the shadow of that Shrine Maiden wasn’t nearly as shocking as a sudden appearance of a ghostly face.

But why was he so afraid?

The Shrine Maiden’s face, it seemed familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before?

Hammer tried closing his eyes to ease the tension but found that even with his eyes closed, he still saw the shrine maiden’s face.

“!”

He couldn’t help but straighten his body.

Seeing Lu Ban and Red Leaf enter the shrine, and the sight of the seated shrine maiden and priest lined up in a row, Hammer couldn’t help but admire the composition of the scene.

“I think this movie is not about storytelling, but about storyboarding and artistic expression, which really showcases the skill involved.”

Hammer had roughly heard that a director’s style is reflected by their background; those coming from a screenwriting and producing background care a lot about plot and character relationships, while those from a cinematography and art background have a strong sense of the camera.

Of course, there are also directors whose visuals are stunning, but the plot is dreadfully thin. So far, Hammer felt that the plot of Lu Ban’s film was fairly standard, just the common thriller and mystery genre.

However, when they began playing “One Hundred Poets,” Hammer felt that something was off.

He felt the entire theater darken.

The flickering candlelight made Hammer squint his eyes.

He felt as though the chanting of the poems was no longer just coming from the screen but was emanating from the four corners of the room.

The sound moved from the front left, slowly to the rear left, and from the rear left to the rear right.

Caught up in the imagery, Hammer involuntarily slowed his breathing. Watching Red Leaf approach the corner where the pale-faced shrine maiden held a candle, his own heart rose in his chest.

Hammer wanted to say something, but found his mouth simply wouldn’t open. His whole body felt as though it was pinned down by a heavy weight, immobilized; he couldn’t even close his eyes and could only watch as Red Leaf stepped closer to the ghastly shrine maiden.

“What’s happening, am I scared?”

Hammer panicked internally. He hadn’t expected a film to cause such a reaction.

He watched the dim and dreadful face of the shrine maiden draw closer until her face almost filled the entire screen.

Hum—

A buzzing sound broke Hammer’s stiffened body, allowing him to gasp for air. Watching Lu Ban save Red Leaf on the screen, he even felt somewhat grateful.

At this point, Hammer felt he needed a break.

“Let’s pause for a moment, I need to use the restroom.”

He said with a slightly trembling voice, instructed his assistant to pause the video, and walked to the company restroom.

After easing some pressure, Hammer zipped up his pants and turned on the faucet to wash his hands.

Splashing water on his face, Hammer lifted his head and looked at himself in the mirror.

He looked exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes, as if he had just been through an ordeal.

“This movie, the atmosphere is too intense…”

He muttered to himself, turned off the faucet, and took one last look at himself in the mirror.

He saw his reflection in the mirror smiling back at him.

But he was not smiling.

“…”

Hammer leaned against the wall, feeling a little dizzy.

He strongly suspected that before he finished watching this film, his body might give out first!