I have a persona specifically for acting.

Tong Zhao was added to the production team’s WeChat group.

It happened suddenly, and someone clueless posted a screenshot of the comments on Tong Zhao’s Weibo.

The screenshot was posted after she joined the group.

The props master, realizing the blunder, quickly retracted the message.

But as someone with excellent dynamic vision from her training, Tong Zhao had already seen the content. Under Han Zhi’s guidance, she responded: “It’s a good way to create buzz. Anyway, I’ll perform well. We can let the netizens fuss for a couple of days without responding, and we get the heat for free. Curiosity will bring viewers.”

The lead’s nonchalant response embarrassed Tang Jingjie.

After all, it was his fans who were pleading for her not to act.

Tang Jingjie: “I’ll go post on Weibo and manage this.”

His words didn’t have much effect on his fans. Having just debuted, he had mostly been in supporting roles, and his “true self” was too gentle, attracting a group of “mommy fans.” In other words, he felt AAA wouldn’t help, while fans thought BBB. No mother lets her son make decisions; they follow their mom’s advice.

As a result, it made others want to exclaim, “Damn it.”

Tong Zhao: [No need, just wait for the release.]

Tong Zhao: [I can’t back out now; I’ve signed the contract.]

It seemed Xu Zhu was afraid Tong Zhao might come to her senses and drop the project, so she urged the production team to finalize the contract quickly to reduce uncertainty. Xu Zhu was also in the WeChat group, and seeing her stepsister’s calm demeanor, a pang of unease surfaced.

What if she really performs well?

…

It’s impossible.

Even if Tong Zhao’s subconscious drive is strong, she might at best avoid a complete disaster, but she won’t excel. As netizens have said, there are two more suitable actresses in the industry, but their schedules don’t align. They and the Concubine Shen aren’t of the same type, and Xu Zhu doesn’t see any good qualities for the role of Tong Zhao.

Having thought this through, Xu Zhu relaxed and continued to feign sympathy in the WeChat group.

Xu Zhu: [Everyone, keep up the good work! ^^]

Tong Zhao did not respond.

Because she turned off her phone and began meditating and cultivating.

For several days, fans of Tang Jingjie and netizens stirred up trouble without any official response. They only received a set of costume photos, indicating that the production team was adamant about using Tong Zhao. However, there were also rumors in forums that the contract had long been signed, and the list of actors had been submitted to the Instinct Film Association, leaving no room for change.

@Countdown72Hoursv

The entire escape team is assembled!

As the female lead, Tong Zhao was unquestionably placed in the first spot. Since it’s an escape film, she wasn’t given an elaborate makeup, but her looks still outshone the remaining female supporting characters. Her beautifully shaped eyes coldly stared at the camera…

The face was still the same, but there was a subtle difference from when she played the Concubine.

That difference made her seem like a different person.

Being gazed at by the Concubine felt like being subtly teased by an invisible force.

In this costume photo, Tong Zhao’s glance at anyone felt like an electric shock—painful and deeply unsettling, yet unrelated to romantic matters.

People are visual creatures, and the moment they saw this costume photo, their confidence that Tong Zhao was unsuitable for *Countdown 72 Hours* wavered.

However, the trending comments helped them reaffirm their stance.

[If it were a traditional film, I’d be more at ease / dog head]

[Makeup can change a person’s demeanor, but it can’t change the “true self” in a short time.]

[If I hadn’t seen Tong Zhao play the Concubine, I’d be looking forward to this film, but now…]

[And the difference in appearance between the sisters in the film is so big, it doesn’t look like they are sisters.]

This perfectly captured the sense of incongruity.

If there’s any flaw in Tong Zhao’s costume photo, it’s that she’s too beautiful.

The light makeup actually accentuates the sharp contours of her features even more. Beauty cannot be hidden or covered up.

Alright, the window of opportunity has been shattered. As soon as the costume photo was released, Xu Zhu’s freshly enthusiastic fanbase exploded. The post quickly turned into a battleground between fans and haters—despite both groups being relatively small at this stage, the constant bickering caused the comments and shares to surge exponentially, achieving the level of heated discussion the production team wanted.

The day of the shoot arrived in the blink of an eye.

Since this was Tong Zhao’s first time participating in a live-stream format film, her manager, Chu Jie, drove her to the location while explaining the key points to pay attention to.

There is a roughly five-minute delay between the shooting and the viewing to allow the AI to automatically skip parts that cannot be broadcast, such as wardrobe malfunctions during battles. Before the film ends, the actors remain connected to the cabin, and the AI filters out unnecessary time.

For instance, when sleeping.

In the film, if an actor finds a safe place to rest beforehand, and the AI scans the area for any threats, it will skip over this part of the time, making sleep seem instantaneous. However, if an actor carelessly sleeps in a location with potential threats, random events may be triggered.

“Live shooting is the most different from traditional films; it’s more like a reality show format.”

Chu Jie concluded, and Tong Zhao nodded in agreement.

Tong Zhao: “The fact that this type of thing can be popular just shows that people still have too much free time.”

As she spoke, the two arrived at the venue.

When Tong Zhao walked into the shooting area, the conversation momentarily ceased, and countless eyes turned toward her, focusing intently on Tong Zhao while her manager was overlooked.

Chu Jie wasn’t annoyed; in fact, she was pleased. This was a good sign.

A promising star naturally commands attention and draws others’ gazes.

Since it was a major event, Tong Zhao confidently embraced the aura of being the center of attention. Her already outstanding presence became almost dreamlike. While the female attendees could resist, the male attendees were dazzled and their hearts raced.

Aside from the director and core members who had been brainwashed by the Tong family and Xu Zhu, most of the gazes directed at Tong Zhao were filled with skepticism.

She is indeed beautiful.

But why should she be able to play Feng Yanqi?

This is the least beauty-focused female role of the year.

Seeing everyone’s attention fully focused on her stepsister, Xu Zhu’s expression fell. She felt uncomfortable, with loathing and hatred filling her chest. But then she remembered that no matter how beautiful Tong Zhao was, she was still not suitable for this role, which made her feel a bit better.

Xu Zhu’s tone held a hint of disdain: “Isn’t she just craving attention?”

“She is the female lead.”

Unfortunately, the third female role was a straightforward girl who didn’t catch onto Xu Zhu’s shared animosity.

Shortly after Tong Zhao’s appearance, Tang Jingjie hurried over to apologize for the issues caused by fans. Tong Zhao saw his sincere attitude, his weak demeanor, and his puppy-dog look that inspired maternal affection, so she didn’t bother to argue and accepted his apology.

Han Zhi: [This kid is clearly being tightly controlled by his manager.]

Empress Chen agreed: “Not bad, has potential, might survive for three days.”

Han Zhi: “He is the male lead; theoretically, he should last until the end.”

Empress Chen: “What I mean is, that Xiao Ge prefers soft approaches over hard ones. He’ll do well working under her if he’s this obedient.”

Despite being inexplicably labeled as the head of the family, Duan Ge didn’t refute this.

Not hearing her voice, Tong Zhao only sensed that she was smiling.

The gazes directed at Tong Zhao were filled with skepticism, contemplation, or curiosity, but she lay down in the shooting chamber as if she didn’t notice, showing no signs of a shaken mindset.

“Please ensure all actors have their connection devices properly fitted. The instinctive filming will begin in one minute.”

Unlike ordinary people, Tong Zhao’s mind felt like a shared rental apartment.

A female reporter commented: “Duan Ge is great at everything except that he talks too much while taking action. If it weren’t for the need to protect someone, it would have been better if Lu Xianchang had come instead.”

When the device came to take away her “true self,” the other personalities tacitly closed the door, leaving Duan Ge in the living room to welcome guests. Overcome by a strong drowsiness, she fell into a deep sleep, as if sinking into a warm, profound ocean…

※

[That day was the day the conspiracy was set in motion.

The virus spread through the groundwater. People, unaware of the danger, continued to drink as usual. The mutated undead and the virus spread throughout the city, causing countless deaths in despair. What’s even more perplexing is that the mastermind behind it had no demands—he didn’t seek to revolt, seize power, or gain money. He simply wanted—

All skyscrapers, TV screens, and even fallen mobile phone screens reflected a young, pale face, facing the camera and recounting his achievements: “By the time you see this video, the infection rate will have reached 99%. I intend to personally end this stupid and tedious world, but…”]

“At any time, I will always leave a window open for the smart ones,” the doctor smiled. “The antidote is at the top of the Tower of Wisdom. If you haven’t directly consumed contaminated water, well… you have about three days? You can come and find your Noah’s Ark, but after I die, the tower will automatically enter a defensive state…”

Thinking about the survivors who narrowly escaped the first wave of the virus, crying in despair outside the tower and slowly dying from the virus’s torment, the doctor’s smile grew more sincere, and his eyes gradually lost focus.

Feng Yanjie and his group were stranded in a mountain cabin during a weekend outing due to a heavy rainstorm, narrowly avoiding the first wave of the virus spread and becoming some of the few sober people left in K City. Upon returning to the city center and learning about the events and causes, they realized that even a simple escape was impossible!

The first wave of the virus spread through water. After the storm, the sunny weather filled the air with diluted second-wave toxins.

In 72 hours, they would be completely assimilated into the undead.

To survive, they must go to the research institute and find the antidote.

Since this is a live-action film, the plot background cannot be too complicated to avoid losing control, so the main quest for the protagonist group is clear: survive in the zombie-infested K City and head to the research institute to obtain the antidote. Completing this mission will mean passing the game.

The main antagonist, the doctor, couldn’t find an actor to achieve a similar effect, so the film was shot using traditional methods, with data directly loaded by a template specialist. This was a clever workaround by the production team.

When the protagonist’s “true self” woke up in the film, it coincided with Tang Jingjie driving into the city. The car reconnected to the network and started playing the doctor’s speech. Initially thought to be a prank, the seriousness of the situation became apparent when they couldn’t find any employees at the gas station, and upon seeing the first zombie, they realized the gravity of the situation.

The women in the car were horrified, while only Tang Jingjie was at a convenience store some distance from the car.

[High-energy opening, bullet screens for protection]

[Ahhh, Jie, run!]

[Mommy’s heart aches, seeing how scared the child is…]

As the zombie lunged ferociously at Tang Jingjie, fans watching the holographic film also felt the rush of danger!

In an instant, a heavy thud sounded as the zombie fell.

Seeing the zombie, Tong Zhao had already gotten out of the car, holding a wrench.

The wrench was stained with dark blood, clearly the tool used to crush the zombies’ heads.

She raised an eyebrow at the male lead:

“As a physical education teacher, it’s quite reasonable for me to carry a wrench, don’t you think?”