*Chapter 18: Getting Better and Better*

"Link, you were so cool! There were so many people, so many reporters—how did you have the guts to walk right up front?"

"Call me a warrior," Link joked. As a seasoned director, he had attended countless movie premieres and walked numerous red carpets. Today’s event was nothing more than a small-scale occasion.

"Sorry, Link, I didn’t dare follow you just now."

"It’s okay. I understand."

Link and Chris Bauer walked into the AMC theater, where they ran into Jerome Preston at the entrance. Jerome, dressed in a suit with his hands clasped behind his back, greeted them with a smile.

"Link, I just made a bet with someone about whether you’d dare to walk the red carpet. Turns out, I won."

"Jerome, thanks for arranging this. This premiere is saving me a lot on marketing expenses."

"No problem! I don’t want my theater to be empty, either. But are there really just the two of you?"

"Yeah. This is Chris Bauer. The others will probably arrive later."

After bidding Jerome Preston farewell, Link and Chris Bauer headed to the ticket counter, bought two tickets, and entered Theater 16—one of only two screens at the AMC showing Buried Alive that day.

Theater 16 was a small screening room with only 80 seats. When Link and Chris walked in, there were just 13 people seated.

On the screen, the trailer for Buried Alive was playing along with some pre-show advertisements.

Link had edited the trailer himself while working on the film’s footage.

There were two versions, originally intended to air on television after signing a distribution deal with a film company, but unfortunately, that plan didn’t materialize.

After the trailer, a two-minute ad segment played.

During the ads, more than 20 additional people trickled in, filling about half of the 80-seat theater.

"Michael, over here!"

Just as the movie was about to start, Chris Bauer waved toward the front rows.

A theater employee, Michael, led a girl from the front row to the back and took a seat beside them.

"What took you so long? Where are Justin and the others?"

"I don’t know. I asked them, but maybe they’ll come later."

"They should’ve come earlier. Buried Alive is really good."

"Link, Chris said you wrote, directed, and starred in this? Is that true?"

"That’s right. The movie’s starting—see for yourself."

The film began.

The first thing to appear on screen was a beam of light—a flashlight’s glow—followed by Link’s dirt-covered face and the sound of his rapid breathing.

The movie told the story of an businessman who, for unknown reasons, was mistaken for a Soviet spy, knocked unconscious, and buried alive in an unidentified pit. His only possessions were a cellphone, a lighter, a flashlight, a glow stick, a small knife, and a pen. He had to rely on these few tools to save himself.

"Hello, this is 911!"

"Hello! I’m buried! You have to save me—I can’t breathe!"

"Sir, please slow down."

"I’m buried in a coffin! Please, send someone to find me!"

"What’s your name?"

"Dawson. Dawson Lee!"

"Okay, Mr. Lee, can you tell us your location?"

"I don’t know! I’m inside a coffin—something that looks like a coffin! I don’t know where I am—please, help me!"

On the screen, the protagonist clutched his phone, his face filled with panic and despair.

"Link, your acting’s pretty good—not worse than a professional actor’s," Michael remarked.

"Not bad, right? I trained for it," Link said with a shrug.

The movie continued.

The protagonist, holding onto hope, reached out to the police, his family, and his friends, desperately waiting for rescue. But in the end, the authorities claimed they couldn’t locate him.

The rescue attempt failed.

The protagonist, now in utter despair, resorted to frantically trying to save himself.

On the surface, this part of the film seemed simple, but it was actually a reflection on international politics over the past few years.

Through the protagonist’s ordeal, the movie highlighted how, during the Cold War, government mishandling, racial divides, and a lack of trust led to countless innocent people being caught in the crossfire.

It was, at its core, an anti-war film.

Link had no idea if his version of Buried Alive would sell as well as the original, but he had already given it everything he had—he had gone all in. He could only hope the system wouldn’t let him down.

Clap, clap, clap!  

As the movie ended, about a dozen people applauded—scattered, but genuine.

Chris Bauer clapped loudly, and Eric whistled through his fingers. Hearing others applaud, more audience members joined in.

"Thank you!"

Link stepped to the front of the theater. "Thank you for your applause. My name is Link—I’m the director and lead actor of Buried Alive. If anyone has questions after watching, feel free to stay, and we can discuss the film together."

"Director Link, did the protagonist ever escape the coffin in the end?"

A middle-aged man raised his hand to ask.

"Unfortunately, no."

"Don’t you think that ending is too depressing?"

"This is reality. In war, many people experience a despair even deeper than being buried alive. It’s precisely that despair that fuels people’s hatred of war and their yearning for peace. The protagonist’s death has meaning—it serves a purpose."

*Clap! Clap! Clap!*

The audience erupted into applause.

"Link, well done!"

Chris Bauer shouted loudly.

---

After attending the premiere event at The Grove, Link left Chris Bauer behind and took the subway north to Burbank's United Theater to check on the screening situation there.

Burbank, located north of Los Angeles, is part of the Greater Los Angeles area. It serves as both a residential satellite city and an industrial hub for Los Angeles.

Many world-renowned media and entertainment companies have branches in Burbank, including The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros., NBC, Viacom Media Group, and PBS. Because of this, Burbank is often referred to as the "Media Capital of the World."

Although Burbank doesn’t have as dense a population as central Los Angeles, it boasts a well-developed media industry. The competition among theaters here is also not as intense as in the city center.

Getting Buried Alive screened in this area was still a good opportunity.

However, since Link had no money, no connections, no fame, no celebrity guests, and no media coverage, the premiere here was eerily quiet.

When ticket sales started, only Link and the theater manager, William Mason, stood at the entrance.

William Mason was an elderly man in his sixties, sporting a white beard. He was dressed in a well-tailored suit and a bow tie, giving him the appearance of an old British aristocrat.

"I’ve worked in theaters for 33 years, and I’ve never seen such an empty premiere. At this rate, the number of people watching the film today probably won’t exceed 100," he remarked.

"It’s okay. Every viewer counts. The fact that my film is being shown at all means I’m already halfway to success."

"Haha, that’s a good mindset. You’d better hold onto it."

After standing at the entrance for a moment and seeing no one enter, William sighed, clasped his hands behind his back, and returned to his office.

Link sat on a bench outside the theater.

This theater was also located in a shopping center, but it was nowhere near as bustling as The Grove. The daily foot traffic was much lower, and because the theater had been temporarily closed for renovations, even fewer people visited.

He sat on the bench for half an hour, watching dozens of customers pass by. Five people stopped to look at the movie posters, but none of them bought a ticket.

Link began to feel anxious. Was the system that had appeared once just a fever-induced hallucination?

He had ignored everyone's advice and insisted on screening Buried Alive mainly because of the system’s promise of a fourfold box office reward.

That was his confidence booster, his motivation to push forward.

But if the system was just a figment of his imagination, had everything he done been in vain?

An hour passed, and the theater entrance remained desolate. No one bought tickets, and the cashier at the box office was dozing off.

However, during that time, Link had come to a realization—his greatest advantage as a transmigrator was foresight, his directing skills, an endless supply of classic scripts, and decades of life experience.

Even without the system’s help, he would still be fine.

Maybe this time he had been fooled by an illusion, but he could still sell scripts or work on other film crews to accumulate funds and build his reputation. In a couple of years, he could direct another movie.

It might slow down his rise to fame, but he would still get there much faster than the average person.

Stretching lazily, he felt his stomach growl with hunger. He went to a nearby fast-food restaurant, bought two hot dogs and a cup of hot cocoa, and returned just in time to see a middle-aged man walk into the theater.

Since Buried Alive was the only movie playing, anyone entering had no choice but to watch it.

*Ticket sold: +1.*

Shortly after, a couple entered the theater.

*Tickets sold: +2.*

Not bad.

Things were starting to look up.

Worried that his bad luck might be blocking the flow of fortune, Link moved to a bench across from the theater entrance. He sat there eating while keeping an eye on the entrance.

It was Friday, and by 4:00 PM, foot traffic in the shopping center had increased. More people started entering the theater, and the number of viewers went from single digits to over 20.

However, some left halfway through, complaining that watching a horror movie in a nearly empty theater was too eerie.

By 5:00 PM, the shopping center became even busier.

More people began heading into the theater.

By 6:00 PM, over 60 people had gone in.

By 7:00 PM, the number officially exceeded 100—slightly better than William Mason had predicted.

It was a good sign.

(End of Chapter)