Warfare Augmented Intelligent Frame Unit

Chapter 127 - Natural-born Diva

Chapter 127 - Natural-born Diva

The movie reviews completely misled us. I had expected a parade of cheap jumpscares with overdone sound effects—but no. These jumpscares were bone-chillingly effective, enough to make Fei scream at the top of her lungs. And it wasn't just her—half the theater echoed with startled cries, mostly from the girls.

"Eeeek!" Fei shrieked, throwing her hands over her eyes just as a ghostly woman lunged toward the screen, her limbs bent at unnatural angles.

"Kyaaa!" she yelped again when the protagonist leaned toward a keyhole, only to be met with a bloodshot eye glaring back from the other side. It felt like the theater's air had turned ice-cold.

"Oh! What the fuck! Holy shit!" Neil howled, practically leaping from his seat when the main character's boyfriend knocked on a door and suddenly appeared in the window with a lifeless grin.

To my horror, Neil latched onto my arm like a frightened child clinging to his parent during a storm.

"What the hell—!" I recoiled, a shiver racing down my spine as I felt his grip tighten. "Get off me!"

I gave him a quick one-two punch to the shoulder and arm to shake him off.

"Ow! Damn it, that hurt!" Neil whined, rubbing his arm.

"If you're scared, go cling to Fei, not me!" I snapped, still shaking off the chill he gave me.

Another scream tore through the theater—yet another perfectly timed scare—and this time, Fei instinctively grabbed Neil. In a strange twist of fate, Neil latched onto her just as tightly. Now the two were wrapped around each other in the oddest cuddle I've ever seen—like two koalas clinging to a single tree in a typhoon of fear.

I glanced at Myrrh, who looked utterly unbothered by the chaos unraveling on screen. While the rest of us flinched and cried out, she sat there with an almost bored elegance—her arms crossed, eyes narrowed, as if dissecting the film rather than watching it. It wasn't disinterest, exactly—more like she could predict every scare before it happened, like she'd read the script in advance.

"Is this movie not to your liking, Your Royal Highness?" I whispered, my voice dripping with mockery.

Myrrh didn't look away from the screen. Her eyes sharpened as a shadow slithered across the frame. "Hmmm... it's riddled with cheap jumpscares," she murmured. "I've built an immunity to them at this point."

"Well, of course. Nothing scares a tomboy like you," I teased, my tone deliberately insulting.

"Hmph." She turned her head away with an exaggerated pout, clearly not dignifying me with a response. 

We returned to the flickering screen. With each jumpscare, Fei and Neil—both former terrorists, mind you—jerked and shrieked like they were strapped to electric chairs. Meanwhile, I kept flinching out of reflex, my heart leaping into my throat more times than I'd like to admit.

Then came another sudden scare—some grotesque demon lunging into the frame with a screech—and in that brief moment of confusion, I felt something soft press against my arm.

I froze.

Myrrh was clinging to me, her chest awkwardly squished against my side. "K-kyaaaa!" she cried, in an obviously fake, over-the-top voice.

I turned to her slowly, giving her the most judgmental stare I could muster. She peeked up at me with a mischievous glint in her eyes, then stuck out her tongue and grinned.

Cute. Way too cute.

I sighed and leaned back into my seat. 

Fine. She can play scared all she wants—just this once.