I Mistook A Death Livestream For My Dating Show

Sunny's POV

I thought I'd signed up for an immersive dating show.

Turns out it was a 99.9% death rate, globally livestreamed horror game.

And me? Half-blind without my contacts, desperate to go viral, I somehow talk my way through a death game like it's a romance.

I mistook blood for ketchup, human eyeballs for sashimi, a murderous child ghost for a kid who just needed some love.

Worst part? I fell for the guy running the place, the one who could kill you without blinking, and tried to get his number within the hour.

My teammate hissed at me, shaking. "You wanna die, fine, just don't take us with you!"

I just waved him off. It's a dating show. Relax.

I'm finally going to blow up.

That's the last thought I have before I walk through the black door.

My name's Sunny. Three years into my career and still a nobody, the kind of D-list comedian nobody recognizes walking down the street.

Ten minutes ago my agent is screaming into the phone. "Sunny! I landed you something huge! Immersive dating show, full hologram setup! Kill it on this one and you'll finally get some real followers! Get to the address, now!"

So I show up buzzing with excitement and shove open a door marked ABYSS.

My foot slips and I go down hard on cold stone.

"Ow, my back," I groan, rubbing my butt as I push myself up, already thinking up a complaint about how realistic these props are, when I notice something's wrong.

My contacts. They must have popped out.

I'm legally blind without them, and right now the whole world is nothing but static. Red blotches, black blotches, a few moving shapes that might be people.

"Hello? Anyone? Director? Camera guy?" I squint, trying to bring something into focus.

Nothing comes into focus.

That's when a voice drops into my head, cold, crackling faintly like bad electricity.

[Welcome to S-tier Death Trial: The Bloodied Manor.]

[Players this round: 5.]

[Main objective: survive seven days in the manor and win the true heart of its master.]

[Warning: extremely dangerous trial. Mortality rate 99.9%. Any violation of manor rules results in immediate elimination.]

[Begin.]

I freeze for a second, then mentally give the production team a standing ovation.

Wow, the sound design. The voiceover. The immersion. Are dating shows really doing full horror crossovers now? Mystery and horror in one package? This is insane.

I'm still buzzing when a gruff voice cuts through the quiet next to me.

"What death trial? I was at the gym five minutes ago! How'd I end up in this dump? Who are you people, is this some kind of prank show?"

I turn toward the voice and make out a huge blob of static throwing its arms around in fury. Based on years of reality TV experience, this is obviously the planted hothead, here to stir up drama.

Then another voice cuts in, low and steady. "Shut up, rookie. This isn't a game show. It's an infinite-loop horror trial. You want to live, you keep your mouth shut and follow the rules."

"Screw that," the muscle guy snaps. "I don't believe in any of this. I'm kicking this door down and walking out right now."

He charges off toward something.

I squint and make out a tall, lean shape up ahead, dark, glowing faintly red, radiating something heavy enough to make it hard to breathe.

The system speaks again.

[Warning: player Buck Harlow has attempted to attack the manor's master. Lethal rule triggered.]

"I'll kill you," Buck snarls, and the sound cuts off mid-word.

There's a wet, muffled pop, like a water balloon bursting.

A woman screams behind me, the sound edged with hysteria.

Something warm splashes across my face. It smells faintly of metal. I touch my cheek and pull my hand back, sticky and red.

"Damn, they're not skimping on the blood packs," I mutter, wiping my face with a tissue from my pocket. "Smells almost real. A little metallic, but good effort."

In the void nobody can see, the live chat is exploding.

[holy shit did she really just call him getting turned to paste "ketchup"??]

[who IS this girl, this is an S-tier trial, does she think she's filming a sketch]

[confirmed: she's an idiot, she's not gonna last three minutes]

[guys I don't think she can actually see... look at the way she's squinting]

Dead silence falls over the hall.

Even the calm guy's voice is shaking now. "That's... the manor's master? Sebastian?"

My radar goes off immediately.

Dating show, right? The master has to be the lead. And that name, Sebastian, screams brooding billionaire type.

I open my eyes as wide as they'll go and walk toward the tall dark shape. As I get closer, the blur sharpens just slightly.

I can make out a black suit, perfectly tailored, broad shoulders, narrow waist. Can't see his face, but the line of his jaw is sharper than any five-year plan I've ever made.

A hot guy. Definitely top-tier hot.

I take a breath, smooth down my clothes, slap on what I'm sure is my most charming smile, and walk right up to him.

"So," I say, "you're the male lead, right? Nice abs. You hit the gym a lot?"