I'm Starting to Freak Out...

"That was a false alarm." Gao Ruxue's heart pounded. It had been a long time since she'd lost her composure like this.

Eerie music drifted in her ears. With the dim light for help, she looked at herself in the mirror, her pupils slowly shrinking to pinpoints.

In the mirror, the curtain behind her was coming undone by itself! The face of a paper figure slowly emerged from behind it. She could see it clearly in the mirror: the paper figure was smiling at her.

"Who's in there?!"

When people were pushed to the brink of fear, they became irritable and impulsive. Gao Ruxue spun around and grabbed both ends of the curtain, wanting to go inside and investigate. But the curtain had a complicated design, with several layers inside and out, sheer curtains and bed curtains overlapping one another. After fumbling with it for a while, she still hadn't seen what lay at the very back—and her arms had gotten tangled up in it.

As if things weren't bad enough, footsteps sounded inside the room.

"I haven't moved. Where are those footsteps coming from?" Her junior had disappeared, and the immersive set and Gloomy Sunday had already worn down Gao Ruxue's defenses until they were riddled with cracks. She had reached her limit, and the footsteps in the room became the last straw.

Her legs went weak, and she couldn't muster any strength. Fear was a beast let loose from its cage, devouring her reason.

Gao Ruxue struggled to turn around, trying to break free of the curtain's Binding. The footsteps drew closer, yet she still couldn't find their source.

"Impossible! The room is this small. If anyone came near me, I'd see them at once!" Her thoughts were in complete disarray. The room's simple set dressing filled her with an enormous, indescribable terror.

The white lantern outside the window began to sway, and the light grew dimmer. The figure in the Bronze Mirror also began to blur. Gao Ruxue's pupils trembled. Her beautiful eyes settled on the Bronze Mirror. At some point, her reflection had vanished from its ordinary surface, replaced by a strange woman wearing a Wedding Dress!

No beauty surpassed her in a thousand autumns; a lovely woman was a delight to behold.

Her pale, unreal beauty made Gao Ruxue's heart race, like a long-forgotten work of art on display.

Staring at the woman in the mirror, Gao Ruxue's shoulders trembled. For the first time, a look of terror appeared on her face.

She had dissected many corpses. She knew the feeling the woman in the mirror gave her all too well—it was a feeling she experienced only when facing the dead!

"There's a real corpse hidden in the Haunted House!"

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, fear swept over her like a tidal wave. She tried desperately to get away from the Bronze Mirror, but as she backed up, she bumped into something.

At the same time, the footsteps in the room finally stopped. Gao Ruxue's mind went blank. She didn't stop to wonder why. Acting on instinct, she slowly turned her head to the eerie background music.

Their eyes met. Behind her stood a woman in a Wedding Dress, her face done in Corpse Makeup. She was smiling at Gao Ruxue.

"Ah!!!"

A scream shattered the silence of the House of Horrors. It could be heard loud and clear even outside.

With her arms tied up, Gao Ruxue's legs gave way, and she sank to the floor.

Her face drained of color as her suppressed fear spilled out in tears. She couldn't stop them. She didn't dare open her eyes for a long time. Tear tracks remained on her cheeks, and her mouth hung open as she coughed weakly without realizing it.

"Xiao Wan, get her out of there!"

"Okay." The Female Ghost across from Gao Ruxue took a Bluetooth earpiece from her hair and crouched in front of her. "That's the end of the tour. Catch your breath, and I'll take you outside."

A few seconds later, the Ghost Marriage scene's door opened, and Chen Ge hurried inside. "Why is there only one person here? Where's the other one?"

He hadn't been able to find He Shan on the security cameras either, and worried something had gone wrong, so he'd rushed in.

"That guy was too timid. He rushed in by himself, then passed out in front of the Bronze Mirror. I was afraid he'd ruin the experience for the next visitors, so I dragged him behind the bed first..."

"He passed out?" Chen Ge didn't know what to say. "Visitor safety always comes first. If this happens again, tell me right away!"

"Mm-hmm." He had Xu Wan help Gao Ruxue to her feet while he dragged He Shan out from behind the bed. The poor guy was unconscious on the floor, and Chen Ge had no idea what he'd been through.

"Come on, let's get him somewhere with good airflow!" He carried He Shan outside the Haunted House. On the first floor, he lifted the light-blocking curtain and kicked open the safety barrier. "Make way!"

Chen Ge laid He Shan by the Haunted House's ventilation outlet, pinched his philtrum, and applied ice. The sight left the visitors around them dumbfounded.

"What happened? He went in on his own two feet and came out lying down..."

"I've never heard of someone passing out while visiting a Haunted House."

"He got scared unconscious, right? The reviews on Dianping said it wasn't scary!"

"Oh, man, I'm starting to freak out..."

Before long, Xu Wan helped Gao Ruxue out as well. She looked nothing like she had when she went in. Her hair was disheveled, her face was pale, her steps unsteady, and tears still glistened in the corners of her eyes.

"Damn, she's like a completely different person!"

"What on earth happened to her in there?"

"Didn't she say she'd seen corpses and wasn't scared at all?"

Xu Wan helped Gao Ruxue onto the steps and handed her a bottle of water. She was still shaken, and the hand holding the bottle trembled slightly.

"Don't block the airflow. Everyone, move!" Chen Ge was getting a headache. It was one thing for Gao Ruxue to cry from fright, but how had the guy suddenly passed out? If he was a coward, he should've just admitted it! Why insist on going into the Haunted House to have a good time?

Good news stayed close; bad news traveled far. More and more visitors gathered at the entrance to the House of Horrors. Even Uncle Xu, the Paradise Park administrator, had been alerted. He rode over on his electric scooter.

"Chen! What happened? Why did a visitor pass out?!" Uncle Xu pushed through the crowd with his scooter.

"I have no idea. Maybe he got heatstroke..." Even Chen Ge wasn't convinced by his own answer.

"In this weather?" Uncle Xu came over and lifted He Shan onto the scooter. "Give me a hand. We'll take him to the Infirmary first!"

They hadn't gone far when, whether because the philtrum pinch had worked or for some other reason, He Shan slowly came to. His eyelids fluttered. Then he abruptly sat up on the scooter, his eyes bloodshot, muttering "mirror, mirror" over and over.

"Damn it, calm down!"

"Is this guy Possessed or something?"

It took He Shan a few seconds to return to normal under the sunlight. He rubbed the back of his head and realized everyone was staring at him. He immediately felt embarrassed.

"Feeling better? How did you pass out in the Haunted House?" Uncle Xu, wearing his Paradise Park Work Uniform, was very conscientious. He fetched a bottle of water and handed it to He Shan.

"I don't know exactly what happened. I was terrified, and after I ran into a room, I saw a Bronze Mirror on the wall. Someone in the mirror was calling my name. After that, I don't remember anything." He Shan looked completely baffled. "Maybe it's one of the Haunted House's attractions."

"There's an attraction involving a mirror in the Haunted House?" Uncle Xu looked at Chen Ge, whose expression had turned rather grim.