Doesn't Your Conscience Hurt?

When He Shan mentioned that his coma had something to do with a mirror, Chen Ge's heart skipped a beat. He remembered the game he'd played the night before. The thing in the mirror had been blocked by the Ragdoll and hadn't come out.

According to He Shan, the monster might not have left at all. It could still be hiding inside one of the Haunted House's mirrors.

"Boss, is this a new attraction in the Haunted House? How come I didn't know about it?" Xu Wan came over. Many onlookers who didn't know what was going on also turned their attention to Chen Ge.

He was now in a tough spot. He couldn't exactly tell everyone that there might really be a ghost in the Haunted House, and that they were welcome to go in if they weren't afraid of dying.

If he said that, the Haunted House would be the least of his problems. He might even get sent to a mental hospital himself.

"It counts as a new attraction. The details are in the short video I posted last night, but I don't recommend playing this game without guidance from a professional." Chen Ge patted He Shan lightly on the shoulder. "If you go in recklessly, you'll end up like this guy. All right, who else wants to take a look? Don't be afraid. Accidents happen when you visit a Haunted House. That's what makes it exciting!"

"Exciting my ass! One guy's passed out from fright. We're just here to visit a Haunted House. There's no need to risk our lives!"

"Exactly! I won't even ask you to pay for my broken phone screen. Just please stop posting short videos in the middle of the night."

"Nope, no way. I'm out!"

As soon as Chen Ge finished speaking, the crowd all took a step back. He gave a wry smile. "It's not that bad, is it? My Haunted House really isn't that scary."

"Bro, two students from the Forensic Medical College who deal with corpses every day—one was scared to tears, and the other passed out. And now you're standing there, perfectly calm, saying your Haunted House isn't scary at all. Are you trying to fool yourself? Doesn't your conscience hurt?!"

"Dude, you've gotta be decent!"

The tourists around them chattered away, leaving Chen Ge at a loss for words. Before, when the Haunted House wasn't scary, nobody came to visit, and they said it was boring. Now that it was scary, he seemed to have overdone it, with the opposite effect. "You came all this way just to stand outside and watch? You can build up your courage. A little fright and excitement now and then can improve your circulation."

"You could say the most wonderful things in the world, and I still wouldn't go in. Improve your circulation? Why not say your Haunted House can cure cancer?" The guy with the broken phone screen waved a hand and turned to leave.

But just then, a middle-aged man standing beside him suddenly spoke up. His voice was loud, as if he'd made the decision only after careful consideration. "Boss, one ticket, please!"

"Holy crap, someone's actually not afraid of dying."

"Uncle, don't be impulsive. Other Haunted Houses take your money. This one takes your life!"

"I salute you, you brave soul! Go with confidence. I'll look after your wife and daughter!"

The man looked to be in his forties, with a receding hairline. He stepped out of the crowd and handed Chen Ge ten yuan. "I'd like one ticket."

"You're going in by yourself?" Chen Ge couldn't help admiring the man. What did you call this? Knowing there was a tiger on the mountain, yet heading straight for the mountain!

After taking the money, Chen Ge handed him a ticket and was about to explain the Haunted House's rules. To his surprise, the man took the ticket and walked in the opposite direction from the Haunted House entrance.

"Uncle, the entrance is this way..."

"I know." Without turning around, the man went back to where he'd been standing, took out his phone, and snapped two pictures of the Haunted House ticket. Then he started posting to his Moments: "The grass is lush and the birds are singing in April. It's the perfect time to go out and enjoy yourself again. I highly recommend the West Suburb Horror House. It's fantastic. After visiting today, I was scared into a cold sweat..."

The tourists around them couldn't take it anymore. You'd been loitering at the entrance for twenty minutes, then bought a ticket and called that a visit?

Before anyone could say anything, people had already started liking the man's Moments post, and comments appeared below it.

Xiao Li from the HR Department: "Brother Zhang, you're scared of mice, but you dared to go to a Haunted House? Impressive, bro."

Wang Dayou from the Mold Workshop Section: "If Lao Zhang dares to go, it must be a Haunted House for kids. (smirking)"

Wife: "Get home and make dinner!!!!"

His precious daughter, Wang Jing: "Hahahaha, Dad, we all know how brave you are. Stop making pointless attempts to prove yourself QAQ"

The balding man didn't take offense. Smiling, he replied to them one by one: "You can come and try it too. You're all braver than me, so you definitely won't be scared."

The tourists standing nearby were dumbfounded by his little performance.

"Uncle, you're a real schemer! You're even setting up your wife and daughter so no one will call you a coward later..." The young man with the broken phone screen had witnessed the whole thing from beside him. Without a second thought, he headed over to Chen Ge. "Give me a ticket too!"

Chen Ge had no idea how things had ended up like this. He took the money and handed the young man a ticket. Then he watched as the young man used his cracked-screen phone to take a picture and post it on Weibo, adding the caption: "Oh no, what should I do? I feel like I'm getting less brave. I only went to a Haunted House, and I came out in a cold sweat."

The young man looked at all the cowardly, weakling comments on his Weibo post, and an "eerie" smile spread across his face.

"Give me one too."

"I want one as well!"

"It's half price, right? I'll take two!"

The Haunted House was empty, without a soul inside, but nearly half the tickets had already been sold.

The crowd gradually dispersed. Chen Ge looked at the bills in his hand and happily counted them.

"Boss, we've sold more tickets this morning than we did in the entire past half month." Xu Wan crouched beside Chen Ge, unable to hide her excitement.

"Don't get complacent. Today was just a stroke of luck. If we really want to keep attracting visitors, we need to have something worthwhile to offer." Chen Ge tucked away the money from the tickets he'd counted and looked beyond the Haunted House's safety railings. He Shan and Gao Ruxue, who had been through quite an ordeal, still hadn't left.

"Are you two feeling better?" Chen Ge brought them some bottled water. The two students from the Forensic Medical College had played a big part in helping him sell so many tickets today.

"Yeah. Sorry for the trouble."

He Shan sat awkwardly on the steps. Gao Ruxue, beside him, was still a little pale. Her gaze shifted between Chen Ge and Xu Wan. "I have two questions I'd like to ask. Would that be all right?"

"Go ahead," Chen Ge said, not turning her down.

"First, in the West Wing Room, I clearly saw this woman in the mirror. Why did she suddenly appear behind me?" Gao Ruxue was determined to get to the bottom of it. She simply couldn't accept the fact that she'd been scared to tears.

"You thought it was an ordinary mirror, but it was actually three mirrors joined together to form a triangular prism. The other two sides were hidden in the walls. Push hard, and the whole thing turns. The exit to the Ghost Marriage game is behind the mirrors too. As for the woman in the mirror, she was just a life-size photograph taken in advance. With the lighting and visual effects, it made you think she was real. Xiao Wan had been hiding behind another side of the mirror the whole time. The footsteps you heard were sound effects too."

Gao Ruxue nodded slowly at Chen Ge's explanation. "My second question."

She pointed at Xu Wan. "Why is it that even though she's alive, she gives me this strange feeling? Looking at her is like staring at a corpse."