New Props

Chen Ge familiarized himself with the new scene. Its layout was much like Ping An Apartment's, filled with unease and pain. Dozens of mechanisms had been installed, many rooms connected to each other, secret doors were built in, and several twisted little Easter eggs were hidden throughout.

"It feels so real. This place is perfect for an escape game. Later, I can use some visitors to test it out."

Even now, thinking back on last night's experience made Chen Ge's heart pound. He'd had the most realistic experience possible.

Time was limited, so Chen Ge only took a quick look around before heading downstairs. There were still plenty of visitors waiting outside the Haunted House.

"Please wait a moment, everyone. The boss will be out soon. You can go check out some of the other attractions at Paradise Park first." From far away, Chen Ge heard Xu Wan's voice.

"Miss, is your boss really inside the Haunted House? We watched his livestream last night. More than a dozen people chased him through the woods and beat him up! How could he have survived that?"

"Don't make stuff up! I watched the livestream too. The streamer was trapped in an apartment building by a bunch of freaks. You know, like a cat-and-mouse game? I can't even imagine how it ended."

"Are you sure we watched the same livestream? Other than the sound, the screen was black the whole time. How did you figure out so much?"

"Enough talk. We want to see him alive—or see his body!"

The discussion grew louder and louder, drawing Uncle Xu over as well. Looking at the crowd gathering, he felt both pleased and a little worried. At some point, this Haunted House—which had been on the verge of closing—had suddenly become the focus of New World Paradise. Lots of people were making a special trip here first thing in the morning. Normally, that was a good thing, but whenever he heard what the visitors were saying, his heart raced with alarm. No, next time I see Xiao Chen, I need to have a serious talk with him. Young people can get carried away chasing quick success. He mustn't go down some crooked path!

"Swish!"

The barrier was pulled aside, and Chen Ge emerged from the Haunted House after washing up. "Sorry to have kept you waiting, everyone. Admission to the Haunted House is twenty yuan. Same price for everyone."

The crowd fell silent. A few livestream viewers who had come because they'd watched him the night before hurried over and surrounded him, asking about what had happened. Chen Ge got to enjoy what it felt like to be an internet celebrity.

A few minutes later, the crowd settled down, and visitors began entering the Haunted House one after another.

Having learned his lesson from making things too terrifying last time, Chen Ge didn't play "Gloomy Sunday" on repeat this time. Instead, he added it to the playlist and set it to play at random.

Chen Ge put makeup on Xiao Wan and sent her into the Ghost Marriage scene to play a ghost, while he stayed at the Haunted House entrance to collect admission fees.

"The number of visitors is steadily increasing, and I've gotten a lot more good reviews. At this rate, it won't be long before I meet the requirements to expand the Haunted House." Chen Ge took out the Black Phone. He wanted to check how many more visitors he needed before his first expansion, and see what daily missions had appeared that day.

"Easy difficulty: If you want to give visitors a truly terrifying experience, you must first pay attention to the pace of the tour. Actors and mechanisms appearing too early or too late will ruin the visitors' enjoyment. I suggest installing sound detectors and surveillance cameras in the Haunted House to keep track of the visitors' progress at all times."

"Normal difficulty: The secret to truly terrifying visitors is to keep them from realizing the scare is coming. For instance, set up a scare point in the opposite direction from an eye-catching object. Check that all the props in the Haunted House meet the standards."

"Nightmare difficulty: The bathroom always makes strange noises late at night. If you want to find out why, just do as I say."

"Daily missions refresh at midnight. You can accept only one mission each day. Different difficulties come with different rewards. (Warning! Some missions are extremely dangerous. Choose carefully!)"

After looking through the three daily missions, Chen Ge immediately ruled out the Nightmare-level one. He'd been through two exhausting nights in a row and desperately needed a good rest. Besides, he still hadn't figured out the monster in the mirror. If he brought something else into the mix, it would be hard to handle alone.

"The rewards for Nightmare-level missions can directly affect my body, granting me certain memories and abilities. But the danger is proportional to the reward, so I'll leave those aside for now. The Easy mission needs some money. I still haven't received the reward for catching the fugitive, so it'd be hard to complete. After weighing my options, Chen Ge decided the Normal mission was the best fit. 'Set up a scare point in the opposite direction from an eye-catching object.' That's a pretty good idea. If I use it in my Haunted House, it should give visitors even more 'surprises.'"

After accepting the Normal-difficulty mission, Chen Ge leaned against the Haunted House entrance to collect money, occasionally exchanging a few words with Xu Wan inside.

Soon it was noon, and the number of visitors began to dwindle. Chen Ge called Xu Wan out and sent her off to eat, then went into the Ghost Marriage scene by himself.

He had designed this entire horror scene himself, carefully considering every scare point. After accepting the Normal-difficulty daily mission, he used his lunch break to start making improvements.

Visitors usually prepared themselves mentally before entering a Haunted House. When they were on such high alert, it was difficult to scare them. So he needed something unrelated to draw their attention and make them think that area might be dangerous. Then, when they were focused on it, he could launch an attack from another direction they'd never expect.

The Normal-difficulty mission was much easier than Chen Ge had imagined. It took him only one lunch break to receive a notification on the Black Phone that he'd completed it.

"You have completed a Normal-difficulty daily mission. There are many ways to scare people. The key is to understand how people think and adapt accordingly. Congratulations! You have received the mission reward: Skull-Crushing Doctor's Uniform!"

"Skull-Crushing Doctor's Uniform (costume prop): Clary worked at the Mental Hospital for twenty years. Long exposure to the patients took a toll on his mind, until one day, he decided to put an end to it all. Sickness and madness seeped into his very bones. Gripping an iron hammer, he set out to cure his patients at the root!"

After "Gloomy Sunday," Chen Ge had now obtained another prop. He tapped the icon, and the Black Phone informed him that the item had been placed in the Prop Room.

"This costume prop came at just the right time. If I combine it with the Midnight Escape scene, it should create a very interesting chemical reaction." Chen Ge came up with several ideas. He took out paper and a pen and was about to start planning when his phone suddenly vibrated.

"He Shan?"

Chen Ge answered the call. "What's up?"

"Boss, do you remember what I told you about last time?" He Shan deliberately lowered his voice, as though afraid someone might overhear. "After Senior Student Gao Ruxue cried because you scared her, the senior students in our department decided to team up and get revenge on her behalf. They're already on their way! You'd better be ready!"