New Nightmare Mission

After logging into the forum account, Chen Ge noticed his username had been upgraded to purple. Checking the backend, he realized the thirty-minute video he had posted earlier had been widely shared and recommended, garnering nearly a thousand replies so far.

Scanning through them briefly, Chen Ge found nothing of use; the vast majority of people were just onlookers curious about the novelty.

Might as well treat a dead horse as a living one. What if I fish out someone who actually knows their stuff? Chen Ge re-edited the post, added some detailed descriptions regarding the Mirror Monster, and then used the privileges of his purple account to issue a plea for help.

"After playing the game in the video, I found that the monster in the mirror has latched onto me! Seeking advice on how to get rid of these things!"

Not long after the post went live, replies began to pour in.

"OP, you're actually still alive?"

"I suggest you splash it with black dog blood, or raise a rooster. When the rooster crows, the world turns bright; filthy things wouldn't dare go near a rooster."

"Too deep into the role, I suggest turning left and heading to the neurology department."

"Ghosts are memories stranded in the human world. If you slay a ghost, you damage your own karmic merit. The sea of bitterness is boundless; better to take a step back."

"Is the person above trying to reason with a ghost?"

"Maoshan Seven-Kill Ghost-Driving Decree, authentic Master-made! Check my avatar for my Taobao shop! Get an extra copy of the Five Ghosts Wealth-Moving Technique upon ordering!"

"Mix soybeans, white rice, and cinnabar together, then soak them in salt water for fifteen minutes. 'Sowing beans to make soldiers'—look it up."

"I once watched a video about a guy being haunted by a female ghost. To get rid of her, he bought a gun. When the ghost came to harass him at night, the guy shot himself directly. Later, he dragged the female ghost into the bedroom..."

"OP, no jokes, I'll tell you a truly useful method! Find an iron blade, preferably a butcher's knife that has killed and been stained with blood. Ghosts are a special kind of magnetic energy; such a blade can wound it!"

Chen Ge browsed for a long time, but only the suggestion about using an iron blade to hack at the ghost seemed somewhat reliable; the rest were either nonsense or impossible to implement. He knew that in folklore, black dog blood and roosters could ward off evil, but in the middle of the night, where was he supposed to get those things?

Logging out of the forum, Chen Ge tossed his phone aside and sat in his chair, staring blankly.

Battling an unknown monster concerned his own safety, and he certainly couldn't pin all his hopes on those ambiguous forum posts.

After circling back, Chen Ge took out the Black Phone again. In critical moments, he still had to rely on the Black Phone; it was the only thing he could trust one hundred percent.

However, the Black Phone operated on the principle of equivalent exchange; to receive, one must first pay.

Through these days of experimentation, Chen Ge had figured out some hidden rules of the Black Phone, such as those regarding task rewards.

Simple and Normal difficulty daily tasks usually rewarded props to assist in running the Haunted House; only Nightmare-level task rewards acted directly upon himself, granting some special, rare abilities.

Trying to deal with the thing in the mirror by completing Simple or Normal tasks was meaningless; only the rewards from a Nightmare-level task could have an effect.

Yet, what conflicted Chen Ge was that Nightmare-level tasks were inherently dangerous. He didn't want to end up failing to remove the monster in the mirror while simultaneously inviting something new.

"What should I do? Take a gamble, or wait a bit longer?" Chen Ge flipped through the Black Phone. Midnight had passed, and all daily tasks had refreshed.

"Simple difficulty: If you want to provide visitors with a truly terrifying experience, you must first pay attention to the pacing of the tour. If actors or mechanisms appear too early or too late, it will cause visitors to lose interest. Therefore, I suggest you install sound detectors and surveillance in the Haunted House to keep track of the visitors' progress at all times."

"Normal difficulty: You have already obtained one opportunity for a Haunted House expansion. Please find a suitable venue for expansion as soon as possible! Due to site limitations, you cannot conduct any trial tasks for new scenarios until the expansion is complete!"

"Nightmare difficulty: The bathroom in the middle of the night always makes strange sounds. If you want to know the reason, do as I say."

"Warning! Certain tasks are extremely dangerous; please choose carefully!"

Chen Ge looked at the three daily tasks. He currently lacked the ability to complete the Normal task, so he ignored it, leaving him with only the Simple and Nightmare options.

If Uncle Xu gives me the money tomorrow morning, I can buy all the surveillance equipment in about a day, but I probably won't be able to finish the installation. The Nightmare task description sounds related to the bathroom, which is a bit eerie. Chen Ge hesitated; the Simple task wasn't guaranteed to be completed and the reward was poor, while the Nightmare task was too dangerous, and he had no idea what he might encounter.

He sat in the tool room, deep in thought. Before he could make a decision, that cutting sound echoed through the Haunted House again, even more piercing than before.

Chen Ge looked up at the ceiling; the sound was still coming from the third floor.

I took all four ragdolls out with me, what else could it be cutting? Chen Ge was getting annoyed by the filthy thing in the mirror. He stuffed the mended ragdoll into his pocket, grabbed his iron hammer, and rushed to the third floor in one breath.

Opening the door to the Midnight Escape scenario, he was stunned by the sight before him.

Some mirror shards were scattered at the entrance of the scenario, and white marks remained on the wooden door.

This monster is scratching the door! What exactly does it want to do?

Cold sweat broke out on Chen Ge's back. He dared not imagine a monster holding mirror shards running wild while he was fast asleep. He absolutely would not allow such a dangerous creature to exist in his House of Horrors!

Chen Ge, who usually had a very good temper, rarely hardened his expression. He locked the door to the Midnight Escape scenario, entered the hallway with his hammer, pushed open every room door, and rushed inside, smashing every mirror on the third floor to pieces.

The sound of shattering glass was incessant, and broken shards littered the floor. Only when he reached the end of the third-floor hallway did Chen Ge calm down again.

During the first Nightmare task, this monster was blocked in the mirror by the ragdolls and couldn't fight back. Later, when it attacked He Shan, it could only weakly influence him. But after attacking He Feng, this thing has been able to step out of the mirror! It is also growing, and it's growing fast! Chen Ge was unwilling to wait any longer. His Haunted House had just started; it couldn't be destroyed by an unknown monster.

Carrying the iron hammer, he walked out of the Midnight Escape scenario. After locking the door, Chen Ge steeled himself, opened the Black Phone, and directly accepted the Nightmare-level task: "I hope the reward for this task is worth it."

"Confirm acceptance of the Nightmare difficulty daily task? After acceptance, it may trigger unknown situations."

"Confirm."

The phone screen flashed, and the specific task details emerged.