"No." Captain Li shook his head and rejected the idea without a second thought. "Catching fugitives is our job. How can we let you put yourself in danger?"
"I'm staying at the Haunted House to create the illusion that Zhang Peng hasn't been exposed. That way, he'll come looking for me according to his original plan, and there's a very good chance he'll show up near Paradise Park. It'll make it easier for you to catch him, too." Chen Ge had thought it through carefully before speaking. "If we don't catch him this time, I'm afraid I'll have to live on edge from now on. He could come back at any moment."
"We can't decide on a specific arrest plan until we've discussed it with the City Branch Bureau's Criminal Investigation Team. They're in charge of the Ping An Apartment Massacre case. West City Police Station is only assisting them. I'll pass your suggestion along." Captain Li put away his computer, made a call, then left the integrated control room with the other two plainclothes officers.
"Chen, why not listen to the police and go somewhere safe for now?" Uncle Xu was worried. He only came over after Captain Li and the others had left.
"Running away won't solve anything. Don't try to talk me out of it." After watching the surveillance footage, Chen Ge returned to the Haunted House.
"Boss, we've got pork with green peppers over rice today." Xu Wan was leaning against the safety railing. When she saw Chen Ge come out of the integrated management room, she pointed to the lunchbox on the seat. "I snuck an extra spoonful of meat in for you when the lady wasn't looking."
Taking the lunchbox, Chen Ge looked at Xiao Wan. In the end, he didn't tell her anything about Zhang Peng. Just like any other day, he wolfed down his meal and started the afternoon's business.
Xu Wan played a ghost in the Ghost Marriage scenario while Chen Ge sold tickets outside. He kept his head lowered, his eyes constantly scanning his surroundings.
"Zhang Peng showing up is both a bad thing and a good thing for me. It all depends on how I use him." After completing several of the Black Phone's missions, Chen Ge felt that his reasoning skills had improved. He was becoming calmer and more levelheaded, too.
"There's a monster from the mirror locked up in the House of Horrors right now. It can travel freely between mirrors and reality. As long as there's a mirror, it's practically invincible." Chen Ge sold tickets absentmindedly while his mind raced. "He Shan and He Feng were both attacked repeatedly, and what happened to them was more or less the same. According to He Feng, the monster was trying to enter their bodies and replace their wills, or else inhabit them. We still don't know why it wants to do this, but one thing is worth considering: if the monster enters someone's body, is it unable to get out again for a while?"
Chen Ge had realized this when talking with He Feng, but he had no way to prove it. Using any visitor as a test subject would be far too dangerous.
He'd already given up on the idea, but then Zhang Peng showed up that morning.
The moment Chen Ge saw Zhang Peng on the surveillance footage, he settled on a plan. He would use Zhang Peng as a test subject, lure him into the Haunted House, then find a way to make the Mirror Monster take over his body.
That would take care of Zhang Peng and get rid of the Mirror Monster at the same time. Two birds with one stone. That was why he'd insisted on staying at the Haunted House as bait.
"I'll do it. It's dangerous, but if it works, I can deal with both threats at once."
A little after five that afternoon, Chen Ge called Xu Wan out and let her leave early. Then he started preparing all sorts of things inside the Haunted House. He was going to make sure Zhang Peng had everything coming to him.
At half past five, Captain Li called again and told Chen Ge they had the area around Paradise Park covered. If Zhang Peng showed up, he wouldn't get away.
After dinner, Chen Ge carried a quilt and the Skull-Crushing Doctor Suit to the Haunted House's control room. He locked the door and sat in front of the monitors. Unless something unexpected happened, he'd probably be spending the night there.
"There really aren't enough cameras. There are too many blind spots in the Haunted House. I can't afford to let my guard down."
The sun sank below the horizon. Unlike during the day, New Century Park was dead silent at night.
As the night wore on, Chen Ge kept watch in the Monitoring Room with his quilt. He waited until midnight. The one he expected never came, but someone who shouldn't have showed up did.
Just like the night before, a strange sound of something being cut up came from the Midnight Escape scenario.
"It starts making a fuss every night around midnight. Is that monster trying to provoke me?" Chen Ge tossed his quilt aside and went to the door. After a moment's thought, he decided not to go after the Mirror Monster. "I'll let it run wild a little longer."
Putting on his headphones, Chen Ge tucked the ragdoll his parents had left him inside his jacket, then turned his attention back to the monitors.
A little after one in the morning, just as Chen Ge was about to give up, the bathroom door on the surveillance footage suddenly moved.
"Someone's there?"
He perked up at once, staring intently at the screen.
Before long, the bathroom door opened a crack, and a tall, thin man slipped out, holding a twenty-centimeter boning knife.
"This is the bathroom where I completed my first Nightmare Mission. Its window connects to the outside. He must have scouted the place beforehand and tampered with the window lock." Chen Ge watched the surveillance video calmly. The door to the Monitoring Room was locked, and it was tucked away in a remote spot. Someone unfamiliar with the Haunted House's layout would have almost no chance of finding it.
On the screen, Zhang Peng crept along the Haunted House's corridor, a knife in one hand and a phone in the other. He had no idea he'd been spotted, and concentrated on avoiding the clutter and props scattered along the way, some of which he couldn't identify.
It took Zhang Peng a full fifteen minutes to find the Staff Break Room. He stood outside the door, hesitating, his chest heaving. The hand holding the knife trembled slightly. He tried pushing the door several times, but each time he pulled back just as his fingertips touched it. He was clearly torn.
Standing right beneath the camera, Zhang Peng hesitated for a few dozen seconds before finally making up his mind.
He raised the knife, grabbed the doorknob, took a deep breath, and suddenly shoved the door open. Like a leopard that had spotted its prey, he charged into the Staff Break Room!
A little over a minute later, Zhang Peng came back out with the knife in hand. A smear of blood stained its blade. It seemed he'd accidentally cut his own arm.
He switched the knife to his other hand, his expression growing even more vicious. After glancing upstairs, he hurried down the corridor.
The surveillance footage clearly showed Zhang Peng heading toward the Monitoring Room. Chen Ge sent Captain Li a message, then grabbed the Skull-Crushing Doctor's iron hammer, which was over forty centimeters long, and stood behind the Monitoring Room door.
He'd planned to give Zhang Peng the most classic horror-movie treatment—the door-opening kill. But Zhang Peng simply walked past the Monitoring Room and went into the staff corridor with his knife.
"What's he trying to do?" For a moment, Chen Ge couldn't figure out his intentions. He hurried over to the computer. The footage showed Zhang Peng using his knife to pry open the wooden board at the end of the staff corridor, then walking inside without hesitation.
"Why did he run into the Midnight Escape scenario?" Chen Ge took off his headphones, eyes wide. "There's always the sound of something being cut up in there. Could he think I'm inside sawing something?"
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