Handcrafting Surveillance Footage

After entering the World in the Painting.

Zhang Ze clearly felt that his control over the World in the Painting had taken another step forward.

"The system gave me this ability. Like how Lingling controls the Door-After World, I can paint anything I want into existence."

"In other words, I can now truly control everything in the Door-After World. Delete what I don't want, paint what I do want... I am the master of this door."

If connecting Lingling's severed hand in the World in the Painting had allowed him to steal 50% of Lingling's supernatural power, then gaining the Horror Art Talent now was equivalent to stealing 100% of it.

Lingling was a Red-Clothed Vengeful Ghost.

Zhang Ze did not even dare imagine the strength of a Red-Clothed Vengeful Ghost. This starting point left Chen Ge dozens of streets behind!

Chen Ge had started out living off a woman, and Zhang Ya had only been an ordinary Red-Clothed ghost back then. At most, she had a dedicated slot in the Black Phone.

Zhang Ze had even completely stolen Lingling's supernatural power, unlike Zhang Ya, who could only hide in Chen Ge's shadow.

After completely taking control of the World in the Painting, Zhang Ze could clearly sense the exact locations of everyone in the internet cafe. They were all wandering through the forest, unable to find the exit and running around like headless flies.

"Li Yang, Old Zhou, take them out."

"If they ask for hush money, give them a few thousand yuan to send them away. If they dare extort us, scare them a little. Just keep it under control and don't scare anyone into serious trouble."

Zhang Ze gave the order.

A few hours later.

Everyone left the World in the Painting through the Cellar.

The places where they returned to reality were not fixed. To avoid trouble, Zhang Ze had specifically set their spawn points around the internet cafe. None of them were anywhere near New Century Amusement Park.

This operation had been dangerous.

It had even dragged innocent people into it.

If the system's reward, Horror Art Talent, had not happened to complement the supernatural power Zhang Ze stole from Lingling, even Zhang Ze himself would have been trapped to death inside Lost Media.

"This thing is seriously absurd."

"Why had Boss Chen never cleared this dungeon before?"

"Wasn't this supposed to be Hanjiang City's scariest urban legend?"

Zhang Ze let out a deep sigh.

He had thought that, after transmigrating, he understood every urban legend in Hanjiang City like the back of his hand. Now it seemed there were still many existences in the books that Chen Ge had never encountered.

Even though he had Red-Clothed-level strength from the very beginning, he still had to remain cautious.

Back in reality, Zhang Ze appeared inside his own Haunted House. It was still dark outside, and the Haunted House was empty and so quiet that it made his skin crawl.

Zhang Ze checked his phone first.

The signal had returned.

The Speed Net Cafe fire was still near the top of the trending list.

However, the authorities had released the latest update. The customers from Speed Net Cafe had been found one after another in different locations. The comments were full of amazement, calling this fire one of Hanjiang City's strangest urban legends.

When reporters asked the customers what had happened inside the internet cafe,

every customer looked wary and gave a few vague excuses.

It seemed Old Zhou and Li Yang had put in quite a bit of effort to leave this group with psychological scars.

"Beep~"

Zhang Ze received another new message.

It was from Yue Pan.

Scrolling upward, Zhang Ze saw that Yue Pan had sent him a long string of messages. However, because his phone had been without signal, Zhang Ze had never received Yue Pan's texts.

Once the signal returned, all the messages flooded into Zhang Ze's phone at once, stuffing his tiny phone with an enormous number of texts...

"Boss Zhang, this is Yue Pan. Could you provide me with the surveillance footage from inside your Haunted House? According to national safety regulations, every game venue must have surveillance coverage without blind spots. Your Haunted House has only recently opened, so it should be even more important for you to meet safety requirements."

This time, Zhang Ze had confidence.

There were no surveillance cameras in the Crow's Nest scenario.

But he could paint them into existence.

Without another word, black, ink-like viscous liquid appeared on Zhang Ze's fingertips. It quickly gathered into the surveillance equipment he needed, as well as several segments of forged surveillance footage.

In the footage, Lin Xiaomei, Zhao Haiyang, Hu Xin, and Dong Xing played normally. Old Zhou and Li Yang provided normal service, and Zhao Haiyang even injured a "staff member" with a chainsaw.

Naturally, this "staff member" was a Lingering Remnant from the Door-After World. Zhang Ze could simply explain it to outsiders as VR special-effects compositing, and that would be fine.

Throughout the entire process, the staff members never touched the players. Instead, Zhao Haiyang had actively attacked the staff member. That was enough to shut Yue Pan up.

As for whether the real gameplay differed from the footage...

What a joke. Lin Xiaomei and the others had all been scared unconscious. If the surveillance footage differed from their memories, they would only wonder whether they remembered incorrectly, whether fear had scrambled their memories. They would never doubt the authenticity of the footage.

What Zhang Ze painted was almost identical to the real surveillance footage, far superior to any AI-generated fake!

"I can provide the surveillance footage."

Zhang Ze directly sent his painted masterpiece to Yue Pan.

His phone showed that the other party had received the video file.

A few minutes later, Yue Pan said, "Boss Zhang, I have watched the footage. Your Haunted House employees indeed did not attack the visitors. My accusations against you were biased. Please forgive me."

Zhang Ze smiled.

He had no intention of letting Yue Pan off so easily.

"Your people even attacked my employee. If that employee had not been made with special effects but had been a real person, the grass on his grave would probably be several meters tall by now!"

"As members of Mystery Case Tracking Studio, doesn't this seem rather unprofessional of you?"

Zhang Ze turned the tables.

Besides, he was not wrong.

He had painted the surveillance footage, but Zhao Haiyang had indeed attacked Little Bear with a chainsaw and split Little Bear in half. That was irrefutable evidence.

"Please do not release this footage. In return, I will have them make a feature video about your Haunted House to promote it. As far as I know, the Old Haunted House across from yours belongs to New Century Amusement Park. That Old Haunted House has been in Hanjiang City for more than ten years and already has a solid reputation. Since your Haunted House has just opened, you definitely need a professional promotional team."

"We will help you write articles to promote it. Trust in our follower count and influence—we will definitely bring you many customers and help you build a reputation."

Naturally, Zhang Ze would not refuse such a good opportunity delivered right to his door.

He agreed to Yue Pan's deal.

Another day passed.

Zhang Ze's Haunted House resumed normal operations.

Unlike before, many viewers who had heard about Zhang Ze's livestream came to see him for themselves, buying tickets just to visit his Haunted House.

Many people were curious about what had happened during Zhang Ze's internet cafe livestream.

Not only was it connected to Lost Media No. 021, but many people were also curious about what exactly had happened at Speed Net Cafe. Why had a fire clearly broken out, yet Zhang Ze had continued livestreaming as usual?

Zhang Ze never gave a direct answer.

He maintained the appropriate air of mystery.

Naturally, the visitors were left itching with curiosity. They willingly opened their wallets to experience Zhang Ze's Haunted House, allowing Zhang Ze to make even more money.

After gaining the Horror Art Talent, Zhang Ze painted dozens of surveillance cameras throughout the Haunted House and installed them in every corner. But the real surveillance was the Crows everywhere, watching over the entire Haunted House in his place.

The Haunted House was thriving.

Even Uncle Xu had a much bigger smile on his face.

He had long since changed his opinion of Zhang Ze. At first, he had thought Zhang Ze was a college student acting on a whim. Now, though, Zhang Ze was clearly a walking god of wealth!

Of the visitors to New Century Amusement Park, seven went to Zhang Ze's Haunted House while three went to Chen Ge's Haunted House. Uncle Xu was delighted to see such prosperity, and it reminded him of New Century Amusement Park's former glory.