Inside the private room, an eerie silence hung in the air. Neither Zhang Ze nor Chen Ge spoke first to break the ice. Zhang Ze needed to establish a sort of condescending status in Chen Ge's mind, while Chen Ge had many misgivings.
Was Zhang Ze his enemy?
If he was an enemy, why choose this method of fair competition?
Anyone else lacking morals would have played dirty from the start.
How could they have the nerve to honestly open a Haunted House right across from Chen Ge's, competing over whose customer ratings were higher and playing out a down-to-earth business war?
Of course, if Chen Ge knew that Zhang Ze had recorded his Black Friday, he probably wouldn't have thought it was a fair competition anymore.
Time ticked away second by second.
Zhang Ze stared at Chen Ge.
The fine hairs on the back of Chen Ge's neck stood on end. He felt many gazes watching him, possibly from crows or eyes hidden somewhere else.
Out of instinctive biological vigilance, Chen Ge tightened his grip slightly on the Skull-Crushing Hammer.
"Your Haunted House is behind a door. That door is dangerous, filled with malice, resentment, and hatred, just like another world running parallel to the real world where Fierce Ghosts live."
"You opening your Haunted House directly opposite mine isn't a coincidence, right?"
Chen Ge was fishing for information.
He wanted to squeeze information out of Zhang Ze with zero cost.
"Your Haunted House is no slouch either. It's full of the real deal—they're your employees. You have your team of ghost employees, and I have my own crew of ghost employees. It's only fair."
"Instead of worrying about me, you should be worrying more about your own employees."
"I know, the Pen Fairy is gone," Chen Ge said.