My House of Horrors

“I’ve already introduced the scenario. Three-star scenario, there’s no path to follow, and it’s completely open. All you need to do is find a blood red wedding dress and bring it out.” Chen Ge came up with the rules on the spot. After all, this was his Haunted House; his words were the rules.

“That simple?” The young hair turned back to ask Chen Ge, “Are there any hidden conditions? Some Haunted Houses will design multiple side missions to make the experience more enjoyable. They allow the visitors to explore the place on their own, to increase playability.”

“There are many hidden plots inside my Haunted House. You can explore it to your heart’s content.” Chen Ge’s smile was like the sun, it made people feel warmed.

“Then how about time requirement for clearing the scenario?” The large man chimed in. It was quite obvious that they were experienced players. They knew the ins and outs of Haunted Houses.

“Since this is the first time the place has been open to the public, I’ll give you more time. As long as you can find the wedding dress in forty minutes, I’ll consider it a success.” Chen Ge was kind. He wanted the visitors to experience Coffin Village fully, so he purposely extended the time limit.

“We won’t need forty minutes.” The young hair flicked his bangs back. He too was a prideful man. “We’ve reviewed many Haunted Houses, and the longest we’ve taken was thirty minutes.”

“Forty minutes is indeed too long, but this way we can look around.” The leading woman still held her phone, having no intention of putting it away. When Ye Xiaoxin entered the Haunted House, she had used her paper and pen for her notes. Based on this alone, one could see they were not on the same level. Actually, Chen Ge knew what the woman was up to. The Haunted House review was just a gimmick. She wanted to use the scary atmosphere to create a contrast to her cute demeanor. She was a lesser reviewer compared to Ye Xiaoxin, who knew and respected the rules of Haunted Houses.

“Yes, go look around, you might find more hidden joys.” Chen Ge was so kind that even the three ‘visitors’ following him could not stand it. After he had the three new visitors sign the disclaimers, he led the eight of them to the end of the corridor and lifted up the wooden boards. A blast of cold air came from underground, causing them to shiver.

“Only a wooden board is used to separate the scenarios. It’s too rough, minus one point for set design.” The woman added another note to her phone.

Chen Ge was not angry. He was so nice that even his reminder was given with a kind smile. “Our Haunted House doesn’t allow the usage of phones and other recording devices. Please do mind that.”

“I’m a certified reviewer. The phone is just to record data. Don’t just assume stuff.”

“Understood, when you start your review, please be kind.” Chen Ge politely sent the eight into the scenario. “The one on the left is the two-star scenario Mu Yang High School; the one behind the steel door on the right is the Third Sick Hall. Coffin Village, which you’re challenging today, is just ahead.”

When Chen Ge entered the underground earlier, he had seen a meandering path appearing between the Third Sick Hall and Mu Yang High School. At the end of the path was a pale light.

“Coffin Village is at the end of the path. This is where I’ll leave you, have fun.” Chen Ge stood at the mouth of the path and sent the visitors away. It’s nice that the three scenarios are separated, but after the expansion turns the Haunted House into a maze, all the underground scenarios might join together to create a large scary scenario.

After three expansions, the Haunted House would morph into a Maze of Terror. It had been expanded twice already, and the third time was not that far away. Chen Ge looked down the other two scenarios. Inside the Mu Yang High School, the sealed classroom’s door was pushed open. A mannequin head peeked out as if to see whether Chen Ge had already left or not. When it saw Chen Ge, it rolled back into the classroom and closed the door.

Those students sure are naughty. I’ll need to have them memorize the worker’s rules later. Chen Ge returned to the surface and headed to the props room. He ransacked the place and finally found the reward at the corner—Seamstress’ Wedding Dress. The tattered wedding dress was red as blood. It was possessed by a hatred-filled spirit. If one leaned close enough, one might even hear the weeping of a woman. If the visitors saw this, they would be so angry. Chen Ge had not even placed the thing that they were supposed to look for into the scenario. The happiness in finding it after looking for a long time is the real fun of the game.

He wrapped the wedding dress inside a black cloth. Chen Ge entered the changing room. This was the unique construct that he had obtained after the Haunted House’s second expansion. None of the visitors had tried it before. Chen Ge selected one of the less conspicuous outfits and put on some make-up. “This is not bad. I look normal from afar, but upon closer inspection, it’s quite scary.”

Chen Ge entered Coffin Village again. He used the black phone to inspect the hidden tunnels and pathways inside the village and took out the comic. When the ghost stories society was battling the Zhu woman, Chen Ge had made use of the opportunity to collect a few ghosts into the comic. After a whole night of ‘education’, the lingering spirits had been reformed.

“I’ve told you it’s a good decision to follow me. This is the new home I’ve arranged for all of you. The whole village is yours. You can feed on the visitors’ fear and screams, but remember one thing, you cannot harm the visitors and no physical contact, understood?”

Chen Ge walked through Coffin Village and tossed out the ghosts as he went. “The completion rate for the mission is only seven percent, which means the scariest thing at this scenario hasn’t arrived. Thankfully, I remembered to carry some ghosts from the village itself.”

Looking at the village that came back to ‘life’, Chen Ge flashed a satisfied smile. “Even though it is quite harsh and demanding, all the sacrifice is worth it to give the visitors the best experience.”

Chen Ge felt like he was the kind that worked in the background. If he revealed all the effort he had done, the visitors would be so touched.

…

Amid creepy music and a heavy atmosphere, when the eight visitors reached the end of the path, what they saw stunned them—rows of old houses, intertwining streets, fluttering paper money, and the white paper lanterns giving off pale light hanging at the door.

“This is Coffin Village?” The leading woman shrunk back and silently hid behind her companions.