My House of Horrors

He had not met the man for a few days, but Chen Ge realized that Director Luo suddenly had new confidence in New Century Park, and this confused him.

“Director Luo, you have to think about this closely. The distance between our New Century Park and the futuristic theme park in terms of technical power cannot be resolved by buying some new devices or attractions.” Chen Ge believed that Director Luo should have been more familiar with that than he was.

“Updating the attractions is to shorten the distance. The influence of your Haunted House is still growing, so the park mustn’t pull you back; we have to update accordingly.” Director Luo knew what Chen Ge was worried about. “The budget is already there. Don’t underestimate the power that the theme park has collected over the years.”

Before the workers, Director Luo always maintained his look of confidence like everything was within his control. Of all the people there, probably only Chen Ge really understood Director Luo’s difficulty. The theme park already had no money, and this new asset was probably something that Director Luo collected through his connections and channels with some sacrifices.

Updating the attractions and building the multi-purpose hall required a great amount of money, but since Director Luo had said that, Chen Ge would not counter him in front of the crowd. Everyone was working to save the theme park. The futuristic theme park in Eastern Jiujiang was opening in a few weeks, and this was the most crucial moment for New Century Park. Their morale could not be shaken at a time like this.

The park opened at 9 am, and Chen Ge’s Haunted House had become the park’s main attraction. Thus, he had the most visitors. In just a few minutes, a long line had formed in front of the Haunted House. The visitors realized the changes in front of the Haunted House, and many downloaded the app. Initially, they were merely curious, but they slowly realized that the app was quite interesting.

The visitors that came early in the morning were mostly the Haunted House’s loyal fans. They had a shared interest, and after downloading the app, they started chatting on the forum.

“I, Ol’ Zhang, have returned! This time, I will clear this one-star scenario!”

“First group to challenge three-star Coffin Village today! Bringing two girls with me!”

“Mu Yang High School looking for teammate, no heart problem and will not abandon teammates during crucial moment.”

“Fighting for the dead, protecting the living! Communication thread for Jiujiang Medical School students!”

The forum quickly became rife with activity. The visitors were all very passionate—it felt like this one app had gathered everyone with the same interest, giving them a place to share their thoughts, thus cultivating loyalty in the fans of the Haunted House. As the visitors entered the Haunted House and the ranking on the big monitor changed, the visitors waiting also became more excited.

The points earned from clearing a three-star scenario was the highest, so the number of visitors wanting to attempt three-star scenarios increased. Chen Ge did not have time to rest; he kept moving between the few underground scenarios to prevent any accidents. He busied himself until noon when Director Luo came over again. After confirming the popularity of the app, he left with a satisfied smile.

Xu Wan and Gu Feiyu left for lunch, and Chen Ge left the underground at around 2 pm. He was rather tired from so many visitors. Most visitors just passed Mu Yang High School and directly moved to challenge Third Sick Hall or Coffin Village. This meant that the screams had not stopped from the underground.

Chen Ge ran back and forth between the few scenarios. He had just helped the visitors out from the Third Sick Hall when he heard the blood-curdling scream from Coffin Village. In the end, he had to ask help from Ol’ Zhou’s group. He did not need them to scare people but needed them as ushers to prevent the wandering visitors from running into accidents.

The moment they appeared, they were ready to do something big, but after strong persuasion from Chen Ge, they finally surrendered to his demand. Afraid that their faces might be recognized, Chen Ge ran to the changing room to pick out outfits that would cover up their faces before letting them go. Chen Ge sighed in relief with the help of the three ghosts.

No one cleared the three-star scenarios, and no visitors fainted from the scare—this was the best solution for Chen Ge so far. The few scenarios opened at the same time, and Chen Ge felt greatly pressured. He really needed a managerial ghost. “If I have nothing to do tonight, I should return to Mu Yang High School.”

Chen Ge sent off the last visitor at 6 pm. He called Xu Wan and Gu Feiyu, telling them to remove the make-up and leave work. After dealing with everything, Chen Ge returned to the staff breakroom and climbed into bed. “After a whole day of work, I don’t feel that tired. I wonder if my body is changing or if I’ve gotten used to this type of high-stress lifestyle?”

Just as Chen Ge was wondering what to do that night, his phone rang. He realized that it was a call from Lee Zheng.

“Do you need my help now?” Chen Ge was working with the police for the first time. He did not know what he was expected to do.

“Chen Ge, I have something to tell you.” Lee Zheng seemed to be at the office—the background was quiet. “Liu Zhe has just come to surrender.”

“Surrender?” Chen Ge sat up in bed. With Liu Zhe’s selfish personality, he would not do something like this.

“We suspect that Doctor Gao has realized something and decided to give up on Liu Zhe and push the blame onto him.”

“That’s impossible. That Liu Zhe has a lot of resentment toward Doctor Gao. If something really happened, he would have dragged Doctor Gao down with him.” Chen Ge managed the Haunted House and would come into contact with many people, so he was a good people reader.

“Let me finish. Even though Liu Zhe came to confess his crimes, his condition is very off. He looks very distracted like he is in a state of sleep-walking.” Lee Zheng also felt that something was off. “We are thinking along the line of hypnosis or mental suggestion, but Jiujiang doesn’t have this type of expert, and we cannot do anything for now.”

“Meaning the trail on Liu Zhe has gone completely cold?” Liu Zhe’s condition was similar to Liu Xianxian and Ma Yin that day when they returned to their bedroom. Chen Ge believed that this was the doing of that ashy-skinned woman.

“Unfortunately, that is the case until he recovers.” There was helplessness in Lee Zheng’s voice. This time, their opponent had covered up everything, not giving them a chance. “Therefore, we hope you can gain contact with Gao Ru Xue silently and the actual details that we need you to get from her. I will send you an email tomorrow; this call is just a reminder.”

“Of course, I understand.” After receiving the black phone, Chen Ge had troubled the police many times, and now that they needed his help, of course, he would not reject it.