My House of Horrors

“You sure are relaxed.” Seeing the glow in Chen Ge’s eyes and the young man’s excitement in trying the new attraction out, Director Luo felt quite speechless. “Your Haunted House is currently our theme park’s main attraction. In other words, your Haunted House sets us apart from other theme parks, but once the visitors find a replacement, we will lose our competitive edge.”

“Then what should we do now?”

“Do everything they plan to do before they do it. That way, when they officially open for business, the visitors will have the impression that they’re merely copying us.”

The older the ginger, the spicier it was. Director Luo’s suggestion was incredibly tempting to Chen Ge, but it stopped there. “Increasing the visitors’ interactivity with the scenario is doable, but to combine every scenario to create a horror game experience is too difficult.”

Chen Ge knew about his own situation. All of the scary scenarios had everything to do with the black phone, and he was only responsible for unlocking them.

“There’s no need for us to change the existing scenarios. I’m merely giving you a general direction to follow.” Director Luo offered his thoughts. “The underground parking lot is limited in terms of space. Have you considered expanding to the surface and connecting both the surface and underground? It’ll be more dimensional, and you can come up with unique settings like stairs and elevators.”

Chen Ge’s final goal was to create a theme park with the theme of terror and horror, so eventually, he would have to expand beyond the confines of the underground parking lot.

“I can help you solve the issue of budget and manpower; you only need to focus on interior design.” Director Luo had great confidence in Chen Ge. He took out his phone and opened a document. There were several designs in it. “Your Haunted House is on the northwestern side of the park. We plan to break down the fencing on the northwestern side and expand in that direction; that is just perfect for you to connect to your Haunted House.”

By designing intertwining corridors inside the Haunted House and overlapping the spaces, even without using a large space, one could create the sensation of a maze; Chen Ge was an expert in this area. “The expansion of theme park will be based around my Haunted House?”

“The other attractions will be updated as well so that our theme park will not appear to be so lagging behind, while the expansion of your Haunted House will be to increase our theme park’s competitiveness, to make our advantage stand out even more.” Director Luo’s mind was very sharp. “I’ve already found the builders and the Haunted House’s design team, but there’s one thing that you need to be careful with. Even though I’ve personally approved this batch of workers, their relationship with Bai Qin is not bad. So, when you come up with the design, you’d better be careful.”

Bai Qin was willing to invest when theme park needed it the most, so theoretically, Chen Ge should be thankful of the man’s help, but in reality, both Chen Ge and Director Luo thought that this man had an ulterior motive.

“I can use the builders, but I don’t think I’ll have any use for the design team. This is the core of a Haunted House, and I will never allow any outsiders to meddle in it.” Chen Ge denied the offer directly.

“But can you do all of it alone? We’re planning to make use of all the land on the northeastern side. The workload will be massive.”

“I have my own team. They’re my parent’s friends. After my parents disappeared, I kept in contact with them. If I ask, I’m sure they’re willing to come and help.” Chen Ge’s parents did not have any trustworthy friends, or none that Chen Ge knew of—he was merely coming up with a valid identity for his team of Ghosts and Ghouls.

“That would be perfect. If there’s a chance, bring them to come meet me. I will help you talk to them about the salary.” Director Luo worried about this character, Bai Qin. The man was a pure businessperson. Since he was able to sell the inside information about the futuristic park, it was only logical to expect him to sell the information about New Century Park as well. For someone who placed profit above everything else, there was nothing in the world that could not be sold for a price.

“They need to work in the day and can only come at night. It’s okay, I can negotiate with them myself.” Chen Ge had his own plan. Construction on the surface was different from construction underground, so he had to come up with a building process somehow, or at least make a show of it.

“Okay, then I’ll leave the interior building and design to your team. Do you have any requests about the exterior appearance?” Director Luo looked through his phone. “Currently, we have three proposals. The first is to make it look like a hospital, second is an abandoned school, and third is a haunted residential area.”

Chen Ge thought all three proposals were quite brilliant, but considering the four-star Trial Mission provided by the black phone, he first excluded the haunted residential area. There were already plenty of school-related scenarios in the underground parking lot, so after some consideration, Chen Ge chose the first proposal, which was to make the appearance look like a hospital.

“Director Luo, when you’re building the set, remember to keep everything sealed, and ensure that you couldn’t see anything from outside. If a Haunted House loses its sense of mystery, then the feeling of anticipation will greatly decrease.” Chen Ge scrolled through the design papers that Director Luo provided. “I’ll leave the construction of the exterior to you, and the sooner it is built, the better. When you’re done, I’ll find my parent’s friends to help me with the interior design and construction.”

“It shouldn’t take too long since we’re technically just building an empty case.” Director Luo put the phone away. “After the place expands, manpower will be a problem. If you have any problems, please come to me, and I will try my best to help.”

“Okay.” After sending Director Luo away, Chen Ge looked at the northeastern side of theme park. “It is a good idea to expand the Haunted House to the surface. At least this will lay the foundation for the horror theme park in the future.”

Returning to the Haunted House, the visitors were still bustling. Chen Ge summoned Ol’ Zhou and Duan Yue to come help while he went to the staff breakroom to rest.

“The futuristic theme park plans to create a horror game that the visitors can interact with, and I shouldn’t be lagging behind. For now, most of the employees here only know how to scare people—their function is too singular. I need more workers like Ol’ Zhou and Duan Yue who can play different roles. If there’s a chance, I need to conduct some training for all of my employees.” Chen Ge wanted to vary the elements of his Haunted House, to increase its challenge and playability, and he needed his employees’ cooperation for that to happen.

“Much still remains to be done, but there is a short-cut. I only need to find the type of ghost that fits the type of actor that I want.”

…

At 5 pm, Chen Ge exited the staffroom. There had been no accidents throughout the day, and he was getting more satisfied with Ol’ Zhou and Duan Yue’s performance. At 6:30 pm, Chen Ge sent the last batch of visitors away. He let Xu Wan and Xiao Gu, who had been busy for the day, go home while he stayed back to clean.

“My biological clock is now completely inverse. I’ll feel so spirited at night.”

With the aid from the ghosts, the cleaning was soon completed. Chen Ge changed and grabbed his backpack to prepare for the Trial Mission that he was attempting that night.

“The shadow once failed at White Dragon Cave Tunnel, so this three-star mission is probably different from the ones I’ve faced.” Chen Ge shoved the recorder, comic, and everything that he could carry inside the backpack. “I can’t be too careless, but I shouldn’t be too afraid since we have the same enemy, so we should be able to talk over this nicely.”

After preparing everything, Chen Ge took out the black phone and found the page that he needed.

“Are you going to accept the three-star Trial Mission—End of the Tunnel?”

“Yes.”

“Mission accepted!

“End of the Tunnel (3-star Trial Mission): No one knows what is at the end of the tunnel, but all that go in never come out.

“Mission Requirement: Reach the deepest part of White Dragon Cave Tunnel before midnight.

“Mission Hint: Close both of your eyes, and perhaps you might see the real world.”