My House of Horrors

Why is he walking toward us? Chen Ge was confused by the man’s action. Wait, does he plan to offend every single passenger on this bus at least once? I’m not sure that is a good idea, buddy.

Naturally, the passenger did not hear Chen Ge’s thoughts. Whenever his shoes landed against the ground, there would be two footsteps, one directly behind the other. It was creepy to say the least.

Chen Ge started to fidget as the man walked toward the end of the bus. After all, this man was carrying the curse of the red high heels with him. He nudged into the seat. It was not that he was afraid, but he simply refused to be dragged into a problem that he did not create. The passenger noticed Chen Ge’s silent move. His eyes alternated between Chen Ge and the doctor, and eventually, that slightly deranged smile fell on Chen Ge.

“You are afraid.” The tone was firm, the eyes unfeeling, and the lips of the new passenger curved upward like he had taken control of everything, like nothing in this vehicle could escape his eyes.

“I am, slightly,” Chen Ge admitted without shame.

“The more afraid you are, the worse thing will happen to you.” The new passenger seemed to have decided his seat. He held the scissors and bag with one hand while his free hand went to grasp Chen Ge’s backpack and travel bag.

He did not attack Chen Ge but targeted his carry-ons. That was the first time that Chen Ge had come across someone like that. He frowned involuntarily, wondering if the passenger had seen through the group of ghosts hiding in his backpack.

However, two seconds later, Chen Ge tossed that suspicion out of his mind. With a weird smile, the new passenger held the straps of the backpack tight and tried to lift it up. Out of almost every other passenger’s expectation, the backpack did not even budge. The passenger who looked so savage was unable to life up Chen Ge’s backpack with one hand.

“He he.” After a brief chuckle, the new passenger gave it another try. The ropy muscles on his arms tightened, and it felt like he had used the maximum limit of his strength before he could manage to lift Chen Ge’s backpack up and toss it on the ground.

BANG!

The backpack was heavily loaded. It created a dull thud when it landed on the ground.

“What is inside the bag?” The new passenger raised his chin and pointed the sharp ends of the scissors at Chen Ge’s eyes.

“I’m a prop maker affiliated with a theme park. The backpack is filled with my everyday tools, the tools of my trade so to speak.” Chen Ge raised both of his hands in an attempt to appease him. He had seen the police officers doing something similar at crime scene to avoid unnecessary conflict. The smoothness of the action and sincerity of the tone meant that this was not the first time that Chen Ge had done something like this.

Chen Ge’s ‘cowardice’ satisfied the new passenger greatly. He scanned the whole bus, and this young man before him appeared the most easily-bullied. He extended his tongue and tried hard to lick at his wound before finally taking the seat next to Chen Ge.

Slowly putting his hands down, Chen Ge turned his head to look beside him. After hearing what the new passenger had to say, even he had thought that the man was about to attack him, or at the very least, open his backpack to take a look inside. However, as it turned out, the man’s bark was greater than his bite. He did not even find an excuse for himself and sat down directly.

“Er… Are you heading toward Li Wan City as well?” Chen Ge was amused by this new passenger. The first thing he did after getting on the bus was provoke the other passengers. His actions and expression were over the top like he was worried others would not tell he was a crazed murderer.

“Who would take this last bus that is prepared for the dead at midnight if they’re not heading toward Li Wan City?” The new passenger studied Chen Ge at close distance. It was his impression that of all the passengers on the bus, Chen Ge looked the most normal and was most likely a good person.

“A bus that is prepared for the dead…” One would think that Chen Ge had taken acting lesson before because he assumed the role of a frightened individual at the snap of his finger. He took in a cold breath like he was trying to suppress his fear, but his action belied his ‘real’ emotion. The fear radiated out from within. Even though his facial expression did not change much, he made sure the edge of his eyes shuddered and his pupils darted anxiously around.

The new passenger was increasingly satisfied with Chen Ge’s reaction. He loved those who were ‘weaker’ than he was. “What is your name?”

“My name is Chen Ge. I’m a theme park worker. What about you?” Chen Ge curled deeper into his seat like he was afraid that his question might offend the man, so he quickly added, “But it’s fine if you don’t want to tell, I’m just asking for fun.”

“You can call me Scissors. I’m going to Li Wan City to look for a person, a dead person.” Chen Ge did not ask for the details, but the new passenger simply unloaded his story on Chen Ge.

“I’m also going there to find a person. One of my friends has gone missing, and the last clue that he left me was this bus. I initially refused to believe it until I saw the bus appear with my own eyes. You have no idea how long I hesitated before I could summon the courage to get on the bus…” Chen Ge’s description was incredibly detailed, and it sounded suspiciously familiar to the doctor who sat in front. He realized Chen Ge had edited the high-schooler’s story and placed it on his own.

“Looks like I’m not the only one with such an experience.” The smile on Scissors’ face slowly rescinded. A look of contemplation cast over him, and when he was not consciously putting on a show, the expression on his face returned to normal. This was how he looked in his everyday life.

“We’re all the same.” Chen Ge bent down, pretending to tie his shoelaces. His fingers silently brushed against the blood stain that had landed on his shoes when the passenger was waving his scissors around. Chen Ge rubbed his fingers together and surreptitiously moved his fingers to his nostril. His senses were heightened, much better than a normal person, but even at such a close distance, he could not detect a scent of blood from the ‘blood stain’.

This is not blood. Chen Ge’s suspicion was confirmed. Normally, if one was carrying a bag of ‘body parts’, unless they were specially treated with coal or plastic wrap, there would definitely be a smell.

This man should be no different from the doctor, a normal person who is heading toward to Li Wan City to find their ‘final hope’.

Chen Ge could place himself in the passenger’s shoes. He knew that it was dangerous on the bus and knew that the destination was filled with murderers and ghosts, so he decided to put on this disguise to hide among the maddened and insane.

As detailed as the wolf disguise, a lamb will always be a lamb. Chen Ge looked at the man’s fine fingers and he shook his head slightly. He grumbled internally,With the way he’s holding the scissors, the first person he’ll hurt in a confrontation is himself. In a heated struggle, there is no way he will still have enough calmness to remember to cut his enemy. The better way is actually to hold the scissors by the point where the blades were attached and use the sharp edge as some kind of pick.

This man who called himself Scissors had exposed way too many weaknesses. A normal person might be scared by his scary appearance and maddened speech but not Chen Ge. He was a Haunted House operator, and from a professional perspective, Scissors’ work had left much to be desired.

Scissors did not pose much of a threat, so Chen Ge turned his focus back to the other passengers. They were reaching Li Wan City soon; he could not allow these passengers to wander too freely. Before a plan was formed, another contingency was introduced—the phone in Chen Ge’s pocket suddenly vibrated. Chen Ge put on the earphone and answered it. It was Fan Dade’s voice that came through.

“Boss Chen! I notice a problem! Since the living room door was open, I headed out to take a look. There were only footprints that headed up in the staircase and none that went down. That thing is still probably inside the house! Should I leave this place while I still can?”

“There are only footprints that head up?”

“Yes, something just doesn’t feel right tonight. Everything appears out of place! Boss Chen, where are you now? I don’t think I can hold out any longer!”

“Hang in there a little while longer, I’ll be there soon!”