My House of Horrors

“The road splits before us, and the four clues must be arranged along the different routes. After splitting into two groups, one team will go to the left and the other to the right. We will maintain contact through our phones and keep each other updated constantly.” Wei Jinyuan quickly assumed the role of the leader—he had real experience designing a Haunted House to back his confidence up. “The interior of the Haunted House wouldn’t be wasted on pointless buildings. Every single building here might be hiding the actors or hidden traps. Just stay close behind me, and do not touch anything inside the building.”

“How about you and Cold Guy lead one team while the host and I go down the other path?” Lee Jiu glanced at Wei Jinyuan. For some reason, he felt that something was off about the man.

“No problem, it’s decided then.” Wei Jinyuan did not even ask for the other visitors’ opinion; it was like his words were the law once they were inside the Haunted House. “You guys are lucky to have run into us.”

“Okay.” The female assistant led Shinozaki and walked over to Wei Jinyuan’s side. “We are visiting a Haunted House back in this country for the first time, so there’re plenty of things we do not understand. Sorry for the trouble.”

Shinozaki did not say anything. However, it did look like there was something on his mind. The female assistant knew how strange his personality was, and since he did get into an argument with Wei Jinyuan earlier, she believed that this was because he felt awkward from being placed into the man’s hands. Either way, she did not ask Shinozaki about it.

“Okay then, the four of us will go ahead.” Wei Jinyuan raised his phone. “Meet you at the exit.”

“Okay.” Lee Jian watched as the other group walked down the left street. He turned to the right. “We have our own business to have come to this Haunted House. If you’re willing, then just follow us. However, if you think we’re not trustworthy, feel free to leave.”

Lee Jiu had a bad attitude toward Wang Dan; he did not like the young man.

“In that case, I’d rather they follow me, and we’ll go our own way.” Wang Dan planned to leave with his girlfriend, but his girlfriend thought that it was safer to stick with Lee Jiu. The two had an altercation, and it was Wang Dan who was isolated. There was no other option. Even though Wang Dan was not a cowardly man, he still would not dare to wander around a 3.5-star scenario alone.

“See, isn’t this better? People have to say some strange things to show off. Doesn’t he realize how childish that looks?” The other male student did not mention any names, and he made it sound like he was talking to himself, but everyone knew who he was referring to.

“Childish?” Wang Dan lifted his head to look at the man, and his first reaction was to argue. The words were already on his lips, but suddenly, he realized that everyone, including his girlfriend, sided against him, and they also thought that he was being childish.

If that was the case, arguing would only make him look worse. Wang Dan cleverly shut his mouth. He might have been childish before this, but with the training from Chen Ge’s Haunted House, he was no longer the reckless young man that he had once been. As if coming to a decision, Wang Dan followed obediently behind Lee Jiu, acting like he had finally surrendered.

“We should have done this a long time ago. Why make it appear like a visit to the Haunted House is so difficult?” The male student stayed at the back of the group with Wang Dan’s girlfriend, and the five of them walked down the street on the right.

After the two groups separated and left, a faded mist rolled out onto the street, and a shadow walked through it.

…

When it was a group of ten, the street had felt crowded, but once half were missing, the area suddenly felt so open.

“There’s no background introduction, no plot, not even a signboard—it is truly a miracle for this Haunted House to have survived until now.” Wei Jinyuan really could not understand how a horrible Haunted House like Chen Ge’s could get so popular.

“Perhaps the visitors are drawn in by the freshness. After all, there are not many Haunted Houses on the market that provide such a large amount of freedom.” Lee Changyin touched the wall of the buildings by the street. “However, there are strange things about this place too. I’ve taken a rough look, and all the buildings here are a perfect replica of the ones outside. The materials are bricks and cement, and they lend the place an air of authenticity.”

“Isn’t it going to be complicated when he needs to remove these decorations if he doesn’t use plastic and wood? Or does he plan to keep this scenario for life? Haunted House visitors always prefer the new over the old, and they will be bored of a scenario after playing it once. It is such a waste of money to build with cement.”

Wei Jinyuan shook his head. “There’s no comparison. He has the whole New Century Park giving him support and providing him with the budget. We, on the other hand, have to depend on ourselves.”

He seemed to have a different meaning behind his words. He seemed to be testing Lee Changyin as he added, “Didn’t the people from the futuristic park come to meet our boss recently? How did their negotiation go? Do you think we have a chance of opening a branch at the futuristic theme park in the future?”

“They have a different ideology from us; they do not plan to open a physical Haunted House. Contacting our boss was merely to get us to provide them with our experience and scripts. After all, they do not have anyone with them that specializes in producing a Haunted House.” After Lee Changyin said that, Wei Jinyuan’s mind started to work.

The number of visitors going to Nightmare Academy was dropping day by day, and there were so many negative reviews on the internet. The pay for the employees came from the share of the tickets, so without any visitors, they had no pay. From how Wei Jinyuan saw it, instead of staying at Nightmare Academy, why not jump over to the futuristic theme park? They needed someone who had the expertise in designing a Haunted House, and he could provide that.

“Looks like I’ll have to work hard today.” Only by proving his value would he be able to gain a better hand when negotiating with them.

Seeing the rise in his colleague’s passion, Lee Changyin merely twitched his lips. Perhaps because he had been an actor inside a Haunted House for too long, his every single motion was strange and inscrutable. In any case, he was different from a normal person, but it was hard to pinpoint what the was difference.

The female assistant had been walking next to Lee Changyin. She accidentally glanced at the man’s expression earlier, and she subconsciously slowed down like she was scared.

Wei Jinyuan noticed this, and he said in an attempt to console her, “Gorgeous, Cold Guy is our Haunted House’s most professional actor. If you have a chance, you should come to visit us. He will show you the true meaning of terror.”

“Thank you.” The female assistant smiled awkwardly. She slowed down even more and joined Shinozaki at the back.

“It’s not that I’m bluffing. This one time, Cold Guy visited another Haunted House, and even without any make-up on, he managed to scare the actors from the other Haunted House. Be it a ghost or a cold-blooded killer, he would be able to assume the role, and every expression felt truly authentic.”

Wei Jinyuan appeared so relaxed. However, when he turned around, Shinozaki’s eyes twitched, and he asked, “Have you put on make-up before visiting this place? I don’t care about the history between you all and the boss, and I don’t care about the real reason you’re here. I simply wish to know.”

“Do you think we’re here to create trouble? To put on make-up to scare the actors here?” Wei Jinyuan scoffed with derision. “You are giving this place too much credit…”

“That means you don’t have any make-up on.” Shinozaki wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Okay, thank you for answering my question.”

After Wei Jinyuan walked ahead, the female assistant took out the wet napkin from her bag and handed it over to Shinozaki. “Sir, there is air-conditioning inside here, and the temperature is so low—why are you sweating so much? Are you not feeling well?”

“Remember this route that we’re taking. If there’s a chance, we need to go meet up with the other team.” After wiping away the sweat, Shinozaki gripped the napkin tightly, and he appeared quite shell-shocked. “We need to stay away from these two.”

“But why? They’re professionals, right?” The female assistant was confused by Shinozaki’s order.

“The man who poked his head into the window earlier, there are two purplish-black stains on the back of his neck. It looks as if someone has gripped him there. You heard his answer earlier—he isn’t wearing any make-up.”

“Perhaps those are birthmarks?” The woman felt like Shinozaki was making a mountain out of a molehill. “Plus, haven’t we been through this before? We shouldn’t intrude on people’s privacy.”

“Those are definitely not birthmarks.” Shinozaki glanced at Wei Jinyuan. “I remember very clearly that the stain on the back of his neck was only one single palm print earlier, but as we walked down the street, it grew, and another print appeared!”

Shinozaki raised both of his hands and gestured around his neck. “The two hand prints appeared on both sides of the neck. It feels like there is something riding on his neck and hugging him with their arms…”