With a whoosh, Chen Mo opened his eyes. Before him was his familiar room, the clock on the wall showing 6:15. In other words, the entire heart-pounding experience at the amusement park had only lasted fifteen minutes in reality.
Though it was just fifteen minutes, for the participants caught up in it, it had been a thrilling three hours.
As if suddenly remembering something, Chen Mo immediately pulled out his phone. Sure enough, beneath the story options, a new image titled "Horror Journey" had appeared. In the image, a sea of fire engulfed the amusement park, countless spirits floating in the sky. Among them, the figure of a little girl holding her mother's hand stood out prominently—clearly the terrifying story he had just experienced, with the ending marked as "Perfect."
Opening the items section, his story points had now become 25, meaning he had earned 20 points from this Horror Journey story.
Beyond that, in the previously empty item slot, the first position now displayed an acquired item. Chen Mo hadn't exchanged for any道具 in the mall, so this was clearly a reward from his first official story mission.
Spirit Concealment Talisman, a protective item. Once affixed, it can block spiritual perception, with an effect lasting five minutes. This item is a single-use consumable.
Achieving a perfect ending in a story not only yielded higher points but also came with item rewards—this caught Chen Mo somewhat off guard. Though the Spirit Concealment Talisman was a one-time-use item, it could come in handy for confusing ghosts at critical moments.
After that, Chen Mo opened the mall interface.
Through over a month of research, he had discovered that this app's mall not only offered various items for dealing with ghosts but also many incredible everyday items. These items required few points to exchange for but could provide participants with considerable convenience during stories.
Authentic Fake ID, exchange cost: 5 points. Can transform into any required document during a mission. This item's effect only applies to non-spiritual entities and is limited to three uses per mission.
No-Charge Phone, exchange cost: 5 points. A communication tool that requires no signal, usable in most story worlds except those with special requirements.
Universal Storage Backpack, exchange cost: 5 points. Can store up to one cubic meter of items, limited to non-living objects, and usable only in story worlds.
Besides these, there were items like an unbreakable rope, a nuclear-powered flashlight, and other oddities, with most exchange costs ranging from 5 to 10 points.
Scanning the mall briefly, Chen Mo didn't rush to exchange anything. Since there was always a preparation period between a story's release and its official start, he could figure it out then.
Moreover, he already had one permanent dispelling item and one single-use protective item in hand. With resources in reserve, he felt no panic—at this moment, Chen Mo was fairly calm.
Exiting the app, feeling a bit hungry, Chen Mo switched to Ele.me and ordered himself some takeout. While waiting for delivery, he planned to take a nice, relaxing bath—the story experience might have felt like a dream, but the exhaustion after all that tension was real.
Twenty minutes later, Chen Mo walked out of the bathroom, rubbing his hair, feeling refreshed. The takeout hadn't arrived yet, but he heard a ding from his phone on the table, as if someone had sent him a message.
Walking over to pick up the phone, a notification popped up from the Strange Tales Radio icon, showing a private message.
"Listener Li Yan has opened the 'Studio' and invites you to join. Do you agree to enter the 'Studio'?"
"Studio? What's that?" Chen Mo felt a bit puzzled, but seeing the inviter was Li Yan, he didn't overthink it and clicked accept.
The moment his finger moved, Chen Mo felt his vision go black instantly. At the same time, a young man wearing a helmet and a blue windbreaker, carrying a box of takeout, arrived at the apartment door. He knocked, but got no response. With a puzzled look, he dialed the phone number, but no one answered.
"How strange—didn't this person just order takeout? Why isn't anyone home, and why aren't they answering?"
"Maybe they didn't hear it for some reason."
Though a bit surprised, this kind of thing happened occasionally during deliveries, so the man didn't think much of it. He carefully placed the takeout by the door and left.
If there had been a second person in the room, they would have been too shocked to speak, because in that instant, Chen Mo's figure had vanished into thin air, just like when participants were pulled into a story.
When his vision cleared again, Chen Mo found himself in a dim space resembling a bar's private booth. Under an exquisite chandelier, a row of dark red booth seats stretched before him, surrounded by soft wall lamps and comfortable carpets. In one of the booths ahead, several figures were visible.
Several people were already in the space, either sitting or standing, and they all turned their gazes toward him. One of them stood up and waved—it was Li Yan.
"What the hell is going on?" Chen Mo looked around, a hint of surprise on his face.
"Is this your first time in the studio?"
"Studio? Here?"
Chen Mo stood still in the room, glancing around. This dim space had nothing in common with the usual idea of a studio.
Li Yan patted the sofa, signaling Chen Mo to sit down. Just then, with a thud, another bulky figure dropped into the space. The fat man scrambled up from the floor, looking bewildered, then his face twisted into shock.
"What the heck is this place? How did I get here?"
"This is the studio. To put it simply, it's a special privilege for veterans."
Studio? Veterans? Special privilege?
The few people who had already arrived showed no surprise on their faces, clearly not first-timers in this space. One of them explained: "After completing three official missions, a listener gets upgraded by the radio to veteran status. Spending 50 points then allows you to open a 'studio' like this. The studio is essentially a secret space where listeners can create any non-lethal items. Each studio session is limited to sixty minutes. Using the studio, you can summon listeners from different real-world locations simultaneously, and anything discussed here won't be known to the outside."
"There's even this kind of operation... it's amazing..." After hearing the explanation, the fat man was no longer scared, but his face still brimmed with astonishment.
"Isn't this just a legendary secret room?"