Chapter 110: The Second Special Visitor (Third Update, Making Up for One)
The three nightmare tasks on the black phone were like beginner quests in a game—dangerous to some extent, but they guided the player to gradually familiarize themselves with the game.
"It seems only after completing these three tasks can I truly be considered a player." Chen Ge held the blood-stained paper, his mind far from calm. He had put in so much effort to finish one task after another, yet only now was he past the newbie tutorial. How difficult would the tasks be from here on out?
Folding the note with the hint and putting it away, Chen Ge slowly let go of his frustration. The two most challenging trial tasks—the most dangerous part of the Safe Apartments was the people, and while Moyang High School was eerie and terrifying, the lingering spirits there had no intention of harming anyone. Strictly speaking, these two scenarios weren't all that dangerous.
"It looks like starting from the three-star trial tasks, things will be completely different. I might have to face malevolent spirits full of malice."
What's meant to come will come, and there's no avoiding it. This note was likely left by his parents, so no matter what, Chen Ge had to check out the location mentioned on it.
Sitting by the table in a daze for a while, Chen Ge took out the black phone. The moment he saw the girl's face, this nightmare task was already complete.
"Lucky favored one of the vengeful spirits, congratulations on completing the nightmare-level daily task. You have received the task reward—basic talent skill: Living Puppet."
"Using a real person to make a mold, carving, disassembling, and reassembling, polishing every bone, painting the skin with new lacquer, stitching all wounds, then adorning it with a flawless, exquisite makeup and a soul with nowhere to go—this is how you create your first living puppet."
"Completing three nightmare-level daily tasks in a row will randomly grant you a trial task for a horror scenario. Do you wish to draw now?"
"Note: After completing three nightmare tasks, nightmare-level tasks in daily tasks will change to random refreshes. Treat every nightmare task with caution!"
Just like when he obtained the basic talent skill of Mortician's Art, Chen Ge only felt some new memories flooding into his mind, and his hands became a bit more nimble. Other than that, there were no other changes.
"Puppets and ghost models are a crucial part of the haunted house. This talent skill will greatly help me run my haunted house. It just so happens that the Moyang High School scenario still has over twenty homeless lingering spirits I can experiment on freely." Chen Ge clearly overlooked the thoughts of those lingering spirits. "Once I make the puppets and stuff them inside, that should complete the hidden task for the Moyang High School scenario."
The number of puppets in the Zombie Resurrection Night wasn't enough, and large-scale puppet-making couldn't be done in his haunted house—it required a proper workshop and various tools.
"Tomorrow morning, I can swing by a custom puppet workshop. Hopefully, the price won't be too outrageous." Chen Ge continued flipping through the black phone and chose "no" when asked if he wanted to draw the trial task now. He wasn't ready to face a three-star trial task yet.
After handling that, Chen Ge picked up his own phone, turned off the recording, and clipped the segment where the slippers moved into the room on their own and stopped by the bed.
"Every time I fall asleep, the slippers walk over to the bed on their own."
Giving it a random name, Chen Ge uploaded this eleven-second video to a short video platform.
Though short, the video had a much better effect than the previous bathtub video.
In just a few minutes, it had hundreds of views and over a dozen shares. The long-quiet comment section also came alive.
"Short and weak! Your short videos are just like your... wait, can someone tell me why the slippers moved on their own?"
"Streamer, did you Photoshop yourself out?"
"Am I seeing things? I feel like there's someone hiding under that bed in the video."
"I saw it too, but it looks like two people! Damn, I've been watching too many horror videos and now I've got double vision!"
Every time Chen Ge posted a short video, his followers increased significantly. After watching for a minute or two, he quietly logged out of his account and went to sleep.
The next morning, Chen Ge got up early. He cleaned up the white rice on the floor, tidied up the haunted house inside and out, and then waited for business to start.
"Lack of staff is a big problem now. If only the Ouija board spirit could stand outside and sell tickets." Chen Ge planned in his mind. The ** scenario could only accommodate three visitors at a time—any more would ruin the experience. But Midnight Escape and Moyang High School were different. The more people in Midnight Escape, the more fun it was, while Moyang High School had a large space, so even with six or seven visitors at once, as long as the pacing was right, they could be scared into a cold sweat.
"Once I finish the Moyang High School hidden task, I'll have Xu Wan play the killer in Midnight Escape, and I'll go into Moyang High School to play the ghost. Both scenarios can run simultaneously."
Chen Ge had already thought out his plan. He searched online for large-scale puppet-making workshops and studios in Jiujiang City and found one not far from New Century Amusement Park. It used to serve the park exclusively, but due to the park's decline, it had been affected and was about to be transferred.
At nine o'clock, the amusement park opened on time. The off-season hadn't ended yet, and the total number of visitors was dwindling, but the line outside the Haunted House was getting longer.
Before, Chen Ge used to stand alone at the entrance with flyers, enviously watching others, with even the merry-go-round having several times more riders than his place. Now, the situation had completely reversed.
"Everyone, line up. Take your time. All scenarios are twenty yuan. After finishing one, if you want to try another, please get back in line."
Chen Ge first had Xu Wan go into the haunted house to prepare while he maintained order outside. As he walked through the crowd, the black phone suddenly vibrated.
"Business hasn't even started yet. Why is there a message now?" Chen Ge stopped and took out his phone to check.
"Midnight Ticket Booth Effect Triggered! The second special visitor has appeared! Seize this opportunity. Different choices will lead to completely different outcomes!"
"Triggered again?" Chen Ge stared at the phone, stunned for a moment, then swept his eyes over the visitors in line. "Who is that special visitor?"
When his gaze reached the end of the line, Chen Ge's eyes widened. The other person had clearly seen him too and waved in his direction.
"Dr. Gao?"
Chen Ge first arranged for two visitors to enter the ** scenario for their tour, then walked over to Dr. Gao, sizing him up seriously for the first time. "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you, of course." Dr. Gao was dressed in a suit, looking nothing like someone visiting an amusement park. "From what you said before, I figured you weren't a student. I didn't expect you to own your own haunted house."
"It's a family business." Chen Ge put away the black phone, his expression returning to normal. "So, what do you need from me?"
"It's like this. I've encountered a very special patient whose symptoms basically match the little boy you mentioned to me. So, I wanted to ask you about some things."