Chapter 128: Equipment Upgrade
The taxi stopped at the entrance of the amusement park. Chen Ge called Xu Wan, and together they carried the cardboard box into the haunted house.
"Boss, what's inside this thing? It's really heavy."
"Fake human heads." Chen Ge didn't elaborate. "Don't just open it and peek, or you might scare yourself."
"Oh, got it."
After setting the box down, Chen Ge told Xu Wan to go touch up her makeup in the dressing room while he went out to sell tickets.
"Tomorrow, the Muyang High School scene opens. I have to solve the staffing issue. If I really can't hire anyone, I can ask Director Luo to borrow an amusement park employee to sell tickets at the entrance."
As he pulled back the protective railing and stepped out, a man in his early thirties approached him. "Mr. Chen? I finally found you."
Chen Ge was rarely addressed that way. He glanced at the man, who wore a casual suit, carried a black case, had a neat short haircut, and flashed a bright smile with very white teeth.
"You're looking for me?"
"I haven't missed a single one of your livestreams. They're absolutely brilliant." The man started with flattery. Chen Ge knew the quality of his own streams—though the content was novel, limited by the filming equipment, the overall viewing experience wasn't great.
"You flatter me." Chen Ge wasn't sure of the man's intentions. "Are you one of my fans?"
"I'm a die-hard fan. I followed you from your first short video when it hit the trending list at midnight. Later, when Qin Guang plagiarized your content, I was the one who uploaded your videos to the forum and told everyone he was copying you." The man claimed to be a devoted fan, but he remained very composed, his smile merely a professional one, showing no real excitement.
"Thanks for that." Chen Ge didn't fully believe him, but he thought the guy seemed decent enough, at least able to tell right from wrong. "Since you're a fan, if you come to visit, I'll give you a fifty percent discount."
"I won't hold you up from business. Let the guests behind me go in first." He let the tourists enter the Horror House first, then found Chen Ge during a lull. "I heard that Qin Guang's studio sent people to cause you trouble last time, and you gave them a good beating?"
"Just rumors. Those people from Qin Guang's studio have no底线. They deliberately sent two psychos to my haunted house to fake fainting. After framing me, they pretended to be the victims—utterly shameless!" Chen Ge said through gritted teeth.
The man beside him looked a bit awkward at that, forcing a smile. "I think they set you up too. Who gets scared into the hospital from visiting a haunted house, let alone being dazed for days? These people can't even come up with a decent excuse."
"Scared into the hospital?"
"Yeah, and they threatened to retaliate, planning to block all your recommendation channels. But later, another studio stepped in to stop them." The man smiled at Chen Ge like a fox wagging its tail. "After all, the platform belongs to everyone, not just Qin Guang."
At that point, Chen Ge understood everything. This guy was probably a representative from another studio. It seemed they had a grudge against Qin Guang's studio, or else they wouldn't have reported him for plagiarism on the forum when all platform resources were tilted toward him.
A platform's traffic and channels are limited. If Qin Guang grew bigger, he'd steal the popularity that belonged to them. For livestreaming and short videos, losing users is like slow suicide.
"You're here to discuss cooperation, right? How should I address you?" Chen Ge glanced at the black case in the man's hand, imagining it stuffed with cash.
"Actually, I'm a streamer on the platform too. Just call me Liu Dao."
"Liu Dao?" Chen Ge nodded. "So, how do you plan to cooperate?"
"Recently, livestreams related to spirit exploration have been huge. We want a piece of the pie, but our studio can't find the right person. Even if we push someone hard, they won't compete with Qin Guang in popularity. To be fair, Qin Guang might have poor character, but his streaming style is interesting, and he's a charismatic guy."
"So you came to me? I don't think a grassroots guy like me has more charm than Qin Guang."
"You're wrong. I've watched your streams. You might not realize it yourself, but your streams are completely different from others." Liu Dao dropped his smile and thought seriously for a moment. "Other people's streams are obviously fake at a glance, including Qin Guang's. They call it spirit exploration, but it's essentially just listening to the streamer tell stories in a different place. Your stream is different—that constant tension, like you're genuinely facing life-and-death crises, makes people worry and fear along with you. Just for that, I have to say I admire you."
Because it's all real! Chen Ge thought that even if he told the truth, Liu Dao wouldn't believe him. "Maybe I'm just a good actor."
"You're too modest. That dance-on-the-edge-of-death feeling—I haven't seen it in many professional actors." Liu Dao seemed to genuinely appreciate Chen Ge. "I think only your stream can compete with Qin Guang for popularity and traffic. If you agree to cooperate with us, we'll do everything we can to secure promotion resources for you."
"What do I need to do?" Chen Ge knew that effort and reward were proportional.
"We'll find some desolate, creepy places for you, set up scenes there, and pre-design some terrifying elements. You just need to stream at those locations and push the ads we provide in your livestream." Afraid Chen Ge might refuse, Liu Dao took a document from the black case. "The horror scenes need to be set up in advance, and scripts have to be written. We'd do about one spirit exploration livestream every ten days, matching Qin Guang's team's cycle. You can take a look at the venues and script outlines we've picked."
Chen Ge flipped through a few pages. The venues they'd chosen were too conservative—some were even right next to residential areas, where a slight camera shift would reveal the setup.
"You don't think they're suitable? Don't worry, we can guarantee safety. All areas are pre-checked, and we'll even arrange drone follow-shots during your stream."
"How can you beat Qin Guang with this kind of streaming?" Chen Ge looked like he was disappointed in someone who wouldn't improve. He handed the document back to Liu Dao. "These venues are boring, and the script tropes are too obvious. How about I recommend a place instead?"
"What place?"
"Have you heard of the Third Psychiatric Ward?" Chen Ge opened his phone and typed in the name. Soon, a stream of eerie, brutal, and twisted information appeared on the screen. "I plan to stream there next time."
Liu Dao also saw the info on Chen Ge's phone. The terrifying, shocking images caught his eye. He swallowed, gently wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Are you sure? Isn't that a bit too intense?"