Chapter 190: A Match of Wits
Chen Ge took off his shirt, and two nurses attached the pickups and portable dynamic ECG monitor probes. After adjustments, several undulating lines appeared on the projection in the center of the hall.
Standing on one side of the platform, the person in charge pointed at the lines. "HR/PR represents heart rate and pulse rate, SpO2 is blood oxygen saturation, RESP is respiratory rate, and TEMP is body temperature. Through these lines, we can clearly and intuitively see your psychological and emotional changes."
Putting his clothes back on, Chen Ge shrugged indifferently. "Can we start now?"
"The entrance is on the left side of the hall, and the exit is on the right. We'll wait for you at the exit." The person in charge gave Chen Ge a brief explanation. "There's a guide inside the haunted house who'll walk you through the specifics."
"Got it." Chen Ge lowered his head and entered Tian Teng Hospital.
Watching Chen Ge's retreating figure, the person in charge couldn't help but smile. They had held similar events in Xinhai before. The lines on the screen would soar and plunge like a roller coaster, paired with the ear-splitting screams from the loudspeakers, creating a very realistic effect. Even tourists who hadn't gone inside could deeply feel the participants' terror.
"What an interesting guy." The person in charge quietly locked the entrance door, then pulled out his phone to alert the actors inside the haunted house, instructing them not to hold back and to give it their all.
...
The door closed, and the light dimmed instantly. Chen Ge waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness before moving forward.
The first scene inside was a security booth. A man in a security uniform sat with his back to Chen Ge, facing a bloodstained TV. The screen flickered, seemingly playing news related to the hospital.
This was the preparation room, mainly designed to inform tourists of the haunted house's backstory and enhance their immersion.
"The key to the next scene should be with the security guard. This puzzle setup is pretty interesting." Chen Ge walked to the security booth's door, leaned on the only window, and called out, "Hey, buddy, what are you watching?"
Hearing Chen Ge's call, the guard slowly turned around. His face was covered in cold sweat, his finger pointing at the TV, and his lips trembling as he stammered, "There's... there's..."
"A stuttering character trait? Very professional." Chen Ge entered the room and looked at the TV. The screen looped several news clips: a patient inexplicably jumping off a building; a corrupt doctor trading organs; a patient confirmed dead returning to the hospital the next night.
These fake news clips were well-produced, complete with surveillance footage.
On a pitch-black hospital corridor, a woman in white walked aimlessly with her head down, her black hair covering her face.
The video seemed edited. One second, the woman was far away; the next, she was right in front. By the third second, she appeared directly in front of the surveillance camera, a grotesque ghost face filling the TV screen.
"There's a ghost!" The guard behind Chen Ge screamed at the same moment, having likely rehearsed countless times, nailing the timing perfectly.
Taking a light breath, Chen Ge shook his head. "Your setup is clever. If it were a Red Gown, it might have actually startled me."
To Chen Ge, a Red Gown female ghost held special significance.
At the end of the video, there was a map of the haunted house's interior—basically a single-line tour, just follow the story.
This kind of haunted house was the most efficient, though in terms of "entertainment value," it was far inferior to Chen Ge's open-ended design.
Memorizing the map, Chen Ge turned to leave. As he faced the guard, his eyes narrowed slightly, and his heartbeat quickened a bit.
The guard behind him had somehow put on a thin ghost mask, its face bearing an 80-90% resemblance to the ghost in the video.
He silently stared at Chen Ge, and Chen Ge stared back. "If you've got nothing to say, step aside. Don't waste time."
"Our haunted house really did have paranormal activity once. If you encounter anything that defies logic, make sure to call for help via the surveillance!" The guard's expression was serious, not at all like he was lying.
"Can you describe the scene back then? And what did the ghost look like?" Chen Ge scanned the security booth. Under the counter were flashlights and some props, presumably meant for tourists, but the guard showed no intention of offering them.
"You'll know when you encounter it. The exit is on your left. Push the wall, and you'll officially begin exploring the secrets of Tian Teng Hospital." The guard spoke in a strange tone, said no more, and shooed Chen Ge out of the booth.
"A real ghost? At worst, it's just a lingering thought or something." Chen Ge muttered things the guard couldn't understand, pushed one side of the wall, and stepped inside.
The haunted house was full of mechanisms. The wall panel slid open and then closed automatically, controlled remotely.
"The details are spot on. Lives up to its big reputation." Even the preparation room at the entrance impressed Chen Ge. This visit might even help broaden his design ideas.
Behind the wall was a hospital corridor, its width only half that of a normal hallway due to space constraints. The most eye-catching feature was a dried "female corpse" hanging in the middle of the corridor, seemingly foreshadowing danger ahead.
The corridor likely served as a buffer zone, giving tourists a psychological preparation for the risks—a pretty humane design.
Chen Ge approached the "corpse," but stopped just before reaching it.
The swaying "corpse" was at a corner, partially blocking the line of sight. On the other side of the corner stood an inconspicuous iron cabinet.
Normal tourists, upon entering, would be drawn to the swinging "corpse," making it highly likely they'd overlook the cabinet.
"There must be someone hiding in that cabinet."
"Tourists get spooked in the security booth, then immediately drawn to the corpse. When they focus on passing by it, someone suddenly jumps out of the cabinet at the corner. Just thinking about it is thrilling."
A design with no scruples met Chen Ge, who had never known the meaning of restraint. This would be a head-on clash between shamelessness and cunning.
"It feels like I've rediscovered the joy of playing in haunted houses as a kid." Chen Ge pressed his body against the wall. The actor was hiding in the cabinet, but he was the one blocking their view.
Moving slowly, he ignored the swaying corpse entirely, using his peripheral vision to observe the iron cabinet.
The front of the prop cabinet looked well-made, but the back had loose iron sheets, and there was even a crack near the corner. Probably because it was tucked away and not noticeable, it hadn't been repaired.
"The person inside must be focused too, ready to jump out and scare me when I get close." Scaring people required timing, and the more professional the actor, the more this held true.
After a moment's thought, Chen Ge took out his phone, set a one-minute alarm, and chose "Wedding Dress" as the ringtone. He crouched down and quietly slipped the phone into the gap behind the iron cabinet.