Chapter 214: Boss Chen, So Generous
"Boss Chen, just tell me the truth. What exactly happened to my brother? Will his condition come back?"
The more evasive Chen Ge was, the more uneasy Wang Hailong felt.
"It won't come back, because that thing isn't an illness." Chen Ge gestured for Wang Hailong to calm down. "Don't overthink it. The priority now is to help Wang Shenglong live a normal life."
Wang Hailong wanted to say more, but Chen Ge cut him off. "Your brother hasn't been in contact with the outside world for a long time. He seems to have gotten used to shutting himself in, which is bad for him returning to normal life. If possible, you should take him out for walks more often."
Chen Ge deeply sympathized with Wang Shenglong's plight. A perfectly good kid had ended up like this, afraid that others would be scared by his appearance, hiding in the corner of the truck and not daring to come out.
"I discussed it with my dad yesterday, but with Shenglong like this now, how can he go out and face people? Taking him out, getting pointed at and whispered about—wouldn't that just hurt him even more?" Wang Hailong was also quite worried. Although the Slender Shadow had left, the harm it had done to the boy would take time to heal.
"Didn't I recommend a psychologist to you last time? You can ask him to help you with these issues."
Chen Ge looked at Wang Shenglong, who sat silently in the corner, and felt a pang of discomfort. "Interacting with the outside world takes time. If you ever need my help with anything, just say the word."
Turning to leave, Chen Ge had an immature idea about how to help Wang Shenglong return to normal life. "The kid looks terrifying but has a soft heart. If he has nowhere to go later, he could come work as an actor in my haunted house. Xu Wan is petite and lacks presence when playing roles like murderers, but Wang Shenglong's appearance fits tourists' imagination of a 'killer' much better."
Back at the Horror House, a third of the rest tent had been set up, and all the seats were laid out. Many tourists, eager to get into the haunted house as soon as possible, preferred to sit outside and queue rather than visit other attractions.
"Xiao Chen, your haunted house is completely blowing up." Uncle Xu sighed sincerely. "I've even heard a few people with外地 accents. They saw some video online and took a several-hour train ride just to come here."
"The reputation is out there. Now it's about steady management, giving every tourist a thrilling experience, and letting word of mouth spread. From now on, every visitor will be free advertising for the Horror House."
Chen Ge had his own plans. Fear was the most memorable of all emotions. When someone experiences something terrifying, ninety percent of the time they'll share it with people around them. Talking about scary things unconsciously attracts more interested people to try it out.
Sometimes, a simple phrase like "It was too scary" is actually the highest praise for a haunted house.
Chen Ge entered the Midnight Escape scene to play the killer, while Xu Wan played the bride in the Red Wedding. After a couple of hours, many tourists had cleared both scenes. Some were scared out of their wits and didn't dare continue, while others pulled themselves together and started challenging Muyang High School.
Worried that tourists might have accidents in Muyang High School, Chen Ge always thoughtfully followed behind in his Skull Crusher doctor uniform, secretly protecting them.
A whole morning passed, and the best record tourists had set so far was six people going in together and finding fourteen school badges in twenty-five minutes.
Many people entered Muyang High School, realized the atmosphere was completely different from the other scenes, and ran right back out. The underground scenes had no iron gates, so they could quit anytime, but if they wanted to go back in, they'd have to queue up and buy tickets again.
"Did I set the twenty-badge clearance condition too hard?" Chen Ge reflected. Everything he did was to serve the tourists. "The mannequins feed on the tourists' screams and fear. In just a few days, they seem more lifelike. At this rate, I wonder if anyone will even get to visit the Third Psychiatric Ward in a week."
After careful consideration, Chen Ge reduced the clearance condition to sixteen badges, but by noon break, no tourist had cleared it yet.
"This batch of tourists is too timid. I almost miss those medical students." Chen Ge pulled up the safety barrier and helped Xu Wan remove her makeup.
"You miss them, but they might not miss you." Uncle Xu stood outside the door, counting tickets. "These past few days have been pretty good. Just keep it up like this. Don't keep scaring or making tourists faint and throw up, making me worry along with you."
"Don't worry, I'll try to control it from now on." As soon as Chen Ge finished speaking, his phone rang. Looking down, he saw it was He Shan calling. "Calling at this exact moment—is this a sign?"
Sitting on the steps, Chen Ge answered casually.
"Boss! The guy in charge of that haunted house last time wants your number. Can I give it to him?"
"He wants my number?"
"Yeah, after you wrecked the place and left that day, the scene outside Tian Teng Hospital was chaotic for a long time. The tourists split into two groups. One group thought Tian Teng Hospital was overhyped and demanded refunds, wanting to go to your haunted house instead. The other group were hardcore Tian Teng Hospital fans, saying that someone who runs a haunted house and spends all day in one not being scared is normal..."
"Hold on, what does this have to do with the Tian Teng Hospital director asking for my number?"
"Of course it does! To not disappoint their own fans, the Tian Teng Hospital director gritted his teeth and agreed, saying he'd come visit your haunted house to prove that someone who's always in a haunted house really wouldn't be too scared in someone else's." He Shan's voice came through the phone, and Chen Ge felt the kid had learned some tricks—his tone was excited as he spoke.
"They're all set. They're coming to your haunted house tomorrow morning. The Tian Teng Hospital fans will come too, wanting to record the whole process to shut up the tourists asking for refunds."
Hearing this, Chen Ge was speechless. "Are those a bunch of haters?"
"No idea, I'm just passing along the message."
"Alright, give him my number. We're both running haunted houses—it's good to exchange ideas."
Not long after hanging up with He Shan, Chen Ge's phone rang again. This time it was an unfamiliar number.
"Hello?"
"Boss Chen, I'm the director of Tian Teng Hospital. We've met once before."
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Tomorrow, we want to visit your haunted house. Some fans will be with us. I hope Boss Chen will go easy on us."
"Easy enough. You know me—I'm not the petty type. Come on over, and you can pick any scene you want."
"Boss Chen, so generous!" The Tian Teng Hospital director quickly added, "Then we'll pick a moderately difficult scene. Not too scary, but not too easy either."
Thanks to the alliance leader, Emperor Chi Tian Liu Di Zi! Three chapters tomorrow to make up for it.