Chapter 217: I Have a Bad Feeling (1)
"Boss, you're looking well."
Xu Wan happened to see Chen Ge arguing with the white cat perched on the tree branch as she arrived for work. Strangely enough, she didn't find it surprising at all—it felt almost routine.
"Xiao Wan, go inside and get your makeup done. Today, the staff from Tian Teng Asylum are coming here to learn and exchange ideas. You're my only presentable employee, so make sure you perform well!"
"Got it." Xu Wan pointed at the white cat dragging Chen Ge's coat on the treetop. "Need any help?"
"No, it's just a cat. I can handle it."
It was a long story. When Chen Ge opened up this morning and realized it was still early, he decided to take some time to wash his dirty clothes in the bathroom. But the white cat, seizing the moment when he wasn't paying attention, dragged and bit the coat that had wrapped the kitten all the way to the top of the tree.
"I'm not washing that coat anymore! Get down here!"
At nine in the morning, New Century Amusement Park opened, and it was obvious that nearly half the visitors were heading straight for the haunted house.
"There seem to be even more tourists today than yesterday."
Throughout the entire park, Chen Ge's haunted house was the liveliest, standing in stark contrast to the other attractions.
"Boss Chen!"
A few visitors at the front of the crowd looked familiar. When Chen Ge saw them, he couldn't help but smile.
Seeing Chen Ge's smile, the head of Tian Teng Asylum, walking at the front, shivered for some unknown reason. He lowered his head and coughed dryly. "There are also some friends from our circle behind us. Everyone's really eager to see your haunted house."
The head winked at Chen Ge, making it clear that they had brought fans and friends along and hoped Chen Ge would save them some face.
"Friends from the circle?" Chen Ge glanced into the crowd and sensed something off. Aside from a few actors from Tian Teng Asylum, the others didn't look like they were there for a casual visit.
"Let me introduce you. This is Han Qiuming, the best haunted house designer in the province. He's worked at several large haunted houses abroad and is one of the main creators of Tian Teng Asylum. On the day you came, Teacher Han happened to be out of town." The haunted house head stepped aside, revealing a tall, thin man behind him with thick, high-prescription glasses and a cold demeanor.
"The short-haired girl next to Teacher Han goes by the online name Ye Xiaoxin. She's a ghost culture enthusiast, a well-known influencer in the circle with over six hundred thousand followers. She's reviewed dozens of haunted houses across the country." The haunted house head's expression stiffened. "She heard about your story and got curious, so she contacted me to join the visit."
"Hello." The girl looked to be in her early twenties, with fair skin and a height of one meter seventy-four. Her straight, long legs drew the attention of many around her.
She dressed in a somewhat androgynous style, paired with short black hair, giving off a refreshing vibe with a handsomeness that rivaled any guy's.
A girl like that walking into a haunted house for a review was enough to grab attention on its own. No wonder she'd become a big online influencer.
"Boss Chen, don't underestimate her." The haunted house head seemed to have suffered at her hands before. "She's got guts. The first time she entered Tian Teng Asylum, she even pranked the staff. Too bad she has no sense of direction—she wandered around for forty minutes before we had to lead her out."
"Brave, huh? I like brave girls."
Plenty of female visitors had said the same thing before entering his haunted house—like Gao Ruxue back then.
Chen Ge smiled kindly, but inwardly he was wondering if his haunted house had ever managed to scare a girl like this before.
"Whatever, you do you." The Tian Teng Asylum head could tell Chen Ge didn't care. He waved his hand. "Everyone, come over. We're ready to go in and take a look."
Three more people stepped out of the crowd: two men and one woman.
The woman, Chen Ge recognized from his visit to Tian Teng Asylum. She had a baby face, very cute, with a girl-next-door vibe.
When she saw Chen Ge, she waved proactively. "Remember me? We met at the elevator entrance of Tian Teng Asylum. I'm Su Luoluo."
Chen Ge had a strong impression of this girl, whose figure formed a perfect flat plane from neck down to the tops of her feet.
"Luoluo is a die-hard haunted house fan and part of our circle. She's here this time mainly because her fans insisted, so we decided to randomly pick a lucky fan to join us for the experience." The Tian Teng Asylum head forced out the explanation, unable to admit the truth: his own staff had begged off, refusing to visit, and he'd scrambled to fill the group with a fan giveaway for a "lucky" spot.
"Is that so? Then she really is 'lucky.'" The warm sunlight fell on Chen Ge's face, his smile like a spring breeze, putting people at ease.
Su Luoluo watched for a moment, a bit shy, and quietly lowered her head.
"The other two you've met before—they're our staff." The head pointed to the last two men. "The sturdy one is Song An, who plays a security guard in our haunted house. The youngest is Du Chaojin, who played a patient in the iron cabinet back then."
Song An was fine, having escaped Chen Ge's "clutches," and greeted him politely.
But Du Chaojin beside him was a different story. That kid had been hiding in the iron cabinet, focused on scaring Chen Ge, never expecting the sudden blast of "The Wedding Dress" from behind him.
To make it worse, Boss Chen had blocked the cabinet door in advance. He was trapped, with no way out, and only crawled out after hammering the cabinet door crooked.
Now, face-to-face with his "enemy," his complexion shifted between pale and green.
Chen Ge walked over to Du Chaojin, surprised to see he looked only eighteen or nineteen, thin and youthful, like a college student doing a part-time job. "I almost didn't recognize you without the makeup. I never imagined you were the patient so desperate to get out of that cabinet."
Before Du Chaojin could lose it, the head wiped his cold sweat and quickly pulled Chen Ge aside. "Boss Chen, there are six of us going in. You figure out the arrangements."
The head, hidden from the other visitors, frantically signaled Chen Ge, who caught on. "Right now, my Horror House has four themes: The Coffin, Midnight Slaughter, Muyang Middle School, and the newly opened Third Ward. The Coffin and Midnight Slaughter are average in terror, while the Third Ward is the hardest. I suggest you start with Muyang Middle School, which is moderately challenging."
"Alright, let's go with that." The head nodded in agreement, but his companions behind him weren't so pleased.
"Boss Chen, that's not fair." Han Qiuming pushed up his thick glasses. "We've done our homework. The scariest, unbeaten scenario in your haunted house is Muyang Middle School. That's clearly the highest challenge. Don't pretend it's moderate."
"I'm pretending?"
"Are you worried we'll breeze through the hardest level and embarrass you? That's why you're claiming there's an even harder scenario?" Han Qiuming was full of himself. "Creating a large horror theme takes two to three months. Your Muyang Middle School scenario's only been around for less than a week. When would you have had time to set up a new one?"
His thin lips curled upward. "But it doesn't matter—the result's the same. We're here today to clear all your themes!"
"Qiuming, don't talk nonsense. Boss Chen isn't like that." The Tian Teng Asylum head tugged at Han Qiuming's arm, a bad feeling creeping into his heart.
Chen Ge listened patiently without rebutting. Uncle Xu had once said that as a service industry, a haunted house should strive to meet visitors' needs.
After a split second of thought, a smile returned to his face. "How about this: let's start with the Third Ward. If you can walk out of there, then we'll head to Muyang Middle School."