Chapter 27: New Prop
Chen Ge familiarized himself with the new setting. Its internal layout was similar to the Ping An Apartments, filled with a sense of unease and pain, equipped with dozens of mechanisms. Many rooms were interconnected with hidden doors, and several mischievous Easter eggs were tucked away.
"It feels very real. This place is perfect for escape room games. I can test it out with some visitors later."
The experience from last night still made Chen Ge's heart race when he thought back on it—he had lived through the most authentic version of it.
Time was limited, so Chen Ge only took a quick tour before heading downstairs, since there were still many visitors waiting outside the haunted house.
"Everyone, please hold on a moment. The boss will be right over. You can check out other attractions in the park in the meantime." From a distance, Chen Ge could hear Xu Wan's voice.
"Miss, is your boss really inside the haunted house? We watched his livestream last night—dozens of people were chasing him through the woods! How did he survive that?"
"Nonsense! I watched the livestream too. The streamer was trapped in an apartment building by a few creeps, playing cat and mouse, you know? I can't even imagine how that ended."
"Are you sure we watched the same livestream? Last night, aside from the sound, it was all black screen. How did you guys figure out so much?"
"Enough with the useless talk. We want to see him alive, or see his corpse!"
The discussion grew louder, and Uncle Xu was drawn over as well. Watching the crowd still gathering, he felt both pleased and a bit worried. From a certain point onward, this nearly bankrupt haunted house seemed to have suddenly become the focus of New World Park, with many people making a special trip here early in the morning. Normally, that would be a good thing, but every time he heard what these visitors were saying, it sent a chill down his spine: "No way. Next time I see Xiao Chen, I need to have a serious talk with him. Young people are too eager for quick success—I hope he doesn't stray down some crooked path!"
"Clang!"
The barrier was pulled open, and Chen Ge, having freshened up, walked out of the haunted house: "Sorry to keep you all waiting. Haunted house tour, twenty yuan per ticket, fair price for all ages."
The chatter among the crowd fell silent. A few fans who had come because of his livestream rushed over, surrounding him and asking about last night's events, giving Chen Ge a taste of being an internet celebrity.
A few minutes later, order was restored, and people began entering the haunted house one by one.
Taking the lesson from last time when it was too terrifying, Chen Ge didn't loop "Black Friday" on repeat this time. Instead, he mixed it into the playlist and set it to shuffle.
Chen Ge applied makeup to Xiao Wan, sending her into the Midnight Escape scene to play a ghost, while he stayed at the haunted house entrance to collect fees.
"The number of visitors is steadily increasing, and the positive review rate is up too. At this rate, in just a few days, I'll meet the requirements for expanding the haunted house." Chen Ge pulled out his black phone, partly to check how many more visitors he needed before the first expansion, and partly to see the daily tasks that had refreshed today.
"Easy Difficulty: To provide visitors with a truly terrifying experience, first pay attention to the pacing of the tour. Actors and mechanisms appearing too early or too late will cause visitors to lose interest. Therefore, I suggest installing sound detectors and surveillance in the haunted house to monitor the visitors' progress at all times."
"Normal Difficulty: The real secret to being scary is to make visitors unaware of the scare's approach. For example, set up scare points in the opposite direction of eye-catching objects. Check if all props in the haunted house meet the standards."
"Nightmare Difficulty: The bathroom always makes strange noises late at night. If you want to know why, do as I say."
"Daily tasks refresh at midnight each day. Only one task can be accepted per day. Different difficulties yield different rewards (Note: Some tasks are extremely dangerous—choose carefully!)"
Scanning the three daily tasks, Chen Ge first ruled out the nightmare-level one. After two consecutive nights of turmoil, he urgently needed a good rest. Besides, he still hadn't figured out the mirror monster. If he attracted something else, he wouldn't be able to handle it alone.
"Nightmare-level rewards can directly affect my body, granting me certain memories and abilities, but the rewards are proportional to the danger. I'll set that aside for now. The easy difficulty task requires some funds, and the reward for catching the fugitive hasn't been paid out yet, so completing it would be tough." Chen Ge thought it over and decided the normal difficulty task was the most suitable: "Setting scare points in the opposite direction of eye-catching objects—that's a good idea. Applied in my haunted house, it should bring visitors more 'surprises.'"
After accepting the normal difficulty task, Chen Ge leaned against the haunted house entrance collecting money, occasionally exchanging a few words with Xu Wan inside.
By noon, the number of visitors dwindled. Chen Ge called Xu Wan out to eat while he went into the Midnight Escape scene alone.
This horror scene was entirely designed by him from start to finish, with every scare point carefully considered. After accepting the normal difficulty daily task, he used the lunch break to start making improvements.
Usually, visitors mentally prepare themselves before entering a haunted house. With their guard up, it's hard to scare them, so you need to use something unrelated to draw their attention, making them think a certain spot might be dangerous. Once they're focused on that area, you strike from a completely unexpected direction.
This normal difficulty task turned out to be much simpler than Chen Ge had imagined. By the end of the lunch break, he received a notification from the black phone that the task was complete.
"You have completed the normal difficulty daily task. There are many ways to scare people, but the key is understanding human psychology and adapting accordingly. Congratulations on receiving the task reward—the Skull-Crushing Doctor's Uniform!"
"Skull-Crushing Doctor's Uniform (Costume Prop): Clawrey worked in a psychiatric hospital for twenty years. Prolonged contact with patients tormented his mind, until one day he decided to end it all. Morbidity and madness seeped into his bones. He picked up a hammer, determined to cure his patients at the root!"
Following "Black Friday," Chen Ge had obtained another prop. He tapped the icon, and the black phone indicated the item had been placed in the prop room.
"This costume prop couldn't have come at a better time. Combining it with the Midnight Escape scene should create a very interesting effect." Several ideas formed in Chen Ge's mind. He grabbed some paper and a pen, ready to sketch out a design, when his phone suddenly vibrated.
"He Shan?"
Chen Ge answered the call: "What's up?"
"Boss, remember what I told you last time?" He Shan deliberately lowered his voice, as if afraid of being overheard: "After Senior Gao Ruxue was scared to tears by you, the seniors in our department decided to form a group to get revenge on her behalf. They've already set out! You better be prepared!"