Chapter 37: Expansion Requirements Met
Brother Feng was terrified. He stared at Chen Ge standing in the middle of the room, his mind filled with images of murder and body disposal.
"Don't be nervous, I was just joking." Chen Ge felt a slight twinge of disappointment. The reason he had asked that question was because he had noticed a rare quality in Brother Feng that ordinary people lacked.
With the puppet's prompting, Brother Feng had been able to hold his own against the monster in the mirror through sheer willpower. His resolve was far stronger than most people's, and he hadn't backed down even when facing an unknown ghost.
That was what Chen Ge admired about him. If possible, Chen Ge wanted to befriend him and tackle supernatural incidents together—like dealing with whatever was lurking in the mirror. He had meant well, trying to reveal some truth, but unfortunately, Brother Feng hadn't caught his meaning.
"Looks like I can't rely on outsiders. I'll have to handle this myself."
Chen Ge locked the door to the Midnight Escape scene. As he helped Brother Feng down to the first floor, his black phone vibrated again.
Startled, Chen Ge feared something bad had happened and quickly pulled out his phone to check.
"Monthly visitor count exceeds one hundred, satisfaction rate above sixty percent—expansion conditions met!"
"Note: Each haunted house expansion grants a mysterious reward (after three expansions, the Horror House will upgrade to the Thriller Maze)!"
"Already eligible for expansion?" Expansion was a good thing, but Chen Ge had no plans for it yet. His top priority was getting rid of whatever was in the mirror.
Stepping out of the haunted house, sunlight spilled onto the steps beyond the guardrails. The students from Jiang Medical University's Forensic Medicine School were sprawled across the entrance.
Some clutched their heads, others hugged their legs. A few had pale faces with tears at the corners of their eyes, while others stared blankly at the sky, their faces twitching sporadically.
History was repeating itself, and this time it was even more dramatic than yesterday. They had walked in full of confidence and stumbled out half-dead. In just forty minutes, the group's mental state had undergone such a drastic transformation—it was truly unbelievable.
Nearby tourists pointed and whispered, but Chen Ge saw nothing wrong. If it wasn't thrilling, could it even be called a haunted house?
He dumped Brother Feng next to the others. Perfect—now the whole "family" was lying together in a neat row.
"Xiao Chen! Come here." The crowd had drawn Uncle Xu over again. The middle-aged man looked at Chen Ge with a headache: "Explain yourself. What's this all about? Last time you scared someone unconscious, and now you've taken down seven at once. Do you want our park to make headlines?"
Chen Ge avoided his gaze and coughed dryly: "They came for a tour, and I just provided top-notch service. All standard procedures. I can guarantee there was no physical contact—you can check the surveillance footage. It fully complies with the haunted house work guidelines."
"Don't play dumb. Standard procedures cause a lump on someone's head?" Uncle Xu subtly pointed at Xiao Hui's back of the head, careful not to agitate her.
"What can I do? I was running ahead, and she grabbed my clothes and chased me. I hid in a cabinet, and she followed me in. I stood still without moving, but she insisted on shining a flashlight at me. It hurt my eyes, and before I could say anything, she banged her head on the cabinet. What was I supposed to do? I'm helpless too." Chen Ge gave Uncle Xu a modified version of the truth.
"So you're saying you're the victim here?"
"A little bit."
"Don't take this lightly. Be more careful—this can't happen again." Uncle Xu spoke earnestly: "What if someone gets seriously hurt? Or if you run into a troublemaker, your haunted house won't survive."
"I understand. Anything else, Uncle?" Chen Ge didn't argue out loud, but muttered to himself: if a troublemaker showed up, he'd just hand over that love letter he carried and see who cracked first.
Uncle Xu stared at Chen Ge, knowing he wasn't taking the advice to heart. He sighed, waited a few seconds, then continued: "Xiao Chen, it's not my place to meddle, but since your parents aren't around, someone has to say this."
"I'm listening."
"This morning, Xu Wan said you were on TV—that you provided key clues about the five-year-old massacre case." Uncle Xu didn't look pleased.
"Yes."
"What were you doing at that murder house late at night? Do you know how dangerous that is? Those people are killers!" Uncle Xu didn't give Chen Ge a chance to respond: "If you're short on money, you don't need to chase rewards. I can cover your rent and utilities for the park. You're young—don't go down the wrong path."
"Don't worry, Uncle Xu. I know what I'm doing."
"Good. I won't lecture you. If there's nothing else, I'll go. Take care of these people at the door—it's a mess." Uncle Xu turned to leave but Chen Ge stopped him: "What now?"
"Uncle, I actually need a favor." Chen Ge looked embarrassed: "Can you lend me five thousand? I want to install cameras in every corner of the haunted house. I'll pay you back as soon as the reward comes in."
With He Shan and Brother Feng's incidents, Chen Ge was worried. The haunted house had too many blind spots, and the existing surveillance wasn't enough.
"You're still putting money into the haunted house?" Uncle Xu paused: "Xiao Chen, I can lend you the money, but let me be clear—the whole park isn't doing well. Your investment might go down the drain."
He gestured for Chen Ge to follow him to a shaded spot: "This park has been around for eleven years. Its main attractions are outdated. New theme parks focused on virtual reality, interactive participation, and creative design are rising. Simply put, we're on the verge of being phased out. It's not just the haunted house—visitor numbers for all traditional attractions are dropping."
"I know." Chen Ge was determined to make the haunted house succeed, and installing cameras was just the first step.
"What do you know?" Uncle Xu turned off his walkie-talkie: "The Virtual Future Amusement Park in the eastern suburbs is almost done. It's a fourth-generation park, rare nationwide, and will become a city landmark. How are we supposed to compete with that? From management to staff, everyone's looking for an escape route, and you're still charging ahead like a fool."