Chapter 47: I Am a Heartless Killer
"No way." Officer Li shook his head, rejecting without a second thought. "Capturing a fugitive is the police's job. How can we let you take the risk?"
"Staying in the haunted house creates a false impression, making Zhang Peng think he hasn't been exposed. That way, he'll follow the original plan to find me, greatly increasing the chance he'll appear near the amusement park, making it easier for you to catch him." Chen Ge had thought this through before speaking. "If we don't catch him this time, I'll have to live in fear from now on, since he could come back anytime."
"The specific capture plan needs to be discussed with the city branch's criminal investigation team. The Ping'an Apartment massacre is their case; our Xicheng Police Station is just assisting. I'll pass along your suggestion." Officer Li packed up his computer, made a phone call, and left the integrated control room with the two plainclothes officers.
"Xiao Chen, maybe you should listen to the police and get out of here for a while." Uncle Xu was worried and only dared to approach after Officer Li and the others had left.
"Running away won't solve anything. Don't try to talk me out of it." After reviewing the surveillance footage, Chen Ge returned to the haunted house.
"Boss, today it's green pepper and pork stir-fry over rice." Xu Wan leaned against the guardrail, and when she saw Chen Ge come out of the integrated management room, she pointed to the lunchbox on the seat. "I snuck an extra scoop of meat when the auntie wasn't looking."
Taking the lunchbox, Chen Ge looked at Xiao Wan but ultimately said nothing about Zhang Peng. As usual, he wolfed down his meal and started the afternoon business.
Xu Wan played the ghost in the horror scenes, while Chen Ge sold tickets outside. He kept his head low, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings.
"Zhang Peng's appearance is both a bad thing and a good thing for me. It all depends on how I use him." After completing several tasks from the black phone, Chen Ge felt his logical thinking had been honed, and he had grown calmer and more composed.
"There's a monster from the mirror locked in the haunted house now. It can freely travel between mirrors and reality, meaning as long as a mirror exists, it's unbeatable." Chen Ge sold tickets absentmindedly, but his mind was racing. "He Shan and He Feng were both attacked, and their experiences were similar. According to He Feng, the monster was trying to enter their bodies, replace their consciousness, or inhabit them. I don't know what the monster's goal is, but one thing is worth considering: if the monster enters a person's body, can it leave anytime soon?"
Chen Ge had noticed this issue while talking to He Feng, but he couldn't prove it because using any tourist as a test subject was too dangerous.
He had actually given up on the idea, but then Zhang Peng showed up this morning.
The moment he saw Zhang Peng on the surveillance footage, Chen Ge solidified his plan. He intended to use Zhang Peng as a test subject, lure him into the haunted house, and then find a way to let the mirror monster take over his body.
That way, he would deal with Zhang Peng and get rid of the mirror monster at the same time—killing two birds with one stone. This was also why he insisted on staying in the haunted house as bait.
"I'll go with this plan. It's risky, but if it works, I can eliminate both threats at once."
Around five in the afternoon, Chen Ge called Xu Wan out and let her leave early. He then started preparing various things in the haunted house, planning everything out clearly for Zhang Peng.
At 5:30, Officer Li called again, telling Chen Ge that they had set up surveillance around the amusement park. If Zhang Peng showed up, he wouldn't escape.
After dinner, Chen Ge grabbed his blanket and the Skull Crusher doctor costume and headed to the haunted house control room. He locked the door and sat in front of the monitors. Barring any surprises, he would be staying here all night.
"There really aren't enough surveillance cameras. There are too many blind spots in the haunted house. I can't let my guard down."
The sun sank below the horizon. Unlike during the day, the New Century Amusement Park was eerily silent at night.
As the night deepened, Chen Ge huddled in the control room with his blanket, waiting. He stayed until midnight. What was supposed to come didn't, but what wasn't supposed to come did.
Just like the previous night, the eerie sound of something being cut came from the Midnight Escape scene.
"Starting to make noise in the dead of night again. Is this monster trying to intimidate me?" Chen Ge tossed the blanket aside and walked to the door. After a moment's thought, he decided not to confront the mirror monster. "I'll let it keep causing trouble for now."
Putting on his headphones, Chen Ge stuffed the doll his parents had left him into his chest and continued watching the monitors.
Around one in the morning, just as Chen Ge was about to give up, the bathroom door on the surveillance screen suddenly moved.
"Someone?"
He perked up, staring intently at the screen.
Soon, the bathroom door creaked open a crack, and a tall, thin man holding a 20-centimeter boning knife slipped out.
"This bathroom is where I completed my first nightmare mission. The window connects to the outside. He must have scouted the place beforehand and tampered with the window lock." Chen Ge watched the surveillance footage calmly. The control room door was locked, and the room itself was in a remote spot. Anyone unfamiliar with the haunted house layout would find it nearly impossible to locate.
On the screen, Zhang Peng moved stealthily, one hand holding the knife and the other clutching his phone. He crept cautiously through the haunted house corridors, completely unaware that he had been discovered. He was fully focused on avoiding the clutter and various props scattered along the path.
It took him a full fifteen minutes to find the staff break room. He stood at the door, hesitating, his chest heaving, the knife trembling slightly in his hand. He tried pushing the door a few times but always pulled back just as his fingers touched it, clearly torn inside.
Standing right under the surveillance camera, Zhang Peng dawdled for dozens of seconds before finally making up his mind.
He raised the knife, grabbed the door handle, took a deep breath, and suddenly shoved the door open, charging into the staff break room like a leopard spotting its prey!
Over a minute later, Zhang Peng came out again, the knife stained with a trace of blood. He seemed to have accidentally cut his arm.
Switching the knife to his other hand, Zhang Peng's expression grew even more ferocious. He glanced upstairs and then quickened his pace down the corridor.
The surveillance footage clearly showed Zhang Peng heading toward the control room. Chen Ge sent Officer Li a message, then picked up the Skull Crusher's forty-centimeter-long iron hammer and stood behind the control room door.
He was ready to pull off the classic horror movie move—opening the door for a kill—but Zhang Peng just walked past the control room and entered the staff passageway with his knife.
"What is this guy planning?" For a moment, Chen Ge couldn't figure out his intentions. He quickly moved to the computer, and the surveillance showed Zhang Peng using the knife to pry open the wooden board at the end of the staff passageway, then walking in without hesitation.
"Why is he going into the Midnight Escape scene?" Chen Ge took off his headphones, his eyes wide. "There's been a cutting sound coming from the Midnight Escape scene all along. Does he think I'm sawing something in there?"