Chapter 7: I'm Not Afraid!
"Fight poison with poison? Yeah, right, like I'd believe that!"
"Buddy, just pay for my phone screen, and we'll call it even."
"A half-price ticket? You think that's enough to bribe me? No way!"
The commotion dragged on for several minutes, yet no tourists had entered the haunted house. They all huddled behind the guardrails, too scared to cross the line, their cowardice so blatant that Chen Ge couldn't help but speak up: "Isn't there anyone who wants to come in and give it a try? My haunted house isn't scary at all. If you don't believe me, look it up online—check the reviews."
Hearing this, a few people started searching on their phones.
"It's true. All the reviews say it's not frightening, not even a little."
"Yeah, the only like it got was because the girl playing the ghost was really pretty..."
"Maybe we should give it a shot?"
After waiting a while longer, someone finally stepped forward: "It's just a haunted house. How scary can it be? I've seen real corpses before—why would I be afraid of this?"
The speaker was a young man with a crew cut, thick eyebrows, and big eyes, looking quite straightforward.
"Bro, cut the crap. There's a limit to showing off."
"How old are you to have seen a corpse?"
"We're all cowards here, why fool ourselves..."
Just as the crowd dismissed him, a discordant voice chimed in: "He's not lying. Corpses are nothing new to us."
Everyone turned to look. A tall woman in a sun hat and white skirt walked over from the park entrance. Her face showed little expression, and wherever she passed, the surrounding air seemed to drop a few degrees.
"Senior!" The young man scurried over, trying to take her bag, but a single glare from her sent him retreating. He stood there awkwardly, forcing a strained but polite smile.
"You call her senior? Are you both students?" Chen Ge's attention was drawn to the pair.
"We're from the Forensic Medicine Department at Jiujiang Medical University. I'm He Shan, and this is my senior, Gao Ruxue." The young man grinned at Chen Ge. "I shared your video on the school forum last night. She came because she saw it."
"This ice queen is a forensic doctor?"
"Got to admit, her vibe fits the job perfectly."
"Hey, beauty, can I get your WeChat?"
The surrounding tourists crowded around her, but He Shan, acting as her protector, just stood by with a chuckle: "My senior here is something else. She can dissect frogs and mice in the morning, wash her hands, and head to the cafeteria for braised pork like nothing happened. Late at night, passing by the dissection room, she'll yawn and say hello to the cadavers floating in formalin. Don't bother trying—she's probably dissected more men than you've held hands with."
This unique introduction worked instantly, creating a two-meter empty circle around the woman.
Hearing this, Chen Ge felt a headache coming on. He'd just completed a nightmare-level task, earned his reward, and was ready to turn things around—only to have forensic students as his first customers.
Anyone studying forensic medicine must have an iron will!
"Can we go in now?" The woman stepped impatiently in front of Chen Ge. She was tall, and with her thick-soled shoes, she nearly looked him in the eye.
"Tickets are twenty yuan, half-price makes it ten. Before you go in, I need to tell you some background and rules." Chen Ge recalled the three key elements of haunted house design mentioned in his black phone, where backstory was crucial for immersion.
"First, let me introduce this haunted house. Though many reviews say it's not scary, I have to be honest: this land was the biggest mass grave in Hanjiang City fifty years ago. Thirty years back, the city planned to build Hanjiang People's Hospital here. You can look up what happened next online—so many scientifically inexplicable events occurred that the hospital was forced to relocate. My haunted house is built on the old hospital site, hiding many secrets and files left behind."
He pointed to the warning sign by the door: "Visitors with cardiovascular issues or arrhythmias are prohibited. Those aged twelve to sixteen need adult supervision. Alright, if there are no questions, follow me in."
Chen Ge lifted the opaque black curtain, closed the rusty iron gate, and led He Shan and Gao Ruxue into the dark corridor.
"This experience is called 'Open Scenario.' You just need to find the correct exit and escape within fifteen minutes. If you're too scared, stand near a camera and shout—I'll come get you." He stopped at the second-floor entrance and gestured for them to proceed. "Have fun."
"Sounds interesting, but it'll take more than this to scare me." He Shan shamelessly hid behind his senior, claiming he wasn't afraid while refusing to take a single step forward.
Gao Ruxue, on the other hand, showed no sign of panic, walking straight ahead without hesitation.
"Senior, wait for me!"
Once they entered the second-floor hallway, Chen Ge locked the exit door behind them and called Xu Wan: "Xiao Wan, the guests are in. Get ready, and remember—cover your ears."
After giving instructions, he ran to the main control room, where monitors, soundboards, and remote controls for special effects were all crammed into the tiny space.
"I wasn't planning to use this track—it's too eerie—but opening day with forensic students trying to crash my place? Enough is enough!" He activated the soundboard, saved "Gloomy Sunday" into the background playlist, and set it to loop.
With that done, he sat before the monitors, keeping a close eye on He Shan and Gao Ruxue. If either showed signs of distress, he'd rush into the haunted house immediately.