Chapter 72: Scream Index Two Stars!
"Looking for heaven in a well?" Chen Ge stared at the little boy's figure, suddenly struck by a thought, his expression nearly losing control.
Turning around to take a breath, Chen Ge calmed himself down. His earlier abnormality hadn't been noticed by the thin, dark woman.
But just as he felt a sense of relief, he looked down and found the little boy staring at him, with the exact same gaze he'd given Xu Wan when her funeral makeup had melted.
"Fan Yu, time to go home." The thin, dark woman called out repeatedly, and only then did the boy leave the well. He hung his head low, his mood seeming much improved.
Stepping out of the haunted house, sunlight once again fell on him, and the little boy reverted to his usual self—silent and withdrawn, with barely concealed terror in his eyes. It was unclear whether he feared the light or the living.
The thin, dark woman thanked Chen Ge and led the boy away. Only after they had walked out of the amusement park gates did Chen Ge let out a long sigh of relief. The black phone in his pants pocket vibrated at that moment.
He sat down on the steps at the entrance of the haunted house, his mind replaying everything that had just happened.
Looking for heaven in a well—for this little boy, it might not be a sentence with a cognitive error.
When Chen Ge had spoken with the thin, dark woman, she told him that the boy's parents had gone missing when he was five or six. To spare him pain, she had told a white lie, claiming they hadn't died but had gone to a place called heaven.
She had hoped that as the boy grew up, he would come to understand everything on his own. But things didn't go as planned. The boy's thinking and psychology developed serious issues; it could be said he was no longer a normal child.
And what surprised Chen Ge the most was that when he asked why the boy kept standing by the well, the answer was that he was looking for heaven.
His parents went to heaven, yet the child searched for heaven in a well. Didn't this indirectly prove that the child had witnessed a murder, and that his parents had been stuffed into the well?
"The bodies are hidden in the well!" Chen Ge instinctively pulled out a cigarette. He didn't rush to call the police but instead speculated further.
"The boy's parents were teachers at Muyang Middle School. Among the side quests I unlocked for the Haunted School, there happens to be one set at Muyang Middle School, related to a well. If both refer to the same well, then the crime scene should be at Muyang Middle School."
Chen Ge took out the black phone. A new message was still displayed on the screen, and he casually opened it.
"Different choices lead to completely different outcomes. The first special visitor has left. You made the most correct choices during this time. Congratulations on your reward! Unlocking hidden trial mission—Muyang Middle School! This scene is a branch of the four-star horror scene Haunted School. Upon completion, the two-star horror scene Muyang Middle School will be unlocked, and the difficulty of the four-star horror scene trial mission will be reduced!"
"Muyang Middle School Trial Mission (Scream Index Two Stars): This scene contains four branch quests. Survive all of them, and the scene will be successfully unlocked."
"Mission Location: Muyang Middle School."
"Mission Requirements: Arrive at the mission site before 23:00 today and survive until dawn."
"Mission Hint: Everyone has a deep, unfathomable well in their heart, buried with unspeakable, unbearable memories."
"Accept the mission? Note: The trial mission only exists for twenty-four hours. If not accepted within that time, it will be considered forfeited, and this scene will never be unlockable."
The new message on the black phone caught Chen Ge off guard. He hadn't expected that the reward for hosting the special visitor would be a trial mission for a two-star horror scene.
Last time, at Ping An Apartment, he had already experienced the terror of a trial mission—far more dangerous than a nightmare-level daily task, and that was just a one-star trial.
Flipping through the phone, Chen Ge memorized the mission details, reading each word several times.
"Last time, the task required finding the killer. This time, it only asks me to survive until dawn to succeed. It sounds simple, but following the black phone's principle of equivalent exchange, the danger of this mission is likely far greater than Midnight Escape!"
Just survive—how simple a request, yet it left Chen Ge with no confidence at all.
The trial mission only existed for twenty-four hours. If not accepted, it would never be unlockable. That was what troubled Chen Ge most. He didn't know if giving up this mission would affect the four-star horror scene Haunted School.
Although, given his current situation, unlocking a four-star scene was nearly impossible, he still felt a pang of regret.
"Giving up this mission means giving up the Haunted School, losing two scenes at once—that's really a shame." Chen Ge weighed the pros and cons in his mind. "Not going means losing two scenes. Going, if I manage to survive, not only unlocks a two-star horror scene but also completes a side quest in the Haunted School. The haunted house needs constant renovation to keep customers coming. This two-star horror scene comes at just the right time. I should give it a try."
New Century Amusement Park was about to close. He had to make progress within three months, and relying on just the two current scenes was impossible. After much deliberation, Chen Ge finally made his decision and clicked the accept option.
The message disappeared, and Chen Ge decided not to waste any more time. He called Xu Wan, telling her to finish her meal and come back to watch the place quickly, then directly chased after them out of the amusement park.
The little boy was the key to the Muyang Middle School trial mission. From him, Chen Ge was sure to uncover more clues.
Running outside the park gates, Chen Ge saw the boy and the thin, dark woman just boarding a bus.
"Route 14."
Chen Ge hailed a taxi and got in. "To the next stop of the Route 14 bus."
He arrived at the bus stop ahead of the bus and waited nearly a minute before the Route 14 bus slowly pulled in.
The bus was packed with passengers. The thin, dark woman shielded the little boy at the back, not noticing Chen Ge.
"Follow them home and take a look. Might get some unexpected gains." Chen Ge didn't rush to approach them, standing alone at the front of the bus.
After six or seven consecutive stops, the number of passengers dwindled, and the surroundings grew increasingly desolate.
Near the final stop, the thin, dark woman and the boy got off. They didn't take the main road but ducked straight into an alley.
"Living in such a remote place? That makes sense—the woman mentioned earlier that she had spent a lot of money taking the boy to see many doctors."
Chen Ge followed them into the alley. He hadn't gone far when the thin, dark woman and the little boy suddenly quickened their pace.
"Have I been spotted? Or are they avoiding something else?"