"My name is Shao Wen, and this is Ling Feijie." The bespectacled man gave Wu Jinpeng a once-over, then subtly shook his head. He could tell that everything Wu Jinpeng was wearing was cheap market stall stuff — that stench of poverty was practically wafting off him.
"Hello, I'm a new employee at this haunted house. The boss sent me to shadow the visitors and get a feel for things first." Wu Jinpeng figured out the situation at a glance. He knew both guys were interested in the same woman, but she didn't seem to be interested in either of them.
"Uncle, you're really an employee here? You don't really look like one." Two other visitors who had followed the group inside crowded up to Wu Jinpeng. They didn't look very old: "We're students from Hanjiang Medical College. I heard from the upperclassmen that the actors in this haunted house are scarier than anything — like they crawled straight out of hell."
Hearing the two students' assessment, Wu Jinpeng felt sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. He felt like he'd joined some kind of terrifying organization.
"I haven't formally met the other employees yet, so I'm not really clear on the specifics."
"Uncle, you seem like a decent guy — you wouldn't lie to us, right?" The two medical students were well versed in all the tricks of
"Do I look like the kind of person who would lie?" Wu Jinpeng tried to explain, but the more he tried, the more suspicious the others' stares became.
"Stop chattering and let's go inside first before we talk." Ling Feijie was a bit older than the two students, yet somehow he seemed less mature than they were — like a flower raised in a greenhouse. He might have looked tough on the outside, but inside he was actually quite fragile.
The group filed along the corridor into Muyang High School. Wu Jinpeng and the two medical students walked at the front, while the remaining three moved much more slowly. They wandered along, looking around — it didn't really feel like they were touring so much as searching for something.
Blank test papers rustled as the wind shifted them across the floor with a dry, scraping sound. When Wu Jinpeng first entered the underground scene, it hadn't felt all that terrifying, but the deeper they went, the faster his heart pounded, and his palms were sweating without him even noticing.
"Uncle, don't be so tense — you're starting to walk with both legs on the same side." One of the medical students looked at Wu Jinpeng with a wry smile. "Do you have to be this convincing?"
"Sorry, it's my first day." Wu Jinpeng didn't want to act like this either, but he genuinely wasn't very brave. "Shouldn't we wait for the others? It's better if everyone sticks together…"
Wu Jinpeng turned around and saw the other three standing in front of a classroom, with no intention of moving forward at all. The one called Shao Wen had even taken a few steps back, as though he was planning to leave the Muyang High School scene entirely.
"Hey! Don't be scared — if we all stay together, we should be fine." Wu Jinpeng wanted to go over and reassure them, but Shao Wen was having none of it. Instead, he actually glared at Wu Jinpeng.
"The three of us will tour on our own. You guys go ahead." Ling Feijie hovered close to Shen Bingjie's side, never letting more than a step of distance between them.
"According to what our upperclassmen told us, anyone who splits up in this haunted house meets a terrible end." The two medical students seemed to know what they were talking about. They grabbed Wu Jinpeng and steered him toward Shen Bingjie. "This is a two-star scenario — don't mess around!"
Being lectured by two students who were clearly younger than him put Ling Feijie in a foul mood instantly. He was about to argue with the medical students when the woman beside him stopped him.
"They have a point, Xiao Jie. Don't always be so impulsive — sometimes you need to listen to what other people have to say." Shen Bingjie gently took hold of Ling Feijie's arm. "The clearance condition for this scenario is to find enough school badges. Let's hurry up and try to clear it in one go."
Shen Bingjie's voice was soft and gentle, and her words carried a strange, almost magical quality that could tame even a hotheaded guy like Ling Feijie until he was completely obedient.
"Just the two of you? You're not going to worry about him?" Wu Jinpeng pointed at Shao Wen, who was standing near the entrance to Muyang High School, phone in hand, seemingly talking to someone.
"Shao Wen's father is looking for him. We'll go ahead — he'll catch up with us in a bit." Shen Bingjie came over to Wu Jinpeng. "Let's go, Uncle Shuffle-Steps."
"Oh." And just like that, the group entered Muyang High School. Once they had moved out of earshot, Shao Wen lowered his phone, glanced at a nearby surveillance camera, and quietly slipped into a hiding spot near the staircase.
A few minutes later, the iron door leading underground opened once more, and several visitors accompanied by Old
As they headed in that direction, Shao Wen emerged from his hiding place and quietly returned to the surface.