"The director has gone missing, patients have disappeared, the media received anonymous letters, and corpses are hidden throughout the hospital."
"The blood-written messages keep changing, whispers drift from the locked rooms — who unlocked the chains on the door at midnight?"
"What did they see? Why did everyone go insane on the final night? Who is the patient, and who is the doctor?"
"Screams, shrieks, cutting, stitching — humanity is dismembered. The sun never rises in the pitch-black wards."
Liu Dao had only glanced at the message on his phone screen before his heart started racing and his breathing grew labored. "Do you want to think it over some more?"
Before coming, he'd been worried Chen Ge would refuse to cooperate over issues like pay or scene safety, so he'd prepared a whole set of backup plans.
He'd figured he could meet whatever demands the other party raised, but once the real negotiation started, he realized things had spiraled out of control from the very beginning.
Not only did this haunted house owner show zero concern for his own safety, he complained that their proposed scenes looked too fake — and in the end, he'd gone online himself and picked out a place that looked absolutely terrifying: an abandoned hospital!
Was this guy a complete lunatic?
Liu Dao muttered to himself, his smile turning slightly stiff. "Mr. Chen, I'm afraid our staff wouldn't dare go into this place. If you think the script doesn't work, we can revise it."
"That's fine." Chen Ge waved his hand.
"Thank you for understanding. Shall we discuss the script then?"
"I don't need staff to accompany me. I can go in alone."
"You've got to be joking!" Cold sweat was already forming on Liu Dao's forehead. It took him a long moment to gather his thoughts. "You really want to livestream in that place alone in the middle of the night?"
"Is there a problem?"
Watching Chen Ge's calm, unhurried expression, Liu Dao felt like the plans he'd stayed up for days putting together had all been wasted. "No problem at all. Take another look at the contract — if you need anything, let me know."
He pulled a temporary contract from the black case. Chen Ge gave it a quick scan. The terms were quite relaxed — since it was their first time collaborating, both sides wanted to test the waters first.
Chen Ge would promote Liu Dao's ads during his livestream; in return, they would fight to get him platform recommendations and channel exposure.
"I've watched all your livestreams. The content is fine, but the equipment isn't very professional." While Chen Ge was reading the contract, Liu Dao opened the black case and set it between them. "This is the streaming equipment we're lending you. It's a GoPro — a portable waterproof and shockproof camera, the kind extreme sports teams use for skydiving, paragliding, and diving. Next to it is an anti-slip chest mount and a wrist-mounted camera holder. Below that is a handheld stabilizer and a wireless earpiece. Once you go live, we'll have someone dedicated to relay the broadcast. You can also watch on a short-video platform through your own phone."
Liu Dao introduced each item in the black carrying case one by one. "Go back and familiarize yourself with how everything works. Qin Guang's next spirit-hunting session hasn't been confirmed yet, but it'll definitely be within three days. We're scheduling our livestream for the same day as his — win or lose, it all comes down to this."
Competing for viewership against a major streamer like Qin Guang didn't give Liu Dao much confidence either. That was why the contract he'd brought was only temporary — it would be void after a single broadcast.
Avoiding risk was a businessman's instinct, and Chen Ge understood that. After signing the contract, he took the black case from Liu Dao's hands.
"I'll notify you as soon as I confirm Qin Guang's livestream time. I hope you'll be ready." Liu Dao extended his hand to Chen Ge. "Pleasure doing business. And please, do be careful."
"Mm." Chen Ge watched Liu Dao leave, then carried the case into the employee break room and went back outside to sell tickets.
Around noon, the sky suddenly darkened, and after two in the afternoon, a light rain began to fall.
The roads grew wet and the visitors thinned out. Chen Ge watched the New Century Amusement Park grow quieter and quieter, and his mood sank with it.
The number of people visiting the haunted house was increasing, but the park's overall foot traffic was steadily declining. If the New Century Amusement Park shut down, his haunted house would naturally be dragged down with it.
"The number of horror scenes is far from enough. Trying to prop up an entire amusement park with just a haunted house — it's too difficult." The only reason the park was still in business was that Jiujiang had no real competitors. But once the East Suburbs' Future Virtual Amusement Park was built, the New Century Amusement Park would likely be abandoned by visitors entirely.
"What are you thinking about, boss?" Xu Wan walked out of the haunted house with an umbrella and stood beside Chen Ge.
"Nothing." Chen Ge turned to look at Xu Wan. "You've worked hard today. Head out early — I need to go finish making the doll body."
After tidying up and cleaning, Chen Ge locked the haunted house's front door, grabbed an umbrella, and headed toward the workshop where he made the dolls.
He hadn't even gotten close when he spotted Boss Qian crouching by the roadside, chatting with the guy who sold stir-fried yogurt.
"What are you doing out here?"
Boss Qian looked up, saw it was Chen Ge, and struggled to his feet. "Brother, what do you think about the high-end custom order? I've got a feeling you're going to spark a revolution like nothing anyone's ever seen."
"Not interested." Chen Ge descended into the underground workshop and buried himself in crafting the doll's body.