"No problem, moderate difficulty? I'm in."
"Much appreciated." After hanging up, the person in charge of Tanaka Hospital still had kind thoughts about Chen Ge, thinking what a genuinely nice guy he was — a real friend.
Truth be told, Chen Ge was quite happy that the Tanaka Hospital staff wanted to visit. Ever since the third inpatient building had been completed, not a single visitor had made it inside. It left Chen Ge with a stifling feeling — like having something amazing and not being able to share it with anyone.
Now that was about to change. The Tanaka Hospital people were coming. They spent their days playing ghosts in haunted houses, so their courage was certainly greater than that of ordinary visitors. They might actually clear Muyang High School and enter the third inpatient building.
"The filling for the dolls should have hardened by now. I'll go pick them up tonight and set them up in the third building, and while I'm at it, I'll design a few more scare points."
Chen Ge decided to apply what he had learned from Tanaka Hospital to the third inpatient building, then let the Tanaka Hospital staff go in and test the results.
During lunch, Chen Ge took his design proposal to the office building.
"
Director Luo was sitting in his office staring at his laptop with a worried expression. When he saw Chen Ge come in, his face relaxed slightly. "If you need anything, go to Old Xu. I've already told him to give you his full cooperation."
"He can't make the call on this one." Chen Ge placed the document he had stayed up all night writing on Director Luo's desk. "I want to build a multi-functional rest pavilion next to the haunted house. From a long-term perspective, this pavilion will take up a considerable amount of space."
Director Luo leafed through Chen Ge's proposal. After reading it over twice, he set the papers down. "The amusement park is currently strapped for cash. Keeping all the existing facilities running smoothly is already a stretch. If we invest more, I'm afraid the capital chain will break."
"Director Luo, this multi-functional building will absolutely bring us significant revenue in the future — I'm confident of that. Food and beverage can provide visitors with a much better rest area, and the limited-edition haunted house souvenirs will serve as proof that they conquered each scene. It'll fuel their desire to take on even more scenes."
"I know you have the confidence to pull this off, and I believe in your ability. But some things need to be considered from a broader perspective." Director Luo turned his laptop screen toward Chen Ge. "This is an internal video of the Eastern Suburb Virtual Future Park. Take a look, then give me your thoughts."
Director Luo clicked his mouse, and a massive whale burst from the ocean on the screen, water spraying everywhere.
As the whale dove beneath the surface, it entered a fantastical undersea world. All manner of fish and sea creatures appeared on every side, and a ghost ship even sailed along the ocean floor.
The video switched to a first-person perspective. The camera holder seemed to be standing on the ghost ship, deep in the ocean, passing over an abyssal trench and weaving through erupting underwater volcanoes, soaking in the entire spectacle.
"This is one of the entertainment attractions at Virtual Future Park, called 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.' What you're seeing is their upcoming promotional video." Director Luo apparently had his own channels and had gotten his hands on the video early. "Tell me what you think."
Now Chen Ge finally understood why Director Luo had looked so troubled before. Just watching the video was thrilling enough — he couldn't imagine what it would feel like from the camera holder's perspective.
"Strong competition, but we're not without a chance." Chen Ge gripped the armrest of the sofa. He would never give up until the very last moment.
"Keep watching." Hearing Chen Ge's response, Director Luo not only wasn't angry — his expression actually softened considerably.
The second half of the video showed a futuristic city: towering skyscrapers, flying vehicles zipping about, all kinds of robots maintaining the city's operations. Visitors sat inside a capsule-like experience cabin as it cut straight through the city.
"This is Virtual Park's other flagship attraction — Virtual City. Visitors wear 3D glasses the entire time, experiencing all sorts of activities in a completely virtual metropolis." Director Luo closed the video and looked at Chen Ge. "Impressive, isn't it? The truth is, I saw this coming years ago. Third-generation amusement parks centered on real-world entertainment equipment would eventually be replaced by far grander, more futuristic fourth-generation parks."
"Director Luo, what we've seen is just a promotional video. Current technology probably isn't advanced enough to recreate all those scenes." Chen Ge raised an objection. "Many games use flashy trailers when they launch too, but once you actually play them, the content is miles from what was advertised."
"They don't need to replicate it one hundred percent. Even at thirty percent, there will be countless people lining up to experience it." Director Luo stood and walked to the window. "
"Director Luo, how long until the Eastern Suburb park opens?"
"Less than two months. More precisely, seven weeks."
"Tight timeline, but we still have a chance. If we hold out until the end, we might just see an unexpected outcome." Chen Ge stood, ready to leave. The upcoming marketing blitz from the virtual park had put enormous pressure on him.
"Don't rush off just yet. There's something I need to notify you about — I'd like you to be mentally prepared in advance." Director Luo returned to his desk and opened a report on his computer.
"What is it?" Chen Ge was taken aback and stopped in his tracks.
"I had Old Xu put together an analysis. Of the visitors who came to the park this past week, thirty-five percent were there specifically for your haunted house — and that number keeps climbing." Director Luo wasn't hiding anything. "Your haunted house has become the park's main draw. It reminded me of when your parents first came to New Century Park."
"Everyone's just been generous to me."
"Don't be modest. This is your own ability." Director Luo studied the data on his screen. "Your haunted house is now the key to attracting visitors to the park. A lot of people buy park tickets purely to visit your haunted house. I believe there are many more who want to come, but the two-hundred-and-sixty-yuan park ticket kills their impulse — after all, they only want to see the haunted house. They have no interest in the other attractions."
Chen Ge listened quietly. He sensed that Director Luo was about to say something very important.
"Compared to Virtual Future Park, we have zero competitive edge. The only thing we can do is lower our ticket prices to draw people in. Originally, we planned to implement this in two months, but considering how your haunted house is performing, we've decided to move it up." Director Luo was very decisive. "When park admission drops, your haunted house ticket price can go up accordingly. The exact pricing adjustments are still being discussed — I'm just giving you a heads-up today."