Leaving
By six thirty in the evening, all the other attractions in New World Paradise had shut down, but the entrance to the haunted house was still buzzing.
Quite a few visitors sat in the lounge chatting, and the handful who had made it through Twilight High had become the center of attention, fielding questions from everyone else.
They were all dying to know what lurked inside the two-star horror scenario, but not a single one of them dared go in themselves.
Those who had experienced Twilight High walked out looking deathly pale, drenched in cold sweat, and thoroughly wrecked.
Not one of them was willing to admit they'd simply been too terrified, so they tacitly agreed to exaggerate the horror of Twilight High, which only made the other visitors even more curious.
After talking for ages, a few of them even exchanged WeChat contacts and created a group chat called "Strategy Team." They were meticulously mapping out the location of every school badge, making detailed notes — looking every bit the professionals.
After closing up, Chen Ge noticed the visitors had gathered on their own to discuss strategies, and honestly, he was quite pleased.
"I hope they can find all sixteen badges soon. The Third Sick Building has been sitting empty for far too long."
Once he'd finished cleaning and locked the haunted house, Chen Ge headed over to Boss Qian's puppet workshop.
In the basement, Boss Qian had dragged a chair over and was sitting near the door. When Chen Ge arrived, he happened to catch him staring straight into the eyes of a puppet.
"Boss Qian, I'm here to pick up the puppet."
Chen Ge gave Boss Qian a pat on the shoulder before the man finally snapped out of it.
"When did you get here?"
"Just now. What's going on with you? You look like you've seen a ghost." Chen Ge entered the workshop and began the final round of fine-tuning on the puppet. Boss Qian stood beside him, staring at the puppet in complete silence.
Sensing something off about Boss Qian, Chen Ge probed cautiously: "Did you see something strange today?"
Boss Qian's eyebrows shot up, as though his deepest secret had been exposed. "How did you know?"
"Anyone with eyes could tell."
"Well, since you've figured it out, I won't hide it anymore." Boss Qian stood next to Chen Ge and lowered his voice mysteriously. "The truth is, I have yin-yang eyes. I can see things that other people can't."
"Yin-yang eyes?" Chen Ge turned his head and gave Boss Qian a once-over. "You've been watching too many horror movies."
"I'm serious! When I was a kid, I once saw the God of Wealth blink. A Taoist fortune teller told my father that our ancestors were people of great standing. Dad believed every word, which is why he named me Qian Guigen." Boss Qian delivered this with an air of absolute conviction.
"Ancestors of great standing, and yet here you are?"
"Maybe my time just hasn't come yet." Boss Qian shook his head. "That's not the point. The point is that today I saw something truly incredible."
"Well, out with it! What did you see?"
"About four hours ago, this female puppet winked at me." Boss Qian leaned in close to Chen Ge, deliberately slowing his voice, and cupped half his mouth with his hand as though he was afraid the puppet might overhear.
"That's it? And why a female puppet specifically — not a male one?"