The gates to the Midnight Pursuit scenario slowly swung shut, the creaking of the door panels like chains tightening around the hearts of the medical students.
"He Shan, based on your experience last time, what should we do now?"
"Find the exit — as fast as possible!"
……
After locking the scenario doors,
"Boss, what's the rush? Didn't the visitors already come in?" Xu Wan had her mortuary makeup on and was wearing the costume from the Ghost Marriage scenario, darting back and forth — genuinely a little terrifying.
"I just finished a new horror scenario on the third floor called Midnight Pursuit. Those law-med students are pretty brave, so let's use them to test how well it works." Chen Ge pushed open the props room door and began rummaging through things according to the Black Phone's prompts.
"Doesn't a new scenario need to pass the park inspection before it can be put into use?" Xu Wan picked up the hem of her ancient costume and walked over. "Boss, what are you looking for?"
"A custom-made uniform for you."
"Uniform?"
Heading to the deepest part of the room, Chen Ge spotted a familiar wooden chest in the corner. He hadn't expected this box — originally used to store the Black Phone and a cloth doll — to show up here.
Walking up to the chest, Chen Ge peered inside. At the bottom lay a strangely shaped hammer, a robe soaked through with blood, and beside them, a yellowed missing-person notice.
"Found it." Chen Ge picked up the robe. To his surprise, this seemingly ordinary doctor's coat was remarkably heavy — iron chains engraved with human faces were threaded throughout its interior.
"Boss, this is the uniform you had made for me?" Xu Wan took a step back. Even from several paces away, it felt as though she could smell the bloody stench wafting off it. "Can I… not wear it?"
"Horror house actors are still actors, Little Wan. Think about what your teachers at the drama academy said — you need to hold yourself to high standards." Chen Ge shook out the garment, and a counterfeit human-skin mask tumbled out.
He hadn't known this thing was hidden inside the coat either. After picking it up and taking just one look, a wave of revulsion washed over him.
The mask was stitched together from different male faces, crudely done, exuding an unmistakable sense of hysteria.
"Boss, you're not going to tell me I have to wear that thing too." Xu Wan had already backed all the way to the doorway.
"It's just a trial run — I want to see how the whole new scenario looks. Next time, I'll be the ghost, okay?" Chen Ge's tone was like a devil from a fairy tale luring someone toward ruin.
"Fine… I'll give it a try." Xu Wan's resolve finally crumbled in agreement. She took the mask and the doctor's coat and, not bothering with Chen Ge's presence, shed her ancient costume and changed right there. "Boss, I have to say, your definition of 'uniform' has really broadened my horizons."
She wound the chains from inside the coat around her body, draped on the blood-soaked outer garment, and the moment Xu Wan put on the mask, she seemed to undergo some kind of transformation. An aura of madness, venom, and cruelty to the extreme radiated from her.
"Looking good." Chen Ge didn't dare let Xu Wan look in a mirror — he was afraid she'd scare herself. "Here, take this too."
He fished the oddly shaped hammer out of the chest. It was roughly forty centimeters long, its handle shaped like a living person's spine, the end connected to the chains inside the coat, and the hammerhead had sharp spikes on either side designed for drawing blood. "It's hollow, so not too heavy. If it gets in your way when you're moving fast, you can just drag it behind you."
Xu Wan had given up resisting. She nodded and took the hammer.
"Keep the phone in your outer pocket. Check the earpiece — stay in contact at all times. If everything's good, it's time for us to go on stage."
"Us? Boss, you're going into the scenario too?" Xu Wan turned her head to glance at Chen Ge. Her crisp, pleasant voice paired with that composite male face made Chen Ge feel like he had a stomachache.
"Of course. Let's go — the visitors are probably getting antsy."
Chen Ge sent Xu Wan into the Midnight Pursuit scenario and returned to the main control room.
The story takes time to tell, but only a few minutes had actually passed. He spotted the seven medical students on the monitors. These seven were far more timid than Gao Ruxue — the expressions on their faces made it clear that every last one of them was on edge.
"They've been wandering around for ages and they're still in the first few rooms on the third floor. Looks like I need to give them a little push." Chen Ge first swapped the background music to Black Friday, then dialed Xu Wan's number. "Little Wan, this new scenario is huge — it covers not just the entire third floor of the haunted house, but parts of the second and first floors too. There's a stairway on each side. Don't go running around; follow my instructions."
"Copy."
After coordinating with Xu Wan, Chen Ge did a quick job of his own makeup, then entered the Midnight Pursuit scenario through the staff corridor.
With the Black Phone in his possession, he could control dozens of mechanisms inside the scenario at any time. That alone made the Midnight Pursuit scenario infinitely more engaging than Ghost Marriage or Zombie Resurrection Night.
In the cold, dark corridor, a bathtub in one of the rooms was pushed aside. Chen Ge climbed out and restored everything to its original position.
"Little Wan, they're probably near room 207 on the third floor right now. Head to the left stairway and hold your position — wait for my next instruction." After giving the order, Chen Ge let his eyes adjust to the darkness inside the scenario, then made his way up to the third floor via the right stairway.
At that very moment, the students from Jiujiang Medical College had no idea that "danger" was closing in. They were still carefully searching through the clutter in the rooms, hoping to find some clue.
"This haunted house is a little creepy and the temperature's low, but there doesn't seem to be anything that scary. Are we being too paranoid?" Monkey was the shortest of the group and also the most talkative. "Brother Feng, I think we should split into two teams — that way we can search faster. Crowding together is a huge waste of time."
The tallest among them was Brother Feng, the one Monkey was addressing. When he first entered the Midnight Pursuit scenario and realized all his preparations had been completely useless, he'd panicked a little. But as time wore on, he gradually felt that this scenario wasn't actually that frightening. "Fine, we'll split up. Monkey, Old Song — you two take the two girls and search the rooms on the left side. The three of us will take the right side."
"Should've done this from the start. I honestly don't see what's so scary about this place — it's nothing compared to our school morgue." The speaker was a girl, the only one among them with dyed hair. She and Gao Ruxue were completely different types — with her makeup on, she looked mature and sexy, not much like a student at all.
"Sister Hui, Brother Feng, don't let your guard down. We really should stick together." He Shan was hiding behind the crowd, his face pinched with worry. "This haunted house owner never plays by the rules. You guys haven't watched his livestream — he's an absolute madman who doesn't care about his own life!"