Old
"Brother Wang, make sure you stick close to me," Cat Sister whispered. "This haunted house has extremely high ratings online. I even hired paid reviewers and it was hard to drag the score down, so it must have something genuinely unique about it."
"We've been in this scene for over ten minutes now and haven't seen a single actor or scary prop. I'm curious how this haunted house actually operates — do they just let visitors wander around blindly?" Brother Wang had been recording on his phone the whole way but hadn't spotted anything noteworthy. "A three-star scene is supposed to be the highest difficulty, which should also mean the best layout and design. But after actually seeing it, my only impression is that it's boring."
"His dump of a haunted house obviously can't compare to the amusement park you helped design, but we still can't let our guard down," Cat Sister said with an ingratiating smile, not daring to contradict Brother Wang's opinion.
"New Century Amusement Park has shown signs of coming back to life recently, and all the change started because of this haunted house. I really can't figure out how a single haunted house could drive the revival of an entire park." Brother Wang walked very slowly, and Cat Sister didn't dare walk too fast either.
Some among them were worried about Zhang Lan and Huang Xing's safety, while others were lost in thought. Nobody noticed that the doors of the courtyard houses on both sides had been pushed open just a crack, that shadows occasionally flickered across the walls, or that not far behind them, a gaunt, monkey-like silhouette hung upside down from the eaves.
Old Zhou, his expression panicked, led them step by step into the encirclement of horrors.
Mourning music drifted into their ears. White paper lanterns swayed gently, their light flickering between bright and dim.
"Wait — something feels off!" Ma Tian signaled everyone to stop. "The atmosphere around us is different from before. I feel like a lot of eyes are watching us."
"Then let's just go back the way we came." Old Zhou looked even more cowardly than Ma Tian, directly suggesting they leave the scene. "I really don't want to go any further that way!"
"We haven't found the clearance item, we've already lost people, and the time limit is forty minutes — we've only been in here a little over ten minutes and we're already leaving on our own? If word gets out, how are we supposed to do haunted house reviews in the future?" Cat Sister put on a show of toughness. "Keep going forward. At the very least we need to see what's up ahead."
After finishing, she gave Old Zhou an apologetic smile. "I'll have to trouble you to keep leading the way. But don't worry — nothing will happen as long as you're with us."
After several rounds of persuasion, Old Zhou reluctantly agreed. "Let's walk faster. Once I show you the spot, I'm leaving. You all can play here on your own."
He and Duan Yue quickened their pace, and Ma Tian followed close behind.
Paper funeral money on the ground swirled up in the wind. Wailing sounds came from the distance. Behind them, children's laughter echoed faintly. At the end of the street, lights drifted and swayed.
They walked a few more meters, and footsteps echoed from another street to the side. Old Zhou and Duan Yue acted as if they hadn't heard, continuing forward, and Ma Tian followed along.
But just as the three of them passed that street, the mourning music drew close. Two figures with heads hanging low emerged from the street, carrying a coffin that was cracking apart.
The coffin blocked the path across the road. Cat Sister and Brother Wang couldn't get past.
"What is this?"
They had finally spotted the haunted house's actors, but both Cat Sister and Brother Wang felt a jolt of unease. The pair wore no makeup at all, yet somehow they looked… just like dead people?
The air froze in an instant. Cat Sister grabbed Brother Wang and retreated a step. She felt her back brush against something and turned to see a child with a blood-painted opera mask on its face, smiling at her.
Before the terror could erupt, Old Zhou, who was at the very front of the group, suddenly let out a piercing scream: "He's coming! He killed Zhang Lan!"
In the courtyard,
"I didn't kill anyone! I didn't kill anyone!"
He screamed at the top of his lungs, but there was a hole in his throat, and his voice sprayed out along with blood.
Old Zhou was in the lead. He spun around and bolted back the way they'd come. Panic began to spread. Ma Tian had barely caught a glimpse of Bai Qiulin's face before he too broke into a run after Old Zhou.
It was absolutely terrifying — that was far more than just makeup. Bai Qiulin's head was practically falling off!
"Run!" Old Zhou shouted as he turned, but the middle of the street was blocked by the coffin. The two dead men carrying it seemed to have heard the signal. They let go at the same time and lunged at Cat Sister and Brother Wang.
*Crash!*
The coffin slammed to the ground. The coffin lid flipped open, and a bright red burial shroud inside stood up on its own!
Brother Wang and Cat Sister couldn't even make out what was happening on the other side of the street. Cat Sister hadn't even recovered from the terror of the mask-faced child behind her when, in the next instant, the entire world seemed to change — the dead were charging, and even the burial shroud from the coffin was coming after them!
She had never been brave to begin with, usually relying entirely on Ma Tian and Yellow Hair. This sudden disaster scared her half to death. She grabbed Brother Wang and ducked into whatever path she could find.