"Among those five people who were scared unconscious, one of them had been involved in the design of Virtual Future Paradise." Chen Ge closed the door and placed the photos from his phone in front of Director Luo. "Compared to them, our third-generation theme park is at a serious disadvantage."
Each photo depicted a different scene, blending wildly imaginative concepts with extraordinary staging, brimming with a futuristic feel.
Director Luo marveled as he looked through them. Honestly, if given the choice, even he would prefer to visit Virtual Future Paradise.
"You only scared them unconscious on purpose after you noticed something off about this person?" Director Luo flipped through the phone without looking up.
"It was just an accident."
"I'm not blaming you. On the contrary, I think you did well. I'm just a bit worried you didn't handle things cleanly and left evidence behind." Director Luo set down the phone. "After all, every image here could be considered a trade secret."
"Don't worry. I took the photos with my phone, so there's no way any data would be recorded on his device. Besides, I used my sleeve as a buffer when I picked up his phone. Even if he gets the police to check for fingerprints, they won't find any substantive evidence." Chen Ge spoke as though he were discussing something utterly mundane.
Director Luo was speechless. Chen Ge had even considered fingerprints — what was there left to worry about?
"Lately there have been a lot of people online maliciously slandering the haunted house, hiring bots to flood it with negative reviews. I didn't pay it much mind at first, until this person showed up." Chen Ge scrolled through the photos on the phone. "Look at these messages — they were pulling the strings behind the scenes."
Director Luo finished reading and simply nodded. "Virtual Future Paradise has several shareholders. It's probably one of them who perceived us as a threat and started pulling these underhanded tricks. Don't worry about this — I'll handle them. All you need to do is focus on developing your haunted house."
"Director Luo, there are a few more photos. It seems like our haunted house has caused quite a stir, because they're also preparing to add a haunted house project on short notice. They're calling it the Real 4D Haunted House."
Only when Chen Ge said this did Director Luo's expression shift slightly. "They're opening a haunted house too?"
"That's right. They plan to create a haunted house that combines virtual and reality. I've seen it online before — visitors feel like they've stepped right into a horror movie."
"How does it compare to your haunted house?" Right now, Chen Ge's haunted house was New Century Paradise's flagship attraction. If it got outshone, the park would have absolutely no competitive edge left.
"No matter how realistic virtual things look, they're still fake in the end. What I've got are the real deal." Chen Ge's haunted house had never been afraid of comparisons.
"I feel like there's more to what you're saying, but it doesn't matter. Go ahead and do what you need to do — if anything happens, I've got your back." Director Luo continued browsing the photos. When he reached the very last one, his brow creased faintly, though it smoothed out almost immediately. "Was this photo also taken from his phone?"
The last photo Director Luo referred to was a group picture from a gathering. Chen Ge had originally taken it to show his employees — anyone spotted in the photo who came to visit the haunted house was not to be shown any mercy.
"Yes. Is there something wrong with it?"
"I saw an old friend." Director Luo handed the phone back to Chen Ge, his expression perfectly composed. "As long as you have confidence in your haunted house, there's no need to fear them. And don't worry about visitor traffic being split — because there are things we have that they don't."
He stood and gazed out the window at New Century Paradise below. "Don't limit your vision to little Jiujiang. Your haunted house is one of a kind, and that's our capital. Once the reputation spreads, anywhere the internet can reach becomes our potential customer base."
In terms of vision and perspective, Director Luo, who had weathered years in the business world, was far more shrewd than Chen Ge. "They adapt to the situation, but we won't stand still either. As it happens, there's something I want to show you."
Director Luo turned his laptop around and gestured for Chen Ge to scan the QR code on the screen.
"What is this?"