"You didn't see it?" Xiao Gu turned to look back down the road. The buildings on either side seemed somehow different from before. "That's strange. The bus was just there a moment ago."
……
Inside the haunted house's makeup room, Chen Ge tossed his phone aside after seeing Xiao Gu and Xu Wan off with their red envelopes, then got to work on the dolls with full concentration.
Using his mortuary makeup technique and living dolls, he had recreated the appearance of the dismembered remains with absolute fidelity — bulging eyes filled with spite and jealousy toward the living.
"For these ones, I can hollow out the facial bones and make them detachable. When visitors come through, the faces will slowly rotate and fall off."
Chen Ge pushed himself to the limit, working alone in the makeup room until past two in the morning before finishing the makeup on all twenty dolls.
After consecutive hours of intense labor, even Chen Ge was running on fumes. He set an alarm on his phone and headed back to the break room to sleep.
He had barely lain down — felt like he'd been asleep for only a moment — when his pocket buzzed with a vibration.
Groggy, he fished out his phone and saw a notification from the Black Phone.
"Third expansion complete! Haunted house upgraded to Trembling Labyrinth! Maximum Red Coat capacity increased! Maximum employee capacity increased!"
"Trembling Labyrinth special effect: Directional sense greatly reduced (additional effects unlock after the fourth expansion — this will be a process of losing yourself, body and soul)."
"Fortunate ghost-blessed one, congratulations on upgrading your haunted house to the Trembling Labyrinth. You have been randomly granted a top-tier special building — the Screaming Gate!"
"Screaming Gate: Once you're ready for the screams, you may push open this door!"
"Third expansion complete! Three-star horror scene — Underground Morgue — unlocked! All mechanisms within can be controlled through the phone interface!"
A flurry of messages — Chen Ge shot upright, wide awake. "The expansion's done?"
He threw on his jacket and dashed out of the staff break room. He was about to head underground when he noticed that the wooden boards sealing the entrance to Zombie Revival Night had vanished.
In their place stood a pure-black iron door, impossibly heavy-looking, carved with all manner of vengeful spirits.
"That's the Screaming Gate from the reward?"
The solid iron door was wedged into the only entrance. Chen Ge approached and ran his fingers over the carved spirits on its surface. Faint sounds of weeping and screaming echoed in his mind.
He grabbed the handle and heaved the door open, stepping into the underground scene.
Upgraded to the Trembling Labyrinth, the underground area felt even more sinister. Walking through it, he kept feeling as though someone was calling his name from some direction, pulling him to go that way against his will.
"There must be other hidden effects."
Once he entered the underground level, Dusk High School lay to the left, the Third Ward to the right, Living Coffin Village straight ahead, and the newly unlocked Underground Morgue behind him.
Chen Ge made a full circuit, checking every scare point against the Black Phone. After confirming there were no safety hazards, he returned to the surface and transported all the dolls into the scene.
"I can hide a few vengeful spirits inside some of the dolls. Once the visitors get used to the rhythm, they'll get a nice surprise. Oh, and where should I put these doctors? Scaring people isn't really their specialty — better set them up in a room of their own. I'm worried they'll go wandering all over the place."