Chen Ge suddenly dashed out and yelled at the top of his lungs, giving Uncle Xu a terrible fright. You could clearly hear from his words that this unreliable haunted house owner had worked himself up into a state of complete excitement.
"The new scene is extremely terrifying and only open to visitors who have completed two-star scenes! Anyone brave enough to take on the challenge? Half price for a limited time! We already have six sign-ups!"
Picking up the megaphone from the table, Chen Ge repeated himself. With his Yin Eyes, he could clearly see quite a few visitors showing expressions of temptation.
"I'll do it!"
While most visitors were still hesitating, a young man wearing jeans stepped forward. His face was slightly pale, and as he left the queue he glanced toward a particular spot in the crowd, exchanging a look with a middle-aged man.
"What should I call you?" Chen Ge looked at the young man and felt increasingly pleased with him. With someone volunteering to lead the charge, many other visitors started to waver.
"My surname is Li." The young man had just come out of the one-star and two-star scenes. He simply couldn't connect those terrifying environments with this good-natured, smiling haunted house owner standing in front of him.
"All right, Mr. Li, please wait a moment." Chen Ge raised the megaphone again. "We now have seven visitors signed up! Just three more and the Underground Corpse Library scene will officially open! This is a day of great significance! The stories of all participants will be written into the haunted house mini-app's history page!"
Hearing this, a few more visitors finally couldn't hold back. "Boss, count us in too!"
Two women and one man stepped out from the back of the line. All three had quite distinctive presences, and together they drew a lot of attention.
The man was pale-skinned and so thin he was practically skin and bones. He looked refined and scholarly, a little shy, carrying a large bag filled with all manner of food and drinks.
The woman on his left wore sneakers and dressed in a bright, sporty style. Her hair was pulled back, and she walked with a natural air of cool composure—an older-sister type with real presence.
The woman on his right was the complete opposite. Standing just over five-foot-six, she had an adorable baby face that made her look exceptionally young, like the clumsy but cheerful and lovable little sister next door.
The three of them didn't look like siblings, nor did they seem to be a couple. They walked over to Chen Ge of their own accord and introduced themselves: "We're editors at Thrillseeker Magazine, and also die-hard fans of your haunted house. We've been through every scene you've built."
Chen Ge didn't actually remember who they were, but he put on a look of sudden recognition. "The name rings a bell."
"Your haunted house is brilliantly designed. Where do you come up with all those bizarre, surreal visuals? We definitely need to chat more when you have time." The man in the middle wanted to add Chen Ge on WeChat. Chen Ge had initially been about to refuse, but when he saw the profile page mentioning the editorial office was in the eastern suburbs, he figured they might actually cross paths someday, so he accepted the friend request.
"Perfect—ten people is exactly right. How should I address the three of you?" Chen Ge's attitude toward visitors was beyond reproach. He always wore a sincere smile.
"I'm A Nan. This lady with the fantastic aura is our editor-in-chief, called Tiger Fang. And this girl next to me is Tail. Don't let that innocent look of hers fool you—all that cuteness is pure camouflage." The scrawny man hoisted his two large bags and kept talking on his own, ignoring the eye-rolls from his two colleagues.
"Tiger Fang? Tail? Are those pen names or something?" Chen Ge glanced at the older-sister type. She was dressed in athletic wear and radiated an aura that came from within—probably from managing so many authors, she naturally gave off a formidable impression. Still, she looked quite nice when she smiled.
"Tiger Fang literally has tiger fangs, so why is she called Tail?" Chen Ge looked at the girl, thinking she was pretty cute. "All four of you, follow me."
"Hold on!"
The group had just turned to leave when someone else called out from the crowd. "Boss, your Twilight High School scene lets in a dozen people at a time. This is a three-star scene, for crying out loud—can't you bring more people through at once?"
The speaker was a man who stood about six-foot-three, sleeves rolled up. Despite the weather not being particularly hot, he was drenched in sweat.
"You want to visit too? No problem at all!" Chen Ge loved visitors like this—direct, decisive, and hungry for a thrill.
"There's two of us." The tall, burly man walked toward the haunted house, followed by a grim-faced chubby guy. "Two more—is that okay?"
"Three more would be fine! Let me tell you, don't worry so much—coming to a haunted house should be about having fun above all else!"
"Boss Chen, you're a class act!" The burly man gave Chen Ge a thumbs-up. He thought Chen Ge was incredibly generous.
"Other visitors have said the same thing. What can I say—that's just the kind of person I am." Chen Ge waved them over. "Follow me!"
He pushed open the barrier. Just then, another group of visitors was finishing their tour and scrambling to get out. Chen Ge asked the six visitors outside to wait a moment while he went in to grab the liability waivers.
Entering the building alone, he ran to the Fierce Ghosts' changing room and snagged a set of casual clothes, sneaking them out under cover.
In a blind spot along the corridor, he opened the manga summoning book and called out Old Zhou, Duan Yue, and Bai Qiulin.
"Put these on first. Don't let the red-stained spot on your chest show." Chen Ge was thorough in his preparations. After watching Bai Qiulin put on the jacket, he ran to where Yang Chen and the others were and pulled several copies of the liability waiver from a cabinet.
After distributing the forms to Bai Qiulin and the other two, Chen Ge sent them inside first. Then he went to the entrance and handed out waivers to the remaining visitors. Once they'd signed, he collected the forms.
"All right, let's go meet up with the visitors already inside."
Stowing the liability waivers, Chen Ge led the six visitors from outside into the haunted house. The temperature inside was considerably lower than out.
"You can give me your waivers too." Chen Ge collected Yang Chen's and Old Zhou's forms as well. After confirming everything was in order, he led all twelve visitors toward the scene entrance. "The Underground Corpse Library is opening for the first time. A lot of things inside still aren't finalized. If you spot something strange and you're not sure whether it's a haunted house prop, your best bet is to turn around and run immediately."
"Wait—Boss, what exactly do you mean by that? Are you saying some of the 'props' in your haunted house aren't actually props?" Yang Chen knew full well how terrifying Chen Ge's haunted house could be, and he didn't let a single hint slip past him.
"Of course. In the new scene, besides props, there are plenty of surprises waiting for you." Chen Ge's speaking pace quickened. "The clearance requirement for the Underground Corpse Library is different from the other scenes. I've posted five photographs of victims on the walls in the core area. You won't need to waste time searching for them—the locations are right in front of you. But remember, there are only five photos, and only those who actually obtain a photo will be counted as having cleared the scene."