The old woman walked out from inside the house, carrying a bundle wrapped in black cloth.
"These are all the talismans I have left that are of any use. If you're going after that female ghost, the more you have, the better." The elderly woman pushed the bundle forward. "Consider them all yours."
Looking at a bundle full of talisman papers, Chen Ge's mouth twitched slightly. "Auntie, how much did you spend buying all these talismans?"
"The price doesn't matter — what matters is whether they actually work."
Chen Ge felt the old woman had been good to him, and he didn't want her to keep getting scammed. He decided to help. "Auntie, could you introduce me to the person who sold you these talismans?"
"Sure. When you come back, I'll take you to find him. He's a real expert — looks like a slob, but truly talented people are all like that. It's called the great hermit hiding in plain sight."
The more Chen Ge listened, the more convinced he became that the old woman was being swindled. After getting the person's address from her, he left carrying the bundle of talisman papers.
Walking out of the residential complex, Chen Ge checked the photos he'd just taken on his phone. The writing on the yellow talisman paper was extremely messy — rather than Chinese characters, they looked more like some kind of symbols with special meaning.
"Who could possibly read this?" Chen Ge closed the page and called the haunted house to check on the situation.
It was already afternoon by the time he brought Wenwen home, and he'd been delayed along the way. Back at the haunted house, since he wasn't there, Xu Wan had followed his earlier instructions and closed up before sunset.
Old Zhou and Duan Yue had performed well, and no unexpected incidents had occurred, so Chen Ge was relieved.
"I should give Old Zhou and Duan Yue some kind of reward. The two of them are without desire or ambition, but I can tell that Old Zhou has feelings for Duan Yue. I could help him pursue her. As for Duan Yue… no girl could refuse the temptation of becoming a big star, right? I can make her a promise — when the time comes to fulfill the author's dying wish and prepare to film a movie, I'll cast her as the lead actress."
Rewards and punishments clearly delineated — Chen Ge had always treated his employees well.
After hanging up, Chen Ge stuffed the old woman's gifts into his backpack and hailed a taxi to head for Donggang Reservoir.
"The task from special guest Wenwen still hadn't been triggered. What was the problem? Did the girl really need to come into contact with water-based entertainment facilities for it to activate?" The girl's aunt had once told Chen Ge never to let the child go near the water. To ensure Wenwen's safety, Chen Ge would never put the girl in danger just for a task. This was likely why the Black Phone hadn't sent him any messages yet.
By the time Chen Ge arrived at Donggang Reservoir, the sky had gone completely dark.
He rolled down the car window and could immediately feel that the temperature here was much lower than in the city.
"Twenty-five total," the driver said, glancing at Chen Ge.
"Twenty-five? That expensive? You think I've never been here before?" Chen Ge had been studying the surrounding environment and hadn't expected the driver to ask for that much.
"According to the meter, it really shouldn't be that much, but hardly anyone wants to come out to Donggang Reservoir these days. There have been several accidents in a row within the past month, so everyone charges extra for driving to the eastern outskirts at night. Besides, I brought you out here alone — the ride back is guaranteed to be an empty fare, so I'm not making much money anyway." The driver was young. He rested both hands on the steering wheel, looking impatient. "Hurry up. It's going to be dark any minute, and the road will be even harder to drive. This place isn't safe at night."
"You know it isn't safe?" Chen Ge studied the driver. "Looks like your company's safety training for employees really isn't up to par — you don't even recognize me."
The driver frowned and turned to look at Chen Ge. "Who are you?"