The training of the Jar Ghost mainly focused on dodging, maneuvering, and burst explosiveness. Chen Ge didn't need the Jar Ghost to be particularly aggressive—he only wanted the ghost to come back alive after gathering intelligence.
"Leave it to you guys."
Chen Ge closed the door leading to the underground scenes and returned to the employee break room.
He picked up his phone and discovered several unread text messages. Most were from Wenwen's aunt, with a few from Xu Wan.
The gist of it was asking where Chen Ge was. When Wenwen's aunt had gotten off work to pick up her brother and Wenwen, she'd found that the father and daughter had already been sent away by Chen Ge, which understandably made her worried.
"The fact that she didn't call me afterward means she's already confirmed they're safe."
After thinking about it for a moment, Chen Ge felt it would be better to send a reply.
Perhaps because it was so late, the woman didn't respond.
"Nothing bad should have happened, right?" Chen Ge shook his head, feeling that he'd become too paranoid lately. If everyone who'd ever chatted with him ended up in trouble, the world would be in chaos.
He set his phone on the bedside table, then pulled out the Black Phone and checked a few of the daily tasks.
"Renovation, promotion, expansion—the normal difficulty tasks don't really mean much to me anymore. Nightmare-level ones might be worth considering."
Lying in bed, Chen Ge placed the white cat and Little Xiao beside him, pulled up a thin blanket, and prepared to turn in early for once.
"Hopefully the Jar Ghost will give me a nice surprise when I wake up." Chen Ge wasn't planning to put things off any longer. Tomorrow night, he intended to complete the Twin Water Ghost mission: "A horror scenario set in water—overseas horror designers probably wouldn't dare attempt something like this. I'd say this counts as an original creation."
Hugging the fluffy white cat, Chen Ge slowly drifted off to sleep.
At just past five in the morning, before the sky had lightened, Chen Ge woke up.
His hands and feet were ice-cold, yet he felt perfectly fine otherwise.
"Body temperature is still dropping, but not significantly." His sleep had been short, yet Chen Ge felt fully energized. "The later it gets into the night, the more awake I feel, and my reliance on sleep keeps decreasing. Is this a good thing or a bad one?"
Chen Ge was no longer just one person. If he fell, all the ghosts in the haunted house would lose their refuge. "I can't abandon those ghosts, and they can hardly leave me either. I'll just take things as they come for now. I just hope the tragedy that befell the old woman in Living Coffin Village won't repeat itself here."
He got dressed and headed back underground. When he entered the Living Coffin Village scene, what he saw surprised him.
The Jar Ghost was darting about in a frenzy, pursued by Xu Yin and Bai Qiulin, displaying an agility completely at odds with his body. He managed to evade their attacks each time, slipping away at impossible angles just before they landed.
"This guy must be so used to living in water—his movements are more nimble than any of us expected. He's like a slippery loach." Old Zhou and Duan Yue stood off to the side, watching and offering their commentary. Further back, a whole crowd of puppet students had gathered to watch the spectacle.
"Terrible analogy, but it looks like the special training was a success. This Jar Ghost has real potential." Chen Ge called back Xu Yin and Bai Qiulin, then brought the Jar Ghost out of the haunted house and placed him in the water park's aquatic attractions.
The moment his body touched the water, the Jar Ghost's speed increased once again. He moved quickly, but the expression on his face remained the same as before—he seemed to feel a certain nostalgia for the days when he'd been a lone ghost hiding at the bottom of his jar, blowing bubbles.
"Once this trial mission is over, you won't have to cram yourself in that jar anymore. I'll get you a nice big pool."
Chen Ge was very pleased with the Jar Ghost's progress. Worried that the morning sunlight might hurt the ghost, he watched for only a short while before putting the Jar Ghost back into his comic book.
"Another card up my sleeve."
At eight-twenty in the morning, Director Luo and Uncle Xu arrived at the park ahead of schedule, accompanied by two men in immaculate suits.
"Little Chen, let me introduce you. This is a former business partner of mine, as well as an old college classmate—President Bai of the Hanhai Group. Our park's equipment upgrades will be carried out in cooperation with his company." Director Luo's voice was hearty and warm, but Chen Ge noticed that when he introduced the man, his expression was strikingly neutral—there was not a trace of joy in his eyes. If anything, there was a hint of worry.
"Old classmate, this is the man in charge of our haunted house—Chen Ge." Director Luo turned and introduced Chen Ge to President Bai.
"So he's Chen Ge?" President Bai looked Chen Ge up and down, then nodded kindly. "To single-handedly run a haunted house of this scale and come up with those brilliantly terrifying scenarios—truly impressive. Really quite impressive."
He extended his hand to Chen Ge. "When the opportunity arises, we should explore a deeper collaboration."
Chen Ge studied the man's face and found it faintly familiar. After racking his brain, he finally remembered—he had once seen a photo on the phone of that engineer from Virtual Future Park. It had appeared to be some kind of gathering, and President Bai had been in it.
Why would someone connected to Virtual Future Park suddenly show up to partner with New Century Park?
Filled with suspicion, Chen Ge discreetly glanced at Director Luo.
The other man caught on immediately. He pressed his palm slightly downward, then pointed at himself, signaling to Chen Ge that he was aware of everything and that he could handle the rest.
Director Luo was a successful businessman, and matters between businessmen were best left to businessmen.
Chen Ge held his tongue. He had a feeling that Director Luo had his own plan—to take the other party's benefits while foiling their schemes at the same time.
"Let's hope everything goes smoothly."
Watching the group leave, Chen Ge sensed a palpable sense of urgency coming from Director Luo. If the pressure from Virtual Future Park hadn't been so immense, the man probably wouldn't have resorted to such a risky move.
"Looks like I need to pick up my own pace too. I'll finish up the remaining missions in the eastern suburb first. Anyone who resists gets fed to Zhang Ya and Bai Qiulin." After two days of letting up, Chen Ge felt he couldn't afford to slack off any longer.
At nine o'clock, the park opened its doors, and a brand-new day officially began.
…
In a residential building corridor somewhere in the eastern suburb, Wenwen clung to the doorframe with both hands, wailing loudly, her big eyes brimming with tears—a pitiful sight.
"I already promised to take you to the amusement park, and now you have to keep your promise to me too—go to school like a good girl." The woman in professional attire crouched beside Wenwen, trying to pull her down, but Wenwen gripped the door and refused to let go.
Wenwen's father, despite his illness and his intelligence being far below that of an ordinary person, loved his daughter—and for a father, that was more instinct than choice.
He wavered, wanting to intervene on Wenwen's behalf.
"Brother, I love Wenwen too. But if you don't want her to end up just like you one day, you'd better let her go to school!" The woman's words were harsh, striking straight at the man's sore spot.
Of all the things this father dreaded most, his daughter growing up to be just like him was at the very top.