Taking photos and livestreaming inside the haunted house — that was one thing, and Chen Ge could tolerate it since it was essentially free promotion.
But changing costumes to go scare his own employees? That was going too far.
In Chen Ge's eyes, this was a premeditated act of malice that demanded strict punishment.
The haunted house was Chen Ge's foundation. As visitor numbers climbed, so did the number of troublemakers. If he showed weakness this time, things would only get worse down the line.
The Liwan Town scenario was rated three and a half stars, sitting somewhere between three-star and four-star difficulty. Chen Ge had only just unlocked it and hadn't fully explored it yet, which was why its difficulty didn't seem all that imposing.
In reality, the Liwan Town scenario still held many unknown features waiting to be uncovered — the fog that materialized out of thin air, for instance, or the hidden quests embedded within the scenario itself.
Fully mastering this scenario would require a great deal of time, and time was precisely what Chen Ge lacked most.
"I'll come back to flesh out the scenario once things calm down. Right now, I need to deal with what's right in front of me." Dressed in the Cranial Surgeon's uniform, Chen Ge stood blocking the intersection — the only escape route out of the scenario.
The bloodstained doctor's coat grew clearer through the fog. Accompanied by the screech of chains dragging across the ground, Chen Ge emerged from the mist.
Beneath the mask stitched together from fragments of a face, a pair of frigid eyes stared quietly at Li Changyin.
The gaze was nothing any living person could possess — it brimmed with an indescribable, bone-deep chill.
Li Changyin had worked at the Nightmare Academy for years and had seen plenty of actors and industry insiders. He could say with certainty that not a single one of them could produce eyes like these.
This wasn't something that could be achieved through acting alone. Those eyes had surely witnessed countless nightmares and urban legends.
His makeup was ruined, and he was trapped between a rock and a hard place. Li Changyin understood he had been cornered completely.
Running was pointless — it might even enrage the other party further. The best option now was to surrender what little resistance remained. Perhaps that way he could preserve a shred of dignity.
"You're haunted house staff, aren't you?" Li Changyin forced a smile onto his face. "I give up. Can you escort me out?"
"A visitor?" Chen Ge's voice filtered through the mask, hoarse and raspy, as though he were chewing on bone fragments between his teeth.
"Yes. I signed a liability waiver when I came in. My name is—" Li Changyin didn't get to finish before Chen Ge cut him off.
"There were no pregnant women among the visitors who came in to tour. Our cameras captured everything very clearly. A pregnant woman would never be allowed inside the haunted house. So you are definitely not a visitor." Chen Ge spoke with absolute finality, as though delivering a one-sided verdict on the matter.
"Pregnant woman? What pregnant woman? I'm a visitor, and I'm withdrawing from the tour. Please escort me out." Li Changyin was getting anxious. The other party showed no intention of letting him go and kept insisting on the pregnant woman angle — it really seemed like they intended to keep him here.
"Aren't you the pregnant woman? Both my eyes can see perfectly well. You're wearing maternity clothes, your voice is clear and bright, your features are well-defined — none of that matches any of the visitors on our surveillance footage." Chen Ge dragged the Cranial Surgeon's Hammer behind him, slowly closing the distance to Li Changyin. "Talk. Who exactly are you?"
"My name is Li Changyin! I signed your stupid waiver! That pregnant woman just now was me in costume!" Li Changyin sensed something was wrong and immediately blurted out the truth, afraid that if he waited any longer, the other party would strike without hesitation.
Chen Ge paused for a moment, then said with genuine regret, "You still won't talk, huh? Stubborn to the end. Looks like I'll have to teach you a lesson."
Hearing those words, Li Changyin nearly lost his mind. "I already told you clearly! I'm a visitor! Let me out!"