A clamor of voices slowly filtered into his ears. His skin registered the long-absent warmth of sunlight, and his palm felt as though someone was holding it. That sensation of endlessly plummeting finally faded, and his heavy eyelids slowly cracked open a sliver.
"Doctor! Is he going to be okay? We usually pass out when we visit haunted houses too, but he's never been unconscious for this long! Is he going to wake up?"
A familiar voice reached his brain, like a call from the far shore of heaven. Consciousness gradually returned, and memories surged from the corners of his mind.
"I was touring the haunted house. Yes, I remember now."
Wang Yan tried to open his eyes, but even with every ounce of effort, he could barely lift his eyelids.
"Yang Chen? The student council president? And the senior sister from fourth year is here too? There are so many people…" Wang Yan wanted to speak, but his pale lips refused to part.
"This should be fine—don't worry. Based on our experience, he's about to regain consciousness." The doctor coughed dryly. "Don't crowd around. Disperse! Keep the air flowing."
The doctor and the amusement park staff shooed the onlookers away. Wang Yan followed their retreating figures with his eyes and realized he was lying on the steps at the entrance of the haunted house, surrounded by three or four layers of spectators craning for a look.
They were all chattering. Some had their phones out taking pictures, others were recording video, and a few had even started livestreams, broadcasting the scene in real time.
"I should've just stayed unconscious," Wang Yan thought, straining to turn his head to the side. He had no desire to become an internet celebrity because he'd fainted while touring a haunted house.
As his gaze shifted, his peripheral vision swept over the space beside him, and only then did he realize he wasn't alone.
Lined up neatly on the steps at the haunted house entrance, ten visitors lay side by side. Every face was one he knew well.
They had gone in together, and now they lay here together. Perhaps that was the bond of a team.
Seeing his teammates, the ache in Wang Yan's chest didn't feel quite so heavy. He slowly closed his eyes.
"At least… I got to be a hero for a few minutes…"
Heat waves rose into the sky. The blazing sun couldn't dampen the visitors' enthusiasm one bit. The three-and-a-half-star scenario had opened for the first time, and all ten testers had been wiped out. The spectacle could only be described as magnificent.
"Holy crap! Thank god I didn't rush in on impulse. That was the most correct decision of my entire life!"
"This new scenario is insane! Boss Chen said this is just a transitional scenario between three-star and four-star—its difficulty is only somewhere between the two!"
"If devils had their own surname, his would be Chen!"
"Boss Chen! Hello! Under your leadership, New Century Haunted House has truly reached a glorious stage, ascending to an entirely new height. Would you mind sharing how you've pulled all of this off?"
Pushing a body cart,
"First of all, I'm very gratified that the haunted house has earned everyone's recognition. This haunted house was left to me by my parents—it's my life's calling. That's really all I can say." Chen Ge scanned the crowd for Uncle Xu. His original plan had been to use this debut visit to establish the reputation of the three-and-a-half-star scenario while building momentum for the upcoming four-star scenario.