Chapter 0709: You Are No Longer Alone

Even with President Bai's considerable composure, his face turned green the moment he heard what Chen Ge said.

Chen Ge never followed the usual script when he spoke. He was blunt to a fault.

If you think there's something wrong with my haunted house, then come inside and experience it yourself. Only with firsthand experience do you have the right to pass judgment.

President Bai naturally wouldn't agree to Chen Ge's suggestion. What a joke—professional haunted house actors had been scared unconscious the moment they went in. Walking in there himself was practically "throwing his life away."

"I still have some matters to handle later. I'll definitely come have a good experience when the opportunity arises." President Bai forced an awkward smile. After refusing Chen Ge, his presence had already diminished compared to before.

"That's really a pity. When you want to come next time, remember to give me a heads-up in advance. I'll arrange a VIP experience for you." Chen Ge's haunted house VIP service was a solo tour—one visitor, accompanied by nine haunted house actors disguised as fellow tourists, exploring a three-and-a-half-star scenario: Liwan Town.

"Let's not talk about this for now." President Bai sensed that if the conversation continued, the situation would only become more unfavorable. He pulled out his phone and made a call: "Xiao Shuang, bring Li Changyin up here. Don't be afraid—Director Luo and Chen Ge are not unreasonable people. They won't do anything to you."

A few minutes later, footsteps sounded outside the door. A pair of twin brothers helped Li Changyin into Director Luo's office.

Chen Ge had seen all of these people before. They were all employees of Nightmare Academy.

"This fellow looks familiar—seems like he visited my haunted house." Chen Ge recognized Li Changyin at a single glance.

Li Changyin didn't dare look at Chen Ge. Supported by the twins, he sat down in the corner of the room.

"Changyin, tell Chen Ge what you saw in the haunted house." President Bai seemed to have regained the initiative.

Everyone in the room turned to look at Li Changyin. His expression was panicked, and his body still trembled involuntarily at the memory of what had happened that day.

Raising his head, Li Changyin stole a glance at Chen Ge. The terror deep in his pupils was impossible to conceal.

"It's him!"

After blurting out those three cryptic words, Li Changyin's lips turned purple and he gasped for air. "Ghosts! There are ghosts in that haunted house!"

"Are you here to run some kind of scam? Isn't having ghosts in a haunted house perfectly normal?" Chen Ge leaned back on the sofa with a helpless expression.

"They're real ghosts! His haunted house is really haunted! Those ghosts are real! No living person could possibly pull off that kind of performance!" Li Changyin's thoughts gradually became clearer and his speech more fluent.

"Just because you at Nightmare Academy can't create that kind of feeling doesn't mean no one else can." Chen Ge was getting impatient. His tone held no disrespect, but the way he looked at Li Changyin was as if he were staring at garbage. "Instead of reflecting on your own shortcomings, you spend every day trying to bring others down. Even if my haunted house goes out of business, yours still won't be able to attract visitors."

"No! I'm certain those things aren't human! This absolutely cannot be an effect that humans are capable of producing!" Li Changyin's eyes reddened.

"I understand. As a professional haunted house actor, you went to another haunted house to cause trouble, only to end up scared unconscious yourself—losing both face and dignity. So now you've come up with this idea to escape reality." Chen Ge's analysis was spot-on.

"I've been a haunted house actor for five years. I know more about haunted houses than you ever could. I understand the ceiling of this industry—"

Li Changyin wanted to say more, but Chen Ge cut him off without ceremony: "Is five years a long time? My parents started running mobile haunted houses ten years ago. I grew up cuddling ghost props. While you were still running around in your diaper learning pinyin, I was already assembling mannequins."

Chen Ge stood up. "When people don't see eye to eye, there's no point in saying more. The ceiling you're talking about is only the ceiling you believe in—and it's only your ceiling."

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave, Chen Ge. Give me some face." President Bai stood up directly as well, feeling he had already given Chen Ge more than enough face. "Changyin is still young and stubborn. Why don't you just bring out those actors who scared him back then, so he can put this matter to rest once and for all?"

Chen Ge glanced at Director Luo. After exchanging a look, he stopped in his tracks. "Changyin, you say my haunted house really has ghosts—then tell me specifically, what ghosts did you encounter in my haunted house?"

He walked toward Li Changyin. His pupils contracted, and with every step forward, Li Changyin shrank back until he was pressed flat against the sofa.

"You're that afraid of me? Do you think I'm a ghost too?" After surviving so many trial missions on the Black Phone, Chen Ge had long since been tempered with a distinctive, intimidating presence.

"I can't be certain about the other actors, because my memory is a bit hazy. But there's a middle-aged man in the restaurant—I remember him very clearly! He is definitely not human!" Li Changyin gritted his teeth. "Do you dare bring him here and let me confront him face to face?"

"A middle-aged man in the restaurant?" Chen Ge frowned. Based on the other's description, it sounded like Zhang Jingjiu.

But the key question was—why would Li Changyin be so certain that Zhang Jingjiu was a ghost? As a newcomer, Zhang Jingjiu would sometimes even scare himself. How had he managed to make Li Changyin mistake him for a real ghost?

"Is this some kind of conspiracy?" Chen Ge couldn't figure it out.

"Scared now, aren't you? There's no such person in your haunted house, is there!" Li Changyin's eyes were bloodshot. His brain had developed differently from the average person from a young age, and his way of thinking was rather extreme. "Don't even think about finding some random person to stand in—I have photos of him!"

With trembling hands, Li Changyin pulled his phone from his pocket and opened the photo gallery. There were several pictures of Zhang Jingjiu inside.

All of these photos had been secretly taken by Li Changyin while he was disguised as a pregnant woman, before he made contact with Zhang Jingjiu.

"Why aren't you speaking? What are you hesitating for? The photos are perfectly clear—bring this person here right now!" Li Changyin felt he had come thoroughly prepared. He was grateful to himself for the foresight to take photos in advance. The only regret was that he had only managed to photograph Zhang Jingjiu—after that, he had fled in a panic, with no time to take any more.

"You've also worked in a haunted house for five years. You should know that taking photos inside a haunted house is extremely improper. I'll be keeping these photos. In a few days, I'll personally pay Nightmare Academy a visit to demand an explanation." Upon seeing the photos, Chen Ge actually calmed down.

"Don't try to stall for time!" Li Changyin's voice was loud. He insisted on his position.

"Wait here." Chen Ge turned and walked out of Director Luo's office, returning to the haunted house to bring out Zhang Jingjiu, who was still studying acting techniques.

"Bring the makeup remover—we're going to meet an old friend." On the way, Chen Ge explained a few things to Zhang Jingjiu, who immediately understood what was going on.

When Chen Ge knocked on the door and entered Director Luo's office with Zhang Jingjiu, the temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees.

"This is the actor from the photos. His name is Zhang Jingjiu."

Everyone turned to look at Zhang Jingjiu. His face was made up by Chen Ge, and even standing in the brightly lit office, making eye contact with him was still terrifying.

"I'm sorry I scared you that day. I didn't expect you to be so timid. I sincerely apologize." Zhang Jingjiu walked toward Li Changyin, but Li Changyin let out a scream and leaped to his feet.

"No! He's a ghost! He really is a ghost!"

"Pay him no mind." Chen Ge handed the makeup remover to Zhang Jingjiu. "Go ahead and remove your makeup here. I'll redo it when we get back."

"Sure." Zhang Jingjiu removed his makeup in front of everyone. Once he took off his outer jacket, he looked like an entirely different person.

There was nothing scary about him at all. He looked just like the average office worker you'd see on the subway.

"Your haunted house ghosts even take off their makeup?" Zhang Jingjiu placed the makeup remover in front of the three Nightmare Academy employees.

Facts spoke louder than words. The twins hurried to their feet and apologized: "We're sorry. The makeup effects at your haunted house really are impressive. We were being rash. Our apologies."

"No need to apologize. I'll also be visiting your haunted house for some research in the future."

The Nightmare Academy employees could tell that Chen Ge was somewhat angry.

After they finished apologizing, they slunk away in embarrassment.

President Bai remained in Director Luo's office, feeling somewhat awkward himself, though he managed to maintain a semblance of composure.

"Xiao Chen, that'll be all for you. You can head back first." Director Luo wore a satisfied smile on his face. It seemed he had other matters to "discuss" with President Bai.

"All right." Chen Ge suspected that Director Luo was about to take President Bai for a serious financial ride. The two of them shared a wordless understanding.

On the way back, Chen Ge noticed that Zhang Jingjiu kept his head lowered the entire time, as though there were words weighing on his heart.

"Jingjiu? If something's on your mind, just say it. We've been through life and death together—is there anything you can't tell me?" Chen Ge's voice was warm. He had a way of giving people strength without even trying.

"Am I causing trouble for you again? I feel like I'm completely useless—I can't even scare the visitors properly, I drag down our haunted house's average performance, and now I've brought trouble to the whole place." Zhang Jingjiu's voice carried a bitter edge. "Ever since I was young, I've been a burden on my family. Because of my mother's situation, I took all my resentment out on my father, blaming him for everything. I ran away from all my responsibilities. Looking back now, I realize what a terrible person I've been."

"I've seen you studying acting in the haunted house these past few days, but I've always felt you're holding yourself back. The impression I get is that you've locked yourself inside a little cage." Standing in the office building, Chen Ge gazed out the window at the scenery below, overlooking the entire amusement park. "Everyone goes through periods of confusion, and everyone has their own unique personal charm. What you need to do now is unlock the chains in your heart and release your true self. When you have time, go back to Xinhai and see your father. Just talk things through—everything will be fine."

Chen Ge patted Zhang Jingjiu on the shoulder. "Pull yourself together. You're one of the very few employees I can truly count on right now. I'm planning to have you lead operations at a branch in another city in the future—to carry the banner on your own."

"Thank you."

"No need for thanks. I have very few employees, and I consider each and every one of them family." Chen Ge brought Zhang Jingjiu back to the haunted house, told him to continue playing the role of the restaurant owner, and went into the staff break room to look up information on the Left Eye film crew. He planned to set out tonight.

"The Spirit Channeling Ghost School mission closes in two days. Whether or not Zhang Ya has awakened, I need to go through with this mission. Otherwise, all the prerequisite missions I completed beforehand will have been for nothing." Chen Ge stared at his own shadow in a daze for a moment, then picked up the desk calendar. "Today is June eleventh. The amusement park's peak season is about to begin, and Virtual Future Park is opening soon. I really don't have much time left."

Zhang Ya was in slumber. Xu Yin was severely injured. Going to challenge a four-star scenario—the Spirit Channeling Ghost School—under these circumstances was an incredibly dangerous thing to do.

Chen Ge understood all of this, but right now he had no other choice. Abandoning the Spirit Channeling Ghost School mission would mean that everything he had done up to this point had been for nothing.

"I'll go take a look. Hopefully, I can still come back."

His gaze swept to the corner of the desk, where a photo sat—his parents and himself together. Chen Ge shook his head gently.

In that family portrait, his parents stood in the center. His mother seemed to be cradling something, and his father was pointing happily at the haunted house behind them. Chen Ge stood alone on the far left.

His pupils contracted. Chen Ge could see that what his mother was holding was Director Luo's daughter—the guardian spirit, as innocent as an angel.