"
"Chairman Luo once told me that a person needs to have the bigger picture in mind. My trip to Xinhai serves two purposes — first, to send a warning to Nightmare Academy, and second, to get a feel for the market." Chen Ge said with a straight face. "Don't worry about it. Everything will be fine."
He pulled open the haunted house's safety door and stepped inside with Zhang Jingjiu.
"Wait here for a moment. I need to make a trip to the underground sets." Chen Ge placed most of the employees from his backpack back into their respective scenes, keeping only a small handful that were difficult to control by his side — Red High Heels, the Headless Female Ghost, and Qiumei among them.
He wasn't doing this as some form of retaliation against Nightmare Academy. He was simply concerned that if he left, these Red-coats left unsupervised in the haunted house might cause trouble.
Of course, to balance out his forces, Chen Ge also brought along
"The Skull Crusher definitely won't make it through security screening, so I'll leave that behind."
He took out the Skull Crusher, and the backpack instantly felt much lighter. Chen Ge wasn't quite used to it.
Back on the surface, Chen Ge and Zhang Jingjiu waited until the other employees arrived. After applying their makeup, the two finally set off.
At eleven in the morning, Chen Ge and Zhang Jingjiu arrived in Xinhai by car. The two cities weren't far apart, yet there was a noticeable difference in temperature.
Xinhai's average temperature ran a bit higher than Hanjiang's. As for the reason, even Chen Ge wasn't entirely sure.
"Jingjiu, spend some time with your father. You're family, after all." Chen Ge sent Zhang Jingjiu another red envelope through his phone. "Buy something nice for the old man. I won't tag along — just call me if anything comes up."
Before Zhang Jingjiu could refuse, Chen Ge was already walking out of the train station with his backpack in hand.
He looked up the location of Nightmare Academy online and hailed a cab straight there.
Unlike Chen Ge's haunted house, which was tucked inside an amusement park, Nightmare Academy occupied prime real estate on Xinhai's most bustling commercial street.
As Xinhai's most renowned and long-established haunted house, they had leased an entire building's north-facing side — the side that never saw direct sunlight.
As it happened, when the commercial street was designed, an oversight in the layout meant that one particular building's shaded facade was completely blocked by a taller structure behind it, preventing sunlight from reaching it whether in the morning or afternoon.
Most merchants were unwilling to set up shop in a building permanently cut off from the sun. Eventually, the founder of Nightmare Academy spotted the opportunity, leased the entire shaded side at a rock-bottom price, and converted it into the largest haunted house in Xinhai.
The sunny side of the building — the part that could still catch occasional sunlight — was bustling with all manner of shops and restaurants, packed with people. The other half had its doors and windows sealed tight, completely cut off from the outside world.
One side dark, one side bright, the divide razor-sharp. The place had become one of Xinhai's famous landmarks, earning high ratings online.
But that was all a few years ago. Brick-and-mortar haunted houses had been in steady decline, and fewer and fewer visitors came to Nightmare Academy.
They kept rolling out new scenes, but nothing could reverse the slide in popularity.
After paying the fare, Chen Ge stepped out at the entrance to the commercial street.
Towers rose in every direction, traffic streamed past in an endless flow, and even on a weekday, the place was packed with people.