Most immersive horror houses assigned visitors identities to help them better immerse themselves in the storyline. Nightmare Academy was no exception.
In this haunted house, all visitors played the role of freshmen, gradually encountering the various urban legends on campus step by step.
By rights, Chen Ge's identity was also that of a freshman, but he clearly lacked the mindset of one. The other visitors were thinking about solving puzzles and clearing the stage. He, on the other hand, was thinking about becoming the new nightmare.
It wasn't like Chen Ge had wanted to trek all the way out to Xinhai, either. But who told Nightmare Academy to strike first?
He passed through the dim, eerie corridors, feeling rather satisfied with this building.
Located on the most prosperous commercial street in Xinhai, and thanks to the peculiar terrain that prevented sunlight from ever reaching it, the place posed no threat to his employees. The interior was spacious too — a full six floors, more than enough room for numerous haunted house scenes.
"If I were to open a branch in Xinhai, this would be the ideal spot."
Of course, the other party wouldn't hand over the venue for free, so Chen Ge was only entertaining the thought for now.
"Hey, you in the back! Don't fall behind!" The other visitors had gone quite far ahead before noticing Chen Ge was still lingering in the rear. Someone called out impatiently.
Led by the doctor, the group finally arrived outside a large classroom.
"Go on in. The freshman welcome ceremony is held in this classroom. If you're lucky, you might even get to meet the principal." With that, the doctor left. Several visitors stood outside the classroom door, watching him walk slowly away.
"Just like that?" Xueli clutched Li Yuan, muttering softly. "Not even a hint?"
The visitors stood in the dim corridor. Nobody dared be the first to go in. They all turned their gaze to Chen Ge in unison.
Aside from Li Yuan, Chen Ge was the only adult male among the visitors.
"My approach to haunted houses might be a little different from yours. If you're counting on me, I'd recommend running fast when the time comes," Chen Ge warned lightly. He had a natural fondness for visitors who came to haunted houses — it was practically an occupational hazard.
He pushed open the classroom doors, and the stench of blood hit him in the face. The Nightmare Academy freshman welcome ceremony was where the nightmare truly began!
The classroom was filled with rows of battered desks. On the chairs sat life-size doll mannequins. A projector hummed on the podium, and a corpse model hung from the blackboard.
Sealed windows, eerie lighting, paired with spine-tingling background music — the atmosphere of terror was conjured in an instant.
"The smell coming off that corpse model is eighty or ninety percent similar to the real thing. How did they manage that? Livestock blood smeared under the clothes?" Inside and outside the door were two different worlds. The moment Chen Ge stepped into the classroom, his tone shifted entirely. "They dare call themselves the largest haunted house in Xinhai — they clearly have some skill."
Once Chen Ge rushed into the classroom, Xueli prepared to follow, but just as she was about to step forward, Li Yuan grabbed her arm.
"What are you doing? You startled me!" Xueli clutched her chest and glared at Li Yuan.
Li Yuan made exaggerated faces at her, and only after pulling her close did he lean in and whisper in her ear, "Did you notice what he just said? That guy said the smell coming off that corpse model was eighty or ninety percent similar to the real thing."
"So what?" Xueli still hadn't caught on.
"My dear foolish wife, it means he's probably seen a real corpse!" Li Yuan was losing his composure. Challenging the largest haunted house in Xinhai was already daunting enough, and now it turned out some of his teammates weren't exactly normal, either. What were they supposed to do?