"Xiao Chen, where did you run off to? Why are you so late?" Uncle Xu grabbed Chen Ge's arm and pulled him behind himself, afraid he might get the short end of the stick.
"I just got back from the city sub-bureau. I helped the police crack a body-hiding case."
"What?"
Uncle Xu wasn't the only one stunned — the several people who had gathered around all stopped in their tracks. Wasn't the normal response supposed to be something about traffic or a bathroom break? This conversation had taken such a massive leap that it was completely off the rails!
"A body-hiding case?" Uncle Xu stared blankly at Chen Ge, suddenly forgetting what he'd been about to say.
"Yeah. It's different from that family massacre case from before — this one probably won't be made public."
There was a case before that too? A family massacre? The several people who had been aggressively closing in inexplicably lost their nerve.
"All right, leave this to me." Chen Ge stepped forward to face the group. "You were looking for me about something?"
He stood there alone, yet his presence was somehow far more imposing than the entire group blocking the entrance to the haunted house. The people blocking the door exchanged glances, and in the end, the shortest among them — a middle-aged man — was awkwardly pushed to the front.
"We're from the Qin Guang Studio. Last night you employed unfair competitive tactics by hiring an internet water army to spread rumors, causing reputational damage to Qin Guang…"
"Unfair competitive tactics? You really know how to pin labels on people. Who's copying whom — don't you know that in your own hearts?" Chen Ge cut the man off directly. "If there's nothing else, you can leave. Don't disturb the visitors."
"Qin Guang's livestream just happened to be at the same location as yours. You can't claim that anyone who streams there after you is copying your idea." The middle-aged man didn't leave and continued trying to defend his position.
"Just compare my livestream with Qin Guang's. The opening deduction in the room is completely identical, and the entire process is a copy. You still call that not plagiarism?"
"He only imitated your opening — the later parts have his own innovations. That's not plagiarism at all. At most, it's just riding the trend."
Chen Ge had never encountered anyone this brazenly shameless. When words fail to connect, even half a sentence is too much. He couldn't be bothered with the man, so he unlocked the haunted house barrier and prepared to open for business.
"You're a new streamer, and we understand your thinking. But you should know that riding on a big streamer's popularity isn't that easy." The middle-aged man pulled a document out of his bag. At first Chen Ge thought it was something like a lawyer's letter, but he had clearly overestimated the other party's resolve.
"You're not part of this circle, so there are things you don't understand. Many big streamers are built up with capital and traffic. Right now it seems like you've latched onto some buzz and things are going well, but the platform will never risk offending Qin Guang over a newcomer — because Qin Guang was promoted by the platform itself. His interests are bound up with theirs." The middle-aged man raised the document in his hand. "Same as before — cooperation benefits both sides. If you agree to stop the malicious attacks on Qin Guang and post a public apology on your profile, we'll provide you with some compensation. But if you insist on your own way, continuing to hire the water army to stir up trouble in Qin Guang's livestream and draw viewers to your own channel, then we'll contact the platform to block all your recommendation channels."
"Stop blaming the water army every time things don't go your way — they won't take that fall. The regular viewers just couldn't stand it anymore." Chen Ge couldn't care less about the threat, since the platform had never arranged any recommendations for him. He himself wasn't even sure how he had gained so many followers in the first place.
"Acting on impulse benefits nobody. Think it over some more." The middle-aged man's tone softened considerably, and there was no trace of the tough stance they'd had when blocking the door. Originally, five or six of them had come together to demand answers, all bristling with aggression — yet before they'd even gotten close, a single sentence from Chen Ge had thrown their entire plan into disarray.
Really, it wasn't their fault. How was anyone supposed to predict that Chen Ge would open his mouth and immediately start talking about body-hiding cases and family massacres? It was just too terrifying to hear.
"No need to think it over. I already know what the selling point of my short videos and livestreams are. Even if I'm forced off this platform, I can quickly gather followers again." Chen Ge shooed the Qin Guang Studio people off to the side and told Xu Wan to get ready for opening.
He'd been running around all night and was genuinely exhausted. He sat outside handling ticket sales.
After the first few groups of visitors finished their experience, the Qin Guang Studio people came skulking back.
"Why are you lot like dog-fur plaster — can't you stop blocking the way if you're not visiting?" Even mud figures have three parts temper. Chen Ge felt he'd been quite polite before, but these people just wouldn't stop pestering him.
"Who said we're not visiting? We want to go into your haunted house and see for ourselves just how scary this so-called most terrifying haunted house in Jiujiang really is." Two young men from Qin Guang Studio slung their bags over their shoulders and planted themselves in front of the barrier gate.
"You want to come in too?" A weasel paying a New Year's call to a chicken — never good intentions. Chen Ge couldn't figure out what these people were really after. He had a nagging feeling they had ulterior motives.
"If you're afraid we'll expose your false advertising, then we won't go in." One of the two young men was stocky and clearly worked out regularly. He wore a tank top, deliberately showing off his muscles.
The young man's bravado actually made Chen Ge laugh. "Don't say I didn't warn you — the last person who said that walked in standing up and was carried out lying down."
"Talking like that only makes me want to try it more." Beside the stocky young man stood a bespectacled fellow who looked quite mild-mannered. "I've loved horror films since I was little. Before Brother Qin recruited me into the studio, I followed a few horror film crews on set. Unfortunately, the sets they built were all so fake — there was absolutely no feeling to them."
"I really admire people who like to seek thrills." Chen Ge pulled aside the light-blocking black curtain. "Come on in — sign the liability waiver first."
Free test subjects delivered right to his door — how could Chen Ge possibly turn them away? His smile became noticeably more genuine.
Uncle Xu, standing nearby, saw the look on Chen Ge's face and couldn't help but shudder. His mind flashed back to the forensic medicine students who had been scattered all over the floor.
He coughed once and stepped in to stop Chen Ge. "Xiao Chen, don't go overboard. Right now they're visitors."
"Quite the performance — are you starting the foreplay already?" Before Chen Ge could even speak, the bespectacled young man chimed in, believing he'd seen through the whole charade. His expression was dripping with disdain. "I read the reviews on Dianping before I came. Someone said the haunted house owner knows a little psychology. Seeing it in person, I can confirm it's not just talk."
Uncle Xu looked at him speechlessly. Psychology, my foot! If it weren't for the fact that someone might actually die in there, I wouldn't bother with you people!
"I know what I'm doing. Don't worry." Chen Ge led the two young men into the haunted house and watched them personally sign the liability waivers.
The one in the tank top with the stocky build was named Zhu Jianing. The bespectacled, thinner one was named Fei Youliang.