Dozens of scenes, large and small, formed a labyrinthine maze—some were expansive, while others were merely a single room.
Wandering aimlessly with the key, Chen Ge discovered that many of the scenes were interconnected internally, each offering a different method of completion.
"Didn't the visitors say the haunted house was full of old objects? How come I haven't seen a single one? Or maybe most of these objects aren't imbued with any obsessions. Maybe Jiang Jiu only brought them in to cover for the shrine and the old house."
"No, that's not right. I think I missed one. There was a wind chime in the Cursed House—something seemed attached to it."
Unwilling to leave any loose ends, Chen Ge cut back through a shortcut, only to cause another commotion.
He first returned to the hotel scene, retrieving his wristwatch, clothes, and backpack. Then he removed the planks blocking the path and entered the Cursed House.
The moment he stepped inside, he sensed something was wrong. Down the distant corridor, lights flickered, and a crowd of people was heading his way.
"The staff from outside have finally dared to come in."
The tour hadn't been forcibly halted, and the central computer hadn't been shut down. Under these circumstances, the manager of the Reincarnation Haunted House had gathered a full fifteen employees before daring to go in for a "rescue."
"Everyone, be careful! The staff inside have lost contact! All of you, stay sharp!"
"Boss, I think one of our employees is having issues on the surveillance. Are we sure we shouldn't call the police?"
"This is only the second day our park has been open! If the police show up now, do you know what that implies? Many people already have objections to our park's holographic technology, believing this kind of hundred-percent immersive experience can damage the brain and the five senses. Calling the cops would be handing them a weapon to attack us with!"
"But..."
"If things get serious enough, I'll call the police myself—don't you tell me what to do! Now, everyone follow my orders! And hurry—go chase away those media people by the exit!"
"Brother Jiang, we've identified the actor who was playing the chainsaw killer. His name is Li Xiaoyi, a long-time employee of ours."
"How could a long-time employee suddenly have problems? Did he visit that central mansion in the haunted house?"
"Don't know..."
Hearing their conversation, Chen Ge realized he had no chance to look for the wind chime and quietly slipped away.
"Could that 'Brother Jiang' the employee mentioned be Jiang Jiu?"
There was no point in staying any longer. Chen Ge prepared to leave.
...
Opening the rusted iron door before him, the wandering projections outside all vanished. The crying and laughter within the haunted house faded away, and a beam of light fell upon Chen Ge.
Stairs leading upward appeared before him. Treading on them, Chen Ge returned to the surface.
"Someone's out! Someone made it out!"
"After all that commotion, someone finally came out safely!"
"The Virtual Future Amusement Park's haunted house is terrifying!"