But happiness had arrived so suddenly — Chen Ge had no idea what had made Shangguan Qinghong change his mind overnight.
"Maybe he realized the gap between his haunted house and mine. I'll have to visit him in the hospital when I get the chance."
With the contract in hand, Chen Ge stepped out of
A long line still stretched out in front of the Horror House. Many visitors had traveled from far away specifically for it, so they queued patiently, hoping to squeeze in as many scenes as possible.
Among them were quite a few internet celebrities and self-media workers. Chen Ge's haunted house provided them with a wealth of content, and in return they contributed a great deal of online buzz.
Filming inside a haunted house? Other haunted houses would never allow it — only Chen Ge's Horror House was special enough to bend the rules.
Back in the employee lounge, Chen Ge tucked the contract away.
Director Luo had urged him to go check out the Xinhai property as soon as possible and to ask for whatever he needed, but Chen Ge wasn't quite ready to make the trip.
Hanjiang was where he'd grown up. He felt a deep, almost inexplicable bond with this land. Despite the countless strange tales lurking within the city, just standing on this ground gave him an inexplicable sense of safety — as though some invisible force was watching over him.
Xinhai, on the other hand, was a city Chen Ge barely knew. The Cursed Hospital had probably already laid out a web of traps, just waiting for him to walk right into them.
"Before I go to Xinhai, I need to prepare thoroughly. Not only do I have to bring my Red Robe employees, I also need to give Captain Yan a heads-up so his colleagues in Xinhai can keep their eyes open." Chen Ge had run into the Xinhai police before — the very first time he'd gone there, he'd been hauled off by officers after jumping out of a second-story window at the haunted house, getting a personal ride in a Xinhai patrol car.
"The police and the public are one big family. I'm going to Xinhai because I want to help maintain local public safety. I'm sure the Xinhai police will understand."
Lying on his bed, Chen Ge pulled out his comic album and the Black Phone, carefully reviewing every employee's profile and committing each one's abilities to memory.
"There's still a lot to do. Besides, the one who should be panicking right now isn't me. The Cursed Hospital lost a Vicious God for no apparent reason — they'll definitely keep sending people to Hanjiang to investigate. All I have to do is deal with whoever they send, and I can keep whittling down their strength."
After Mingtai's soul had been obliterated, Chen Ge's pressure had eased considerably. One might even say he was gradually seizing the initiative.
Xiao Sun had been taken by Old
The other employees were all busy with their own tasks, gearing up for the final mission.
A little after nine in the evening, Chen Ge walked out of the Horror House carrying his backpack. Several Red Robes accompanied him — he was going to help Zhang Wenyu fulfill the last wishes of the deceased, and maybe make a few new friends along the way.
He spent the entire night at it, helping Zhang Wenyu with several more tasks. By now, Zhang Wenyu trusted him completely, believing Chen Ge to be one of those rare people you almost never encounter in this world.
Truth be told, many of the employees around him had already noticed something Chen Ge himself hadn't yet realized — he was an extraordinarily charismatic person. He could give the desperate courage and strength. He possessed an exceptional capacity for empathy, able to understand other people's pain and listen to their past.
"Is it because bringing so many Red Robes along is too conspicuous? Why didn't I run into a single Obsession the entire night?" After a moment of reflection, Chen Ge decided he needed to change his approach. "This city is too big. Searching for fierce ghosts like this is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I need a more efficient method."
With that, he pulled out the Black Phone and tapped a certain page. A bizarre black roulette wheel appeared on the screen.
"I'm now a Red Robe's Blessed One. If I draw ten more fierce ghosts, my Title will upgrade again."
A Title upgrade meant Chen Ge would gain the favor of more spirits and earn their goodwill more easily — but it also meant he'd have to endure greater calamities and misfortunes.
"If my Title upgrades again, I'm not sure I can handle it. Also — does this roulette only have fierce ghosts on it? Damn! The wheel clearly lists all these great things, yet I keep landing on the ultra-rare fierce ghosts. Am I Sun Xiaojun's long-lost brother or something?"
The sky outside was already starting to lighten. Chen Ge put the Black Phone away. "I'll catch some sleep. After I finish applying makeup for the employees, I'll head over to Virtual Future Park. Their park has a nice environment — perfect for a draw."
At nine in the morning,
"Uncle Xu, I need to step out for a bit — I'll leave things in your hands."
Chen Ge picked up his backpack and took a taxi to Virtual Future Park.
He bought tickets online and scanned his ID to collect them — the moment he did, every machine in the self-service ticketing area lit up with red warning lights.
A moment later, three Virtual Future Park staff members rushed over, shadowing him the entire time. Anyone watching from the side would have assumed some VIP was making a "secret inspection."
"You're making me very uncomfortable like this," Chen Ge said, sandwiched between three employees as they escorted him. "Right now I'm just an ordinary, everyday visitor. Relax, would you?"
He'd only come to try his luck at the roulette, but being stared at by this many people was making him a bit self-conscious.
"Boss Chen, we don't want to do this either, but…" One of the younger staff members started to explain, only to be cut off by an older colleague.
None of them said anything more — they just kept following Chen Ge.
"Suit yourselves." Chen Ge wandered over to Virtual Future Park's haunted house and checked the leaderboard. The second-place entry was closing in, only five thousand points behind him. A flicker of alarm went through his mind. "Since I'm already here, I might as well go in and play through it. The ticket wasn't cheap — it'd be a waste not to."
Chen Ge walked up to the console and started mashing buttons without any particular preference, selecting every scene one by one before checking the box for Hell Mode.
Virtual Future Park appeared to have specifically taken precautions against Chen Ge. The machine could no longer mix all fifty-plus scenes at once — instead, the system would automatically cull the selection down to ten scenes for the visitor to experience.
Under the watchful, wary eyes of the staff, Chen Ge entered Virtual Future Park's haunted house. A private showing, just for him — that was the kind of clout Chen Ge carried.
Listening to the eerie music piped through the speakers, Chen Ge looked as relaxed as if he were strolling through his own backyard, ambling through the haunted house with the laid-back air of an art-house film connoisseur.
After breezing through two scenes without breaking a sweat, Chen Ge found a blind spot hidden from the surveillance cameras. He quietly pulled out the Black Phone, swiped the screen, and tapped a certain page.
"I've racked up quite a few Scare Points without even noticing. Should I go for a ten-draw right here? Since I got the Black Phone, I've never actually done one before."
"
Chen Ge gradually talked himself into it. In truth, he already knew the drawing process was safe — or at least, no accidents had ever happened during a draw before.
Staring at the roulette wheel on his phone, Chen Ge took a deep breath. "I refuse to believe a ten-draw will land on fierce ghosts ten times in a row."