My House of Horrors

“I think we’re almost near the end. No wonder Boss Chen calls this place a Third Sick Hall—stay here long enough, and those without sickness will also go crazy.”

“I wonder how the workers manage to survive. Working at such realistic location every day, looking at this insane writing on the wall, Boss Chen must have provided them with some counselling.”

“Now that you mention it, we’ve been here for about ten minutes already, but we have not seen one Haunted House worker.”

“Stop chattering. We’re rounding the corner. Be careful of things jumping out at you.”

The few visitors took seven minutes to reach the end of the corridor. They kept their backs against the wall, and when they looked down the corner, they were stunned. “More corridor?”

The setting was almost the same: old walls, cracked floor, endless blood writings, and the dolls wrapped up in mattresses. The only difference was that the colors on the wall had deepened, and looking through the cracks, things like blood vessels could be seen.

“A background loop?” Standing at the corner, Han Qiuming frowned and uttered a term that was unfamiliar to outsiders.

“Isn’t this a repetition of the earlier set?” Luoluo and Xiao Du heard the term for the first time.

“It looks the same, but every repetition, there are some changes that have escaped your attention. When you’re at your most vulnerable, the scary stuff will appear all at once.”

Han Qiuming confidently said, “I’ve seen this before at an overseas Haunted House called Recurring Nightmare. The whole scenario was made up of nine rooms, and each room was scarier than the one before it. Most importantly, the nine rooms could be freely moved, so you had no idea what kind of stuff had been added to the rooms after you opened the door.”

“You’re talking about individual rooms that are easier to manipulate, but here, the whole corridor is decorated the same way.” Gou Miao touched the wall and said softly, “Everything here has an authentic touch to it; it’s like Boss Chen has moved a real mental hospital into the Haunted House. I don’t know why I think that, but I have a feeling I’m right.”

“Ol’ Guo, you’re being too sensitive.” Han Qiuming chuckled. “Ever since you came back from the hospital where Xu Zhenzhen committed suicide, you have turned into a coward. As the operators of Haunted Houses, we live on fear and terror. If you’re so afraid, how do you expect to scare others?”

“Qiuming, it’s something I also did not believe in initially, but after some more interactions, you’ll see what I mean.”

“From how I see it, you’re regressing.” Han Qiuming and Guo Miao faced each other. “For real though, you managed to take it even though your place was taken down on the first day of work? Do you know how much effort and time we have spent to prepare for our opening day? Yet it was all ruined by that Chen fella. Even then, you still think he is a good man? You plan to have a truce with him? Have you lost your mind, or have you gone senile?”

“Qiuming, this is not boss’ fault.” Song An’s voice was low. “If anything, it is your fault for suddenly changing the advertisement. You had to add that we’re the scariest Haunted House in Jiujiang, slandering other people’s names.”

“So, you mean the fault lies with me?” Han Qiuming’s face dropped. “Tian Teng Medical School is the latest enclosed Haunted House that I personally designed, combining my years of experience. It even has a hidden plot. I admit that his Haunted House has some points that we can learn from, but compared to my design, his is still too juvenile.”

“I’m not going to argue with you. You were not there that day, so you don’t understand what happened.”

“If I was there, things would have gone differently. As Haunted House workers, you were scared out of the Haunted House by a visitor. You’ve been made the laughingstock within the industry.” Han Qiuming’s single sentence had insulted all the workers there, but he did not seem to mind it. “Looks like we’ll need to increase your training after we return.”

“Qiuming, we can talk about this later; there are other visitors with us.” Guo Miao brushed Han Qiuming’s needling words off.

“Yes, when we return, I’ll need to have a chat with our sponsor. I feel like you’ve become too old to be the proprietor of this business anymore.”

In his anger, Song An roared at Han Qiuming, “Han Qiuming! Boss has been nothing but kind to you. Don’t cross the line!”

“I’ve crossed the line? Every single decision I’ve made is for the benefit of the Haunted House. Tian Teng Medical School has been redesigned four times already, and I’m the one responsible for three of them.” Han Qiuming chuckled. “You all know how good they were.”

“Incorporating a real case into the Haunted House and using a dead victim’s name as a prop to send us to court, that’s the good effect you’re talking about?”

“Sorry, but I’m only interested in the result. Based on the data, after including the dead Xu Zhenzhen, the ticket sales increased by five times.” Han Qiuming shrugged. After all, he had the right to be proud. “It was me who saved your career. Plus, please remember that I’m the designer that your sponsor begged to come help you, and you’re just a worker hired by the Haunted House.”

“Using actual cases as material and using a dead person’s name to attract attention. When you were designing it, did you consider the feelings of the victim’s families?”

“Now you’re turning on me? Why didn’t any of you say anything in the beginning?”

“Stop arguing!” Guo Miao pulled Han Qiuming and Song An away from each other, “We can resolve this when we return. Boss Chen cleared our Haunted House alone, and if we fail to clear his with so many of us, that will be a real source of shame.”

Han Qiuming and Song An both harbored a stomach full of fire, and it helped to overwhelm the fear in their hearts.

“Who has the time to argue with person like this‽” Song An strode forward alone.

“Ol’ Song, don’t walk away on yourself!” Afraid that something bad might happen to Song An, Guo Miao chased after the man, moving a distance away from the rest of the group.

“There are indeed all sorts of people in the world.” Han Qiuming walked easily at the back. When he first entered the Third Sick Hall, he had been shocked by what he saw, but now, he felt much better.

He turned back to look. “The three of you stick close to me. We have ten minutes left, but don’t worry, I’ll clear this scenario. Honestly, this Haunted House might be something within the country, but compared to those foreign Haunted Houses, it’s nothing.”

“Mr. Han, I understand what you’re trying to say, but there’s something that I want to confirm with you.” Xiao Du was at the back of the group. His face was blanched. He had not paid attention to the argument between Han Qiuming and Song An because his attention had been occupied elsewhere.

“What is it?”

“Didn’t you say the mannequins wouldn’t get within five meters of us?”

Xiao Du pointed behind them, and those incredibly real mannequins had all entered the Third Sick Hall!

The leading mannequin was the female student with a nametag. Her head was lowered, and she stood only three to four meters away from Xiao Du.