My House of Horrors

After exiting the woods, Chen Ge dropped the passenger by the side of the road. When Ol’ Zhang saw Chen Ge, he involuntarily crawled backwards.

“Ol’ Zhang, you should really give the young man a sincere thank you. If not for him stopping my car to come save you, the robber would have taken your life already.”

The other taxi driver accompanied Ol’ Zhang. He did not know what had happened, but he did see Ol’ Zhang being pressed to the ground when he arrived. The first thought that had come into his mind was robbery gone wrong since that was what they were taught in safety classes.

“You have no idea what I’ve been through,” Ol’ Zhang rambled as he pointed at Chen Ge and the ‘body’ on the ground. Then again, he would not know how to explain it. Ol’ Zhang had been through a lot that night, and Chen Ge suspected that the man would need to stay at home to rest for a long time after this.

“Are you okay?” Chen Ge held the scary-looking hammer, found his backpack, and shoved it back into it.

“Y-Yes.” Ol’ Zhang looked at Chen Ge. He could not understand why a normal person would come out late at night with such a large hammer. Technically, it was Chen Ge who had saved him and he should have been thankful, but for some reason, he felt scared looking at Chen Ge.

“Good, be careful in the future,” Chen Ge said to make the two drivers calm down. He called Captain Yan on his phone to explain the situation before the two of them. Listening to the conservation between Chen Ge and Captain Yan, Ol’ Zhang’s impression of Chen Ge slowly improved. He was a normal person who had gotten involved in something supernatural. In his mind, police were there to protect the normal people, and since Chen Ge knew the police and did save his life, he had to be a good man.

After putting his guard down, Ol’ Zhang gave it some thought. Chen Ge did not hurt him once when he took his car. Looks like I’ve misunderstood him. He’s probably a plains cloth on some special duty. This is horrible! Did he have to give up his original mission to save me? That is very common in television series.

Even though Ol’ Zhang was a normal person, he had a big heart. He had decided to try his best to say good things about Chen Ge when the police arrived. Chen Ge did not know what Ol’ Zhang was going through. He talked to them for a while and asked the taxi who had come later to drive him to the office of Ghost Talk’s radio station.

No. 5 is the radio station’s producer, and No. 12, Lychee, is the DJ tonight. The two of them have probably communicated before this.

After Lychee received the news that No. 5 had fallen, she might choose to escape and go into hiding. To prevent that from happening, Chen Ge decided to help Lychee seek ‘salvation’ instantly.

No matter the reason, if you’ve done the crime then you have to do the time.

Chen Ge messaged Captain Yan to explain his location. He used less than twenty minutes to reach his destination.

Brother, thank you for your help tonight. Go back to look after Ol’ Zhang. I’ll handle the rest.

After paying his fare, Chen Ge entered the building alone. A radio station had a high standard for its interior. If the standard did not meet the requirements, then the broadcast might be influenced. Therefore, a large radio station like Ghost Talk normally had their own recording studio, situated at the deepest part of the station. Chen Ge evaded the cameras. He stopped at the front door for a while before taking out his phone to tune into Ghost Talk.

Lychee was still telling a story. She used herself as a model and employed a curious method to explain the various changes happening around her. It was not particularly scary, but the extreme details gave the listeners chills. Looking at the list for the future shows, Chen Ge realized that Lychee planned to turn the ghost stories into a whole series until next Tuesday.

She’s planning to personally make her own ghost story? Those who listen to her broadcast might have accidents happen to them?

Chen Ge did not understand what the madwoman was thinking. He snuck into the office. The studio was soundproof, and since Lychee was inside the studio, Chen Ge was not worried about her hearing him.

There’s not even one security guard at this office. Looks like No. 5 has great confidence in his company and believed no one would come to create trouble here.

Chen Ge understood that reasoning because he too was never worried a thief might come into his Haunted House.

He still locked the door at night. However, that was not because he was afraid of thieves breaking and entering but because he was afraid of scaring innocent people, and that might draw him into unnecessary trouble.

Following the map provided on the second floor, Chen Ge took the elevator to find the studio. Then, the rest would be simple. He took out Doctor Skull-cracker’s hammer and started to wait outside the door. Lychee was still inside, recording, not knowing that danger was already so imminent.

You’re telling other people’s ghost story, not knowing you’re going to be a part of one soon.

In the dark corridor, Chen Ge held the hammer, listening to Lychee’s broadcast on his phone. There were barely several meters between them.

…

Lychee described the weird things that had happened to her inside the recording studio. In the story, she appeared as the weak victim, looking for the culprit who had ruined her life, but in reality, she was the real killer.

“The show will end here tonight. Thank you for tuning in. Wish you a wonderful dream, good night.” Lychee finished all the ghost stories at 2 am. She turned off all the equipment and sat in the chair. There was a creepy expression on her face that was different from normal.

She seemed to have gotten too attached to the ghost stories and had a hard time coming out. The recording studio was very quiet, and after a long time, a voice said, “What should I try tonight?”

She bit on her own fingers and rambled to herself. This was the real her. When she had just arrived at the station, she had been very afraid. A girl had to tell ghost stories in the middle of the night and then leave the silent building to go back home.

For the high pay, she had forced herself to continue, but after some time, perhaps because she had gotten used to the terror or she had reached the threshold for fear, she no longer felt as scared. However, as she lost the sensation for fear, her mind and heart started to morph into something abnormal.

She liked to see herself as the monsters inside the story. She liked to hide herself in the darkness and would not be afraid of anything.

“There’s still some meat inside the fridge, but today, I can change up the cooking method.”

Lychee’s voice was as beautiful as before. She moved her ruined hand away, and there was fresh blood left on her lips.