My House of Horrors

 “Auntie sure cares about you.”

“Of course.” Inspector Lee put his phone away, and his face twisted with confusion. “Wait, just who do you think you are? You call me uncle and my wife auntie?”

He waited for an answer, but it never came. He turned and realized Chen Ge had already fallen asleep. When the police car arrived at New Century Park, Chen Ge was shaken awake by Inspector Lee. The former left the car in a sort of daze, carrying his backpack.

“Be careful at all times! Zhang Peng is still out there. Based on the current situation and his twisted mentality, he might give up everything just to take revenge on you,” Inspector Lee reminded Chen Ge.

“I know.” The mention of Zhang Peng did wake Chen Ge up slightly. He waved at Inspector Lee before turning to enter New Century Park. The elderly guard was already asleep. Even as Chen Ge walked through the front door, he did not wake up.

Tonight’s reward is quite valuable. I can ask for a favor from Zhang Ya since I’ve completed her Bloody Heart Mission, but would it be too much of a waste to have her eliminate the mirror monster for me?

Chen Ge pulled out the black phone and clicked into Zhang Ya’s page. The affection level had been raised from “Crazy about you” to “Yours forever.”

I’ll need to study this closer so that I maximize the usability of this chance.

As he entered the Haunted House, Chen Ge did not exit the page but continued reading through the details on Zhang Ya.

When I have enough money, perhaps I should rent myself a room outside. Sleeping in the staff breakroom feels weird after a while, Chen Ge thought to himself as he walked down the dark corridor. He was familiar with every corner of this Haunted House; even without light, he wouldn’t knock into anything.

When he passed the first-floor toilet, the wooden door creaked as if blown by the wind. The wooden door was not sturdy to begin with, and after being assaulted by Chen Ge using the mallet, the door itself had become misshapen. He tried to close the door as best as he could, but when he walked toward it, he noticed that the window in the toilet was half open.

Did I forget to close the window when I left? The sky outside the window was brightening. Chen Ge stood at the window to inspect it. He didn’t see anything like a footprint near or on it. It’s probably due to the recent high amount of stress.

Even so, Chen Ge grabbed the mop that was leaning against the wall as he headed toward the control room. The Haunted House was fitted with cameras that covered every corner. A simple look at them would confirm for Chen Ge whether someone had snuck in or not.

Pushing open the control room door, Chen Ge sat before the computer and booted up the computer. All the surveillance footage was stored inside this computer. Chen Ge looked for the ID of the camera at the entrance of the toilet and pulled up the video.

He thought he was being overly cautious, but several minutes later, Chen Ge did discover a strange man on screen!

The man had his head lowered and quickly rushed down the corridor once he exited the toilet.

Someone did come in; there’s another person hiding in this Haunted House other than myself! That woke Chen Ge up completely. The man seems to know there’s a camera at the entrance of the toilet and knows where he’s going. This means that he has probably been inside the building before.

There were several cameras installed on the corridor. After the mysterious man disappeared from the camera, Chen Ge searched for the ID of the next camera, which was placed at the corner of the corridor that led to the toilet. On the second video feed, it was shown that the strange man turned into the control room once he raced down the corridor.

He headed for the control room directly, probably to destroy the evidence. This man knows the layout of my Haunted House very well.

There was only one name in Chen Ge’s mind, and just as he was about to continue his investigation, he saw himself on screen.

The video has rolled onto the present. That’s me holding the black phone and the mop as I entered the control room… Wait, this means that the man hasn’t left! Just as Chen Ge saw himself on screen, he grabbed the mop next to him and turned around!

The locker that was about two meters behind him was shoved open, and a man with bloodshot eyes, holding a sharp knife in his hand, jumped out from it!

“Zhang Peng!” Chen Ge screamed when he saw the man’s twisted features. Probably agitated by Chen Ge’s voice, Zhang Peng charged at him with the knife. Chen Ge calmed down quickly from the initial shock. He opened the room door that was behind him and retreated as he deflected Zhang Peng’s assault.

Even though Zhang Peng was handicapped, he fought with the passion of one who did not want his life anymore. The man knew this was the end of the line, and what he wanted now was someone to join him in death. Chen Ge evaded left and right as he moved toward the maintenance room. He looked like he was cornered, but that was part of his plan.

Zhang Peng had put his life on the line, so escape was out of question. He needed to fight back, but the wooden mop in his hand wouldn’t harm Zhang Peng, so Chen Ge was reminded of Dr. Skull-cracker’s iron hammer. Earlier, to avoid an unnecessary misunderstanding with the police, Chen Ge had hidden the hammer inside the maintenance room.

The assault intensified. Zhang Peng seemed to have seen through Chen Ge’s plan. He did not even attempt to avoid Chen Ge’s hit as he allowed the wooden mop to smack on his body—his aim was to get close to Chen Ge.

Very soon, Chen Ge retreated to the door of the maintenance room. He was biding the time to jump into the room, but before that could happen, he felt an extra weight on his body like he was carrying a boulder.

“You’re going to die today!” Zhang Peng, who had been silent, suddenly cried out. Spirit had returned to the man’s eyes, and his knife skill became much more agile.

What’s going on? The mirror monster has been controlling Zhang Peng until now? So where is the monster now? Chen Ge could feel his movement slowing down. He used his hand to feel behind him, but he couldn’t feel anything. Something pressed hard on his shoulder, causing him to bend over slightly. He turned his head around to look, and a black shadow about the size of an adult man was riding on his back!

The mirror monster!

Panic flashed across his eyes. Chen Ge dipped to avoid a knife aiming at his neck, and he turned to blast through the door into the maintenance room. He ran toward the cupboards that held all the random junk.

It’s still not time to give up. Zhang Peng and the black shadow share one entity, if I use the hammer to incapacitate Zhang Peng, then I’ll be able to stop the black shadow as well!

Chen Ge felt like he was dragging a small mountain on his back. He had underestimated the black shadow’s growth. Compared to the first time they met, this creature had become much harder to deal with.

Something was choking the breath from his throat as the weight on his back continued to increase. The laughter of various individuals appeared in his ears, and when Chen Ge reached the cupboard, he was drained from exhaustion.

Chen Ge’s consciousness wavered, and a humming sound sung in his ears. Without turning to look, Chen Ge knew Zhang Peng was walking toward him with the knife.

The monster on his back continued to press down on him. Chen Ge used every ounce of his energy to open the cupboard door. As he tried to search for the hammer through the junk, the black phone fell from his pocket, the screen still on Zhang Ya’s personal page.