My House of Horrors

After about another twenty minutes, another stampede of footsteps came from the corridor. It sounded like more people were running toward the room.

Pa!

The closed door was shoved open, and Lee Zheng and two other officers burst into the room with guarded expressions.

“Chen Ge!” Lee Zheng called out Chen Ge’s name with his hands pressed behind his waist. He had prepared for the worst.

“Inspector Lee, I’m here!” Seeing Lee Zheng’s familiar face, Chen Ge ran over to him immediately. He could not help himself but give Lee Zheng a big hug. “Long time no see!”

There was an unmistakable tiredness in Chen Ge’s voice. Lee Zheng patted Chen Ge’s shoulder lightly. “Didn’t we… see each other last night? What’s wrong with you? Did you hit your head?”

“Thankfully, that did not happen.” Chen Ge let go off Lee Zheng. “The culprit has been taken away by the people here. They should be on the way to Jiujiang Central Hospital now.”

“What is his crime? Is this sickroom the first crime scene? Did you stay to protect the scene?” Lee Zheng was familiar with Chen Ge. This familiarity was beyond a normal citizen and police officer. Sometimes, Lee Zheng would mistake Chen Ge for a colleague, a colleague who had great ‘investigative’ experience.

“The guy is extremely dangerous and seems to be related to the comas of many children. Once you release the news that he has been captured by the police, many students’ parents will go and find you.”

Chen Ge was not lying. After the door of the School of the Afterlife lured the souls of the students behind the door, the children who lost their souls became like lifeless puppets. Most of them were lying in the hospital while some were cared for at home. People would learn to appreciate things after they had lost them. The sudden loss of consciousness of their children deepened the regret and self-blame of those parents. If only they had spent more time with their child, if only they had cared more about their children, then they would not have done those stupid things. There were many students who had been lured into the School of the Afterlife, not only from Jiujiang, to search for Chang Wenyu. Chang Gu had once used the strength of those parents, so once the police exposed Chang Gu’s location, there would be parents who contacted the police.

But whether the police would believe what they said was another story. Chen Ge was not worried that Chang Gu exposing him—the man had used his living body to go against the school’s consciousness and stayed for so long inside the blood fog, so it was unknown whether he could wake up or not.

“Related to a lot of unconscious students? This is a big case.” Once Lee Zheng heard what Chen Ge had to say, the first thing that came to his mind was not suspicion but consideration as to what to do next. He instinctively believed Chen Ge. After all, the man before him had a ‘glorious’ past.

“Hmm, you should hurry up the investigation. I’ll return to the Haunted House for now. Tell me if you need anything, and I will cooperate fully!” Chen Ge said that, but he had already moved to the door.

“Don’t be in such a hurry to leave. I still have many questions for you.” Lee Zheng grabbed Chen Ge’s arm.

…

The interrogation was much longer than Chen Ge had anticipated. Lee Zheng did not let him go simply because they knew each other. He went through a long list of questions one by one, and when he was done, it had already been almost an hour. The sky outside the window had brightened, and it was about time for the park to start the day of business.

Lee Zheng knew that it was not easy for Chen Ge. He had to manage the Haunted House. In fact, Chen Ge was in a bad condition; he looked like he could faint at any time. “We’ll stop here for now. Before the suspect rouses, you’d better stay put at the theme park, especially don’t go wondering around at night.”

“Understood.” When Lee Zheng and the other officers went to ask the doctors and other witnesses, Chen Ge used this opportunity to wrap up the broken mirror with the bedsheet and stuff the pieces inside his backpack.

“The non-smiler probably purposely broke the mirror with the painter’s memory. He is currently inside one of the pieces and plans to leave. This man is much more cunning than the previous headmaster. He knows that he can’t run immediately, so he is slowly buying time.”

At eight something, Lee Zheng had one of his people to go to the hospital to visit Chang Gu while the other stayed at the mental hospital to continue the investigation. He personally drove Chen Ge back to the New Century Park.

“There’s no need to, really.”

“Put on your seatbelt. I’ll drive you back because I have some questions to ask you in private,” Lee Zheng said as he ‘invited’ Chen Ge into his police car and started the engine. Lee Zheng drove very fast, and when he entered the car, his expression turned serious.

“Inspector Lee, if you have anything to ask, just go ahead. There is no need for hidden words between us.” Chen Ge leaned back in the seat. The police car made him feel relaxed—this was a safe place.

“Chen Ge, I know that perhaps you wish to investigate some things, but misusing the name of a police officer, be it for official business or personal business, is a crime. You have a strong sense of justice, but do not let it take control of you. Sometime, justice is not sinless.” Lee Zheng told Chen Ge that in private because he was worried about Chen Ge.

“Understood.”

“I have a good eye for people. You’ve lied to me. Although, I don’t know what the lie is. Other than that, those mirror pieces should be important to you, right? If they are related to this case, after you’ve used them, remember to hand them to us. We have a professional team to look…”

Lee Zheng spoke for a long time, but there was no answer. He glanced at the rearview mirror and realized that Chen Ge had fallen asleep, hugging his backpack and the present box. The sleeping Chen Ge looked like a blank piece of paper, a person without any guile, and all his sad past was shown on his face.

“Looks like he is really tired this time.” Lee Zheng shook his head lightly and drove the car to a spot near New Century Park before he shook Chen Ge awake. “What do you think this place is? Get out from my car!”

Carrying the many bags, Chen Ge weaved through the visitors and jogged all the way. His employees were lined up at the entrance to the Haunted House. They had been waiting for him.

“Boss!”

They called after him in unison, and that swiftly snapped Chen Ge to attention.

“There’s no time to waste! We will gather in the dressing room now and prepare to open for business!”

Pushing open the gates, Chen Ge led the employees into the dressing room and started to do their makeup. At 9 am, New Century Park opened its gate, and people rushed into the park. A long queue started to form before the Haunted House. After putting the makeup on the employees, Chen Ge returned the ghost employees to their position. He had Ol’ Bai and Ol’ Zhou watch over the rules, and he entered the staff breakroom to rest. Chen Ge did not set an alarm. He slept until noon and was woken up by knocking on his door.

“Something’s up?” Chen Ge did not have time to put on a shirt and yanked open the door.

“Chen Ge, Director Luo is looking for you! He has something important to talk to you!” Uncle Xu stood outside the door with a strange expression.

“What is it? Give me some hints so I can be prepared.” Chen Ge suddenly became nervous because in two days, the futuristic theme park would open, and they would be under unbearable pressure.

“Take a look at today’s news yourself.” Uncle Xu clicked open a page on his phone, and the title of the article was eye-catching.

“Student in a coma for five years after car accident! Miraculous recovery! The first thing he said after waking up was ‘Western Jiujiang New Century Park’!”