My House of Horrors

With that slip of the tongue, Men Nan knew that could not fool Chen Ge anymore.

“What’s the difference between Eastern and Western Jiujiang? On the surface, Eastern Jiujiang appears to be more peaceful, and the public security there is better; this is observable from the working state of the two police stations.” Chen Ge knew that Eastern Jiujiang was dangerous, but the danger was hidden. Until now, he had not caught a glimpse of the enemy.

“My advice is for you to not go to Eastern Jiujiang anymore.” Men Nan hesitated for a long time before saying that.

“You have to give me a reason, right? The night before last, at the fresh water plant, both you and Xu Yin came out to stop me. Is that shadow really that scary? Are neither of you Red Specters his match?” Chen Ge had been meaning to ask Men Nan that.

Shaking his head, Men Nan looked at Chen Ge’s shadow and worry crossed his eyes. “That night, if not for the person inside your shadow, it would have been over for all of us.”

“Zhang Ya got into a fight with the shadow‽ How come I had no idea about that?” Chen Ge did not even realize that.

“The guy was too unlucky. He planned to take over your shadow and make you his puppet, but he did not expect the most powerful Red Specter to be living inside your shadow. Due to his carelessness, he was injured by the Red Specter inside your shadow.” Men Nan did not dare call Zhang Ya by name because he was scared. Any normal ghost would be scared when they saw Zhang Ya.

“Then, was Zhang Ya injured?” Chen Ge was worried. He was familiar with Zhang Ya’s style; she was the kind who left no prisoner. However, that night, after the match with the shadow, Zhang Ya did not show up.

“The Red Specter inside your shadow was already injured before the fight started. One of her arms was filled with cracks.”

“Cracks?” Chen Ge thought back to the fight between Zhang Ya and Doctor Gao. No one knew what had really happened between them as the surgery room had been smothered by Zhang Ya’s hair.

“Your biggest reliance is injured and is currently resting, but that shadow is just a shadow. As for whose shadow it was and how strong the actual body is, we have no idea, so you’d better stay away from Eastern Jiujiang.” Men Nan reached out and climbed onto the table. Finally, he did not need to look up to Chen Ge anymore.

“Could the body be a presence greater than a Red Specter?” Chen Ge thought about it for a long time. The question sounded like it was for Men Nan but also a question for himself.

“No one knows what is above a Red Specter, or rather, no one has managed to survive to tell the tale.” Men Nan did not know the answer, but he did not deny the possibility that such a presence might exist in Eastern Jiujiang.

“All who have met one have died?” Chen Ge thought about Doctor Gao, who had committed suicide to become a ghost. The madman had once controlled three doors so that he could reach the limit of a Red Specter after death.

“Chen Ge, I’m just saying this for your own good. Eastern Jiujiang is different from Western Jiujiang. Haven’t you realized that none of the patients from the Third Sick Hall dared venture to Eastern Jiujiang?” Men Nan tried his best to explain; he was really afraid that Chen Ge might drag him to Eastern Jiujiang again. “The danger in Western Jiujiang is visible like the patients from the Third Sick Hall.

“The scariest thing about Eastern Jiujiang is that we do not know about the potential danger. You can read through Jiujiang’s local news. There are few cases coming from Eastern Jiujiang, but of the annual disappearance around Jiujiang, ninety percent happened in Eastern Jiujiang. This data is more than enough proof to show the danger of Eastern Jiujiang.”

“I know Eastern Jiujiang is dangerous, but I have to go. Before my parent’s disappearance, they once showed up in Eastern Jiujiang.” That was the reason that Chen Ge had started this adventure.

Since this was to find his missing parents, Men Nan was careful with his words. “I’ve only heard about the things in Eastern Jiujiang from the mental patients. If you really want to know about the place, you can ask them.”

“I also wish to ask them, but the key is that they do not seem like they have gotten used to their ghost identity.” Chen Ge had the patient’s list of the Third Sick Hall, but those spirits refused to communicate with Chen Ge.

After chatting with Men Nan some more, Chen Ge finally relented to the boy’s pleas and decided to send Men Nan back. Chen Ge was actually worried about the door in the Third Sick Hall going haywire as well.

“The theme park and the Haunted House can only grow without worry if Western Jiujiang is safe.” Chen Ge pulled Men Nan back into the comic and walked out of the last classroom. “Eastern Jiujiang is such a mess, but the futuristic theme park decided to open there—they sure are lucky.”

Exiting the underground scenario, Chen Ge entered the staff breakroom and slept.

Chen Ge was woken up by the alarm at 8 am. After brushing his teeth, he started to clean the Haunted House. A new day was beginning, and the park opened at 9 am. The visitors swarmed in, and Chen Ge could feel the popularity of his Haunted House rising.

“The capacity of my Haunted House is still lacking… if only I have more scenarios.” Standing at the door, Chen Ge suddenly noticed a few familiar faces. “He San? Why is that boy here today?”

He San also saw Chen Ge, and he waved his hands. “Boss, long time no see!”

“You’re still as loud as ever.” Chen Ge asked Uncle Xu to help him with the tickets, and he walked into the crowd.

“Boss, this time, our school has made all the necessary preparations and selected the most courageous students from each age group. Today, there is only one purpose for us being here, and that is to clear the game!” He San pointed behind him, and there was a group of people.

“Are they all from your school? Did you all skip class today?” Chen Ge had no idea what was wrong with Western Jiujiang Medical University’s students—so many of them had come that day. “Clearing the scenario is one thing, but don’t abandon your studies.”

Chen Ge’s real thought was: if this was found out by the doctors in the underground morgue, things might get really scary.

“Don’t worry, we didn’t skip class today,” Yang Chen grumbled darkly beside He San. “Even our president knows about your Haunted House now.”

“Even your president knows about this place?” Chen Ge felt weirdly ashamed.

“Yes, it’s a weird story actually. Our president had the same dream for four consecutive nights. His teacher from when he was young scolded him while standing inside your Haunted House. There was no way he could have defended himself.” He San lowered his voice. “Our president was scolded for four days, and now, whenever he closes his eyes, the old teacher will appear before his eyes; he couldn’t suffer it anymore.”

“Your president had the same dream for four days?” Chen Ge felt like laughing. “Was his former teacher someone called Wei Jiuqin?”

“Yes, that’s the old man’s name! How did you know?” He San was surprised. “Our president then had some discussion with the staff, and someone said that the old teacher was telling him in his dream that our students, who should not be afraid of dead bodies, are scared witless inside your Haunted House, and that is too embarrassing.”

“So, your president allowed you to come visit me today, huh?”

“That’s basically it. The president said that a qualified medical doctor has to be calm no matter what. Even if the sky is falling, we shouldn’t panic. He encouraged us to come to your place to test our courage whenever we’re free. If we cannot conquer a Haunted House as medical doctors, how are we going to survive in our career in the future?” He San mimicked the way that the president spoke, and he had a knack for it.

“Your president probably misunderstood the old gentleman’s meaning.” But since they were there, Chen Ge was not going to chase them away. All he could do was to use his power to give the students one last piece of advice. “You can visit any scenario that you want, but remember to stay away from the underground morgue.”