“Good afternoon, sir. The last image of your companion on the monitor was her running into our prop warehouse on the fourth floor and not coming out. There’s no surveillance in the warehouse, so she should still be inside. We’ve sent a staff member to check.”
The voice of the surveillance room staff came through the walkie-talkie. Having received the confirmed message, Lin Ze ran directly to the fourth floor.
On the fourth floor, a staff member dressed as a doctor stood at the corner of the stairs in front of a hidden door.
“Why don’t you open the door?”
“Uh… Don’t worry, sir. The door seems to be stuck. I’ve already called the locksmith. Please wait, sir…”
Bang! Lin Ze kicked the door open. Thankfully, he found Fu Jiang. She was cowering in the corner, trembling. Lin Ze hurried towards her.
“Are you okay, Fu Jiang? Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. I’ll take you out.”
“Lin… Lin Ze…” Fu Jiang’s eyes were filled with fear. She seemed to have been scared silly. Only when she heard Lin Ze’s voice did she slowly raise her head. “That… that person model… it… it moves.”
Following Fu Jiang’s pointed direction, there were a few fake human models. Lin Ze immediately looked at Fu Jiang’s pendant, but it wasn’t damaged.
“You’re too scared. You’re seeing things. I’ll ask the staff later. Don’t be afraid. I’ll take you out first.” Lin Ze tried to make his voice gentle.
“My… My legs are weak.” Fu Jiang’s voice trembled with tears.
Lin Ze picked her up. “I’ll carry you out. Really, don’t be afraid. Just lie on my shoulder and look around. There’s really nothing to be scared of. You’re just scaring yourself.”
Carrying Fu Jiang to the door, Lin Ze asked the staff member, “Do the mannequins in there have any moving mechanisms?”
“Ah? No… Of course they do!”
Facing Lin Ze’s suggestive look, the staff member understood. He probably thought the girl was just scared and seeing things. In this situation, he would say that they move to comfort her.
When Fu Jiang heard the staff member’s affirmative answer, she relaxed. Lin Ze tried to distract her by chatting with her as they walked.
“I always thought you were pretty brave, Fu Jiang. I didn’t know you were so scared of this stuff.”
“I… I’m not afraid of ghosts. I’m just afraid of those bloody death scenes. Who knew there would be something like this here?”
“Haha, take a good look. This one beside you can change faces. Look, do you see a projector over there? These are all fake. There’s no such thing as ghosts in the world. Don’t scare yourself.”
Fu Jiang, lying on his shoulder, cautiously looked around. It seemed like there wasn’t anything that scary. “I… I just went the wrong way. Then the door suddenly closed, and I couldn’t open it no matter how hard I tried. Then I saw the models moving, so I hid in the corner and didn’t dare to look. It was so dark inside… It’s perfectly normal for a girl to be afraid, okay?”
When they reached the first floor, Lin Ze wiped the tears from her face. “After we go out, Huazhi and Kayako will probably be worried to death. I have to have a good talk with them, haha.”
“You… You dare! Don’t you dare talk about it!” Fu Jiang was furious. She grabbed Lin Ze’s shoulder and bit him.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch!”
The two of them emerged in front of Kayako and Huazhi, who were relieved. Huazhi hugged Fu Jiang and apologized profusely.
“Why are you apologizing? I wanted to come too, okay? I just went through the wrong door. Then it wouldn’t open, and I got locked inside. Who knew that door would automatically close?”
Seeing that Fu Jiang had recovered her composure, Lin Ze and the staff also inquired about the repair cost for the door. After realizing they had misunderstood Lin Ze’s intention, they not only waived the fees but also offered to reimburse the four of them for their entrance fees to the amusement park.
Meanwhile, the staff member playing the doctor went to check the mannequins, scratching his head in confusion. “These are just ordinary puppets. They can’t move.”
As he turned to leave, one of the puppet’s heads suddenly turned toward the door.
“Well, this is a good way to test your courage. You’ll probably be a bit braver in the future, haha. Let’s change the mood. The amusement park has a show. Why don’t we go and take a break?”
Lin Ze’s suggestion was unanimously approved.
The exhausted group finally got to rest for a while in the auditorium. The show was forty minutes long. As soon as they sat down, Lin Ze’s phone rang. He motioned for the others to go out while he answered the call. Lin Ze stepped out of the hall.
“Lin Ze, what happened to you guys just now?” The call was from Qinzi. Her tone was serious.
“Uh… I’m sorry, Sister Qinzi. I shouldn’t have taken them to the haunted house.”
“I know you went to the haunted house. Someone is watching you guys at the amusement park. I confirmed it with a call. If I didn’t want you to take them to the haunted house, I would have just called and stopped you. What I want to know is what happened inside!”
After Lin Ze told her about Fu Jiang, Qinzi sounded even more tired than he did.
“Lin Ze… Why don’t you become a monk? I think that would be good for both of us. You know why I didn’t stop you from taking them to the haunted house? Because it’s essentially a game! They know deep down that it’s just a game, a ride. It’s all fake, so it won’t affect their inner selves.”
“But Fu Jiang’s protective charm was triggered. It just wasn’t used. This proves that the ghost detected the power of the charm and didn’t dare to attack. Luckily, it didn’t do anything else. I don’t understand what kind of constitution you have! I know there are no ghosts in that place! Even a new ghost that goes in there will bump into you! Go and kill it. It’s not strong. Now it can only attach itself to inanimate objects. You can dismantle it with the Great Vajra Talisman I gave you! Dismantle it and force it out, then let the Eight Feet slap it to death! Damn it! Almost a piece of garbage ruined Fu Jiang’s worldview. If she collapses, will the world be okay?”
Qinzi was furious. She was extremely angry. She was sitting at home, and the world almost ended. Was she kidding? Lin Ze’s constitution was something she couldn’t control. After her rage, Qinzi started packing her things.
“Sister? What are you doing?”
“I’m moving!”
“?”
Looking at the hung-up call, Lin Ze took a deep breath, turned back, and told Kayako and the others that he was going to the bathroom. It might take a while. Then, he turned and headed towards the haunted house.
Along the way, several men in black told Lin Ze to just take care of the ghost, and they would deal with the rest.
He reached the fourth-floor storage room of the haunted house without any obstacles. Lin Ze closed the door behind him and glared at the mannequins.
“Come out yourself, or I’ll dismantle you one by one to find you?”
Looking at the motionless mannequins, Lin Ze chuckled.
“Eight Feet.”
“What’s wrong, Lin Ze?”
“Guard this room. Don’t let the ghost in this room escape. And don’t tell me which one it is. I’ll find it myself!”
Lin Ze grinned maliciously and took out the talismans in his pocket and stuck them to his body.
“You scared Fu Jiang to tears, you made Sister Qinzi angry, you got me yelled at, and you almost destroyed the world! I won’t let you live today! You will pay for your crimes!”