Chapter 1119 - Voiceless Small Town 2 in 1
1119 Voiceless Small Town 2 in 1
"Haunted?" The few haunted house designers all turned toward Zuo Han. Even Mr. Wang had started to frown. He really did not expect to hear such a declaration from his best student.
"Certain things cannot be answered in this world, or rather, the answer cannot be found through my current store of knowledge. It can only be explained via the supernatural." Zuo Han's tone was very serious. This was the first time the scenario 'ghost fetus' had been open to the public. Based on his previous experience, the difficulty for every scenario that was open to the public for the first time would be abnormally high. Even Zuo Han was feeling unconfident about this. That was why he shared the suspicion that he had long buried inside his heart with his teammates. He wanted to search for the truth, but he knew that was impossible when paired with these deadweight teammates. In fact, he knew just keeping their sanity intact would be a huge problem.
"Before we've even started the game, you have already brought the supernatural?" The sunglasses man, Fu Bole, laughed out loud immediately. "Little brother, you made quite a bit of sense at the beginning. In fact, I will admit that you almost got me, but when you suggested that this place is really haunted, you exposed yourself as the hired actor. As an experienced member of society, I will give you some advice that will be valuable for you in the future—haste makes waste."
In such an eerie and disturbing environment, when Zuo Han suggested that the haunted house was really haunted, everyone's heart skipped a beat, but after they heard Fu Bole's analysis, they all slowly but surely started to calm down. There were no ghosts in this world. Since the young man had said such a thing inside the haunted house, there was a very high chance that he was a hired actor working for the haunted house.
The few haunted house designers looked at each other with a knowing smile on their faces. Even Ma Feng took a few extra glances at Zuo Han. For people who had never believed in the supernatural in the first place, telling them that a place was really a haunted house, they naturally thought that he was playing a prank on them.
"The goal of the first thing you said was to insinuate that there might be haunted house actors among us, and then you proceeded to tell us many details that we will need to pay attention to inside the haunted house. All of that created a scary atmosphere. Honestly speaking, as an employee, you have been a really responsible one. That Chen fellow is lucky to have hired someone like you."
The fashionably dressed Wei Chaochao had spoken as well. The group of haunted house designers chimed in one after another. The more they talked about it, the more they were convinced that Zuo Han was an actor hired by Chen Ge. They provided one example after another to prove their points until Xiao Sun himself was made confused. He started to wonder if Zuo Han was someone Chen Ge had sent in to support him because this was his first time working at the haunted house.
"I know all of you are very capable, and that's why I wanted to cooperate with you. Unfortunately, conceit and envy have blinded your eyes. All you can see now are illusions that you have constructed before your eyes, and you refuse to even consider the possibility of the truth." Zuo Han shook his head. He turned to He San and Mr. Wang beside him and said, "This time, we won't be able to rely on anyone else. But no matter what, the three of us cannot get separated from one another."
He San and Mr. Wang had understood the severity of the situation, so they nodded in agreement. Seeing how serious the three visitors who were supposedly from Jiujiang Medical University were, Fu Bole could not help but laugh. "You guys are still acting even though you have been exposed. Don't you feel awkward about this?"
"This haunted house came up with this kind of method to help build the atmosphere and introduce the scenario's details. It is quite interesting. It is something that we can learn." The fatty Laing Er waved at Fu Bole. "Let's prepare to enter the scenario. Now, I am quite excited to see what they have in store for us."
Even though each of them had their own reasons for being there, the fifteen people had gathered together again. They followed the rutted street and officially entered the ghost fetus scenario. The black iron door appeared to wander further and further away from them. After they turned a corner, the first junction appeared before them. A strange, faded smell lingered in the air. The shadows of the buildings of varying sizes appeared to dance in the darkness. They looked around and found nothing, but they could swear that there was a feeling that there were people hiding in the recesses of the darkness watching their every move.
"Which path should we pick?" Fu Bole turned back to ask Ma Feng for his opinion. Ma Feng turned to look at Shang Guan Qing Hong.
"Just standing here is not going to help us in any way. How about we just pick a random path, leave behind a marking, and if we run into any trouble, we can always come back and pick another path?" After saying that, Shang Guan Qing Hong followed Ma Feng and walked down the path on the left.
"Wait a minute!" Zuo Han wanted to say something, but the rest of the team did not give him a chance. They all sauntered down the left path. The old-fashioned lights that adorned the street flickered on and off. The shadows that they created on the walls of the buildings appeared to possess strange human shapes. Occasional whispers came from the buildings from both sides. It sounded like people were talking. They appeared to be hiding from something and, at the same time, searching for something. The nonexistent wind carried with it words like 'body parts' and 'rag doll that is unkillable'.
"Our mission is to find the rag doll's severed body parts, but the boss only gave us a single picture. He did not even mention how many parts of the rag doll there are, so I think we should not leave any one of the buildings unchecked." Wei Chaochao stopped moving. His body leaned against the door of one of the old buildings next to him. "I heard someone speaking inside. There should be a scare point hidden behind this door."
"I would advise you against opening any random doors. At this haunted house, it is better to do less than to do more." He San was kind enough to warn him, but the few haunted house designers had already confirmed that he was one of the haunted house's actors, so naturally, they did not heed his advice.
"Normally, when you are designing a haunted house, the first scare point is very important because, for that first scare, you will be able to discern the overall style and features of that haunted house." Wei Chaochao gripped the door handle and said with some excitement, "Are you guys ready?"
Even though the haunted house designers had been mocking Chen Ge's haunted house nonstop, when they were about to really trigger a scare point, all of them became incredibly cautious.
"Open the door. I want to see how scary a haunted house with more than ninety percent good reviews on the internet can be." Fu Bole stood at the front of the group. He was like a general leading his army, impervious and unafraid.
Zuo Han, who had voiced his objection to this earlier, had decided to pipe down. He stared at Wei Chaochao and Fu Bole coldly like he was coldly observing cadavers on an autopsy table. He really did want to work together with these haunted house designers, but the latter was unwilling, so now, he had changed his mind and was prepared to use these people as bait. Since they were going to 'die', why not make their 'deaths' a little bit more valuable? Zuo Han's thought was that simple. Everyone held their breath as their eyes followed the movement of Wei Chaochao's arm.
His five fingers gripped the door handle tightly. Wei Chaochao opened the door a sliver, and then he suddenly stopped. He used his body to block the door that was not fully open.
Dong!
The haunted house actor who was hiding inside the house saw the door open and instantly jump out to scare the visitor as he had been told, but he was did not expect the visitors outside the door to only open it a sliver, and more than that, the visitor purposely leaned his weight against the door to stop it from budging so that the door could not be opened fully. Without expecting this, the haunted house actor inside the house rammed directly into the door. The actor did not anticipate something like this happening at all. After his head knocked into the door, he tumbled to the ground, landing on his butt.
"That's all?" When the group of haunted house designers saw the actor who had stumbled inside the room, their nervous hearts relaxed greatly. Then they all revealed expressions filled with condescension and revulsion.
"A scare tactic that cannot be more cliché combined with obvious inexperience. Does not know how to adapt to the situation and has such horrible reflexes." Wei Chaochao now opened the door fully and started to give his criticism. "If the set design is worth 8.5 marks, I can only give the actor three marks."
"This has to be a joke. Why would they assign someone like you to act as a ghost to come scare the visitors? You are more suitable to be a comedy actor."
"You have all seen this, right? I believe you are all familiar with the standard of this haunted house now. Now, I can be one hundred percent sure that the good reviews on the internet are all from the fifty cent army hired by the boss himself."
The group of haunted house experts' words were ruthless and cutting. They surrounded the poor actor and kept insulting him. Thankfully, the actor was not that easily offended. He rubbed his bruised forehead and slicked back his single ponytail as he climbed up from the ground. He did not seem to mind that he had just been tricked. He brushed it off like nothing had happened. He lifted his head to reveal the face that was made up by Chen Ge earlier.
"Please quiet down. Speak too loudly in the Voiceless Small Town, and you will be heard by the ghosts." The male actor's expression was very serious. It appeared like he had practiced his facial expression before the mirror many times before.
"If all the ghosts are someone like you, what does it matter if we are overheard by them?" Fu Bole shrugged. "I was expecting something new and interesting, but what do I get? Same old tricks reused and recycled."
"I am not a ghost. I am a human being like you, but there are ghosts inside this small town." The male actor was not lying. With his hand on his heart, he was telling the truth.
"Even with the bruise on the head, you still have not forgotten your designated lines. Okay, that is quite professional. The rating that I gave you has risen to 3.5 marks." Wei Chaochao patted the dust on his shoulders.
"Everything that I say is real. My son and myself were trapped here after dark. We were forced to play a game of hide and seek with a bunch of ghosts. If you are found and captured by them, the consequences are unimaginable!" The male actor's expressions were all to the point, but the few haunted house designers still took issue with him.
"That is the background of the story? Looks like a four-star scenario is not that scary after all."
When the haunted house designers were still continuing their mockery, Zuo Han and He San waded through the crowd. They kept their stares on the male actor and said with a serious expression, "Just now, you said that if you speak in this small town, you will be heard by the ghosts, correct?"
"Yes, this small town is called the Voiceless Small Town. Whenever you make a sound, you will attract the ghosts' attention." The male actor tried his best to explain the scenario.
"What will happen if you are found by the ghosts? Earlier, you said that you were here with your son, but I see that you are here alone now. Where is your child? Has he been taken away by the ghosts?" Zuo Han's mind was sharp. It was rare that one could find an actor that could be communicated with inside Chen Ge's haunted house, so he wanted to obtain as much information as he could.
"At the time, my son and I were both chased by the ghosts. I volunteered to distract the ghosts from him and left him alone inside a storage building on the northern side of the small town." The male actor lowered his voice. "If you can help bring my boy back to me, I will tell you a secret about this world."
"A hidden mission?" Zuo Han nodded. "I will help you find your boy. By the way, what is your name? Can you give us something to prove your identify? We need to prove to your child that we are acting on your favor."
The male actor was startled. This was not part of the plot, but the man was quick on his feet. "My name is Wu Jinpeng. After you find my boy, just tell him my name, and he will follow you."
"Then, what does your boy looks like? I am afraid that the ghosts might get to your son before we do, and then we might mistake the ghost as your son." Zuo Han had considered all the possible scenarios.
"He is very short and wears a red shirt. His name is… Wu Nan."
"You were obviously hesitating earlier. Is there something that you have not told us?" Mr. Wang also walked over. The lecturer and student worked together perfectly, and they applied a ton of pressure on Wu Jinpeng.
"The children here like to play hide and seek. Actually, from the moment you enter this small town, you have been forced to join this maddening game already." Wu Jinpeng suddenly reached out to grab the door handle. "Remember, be careful of the ghosts, and be on the lookout for places to hide!"
After he had said everything that he needed to say, Wu Jinpeng closed the door and returned back to the house.
"The main theme of this ghost fetus scenario is hide and seek, huh? He mentioned that the children here like to play hide and seek. That proves that there is more than one child here. And the scenario itself is called ghost fetus, so obviously, all of the scares are related to children." Zuo Han looked at the door that was already closed. "I think we should avoid the mission that he gave us because the mission told us was to find a child."
"Yes, and when he was describing his own child, he thought for a long time, and he even halted a few times. I suspect that the child he described was not even his child at all," Mr. Wang analyzed. "The name Wu Nan was probably something he made up on the spot. Assuming the worst, the man inside the house is working together with the ghosts. He is trying to feed us to the ghosts."
Mr. Wang and Zuo Han shared the same opinion. The two of them were seriously analyzing the information they were given, without giving any concern to the other visitors. Listening to their discussion, Fu Bole only confirmed his suspicion even further. These three who claimed that they were from Jiujiang Medical University had to be the actors hired by the haunted house, and they had been trying to compensate for the horrible acting of the man inside the house.
"Well, just keep on acting. We will see how much longer you can keep this going." Fu Bole suddenly spoke to interrupt their analysis. Then he scoffed with derision. His sudden words startled Sun Xiaojun, who was standing beside him.
"We have just seen the true standard of this haunted house. What we need to do next is explore the houses one by one. There is nothing to be worried about." Wei Chaochao's expression was rather disappointed. Initially, he was quite curious about Chen Ge's haunted house, but now that he realized the place was not that different from the other haunted houses on the market, he could not help but feel a bit underwhelmed. "Let's just hurry up and get this over with. I still need to catch a plane this afternoon."
The Voiceless Small Town was very large. The designers pushed open three doors, and they still found nothing. So, they started to let their guard down.
"What is the meaning of this? They are all empty houses? There are no scary objects or any actors inside any of the buildings. It is like the scenario is not even completed." Liang San also started to complain. He felt like it was a waste of time for him to purposely come to Jiujiang to visit this haunted house.
A few of the designers started to take it like a stroll through the park, but in contrast, Zuo Han and He San got more and more nervous. "You could hear voices inside every house, but after you open the door, there is no one inside. This is very strange."
"The voices do not appear like they are broadcast from any speaker. It feels more like people are whispering into our ears."
"Let's ignore that for now. We need to stick close to them and have them scout the path for us." Once Zuo Han said that, Wei Chaochao's voice could be heard coming from the front of the group.
"Eh? I finally found something interesting!" Before Wei Chaochao was the entrance to an apartment building. On the wall next to him was a missing person's report. The missing child's name was Jiang Ming. The ladder was before them, and the ladder led downward, but due to the lack of the lighting, standing outside the apartment, they could not tell how many floors the stairs led down to.
"The interior is so big? I thought there was only one floor…" The bad feeling that had been troubling Shang Guan Qing Hong only got stronger, and he stuck close to Ma Feng.
"Let's go in to take a look." Liang San opened the apartment's iron door. When he entered the place, he did not feel anything weird, but after some time, he suddenly noticed the problem. "This place is so quiet. You can't hear anything. Even the background music has disappeared."
"Indeed, it is like we have entered a different world compared to the outside street. How did he manage to do this?" Liang Er followed behind him. "It is quiet to the point that it feels unnatural. Now it feels like I am inside an actual haunted house."