The four men walked out trembling.
Wang Jian thought to himself, Not coming back, never coming back. This place is fun, but it’s too scary.
Old Guan and Old Li were in no mood to think about mechanisms or architecture. They just wanted to go home to their moms.
Boohoo, scared to death!
Whose haunted house is this scary? Nearly scared the pee out of us.
Niu Gu had the best mental state of the four, but he didn’t dare recall the scenes in the Painted Skin dungeon either. Just thinking about it made his scalp tingle.
The four stumbled out the door.
After passing through the cleansing of the Yang Energy Hut—
Huh!
So warm, so comfortable. My body feels warm, and my energy is back.
I even want to go back and play again.
Wang Jian wondered if he was sick.
It’s just a haunted house; did I have to faint from fear?
Especially since it’s my second time.
It must be that I’m too timid!
Looks like I need to come a few more times to build up my courage.
Old Li and Old Guan were regretful.
Oh my, we came out too early.
We should have stayed inside a bit longer to study the mechanisms and architecture.
As for Niu Gu, he slapped his forehead, feeling that his haunted house trip this time was a failure. He hadn’t even finished the plot.
I really want to know what happens next.
Come back again tomorrow.
It was already noon, and they were hungry, so they went to eat first.
Standing inside the Yang Energy Hut, the four turned back in unison and waved to Li Miao. “Boss, we’ll come again next time. Bye!”
Li Miao: “…”
The Yang Energy Hut really is a divine artifact. Even scared to death, they want to play again after being cleansed by it.
They were all starving. Perhaps the consumption in the haunted house was too great; as soon as they stepped out the gate, their stomachs were growling.
Wang Jian suggested, “There’s a University City nearby. It’s very close, and the food tastes good. Let’s go eat there.”
“Okay, okay, let’s go there!”
They were so hungry they had no strength to be picky. They just wanted to get food in their mouths.
Arriving at a restaurant in University City, they ordered a table full of dishes.
Then they began to sweep through the food, wolfing it down.
Dishes disappeared as soon as they were served.
They polished off ten dishes in total, and still not full, each person ate two more bowls of white rice.
Niu Gu leaned back in his chair, rubbing his stomach with his right hand. “I’m stuffed.”
Old Li added, “Me too. Haven’t been this full in years. Playing in a haunted house really consumes energy.”
Wang Jian nodded. “Indeed. Last time, the eight of us left Fengdu Haunted House and had a big meal back at school too. I guess the body burns fat quickly after a scare.”
Niu Gu laughed, saying Wang Jian was talking nonsense.
If playing in a haunted house could help lose weight, countless people would be rushing to play.
While chatting and laughing, Niu Gu suddenly saw a familiar figure.
It was the man in the brown coarse clothes!
Wasn’t he an NPC from the haunted house? Why was he eating here too?
“Buddy.” Niu Gu waved and greeted him. “Does your haunted house not provide meals?”
The man in brown clothes was stunned. “What did you say? I don’t understand.”
“Aren’t you an employee of the haunted house?” Niu Gu asked curiously.
The man shook his head. “No, I’m a player.”
His friends at the same table also nodded. “We’re together. We went to the haunted house today. Not NPCs.”
Not a haunted house NPC?
Niu Gu couldn’t hide his shock. “Then why did you say you were the shopkeeper?”
He had assumed the man was an NPC who came to chase them away because the four of them kept staying in the shop without progressing the plot.
Unexpectedly, he was also a player.
If he were a player, why come over to chase them away?
What did whether they progressed the plot or not have to do with him?
The man tilted his head and thought for a while.
He couldn’t explain it himself. At that time, he was just obsessed, feeling like he was the shopkeeper.
Seeing four people loitering in the shop without buying anything was an eyesore.
After thinking for a long time, the man hesitated and said, “Doesn’t playing in a haunted house require role-playing? I saw no one in the shop, so I wanted to experience what it felt like to be the boss.”
Niu Gu was speechless. This person was actually a player guest-starring as an NPC.
I knew it. The haunted house boss is so meticulous; how could she make mistakes with the NPC’s styling?
In that case, those wearing sneakers and high heels were all players, not NPCs.
But if they were players, what about their pale makeup?
Niu Gu couldn’t figure it out.
Players coming in to play wouldn’t put on makeup. At most, they would change clothes to increase immersion. Makeup took too much time.
Old Guan thought for a moment and said, “Could it be the lighting? I noticed the light inside the dungeon was very dim, and there was a lot of fog.”
“Possible!” Niu Gu praised. “This boss is amazing. Using light and shadow to create a horror atmosphere—simply master-level.”
The more Niu Gu thought about it, the more amazed he was.
The Painted Skin dungeon was incredible!
He was looking forward to the boss’s next dungeon.
That evening, Niu Gu livestreamed from his hotel. Netizens were asking how the Fengdu Haunted House was.
How was the Painted Skin dungeon? Did he play anything else besides Painted Skin?
Niu Gu answered one by one. “The Fengdu Haunted House is huge. It’s the biggest haunted house I’ve ever seen.”
Biggest?
Netizens were stunned. They knew Niu Gu had been to many haunted houses domestically and abroad, especially the famous ones.
Some haunted houses were as big as a building.
Could Fengdu Haunted House be bigger than a building?
Impossible!
“Fengdu Haunted House isn’t a building; it’s a city!”
My god, a city?
Netizens didn’t believe it and left comments: “Brother Niu, you’re lying to us, right? A city? Impossible.”
“Hahaha, Brother Niu must be lying.”
“Honestly, Brother Niu, did you get paid?”
Netizens in the livestream were teasing him.
Unrushed, Niu Gu took out a few photos and showed them to the netizens one by one. “This one is the main gate of Fengdu Haunted House.”
“The gate is nice, tall, and big. The three words ‘Fengdu Haunted House’ on the plaque are powerful. Must have been written by a calligrapher.”
Netizens commented, thinking that judging by the facade, Fengdu Haunted House looked quite imposing.
Niu Gu showed the second photo. “This is what I took after entering the main gate.”
As soon as this photo came out, the livestream room exploded with “Holy crap.”
“Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! This is a haunted house?”
“Photoshopped, right? Can’t even see the walls. I don’t believe a haunted house is this big.”
“I don’t believe it either. There are mountains and dense forests in the distance. Impossible.”
Niu Gu explained, “The haunted house grounds are indeed huge, but many places aren’t developed yet. Currently, only one large building is open.”
Hearing this, netizens scoffed.
“Tch, Brother Niu, why are you using gimmicks too? Get to the point.”
“I knew it. A haunted house couldn’t be that big.”
The third photo was of the horror building.
Niu Gu introduced it to the netizens: “This is the building.”
“It’s very tall. Let me count, how many floors?” netizens commented.
“16 floors. Is it all the haunted house? That’s generous.”
“It can’t just be a haunted house, right? Looks like a mall. Does the haunted house only occupy one floor?”
Netizens still didn’t believe it. Just a small haunted house; how could a whole building be the haunted house?
Rare even in the whole world.
Impossible!