Zuo Si felt a twinge of guilt, but quickly turned his eyes and said, “Director Hao, you must have seen it wrong. The 5D image here, while somewhat resembling Lu Liangyuan, is definitely not him.”
Hao Meili frowned, recalling the scene from earlier; indeed, the doctor, although similar to Lu Liangyuan, was clearly much younger.
“I must have made a mistake.”
“I’m truly sorry for startling you, and I hope you can forgive me,” Zuo Si sincerely apologized, shoving a doll into Hao Meili’s hands. “This is a reward for completing the challenge; please keep it.”
“I didn’t even complete the challenge…” Although Hao Meili said this, she still accepted the doll.
“No, no, no, actually you have completed it. This time, to give you a scare, I specifically increased the difficulty of the challenge. The 5D images and the murderous clown were all Easter eggs that are generally not used,” Zuo Si explained. “So, under normal circumstances, you should have found it quite easy to complete.”
“I see,” Hao Meili nodded. She had always liked honest people.
“I wonder about our collaboration…?”
“No way!” Hao Meili flatly refused.
Zuo Si felt a chill in his heart at that moment, but there was nothing he could do; after all, he had scared her to the point of fainting, so it was normal for her to refuse. It was just a disappointment for Lu Tao, who had put in so much effort.
Seeing Zuo Si’s changing expression, Hao Meili felt a sense of balance return to her heart. She thought to herself, ‘I can’t let this kid see me make a fool of myself without tasting failure himself!’
Regaining her composure, Hao Meili left the staff lounge with Zuo Si. By this time, she felt much better. In fact, she was quite satisfied with this haunted house. Both the props and the playability were very high. Coupled with her good impression of Zuo Si, collaboration would definitely not be a problem. However, Hao Meili still wanted to test Zuo Si’s adaptability. Perhaps this was a common trait among leaders.
“It’s quite difficult for new employees to complete your haunted house challenge.”
“That’s simple; I can lower the difficulty,” Zuo Si’s eyes lit up, feeling a glimmer of hope.
Hao Meili shook her head and said, “Your horror scenes are nearly impossible to complete solo; teamwork is essential.”
“That’s even easier! When your employees arrive, I can have them team up with other visitors,” Zuo Si replied.
Hao Meili nodded, “That’s indeed a solution.”
Zuo Si excitedly asked, “So, do you agree?”
Hao Meili rarely smiled and nodded again.
“Thank you, Director Hao! Thank you, Director Hao! From now on, all guests you refer will receive a 20% discount!” Zuo Si was thrilled; he had landed a major client on the first day of opening.
At that moment, he could vaguely see his future.
Winning over a beautiful and wealthy woman!
Becoming the CEO!
Establishing the top haunted house in Qingshui City!
Thus, he would reach the pinnacle of his life!
Outside the haunted house, the atmosphere was electric, with everyone’s eyes fixed on Zuo Si and Hao Meili.
“Did you succeed in completing the challenge?” someone asked the question everyone was thinking.
Zuo Si stepped forward and announced loudly, “Congratulations to Ms. Hao Meili for successfully completing the horror scene of our haunted house. As the first visitor and the first to complete the challenge, starting today, our Huaxing Haunted House will grant Ms. Hao Meili a special privilege of unlimited free visits!”
“Awesome! The director is amazing!” Lu Tao couldn’t help but applaud, fully aware of the terror of Zuo Si’s haunted house. It was truly no easy feat for Director Hao to complete it.
Wu Yaoyao also joined in the applause, feeling a surge of emotion welling up in her eyes.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
The sound of applause echoed, and the crowd of onlookers was bewildered, wondering why they felt such an urge to applaud.
Suddenly, a sense of pride welled up from the depths of Hao Meili’s heart.
She couldn’t help but feel a bit strange; why did it feel like she was receiving an award? Should she give an acceptance speech? Some passersby looked over at the haunted house in surprise, feeling puzzled. Wasn’t it just a matter of clearing a haunted house? Was it really that significant?
“I want to buy a ticket!”
“I want one too!”
“I’ll buy five! I’m going to play with my classmates!”
… The onlookers from earlier were now clamoring to buy tickets.
Looking at the scene before them, Zuo Si and Ding Ruxiao both wore satisfied smiles.
Zuo Si hurriedly said, “Lu Tao, you and Ding Ruxiao are in charge of selling tickets. I’m going to restore the props inside the scene. All visitors who buy tickets today will get a 50% discount, just twenty-five yuan each!”
“Okay, you go ahead! I’ll stay here to help today!”
There were too many people wanting to buy tickets, but there was only one terrifying scene. Selling tickets was easy, but if the visitors couldn’t get in line, that would be a problem.
Helplessly, after selling more than twenty tickets, Ding Ruxiao signaled Lu Tao to stop selling. Then she shouted to the crowd waiting in line, “Everyone, please line up properly! We will let you in according to the order! Our haunted house follows a high-end route, and we can only let in a maximum of seven people at a time. Those who can’t wait can come back next time!”
“Damn, no one was buying earlier, and now you can’t even get a ticket!”
“What’s the rush? Maybe those five who went in earlier were just actors. Let’s wait and see.”
“Are you stupid? How could you find an actor at the funeral home?”
“Wait, is that really the director of the funeral home?”
“Absolutely! I saw the director when my second uncle passed away.”
… After Zuo Si restored all the scare points, he led the next batch of visitors, a total of seven people, into the terrifying scene. Before doing so, he repeatedly reminded them not to split up, or the consequences would be unimaginable.
At first, some in the group scoffed, but after experiencing the first scare, they all became obedient. They huddled together tightly, refusing to separate.
With seven people moving together, the sense of fear diminished significantly. Six of them successfully cleared the haunted house, while only one person couldn’t handle the fright and left.
Now this group understood why Hao Meili had been so excited after clearing it. Successfully navigating the haunted house indeed gave a special sense of achievement.
“We’re still short on manpower…” Zuo Si forced himself to stay alert as he watched the streams of visitors on the monitor.
The ticket booth definitely couldn’t have Ding Ruxiao handling it alone; Zuo Si didn’t want to see her worrying and toiling all day. As for restoring the scare points in the haunted scene and cleaning up, it would be best to find a ghost to do it.
Liu Wenguang was undoubtedly the best choice. Zuo Si decided he would delegate these trivial matters to Liu Wenguang later.
“Those visitors who were scared out of their wits in the haunted house also need someone to escort them out.” Zuo Si suddenly thought of a suitable candidate.
“Gu Yiyi, that innocent girl, wouldn’t scare anyone. Why not let her take on this task?” Zuo Si took out the cute watermelon hairpin from his pocket and said, “Yiyi, why haven’t you come out yet?”
As soon as he finished speaking, a fleeting white shadow flashed by, and Gu Yiyi pouted as she appeared in a dark corner. She looked quite dejected; the words Zhao Changfa had said had a significant impact on her.
Seeing this poor girl, Zuo Si suddenly felt that today wasn’t the right time to discuss work with her.
After hesitating for a long while, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
“Big brother, do you need me to do something?” Gu Yiyi, being very understanding, sensed Zuo Si’s reluctance to speak and asked on her own.