Jiang Jiu soon understood whom Chen Ge was conversing with. He saw a thin and lanky young man walk out from behind Chen Ge and proceed to use both hands to press against his head. “Do not be afraid. It will be over soon.”
Suddenly, there was one extra person in the room. Jiang Jiu soon realized what was happening. However, before the man was given any chance to struggle, his memory started to get muddled. The memories related to the ghost fetus were hidden away, and he soon collapsed unconscious to the ground. Summoning Zhang Yi back into the comic, Chen Ge glanced at Jiang Jiu, who leaned on the seat unconscious, and he quickly yelled at the top of his lungs, “Hey! Are you okay? Hey! Wake up! Can you hear me? Brother Zheng! Brother Zheng! He has fainted! I need help!”
Hearing Chen Ge’s cries for help, the police officers on duty quickly hurried over. They conducted first aid on Jiang Jiu. They concluded that there was nothing wrong with Jiang Jiu. He was not injured, but the problem was that he refused to wake up. “We’d better get him to the hospital stat!”
After the police sent Jiang Jiu away, Chen Ge was again left alone in the room. He took out his phone to give Uncle Xu a call to get an update on the haunted house. After ensuring that everything was running smoothly, he walked to the side of the bed, hugged his backpack in his arms, and curled up and slept. After who knew how long, Chen Ge was shaken awake. He opened his eyes blurrily and saw Lee Zheng and a few of the officers looking down at him.
“You guys are finished with your work?”
“I really did not expect someone to be able to fall asleep at a crime scene. Do you think we summoned you here to provide a place for you to rest?” Lee Zheng was rather speechless when it came to dealing with Chen Ge, but he could see that Chen Ge was indeed incredibly tired.
“Well, that’s because I know you guys are around. I’ve helped the police apprehend so many killers. Naturally, there are many people who are out to get me. Normally, I have to sleep with my eyes open. Only when the people’s guardians are by my side can I sleep peacefully.”
“That’s enough nonsense out of you. You’d better get ready to go back home. And please do not leave Jiujiang for now. We might summon you to aid in the investigation at any moment.” Lee Zheng and the police were very busy. After they said that, they left in a hurry. Chen Ge looked out the window; the sky was already dark.
“Indeed, it’s time to go back. I should have a nice little chat with Chang Gu tonight.” Chang Gu himself was not that unique. He was just a Specter who had a talent in directing, but Chang Wenyu was different. She was the second Red Specter who had her own special page other than Zhang Ya in the black phone. Technically speaking, Chang Wenyu’s soul should have been destroyed at the School of the Afterlife already, but the black phone stated that she was not yet fully dead, and she appeared to know some secrets about the black phone. That was something that Chen Ge minded a lot.
When he returned to New Century Park’s haunted house, the living employees were cleaning up and ready to go home while the ghost employees were all busy with their own things. Chen Ge did not disturb them. He walked straight into the staff breakroom and flipped through the comic to summon out Chang Gu. “There are no outsiders here, so there is no need for you to hold back. Tell me everything that you know.”
The white cat gave the single-eyed person that appeared before it a once over before it jumped to the side with disdain. The cat was always meek before the strong but strong before the meek.
“My little sister’s soul is probably still alive. She that said she has kept a life as a backup.” Chang Gu’s first sentence was so shocking that grabbed Chen Ge’s attention immediately.
“What do you mean by that? Where is this life then?” Chen Ge stared into Chang Gu’s eyes.
“I do not understand it either. That was what she told me. Whether the plan failed or succeeded, as long as I could leave the School of the Afterlife, I needed to hurry to come find you because she wants to make a deal with you.” Chang Wenyu had indeed prepared some insurance. The siblings were not as simple as they seemed.
“What kind of deal?”
“She knows you have a black-colored phone on you, and she even knows that phone has once appeared on another person before. She is willing to tell you everything that she knows and help you complete their favors.” Chang Gu extended out three fingers.
“You guys sure have planned ahead. To ensure that you are not lying to me, I will have to first rescue Chang Wenyu’s spirit.” Chen Ge glanced at Chang Gu. “This is a deal where you guys have nothing to lose.”
“My sister’s eye has seen many things. She will not lie to you.”
“You two sure share a deep and firm relationship. She is directly responsible for your death, but even now, you are still doing everything you can to help her. Even I am getting a little bit touched by it.” Chen Ge stood up and walked a circle around Chang Gu. “There is no problem with me helping Chang Wenyu, but three favors are far from enough.”
“Then, what else do you want?”
“I will tell you later. First, I need you to tell me what kind of help you want from me.” Chen Ge first needed to completely finish all the issues related to Chang Wenyu. This was a mission given by the black phone, and it was a rare chance for him to get to know the black phone a little bit better.
“My sister has hidden a lingering spirit in Xin Hai. The lingering spirit is inside the body of a student. You only need to resuscitate the memory of that lingering spirit.”
“Will the student die after the lingering spirit’s memory has been activated?” Compared to saving Chang Wenyu, Chen Ge was more worried about the innocent student’s life. After all, Chang Wenyu was a Top Red Specter; a normal human would be able to suffer her memory and survive.
“No.” It appeared like Chang Gu was still hiding something else from Chen Ge. “The student is currently enrolled at Xin Hai First High School. She is a girl who was almost dragged into the School of the Afterlife by the door, but my sister saved her.”
“Do you have any other information beyond that?”
“No, that’s all I was told.” Chang Gu had already finished all the words that he was supposed to say. He stood in the middle of the room with a lack of expression on his face except the small trace of melancholy that lingered in his eyes.
“To be able to have been selected by the School of the Afterlife’s door, she must have been bullied at her school before. That helps narrow down the search a lot, so I believe it will not be that difficult to find this girl.” Chen Ge suddenly changed his tone. “But I do not intend to go to Xin Hai any time soon.”
“Why?” Chang Gu felt like Chen Ge was purposely making things difficult for him.
“I have a nemesis currently residing at Xin Hai. If I go there now, they will definitely come for my life.” Chen Ge’s hand phased through Chang Gu’s shoulder. “Before I have everything prepared, my advice is for you to stay here and work. I risked my life at the School of the Afterlife for you and your sister, and in the end, I got betrayed by both of you. Don’t you think it is time for you to work for me to repay your debt?”
“How long do you need to prepare? Can you at least give me a time frame?”
“I guarantee you it will be done within a month.” After saying that, Chen Ge took out his phone. He was now ready to complete another promise that he had been delaying for a long time. Sliding down the screen, Chen Ge called a number. A dial tone came from the other side of the phone. Just the dial tone was enough to make the temperature inside the room dropped several degrees. Several seconds later, the call was connected. A hoarse male voice came through. “Chen Ge? Do you need anything from me?”
Zhang Wenyu!
“I do not need anything from you. It’s like this.” Chen Ge took a deep breath. Even though he was talking on the phone, it felt like the Red Specter’s voice was directly echoing in his mind. “I have expended a lot of energy to help you find a rather famous director within the industry to help, and I believe I have all the required actors. Furthermore, I have more than enough locales at my haunted house to use as set pieces, like schools, an isolated village, a small town, a mental asylum, an underground morgue, and so on. The only thing that I am lacking now is the script.”
“You wish to help the author complete his dying wish?”
“Of course. Wasn’t that our promise from the beginning?” Chen Ge smiled. “Not only him, I will help carry the dying wishes of the other suicide victims out as soon as I can because I might not have much time left.”
“Did something happen to you? Do you need any help?” The male voice on the other end of the phone was chilly and icy. Those who did not know him would think that Zhang Wenyu was a very scary ghost, but those who knew of his past would know how much he loved and cherished this world.
“This has nothing to do with you. If I do need your help, you can be sure that I will tell you.” Chen Ge wanted to form a good relationship with Zhang Wenyu because this Red Specter was someone that he drew from the black phone, and he was extremely rare. It was much more difficult to get him compared to Zhang Ya. In other words, this suicide line operator who died from committing suicide carried many secrets and was incredibly powerful.
Actually, after meeting Zhang Wenyu for the first time, Chen Ge had secretly gone to investigate the man. He realized that the man had left his presence around both Northern and Southern Jiujiang. The reason these two places could be so peaceful probably had plenty to do with this unique Red Specter. Western Jiujiang had Chen Ge’s haunted house, and Eastern Jiujiang had the ghost fetus. Even though neither Southern nor Northern Jiujiang had any powerful Red Specters, that also indirectly proved how unique Zhang Wenyu was. Perhaps, like Zhang Ya, he had many important secrets about him.
No matter the reason, Chen Ge wanted to befriend Zhang Wenyu. Of course, if the latter was willing to become his employee, that would be the best. Zhang Wenyu shouldered many things on his back; he had shouldered all the dying wishes of the suicide victims. In a way, this was very similar to Doctor Gao and the ghost fetus, who had chosen to carry all of the sin that had collected behind the door. But Zhang Wenyu obviously did not lose his mind over this. He still maintained his rationality and sentience after what he did.
Chen Ge had a feeling that Zhang Wenyu was treading a third path. This path was different from Doctor Gao and the ghost fetus, who voluntarily took on all the sin behind the door, and also different from Chen Ge, who opened a haunted house to help all his employees fulfil their wishes, but eventually, all paths would converge to the same destination.
“I will help you complete all the victims’ dying wishes. I know it is inconvenient for you to do certain things, so just leave them all to me.” Chen Ge had gotten information about the author’s bibliography from Zhang Wenyu, and at the same time, he had gained some affection from the man. After the call was ended, Chen Ge went online to search for the author’s published books. After he ordered all the official publications, he turned to discuss the direction of the movie with Chang Gu.
“The camera that Liu Gang’s team carried with them when they came to challenge my haunted house is still with me. Do you think it will work?” Chen Ge had utilized the term ‘recycling’ to its maximum.
“The author’s dying wish is to make a film that will become popular, and you plan to accomplish that with a simple camcorder. Don’t you think that is a bit disrespectful toward the author and his work?” Chang Gu was surprised that the first thing Chen Ge wanted him to do was make a movie, but he did not hate this kind of feeling. At least his talent would not be wasted. “Other than that, making a movie is not as simple as you think. We need to make many preparations, like casting, preparing sets, and gathering props and machinery.”
“Other than the cameras, I basically have everything else here.”
“Well, I do have some camera equipment,” Chang Gu said with a hint of wistfulness. “Do you still remember the holiday villa where we first met? The equipment that I used when I was still alive is all stored there. You can go and take them out. I can lend them to you.”
“The word lend is wrong here. Furthermore, you will be the one using the equipment. I am just returning the equipment to its owner.” Chen Ge picked up Xiaoxiao and signaled for Chang Gu to follow him. “I will first give you a tour of this place. Along the way, you should see if there are any suitable sets.”
Pulling open the door that led underground, the chill wind brushed against the face, and it almost toppled Chang Gu over. This place was indeed scary because even a ghost like him thought the place had an eerie feeling about it.
“Guys, it is time to gather round! We are going to make a movie!” Chen Ge took out the comic, stood at the top of the stairs, and shouted at the underground scenarios. It did not take long for ‘people’ to react. The first was the mannequins from Mu Yang High School, who came out chasing after their heads that had rolled ahead of them. Then came the rustic ghosts from the Living Coffin Village. Lastly, the doctors arrived from the underground morgue. In a few months, Chen Ge’s haunted house had become quite a big family, and the family size was only growing bigger and bigger.
“These are all the actors at my haunted house. They have great experience in how to play a ghost. Perhaps they might not work as the main character, but I believe they have great potential to be side characters.” Chen Ge looked at his employees with satisfaction, and he did not notice that Chang Gu’s face had gone green. This scene from hell was actually a casting opportunity.
Chang Gu’s lips twitched slightly and nodded out of habit. “Okay then.”
“I have seen the movies that you’ve made. They are not bad, so I will leave the rest to you.” Chen Ge shoved Chang Gu into the countless lingering spirits, baleful Specters, and Red Specters. “Let me make the introduction. This is Director Chang. He will be responsible for the production of the movie, so please try to cooperate with him.”
Being stared down by a gauntlet of flaring gazes, Chang Gu had a feeling that his body was being torn apart. He could take the searching views from the normal ghosts, but he felt very uncomfortable being scrutinized by the Red Specters.
“I will leave you guys here to discuss the script and come up with the direction of the plot. I will instead go to the holiday villa to collect the necessary equipment.” Chen Ge called over the driver of Bus Route 104. Before this, after Xiao Bu had taken back the control of Li Wan City, Chen Ge had the girl help him find the bus that had gone missing. Xiao Bu did exactly that. The bus had been placed at the theme park for quite some time after it was moved back from Li Wan City. The reason for that was because it was too easy for this bus to become an urban legend after it got on the road. “Even though I do not have my own Mercedes or a race car like other bosses, but I do at least have my own personal driver.”
The journey took quite some time. After Chen Ge finished moving all the equipment and returned to the haunted house, it was already 3 am. He drove the bus directly to the haunted house, and he had his employees help move the equipment underground.
“Chang Gu, how did the discussion go?” Chen Ge noticed that many of the employees were in preparation or memorizing lines. He realized that Chang Gu had great organizational skill.
“I have skimmed through the work of the author. The easiest among them to be adapted into a movie is a novel about a high school comedy romance—Summer That Year, I Was Eighteen. Of course, this is not to say that his other works are not popular. Every single one of his other books has enjoyed quite the popularity, but this book is the easiest to be adapted into a movie format. Furthermore, we have a lot of students here, and we have an assortments of schools, so we can make the movie from many different angles…”
Chang Gu continued with some professional lingo that confused Chen Ge, so all the latter could do was to nod along. “Well, I see that you have already decided on the setting. What about the casting?”
“I noticed one who has an exceptional talent in acting. When I saw first her, I knew that she would be the main female character.” Chang Gu pulled the Pen Spirit over to him. “She is practically the embodiment of the main character in the book. She is the epitome of youth and has that brooding presence about her that suggests something deeper in her personality. But most importantly, look at her eyes. They are deep with anxiety, suspicion, brashness, as well as anticipation and hope. What is youth? This is youth!”
