"I can't allow that," Inspector Lee said, shaking his head firmly. "Catching fugitives is our job. We can't let you put yourself in harm's way."
"I'd stay at the Haunted House to make Zhang Peng think he's still undetected," Chen Ge explained after careful thought. "That'll draw him back to follow through with his plan. When he returns, you can apprehend him. If we miss him now, I'll spend every day looking over my shoulder, knowing he could strike anytime."
"We'll need to consult the city's investigation team first. Ping An Apartments is their case; we're just assisting from the western station. But I'll pass along your suggestion." Inspector Lee packed his laptop, made a quick call, and left the security room with the other two officers.
Uncle Xu approached after the police departed, concern etched on his face. "Xiao Chen, listen to the police. Find somewhere safer to stay for a few days—anywhere but the Haunted House."
"Hiding won't solve this, Uncle Xu, but thank you for worrying about me."
After reviewing the surveillance once more, Chen Ge headed back to the Haunted House.
Xu Wan leaned against the gate. Spotting Chen Ge returning from the security office, she gestured to a boxed meal on the table. "Boss, today's lunch is stir-fried green chili with pork and rice. I snuck an extra scoop of meat for you when the canteen auntie wasn't looking."
Chen Ge thanked her warmly but chose not to mention Zhang Peng. He wolfed down the meal and started the afternoon shift. Xu Wan played the ghost in the Minghun scenario while Chen Ge manned the entrance, selling tickets. His head was bowed, but his eyes scanned every corner of the park.
Zhang Peng's presence could be a curse or an opportunity, depending on how I play it.
After completing multiple black phone missions, Chen Ge's logical reasoning and stress tolerance had sharpened significantly.
There's a mirror monster lurking in the Haunted House, slipping between mirrors and reality at will. As long as a mirror's present, it's untouchable. Chen Ge sold tickets on autopilot, his mind racing. The attacks on He San and He Feng were similar. He Feng said the monster tried to possess their bodies, swapping their consciousness. We don't know why yet, but if it enters a body, could it be trapped there, even temporarily?
He'd noticed this possibility while talking to He Feng but lacked a safe way to test it—until Zhang Peng appeared that morning.
When Chen Ge confirmed Zhang Peng on the footage, a plan crystallized. He would lure Zhang Peng into the Haunted House and let the mirror monster possess him, neutralizing both threats at once. That's why he insisted on staying.
It's a risky plan, but if it works, I'll eliminate two dangers in one move.
In the waning light of a late afternoon, around five o'clock, Chen Ge summoned Xu Wan to a quiet corner of their shared space. Sensing her unease, he offered words of comfort, his voice low and soothing, aiming to ease the tension that clung to her like a second skin. Their eyes met in a fleeting moment of connection, and within that gaze, a spark ignited—a mutual recognition of a deep, unspoken desire that pulsed beneath the surface. Without hesitation, Chen Ge swept Xu Wan into his arms, her body light against his, and carried her with purpose toward the bedroom, their footsteps echoing with anticipation.
As they crossed the threshold, no words were needed. The air between them crackled with an electric charge, and they surrendered to the pull of their longing. Their lips collided in a fervent kiss, a collision of heat and hunger, each responding to the other's fervor with unrestrained passion. Xu Wan's lips, soft and yielding, carried the faint, tantalizing scent of fresh lemon, a sweetness that mingled with the intensity of their embrace. Their tongues danced, entwining in a sensual rhythm, as if each were drawing life from the other. The kiss deepened, their lips and teeth locked in a desperate exchange, as though they were drowning in an ocean of desire, each breath stolen from the other's mouth.
The fire of their passion blazed hotter with every passing second, consuming them until it roared beyond control. Xu Wan, emboldened by the moment, took the lead, her fingers deftly unfastening Chen Ge's trousers. With a bold tug, she freed his straining erection from its confines, her hand closing around it with a confident grip, stroking with deliberate intent. Her touch was a key, unlocking a floodgate of raw desire. In a frenzy, they tore at each other's clothes, shedding layers of fabric that fell in a scattered trail from the door to the bed. By the time they collapsed onto the mattress, they were bare, their skin pressed flush against one another, every touch a spark that fueled their shared inferno.
Chen Ge's hands found Xu Wan's slender waist, his fingers tracing the curve of her body as he positioned himself behind her. His teasing touches sent shivers through her, electric currents radiating from her most sensitive places, setting her nerves alight. Xu Wan, already consumed by desire, felt her last threads of restraint unraveling under the weight of her need. Her body ached for him, every sensation amplified by the heat of the moment. Yet, despite her longing, she hesitated, unable to voice the final, shameful plea, perhaps held back by the dynamic of their professional relationship.
Chen Ge, however, needed no words. With a single, powerful thrust, he entered her, his length sinking fully into her, enveloped by the warmth of her body. The sound of their union was visceral, a soft gasp escaping Xu Wan as she arched beneath him. "So tight," he murmured, his voice rough with desire, leaning close to her ear. "Is this what you want, little one?"
Xu Wan was lost to the overwhelming pleasure that flooded her senses. Her body trembled, her inner walls gripping him tightly as waves of ecstasy coursed through her. Her hips moved instinctively, seeking more, her voice breaking free in a breathless cry. "Boss… it feels so good… please, love me!" Her words, raw and unguarded, were a surrender to the moment.
But Chen Ge, savoring his control, slowed his movements, a wicked smile curling his lips. He withdrew, leaving her aching with an unbearable emptiness. Xu Wan's body protested, a restless itch spreading through her as she turned to him, her flushed face a mixture of confusion and desperation. "Why… why did you stop?" she pleaded, her voice trembling.
His smirk widened as he held himself just out of reach, the tip of his arousal brushing teasingly against her sensitive entrance. "You haven't told me what you want, Xu Wan," he taunted, his tone laced with mischief. "How can I give it to you if you don't say it?"
Her cheeks burned with a mix of embarrassment and frustration, but her need was too great to ignore. She writhed beneath his teasing, her resolve crumbling. "Please… I can't take it," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "I need… I need you…"
"What do you need?" Chen Ge pressed, his patience thinning, his own desire straining against his restraint. His touch grew more insistent, circling her most sensitive spot, driving her to the edge.
Finally, Xu Wan's shame gave way. "I want… I want your cock," she gasped, the words spilling out in a rush, her voice thick with longing. "Please, I need it inside me."
A triumphant glint flashed in Chen Ge's eyes. "And what do you want it to do?" he growled, pushing her further, determined to hear every confession.
Her surrender was complete. "I want it to fuck me," she cried, her voice breaking as she gave herself over to him entirely. "Please, boss… I need you to fuck me."
In the throes of their shared passion, Xu Wan cast aside the last vestiges of restraint, her voice trembling with raw, unfiltered desire as she surrendered completely to Chen Ge. "I want… I want your big cock, boss!" she cried, her words spilling out in a fervent plea, stripped of all shame. "Fuck me! Fuck your slut's pussy… please, ah~!" Her unabashed confession laid bare the intensity of her longing, her body and soul wholly offered to the man before her, every pretense of modesty shattered in the heat of the moment.
Chen Ge, emboldened by her surrender, responded with a primal intensity that matched her fervor. With a powerful thrust of his hips, he drove himself deep inside her once more, the sensation of her warmth enveloping him igniting a surge of pride. The Xu Wan he knew—poised and professional—had transformed under his touch, yielding entirely to the desires he had awakened. She was his, utterly and unreservedly, a thought that fueled his vigor as he reveled in her submission. His movements were relentless, each thrust a declaration of dominance, his hips moving with a ferocity that blurred into a rhythmic symphony of flesh against flesh. The room filled with the visceral sounds of their union—the sharp "pa pa pa" of skin colliding and the wet, slick "tsk tsk tsk" of their bodies moving in sync, a torrential downpour of passion that drowned out all else.
Chen Ge pushed himself beyond his usual limits, his body driven by a heady mix of triumph and lust. His thrusts were fierce, almost punishing, as he poured every ounce of his strength into claiming her. Xu Wan, swept away by the intensity, abandoned her usual restraint. Her moans, once soft and subdued, erupted into high-pitched cries that echoed through the room, each note laced with desperation and ecstasy. "Oh, boss… you're fucking me so good!" she gasped, her voice thick with pleasure, words spilling from her lips that she would never have dared utter in any other moment. "Harder… please, don't stop!"
Her cries grew more frantic as she teetered on the edge of release. "I'm… I'm coming!" she screamed, her body trembling uncontrollably. "Fuck me harder… fuck me to death… I'm so close… ah, it's coming!" Her words, raw and unfiltered, pushed Chen Ge to the brink, his own climax building with an intensity that threatened to overwhelm him. "Xu Wan… I'm gonna cum!" he growled, his voice rough with need. "Tell me… where do you want it? Tell me now!"
Lost in the throes of her own ecstasy, Xu Wan's mind was a haze of pleasure, her body wracked with sensations that left her breathless. "Inside… cum inside me!" she begged, her voice breaking as she gave in to the primal urge. "Fill your slut… I want it all… I want to carry your baby!" Her words, a mix of desperation and devotion, shattered the last of Chen Ge's restraint.
With a guttural roar, he let go. "Take it… take it all!" he groaned, his release surging forth with a force that felt as though it would empty him entirely. His body shook as he poured himself into her, the intensity of his climax matched only by the ferocity of her own. Xu Wan's cries reached a fever pitch, her body convulsing as waves of pleasure crashed over her. "So much… it's so hot!" she moaned, her voice a mix of awe and surrender as she felt him fill her completely. "I'm coming… oh, I'm coming!"
Their bodies locked together, trembling in the aftermath of their shared climax, they clung to one another as if anchoring themselves against the storm of sensation. Chen Ge's release was unrelenting, a torrent that seemed to flood every inch of Xu Wan's being. Her body, overwhelmed, could no longer contain it; the excess spilled from her, seeping into every crevice and fold, a testament to the intensity of their union. For a moment, time seemed to stand still, the world reduced to the heat of their bodies and the ragged cadence of their breaths.
Though the encounter was brief, its ferocity left them both spent, their souls adrift in the afterglow. Chen Ge, mindful of responsibilities awaiting him, knew their time was limited, but the memory of this moment—Xu Wan's complete surrender, the raw power of their connection—would linger long after they parted. As they lay entwined, the room silent save for their slowing breaths, the weight of their shared passion settled over them, a bond forged in the fire of their desire.
In the aftermath of their intense encounter, Xu Wan's thighs still glistened with traces of their passion, the faint yellow-white liquid a lingering reminder of their fervor. Yet, Chen Ge, ever pragmatic, urged her to hasten home, his tone laced with concern for her safety in the encroaching dusk. His mind was already shifting to the tasks ahead, preoccupied with preparations for Zhang Peng, a figure whose shadow loomed large over his plans. As the clock struck six in the evening, Chen Ge's phone buzzed with a call from Inspector Lee, whose voice crackled with authority. The police, he informed Chen Ge, had established a tight perimeter around New Century Park, a net woven so finely that Zhang Peng, should he dare to appear, would find escape impossible. After a hurried dinner, Chen Ge gathered the ominous attire of Doctor Skull-cracker—his heavy coat and menacing hammer—and made his way to the Haunted House's main control room. With a resolute click, he locked the door behind him, settling into the chair before a bank of flickering monitors. Barring any unforeseen disruptions, he intended to remain there, vigilant, through the long, uncertain night.
The control room, though a fortress of sorts, was not without its vulnerabilities. Chen Ge's eyes scanned the screens, his brow furrowing as he noted the scarcity of cameras. The Haunted House's sprawling layout was riddled with blind spots, dark corners where danger could lurk unseen. "Too few cameras," he muttered to himself, his voice barely audible over the hum of the equipment. "I can't afford to let my guard down, not tonight." His fingers tightened around the hammer's handle, a silent vow to remain alert, no matter how the hours dragged on.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of crimson and violet, New Century Park transformed. The cheerful bustle of the day gave way to an unsettling stillness, the air thick with an eerie, almost palpable tension. Wrapped in the Doctor Skull-cracker's outfit, its coarse fabric a shield against the chill, Chen Ge sat ensconced in the control room, his eyes fixed on the monitors. The minutes ticked by, each one heavier than the last, until midnight arrived. The hour brought with it an unsettling shift—those who had no business being there seemed to stir, while those expected remained conspicuously absent, their absence a gnawing void in the night's rhythm.
Echoes of the previous night's disturbances resurfaced, chillingly familiar. From the Murder by Midnight scenario, the unmistakable sound of sawing pierced the silence, a grating, deliberate noise that seemed to mock Chen Ge's vigilance. "Is it taunting me?" he wondered aloud, his voice tinged with frustration. He shrugged off the heavy coat, rising from his chair and pacing to the door, his mind wrestling with the urge to confront whatever lurked beyond. Yet caution prevailed. "Not yet," he decided, retreating to his post. Slipping the ear-mic back into place, he clutched the doll left by his parents—a talisman of comfort—and resumed his watch, the monitors casting a ghostly glow across his face.
At approximately one in the morning, when fatigue threatened to dull his senses, a flicker of movement on the screen jolted Chen Ge back to full alertness. The bathroom door, captured in grainy black-and-white, rattled faintly, as though nudged by an unseen hand. "Someone's there," he whispered, his pulse quickening. Leaning closer, he watched as the door creaked open, revealing a lanky figure slipping through the narrow gap. The man wielded a twenty-centimeter boning knife, its blade glinting faintly in the dim light. Chen Ge's mind raced, piecing together the intruder's path. "That bathroom… it's where I completed my first Nightmare Mission. The window leads outside. He must've set up a stepping stone, tampered with the lock earlier." His voice was calm, but his eyes burned with focus as he tracked the figure's movements.
The control room's obscurity was its strength; its location, tucked away in the labyrinthine Haunted House, was known only to a few. The locked door stood as a barrier, and Chen Ge's composure held as he watched the intruder—Zhang Peng, he presumed—navigate the corridor. Zhang Peng moved with cautious precision, his knife in one hand and his phone in the other, its screen casting a faint glow. Oblivious to the cameras tracking his every step, he sidestepped the scattered props and debris littering the path, his focus consumed by the obstacles before him. Chen Ge's lips curled into a faint, grim smile. "He has no idea he's being watched."
Fifteen minutes of painstaking progress brought Zhang Peng to the staff breakroom, where he paused, his hesitation palpable even through the grainy feed. His chest heaved, his breathing uneven, and the hand gripping the knife trembled with indecision. He reached for the door, only to pull back, his fingers hovering just shy of the handle. Again and again, he repeated the motion, caught in a silent battle with his own resolve. Chen Ge watched, unblinking, as Zhang Peng wrestled with his choice, the camera above the door capturing every moment of his turmoil. After twenty agonizing seconds, resolve hardened in Zhang Peng's posture. Raising the knife, he seized the doorknob, took a deep breath, and shoved the door open, leaping into the breakroom with the ferocity of a predator.
A minute later, Zhang Peng emerged, the knife still in hand, now stained with a smear of red—likely from an accidental slash to his own arm, Chen Ge surmised. His expression had darkened, a storm of frustration and determination etching lines into his face. Tossing the knife to his other hand, he glanced toward the stairs before quickening his pace, moving deeper into the corridor. The monitors revealed his trajectory: he was heading toward the control room. Chen Ge's fingers flew across his phone, sending a swift message to Inspector Lee. Gripping the hammer tightly, he positioned himself behind the door, ready to deliver a classic horror-movie ambush.
But Zhang Peng defied expectation. Instead of approaching the control room, he veered past, his footsteps echoing faintly as he entered the workers' passageway. Chen Ge frowned, confusion knitting his brow. "What's he playing at?" he muttered, hurrying back to the monitors. The screens showed Zhang Peng at the passageway's end, his knife prying at the wooden planks sealing a trap door. With a final wrench, the boards gave way, and without a moment's hesitation, he disappeared into the darkness below, leaving Chen Ge to grapple with the enigma of his intentions.