Free Web NovelChapter 511: Chapter 444: Chilling in the Secret Room
"Is it possible that during the NPC’s actions, they inadvertently touched a player’s sensitive area?" Yang Xiao asked.
The female clerk shook her head decisively, "No, our boss has stressed repeatedly not to have any unnecessary physical contact with customers, and the direction of the secret door under the table has also been carefully calculated to avoid the players’ positions."
"Which one of them was injured?"
"It was the fat guy with a tattoo on his left arm; his injury wasn’t serious at all, just a small cut on his finger. He was shouting loudly, it scared all of us at the time, but thinking about it later, it seems he cut himself when the lights were off," the female clerk said, growing angrier as she thought about it.
Yang Xiao recalled for a moment and remembered that indeed there was a short, plump man among those outside, dyed with a Yin-Yang Head, half black and half white, extremely arrogant. ƒreewebɳovel.com
"Did they mention what their demands are?" Yang Xiao continued to ask.
"Yes, they want us to compensate them financially, publicly apologize to them, and also... immediately discontinue the Fenmen Ghost Play, which they claim violates rules," the female clerk said in one breath.
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiao’s blood pressure surged instantly. It was one thing to extort some money, but to demand the discontinuation of his own script, daring to target his livelihood, these people truly did not understand the methods of Ming Emperor Ye Xiao.
"Teacher Wen?" The female clerk did not know Yang Xiao’s real name, only his pen name used for writing scripts, and just in that instant, she felt the man’s aura before her shift dramatically, turning chilling and intimidating.
"It’s nothing," Yang Xiao calmed down. He had already thought of how to deal with these nuisances, "Could you please explain the gameplay of this script for me?"
The room was not small; Yang Xiao had been to Zhao’s shop before and remembered that it used to be two smaller rooms, which had been combined.
A long table with an ancient feel was placed in the center of the room, on which sat an antique purple clay teapot and a complete set of tea accessories. The surroundings were also decorated to replicate as much as possible the descriptions in his script, including an old-fashioned wooden wardrobe, a dark red dressing table, and a wooden bed against the wall with a light gauze curtain hanging down, creating a mysterious atmosphere.
There was a row of plastic mannequins near the wardrobe, dressed in costumes that matched the era of the script, for both men and women, and they appeared to be of decent quality, aiding players in quickly immersing themselves into the roles of the script.
The two supporting boards underneath the long table had a special space left between them; if the secret door were closed, it wouldn’t be visible from outside, and the space inside was also sufficient to hide an adult of not very great stature.
After patiently listening to the female clerk’s introduction, Yang Xiao had a more systematic understanding of the gameplay of the script. Though he had written the script, Zhao had made some modifications based on the actual needs of the shop.
Just as he had initially planned, the Fenmen Ghost Play script combined elements of deduction and the supernatural, guiding players with NPCs to find clues on their own, thereby experiencing the joy within the script. Yang Xiao’s original intention in writing the script was to bring joy to the customers.
Several key horror elements in the room were designed according to Yang Xiao’s plans, pushing players to progress the plot while continuously being frightened and finding clues, such as the scene where one turns off the lights and looks in the mirror, requiring a female player to light a candle and sit alone in front of the mirror to comb her hair for one minute.
But the candle was designed not to last that long, extinguishing in about 30 seconds. At this time, the female player before the mirror would discover that, even without the candle, the mirror was still lit, showing another woman dressed like her combing her hair, only disheveled and covered in blood.
This was a prerecorded video, shot by the store’s staff sitting in the same spot and wearing the same ancient costume as the player. However, according to the female clerk, the scary effect of this scene was exceptionally good.
Similar setups included the creepy knocking sound from within the wardrobe, a ghostly hand reaching out from under the bed, and terrifying figures stuck on the outside of the window.
Yang Xiao took a look at the terrifying silhouette stuck to the window; it was made by a staff member wearing a helmet much larger than their head, clearly a reenactment of his initial visit to Feng Family Mansion, featuring an utterly bloated ghostly shadow on the outside of the window.
From the layout, it was clear that Zhao had put a lot of thought into it. Because of this, Yang Xiao would not let Zhao’s and his own efforts go to waste.
Of course, the most cunning design was the person hiding under the table. The placement of the secret door was ingeniously chosen so that even knowing the setup, Yang Xiao might have gotten a fright his first time playing.
Of course, frightening Yang Xiao would come at a cost, because the next second he would draw out the Ghost Duster. Whether it was a person or a ghost, he would strike first and ask questions later.
Having toured all the setups in the room, Yang Xiao had memorized them thoroughly. The most conspicuous object on the plastic mannequins was a red wedding gown intended for an NPC to wear, hiding under the table and silently crawling out during the designated time when the lights were off, blending in with the players to create a surprise. This was also Yang Xiao’s forte.
"Do me a favor, go outside and call those Yellow Hair guys in. Let them play again for free, no charge. If there are any further issues with the script, or even just dissatisfaction, we’ll agree to their demands, compensation, script discontinuation," he said.
