Haunted House

Ye Shuang took a bite—the ice cream was cold and sweet, but the next second, he realized this might count as an indirect kiss. However, Bai Yuyou continued eating the ice cream without any particular reaction, nibbling away like a little hamster.

"Ye Shuang... here..."

The girl offered the ice cream to him again.

"You eat it," Ye Shuang said. Then, as if noticing something, he pulled out a pack of tissues from his small backpack, took one, and leaned down slightly—gently cupping Bai Yuyou’s face with one hand while using the other to wipe away the ice cream smeared at the corner of her lips.

"Eat carefully. Your mouth is covered in ice cream—it’ll get sticky later."

"Oh."

Once they were nearly finished, Ye Shuang unfolded the free paper map he had picked up. "What do you want to play next?"

"I’ll take... Ye Shuang to play." Bai Yuyou finished off the ice cream, even crunching down the waffle cone. Afterward, she pulled out her phone, seemingly referencing some kind of guide.

Ye Shuang smiled. "Alright, you lead the way."

Bai Yuyou held Ye Shuang’s hand and led him through twists and turns until they arrived in front of a bizarre-looking building.

It was in a relatively secluded corner of the amusement park—a dilapidated structure resembling a hospital, about three or four stories tall, with pale walls stained in bloody red and patches of moss creeping along the surface.

[Gengar Hospital]

"A haunted house, huh?" Ye Shuang glanced at Bai Yuyou beside him. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Bai Yuyou nodded seriously.

The guide had mentioned that visiting a haunted house would trigger the "suspension bridge effect," which could bring two people closer.

She didn’t quite understand what the suspension bridge effect was, but she grasped the meaning of "closer."

"Then let’s go." Ye Shuang wasn’t afraid of this. Since Bai Yuyou wanted to try it, he wouldn’t refuse—it was still better than a roller coaster.

The staff member was dressed in a Gengar mascot costume. He explained,

"Gengar Hospital is a limited-time horror challenge. Visitors will encounter a series of puzzles inside. If you can solve them within the time limit and retrieve the treasure, you’ll receive an additional prize."

"If it gets too scary at any point, you can exit early."

Hearing this, Ye Shuang grew a little more interested. "How long is the time limit?"

"Thirty minutes."

"Alright, let’s do it."

The staff led Ye Shuang and Bai Yuyou to the entrance. Just then, a couple stumbled out, their faces pale. "Holy crap, that was terrifying!"

"Absolutely not meant for humans."

They muttered under their breath, casting pitiful glances at Ye Shuang and Bai Yuyou as if already knowing what awaited them.

"The two players must enter from separate entrances," the staff member ahead announced.

"Separate?"

"Yes. You’ll reunite during the puzzle-solving, but you start apart." Hearing this, Ye Shuang turned to Bai Yuyou. "Is that okay?"

Bai Yuyou gave a soft nod. "Okay."

With that, the two split up.

"Enter through here. Here’s a flashlight—enjoy the game." The staff handed over the prop—an ordinary flashlight.

Inside the hospital, everything was shrouded in darkness, the floor splattered with dark red stains.

Ye Shuang turned on the flashlight, revealing a scene of utter disarray—broken furniture, overturned equipment, and eerie figures in white coats sprawled on the ground.

The oppressive atmosphere, dim lighting, and reliance on the flashlight made Ye Shuang feel like he was playing a survival horror game.

As he passed the nurse’s station, he noticed a pristine sheet of paper on the desk, starkly out of place amidst the ruin.

He picked it up.

[Find the key and proceed to the second floor.]

[Beware of them!]

"Emergency, Internal Medicine, Surgery..." Ye Shuang shone the flashlight over the department signs. According to the note, he needed to search these rooms for the key while avoiding the staff playing as monsters.

Not too difficult—just unnerving. This place was probably one of the scariest haunted houses in the province.

But...

What did any of this have to do with Gengar?

"Is this really not just a branding gimmick?" Then again, forcing Pokémon into a haunted house would probably make it less scary and more trouble than it was worth.

Ye Shuang glanced around, his thoughts drifting to Bai Yuyou.

Would she be scared?

---

Meanwhile, Bai Yuyou had also found the same note—her task was identical: locate a key and head to the second floor.

"Key..."

"Need to meet... Ye Shuang..."

Clutching the flashlight, she began searching through the various departments. Along the way, she encountered terrifying props and jump scares—amplified by the darkness and the limited visibility of the flashlight.

But Bai Yuyou showed no fear. If anything, she was accustomed to dark, desolate environments—her old attic had been just as lifeless and broken.

As she rummaged through the rooms without so much as a scream, the staff watching the monitors exchanged baffled looks.

"What’s going on? Even we get scared playing this, but this girl isn’t reacting at all?"

"Some people are just naturally brave. Remember that streamer who ended up scaring us instead?"

"But she’s just a small girl—shouldn’t she be terrified?"

"Don’t worry, the first floor’s the easy part. The key room is where things get really scary." Another staff member grinned, clearly eager to see Bai Yuyou scream in fright.

Soon, Bai Yuyou entered the final department—the one containing the key.

Aside from broken equipment, the room held a single hospital bed. Under the dim light, a white sheet covered something on the bed, its shape unmistakably resembling a corpse.

A bluish-purple hand protruded from beneath the sheet, clutching the key.

"Key..." Spotting it, Bai Yuyou walked straight over.

Just as she reached for it, the "corpse" (played by a staff member) suddenly lurched up with a guttural growl—"RAAAAH!!!"

Most people would either freeze in terror or flee outright upon seeing the "corpse" suddenly move.

But the staff member was stunned when Bai Yuyou remained completely unfazed. She simply looked at the key in his hand and asked softly,

"Can I... have the key...?"

"Huh?" The staff member blinked, then instinctively handed it over. "Oh, here."

"Thank you." Bai Yuyou took the key and turned to leave.

Before exiting, she even thoughtfully closed the door behind her.

The staff member: "..."

Huh?

You have no respect for ghosts?