Chapter 1 Qiao Liang's Terrifying Journey

As soon as Qiao Liang entered the safe house, enthusiastic applause erupted.

"Qiao Laoshi is amazing, actually made it to the second checkpoint!"

"This shows that your potential hasn't been fully unleashed!"

"Quick, adjust your state! There's definitely no problem clearing all of 'Ultimate Horror' in one go today!"

Qiao Liang looked blank as he sat down at the table with everyone. Faced with the barrage of compliments, he couldn't help but feel a little lightheaded.

Everyone says I'm amazing, that I made it to the second checkpoint?

Yeah, I think so too!

Qiao Liang's tense nerves finally relaxed a little. At the same time, he finally had time to take a good look at the safe house.

There were snacks, drinks, and restrooms.

There were several doors around, with numbers on them, representing different checkpoints. Next to each door was a staff member, who, in addition to selling drinks and snacks, would record each visitor's progress into a computer system and print out a voucher.

Only by holding this voucher could one return to "Ultimate Horror" from the corresponding checkpoint.

When Qiao Liang came out, the staff also gave him the corresponding voucher. He could take the paper with him. There was an express lane in the safe house that led directly outside.

However, to go from the safe house to the various attractions, one had to obtain the staff's permission, because the staff had to decide whether "cutting in line" would affect other visitors' experience, based on the number of people currently experiencing the attraction.

In short, Qiao Liang was satisfied and subconsciously looked at the exit door.

He had already reached the second checkpoint today, which seemed very impressive!

Could he... take a break?

Seeing Qiao Liang's expression, everyone immediately realized what he was thinking.

Ruan Guangjian said with a smile, "Qiao Laoshi, see, I told you it's not scary at all, right? Especially at the beginning, you definitely can't experience anything while holding that lantern."

"Here, wear this for the later parts."

As Ruan Guangjian spoke, he handed the little devil headband in his hand to Qiao Liang, wanting to exchange it for the golden lantern in Qiao Liang's hand.

Qiao Liang's expression changed, and he subconsciously tightened his grip on the golden lantern: "Don't come any closer!"

He was counting on this golden lantern to survive. He was already so scared with the lantern, what would happen if he didn't have it? He'd probably die on the spot!

Lin Wan encouraged him: "Come on! As the saying goes, everything is hard at the beginning. You've already had a good start, and the rest is just more of the same. I believe you can do it!"

Qiao Liang: "..."

Believe you, my foot!

The rest definitely won't be like this!

Qiao Liang had already realized that the horror house would constantly increase the level of terror based on the visitor's tolerance threshold, ensuring that the visitor would be scared each time but not scared away.

Qiao Liang, who was well aware of this, remained unmoved and coughed twice: "I think this kind of experience must have its ups and downs. Good things should be savored in small doses. Brother Ruan has set a good example for me. I'll save my progress first and experience the rest another day..."

Chen Kangtuo said with a smile, "Next time for sure? Qiao Laoshi, I remember you saying in your videos that you hate 'next time for sure' behavior the most!"

"If your fans find out about this, they'll say, 'Let's save the triple tap first, and then submit it another day...'"

The corner of Qiao Liang's mouth twitched slightly.

Damn it, he's got me by the short hairs!

As an up-and-coming vlogger, the thing he hated to see the most was the phrase "next time for sure," but now he was going to say it himself?

It did sound a little hypocritical...

Chen Kangtuo added: "Oh, right, there's one more thing."

"Qiao Laoshi, Wu Bin from our company's human resources department is currently interviewing President Pei's friends, wanting to publish a book that interprets President Pei's stories and Tengda's spirit."

"I just gave them your contact information. They should be interviewing you soon."

"But..."

"If someone who claims to know President Pei the best can't even clear President Pei's haunted house or interpret it well... wouldn't that interview lack credibility?"

"They might have to find someone else then..."

Qiao Liang was stunned: "R-really? You're not lying to me, are you?"

Chen Kangtuo spread his hands: "We Tengda people have always been honest! If I lied to you, would President Pei let me off the hook? Look at our chat history."

Chen Kangtuo handed over his phone, showing his chat history with Wu Bin.

Qiao Liang looked at it and realized that what Chen Kangtuo said was actually true!

"This..."

Qiao Liang fell into another internal struggle.

What Chen Kangtuo said made sense. When they interviewed him, they would definitely ask about issues related to Thrill Island. If he didn't know anything about the content, wouldn't that be embarrassing?

To claim to be the person who knows President Pei the best, yet he hadn't even fully experienced President Pei's work...

Unthinkable!

Qiao Liang looked at the golden lantern in his hand and finally made up his mind.

"Alright, I'll clear all of Thrill Island this afternoon!"

...

...

Half an hour later, at the exit of "Ultimate Horror."

Qiao Liang walked out with the golden lantern in his hand. His mood at this moment could only be described in four words: seeing the light of day again!

However, looking at the completion certificate in his hand, Qiao Liang felt that all the torture he had suffered was worth it!

The certificate detailed the props Qiao Liang used (golden lantern), the number of times he entered the safe house (2), and the completion time (46 minutes).

In addition to this information, there was one more very important sentence: You are the first person to clear "Ultimate Horror"!

All of this information was recorded by the system and automatically printed on the officially stamped completion certificate as a memento.

Everyone hadn't been lying to him. The honor of being the first to clear was still available.

Even Ruan Guangjian hadn't competed for this honor.

After receiving this certificate, all of Qiao Liang's previous fear, grievance, nervousness, and other complex emotions were swept away, replaced by emotion, excitement, and relief!

Although he had stayed in "Ultimate Horror" for a little longer, and many places had taken longer because he was cowardly and walked too slowly, reaching 46 minutes, the honor of being the first to clear was worth cherishing forever!

Of course, Qiao Liang himself knew very well that this ranking was somewhat inflated.

If Ruan Guangjian wanted to take this honor, then Qiao Liang could only get second place.

But Ruan Guangjian had generously given up this honor.

As Qiao Liang walked out of the exit, enthusiastic applause and cheers rang out!

"Congratulations, Lao Qiao!"

"You've conquered yourself!"

"Awesome! As your fan, I feel genuinely proud!"

"President Pei's efforts were not in vain!"

The few fans from before, as well as Lin Wan, Chen Kangtuo, Ruan Guangjian, and others, had all gathered together and were applauding enthusiastically.

Qiao Liang was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes. He rushed over and hugged Ruan Guangjian directly.

"Brother Ruan, thank you, thank you so much!"

"And thank you everyone! Without you, I wouldn't have been able to conquer myself and get this honor!"

"At this moment, I want to thank... thank Brother Ruan! Without you, I wouldn't have been able to persist!"

"Without everyone's help, I wouldn't have been able to clear this, and I might have missed out on President Pei's work!"

Qiao Liang's emotion made everyone a little embarrassed.

Actually, everyone just wanted to see him pee his pants in fear, and then have him make a video about it...

But seeing Qiao Liang so happy, everyone was too embarrassed to tell him the truth and could only continue to maintain their smiles and play their parts.

"Ah, my phone."

Qiao Liang suddenly realized something and took out his phone from his pocket.

When entering "Ultimate Horror," one could bring their phone or not. If they didn't bring it, they could leave it with the staff and pick it up later.

Qiao Liang hadn't brought it in because he was too scared to.

Imagine, in a silent haunted house, terrifying monsters are wandering around, and you're tiptoeing trying to sneak past, when suddenly, your phone rings...

Too horrible to imagine.

So Qiao Liang finally retrieved his phone after clearing "Ultimate Horror."

He unlocked it and saw that there were three missed calls, all from President Pei.

"President Pei... is actually so concerned about me? He called three times?"

Qiao Liang couldn't help but be surprised.

President Pei was busy with work and usually didn't respond to messages, let alone proactively call others, and even call three times in a row!

This was enough to show that President Pei cared about and valued him, his friend, very much!

Qiao Liang before entering "Ultimate Horror" was confused and timid.

But Qiao Liang after coming out of "Ultimate Horror" had all his confusion and timidity swept away, leaving only pride.

He immediately raised his head and chest and dialed back, and then excitedly said the moment the phone connected: "President Pei! I did it!"

Pei Qian on the other end of the phone almost spat out his coffee.

You beast, what did you do!

After making the phone call, Pei Qian had thought that Qiao Liang had given up on the idea of going to "Ultimate Horror," so he relaxed and started working on his own things.

But a few minutes later, he picked up his phone and looked at Guan Peisheng's report, and he was instantly dumbfounded.

Why did this guy still go in?!

I gave you so many generous conditions, so much temptation, and you still couldn't stop your suicidal steps?

He hurriedly called Qiao Liang, but all the calls went unanswered!

Now, Qiao Liang's first call back was, "I did it," which almost made Pei Qian pass out.

"You... cleared 'Ultimate Horror'? Aren't you afraid?"

In addition to shock, Pei Qian also felt confused.

Because he created the Thrill Island project, in addition to losing money, there was also a very important task, which was to get revenge on the people on his little notebook.

"Ultimate Horror" was even modeled after haunted houses like Wushan Mental Hospital, which were frightening to the extreme. Few people should be able to clear it, right?

So he could tolerate it if Ruan Guangjian cleared it, but Qiao Laoshi was able to clear it too?

This... what was the dignity of Thrill Island?

Qiao Liang said with relief: "Afraid! Scared to death!"

"But, it was President Pei's spirit that ignited me!"

"Like for mountaineers, they can't not go because the mountain is there."

"I can't not go either, because President Pei's project is there!"

"Since it's a puzzle left by President Pei, I must clear it!"

Pei Qian was speechless with anger: "All the benefits I mentioned before are gone!"

Qiao Liang smiled slightly: "Yes, but I don't regret it! President Pei, thank you for letting me understand that this unforgettable haunted house journey is more precious than all those things combined!"

Pei Qian was silent for a moment, then hung up the phone quietly.

He's gone mad, this world is mad!