The Haunted House Of Blockwoods

Chapter 5: 25 Minutes and 14 Seconds

"Skill and talent? Looks like the reward for Nightmare Mission is different in the sense that the reward is directly beneficial to myself!"

Making a mental note of this important point, Aaron's heart burned with anticipation. He had seen the existence of the other world, the world of terror, fear, darkness, and danger. Perhaps that world was where his parents had gone, but based on his current power, keeping himself safe was a big enough issue, let alone looking for them. Thankfully, with the black phone by his side, there was still a chance.

"In any case, that is still quite far in the future. The thing I need to focus on is to stabilize the Haunted House business and survive this imminent financial crisis. He pulled out his phone. "That was close: something disastrous could have happened. This shows that Nightmare Missions aren't so easily completed. Then again, there's no reason for me to go about this alone, in an information age like ours, help can be reached at the tip of one's fingers"

He logged into a few famous national supernatural forums and uploaded the original video,

A few seconds later, his video was dubbed, "Who is that in the mirror?

It was rapidly viewed and shared. Perhaps people were so bored of the usual host of gossip and news that they wanted to switch it up. The popularity of the video shot up like an arrow, every time Aaron refreshed the page, there would be at least ten new comments.

"25:14. You all can thank me later."

"Has the uploader lost his mind? Who would do something like this in the middle of the night?

"Why did the cracks appear on the mirror on their own? Also, what was that thing that knocked into the mirror near the end there □.

"The cracks are mostly caused by temperature manipulation inside the room."

"No, you guys are all wrong, in Daoism, mirrors are items of pure yin energy. I suggest the video's title be changed from "Who is that in the mirror" to "The Ghost in the mirror!

"Jesus Christ, who dares do something this crazy so late at night I'm impressed by the uploader's bravery"

"This video has definitely been tampered with; if not, take down my ID, I'll stand on my hand and eat shit!

"Am I the only one who noticed this? The profile of the uploader is the owner of a Haunted House in Western Blockwoods. Don't get all wrapped up over this; this is nothing more than a fabricated advertisement"

Aaron's inbox instantly filled with private messages. Some came with questions, others with suspicion, but Aaron ignored them all. He knew his video was real; he didn't think he owed any of these people any explanation. Those in the know would realize its authenticity, and as for those who just wanted to undermine him, why should he waste his time on them?

Looking at the video's meteoric rise in popularity, Aaron realized with a start that this was actually not a bad opportunity. He splited the original video, only taking the last 14 seconds, and uploaded it to the nation's biggest video sharing app.

Amid the videos that showcased food, dances, or singing, his haunted video was definitely one of a kind!

In just less than ten seconds, people had started to fall for his trap. Unlike the users on supernatural forums who went searching for stuff like this, these random users started leaving inflammatory comments under the video from being scared for no reason.

Sadly, on the internet, conflict and controversy bring in more viewers than praise does, so the wave of online censure only brought in more viewers. Scrolling through the comments, Aaron could practically sense the hatred and anger directed his way. He shrugged it off with a laugh.

To be fair, he did understand why these people reacted the way they did. Most of them were probably preparing for bed, all wrapped up in their blankets, and were probably just looking through some light- hearted videos in preparation to settle down for the night. This scary video of a man wreathed in candlelight had the complete opposite effect than what they were hoping for.

The "best" feature of the video was that it was only 14 seconds, so before they realized what was happening, the scare had already happened. The mirror shattered, and the thing appeared like it was trying to rush out of the mirror and then through the phone screen itself!

This was truly a masterful set-up!

Based on how lively the comment section is, the popularity of this video looks like it's not going to drop any time soon... This means that everyone likes my video, yes? A certain someone asked a shameless and rhetorical question. The number of followers has already increased by a hundred. If I don't make use of this opportunity to advertise the Haunted House, then I'll feel I've disappointed all of my new fans and followers!

Aaron edited the title of the video and attached the address of the Haunted House at the user info section. He even added in brackets: A Completely Not-Scary Haunted House.

Aaron was satisfied with his updated user page. He remained seated under the window to look through the stream of messages and eventually fell asleep.

Aaron was woken up by the sunlight that fell on his face. He stretched his tired body and stood up from the corner of the toilet.

"It's 8.30 am already" He dusted his clothes and pocketed both the doll and the phone before leaving the toilet.

He noticed there were obvious scratch marks on the edges of the wooden toilet door, like it had been munched on by rodents.

"Just what was the thing outside the door last night? Looking at this, Aaron suddenly felt thankful he did not move from the mirror last night and go out to take a look.

"Nightmare Missions might cause unexpected circumstances. I need to be more careful in the future." Since there was not any discernible change to the Haunted House, Aaron shrugged it off and prepared to welcome a new day.

The New Century Park opened at 9 am. At 8.45 am, a slender and lithe figure that was disproportionate to her chest size ran toward him carrying a backpack.

"Boss!" The girl radiated an aura of youthfulness. Her exquisite features practically glowed in the sun. Her skin was taut and supple like fresh apricot that one could not help but wish to take a bite of.

"Hellen, your timing is perfect. I've just added a new background track to our song database. Listen to it and tell me what you think Before Aaron could finish his sentence, Hellen gripped his hand tightly. On reflex, he asked, "What are you doing□"

"I just saw a big crowd gathered at the entrance of the park! They're discussing the Haunted House! We have people coming here just to experience the Haunted House!" Hellen exclaimed excitedly. "Boss, we seem to have plenty of customers waiting!"

"Shouldn't that be expected? Is this your first time at the park?" Aaron pretended to be unaffected. He pulled out his phone to look at the video sharing app. His current number of followers had broken through five hundred, and the popularity of his video had reached the top ten of the app. He scanned through the comments, and unlike other comment sections which were filled with XOXO or '3's, his was filled with endless reprimands, rebukes, and threats. Some of them even said that they had prepared the knife to slay Aaron were on way address.<p>

"Er, this seems to have gotten slightly out of hand." Aaron coughed awkwardly before dragging Hellen with him into the Haunted House. "We have fifteen more minutes to the official opening time of the park. Since we're the only two left protecting this Haunted House, be prepared for the imminent war!"