【I have a haunted house】Chapter 2: The Unusual Daily Tasks

The mobile app, bearing the image of the haunted house’s front gate as its icon, resembled one of the popular simulation management games found on the market. However, rather than managing a restaurant, aquarium, or pet park, this one tasked the player with running a haunted house.

Nick stared at the screen, utterly perplexed. How could such a strange game exist on his parents’ phone, left behind after their mysterious disappearance?

As he meticulously scrolled through the app’s interface, he found that all the information seemed to mirror the current state of his haunted house. From the daily visitor count to the available attraction scenarios, everything in the game seemed eerily familiar, as if it was directly based on the haunted house he now managed.

The same dire situation. The same imminent closure. The similarities were uncanny.

“Could it be that this game was modeled after my haunted house? If I make improvements in the game, will they somehow affect the real-world haunted house?”

Nick continued to browse. The existing scenarios in the haunted house were disparaged in the game, with "Zombie Resurrection Night" receiving scathing reviews, while the once-popular "Ghost Marriage" project, even having been covered in newspapers, was rated a mere half-star.

“If ‘Ghost Marriage’ only gets half a star, I can't even imagine how terrifying the later unlockable scenes must be,” Nick thought, attempting to unlock more. However, upon clicking, a message appeared on the screen, informing him that he must complete a set number of daily tasks before new scenes could be unlocked.

“It seems the daily tasks are the foundation of everything. Only by consistently completing them can I unlock more horror scenes. The more scenes I unlock, the more visitors will come, and with increased traffic, I can expand the haunted house—creating a virtuous cycle.”

Having played many mobile games in the past, Nick quickly grasped the rules—his progress in the game would directly influence the development of the haunted house.

He clicked on the “Daily Tasks” tab, where three options appeared:

Easy Difficulty: The three key elements of a haunted house—story, scene, and atmosphere. A house without a story has no soul. Please improve the backstories for "Zombie Resurrection Night" and "Ghost Marriage."

Medium Difficulty: Repair all the mannequins in the haunted house before midnight.

Nightmare Difficulty: You must still be wondering if there are ghosts in the world. Play a little game, and the truth will reveal itself the moment you open your eyes.

Each day, the daily tasks refresh at midnight, and only one task can be claimed per day. The difficulty varies, as do the rewards.

(Warning! Some tasks are extremely dangerous; proceed with caution!)

After reading through the tasks, Nick was taken aback. “These tasks in the game require real-world actions to be completed. Could this game somehow influence reality?”

To test his hypothesis, he decided to take on a task.

The daily tasks were divided by difficulty, and clearly, the highest rewards came from the hardest challenges. However, the warning about certain tasks being highly dangerous made Nick hesitate.

“Such a hard choice. The description of the Nightmare difficulty task is vague, and it seems like a trap. Maybe I should start with the Medium difficulty task—repairing all the mannequins before midnight sounds tight, but it's not impossible.”

Nick was nothing if not decisive. Once he made up his mind, he wasted no time in acting. Grabbing a toolbox and a bucket of unopened fake blood, he began checking the various mannequins and props throughout the haunted house.

The night was deep, and Nick wandered through the vast haunted house alone. To save electricity, he hadn’t even turned on the corridor lights. With only a flashlight in hand, he hurriedly carried the damaged mannequins from one area to another.

If an outsider had witnessed the scene, they’d likely have called the police in terror.

“I’m exhausted. I didn’t realize how many mannequins needed repairs. Looks like the maintenance before was seriously lacking!”

At 11:45 p.m., Nick received a notification on his phone: “You have completed the Medium Difficulty Daily Task. Attention to detail is key to creating the perfect horror atmosphere. Congratulations, you have earned the reward: Background Track 'Black Friday.'”

“Isn’t ‘Black Friday’ a banned track? There’s a rumor that listening to it too much can lead to suicidal thoughts. The original version of the track is long gone.” Nick found a CD icon in his item inventory. “Since when did this become a reward? Is this some sort of prank?”

He clicked on the CD icon, and an unfamiliar melody began to play in his ears.

The sound felt born from the darkness itself—lonely, mournful. It was as if everything was slipping away from him. He felt as though he were sinking into the depths of the ocean or walking through a never-ending tunnel.

When the song ended, Nick’s back was drenched in sweat. He was glad he hadn’t chosen to loop it; he wasn’t sure if he could have emerged from that track.

“Now that’s real. It must be the original version!”

Completing tasks in the game resulted in rewards in reality, offering Nick a possible shortcut to turning the haunted house’s fate around.

He closed the music, saved the CD carefully, and after tidying up, Nick retreated to the employee lounge.

Lying in bed, he felt physically drained but found it impossible to fall asleep.

The events of the night had been overwhelming, and even for someone like him, it would take time to process them.

Before he realized it, it was already past midnight, and Nick lay staring at the ceiling.

“I just can’t sleep!” Restlessly, he pulled out the black phone again. “The witching hour’s passed; the daily tasks should have refreshed by now.”

Opening the app, sure enough, the daily tasks had updated.

Easy Difficulty: To give visitors a truly terrifying experience, it’s crucial to manage the pace of the tour. If actors or props appear too early or too late, the mood will be lost. I recommend installing sound detectors and surveillance cameras to monitor the guests’ progress in real-time.

Medium Difficulty: A haunted house cannot thrive on a single person. You need to recruit more talent to help you through this tough time.

Nightmare Difficulty: You must still be curious whether ghosts truly exist. Play a little game, and the truth will reveal itself the moment you open your eyes.

Once again, Nick found himself torn between the choices.

The Easy task could be completed with sufficient funds, but Nick’s budget was far too tight to afford surveillance equipment.

The Medium task also posed a problem. The veteran employees who had weathered the storms with him had just resigned the day before, and recruiting new staff would require time to train them—time he likely didn’t have before the haunted house might close down for good.

With the Easy and Medium tasks ruled out, Nick’s gaze lingered on the Nightmare Difficulty task.

“The higher the difficulty, the better the reward. Should I try it?”