Chapter 104
"Okay, I'm interested."
Upon receiving Ye Yihe's proposal, Dazai Osamu, who seemed to be on the verge of falling asleep, suddenly opened his eyes wide and responded with a crisp and powerful voice.
Chuuya: "…………"
This guy gets really excited whenever he sees something that can trick or harm others!
Aside from Dazai, who instantly grasped Ye Yihe's thoughts, everyone else's expressions remained stuck at the level of being "a little confused."
They...opened a haunted house? The kind of entertainment facility that's specifically designed to scare tourists into screaming?
"It just so happens that Commander Tanada is having a problem. He said that the murders that happened in those five buildings were too serious. Even though the buildings have been cleaned up long ago, they still can't find a buyer to rent or resell them, and no one is willing to take them over."
"If we were to demolish and rebuild the entire site, the expenses would be enormous, including the evacuation of nearby residents."
Ye Yihe explained the whole story, "I happened to hear about Commander Taneda's troubles and came up with the idea of opening an immersive haunted house with additional story performances—murderous buildings, the mafia, unexplained deaths... There are just too many gimmicks to attract customers in the early stages, it's simply the perfect location!"
Ye Yihe's business philosophy was so advanced that everyone's expressions were almost frozen in shock.
"Yes, yes,"
Only Dazai changed his posture, hanging limply on the back of the sofa, like a cat that had become a non-Newtonian fluid.
However, unlike the other beautiful and harmless cats, this one was emitting a sinister chuckle.
"Hmph... Just you wait and see, I will definitely live up to your expectations and make every victim... no, customer, who comes in be so scared that they foam at the mouth..."
Pushkin was sweating profusely as he listened: "...Are you deliberately telling the truth?"
Besides, where was the unexplained extinction? The culprit was none other than his supernatural ability... Oh no, thinking back to the terrifying mind of Dazai when he planned the large-scale virus planting, all he could do was pray that his customers wouldn't suffer too much.
“It’s great that Dazai is willing to join,” Ye Yihe said happily. “Since we have limited manpower, we will set up one of the buildings for trial operation first and see how it goes.”
"Ayatsuji also promised to give me a few mind-bending and exciting thriller scripts. I can also ask Shibusawa to do the art and costume design, and Ivan to be in charge of prop making and performance."
"Once it's completely finished, we can divide up the areas we're responsible for. Anyway, with such a tall building, we definitely won't have to worry about not having enough space. For example, in the modern area, Oda Sakunosuke can play the role of the vengeful ghost killer."
Oda Sakunosuke was taken aback: "Ah."
But he can't act...
"In the mythological realm, Verlaine is a god who was consumed by human evil thoughts and desires, falling into the form of a demon. To ensure a spectacular performance, you'll have a brotherly battle with Verlaine in the final act. The fallen evil god brother versus the persistent god brother—it's sure to be a sight to behold..."
Chuuya: "...Huh???"
Chuuya: "Wait a minute, Verlaine agreed to do that??"
“Yes,” Ye Yihe said innocently, “as soon as I made the call, Verlaine happily agreed, and said that Rimbaud would also come along, and could come and help when the detective agency didn’t have any cases… Oh right, Rimbaud can go to the modern area, and amnesiac agents or spies with mysterious pasts will definitely be popular with customers.”
As everyone listened, they increasingly felt that "this actually has some feasibility," so Ye Yihe continued to explain his proposed plan.
“In the Nordic region, Bram can naturally play the role of a vampire count, and can even increase his followers by biting people, creating a truly immersive experience... Hmm, remember to turn the guests back when it’s over.”
Bram: "I...I want to join too?"
“It’s bound to be boring to stay cooped up in your room all the time. It’s good to get some exercise,” Ye Yihe advised him. “Ivan’s appearance and temperament are quite similar to yours… He could play your butler or something.”
Upon hearing this, Ivan immediately spoke up: "Can't I go with you?"
“I’m from a religious area,” Ye Yihe said, making the sign of the cross on his chest with a practiced air. “I’ll play the role of a seemingly benevolent but actually cunning, treacherous, and ruthless pleasure-seeking priest…”
"You do resemble a priest, but to say you're cunning, treacherous, and vicious..." Dazai stroked his chin and gave his assessment, "Why don't you release Fyodor and make a pair of twin priests, one white and one black?"
Anyway, even if Fyodor is imprisoned, he will still run to the superhuman cell every day, so I might as well bring him back. Judging from Fyodor's appearance, he has no intention of escaping at all. Otherwise, a mere superhuman cell might not be able to hold that [demon].
"!"
Ye Yihe lacked confidence, but argued forcefully, "Although...but...how can you say that about Fyodor?"
Everyone: "…………"
They even said you only go to cello practice every day!
Dazai: "Should I say it's fortunate that you, like Fyodor, have reason and emotion working separately...?"
Ye Yihe pretended not to hear those words.
Anyway, even if I were to play the twin priests with Fyodor, it wouldn't be now.
“Sigma can be a manager,” Ye Yihe said methodically, assigning tasks to everyone. “In the future, the entire building will be under your management.”
"Hey!" Sigma, who had been listening quietly, exclaimed in surprise, "Me... me, the manager?"
He thought he would also be assigned to some area as an NPC!
"Me? Me? My dearest friend!" Gogol pointed to himself with a beaming smile. "What task will the great Gogol be assigned—"
“The guide for the guests,” Ye Yihe pondered. “You could play the murderous magician if you wanted, but I feel you’d be more suited to be the guide, like pretending to be killed in front of them, drawing the guests into the act…”
After all, Gogol really had a passion for performing and was adept at all sorts of magic tricks.
Gogol's eyes lit up. "Even if one cannot actively embrace true death, can one experience the freedom of the soul in a moment of death? That's right, very interesting!"
Because Ye Yihe successfully exposed the flaw in Gogol's logic about freedom with a single sentence, he became obsessed with freeing his best friend from his "cage" and granting him absolute physical freedom.
Now that his ideal has been realized, he has begun to ponder how to truly embody the freedom of his will.
However, this time Ye Yihe was keeping a close eye on him. If Gogol got bogged down in philosophical debates again, Ye Yihe was confident he could burn through the other man's brain again.
“Me? Me? Boss,” Pushkin said, growing more and more excited, pointing to himself impatiently, “What is my job?”
Ye Yihe replied without blinking, "The receptionist."
"What!?"
Pushkin was greatly disappointed—why were their jobs so interesting, while he was only responsible for collecting money and selling tickets!
“Just kidding,” Ye Yihe said with a mischievous smile. “Of course, it’s about recreating the day the Port Mafia was destroyed.”
"We'll see if any of the guests have pre-existing injuries. But you can't show yourself directly; you just need to secretly activate your ability and then deactivate it after the tour, making them think it's some kind of lingering curse..."
Pushkin: "...Ah...yes, that's fine too."
Suddenly I realized my boss is incredibly mean...
“These are my ideas, but we don’t have enough manpower for logistical support. Let’s recruit a group first and start the preliminary preparations.” Ye Yihe clapped his hands. “Sigma, I’ll leave this to you.”
"Hmm, okay...!"
Sigma reluctantly agreed—even though he felt a little apprehensive, he absolutely did not want to give up this opportunity.
“Since we already have the [Supernatural Ability Business License], it’s not a bad idea to just recruit supernatural ability users to help out.” Dazai Osamu said with a smile, “I know a place with quite a few supernatural ability users. As long as the salary is good, they’ll definitely be happy to join.”
"...Leibo Street."
Chuuya, who had also lived there, succinctly put it into words.
With underground organizations nearly extinct these days, if you were to ask where in Yokohama there are the most superhumans who don't have jobs, you couldn't think of anywhere else besides Raiba Street.
After all, people with superpowers are prohibited from using their superpowers as a label to engage in activities in society, which means they can only earn a salary by relying on their own skills.
In this way, those with abilities and jobs who are not in Leibo Street will not need to accept Sigma's recruitment; those with no jobs and nowhere to go will gradually become poor and will end up in Leibo Street, where only the lowest class of people stay.
Moreover, Sigma, who possesses the ability to force information exchange, can also activate his superpower by shaking hands to screen applicants' qualifications and determine whether they are suitable to work in a haunted house—it's simply perfect!
"So, finally, let's come up with a name!"
Ye Yihe was pleased that the idea of opening a haunted house was approved by everyone. "By the way, my suggestion is 'The House of the Dead'."
"……………………"
The air suddenly became quiet.
Everyone present fell into a long silence, as if struck by a silencing spell.
…………
"【The Rats in the Dead House】?"
In that cell where only Yeikh would come, Fyodor had been imprisoned for months, never attempting to escape.
At that moment, he was listening intently to Ye Yihe recount how he planned to open a haunted house, and when the last name appeared, a look of keen interest appeared in his eyes.
"I don't mind, but didn't they object?"
The employees who nicknamed Dazai and his team "Rats in the House of the Dead"... His messiah always comes up with such interesting ideas.
“Gogol voted in favor.” Ye Yihe blinked.
Based on our experience dealing with the Holy Staff last time, once Gogol accepts it, it will be difficult for anyone else to have any effect, even if they object...
After all, Gogol would always find a way to spread the name, and once everyone called their haunted house "The House of the Dead Rats," any other official name would be useless.
—That is to say, it's hard to say whether Gogol's agreement was simply to appreciate the wonderful expressions of others.
"So, as a member of the [House of the Dead],"
Fyodor, who seemed to have thought of this as well, smiled slightly and spoke in a very pleasant tone.
"If you'd like, could you please bring some paper and pens next time? I'd also be happy to design a thrilling and exciting horror script for you."
"OK!"
Ye Yihe readily agreed. Then, with a slight frown, he brought up another matter with Fyodor.
“On my way here, I received a message from Commander Taneda, saying that the European Bureau of Supernatural Abilities is always concerned about your high risk and seems to be secretly plotting to carry out a [decapitation operation] against you.”
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