Jake Johnson took a short break outside the Death Shack before plunging back in. This time, though, he wasn't there to re-experience the horror, but to shoot some promotional video.

  As the saying goes, even the best wine needs advertising. While the Death Shack might be the scariest haunted house in the world, hardly anyone knew about it. Plus, Starlight Amusement Park was practically deserted. Without promotion, who knew how long it would take for the first brave soul to show up?

  Jake's plan was simple: create a promotional video for the Death Shack and offer a hefty reward. The challenge was straightforward: survive one hour inside the Death Shack and win a cool $1 million! Of course, Jake didn't actually have a million dollars lying around. It was just a gimmick to attract attention. He knew firsthand how terrifying the Death Shack was and doubted anyone could last the entire hour.

  The promotional video was quickly finished. Jake posted it on Weibo, Tik Tok, and other social media platforms. After spending some money on promotion, it quickly gained traction, and comments started pouring in.

  "Starlight Amusement Park? Save your time, folks. There's nothing there!"

  "Did I read that right? A million-dollar reward for lasting an hour in a haunted house? That's easy money!"

  "For that kind of cash, I'd sleep in a morgue!"

  "Anyone want to team up for this challenge? We can split the prize!"

  ...

  At a local university, in The Guys' dorm room.

  The four-person dorm room was occupied by three students, with one away home for the weekend.

  "A million-dollar reward for the Death Shack challenge?" Mike, lying on his bed, shot up, incredulous. The peace of The Guys' room was shattered. Ethan and Liam turned to look.

  "Mike, what's with the yelling?" Ethan, lifting weights, asked.

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  "Yeah, a million bucks? Did you find a winning lottery ticket?" Liam called over from his gaming station.

  Mike held up his phone, a grin spreading across his face. "No lottery win, but close enough. Ethan, Liam, come check this out."

  Ethan and Liam exchanged glances, dropped what they were doing, and gathered around. Mike showed them the phone. Ethan squinted at the video and read the title aloud.

  "The scariest haunted house ever, waiting for you!"

  Liam scoffed, "These marketing guys are all the same. 'The scariest' is an understatement for these guys. They should start using 'Universe' for this thing!"

  Ethan shook his head. "Mike, I thought you had something interesting to show us. Just a haunted house promo? We deal with cadavers every day; what's scary about a haunted house?"

  Mike smiled. "Just watch the video."

  Amid laughter, the video played. It opened with towering trees forming a primeval forest. Even through the phone screen, the three could feel the ancient power of the place. Ethan and Liam exchanged glances. This haunted house was more impressive than they'd thought. It looked incredibly well-made.

  The camera slowly showed the landscape. A path paved with bones led to a wooden shack. The shack seemed normal, but a sense of foreboding crept in.

  "Those bones and corpses look realistic," Ethan said. "You can't even tell they're fake."

  Most haunted houses used plastic bones and corpses that only scared kids and girls.

  Liam said, "Fake or not, can't compare to the real bodies in school."

  Ethan nodded.

  Soon, the video ended, and text appeared on the screen. "The Death Shack is officially issuing a challenge to the internet. Anyone who can spend an hour in the Death Shack will receive a reward of one million dollars!"

  The room fell silent. Time seemed to stop. Ethan and Liam stared, eyes wide, barely breathing.

  Finally, Ethan swallowed hard, his voice shaky. "A... million... dollars?"

  Liam licked his lips. "Is this a joke?"

  Mike nodded. "I've messaged the amusement park owner, and he says we can get it notarized if we don't believe him. He swears it's legit."

  Ethan and Liam's eyes lit up. Ethan smacked his forehead. "A million bucks! That's a lot of protein powder, and I could hire a personal trainer!"

  Liam scoffed. "That's all you think about? I'm maxing out my game account, and everyone will call me 'bro'!"

  "Hey!" Mike said as he clapped his hand on the bed, "You haven't even completed the challenge, why are you thinking about the money already?"

  Ethan grinned. "Mike, haunted houses scare normal people. We're med students who deal with cadavers. We're not scared of that stuff."

  Liam agreed. "I wouldn't be scared even if the corpses were real."

  Mike grinned. "Then let's go check it out tomorrow?"

  Ethan and Liam nodded eagerly.

  "Let's give the owner a lesson!"

  "Hopefully, he won't cry!"

  "I guess we'll have to take the million!"

  At the same time, many other people in many other places were filled with the same excitement as in The Guys' room.