The next day.

  As dawn was breaking, Jake Johnson, as usual, finished washing up and headed to the entrance of the Starlight Amusement Park to prepare for opening.

  Since Jake was the only employee in the entire park, he had to handle everything himself.

  He spent nearly an hour dealing with various chores before finally settling into the ticket booth, waiting for visitors to arrive.

  "I wonder if anyone will come today."

  Jake fidgeted in the ticket booth, occasionally standing up on tiptoe to peer into the distance.

  Whenever someone appeared, he would force a warm, genuine smile, ready to greet them.

  But each time, the people who appeared were simply taking a stroll or exercising nearby, not visitors to the Starlight Amusement Park.

  The smile faded from Jake's face.

  Although the promotional video for Death Shack that he posted yesterday had garnered quite a few views and comments, whether anyone would actually show up was still uncertain.

  Just as Jake was sighing and feeling conflicted, a taxi pulled up in front of Starlight Amusement Park, and a man and a woman stepped out.

  "Is this the Starlight Amusement Park with that Death Shack thing?"

  "I think so."

  The man and woman got out of the car, talking as they walked.

  Jake perked up and immediately put on a fresh, energetic demeanor to greet them.

  "Hey there! Are you here for the Death Shack challenge?" Jake asked with a cheerful smile.

  The young man nodded. "That's right."

  The young woman smiled. "Are you the owner?"

  Jake nodded, then took out two documents from the booth and handed them over. "The entry fee for the haunted house is $100 per person. Don't worry… it's absolutely worth the experience for the price."

  "Also, everyone needs to sign a liability waiver."

  Normally, haunted houses in amusement parks don't require such a document, but the Death Shack was exceptionally eerie and could potentially drive people to suicide.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Although the system promised that visitors wouldn't experience any negative effects after leaving the Death Shack, Jake felt it was safer to have them sign a liability waiver.

  The man and woman exchanged amused glances.

  The young man said, "We're used to these. We've been through haunted houses all over. We aren't going to get scared."

  The young woman nodded. "You should know who we are. I'm Tammy Ray, and he's Ian Smith."

  "Oh, it's you two." Jake was slightly surprised.

  These two names were quite well-known in the haunted house community. They were seasoned haunted house enthusiasts, often invited to evaluate haunted houses and suggest improvements.

  Ian smiled faintly. "Well, it looks like you know who we are."

  "Try to survive first before you start thinking about the prize," Jake replied.

  Tammy gently brushed her long, fair fingers through her hair. "You must be hoping we fail, but you might be disappointed. There are some haunted houses that can scare us, but it's obvious yours isn't one of them."

  Ian and Tammy's eyes fell on the dilapidated facilities of Starlight Amusement Park, and all the anticipation in their eyes faded, replaced by disappointment.

  Clearly, such a run-down amusement park couldn't create anything particularly interesting.

  If it weren't for the million-dollar reward, Ian and Tammy would have turned around and left.

  They enjoyed haunted houses, but they had to be of a certain caliber. Poorly made ones were a complete waste of time.

  Jake didn't say anything, only shaking his head slightly.

  Once they experienced the horror of the Death Shack, they would realize how wrong they were!

  Just then, three more figures appeared outside Starlight Amusement Park.

  "We're here, Starlight Amusement Park is right here."

  "Dude, this amusement park is so run-down! I would rather just stay in the dorm and play video games."

  "Are you always thinking about video games? We're not here to have fun, we are here for the million dollars."

  Jake took out three more liability waivers and went to greet them, repeating what he had said to Ian and Tammy earlier.

  The guys took the liability waivers without thinking and signed their names!

  "Looks like you guys are really confident." Jake smiled.

  Liam chuckled. "Your props might scare newbies, but don't embarrass yourself in front of us."

  "Ethan, why do you have to talk?" Ethan turned to Jake and said, "Sorry, he doesn't know how to speak."

  Mike added, "It's not that we look down on your haunted house, it is that we are medical students, we work with Cadavers. Props do not scare us."

  Jake laughed heartily. "It's okay, I don't mind."

  Seeing that all five had signed the waivers, Jake gestured and began leading them towards the Death Shack.

  Soon, the group stood in front of the Death Shack.

  Jake pointed to the wooden door in front of them. "Once you go inside, follow the path to the end and you'll see the Death Shack. You need to stay inside for a full hour. Coming out early counts as a failure."

  "I'll be watching your every move on the surveillance cameras. Any cheating will disqualify you from receiving the million-dollar prize, even if you complete the challenge."

  Ian shook his head. "Don't worry, we won't cheat."

  Tammy scoffed. "You underestimate us, even if it's the scariest haunted house in the world, we wouldn't cheat. It's not like we're staying in there for a day, it's just an hour."

  Liam nodded. "That's right, we spend all day with Cadavers. An hour is nothing."

  Jake made a gesture of invitation, saying, "I hope you can maintain that confidence once you're inside."

  "Then please, lead the way!"

  The five stood in front of the entrance to the Death Shack, one after another.

  Ian, at the front, slowly walked to the door, just as he was about to open it, he caught a glimpse of the blood-red writing on the door.

  *Are you ready to face death?*

  In that instant, Ian's heart skipped a beat, and his face subtly changed, becoming slightly pale.