Monster Escape Room Re-Employment Chapter 1

Deserves to go bankrupt

“Lou Xian, let’s break up.”

Jiang Lingyi felt dizzy, enduring the stomach cramps, struggling to bite back his reluctance and hesitation, and forced out those words.

“Alright.”

Lou Xian’s tone was light and breezy, his coolly handsome face completely unmoved, just as it had been the day he accepted Jiang Lingyi’s confession.

Don’t be impulsive, don’t lose composure, don’t say anything unnecessary.

Jiang Lingyi heard himself ask, “You’re agreeing just like that?”

“You were the one who suggested breaking up first.”

“Aren’t you even going to ask why?”

Lou Xian slightly furrowed his beautiful brows. “Should I?”

Jiang Lingyi felt like he had been slapped across the face, his stomach twisting painfully as if a wet towel had been wrung to its limit. So that was it—he had been clinging on so desperately. He mustered his courage and looked up at Lou Xian, those deep gray eyes that he was so infatuated with and attached to, like a pool of water buried under snow, stirring no ripples for him, or for anything else.

“Don’t be sad, brother. There are plenty of fish in the sea.” His roommate hooked an arm over Jiang Lingyi’s shoulder to comfort him. “Everyone knows Lou Xian is the school’s famous Ice Prince. At least you had him for a while, so it’s not a loss. Dinner’s on me today.”

Only Jiang Lingyi knew that he had never truly possessed Lou Xian. Although he didn’t know why Lou Xian had accepted his confession, his attitude had never changed. He was always indifferent, detached, and seemed uninterested in everything.

Over time, Jiang Lingyi felt that he was forcing Lou Xian into the relationship. If that was the case, it was better to break up.

At the university graduation ceremony, Jiang Lingyi and Lou Xian exchanged nods and congratulations. That was their last interaction.

…

Two years later.

Jiang Lingyi was now a successful Deputy Manager in the business department of a company. His superiors appreciated him and planned to promote him to full Manager in a few years, once his senior retired. Some people advised him to settle down and introduced him to potential partners, but Jiang Lingyi prioritized his career and rejected them all, dedicating himself entirely to work.

He believed he had buried Lou Xian deep in his heart, treating him as a special memory from his student days.

On a typical day after work, he routinely opened WeChat and saw a red dot next to a long-dormant profile picture. His heart immediately pounded, and his hand trembled, almost dropping his phone.

Lou Xian: Free tomorrow?

Jiang Lingyi instantly replied: Yes

Lou Xian: Go on a date with me

A gust of wind rushed through the tunnel and swept across the platform—a sign that the subway was about to arrive. In the vast crowd, everyone’s face showed fatigue, but Jiang Lingyi’s heart fluttered and plummeted onto the tracks, crushed into dust. He covered his face as much as possible, his mouth aching from the involuntary smile, yet his eyes were so moist that the wind made tears stream down.

Jiang Lingyi, you really have no backbone.

On the weekend, he arrived at the meeting spot half an hour early.

He didn’t want to dress too formally, making it seem like he cared too much about their past relationship. He and Lou Xian were just former classmates now—yes, just classmates, not even friends.

After politely declining several promotions for gym and swimming memberships, he turned to look at his reflection in the mall window. Dressed in a suit and silver-rimmed glasses, he looked less like he was going on a date and more like he was attending a meeting.

Lou Xian’s face appeared eerily behind the window, startling Jiang Lingyi, who almost wanted to smash his head against the glass.

Wait… was he also half an hour early?

While Jiang Lingyi was lost in thought, Lou Xian walked out. He looked exactly the same as two years ago, except his hair was slightly longer, reaching his shoulders, smoothly framing his slender, pale neck. He wore a beige knit sweater and dark trousers. His figure was tall and lean, and his ethereal, dreamlike appearance remained as distant as ever.

Lou Xian called his name as if they had just seen each other yesterday, pulling his thoughts back to reality.

“Where are we going?”

Lou Xian had said on WeChat that he would plan the entire date. Jiang Lingyi felt uneasy. Lou Xian had never been this proactive. Even if it was a Pig Butchering Scam, he would accept it, as long as it wasn’t too outrageous.

“First, we’ll play a horror escape room, then we’ll eat.”

Jiang Lingyi started getting nervous in a different way. He rarely played escape rooms and was well aware of his own timidness. He hadn’t expected Lou Xian to enjoy such thrilling entertainment. He absolutely couldn’t lose face in front of him later—no crying and hugging him, no frantically tearing at his clothes, no dragging his hand while running for dear life. Such scenes absolutely could not happen.

…Though, maybe if they did happen, it wouldn’t be so bad.

“It’s here.”

They arrived at a shop on the fifth floor. The sign above the front desk displayed the artistic lettering of “Phantom Immersive Horror Escape Room.” A prominent banner outside advertised, “Grand Opening Special! New Customers Enjoy 20% Off,” listing several different themes below: classics like Horror Hospital, Lucky Girls’ High, Red Wedding Dress, and Night of the Dolls, as well as less common ones like Evil God Sacrifice, No Survivors, Buried Alive, Cinema Rule Oddity, and Pink Secrets. There was quite a variety.

“Which one should we play?” Jiang Lingyi felt that every single one radiated an ominous aura.

“We’ll play them all.” Lou Xian said nonchalantly.

“Wait, wait… no, I mean, won’t that take too long? Playing them all—there are over ten themes. We won’t get out until after dark.” Jiang Lingyi tried to sound tough, desperately searching for an excuse to hide his nervousness.

“Hmm…” Lou Xian pondered. “Then you pick a few.”

A few?

It seemed he couldn’t escape this ordeal today. He could only sacrifice himself to accompany the gentleman.

Since he chose to put on a brave face, he had to see it through. Jiang Lingyi handed the decision-making power to Lou Xian, saying, “You choose.”

“I recommend Night of the Dolls, Evil God Sacrifice, and Pink Secrets.”

It seemed he was a regular customer. Did he really like horror escape rooms that much? Jiang Lingyi had never known this before. Was it a new hobby he picked up in the last two years?

The staff member at the front desk looked listless, their face purple, with dark circles so heavy they resembled a panda’s. They were genuinely startling at first glance, whether it was makeup or real. They handed Jiang Lingyi and Lou Xian three keys corresponding to the three themes. They were too lazy to even lead the way, simply pointing toward the back of the shop and telling them to help themselves.

Jiang Lingyi looked around. Besides the two of them, there seemed to be no other customers. The waiting area sofas were empty. When the staff member was getting the keys, he had glimpsed inside the counter—rows of keys were neatly arranged, suggesting business was indeed very slow.

“Which one first?” Lou Xian asked him.

It didn’t make a difference. “Then Night of the Dolls…” Jiang Lingyi suddenly remembered a crucial question. “Does this place use real NPC actors or is it purely mechanical?” These two types represented completely different levels of horror, and he desperately prayed for the latter.

“I think so?” Lou Xian didn’t seem entirely sure.

“Huh? Aren’t you a regular?”

Lou Xian avoided the question and walked up to a door decorated like a wardrobe, next to which hung a sign reading “Night of the Dolls Entrance.” He inserted the key into the lock, slowly turned it, and behind the door was pitch-black darkness.

“We have to go through this corridor, and the escape room is after that,” Lou Xian explained. With that, he stepped inside without hesitation. Jiang Lingyi quickly followed him.

His vision was immediately enveloped by boundless darkness. He tried hard to open his eyes, but it was futile. He groped around. The wall was right beside him, and he also brushed against Lou Xian, who was walking ahead. The vague outline of his beige sweater was barely discernible.

“Sorry…”

“Watch your step, don’t fall.” Lou Xian didn’t seem to mind.

He cared about me! He still has feelings for me!

Jiang Lingyi’s emotions swung between joy and terror.

He slowly walked forward, leaning against the wall, his mind uncontrollably wandering. Night of the Dolls… Would they be Western porcelain dolls, or Chinese paper figures, or Japanese Hime-cut kimono dolls, or maybe Thai style? And there were NPCs. Would a bloody version of Ronald McDonald come at them with a knife as soon as they stepped out? All his memories of horror movies were instantly awakened, the terrifying scenes flashing clearly in his mind.

Jiang Lingyi slowed down, his legs slightly trembling. Lou Xian’s presence paused. “We’re almost there.”

He pushed open a door that was almost integrated with the corridor. A blinding light made Jiang Lingyi instinctively squint. After his eyes adjusted, he slowly opened them, took in the scene in the room, and was instantly speechless.

This was indeed a bedroom filled with dolls, but…

The first thing that caught his eye was a Sanrio family collection spread out on the bed, especially the Pompompurin cushion. With its soft expression and dot eyes, wearing a small brown beret, it was incredibly cute! Jiang Lingyi couldn’t help but reach out and touch it. It was fluffy, like a cloud!

A row of classic Disney series and the popular Duffy and Friends family were displayed on the cabinet, even including limited-edition items that scalpers sold at high prices!

Jiang Lingyi was full of questions. “Did we… take the wrong path and end up in some toy store next door?”

“We didn’t take a wrong turn.” Lou Xian sat on the edge of the bed, hugging a Cinnamoroll plushie and pinching its floppy ears. He looked up and said, “Do you feel the realistic Uncanny Valley Effect?”

Jiang Lingyi retorted, “I feel like I’m in Happy Valley.”

Outside was a living room. It seemed this theme was decorated in an American family style, but the dolls displayed were far too unexpected—

Lou Xian stood amidst a dense collection of two-dimensional anime figurines and said expressionlessly, “Then these dolls should fit your imagination.”

Jiang Lingyi continued to complain, “How do they fit?!”

In the kitchen, they finally saw a real NPC. Sure enough, it was a clown. Its red lips were painted into a gaping maw, its face was chalk-white, and its eye makeup was smeared as if from crying. Jiang Lingyi thought, finally, this is authentic. Hurry up and chase us with a knife or a chainsaw—

Instead, the clown pulled five balls from its pocket and started juggling wildly, even taking a moment to wink and flash a peace sign at them.

Lou Xian mechanically deadpanned, “Wow, it’s a clown. Let’s run.”

Next was Evil God Sacrifice. They were supposed to be offerings presented to the River God by the villagers, locked in a cave, trying to escape. The NPC’s costume was outstanding, looking exactly like a real half-merman, except its upper body was fish and its lower body was human. It was extremely polite to them, making a “please” gesture wherever they went, and even serving them tea and water, as if they weren’t sacrifices but the Evil God’s ancestors.

The last escape room was Pink Secrets. The opening scene was a lovers’ hotel room, which certainly set the mood: a round bed, mirrors on all four walls, strange props, and a dead NPC lying splayed on the bed, ripped open, with intestines and chunks of flesh spilled everywhere, still slightly wriggling. Jiang Lingyi instantly wanted to pull out his phone and call the police. The TV suddenly turned on, flashing static… then it began broadcasting Today’s Law.

With the familiar opening animation and the host’s clear, resonant reporting, Jiang Lingyi paused and watched for a while, confirming it was genuine Today’s Law.

Amidst the deep male voice announcing, “Intentional homicide is punishable by death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for ten years or more,” Lou Xian said, “I know this place is supposed to be scary, but we still need to promote materialism and avoid supernatural nonsense.”

After touring all three escape rooms, they returned to the initial lobby and rested on the waiting area sofa. Jiang Lingyi was exhausted, more tired than if he had gone through a genuinely terrifying escape room. Lou Xian fetched two cups of water from the dispenser and placed them on the coffee table.

“What do you think?”

Actually, many of the scenes, the NPC costumes, and the props were quite high quality, but the direction the shop put its effort into was truly unconventional. The thought that Lou Xian cherished such a terrible horror escape room filled Jiang Lingyi with indignation.

“It’s terrible! The boss must have a screw loose. No wonder they have no customers. They deserve to go bankrupt!”

“I’m the boss.”

Lou Xian said, word for word.