1: Summoning zombies at the start, it's all about realism.

“Ugh, this is tough.”

Li Zhou sighed, looking at the sign that read “Qingshan Haunted House.”

“Seriously, I don't know why that idiot predecessor opened the shop in the suburbs.”

“Who would leisurely come to a place like this to experience a Haunted House?”

With only a few scattered players each day, if this continued, he would truly be eating dirt.

A year ago, Li Zhou, who had transmigrated from a parallel world, inherited his predecessor's only legacy: a Haunted House located in the city's outskirts.

As a boss, Li Zhou didn't think there was anything wrong with a Haunted House.

He was ambitious, planning to run it well.

However, perhaps it was due to the Haunted House's remote location, or perhaps young people nowadays, having been exposed to various horror films, had lost interest in traditional Haunted House venues.

Forget about making money; the current revenue wasn't even enough to pay the electricity bill!

“It's probably still too remote. Should I try to find someone to advertise?”

There was no one around the Haunted House, and the few nearby buildings were abandoned.

In a place like this, perhaps only ghosts would truly be willing to come.

“Ding! Detecting a suitable host. The horror employee system has successfully bound.”

Just as Li Zhou was thinking about how to promote his Haunted House, an electronic voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

The next moment, a virtual electronic screen abruptly appeared before Li Zhou.

“horror employee system”

“host: Li Zhou”

“Current number of horror employees: 0”

“Current fright value: 0”

“Current Haunted House horror level: 0 (1000 fright value required for upgrade)”

“Current number of recruitable employees: 1”

“Note: Tourists scared in the Haunted House can generate a certain amount of fright value. fright value can be used to purchase items from the store, pay employee salaries, and upgrade the Haunted House's horror level.”

“Each time the Haunted House horror level increases by one, the number of recruitable employees increases by one.”

Recruit horror employees?

Looking at the content on the screen, a hint of surprise immediately flashed in Li Zhou's eyes.

System, do you know how hard I've been waiting for you?

He was just worrying about the Haunted House's dismal business, and the next second, a system bound to him.

Heaven never seals off all exits!

Besides sound effects, lighting, and props, what is the most important thing for a Haunted House?

Actor NPCs!

An NPC with realistic acting and makeup has a much better scare effect than some props.

Seeing that he had one summoning opportunity, Li Zhou didn't hesitate and chose to summon directly.

“Ding! Congratulations, host, for successfully summoning an employee.”

“employee: Royal Zombie”

“Horror Level: 0.5”

“Monthly salary: 500 fright value”

A zombie?

And a Royal one?

This couldn't be the Royal Zombie from the border region in the Zombie Uncle movies of his previous life, could it?

Li Zhou looked at the employee information, and the classic image of a zombie immediately appeared in his mind.

Wearing a Qing Dynasty official uniform, arms outstretched, pale skin, long sharp nails, bloodthirsty!

Could it scare people?

Li Zhou was a bit unsure. Compared to other ghosts, the image of a zombie was only mediocre.

“Huh? Why is it suddenly so cold?”

Suddenly, a chill from the very soul shot up from his feet to the top of his head.

Like prey at the bottom of the food chain encountering a top predator, Li Zhou's body involuntarily began to tremble.

Before he could think further, a chilling sound came from behind him.

“Bo...ss!”

Turning around, Li Zhou instinctively blurted out, “Holy crap!”

Behind him, a tall figure had appeared at some unknown time.

Enveloped in black mist, exuding a dense, eerie aura!

Its face was rotten and withered like tree bark, its eyes hollow and green.

A pair of long fangs protruded from the corners of its mouth, making one believe it could easily pierce a neck!

Arms outstretched, a green face, and fangs—it was a living, breathing zombie!

“Wow, this effect is amazing!”

In just an instant, Li Zhou recovered from his fright.

He didn't instinctively run away; instead, his first thought was what effect this zombie would have on other people.

Even if they didn't faint from fright, their legs would definitely turn to jelly!

This guy in front of him not only exuded a chilling death aura, but its pair of green eyes were also filled with intense ferocity and indifference, like a terrifying beast without any reason.

Moreover, this guy was very tall; Li Zhou, at over 1.8 meters, only reached its chest!

If he hadn't known that this was an employee he had summoned, Li Zhou would have undoubtedly turned and run without hesitation!

The oppressive feeling that assailed him was incredible!

“Ahem, uh, you... can you speak?”

Coughing, Li Zhou forced his shaky legs to steady, adopting a boss-like posture.

“Yes...”

The zombie opened its mouth, and a faint, chilling corpse aura could be clearly seen spreading out, making one shudder.

“Alright, from today onwards, you are an employee of my Qingshan Haunted House!”

“Let me be clear, this isn't your previous place. I have three rules for you.”

“If you violate any one of them, you'll pack your bags and get out immediately!”

Li Zhou's words made the zombie's body tremble instantly, and it immediately stood perfectly straight, awaiting orders.

“First, your main job is to scare people.”

“When people come, you have to pretend to be a... uh, no, you just do your job, go scare them, pretend to suck their blood.”

“Of course, remember, it must be pretending. You absolutely, absolutely, absolutely must not actually attack them!”

“If a guest suffers even the slightest injury, you'll pack your bags and get out immediately!”

“Second, besides me, you cannot speak to anyone else.”

“If any brave guests try to chat with you during work, you don't need to respond; just walk away.”

“Of course, if you can scare them, I'll give you a raise.”

“Remember, if you ever speak to anyone else, you'll also pack your bags and get out immediately!”

“Third, uh... I haven't thought of the third rule yet, so let's leave it at that for now.”

He didn't know what fright value was for, but as soon as the words “pack your bags and get out” were uttered a few times, the zombie's body immediately trembled, and it nodded frantically like a chick pecking rice.

“Bo...boss, I... I've remembered everything. Don't... make me... get... get out!”

Seeing that the employee summoned by the system was so obedient, Li Zhou nodded with satisfaction.

Reaching out, he stood on tiptoes and patted the zombie's shoulder, smiling, “Don't worry, as long as you do a good job, not only will I not fire you, but raises and such are also minor issues.”

“Keep up the good work, I have high hopes for you!”

As soon as the two classic boss phrases came out, the zombie immediately seemed to have been injected with chicken... injected with human blood.

It stood ramrod straight and said hoarsely, “Boss... scaring people, I... I'm best at it!”

“Don't worry... I won't let... let you... down!”

“I also believe you can do it well.”

Li Zhou's tone was confident.

Are you kidding? This guy in front of him almost scared him just now.

If it were anyone else, they'd at least pee half a catty out of fright!

Its eerie, purely natural terrifying appearance was better than any makeup or lighting effect.

“Boss, what do you think of my costume today?”

Just as Li Zhou was thinking about how to arrange a place for the zombie to stay, a girl in a blood-stained nurse uniform suddenly walked out of the Haunted House.

The girl's face was not yet made up, and her features were cute and delicate.

“Oh, Boss, did you buy a new dummy NPC?”

“This one seems to have a better effect than the previous ones!”

Fang Xiaolu looked at the zombie behind Li Zhou, which had its back to her, and her eyes immediately lit up.

Thinking it was a new scary prop Li Zhou had bought, she walked forward and reached out to touch it.

“Xiao Lu, wait!”

Seeing this, Li Zhou immediately shouted.

However, he was still a step too late.

The zombie, mistaking Fang Xiaolu for a guest, turned around, its eyes shifting from green to crimson, and its aura instantly surged!

The fangs at the corners of its mouth suddenly elongated by an inch, and its slightly open mouth began to emit a strange, phlegm-like sound.

“Hoo...”