Liu Dong, now fully awake, quickly took out his phone. The time displayed was 9:12.
He then looked back at the Screening Room's door, which was slightly ajar, faintly hearing dialogue from the movie inside.
Shaking his head vigorously, he muttered in disbelief, "Was what just happened... a dream?"
"But why did it feel so real?"
Li Mo beside him said, "What you think about during the day will appear in your dreams at night. You've been obsessed with finishing this movie, so nightmares are normal."
"Bro, you're in bad shape. I suggest you rest for a while, get your strength back before coming again." Lin Chen was a bit anxious now—he worried Liu Dong might have an accident if things continued like this.
Liu Dong nodded absentmindedly, still caught in the nightmare's aftereffects, and slowly walked out of the store.
Watching Liu Dong's retreating figure disappear into the street, Lin Chen let out a sigh of relief.
Although all viewers sign the Liability Waiver before watching, an incident would definitely hurt business.
Not long after Liu Dong left, customers began trickling in again.
Seeing Lin Chen's business improving, Li Mo smiled and said, "Bro, you're busy, I'm heading out."
"Alright, come by and hang out sometime," Lin Chen replied.
As time passed, more and more customers came, and Lin Chen was thrown back into his busy routine.
...
Ningzhou City Criminal Investigation Team, Meeting Room
The large meeting room held seven or eight scattered people, the atmosphere heavy and oppressive.
Sitting at the head was Director Zhao, his square-jawed face full of worry.
He sighed and broke the silence, "Xiao Wang, have you soothed the victim's family?"
A young man named Xiao Wang shook his head, smiling wryly, "The family refuses to cooperate and are still causing trouble at the building."
"Mu Wanqing, any progress from your technical department?" Director Zhao nodded, then looked to Mu Wanqing.
Mu Wanqing remained expressionless, her tone cold, "Sorry, Director Zhao, it might be my limitations. So far, none of the three bodies show any abnormalities in the autopsy reports."
Director Zhao waved his hand, "Don't be modest at this point. If even you find no anomalies, other forensic experts won't either. Chen Xin, any leads from the surveillance footage?"
"Director Zhao, to be honest, I've watched the footage at least a hundred times. There are no clues or leads at all."
After hearing the reports, Director Zhao took a deep breath, rubbed his temples, then suddenly said, "Archive the case!"
"Archive?"
Everyone in the room froze in shock.
Archiving means permanently closing the case file. Since the policy was enacted more than a decade ago that homicide cases must be solved, archiving has become rare.
Even with scant clues or no leads, cases are typically shelved temporarily as cold cases, to be reopened upon new evidence.
Archiving means the case becomes a "dead case" — forever sealed in the archives, never to be investigated again.
That's why Director Zhao's declaration shocked everyone.
Chen Xin frowned and said, "Director Zhao, homicide cases must be solved! How will we explain this if we archive?"
"Chen Xin, you're young and new. Some cases are just unsolvable." Director Zhao sighed, nostalgia flickering in his eyes.
"As for higher-ups, I'll explain it myself. Don't worry about them. Now, this case is officially archived. Meeting adjourned!"
Saying this, Director Zhao turned and left, leaving the others stunned.
...
10 PM
After sending off the last batch of customers, Lin Chen stretched.
He closed the store and eagerly went upstairs to his room, ignoring even today's earnings, and quickly opened the system interface.
The booming business over these days pushed Lin Chen's Permission Level past LV3.
Host: Lin Chen
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Permission Level: LV3 (1024/10000)
Store: Open
Fear Points: 298,211
Monthly Revenue: 492,600 RMB
Items: LV3 Upgrade Pack *1
Skills: None
Owned Films: A Wicked Ghost, Shutter
...
The System Mall had finally opened, and he received an Upgrade Pack as a bonus.
Rubbing his hands, Lin Chen immediately opened the Upgrade Pack.
Soon, the System Prompt sounded in his mind:
[System Prompt: Congratulations host for opening Upgrade Pack. Unlocked one lounge sofa!]
[Sofa (7-seater) generated, host may check at will.]
Sofa?
Lin Chen frowned slightly, not very satisfied with the reward. His business was so good that unlocking another seat would mean several thousand more in daily revenue.
"System, what's the main use of the sofa?"
"Lounge sofa allows customers to relax and soothe their spirits."
After hearing the explanation, Lin Chen nodded.
The sofa's effect would stabilize customers' emotions, eliminating worries about accidents in the theater.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]