Game Rules

Rumble. Rumble. Rumble.

The engine of an old pickup truck growled to a stop in front of an old apartment building. The faint noon sunlight welcomed a pair of tan-skinned, middle-aged men as they stepped out of the truck. They were both dressed in old shirts and jeans, with one of them having a checkered shirt while the other a plain white one.

Raising his head and glancing at the gloomy sun that seemed to be covered by clouds, the man with a checkered shirt couldn't help but comment in confusion while stroking his mustache, "Huh? It was fairly sunny when we were on the way here. Why is it so cloudy here all of a sudden?"

While retrieving some plumbing tools from the back of the truck, the other man replied, "Maybe because it's already autumn? I'm surprised that it is still so hot on some days even though it might be winter soon. Probably something to do with that global heating thing they talk about online. What do you think, Juan?"

"Jose, it's global warming, not heating. I also dunno if it's true, but it's got nothing to do with us does it now? We just got to make sure the people get their plumping done, get paid, and go home to relax," Juan replied as he helped Jose carry some of the tools into the building.

As the two walked into the building, they very quickly noticed a couple of shoddy signs by the elevator. Strolling closer, Juan read the warning on the sign.

"Elevator under maintenance. High risk of death. Use at your own risk."

"Los cojones! That elevator is clearly still working! Who made these shoddy signs? It seems to be made out of pizza boxes?! Is this a joke?" Jose couldn't help but curse as he gave the flimsy stand-up sign a small tap with his foot, causing it topple to the ground.

"Pendejo, it's better to be safe then sorry. These arrow signs says that there is a stairs over there. It's not too much effort anyway, just follow along Jose," Juan calmly replied as he followed the signs.

"Uy, do we seriously have to carry all these tools up the stairs? Which son of a b*tch lives all the way out here in an abandoned building?" Jose complained, but still followed along while lugging his bag of tools.

It didn't take long for the duo to find the door to the stairway. Glancing at the shabby sign with the words "Toilet Wonderland" above the door, Juan furrowed his brows in confusion. Ignoring the sign, Juan pushed open the door, but he almost jumped in fright when he saw a young man's head on a cabinet!

"Oh? Customers? Well, looking at you, you must be the plumbers I called," the man said as he stood up to reveal his full body.

Juan secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that it was a human. Although he secretly cursed the young man for sitting in such a weird place, it seemed to be his client so he still put on a polite smile as he replied, "Yes, sir. I believe you called and said there were multiple toilets to fix?"

"Ah, yes indeed, but it seemed that it started working again after flushing it a couple of times," the young man replied as he shrugged his shoulders.

Jose who was behind Juan couldn't help but curse in a soft voice, "Hijo de puta! We came all the way out here for nothing?!"

Juan cleared his throat while jabbing Jose to get him to be quiet. Although his face was also not too great, he still kept his manners as he replied, "If that is the case, then we won't disturb you any longer hijo."

Just when Juan was about to turn around and pull away the angry Jose, the young man called out to stop him, "Ah! By any chance, would you happen to be interested in visiting the haunted house here? It's a specialty of our Toilet Wonderland amusement park."

Juan's eyebrow twitched as he held back his anger and replied, "No, hijo. We are busy and have work to do."

"Oh, that's unfortunate. I was about to tell you about the limited-time special promotion of our haunted house. You will get paid $10 per person just for visiting it," the young man muttered loud enough for the leaving duo to hear.

Hearing this, both Juan and Jose paused as they glanced at each other in confusion. What? We get paid to visit? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?

A bit interested and wanting to clear his doubt, Jose held the door as he couldn't help but ask, "Hijo, is what you said true? Is it not we have to pay to visit, but we get paid to visit this kids park of yours?"

"Ah yes! That's right! During this limited-time event, visitors to our newly opened haunted house will get paid $10 just for visiting! Are you interested? You can get paid immediately!" the young man advertised with excitement as he pulled out a stack of cash.

Seeing the stack of bills, the duo's eyes flashed with light as they glanced at each other. After discussing in whispers for a bit, they then entered the door as Juan stated, "Sir, what may we call you? We are very interested in this special promotion of yours. How does it work?"

Counting out two ten dollar bills, the young man grinned as he replied, "Name's Pro. As for this promotion, all you have to do to gain $10 each is to sign this disclaimer form."

Pro pulled out two rectangular cardboard cutouts in addition to a pen from the cabinet. With a thought, an illusion overlay transformed the cardboard cutout into a sheet of paper with a whole bunch of clauses on it.

Juan and Jose walked up to the form as they read a couple of the clauses.

[Title] Toilet Wonderland Haunted House Release of Liability

Please Print Clearly. Name ... Address .. Date of Birth ... Phone ...

Releaser, being of lawful age, and in consideration of being permitted to participate in the activities of the Toilet Wonderland, do for ...

A release of liability form that Pro easily found online was copied into the system library and used as a template for the illusion. Of course, the filled out forms will also be stored in the system for future reference. Although the system doesn't categorize Pro's usual memories, it had no problem when it comes to text like novels and forms.

Glancing at the jumble of text that made them a bit dizzy, Juan couldn't help but mutter with a hint of caution, "This ..."

"Ah, don't worry so much. It's not some strict contract that will pit you or steal your identity. It's just a form saying that you won't hold us responsible for being scared to death. Some details are optional like date of birth and email, but at least give us an emergency phone number to call," Pro chuckled as he summarized what the form was used for.

"Uy? Scared to death? Hijo, do you look down on us?" Jose smirked as he swiftly filled out the form as his eyes flickered to the nearby stack of cash from time to time.

Seeing Jose not paying much heed and not discovering anything wrong himself, Juan also filled out the form cautiously. It didn't take long for the two to hand in the forms as Jose impatiently asked while glancing at the cash on the cabinet, "Hijo, can we get our money now?"

"Of course, of course," Pro handed $10 to each of the men.

"Alright, we got the money. There's no need for us to visit a child's playhouse. We can go now right?" Jose said with a smirk as he pocketed the money.

"Ah! Yes, of course you can ... if you don't want the big bonus," Pro replied with a playful smile.

"Bonus?" Juan and Jose raised their eyebrows. You mean there's more?

"Yes. By participating in our haunted house game, you can win up to $1000 in cash! $10 is just the initial payment for those who chicken out!" Pro explained as he took out a large stack of 100 dollar bills.

The two men's eyes glinted as Jose exclaimed in excitement, "1000 dollares?! Hijo, you messing with us right?"

"No, no, of course not. It's part of our promotional event," Pro calmly replied as he counted the money in front of the men to entice them.

As for whether they would dare to steal the money in front of him, Pro had no worries. They might not walk out of here alive if they fall for the temptation. Pro glanced up and saw the two men gulped as their eyes focused on the stacks of cash.

Juan, who was silent most of the time, couldn't help but lick his dry lips as he asked in a hoarse voice, "Hijo- No, sir, how do we win this $1000?"

Pro's eyes lit up as his mind knew that the two fish were already caught in the net known as greed. He then patiently began to explain, "Our haunted house is on the fourth floor of this building. All you have to do to win $1000 is to go up and bring down three plushy dolls hidden on the floor, but you can't use the elevator. Simple as that."

"Uy?! Hijo, you aren't tricking us right? Could it be possible that you only hid two dolls so that we will never find three?" Jose grumbled as he recalled some common pits in society.

"No, of course not. We are 'honest' businessman here. Since I said there are three, then there will be three that can be found. Of course, you may be unlucky and won't be able to find all three. However, even if you can't find all three, we will still reward you $100 for each doll you bring down!" Pro tempted the duo further.

"100 dollares for each one?! For real? Then can we keep playing this game to earn even more money after winning it once? Can we win 100 dollares infinitely?" Jose asked as he imagined a wonderful future.

"Yes you may, but only under one condition. In order to play again, you must bring a new member for each veteran player. So, if the two of you want to play again, you will need to bring two new members. We do keep track of your names for a reason," Pro inwardly snickered as he opened a deeper pit for the visitors to step on with a calm face.

"Pendejo! This can't be real! This- won't this mean we can bring out familia here and win 1000 dollares multiple times?" Juan exclaimed in excitement.

"Of course it's real. We 'honest' businessman have a reputation to uphold, or how can we continue to do business. Of course, this is a limited time promotion event, so it may not last forever. So, are you two interested in trying it out today? Even if you leave, it will count as a visit already, and you will lose a chance to win ..." Pro reminded in a devilish voice.

"Of course hijo! Only idiots won't take free money! Count us in, we aren't afraid of your childish Halloween tricks!" Jose exclaimed in a boastful tone as Juan grunted in agreement.

"Very well then. As a final reminder, you do not have to worry about your safety in this event because we have 'hidden' cameras installed to monitor your vital signs. If you pass out, we will naturally bring you out. When you are ready, feel free to climb up the stairs to the fourth floor at anytime. I wish you two good luck."

"Hahaha! Don't worry! Just prepare the $1000 hijo and wait for us to come back down!" Jose bravely boasted as he began to climb the stairs.

Juan calmly set the plumbing tools in a corner as he asked, "Can you ..."

"Yes, no problem. I will watch over it for you. Just treat it as a part of customer service," Pro replied with a friendly smile.

"Gracias amigo," Juan nodded with a friendly tone before climbing up the stairs after Jose.

Watching the two men leave his sight, an evil grin formed on Pro's mouth. Seeing no more customers coming at the moment, Pro linked the first floor door to the fourth floor and teleported up to wait for his visitors.

"Although I can't kill you as I need you to jump start my pyramid scheme, I can still squeeze all the juice out of you. After all, all the floors below are now safe enough for you to leave alive. I will give you two greedy, silly fools an unforgettable experience of Toilet Wonderland!"

Pro faded away into ghost form, but evil laughter continued to echo in the gloomy hallway, signifying the start of others' nightmares.