Chapter One: Seven Rules and the Eighth Chair

“The manual is in the security room. Read it before twelve. And Camera Thirteen is broken. If it turns on by itself, pretend you never saw it.” Old Cai clocked out and left like a man escaping a fire. The opening program ran until 11:40 p.m. The mascots performed six birthday songs. Servers brought out black pizzas steaming with dry ice. Guests shrieked, laughed, and filmed everything. Zhou Ran settled drink complaints, separated a fighting couple, and confiscated an action camera a streamer tried to shove into Leon's mouth. At 11:45, the closing announcement played. All but six guests left. The remaining group sat at Table Eight beside the children's play zone.