Thriller Zone: From the Mental Hospital to the Ghostly World

Business class, 11A, a window seat.

The woman was wearing a simple white suit and appeared to be around 30 years old.

She leaned back lazily in her seat, gazing at the darkness outside the window, exuding a faint sense of weariness that came with the satisfaction of her material desires.

She is Wan Xiaoshuang.

This is her 7th domain.

The phone vibrated slightly in her palm.

After a few seconds, she slowly swiped open the screen.

Chen Ji: Zhang Peng is dead.

Wu Zhou: ???

[Chen Ji: (Photo)]

Wan Xiaoshuang's slender fingers swept across the screen, zooming in on the photo.

Her brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

The photo shows the face of a young man.

His face was pale, and his eyes, wide open to the extreme, were bloodshot, as if they had been smoked.

Every inch of my skin and pores was wet.

This photo is very high resolution; the photographer practically shoved the camera right up to the deceased's face.

So much so that when Wan Xiaoshuang zoomed in again, she could still clearly see the water droplets that had formed on Zhang Peng's face.

[Qi Chen: Has he been confirmed dead?]

[Chen Ji: He's not breathing.]

[Sun Weiming: The ghosts have started to make their move!!]

[Sun Weiming: What taboo did he break?]

Wan Xiaoshuang glanced at the discussion below without sending any messages.

She simply opened the photo again and carefully observed every detail within it.

Suddenly, a glint flashed in Wan Xiao's eyes.

She swiped her finger again, zooming in to the maximum size, with Zhang Peng's jawline taking up the entire screen.

Greed, anger, ignorance...

Wan Xiaoshuang murmured softly.

Click.

She turned off her phone, remained silent, and continued to gaze at the endless night outside the porthole.

.....

"I was too hasty."

Chen Ji sat back down next to Fei'er, his brows furrowed tightly.

Fei'er was taken aback: "What's wrong?"

Chen Ji shook his head, then simply opened the chat room and moved closer to Fei'er:

What does my phone screen look like to you?

Fei'er glanced at it: "Watching a horror movie."

But from Chen Ji's perspective, his screen showed a grayed-out chat room interface.

same.

When he checked Fei'er's phone, all he saw was a novel.

This means that no one can determine someone's identity by peeking at their screen.

Why is it set up this way?

Fei'er was a little puzzled: "Afraid the ghost will find out?"

"Perhaps," Chen Ji said thoughtfully, "it could also be to protect against people."

Only then did he say, "Enlarge Zhang Peng's photo and look at the edges of his face."

Fei'er did as instructed, observed carefully for a while, and then spoke with some uncertainty:

"I have this feeling..."

"His face is a little too pale."

Chen Ji nodded and opened the photo himself:

“Look at the skin tone around his hairline, sideburns, and jawline; it’s rather dark.”

"Judging from his neck, his true skin tone is actually a bit dark."

Chen Ji tapped the screen a few times and then said, "Moreover, the edges of the color difference on his face are neat."

"And..." Chen Ji added, as he was the only one who had seen Zhang Peng's death with his own eyes and had a clearer view of many details.

"Zhang Peng's face was not only wet, but the magazine on his leg was also soaked with water."

"But, on his face, there were only water droplets on a pale area, while the edges, such as near his hairline, were dry."

"This reminds me of an ancient form of punishment..."

"The official title is awarded."

"It involves cutting up pieces of soaked yellow paper and sticking them tightly to the prisoner's face."

"This process will be very painful, and it won't be long before the prisoner suffocates to death."

After listening, Fei'er asked directly, "You suspect that Zhang Peng died in this way?"

"Possibly," Chen Ji said after a pause.

"The photo may not show it, but there are some very faint wrinkles on his face, which should have appeared after his skin was soaked in water."

Phil pointed out a key issue:

"Zhang Peng kept his head down and didn't make a sound."

"If he really died from having wet paper covering his face, then the wet paper should have fallen directly onto his knees."

"Furthermore, how could he not resist at all and just let himself suffocate to death?"

Chen Ji remained silent for a while; this was the only point he didn't understand.

First, it has been confirmed that Zhang Peng died of suffocation.

It was related to water, but it wasn't from choking on water, because the inside of his lips was dry.

Only the bluish-white skin on his face was moist, loose, and lacked elasticity.

Chen Ji had a vague idea in his mind, but he didn't say it out loud for the time being, waiting to verify it.

"Besides, what does this have to do with the Hair Ghost?" Phil asked, somewhat puzzled.

Meanwhile, in the chat room, people were also discussing this issue:

Qi Chen: This is different from the method of murder last time.

Qi Chen: Zhang Peng died of suffocation.

[Sun Weiming: @Chen Ji, is there any hair next to Zhang Peng?]

Chen Ji: No.

Wu Zhou: There might be more than one ghost.

[Wu Zhou: Moreover, Zhang Peng may have broken a taboo!]

As soon as Wu Zhou said this, the group chat immediately erupted into chaos.

[Sun Weiming: Last time, two ghosts also appeared in my domain.]

Wu Zhou: Yes, the difficulty of the domain is not low now, which is normal.

[Wu Zhou: I was sitting in the back seat and saw Zhang Peng stand up before he died. At that time, the seatbelt indicator light was still red.]

Wu Zhou's position should also be in the front economy class, that is, in front of row 48.

Chen Ji and Fei'er exchanged a glance.

They also saw Zhang Peng stand up.

But... that happened before the death point.

Chen Ji thought for a moment, then simply continued watching the discussion in the group, without recounting his observations at the time.

[Liu Zi: But I stood up too, so how come I didn't die?]

Wu Zhou: I'm just speculating.

“The others don’t know Liu Zi’s identity yet,” Chen Ji said immediately.

Liu Zi wouldn't reveal it voluntarily, but Lan Meng.....

[Lan Meng: Wu Zhou might be right.]

[Lanmeng: @Liuzi, are you also a crew member?]

"Tsk."

Fei'er frowned.

[Wu Zhou: Are our identities still different?]

[Lan Meng: Yes, I'm a flight attendant.]

[Lan Meng: I've been standing here ever since I entered the domain, and there haven't been any problems. Perhaps it's because of my identity.]

[Lan Meng: Zhang Peng is a passenger, and the rules are different from those for flight attendants.]

[Wu Zhou: @Liu Zi, bro, what do you do?]

Liu Zi did not reply.

[Fei'er: Does it matter?]

"Why are these two asking so many questions?"

She said with some displeasure, "Especially that Wu Zhou."

Chen Ji looked at the preparation room in front of him, and through the curtain, he could vaguely see a section of blue skirt peeking out.

Lan Meng was squatting on the ground, with a food cart next to her.

A few seconds later, the flight attendant's red uniform appeared below the curtain, seemingly talking to Lan Meng and the male flight attendant.

A broadcast came over the loudspeaker:

Dear passengers, we regret to inform you that due to unforeseen circumstances, meals will not be provided on this flight.

Immediately, a commotion arose from the surroundings.