Thriller Zone: From the Mental Hospital to the Ghostly World

Was he discovered while stealing the invitation, just like a thief?

The sound of chains did not ring again, and the law enforcement officer still hadn't appeared.

Chen Ji thought for a moment, then lowered his gaze.

[Criminal Charge: Stealing (Important) Property from the Castle]

Then there is also an execution scene:

The criminal was shackled, and his face was no longer branded, but instead bore three bloody characters carved into it:

Theft

"Hiss..." Upon seeing this, Chen Ji couldn't help but touch his face. His fingertips felt the wounds on his skin, the flesh turned inside out, and a faint stinging pain.

He knew he was no different from the person in the painting.

Next picture.

A helmetless officer (law enforcement officer) holds a scale, while a prisoner wails beside him. Even more horrifying is that his entire chest and abdomen have been cut open, but his liver and lungs have all disappeared!

No, that's not right...

To be precise, it was taken away by the law enforcement officer and placed on one side of the scale for measurement.

At the other end, there was only a string of light keys, yet they were hanging heavily.

Using organs as collateral for crimes

The annotations are very simple.

It's very clear.

Just like Chen Ji's experience, the key was stolen goods.

Chen Ji's lips twitched. The organs on the scales in the painting weighed at least 4 or 5 kilograms, but even so, on the judge's scales, they were still much lighter than the bunch of keys.

"Even if you took out your heart, you probably still wouldn't be able to pay back the debt."

He thought to himself silently.

This is much more severe than the punishment for trespassing.

In addition to these two crimes, there is a new crime, but its meaning is very vague.

[The crime of desecrating the castle]

There is only one prisoner, 001.

Surprisingly, there was no diagram illustrating the execution of this crime.

A brief note with only three lines:

1. Execute immediately

2. The method of execution is determined by the local authorities where the crime occurred.

3. Each region operates under its own autonomy, with the final interpretation right resting with the law enforcement officer.

Chen Ji looked at the second law thoughtfully: "In other words, law enforcement officers are not directly responsible for punishing this crime."

This statement is strange. "Criminal area" should refer to the area where prisoners "desecrate" things, such as different areas like the lobby, dining hall, and prison cells.

It's as if these rooms have been personified.

Chen Ji thought about it again and found it easy to understand.

In fact, the various crimes committed by the Netherworld are simply taboos of the ghosts in the realm, just presented in a different way.

The first two crimes are angering the spirit, and the last one is an instant death taboo.

Just like in the realm of the Three Wise Monkeys, each stage must follow its own rules, otherwise, death will ensue.

"Desecrating the castle is a grave sin... There will likely be many taboos below."

Chen Ji's heart sank slightly. Du Muyu was being hunted down because of this crime.

The above three are all the charges. There may be new ones, but they have not appeared yet.

Chen Ji turned his head and looked around. The end of the execution ground was shrouded in darkness. He didn't know if there was a way to get to the study.

He lifted his foot to walk into the darkness...

Chen Ji's eyes narrowed.

Suddenly, something grabbed his legs tightly, and he could no longer move an inch!

Those were... a pair of thin, bony hands!

Emerging from the underground stone bricks, rootless and without source, pale white as bone, its force was so great that it almost broke Chen Ji's legs!

Right now.

The words on the stone slab suddenly changed.

[The crime of desecrating the castle]

【Prisoner: 001】

This line of text was erased.

It has become:

[Prisoner: 001, 003]

......

Prisoner number 003, Xiao Chen... what's his full name again?

Zhang Cheng slowly pushed open the door. The invitation should have a name on it to be valid, right?

Did you write it yourself, or was it already there?

Looking at the familiar scene before him, Zhang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief.

It was indeed a study.

He is very lucky.

After escaping the corridor, he found the spiral staircase in the second room, and the feeling of stepping on it was very familiar.

After going up the stairs, he opened the first door based on his intuition and previous physical memory, and it really was a study.

Nothing had changed since he first entered the Netherworld; there was still a desk with an open book on it.

So the invitation was tucked inside the book.

Recalling the image of the law enforcement officer being drawn away by the key, Zhang Cheng felt a sense of oppression, as if a stone had fallen into his stomach.

Without hesitation, he stepped forward, picked up the book, flipped through a couple of pages, and found several invitations inside.

As expected, there was no signature.

But a space for a signature was left.

Zhang Cheng's heart stirred slightly. Perhaps he could sign for Xiao Chen first to clear up the "trespassing" charge!

But what was the other person's full name again?

The thief seemed to have shouted, but the thunder was too loud, and he didn't hear clearly...

By the way, where's the thief? He was the fastest runner, hasn't he reached the study yet?

While he was thinking, a rustling sound suddenly came from under the desk, startling Zhang Cheng!

The boy had messy black hair and two dull eyes.

"You need to sign."

"..."

Zhang Cheng was speechless. He thought the boy really did seem like a thief, always acting suspiciously.

“I know,” he said, catching his breath before adding, “Do you have a pen?”

The boy nodded and tossed out a pencil, the eraser of which was chewed and pitted.

Zhang Cheng first signed his name on an invitation, and at the same moment he finished signing, he suddenly felt a sense of relief.

My face wasn't burning as much anymore.

But the mark remains, and it seems irreversible.

"Congratulations, you've been proven innocent."

The boy said with a grin.

Zhang Cheng forced a smile, and without lingering, immediately found a second blank invitation.

He looked at the boy: "You know Xiao Chen's full name, right?"

The boy responded, "Chen Ji."

"The ultimate of the infinite."

"The extreme of the extreme?"

"Ah."

Zhang Cheng meticulously copied his name onto the invitation letter, stroke by stroke.

Hopefully, Chen Ji's charges have been dropped... Sigh, but there's still theft on his record.

He glanced at the boy, his thoughts a jumble of emotions. The boy's face still looked terrifying, almost unrecognizable, covered only by knife wounds and branding marks.

The other person acted as if nothing had happened, plopped down on the table, and idly dangled their legs in the air.

"What are we going to do now?"

he asks.

The boy was at most fifteen years old, more than a decade younger than Zhang Cheng.

Zhang Cheng sighed. He was the oldest now, so it seemed he would have to take care of the child.

"Let's go find Chen Ji first."

Zhang Cheng thought for a moment, "Also, I was wondering, since there's a solution for 'trespassing,' could there be one for theft as well?"

"Something like an atonement box."

"some."

Unexpectedly, the boy jumped off the table and nodded.

"How can you be so sure?" Zhang Cheng asked, somewhat surprised.

The boy waved the invitation in his hand and said quietly, "I've regained part of my memory."

After saying that, he glanced at Zhang Cheng and said, "Don't ask any more questions."

"Follow me."

"Fine......"

Zhang Cheng shook his head helplessly and looked at the name on the boy's invitation:

"Xu Chuan".