Thriller Zone: From the Mental Hospital to the Ghostly World

In this dimly lit corridor, only the iron gate of the house at the end was illuminated by the warm yellow light from inside.

The door was only half open.

I could vaguely see several pairs of shoes scattered haphazardly on the doormat in front of the door; women's leather shoes; and several pairs of men's soccer shoes, fluorescent in color, the kind that junior high school students used to like to wear.

The Spring Festival couplets on the door weren't very sticky; one corner had already fallen off, and the flocked rabbit decoration under the character "福" (fortune) was missing half an ear.

Zhang Cheng quietly entered the room without making a sound.

After passing through the entrance hall, there was a portrait of a man on the wall. Zhang Cheng glanced at it and felt a chill run down his spine.

The man on the other side had a deathly pale face and was staring at him menacingly.

Turning around, he found it was an ordinary house with three bedrooms and a living room. The television was playing the news, and no one was sitting on the sofa.

There were people in the restaurant, including a dark-haired boy eating with his back to him, and two empty chairs next to him...

Is it Xu Chuan?

Zhang Cheng was taken aback. He was about to call out to the other person when he suddenly shut his mouth.

A hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.

Is this really Xu Chuan?

The room was eerie, but the boy sitting at the dining table remained silent, eating his meal without saying a word.

Zhang Cheng slowly backed away, hiding against the wall. Just then, he heard a click, as if someone had come out and was dragging a chair.

A female voice said:

"Xiao Chuan, Mom has to go to the bureau later."

"After your brother finishes training and comes home later, please reheat the food in the pot for him."

Ogawa......

Zhang Cheng was immediately startled, and an unbelievable guess popped into his mind!

It really was Xu Chuan!

But Xu Chuan is different from him and Chen Ji; he is a native of this so-called "Netherworld"!

Xu Chuan's voice came through, and he hummed in response.

After a while, he said again, "Mom..."

"Something happened again?"

Xu Chuan's mother didn't speak for a few seconds before softly saying, "Yes."

"Mom, can you please not go?"

"I heard that they weren't murderers, they were ghosts!"

ghost?

Zhang Cheng's expression changed slightly.

What year, month, and place did this happen?

Upon entering the Netherworld, his first suspicion was that he was either dead or had traveled through time, because the castle looked exactly like the layout in a movie.

But after opening the door on the second floor, the house he entered gave him a very real feeling, as if Xu Chuan and his mother had really existed in real life.

There was a conversation like this in a certain month of a certain year.

All that could be heard was a rustling sound.

It looked like someone was patting someone else's head.

Then Xu Chuan's mother comforted him, saying, "It's okay."

"And what about your Uncle Jiang? He's very capable!"

“Uncle Jiang…yes, yes, isn’t he from that special institute?” Xu Chuan seemed relieved, his tone suddenly changing.

"Mom, can you and Uncle Jiang still come to watch our game on Sunday?"

"Of course." Xu Chuan's mother chuckled gently.

"Great!"

The mother and son then continued eating without saying another word.

The television was still broadcasting the news.

"Regarding the recent series of murders in this city, the municipal public security authorities attach great importance to the matter and have established an investigation team..."

According to sources, there are 18 victims in this case, and an auxiliary police officer died during the investigation; the cause of death is unknown.

So many people died, how come I've never heard of it?

Zhang Cheng frowned. If he remembered correctly, this news report was about to be rebroadcast.

suddenly.

The host's voice abruptly stopped.

As if the television had been turned off, the entire room fell into a deathly silence as the sound of the television abruptly stopped.

pat!

Another drop of cold water fell onto Zhang Cheng's face.

The sticky, cold substance sent a shiver down Zhang Cheng's spine, raising goosebumps on his neck.

He looked up in alarm, but couldn't see clearly. Was there water stains on the ceiling again?

What exactly is Du Muyu doing?

In the midst of this long silence, Zhang Cheng heard another sound of a chair being dragged.

Three chairs, all occupied? Who's the newcomer?

Just as Zhang Cheng slowly approached the corner and was about to see the person's figure, the sound suddenly came from the television again.

The sound was deafening!

It was like thunder exploding right next to my ears.

Zhang Cheng's hair stood on end instantly!

He heard the female host's voice completely change, becoming extremely resentful, filled with hatred, and screaming shrilly:

"latest news!"

"latest news!"

"The suspect's location has been confirmed!"

The images on the television slowly came into Zhang Cheng's view.

He saw that the female host's face was blurry, as if it had been pixelated, and then the scene changed.

It becomes a surveillance video.

Amidst the screaming voice-over, Zhang Cheng almost stopped breathing; he saw himself on television.

This is who I am right now.

He was lying by the wall.

This is the room in the video.

No, that's not right... How could I possibly be a suspect!

Not myself.

That's the room.

The ghost that killed more than ten people is in this room, which means...

Zhang Cheng stared blankly to his right.

That's the direction the restaurant is facing.

First, he saw Xu Chuan, who was eating silently with his head down, his back to him.

Afterwards, he saw Xu Chuan's mother, who was wearing an auxiliary police uniform and also had her back to him.

at last.....

At last.

Opposite to this mother and child.

A completely naked man sat across from the person at the dining table.

He was very fat, his whole body was bloated, like a balloon that had been inflated too much.

Zhang Cheng looked at him.

He looked at Zhang Cheng.

Zhang Cheng looked at the branding marks and knife wounds on his body; they stretched across his pale skin, like pork that had been soaked in water and covered with stamps.

Zhang Cheng turned his head blankly and looked at the photo frame by the door.

The photo inside has disappeared; now it's just an empty frame.

There weren't any photos at all, were there?

It wasn't there to begin with.

And that face he saw when he first entered the room...

Zhang Cheng slowly backed away.

He heard something crawling on his head, making a rustling sound.

pat.

A drop of water fell onto Zhang Cheng's face.

He trembled all over, unable to control himself, and looked up at that greasy body, which had somehow transformed into a skin as thin as a cicada's wing, wriggling on the ceiling.

Trespassing

Theft

Theft

[Desecrating the Castle] [Desecrating the Castle] [Desecrating the Castle]...

Beneath so many marks, there are countless other blurred traces, making it impossible to discern the crime.

Only one string of numbers is very clear:

【001】

At that moment, Zhang Cheng finally found out who had left those watermarks.

He is criminal number 001.

It's not Du Muyu.

not human.