Thriller Zone: From the Mental Hospital to the Ghostly World

"This domain only extends to the town."

The boy said, "But we don't need to go to the downstream village."

His expression was very serious as he relayed the information he had gathered to Chen Ji and the other man.

Some people in the town have seen the ghosts of the tour group!

It turns out this happened five years ago (2003), but since the following year, people have seen them on the banks of the Jagu River every summer.

The first witness didn't know it was a ghost; he simply told the boy that he saw a group of young people swimming in the river at midnight.

But strangely... they were all dressed, and some were even wearing hats!

What surprised the witness most was that the group was dressed very fashionably, with outfits he had never seen before.

The second witness was also unaware of the tour group's appearance, but he was absolutely certain that those people were ghosts!

The original quote is:

"I was fishing by the river when I felt the rod suddenly become heavy, and then a hand reached out from the water along the rod—it was terrifyingly white! I almost peed my pants. When I looked up, I saw several bloated corpses floating to the surface..."

But of all the information provided by eyewitnesses, last year's was the most terrifying.

"Those ghosts can get ashore."

The boy said, "Someone was sleeping at home at night when he heard someone knocking on his window. When he woke up groggily, he was almost scared to death."

He said the ghost outside the window looked like it had just been pulled out of the water, completely soaked, staring blankly at him, and kept asking:

Where is the river?

Where is the river?

Li Yinghe was taken aback: "Didn't they come from the river?"

“Yes,” the boy said. “They may not be able to go back. But I’ve noticed something: these ghosts appear at very fixed times.”

"Is this the day we arrive?" Chen Ji asked.

"No."

The boy shook his head, a hint of confusion in his eyes: "It happens in early June each year, after the first heavy rain of summer."

"Aren't we in June right now?" Chen Ji calculated the time, but he wasn't quite sure what day it was.

"No need to calculate it."

The boy said somberly, "Today is June 3rd. It hasn't rained for the past few days."

"But judging from the past few years... the first rain is just a few days away."

He meant that, not counting Zhang Wenxuan and Huang Ying's family, nor the nine drowned ghosts who looked exactly like them, there was also a ghost tour group that would soon be entering the town.

The tour groups didn't harm the villagers, but that doesn't mean they won't attack anyone entering the territory...

Otherwise, why would the domain arrange for them to enter the village at this particular time?

At first, everyone thought that the tour group might be the nine drowned ghosts, but the townspeople's descriptions did not match, and they did not say that the ghosts changed their appearance with each person they met.

Each eyewitness's account corroborates the others, proving that the tour group was still wearing their own clothes, and because they were "different," they left a deep impression on them.

Stylish, different...

Chen Ji noticed these descriptions and felt a strange sensation in his heart.

He was unsure whether this counted as a clue, since this was a rural area from the early 0s, and if the tour group came from a first-tier city, it wouldn't be unusual.

However, Chen Ji was not surprised by the large number of ghosts, as the same was true for Tuotuo Mountain.

Ghosts within a domain can be divided into peripheral and core types. Even if there are many peripheral ghosts, they will most likely only share one taboo, such as miners who died in a mine.

The group decided to check the weather forecast that evening to prepare themselves mentally.

At this point, Chen Jicai had a chance to ask about Zheng Meng's situation, but Wan Chengzhong had already told the others that Zheng Meng thought the red backpack was upstairs, so she dragged him to the second floor, only to be killed by a ghost.

"He said that Zheng Meng went into Huang Ying's bedroom first, and then he went in. He found that Huang Ying's grandmother had been hanged. The red thing was not a schoolbag, but the corpse's clothes. Then Zheng Meng was also hanged by another empty rope."

"The door was locked by the ghost at that moment, so he had to jump out of the window to escape."

Zhu Guang repeated Wan Chengzhong's words, observing Chen Ji's expression: "What do you think?"

"We didn't go upstairs."

Chen Ji said, "It's hard to say."

He knew in his heart that Wan Chengzhong had not lied about Huang Ying's grandmother's words or the manner of her death.

The smell of urine and the sound of a thud can both be associated with hanging.

Moreover, the taboo surrounding death is indeed related to Huang Ying's bedroom; otherwise, Huang Ying's grandfather would not have needed to keep luring them upstairs.

But is Zheng Meng really that reckless?

Chen Ji found this a bit strange. Based on his observation, Zheng Meng couldn't have entered the Ninth Domain so hastily; he should have been a little timid.

If it wasn't Zheng Meng who suggested going inside, could it have been Wan Chengzhong? But why? Just to take the red backpack?

They don't even know what the red schoolbag is for... Chen Ji seemed to be deep in thought.

Soon after.

The group returned to school.

No one discussed Zheng Meng's matter anymore. After all, she was dead, and even if someone had doubts, they wouldn't say it out loud.

Now Ah Gou and Zheng Meng are dead; Hong Tian has one foot in the grave.

The rest were all team members, each with their own agendas.

Lunch break was over, but Chen Ji didn't go back to the men's dormitory. Instead, he went to find Wan Xiaoshuang.

Wan Xiao was holding a handful of breadcrumbs on a loess slope, teasing birds. When he saw Chen Ji, he waved for him to come over.

"What did you say over there?"

Chen Ji asked, looking at the two identical fat sparrows eating crumbs of steamed bun on the ground.

“What the boy said is correct,” Wan Xiaoshuang said. “I’m not sure how he found these people, but I was there when he questioned them.”

"However, I need to tell you something: Wan Chengzhong may be planning to take action against me."

Chen Ji's expression shifted slightly: "How did you know?"

“His behavior is a bit abnormal, isn’t it?” Wan Xiaoshuang said. “Moreover, he used a strange object.”

“He was trying his best to hide it, but I still noticed that Wan Chengzhong’s arm movements were unnatural.”

Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "There's a ghost inside. He probably used it to escape. It's normal that he doesn't want to mention his ghostly possession."

"No."

Wan Xiaoshuang gently shook her head: "I know about that strange creature. It's a puppet, and the puppet's arms can be severed and deformed, and can be stretched very long."

"An arm... what use is that to a ghost?"

"It's like a claw machine," Wan Xiaoshuang said. "It can catch ghosts and people, but catching ghosts comes at a high price."

"It's human."

"I think he must have entered the house first, discovered something was wrong, and then used the puppet to drag Zheng Meng into the house and replace the ropes."

“But here’s the problem.” Wan Xiaoshuang straightened up and looked at Chen Ji.

Why did he still insist on going inside later?

"There's something he wants in the room!" Chen Ji immediately realized. "But it won't be the red schoolbag; that would be too conspicuous."

"Yes. I know he's not a team player; his purpose in this domain is simple."

Wan Xiaoshuang raised her finger:

"First, he himself cannot die."

"Second, he wants me dead."

After a moment's thought, Chen Ji quickly understood Wan Xiaoshuang's suspicions:

"Assuming it's the first scenario, then he absolutely has to go to Huang Ying's bedroom because he's about to die!"

"The ghosts known in this domain are all designed to kill someone in their place. If Wan Chengzhong finds out he's being targeted, his first instinct will be to find a way to survive."

"The guidance is one for one... The ghost wants Wan Chengzhong to die in his place, and Wan Chengzhong also needs to find someone to be his substitute. That's why the thing he went to so much trouble to get in Huang Ying's bedroom was a way to save his life!"

The reason I don't say it out loud...

It's very likely that this method requires a one-for-one exchange.

Who would he choose first?

The answer is self-evident.