Thriller Zone: From the Mental Hospital to the Ghostly World

Inside Teacher Zhan's room.

It was late at night, and the four of them lay on the floor, each lost in their own thoughts.

After discussing with Wan Xiaoshuang, Chen Ji had more speculations about this domain.

He reviewed the domain's guidance once more.

[One-on-one, one for one, find a substitute.]

The first two sentences are easy to understand: the ghost is looking for someone to die in its place, and the person also needs to find a substitute to die in their place.

But something's not right.

If we say it this way, then the guidance and the task overlap. It's like saying the guidance is 1+1, while the task is 2—just different interpretations of the same meaning.

Find a stand-in, then what?

Then you can leave the domain?

Chen Ji turned over, his eyes lowered, he had already realized exactly what was wrong:

Finding a substitute equals survival, but if it's a condition for leaving the domain, then that's not enough.

It should be prefixed with something like "survived before a certain point in time," otherwise it's too vague.

Because this time, there's more than one ghost looking for a scapegoat!

If one ghost is rid of, does that mean the others won't make a move?

There are already more ghosts than people, so in the end, who will be left to replace them?

Based on the current clues, it seems that teammates have to be killed repeatedly, like raising poisonous insects. Whoever survives to the end will be able to leave... So, will only one person survive this time?

Most importantly, both Wan Chengzhong and Li Bi encountered ghosts, but no one knew the specifics.

They only speculated that Wan Chengzhong and Li Bi had encountered something life-threatening, but in fact, neither of them was slowly drowning like Hong Tian.

Now there are several different scenarios:

1. Hong Tian/Huang Ying. There is no corresponding drowned ghost, or the self seen is normal.

Their bodies are slowly transforming, eventually leading them step by step towards death.

2. Li Bi/Wan Chengzhong. The reason for being targeted by a ghost is unknown.

There was no change in his body, but for some reason he urgently needed to find someone to die in his place.

Could it be that the ghost has given us a death date?

3. Others. Randomly encountered ghosts. No physical changes.

As for the junior high school student ghost and Zhang Wenxuan, their background stories are shrouded in mystery and cannot be confirmed at the moment.

Among them, Chen Ji thought the most noteworthy was Hong Tian. He was different from the others and could even dream about the conditions at the bottom of the river. For some reason, this reminded Chen Ji of Huang Ying's drowning.

Chen Ji vaguely felt he had grasped some clue, but he wasn't quite sure...

Secondly, there's Teacher Zhan. His dream was an important clue, and he provided overly detailed information about Huang Ying's experiences.

There's also the red backpack, which appeared briefly and then disappeared again, and it seems it didn't help the domain at all.

No, it's "temporarily" not helpful.

Chen had a strong feeling that they would meet the real Zhang Wenxuan sooner or later, and then the red schoolbag might appear.

The same drowsiness as yesterday struck again, and Chen Ji gently closed his eyes.

This time, he decided to temporarily abandon the guidance, because he vaguely sensed that those entering the domain were going further and further down the wrong path.

Like wedding banquets and ghost stories, this is a typical puzzle-solving domain. As the fragments of the story are collected and pieced together, a path can be figured out.

We're still a little short.

Tour group.

In my hazy consciousness, a faint dampness filled the air...

......

Tick.

Li Bi suddenly opened her eyes!

She immediately sat up and looked around, her heart filled with doubt and uncertainty. Just a moment after waking up, she thought she heard the sound of dripping water.

The ghost said see you tomorrow, what time is it now?

My gaze shifted to the wall; it was 11:50.

They probably won't appear on time that precisely, right?

After waiting a little while longer, all was quiet; not a sound could be heard. Everyone except her was fast asleep: Teacher Zhan, Chen Ji, Wan Xiaoshuang...

Hongtian.

Where is Hong Tian?!

Li Bi's pupils contracted instantly; there was no one on the innermost futon!

He went out? No, impossible. The doors and windows were tightly closed, and based on Li Bi's own experience and the experiences of the others last night, everyone would feel an irresistible drowsiness at the same time.

This sudden change was extremely bizarre, but Li Bi didn't have time to deal with Hong Tian's affairs; she had more important things to do now.

Huang Ying wrote the following in her diary:

[When you are alone, and no one else is around, cut off a lock of hair from the person you have chosen and throw it into the Jagu River. That person will then die in your place.]

Li Bi pursed her lips; in fact, she had some doubts.

After all, according to Huang Ying's diary, this unconventional method was not confirmed; she only said that she overheard it by the river.

However, Huang Ying's symptoms were exactly the same as hers. She saw a drowned ghost in the reflection of the water. The ghost predicted the time and manner of her death. Huang Ying, who did not try to take the place of the ghost, died as predicted.

It was said to be suicide, but after discussion between Li Bi and Wan Chengzhong, they both felt there was something fishy about it.

Moreover, this is currently the only way out in this domain, and it also fulfills the mission requirement of finding a substitute.

Putting aside her doubts, Li Bi guessed that it would be some time before the drowned ghost appeared.

Following her plan, she gently stepped over the others and walked to Wan Xiaoshuang's side.

Wan Xiaoshuang's eyes were closed, fast asleep. Li Bi knew that at this time, no one else would wake up.

She lifted Wan Xiaoshuang's leg hard and dragged her outside the door, then closed the door again.

Li Bi pulled a small knife from her pocket, lifted a section of Wan Xiaoshuang's hair, and with a snap, a small piece of dark hair fell into her pale hand.

It's that simple.

Dragging someone out the door means spending time alone with them.

Behind her was a dark, dense forest. Li Bi felt a little uneasy. After doing all this, she didn't hesitate and immediately opened the door to go inside.

Tick.

The sound of water appeared again.

Li Biyi was startled.

She felt a cold touch on her face, which then slid down to her neck. When she touched it, she felt a drop of water.

wrong.......

They are raindrops.

Tick.

It's raining!

Didn't they say it wouldn't rain until the day after tomorrow?

Li Bi's hand, which was gripping her hair, trembled violently. Just then, she suddenly heard footsteps approaching from not far away...

pat.

She turned her head and saw a familiar figure.

Drops of water fell from the wet hem of her long dress to the ground.

That was a drowned ghost that looked exactly like her.

Beneath her long, flowing, seaweed-like hair, half of her pale face was visible. The moment the ghost saw Li Bi, it was as if it had spotted its prey!

Li Bi's vision blurred, and in the blink of an eye, the ghost was already within reach!

Fortunately, she had already stepped one foot into the room. The next second, she darted inside. At least at night, Teacher Zhan's dormitory was still a safe zone. Hiding inside would prevent her from being killed by the drowning ghost!

Both Tong Zi and Chen Ji have confirmed this.

As Li Bi slammed the door shut, the ghost's steps slowed down, but not because of Li Bi.

It raised its head slightly, looking up at the sky...

After the small test ended.

Fine raindrops began to fall like a beaded curtain.

Within seconds, the rain intensified. The weather forecast hadn't predicted the timing correctly, but it had been right about one thing.

This was an extremely violent rainstorm.