Thriller Zone: From the Mental Hospital to the Ghostly World

what is this?

A sense of absurdity suddenly rose in Chen Ji's heart. The drowning ghost did not kill him immediately, but gave him a death warning. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed to be giving him time to find a way to survive.

Taking Wan Chengzhong as an example, his action trajectory should be as follows:

Because the guidance gave rise to the idea of ​​someone becoming a scapegoat --> After the thought appeared, the drowned ghost appeared in the reflection, foreshadowing the death --> Wan Chengzhong used the substitution method.

Similarly, Li Bi's trajectory is:

Upon seeing the substitution method, the thought of having someone else die in your place arises -> a death omen appears -> the substitution method is used.

In order to protect herself and confirm her thoughts, Wan Xiaoshuang must have had the thought of "Li Bi dying in my place" in her dream, which led to her death.

Just having the thought violated a taboo!

Now that the opportunity for the ghost to appear has been found, as long as this point is not violated, others will not be haunted by the ghost.

But the price for obtaining this clue was that Wan Xiaoshuang was also declared dead.

Chen Ji felt a heavy weight in his heart. He increasingly suspected that the substitution method was not a way out, but a dead end!

But didn't Wan Chengzhong and Li Bi have similar thoughts?

Even if they were panicked at the time, how could these two not have considered this possibility afterward?

What made them so certain that once their death was predicted, they would definitely die on that date?

In this domain, information flow is extremely poor, and the existence of the substitution method naturally makes those who enter the domain suspicious of each other.

Even though this was Chen Ji's second time entering a high-difficulty domain, he still felt a sense of bewilderment. This domain was even stranger than Tuotuo Mountain, and he felt as if he were walking in a fog from beginning to end, unable to grasp the direction.

too messy!

Amidst all this confusing information, there is only one person who might be the key to passing the level.

Chen Ji pursed his lips and looked at Hong Tian lying on the ground.

His face was deathly pale, his eyes were tightly closed, and he showed no signs of life.

He touched Hong Tian's chest again to make sure he still had a heartbeat before turning to Wan Xiaoshuang and saying:

"We've been heading in the wrong direction."

"The focus of this domain should be Hong Tian... He is different from all of us."

Just like during a famine, when everyone's attention is focused on how not to starve to death, the same applies to this domain.

This domain was already considered high-difficulty, and everyone knew the mortality rate would be very high.

Nine identical drowned ghosts, coupled with the subtle connection between guidance and substitution methods, whether through hints or pressure, all focus on "how not to be substituted."

But they overlooked the most important anomaly!

“Hong Tian’s experience was exactly the same as Huang Ying’s. Among those who entered the domain, he was the only one who slowly drowned.”

"Moreover, only he, like Teacher Zhan, 'dreams'!"

Wan Xiaoshuang felt a chill run down her spine; Chen Ji's words raised a terrifying suspicion in her mind.

Previously, Chen Ji had mentioned that this domain mission lacked a prefix.

There should be a time limit.

What would happen if Hong Tian died?

She murmured to herself.

“Then Hongtian’s trail is completely broken,” Chen Ji said. “If we’re lucky, perhaps all he did was provide clues through his dreams.”

"But the worst possible outcome..."

"Perhaps, he is part of the 'mission'."

If Hong Tian dies, and no one has found a replacement, the outcome might be total annihilation.

This is just a guess.

But the fact that Hong Tian is different from everyone else makes this speculation seem plausible.

The classroom fell silent. Both men looked grave. To be honest, Hong Tian really didn't know how much longer he could live.

Will he wake up again?

and......

What did he see that made him so afraid?

Just as Chen Ji was pondering, a soft, murmuring sound, barely audible, suddenly rang in his ears.

"Zhang Wenxuan..."

It's Hongtian!

He was dreaming again!

Chen Ji's heart skipped a beat, and he saw Hong Tian muttering something incoherently, as if in a dream.

Hong Tian is talking to Zhang Wenxuan? But isn't Zhang Wenxuan stuck at the bottom of the river?

"Zhang Wenxuan..." Hong Tian muttered, "Let me out..."

Chen Ji was stunned.

Let me out!

He suddenly recalled the scene from Hong Tian's last dream:

"...I was sitting at the bottom of the river, but I couldn't move my body at all."

Zhang Wenxuan is at the bottom of the river. So, in Hong Tian's dream, he is also at the bottom of the river.

Zhang Wenxuan has trapped Hong Tian. Is being "trapped" a dream or reality?

If it was a dream, how could he know about Ah Gou's death?

But if this were reality, Hong Tian would be right here right now, so how could he possibly be underwater?

However, at that moment, Wan Xiaoshuang suddenly spoke up: "...Hongtian has no corresponding drowned ghost."

"Could it be that what's trapped isn't him now, but his drowned ghost?"

This guess makes a lot of sense.

But Chen Ji still felt that something had been overlooked.

It wasn't Hong Tian himself, but Huang Ying who had the same experience as him.

What these two people had in common was that they were slowly drowned, but the difference was that Huang Ying saw a ghost that looked exactly like her on the teaching building—

and many more.

Teaching building?

When Teacher Zhan told Huang Ying's story, he first said that the ghost was "up" in the teaching building.

Then, Huang Ying realized that it was a hallucination.

She was actually in the water.

The original sentence is:

"...Huang Ying suddenly realized that she had fallen into the river without even knowing when! She was even headfirst into the water..."

The teaching building is fake. The teaching building is actually Jiaguhe.

Huang Ying fell headfirst into the Jiagu River.

This means that her top and bottom are reversed.

Therefore, from her perspective, the "above" of the teaching building equals the bottom of the Jiagu River.

"Another 'Huang Ying' is at the bottom of the Jiagu River!"

Huang Ying's body is perfectly normal.

Chen Ji's pupils suddenly contracted. If this were the case, then Hong Tian should also have a "normal" version of himself at the bottom of the river!

He immediately told Wan Xiaoshuang his thoughts.

"Two Hongtian?"

Wan Xiaoshuang was puzzled. She opened her mouth, then asked hesitantly:

"So the body at the bottom of the river is the 'substitute' we're looking for?"

"Hong Tian is going to die, we need to find him a body to take his place?"

If that's the case, then everyone isn't just going astray, but rather taking a completely opposite path.

One is saving lives, the other is harming them.

"I do not know."

Chen Ji shook his head. He had some guesses, but he couldn't be sure yet.

He sat there pondering for a long time.

After a moment, Chen Ji suddenly asked:

Who took the instruction sheet?

Wan Xiaoshuang hesitated for a moment. She really didn't remember. The scene was chaotic, filled with mutual suspicion, and then Huang Ying arrived a little while later...

"Why do you ask?"

Chen said succinctly:

“I suspect that what we are seeing is not the complete guide.”