Thriller Zone: From the Mental Hospital to the Ghostly World

Chen Ji opened his mouth as if to ask something, but suddenly stopped.

His intuition told him that there must be a sad story behind the fact that Tuanzi had turned into a monster.

He watched as Zuo Shiming put the calico cat back into his hands, stroking its fluffy fur with affection, and silently shut his mouth.

Tuanzi is probably no longer around.

After a long pause, Zuo Shiming finally spoke, his voice very soft:

"Once Tuanzi's ability is triggered, she will automatically fall into a deep sleep."

"During the middle of her dormant period, her eyes will close."

“I checked on her before going to bed last night, and her eyes were still open, which is why I said the attack happened last night.”

Chen Ji nodded, then suddenly asked, "Why are you willing to tell me this?"

His gaze was sharp; if it were Chen Ji himself, he would never have willingly exposed the strange creature.

Zuo Shiming pursed his lips, a hint of embarrassment flashing in his weary eyes:

"Your pen..."

"Once, it moved so obviously in your pocket."

Chen Ji was suddenly stunned, and instantly remembered that the pen had deliberately slipped from his hand earlier, leaving him speechless for a moment.

It was him who first exposed himself...

Chen Ji sighed heavily, rummaged in his pocket, but the pen remained silent.

Zuo Shiming coughed twice, his expression turning serious: "Xiao Chen."

“We now know about each other’s monsters, so I hope you won’t leak Tuanzi’s information.”

"The reason I'm telling you this is firstly because you also have a strange creature, which greatly reduces the probability of you coveting the dumpling."

"The second point is that last night's attack was a key piece of information."

"Among us old folks, I trust Fei'er, but her strength doesn't lie in reasoning."

"Besides the two newcomers, only you and Murong Qing are relatively calm and intelligent."

Zuo Shiming spoke very softly, and after a few seconds he continued, "But Murong Qing... I don't quite trust her."

Chen Ji wasn't too surprised; Zuo Shiming wasn't the only one who distrusted Murong Qing.

Chen Ji was the same.

Murong Qing is a typical egoist. If she could kill everyone to get through the level, she would definitely choose to do so.

Chen Ji would not comment on her actions. In the world of the domain, only by living can one return to reality. Not only did Murong Qing understand this, but he also understood it.

However, not exposing his strange objects to her was also Chen Ji's most basic way of protecting himself.

"Let's stop discussing the strange creatures," Chen Ji said.

"I think the one who attacked you was a ghost that none of us know."

He didn't consider that it was done by a human for the time being, because everyone's movements were restricted during the period of unconsciousness before the loop.

Similarly, the two ghosts who are now committing murder have figured out all the taboos.

One can't live without the mirror, the other can't get out of the elevator.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Ji told him the information the pen had given him, but concealed the pen's abilities.

Zuo Shiming pondered, speaking slowly: "So, if that's the case, once these two or three minutes have passed, our time will jump directly to 8:15 AM?"

Chen Ji nodded. Although he didn't know what use this information was, it at least confirmed the time of the ghost attack.

That is, within two to three minutes after 11:13.

"There's one more thing, but I'm not so sure, because logically the time of the ghost attack is still in the previous cycle."

Chen Ji pondered for a moment and said, "I'm wondering, was the one that attacked you a new ghost that appeared today?"

"If so, what taboo did you break?"

"If it weren't for..."

Zuo Shiming continued, "Up to now, no new ghosts have appeared."

Chen Ji nodded; that was exactly what he meant.

This is hardly a good thing, because if the ghost hasn't appeared yet, it only proves that it's hiding even more well.

This also means that it is more difficult for everyone to guard against.

"Be as careful as possible."

Zuo Shiming frowned, stood up from the box, glanced at his watch, and realized that the two had been chatting for almost ten minutes.

Back in the other storage room of Room 201, Yuanyuan and Huli were fine, thinking that Zuo Shiming was just having an upset stomach.

Only Murong Qing gave them a scrutinizing look, her eyes filled with a strange expression.

Phil was completely unaware that the two had been gone for so long.

After several hours of searching, it was 8 p.m.

No one made any further progress. The storeroom was now filled with nothing but useless junk.

Everyone was feeling anxious. There were so many mysteries before them that they couldn't figure out, and they couldn't find any more useful information.

As for how to escape from the Liting Apartments, no one had a clue what to do.

"Should we go and check 502 and 305 again?"

In the somber atmosphere, Yuanyuan couldn't help but speak up.

Murong Qing clicked her tongue, somewhat annoyed, and said, "Do you think it'll work?"

“Those two rooms are much cleaner than this one. They’ve been turned upside down. How could there possibly be any new information there?”

She suddenly stood up, paced anxiously, and kept trying to recall where she hadn't searched.

"If all else fails, we'll search through all those emptied houses again."

After a long pause, Murong Qing spoke, but she knew in her heart that the possibility of finding clues there was extremely slim.

Chen Ji remained silent, though he had a suspicion in his mind.

But... the origin of this idea is very vague, and Chen Ji himself cannot be sure.

"There might be a clue somewhere else."

In the silence, Chen Ji suddenly spoke: "Behind the stairwell on the first floor."

"Isn't it blocked by a wall?" Hu Li was taken aback.

"Then smash it open."

Chen Ji said calmly that he had this idea since the second cycle.

"The appearance of the old woman ghost did not harm anyone; perhaps she was providing information."

"There might be a hidden space behind that wall."

After a brief silence, Fei'er stood up and walked out of the room without a word.

A minute later, she came back in, carrying a hammer that she had somehow found, her voice completely flat:

"Let's go."

......

Two hours later.

First floor, behind the stairs.

The wall was thicker than anyone had imagined; behind it, there was only a thick mound of earth.

Almost everyone was discouraged, except for Chen Ji and Fei'er, who continued to dig deeper.

Chen Ji's hand suddenly paused when the pile of dirt beside the stairs had reached half a person's height.

The shovel struck something hard with a loud thud.

"found it!"

Chen Ji shouted and immediately shoveled the remaining soil aside, just as he had expected!

One meter behind the wall is an old iron gate.

"It really is!" Yuanyuan's eyes widened in surprise, she hadn't expected Chen Ji's guess to come true!

"If there are rooms here, why are they sealed off?"

Murong Qing asked with some doubt, reaching out to push the dirty iron gate, which was unlocked.

crunch--

A dull, dusty smell wafted over.

Using the light from his phone, Chen Ji quickly scanned the room's layout.

This room is definitely not from the same era as the Liding Apartments; the walls have completely peeled off, leaving only gray cement.

The ground was also dusty and gray, as if it had never been tiled.

On the wall, there are still some family planning slogans, which have turned completely yellow.

Chen Ji stepped forward and softly read the words on the banner:

"Fewer births, better births, a lifetime of happiness... Jixiangyuan Xuan".

"This is the basement of Jixiangyuan."

He looked around and saw a lot of miscellaneous items in the corner, including a metal bunk bed.

Near the door, in the large open space, there was only a lone old desk with peeling paint, on which a toy top, a few sheets of paper, and a small red notebook were scattered haphazardly.

Fei'er ignored the letters and opened the small red notebook.

"Wang Su, is he Wang Lijun's brother...?"

Chen Ji was looking through the letters when he heard Fei'er's question and looked up in confusion.

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"That's impossible..."

Fei'er looked uncharacteristically confused. She showed the red booklet to the group, with the words "Marriage Certificate" prominently displayed on the cover.

"They were married."