Thriller Zone: From the Mental Hospital to the Ghostly World

Chen Ji felt that the image of the giant macaque about to cover its eyes looked very familiar.

The situation is now quite clear:

The macaques and the ghosts in the passageway today are connected.

When its eyes are covered, the lights go out, and everyone is as if their eyes are blindfolded.

So, is the light on now because the macaques have opened their eyes?

Chen Ji is unable to confirm this at the moment.

What he cared about more was the image of the macaque with its eyes covered.

It was when he discovered the second rule that he suddenly remembered...

[Cannot be observed]

It's equivalent to saying, "You can't watch it."

I can't look, especially with the monkey covering its eyes...

It's just the Three Wise Monkeys!

The Three Wise Monkeys is a very common image; Chen Ji once saw an identical sculpture at a roadside stall.

Typically, three monkeys are grouped together, with their eyes, ears, and mouths covered respectively.

The concept of the "Three Wise Monkeys" originates from a saying by an ancient scholar:

Do not look at what is improper, do not listen to what is improper, do not speak what is improper.

Also known as:

[Do not see, do not hear, do not speak]

This is the guidance for this domain!

Currently, Chen Ji and others are clearly going through a phase of "not watching".

They cannot see, nor should they be able to see!

If that's the case, then there are two more phases to come.

Chen Ji was deep in thought when suddenly someone nudged his elbow.

He kept his head down and glanced at the two people beside him out of the corner of his eye.

One was tall and thin... the other was short and stout.

It was in the circular plaza that the two entrants standing in front of Chen Ji belonged to Tang Qin's organization.

The two people were behind Chen Ji while they were in the tunnel.

As the lights were about to stay on, they seemed to realize they were in a dead end and rushed behind the sofa to hide.

The sofa wasn't big, and the three of them squeezed together so tightly that you could hear them breathing.

The short, stout man was clutching a compass tightly in his hand, but the two pointers, which should have been pointing opposite each other, were now completely aligned.

I don't know if it's because I'm in the wrong domain, or something else.

Chen Ji lowered his eyes and subtly moved to the side.

This compass... is most likely a strange object.

I just don't know what the capabilities and costs are.

The tall, thin man, who had also witnessed everything that had just happened, was now whispering in the short, fat man's ear.

It seems he is telling him about the taboos he has observed.

But not long afterward, their conversations became even more private.

Chen Ji looked over and caught the tall man's mouth movements, as if he was saying his name.

As his lips moved, the tall, thin man subtly glanced at Chen Ji, only to meet Chen Ji's gaze.

Chen Ji's eyes were calm.

He wasn't surprised that the two men recognized him.

Tang Qin must have already told her subordinates about his appearance and name.

Silently turning his head, Chen Ji's eyes flickered slightly, and his fingers moved very little, pressing down on the pen that was constantly twisting in his pocket.

The lights started flickering again.

........

The darkness remained boundless.

In the empty tunnel, only the sticky, ghostly footsteps echoed incessantly.

I wonder how many people are still alive....

Still alive, moving forward silently like Chen Ji.

The terrain they were in was getting higher and higher, gradually approaching the top of this circular ascent road.

This is the third time darkness has descended.

In the last incident, most of the survivors had already figured out the pattern and hid behind furniture as soon as the light appeared.

Of course, there were also one or two who entered the realm, and even though they had hidden themselves well, they were still cruelly slaughtered by the ghosts.

They violated other taboos.

Even Chen Ji almost didn't survive the last time the light appeared.

Fortunately, it was the pen's passive action that alerted Chen Ji in time.

The pen had now quieted down and was obediently nestled in my pocket.

Chen Ji touched the pen cap and couldn't help but sigh inwardly:

Who says this ten-second warning is useless? This warning is incredibly useful!

Even though the time was very short, it was enough for Chen Ji to discover what he had overlooked.

After making a rough estimate, Chen Ji determined that he was probably three or four stories high.

He will reach the top after two more periods of darkness.

After that, the next stage should begin:

[I won't listen].

Don't listen to anything inappropriate.

What are the taboos at this stage?

Is it like being in a passageway, where you can't hear the voices of ghosts?

But this was a very mysterious ghost that he had never seen with his own eyes...

From the beginning until now, not a single sound has been made.

Even when it moved across the ceiling, it was completely silent, except for the sound of footsteps.

Chen Ji pondered silently, occasionally glancing ahead.

The ghost was always a few meters in front of him.

pat, pat, pat.

The bloodstains it left behind turned the tunnel into a bright red path of blood.

Chen Ji was no longer as nervous as before, and silently walked toward his goal.

During the last time the light came on, he had already roughly estimated the distance and number of steps to all the furniture within his field of vision.

Chen Ji couldn't walk too slowly in the passage.

Otherwise, no one knows whether the ghost will undergo other strange changes as the number of times the lights are turned off accumulates.

However, due to the restriction of not being able to make a sound, he could not walk too fast.

A few minutes ago, Chen Ji had just passed a table, so there should be a bed no more than ten meters away from him, around the corner.

That was the furthest piece of furniture he could see from himself.

Less than a minute later.

Chen Ji touched something soft.

Instead of continuing forward, he hid behind the bed.

This location is superb, situated on a corner, allowing you to observe roads that were previously invisible in bright light.

Without making a sound, Chen Ji silently stared ahead in the darkness.

The ghost continued walking forward, knowing that the two men, one tall and one short, were also ahead.

Chen Ji's gaze darkened, and he thought of something else...

The two people spoke recklessly when the lights were turned on last time.

Relying on their large number of accomplices, the two seemed to have no intention of hiding anything from Chen Ji.

One of their tasks was to steal the strange items from lone entrants!

"This time it was much easier than the last time..."

"It's just that ghosts are a bit difficult."

That's the voice of a short, stout man.

"Last time was easy. It was that guy. After we tricked him, he actually managed to climb out. It was hilarious."

"Do you remember what he looked like? He was missing his legs, looking like a worm that had been cut in half, it was ridiculously funny."

The tall man chuckled and whispered, "He's probably still thinking of telling the clue to his new girlfriend, isn't he?"

"I wonder if that woman survived in the end. We really have to thank her."

"If that man hadn't brought her into the domain, that domain wouldn't have only been a D-level difficulty."

But what the short, fat man said at the end sent a shiver down Chen Ji's spine, and he remained silent for a long time.

"That girl is a little clever, but she's just plain stupid, haha..."

"Do you remember when she went to find her boyfriend and even helped us avoid a ghost attack?"

"What do you think her reaction will be after she finds out the truth?"

"What was her name again? Murong Qing, right...?"

......

Chen Ji snapped out of his thoughts, his mouth tightly shut.

His expression was complicated as he recalled Murong Qing's body being severed by a chainsaw.

A pair of ill-fated lovers, even their ways of dying were exactly the same.

Chen Ji sighed and stared straight into the darkness ahead.

The lights started flickering again.

The lights are about to turn on.

He could clearly feel that as the number of times the lights were turned off increased, the duration of darkness became shorter and shorter.

We definitely can't walk too slowly...

In the later stages, the time available for those entering the domain to travel will likely be reduced to mere seconds.

Chen Ji was in a safe place. He lowered his head and suddenly paused.

Ahead... is a long, curved tunnel.

At the very top, a door can be vaguely seen.

In such a long tunnel, there was only one shelter!

It's a chair!

It's very close to the door!

but......

Chen Ji's eyes flashed.

Amidst the high-frequency flashes of light, he saw two men of different heights and stopped abruptly.

They were standing in the middle of the long tunnel, and there was no time to hide behind any shelter!

The two people turned around and looked in his direction.

The short, stout man suddenly pointed his compass at Chen Ji.

Chen Ji's heart skipped a beat!

The next second, he suddenly felt a strong pulling sensation.

Chen Ji instantly appeared where the two people had been!

In the middle of an empty passageway!

He immediately raised his head and looked behind the bed, his eyes revealing a murderous intent!

The short, fat man coughed up blood, held a compass, his facial features were completely upside down, and one of his arms had disappeared, protruding from his stomach!

The tall man looked at Chen Ji, who had switched places with them, and a mysterious smile appeared on his face.

[Mystery: The Compass]

[Grade: D~C]

[Exchange positions with any creature]

[Cost: Each time it is used, if the target is a human, the user's body parts will be randomly swapped, lasting for two hours.]

[Cost: If the target is a ghost, there is a 30% chance it will be ineffective; there is also a 30% chance the ghost will switch places with the [Compass] instead of the user.]

The lights are flashing more and more frequently, and in less than ten seconds, they will be fully lit!

The nearest object of cover was at least two hundred meters away...

pat.

pat.

Chen Ji's entire body was covered in goosebumps...

He was acutely aware that the ghost was right beside him.

He must find a place to hide before the lights come on!