Thriller Zone: From the Mental Hospital to the Ghostly World

[This chapter is from Du Tingfeng's perspective]

Spring, April 2009.

A county town under the jurisdiction of Tianhai City.

A gentle spring breeze caressed our faces, the weather had warmed up, and the fragrant scent of flowers filled the entire courtyard.

"With favorable weather, this year will be a good year."

The woman who was cooking wiped her sweat and sat down in front of a group of children playing with cigarette cards. Her weathered eye wrinkles were particularly noticeable in the sunlight.

"Bullshit, it's so hot, winter is much better."

A little boy squatted down beside her and muttered something.

He was wearing an ill-fitting black cotton-padded coat, which was too big and obviously not suitable for his age, completely covering the little boy's thin body.

"Xiao Feng, why aren't you playing with them?"

The aunt asked, tugging at Du Tingfeng's clothes, but all she saw underneath was a dusty old T-shirt.

Du Tingfeng drew circles on the ground with a twig and said sullenly:

"Wang Daqiang is an idiot. He stole my clothes. I'm not playing with him anymore."

The woman looked at the child with pity and sighed helplessly.

"It's all because of that incident. Now no one is donating money, we don't even have enough clothes for the changing seasons, and the welfare home is almost going out of business."

At the beginning of the year, a well-known welfare organization was exposed for corruption, triggering a crisis of trust in society.

Even the small courtyard where Du Tingfeng lived was affected by this incident.

The woman shook her head, not revealing any further notification from the dean.

She turned and went into the kitchen, leaving 9-year-old Du Tingfeng sitting alone in the sunlight.

Du Tingfeng kicked the stones in frustration, took off his cotton-padded coat, and felt a chill in the April wind, which immediately made his bare arms sneer.

Squeak——

The courtyard door was slowly pushed open, and Du Tingfeng immediately looked up with some anticipation.

"sister!"

A girl in a school uniform walked in from behind the door, carrying a schoolbag and smiling.

Happy birthday, Xiaofeng!

A genuine smile finally appeared on Du Tingfeng's face. He immediately ran to the door and hugged Du Muyu tightly.

After a moment, he released his grip, as if he had just remembered something:

"Sis, it's not the weekend, why did you come out?"

Du Muyu pulled his small body into her arms, tilted her head, and her smile became somewhat stiff.

She touched Du Tingfeng's yellowish hair, concealing her expression from him, and said casually:

"I lied to the teacher and said I wasn't feeling well, so she told me to go home and rest."

"Perfect timing, my sister can still make it to your birthday!"

Du Tingfeng nodded blankly. He was still in elementary school and didn't know the rules of boarding schools.

"sister....."

After a moment, he hesitated and said, "Do you have a headache again?"

"No," Du Muyu said immediately, then turned her backpack to the front and took out a hoodie from it.

"Let's not talk about that anymore, Xiaofeng, come and see your birthday present!"

"Great!"

Du Tingfeng immediately put on the clothes, happily rubbing the hoodie that finally fit him, but his attention was quickly diverted.

He didn't see the deep worry hidden in Du Muyu's eyes beneath her joyful face.

......

Winter 2016.

In a rented room in Tianhai City.

When Du Tingfeng was 11 years old, the orphanage went bankrupt, so Du Muyu took him to the city.

The two applied for subsidies and rented a small apartment in an old residential building, where they have lived ever since. Du Tingfeng has also started high school.

After Du Muyu came of age, she attended university while working part-time at a restaurant off-campus. The siblings lived a very frugal life.

Although life was tough, Du Tingfeng still felt that this kind of life was infinitely better than living in the orphanage.

The siblings were like two fledglings who had not yet grown up and were pushed out into the outside world, huddling together for warmth in the cold winter.

"Xiao Feng, I'm back!"

Du Tingfeng was doing his homework next to the gas stove when he heard the door open and immediately turned around.

Du Muyu pushed open the door, bringing in a chilling blast of air. Her head was covered in snow, and her face was pale from the cold.

However, a hint of joy appeared on her face.

"My resume passed the test! I finally got an internship!"

"That's great!" Du Tingfeng said excitedly.

He immediately stood up, took a towel from the kettle next to him, and handed it to Du Muyu.

"Sis, we'll talk about this later. You should apply a hot compress to your head first."

Starting a few years ago, Du Muyu's headaches have become increasingly severe, especially after being exposed to the cold, which would cause her to be in so much pain that she couldn't sleep.

"it is good!"

After a while.

Du Muyu sat at the old dining table with a hot towel on her forehead, a hint of anticipation for the future on her face.

"By summer, I will graduate and start earning a salary."

"By then, our economic situation will be better."

"Our lives will definitely get better and better from now on!"

"When I get my salary, I'll buy you a computer as your coming-of-age gift!"

Du Tingfeng smiled as he looked at Du Muyu's face. He was now more than a head taller than his sister. He spoke:

"Sis, I'll be an adult next year, so I can go get a job."

"I don't really want a computer that much. Let's save up first and go to the hospital to get your headache checked."

Du Muyu smiled reassuringly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with her brother's words.

"It's not a serious illness, it's nothing serious."

"By the way, didn't you have your monthly exam today? How did it go?"

"Well enough....."

Snowflakes drifted outside, while inside, under the dim light, the siblings talked about the past and dreamed about the future.

Their laughter occasionally echoed through the rented room...

......

Summer of 2019.

"Are you a family member of the patient?"

Du Tingfeng stood in the consultation room, looking very anxious, and nodded.

"..."

After a while.

"Xiao Feng, what did the doctor say?"

Du Muyu was pale. She had just taken painkillers, but they hadn't taken effect yet, and her head was throbbing with pain.

"It's nothing, the doctor said it's just a minor problem, and told me to rest more, avoid drafts, and remember to come back for follow-up appointments on time."

Du Tingfeng forced a smile and hid the report in his hand.

"I told you it was just a regular migraine." Du Muyu breathed a sigh of relief.

"...Don't work so hard anymore, sis."

After thinking for a moment, Du Tingfeng said somewhat sadly.

"Oh, I know, I know."

Du Muyu didn't seem to care much. "Don't worry about it. It's not a serious illness. You'll get better."

".....Um."

"It will be alright..."

Du Tingfeng lowered his head and said sullenly.

The report folded in his hand, densely packed with diagnoses, resembled a dark cloud over a blank sheet of paper.

The patient's congenital tumor had developed into a solid lesion, with an extremely rare morphology.

Five-year survival rate: 5%; 10-year survival rate: 0%

The prognosis is extremely poor, and the probability of death during surgery is extremely high; resection is not recommended.

Since the tumor has not shown any obvious signs of metastasis within 27 years, follow-up observation and conservative treatment are recommended.

......

Winter 2023.

Du Tingfeng, his face ashen, stepped out from mid-air.

"breeze!"

"Where have you been these past few days?! Your boss can't reach you either!"

Hearing the commotion outside, Du Muyu rushed out of the house in a panic, her eyes filled with tears.

"It's okay, sis. I went to the mountains for a few days to relax."

Du Tingfeng immediately put on a smile and quietly put the blood-stained chips back into his pocket.

"This is the second time you've done this..."

Du Muyu asked worriedly, "Is the pressure too much?"

"A little bit, but it's been adjusted."

Du Tingfeng said with a smile, forcibly putting the scene of mountains of corpses and seas of blood out of his mind.

"By the way, I feel like I'm having good luck today, shall we go buy a lottery ticket?"

.......

Early 2024.

"Xiao Feng, tell me the truth, what exactly happened?"

Du Muyu said seriously, holding a lottery ticket in her hand.

This is Du Tingfeng's third big prize.

The siblings were even completely familiar with how to disguise themselves to receive the award without arousing suspicion.

Their lives were turned upside down!

"Sis...can I not tell you? If I do, you'll get a headache again."

Du Tingfeng said helplessly.

"explain."

Du Muyu's expression was firm. "If you don't tell me, I'll be even more worried."

"Ugh."

Du Tingfeng sighed heavily and began to recount the story of the domain.

After a while.

"So you mean..."

"In that world of ghosts and monsters, someone gave you an 'item' that could improve your luck for no apparent reason?"

Du Muyu pondered, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

What is his purpose?

"I do not know."

Du Tingfeng shook his head: "He just made a bet with me, and the stake was a deposit."

"Xiao Feng! This sounds like a scammer!"

Du Muyu's voice was filled with shock; she immediately stood up, her eyes filled with disappointment.

"You accepted his bet, and in the end you might even lose your life! How could you be so foolish!"

“Our lives are already much better than before, we don’t need that much money at all!”

Du Tingfeng stood up and patted his sister's shoulder reassuringly.

His body stands tall like a tall poplar tree; he is no longer the thin and short child he once was.

“I know, but I will definitely accept his bet.”

Du Tingfeng's voice was firm.

"He said he wanted to bet with me whether the value of this chip could reach infinity."

"If possible, the most important person to me can survive."

Du Tingfeng looked tenderly at his sister, whose frail body now only reached his shoulder.

This thin, small body, I don't know how it worked so hard to hold down so many jobs, I don't know how it managed to raise him.

Now it's Du Tingfeng's turn to take care of her.

"If not..."

"The price is my life."

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This chapter is meaningful, and it's not just for sentimentality.