Thriller Zone: From the Mental Hospital to the Ghostly World

The air was humid and stuffy, with a strong aroma of roasted meat mixed with the cloying smell of sugar water, and occasionally, a strange stench of sewers.

"Fresh fish! Fresh fish!"

"A bowl of mung bean soup costs four dollars; a sweet drink to soothe the throat—"

Chen Ji opened his eyes and wrinkled his nose in slight annoyance.

The noisy hawking and the overly strong smells in the air made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

What comes into view is a market that is not very wide, bustling with activity and full of local flavor.

The street, which is right next to the dilapidated tenement building, is lined with shops and vendors on both sides.

Every now and then, there are vendors shouting in their local dialect, arguing with customers at the top of their lungs.

"Where has the domain brought us again?"

Du Tingfeng opened his eyes somewhat sleepily. He, Fei'er, and Chen Ji were sitting next to a stall.

The table was filthy, covered in dust and grease. Du Tingfeng clicked his tongue as soon as he opened his eyes.

"This is a southern dialect..."

"Xianggang?"

Fei'er had just woken up, turned her head to look around, and suddenly said.

Chen Ji nodded, and after looking around, he had the same thought.

The alley was too narrow, with dilapidated tenement buildings with peeling paint on both sides.

Right above their heads, the clothes of the upstairs residents were still hanging, dripping wet.

The tangled wires connect countless neon signs, all of which belong to teahouses and roast meat shops.

This scene, reminiscent of an old Hong Kong movie, proves that this is indeed Hunan, but the time period is likely not modern.

The place where the group was located was a dessert shop, and the tables next to it were all full.

The guests at the table were clearly from a different era; apart from a young monk in a gray robe, everyone else was dressed in modern clothes.

The young monk was the fourth to wake up. He raised his head and looked around, and the confusion in his eyes quickly turned into clarity.

He was young, no more than 20 years old, bald on top, and very simply dressed, carrying only a cloth bag.

The young monk sat in front of Chen Ji and the others, bowed respectfully to them, and spoke in a very kind voice:

"You are all also visitors to this realm, aren't you?"

It turns out that the young monk's Dharma name was Huici, and he had been practicing in the mountains. This was his fourth time in the realm.

"The mung bean paste is ready."

As the others awoke, a total of nine bowls of sweet soup were served, corresponding to the nine people who had entered the realm this time.

The mung bean soup seemed to have been ordered before they woke up.

The group briefly introduced themselves. The number of people entering the domain this time was just right, a total of 6 men and 3 women.

Sitting at the same table as the young monk was a man in his thirties or forties, who looked very composed and had a calm demeanor.

Chen Ji observed that there were many calluses on his hands, indicating that he must frequently do manual labor.

Sure enough, the man was a welder, but his name was surprisingly elegant: Tian Qinghe.

Sitting at the table to Chen Ji's right were two women and one man.

Xu Yuanshuang, a female kindergarten teacher, looks very quiet and speaks slowly and deliberately. She has actually entered the domain 5 times and is very experienced.

She seemed to know the young man next to her who was wearing a windbreaker.

"My name is Li Bo."

The man in the windbreaker spoke very briefly, quickly scanning the group with a wary expression.

Xu Yuanshuang explained with a smile, "Xiao Bo has only been to the domain once before, and he's a little nervous. He came with me this time."

She nodded to the group, her expression somewhat apologetic.

Another girl, named Xue Ran, was very friendly. Among the nine people, she and Fei'er were the only ones who kept eating mung bean soup.

She was wearing a simple and well-fitting black tracksuit, and like Fei'er, she also had her hair tied in a neat ponytail.

Apart from welder Tian Qinghe, there are also female teachers Xu Yuanshuang and Li Bo; the rest are all entering the domain for the 3rd or 4th time.

Has the guidance been issued yet?

Suddenly someone spoke from the corner.

Chen Ji shook his head.

He was the first to wake up, and so far there have been no clues.

Chen Ji looked at the blond man who had spoken. The man was sitting alone on one side and hadn't said a word until now, his expression somewhat gloomy.

He noticed the gazes of Chen Ji and the others, and said somewhat impatiently:

"Just call me Liu Zi."

This is clearly not a real name.

Tian Qinghe and Li Bo both looked up and glanced at Liu Zi meaningfully.

However, Chen Ji didn't care much. The name he told others was just "Little Chen".

At this point, the newcomers had finished introducing themselves to each other.

There are no new recruits.

Du Tingfeng's expression shifted slightly as he looked at Chen Ji, and the two exchanged a brief glance.

Judging from the posts in the Yuhe forum...

This domain might be a bit challenging.

"This place is so big, how long would it take to find a way around?"

Xue Ran said with some doubt, looking at the street vendors but not finding anything unusual.

Just then, a child's voice, as if answering her, suddenly rang out.

"Newspapers for sale!"

"The newly printed newspaper—"

A child walked out from the stall selling live chickens next door, his voice loud and clear, standing out even in such a noisy environment.

When the child reached Chen Ji's side, he stopped, a hint of ingratiation flashing in his round eyes:

"Brother, are you buying a newspaper? There's big news today!"

As he spoke, he rummaged through his small satchel and pulled out a stack of newspapers and several crudely made street vendor publications.

"And we also have the latest ghost stories that will scare you to death! They're absolutely thrilling!"

The little boy spoke as fast as a cannonball, finishing one sentence before launching into the next:

Want some celebrity gossip? Written by insiders, all firsthand information!

Chen Ji was taken aback, glanced at what the newsboy was holding, and then smiled and said:

"A newspaper will do."

The guidelines are here.

He felt his pocket and, unsurprisingly, pulled out a wad of change, handing the money for the newspaper to the newsboy.

The people behind him, seeing this scene, also touched their pockets.

Sure enough, everyone had some Hong Kong dollars and an identity document in their pockets.

The nine people sat together, and Chen Ji unfolded the newspaper and spread it on the table.

The first page of the newspaper, still smelling of ink, was completely blank except for two lines of large, bold text:

Fear is the most primal instinct of all living things.

Find the source of your fear.

Less than a minute later, the two lines of large characters slowly disappeared.

"fear......"

Li Bo murmured, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.

"That's as good as saying nothing."

Xu Yuanshuang smiled wryly and said, "When have we ever faced a domain without fear?"

Xue Ran nodded in agreement.

Du Tingfeng suddenly pointed to the newspaper:

"This must be the big news that the child was talking about today."

Lines of small, bold text slowly appeared on the front page of the newspaper, from bottom to top, with the bolded headline at the very end.

[Shocking! Mainland Chinese woman found dead in village house, suspected to be involved in gang warfare!]

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3 chapters today