Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 105 Payment Slip

Jiang Jin's voice echoed in the empty bathroom, but no one could provide an answer.

A group of people returned to the cashier.

At this moment, the temperature in the convenience store seemed to drop a few degrees. On the food shelf, the doll's finger still stubbornly pointed towards the checkout counter.

At this moment, more paper money floated past the door than before, and one of them stuck to the glass door with blurry characters written in cinnabar on it. Old Chen took a closer look and immediately took two steps back—it was clearly a person's birth date and time.

The number of customers in convenience stores has begun to decrease significantly. Pedestrians on the streets are also few and far between, and the few who do pass by are hurrying along, as if they are avoiding something.

Jiang Jin's gaze fell on the incense burner next to the cashier. Wu Ge personally changed the incense to ensure it was always in use—the calming sandalwood and the metallic smell of rust were constantly switching seamlessly.

Dr. Lin said, "Since there are no customers now, let's express our opinions verbally to improve the efficiency of our conversations. Jiang Jin, do you have any ideas?"

Jiang Jin said thoughtfully, "Have you ever thought about whether it's because we lit incense that those strange things can't get into the convenience store? That's why customers say it's relatively safe here."

He pointed outside the convenience store and said, "The paper figures can only be pasted on the outside of the window; they can't actually come in."

Azi asked, puzzled, "Then what about the doll?"

"We can't be sure if that doll is a ghost or just some kind of curse medium." Jiang Jin looked at the doll in the food section. "Of course, we're now on a level that has transcended the material world, so anything can happen next."

Wu Ge glanced at his watch.

"Will the real challenge for us only begin at midnight?"

Dr. Lin nodded slightly: "Jiang Jin is right. Incense may have the effect of exorcising ghosts and demons, but as time goes by, we may gradually enter the lost layer."

A chill ran down everyone's spine. The unspoken conclusion was obvious: once midnight arrived, the protection would vanish, and the vengeful spirits of the Lost Layer would be able to enter unimpeded.

Murong Yan walked to the freezer and stared intently at the lime juice on the third shelf.

Her fingertip traced a white mark on the glass door. "Could it be that this lime juice is like a spawn point in a game, always keeping a fixed quantity?"

Dr. Lin said, "You should know very well that the reincarnation system is never a game."

Old Chen suddenly shivered: "What exactly is that 'lime juice' that you've been buying?"

Wu Ge replied, "The ingredient list says: water, lime juice, concentrated apple juice, concentrated lemon juice, fructose syrup, white sugar, pectin, gum arabic, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, DL-malic acid, citric acid, vitamin C, sodium D-isoascorbate, and flavoring."

Jiang Jin was stunned and asked, "You can recite this from memory?"

"Not difficult, right?" Wu Ge said, "Much easier to memorize than the incantations for warding off evil spirits."

"I don't believe that's all there is to it." Azi looked at the freezer. "We can't just take all the lime juice out and throw it away!"

“There’s no use throwing them away.” Murong Yan shook her head. “The lime juice will definitely be restocked automatically. The rules also specifically stipulate that customers must be able to see it.”

“We need to think of a more effective way to stop customers from buying lime juice.” Jiang Jin thought for a moment and said, “Our previous explanation was too easy to expose.”

“Or, we could create some ‘accidents’.” Qiu Feng pointed to the fire sprinkler heads on the ceiling. “If we ‘accidentally’ trigger the sprinkler system, the customers won’t be interested in buying any more lime juice, right? Perfect, I haven’t had a chance to smoke the cigarettes I bought earlier.”

Wu Ge countered, "If a ghost came, wouldn't you be afraid of dying if you poured water all over it?"

"Don't act like it's none of your business. Do you have any good ideas?"

Dr. Lin suddenly raised his hand to signal for silence. His judge mask turned towards the street: "Look."

Through the glass door, they saw the streetlights on Mingquan Road begin to go out one by one.

Darkness surged in from the end of the street like a tide!

Those masked people who were burning paper money all turned around and went home.

Located in the outer suburbs far from the city center, the area outside the convenience store was pitch black, with only the street signs barely visible.

Then, time relentlessly ticked by. By nearly 10 o'clock, almost no customers had come.

……

The time has come to 22:30.

There is only half an hour left until midnight.

Everyone was extremely tense, and no one knew what terrifying situation they would face next.

Wu Ge lit another incense stick to ensure the incense continued to burn.

"I... I need to use the restroom."

After saying that, Azi walked directly to the open door of the office area and went inside.

Dr. Lin immediately said to Murong Yan, "We can't leave her alone. Murong Yan, could you please go and check on her?"

"it is good."

After finishing her business in the toilet, Azi staggered out and then curled up in the corner of the toilet, ignoring Murong Yan who was right at the door, covering her mouth and sobbing silently.

After her professional abilities were sealed, she felt her vulnerability more clearly for the first time. As a Level 2 medium, she could enter the world of the dead simply by closing her eyes, but now even a piece of paper money floating by could make her tremble.

The pale white light in the bathroom cast swaying shadows, as if the paper effigies were peeking at her through the cracks.

“Crying will definitely make you feel better,” Murong Yan said, “but crying won’t solve the problem.” When A Zi walked out of the bathroom with red and swollen eyes, she saw that Murong Yan had already turned on the tap to cover up her sobs.

“When my sister and I first entered the horror dungeon, we both threw up all over the place,” Murong Yan said. “It was an abandoned hospital, and there were talking corpses hanging in every ward.”

"A hospital, huh? A common place in horror-themed dungeons." Azi didn't ask where her sister was, but she could roughly guess.

"Judging from your accent, you're not a local from Muxu City, are you?" Murong Yan changed the subject: "Were you brought here by the cleaners after being infected with meme contamination?"

"Yes, all the memetic patients around Muxu City are sent here and then they can never leave. So how did you become a reincarnator? Did you violate the monthly rules or were you infected with memetic contamination? I was infected by my ex-boyfriend."

Murong Yan replied, "I'll tell you after we've all left this terrifying instance."

Outside, the automatic door of the convenience store reflected Jiang Jin's image.

His brows were furrowed. The darkness outside the glass was so thick it seemed almost tangible. Occasionally, paper money would stick to the automatic door and immediately burn to ashes.

It was as if the entire convenience store... was floating in the void of the universe.

Jiang Jin had no idea where Liu Yan was or what she was doing. The memetic contamination monitoring department would probably notify his parents and brother that he'd been readmitted and quarantined, and then they'd find out that the food street criminal case was pure fabrication. And that persimmon-faced girl—would he even be alive to celebrate her birthday?
At that moment, Wu Ge was looking at a piece of paper he had written on.

The above is...

[Location of Huimin Convenience Stores and List of Main Products]

1. Household goods area (left side)

Daily chemical products: toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo, shower gel, soap, laundry detergent, etc.

Cleaning tools: garbage bags, paper napkins, rags, cleaning agents, etc.

Everyday essentials: toilet paper, facial tissues, wet wipes, cling film, disposable tableware, etc.
Other items: sewing kit, scissors, tape, batteries, flashlight, umbrella, etc.
2. Recreational Supplies Area (Right Side)

Toys: Playing cards, chess, checkers, small plastic toys (such as bouncy balls, spinning tops), models, etc.
Stationery: notebooks, ballpoint pens, pencils, erasers, staplers, etc.

Electronic products: earphones, charging cables, phone stands, etc.
Other items: magazines (mostly entertainment weekly), cheap lighters, keychains, etc.

3. Food section (the innermost area of ​​the convenience store)

Convenience foods: Instant noodles in various flavors (braised beef, seafood, pickled cabbage, etc.), self-heating rice, instant porridge, bread, cakes, etc.
Snacks: Potato chips, cookies (a doll appears on the cookie shelf), chocolate, candy, sunflower seeds, peanuts

Beverages: mineral water, carbonated drinks, fruit juice, tea, beer, lime juice (most are in refrigerated display cases, a few room temperature beverages are on the shelves).
Refrigerated foods: rice balls, sushi, sandwiches, yogurt, juice (on the frozen shelf)
Other: Condiments (soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce), canned foods

4. Dining area (next to the food area)

Three small square tables, each with four plastic chairs.
Trash can (located in a corner of the food section)
Remarks:

The third row of the freezer is a special area; special attention should be paid to lime juice there.

A doll appeared in the food section; its subsequent development needs to be observed.

Suddenly, a gust of cold wind blew up, and a piece of paper flew from outside into the convenience store.

Jiang Jin immediately strode over, picked up the piece of paper, and looked at its contents:
Yimin Private College Fall Semester Tuition Notice

Student's name: ______
Tuition and fees:
Textbook fee: 880 yuan

School uniform fee: 1045 yuan

Extracurricular activity fee: 360 yuan

Ping An Insurance Premium: 80 yuan

Total: 2365 yuan
Payment QR code attached below

"this!"

Although the year is not visible, this paper is completely brand new!
However, Yimin Elementary School has already been abandoned!

"Yimin Primary School?" Everyone crowded around to take a look, quite nervous.

Then everyone looked at the road sign outside the convenience store. Fortunately, it was still Mingquan Road.

But Jiang Jin's watch suddenly vibrated—his SAN value plummeted to 63%!

The others also looked at their Reincarnator watches, and their SAN values ​​were also decreasing at an alarming rate.

Not long after, Jiang Jin's SAN value became 62.68%!

They will soon enter the Lost Layer!

It might not even be possible to drag it out until midnight!

The paper trembled slightly in Jiang Jin's hand, and he could even smell the ink.

Although Azi avoided looking at the payment slip in time, the SAN value on her watch continued to drop rapidly: 65.2%...64.8%...64.3%... Her pupils dilated as the number fell, and her breathing became rapid.

"Don't look at that note yet!" Dr. Lin suddenly shouted, snatching the paper away.

Jiang Jin's temples bulged with veins: "We have far too few clues about Yimin Elementary School!"

Suddenly, the convenience store lights started flashing!
(End of this chapter)