Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 110 Death
Customers from different camps? This was a situation they never expected.

Jiang Jin wasn't the only one who considered "seeking protection from one side," but the problem was that they couldn't distinguish which side was their enemy and which side was their friend.

Of course, the most likely scenario is that both sides... are enemies!
This is also the most hopeless possibility.

For Jiang Jin, there are still several hours left before the cooldown period for altering the rules ends!
Therefore, he could only try to get through this period!

Just then, Jiang Jin suddenly thought of something.

He looked at the door behind the cashier that read "No Customers Allowed".

He still vividly remembers the paper effigy that appeared outside the men's restroom window and banged on it!
Previously, the paper effigy couldn't enter the Mysterious Layer. But now that they've entered the Lost Layer, could the paper effigy get in? If so, they'll be attacked from both sides!

Jiang Jin's fingers traced a firm line quickly in the air: "Dr. Lin, should we check the office area? Something might try to infiltrate it at this time."

Dr. Lin looked over and stared at the door.

Azi's fingers trembled slightly: [Isn't this too dangerous?]

Beneath her Kui Xing mask, her lips were already white from biting them.

Dr. Lin stood up from behind the cashier, his voice calm and steady beneath the judge's mask: "I'll be with you."

Wu Ge fiddled with the pen in his hand, then suddenly put it back in his pocket: "Count me in. Three people can look out for each other."

Murong Yan used sign language to tell them: 【You must be careful.】

Before entering the office area, Wu Ge glanced at the bookshelves behind him, and then went inside.

The office area was even dimmer than the lobby. Jiang Jin walked at the front, the beam of his phone sweeping across the floor and walls.

"Let's check the warehouse first," Dr. Lin gestured. His gestures were clear and strong even in the dim light.

Wu Ge pushed hard against the warehouse door, the hinges groaning painfully. A strong musty smell and some indescribable fishy odor wafted out. The shelves were piled high with cardboard boxes, some already yellowed and moldy. These stacked boxes were covered in dust, and various goods were neatly arranged inside.

After checking, the three of them found nothing unusual.

After that, we went into the locker room.

Inside the locker room, several employee uniforms hung neatly. After checking them, nothing seemed amiss.

Meanwhile, Old Chen and Azi guarded the cash register in the front hall, while Murong Yan and Qiu Feng continued to check the shelves.

Old Chen suddenly gestured to Azi: "Are you alright now?"

Azi managed a weak smile, but then coughed from the rusty smell of the incense sticks.

The two continued to trace lines in the air with their fingers. Azi slowed her movements: "Do you think... we'll die here?"

Old Chen did not answer immediately.

His gaze swept over the neatly arranged goods on the convenience store shelves, and over the mannequin that kept pointing towards the checkout counter.

In fact, he had experienced a similar instance in the past where his professional skills were difficult to use.

It was an American horror game where he was assigned the role of "Elm Street Night Patrol Officer" and tasked with protecting three students for seven days.

Elm Street is plastered with the "Elm Street Residents' Daily Rules," the most absurd of which is the first rule: "People living on Elm Street should try not to fall asleep. If you must fall asleep, try not to sleep too deeply."

At the start of the instance, he learned about the legend of Freddy Krueger, the former demon of Elm Street—the psychopathic killer who was burned to death by angry parents and has now become a nightmare demon, hunting children in their dreams.

On the first night, Old Chen forced himself to stay awake. He sat in the security room, washing his face with strong coffee and cold water, staring at the monitor screen. At three in the morning, the walkie-talkie suddenly crackled with static, followed by a hoarse humming voice: "One, two, Freddy's here to see you..."

In the surveillance footage, a blurry figure appeared at the end of the corridor—a red and black striped sweater, steel claw gloves gleaming coldly in the moonlight. Freddy, head tilted, his severely burned, deeply scarred face suddenly looming close to the camera, his steel claws slicing across the lens: "New security guard... are you afraid of nightmares too?"

Old Chen's uniform was soaked with cold sweat. He quickly activated the school's fire sprinkler system, following rule number two. Holy water mixed with fire extinguisher water flowed down the corridor, and Freddy's figure melted away amidst screams. But Old Chen then woke up to find himself asleep.

The next day, one of the three students was found murdered in his sleep—his body was found in a locker, his chest ripped open, his face frozen in extreme terror. The two surviving children were on the verge of a mental breakdown.

"Don't sleep..." Old Chen taped their eyelids shut, but then he heard the girl say in a trembling voice, "It's no use... He's waiting for us in our dreams..."

That night, Old Chen risked swallowing hallucinogens he had stolen from the pharmacy. He needed to maintain a semi-conscious state—able to see the strange visions of dreams invading reality, but not completely falling into Freddy's world.

At two in the morning, the school's loudspeakers suddenly started playing nursery rhymes automatically. When Old Chen rushed into the girls' dormitory, he saw Freddy reaching for a sleeping girl with his steel claws. He swung his fire axe at the demon, but passed right through the illusion—it was a dream projection! Then he suddenly wondered why he wasn't using his professional skills.
The real danger came from behind. As the steel claw pierced Old Chen's abdomen, he bit his tongue hard, the excruciating pain instantly bringing him to his senses. Freddy materialized in reality for a second—in that single second, he entered the material plane! Then, Old Chen unleashed the prepared liquid nitrogen.

"No!!!" The demon shattered in the extreme cold, but Old Chen knew that was far from enough.

Freddy can easily pull people into the Lost Layer in Nightmares. Furthermore, class skills are almost ineffective in Nightmares. However, he becomes very vulnerable in the Mysterious Layer.

On the seventh night, he lured Freddy to the boiler room. As the devil chased the last child, Old Chen detonated the pre-placed gasoline canisters. In the flames, his last sound was Freddy's maniacal laughter: "Those who burned me... will become a part of me..."

Back at the Reincarnation Camp, Old Chen didn't dare sleep with the lights off for a whole month. Even now, he occasionally hears the sound of steel claws scraping against pipes in his dreams…

Finally, Old Chen gestured to Azi: "At least it's not just one person."

Ah Zi's eyes welled up with tears.

She was about to respond when suddenly—

The automatic door opened.

Jiang Jin walked out of the warehouse, and the last thing he needed to check was the restroom.

This was also what terrified him the most, after all, he had seen the paper effigy with his own eyes here. Dr. Lin and Wu Ge walked to his side, and naturally they could also see the fear in Jiang Jin's eyes.

Dr. Lin, who was used to seeing the world, appeared very calm and composed. After all, compared to the terrifying Heian-kyo during the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, this place was nothing.

For him, death was inevitable. If he had to say something, he just didn't want to die in a convenience store, or rather, in the bathroom.

Just as Dr. Lin walked over and was about to open the bathroom door, a piercing scream came from outside, breaking the silence of the night!
The sound was hardly human; it was more like the agonizing scream of an animal being skinned alive.

That's Azi's voice!
Hearing the scream, Jiang Jin was about to rush out, but Dr. Lin grabbed him!
"Don't go out." Dr. Lin gestured. "We don't have any professional skills right now. Going out would be suicide."

Jiang Jin was taken aback.

Yes, no matter what situation Ah Zi is facing now, it's useless for them to rush out. On the contrary, they'll only lose their lives!

After all, what relationship did Azi have with them? She was just a reincarnator who happened to enter the same instance; she wasn't even a regular friend.

But if we just stay here, aren't we just waiting to die?

Dr. Lin quickly gestured: "We can't leave the convenience store; it doesn't matter where we are. Relatively speaking, staying here means the ghosts might not notice us, giving us a glimmer of hope."

Jiang Jin stared at Dr. Lin in front of him.

Without a trace of hesitation, the man swiftly decided to sacrifice the lives of those four people.

Wu Ge nodded, completely agreeing with Dr. Lin's approach.

This is the best survival strategy in the current situation. Even if the ghosts find this place later, the situation can't get any worse.

correct……

All that could be heard was Azi's scream, and then there was no other sound.

Are they all dead?
This made Jiang Jinxin immediately feel uneasy.

If I hadn't decided to come here on a whim, then...

Every minute and every second that followed was pure agony.

About thirty seconds later, the door leading to the cashier was opened!

All three of them stared wide-eyed at it!

If a ghost enters, their lives will begin their countdown!
Thankfully, the person who came in was...

Murong Yan!
Behind her followed Qiu Feng!

Everyone ran out.

At this moment, there was no one at the cashier.

The barcode scanner on the cashier's counter was still swaying slightly, and the hair tie that Ah Zi wore to tie her dreadlocks fell to the ground—but the two of them just vanished into thin air, without any signs of struggle or blood, as if they had been wiped off the face of the earth by some force.

Jiang Jin used sign language to ask Murong Yan and Qiu Feng: "Where did they go? What happened?"

Both Murong Yan and Qiu Feng were deathly pale.

Qiu Feng's sign language was distorted by fear: "At that time, we were checking the shelves in the household goods section when a customer came in..."

Using sign language is too inefficient, but at this moment no one dares to speak.

Wu Ge seemed tired of the inefficient way of communication, sign language, and rushed to the books and magazines shelf! Then, he pulled a cell phone out from behind a newspaper!
It turns out that he had been hiding his phone behind the newspaper, with only the camera lens showing, and was using the phone to film the doll opposite him!
Wu Ge placed his phone here when the doll turned around abnormally.

He quickly reviewed the video he had recorded on his phone!
After dragging the progress bar forward, Wu Ge saw the following terrifying scene:
Not long after they entered the back office area, another new guest came in.

And this customer came to the freezer immediately.

Immediately afterwards, he took out a bottle of lime juice!

He then walked step by step to the cashier, handed the lime juice to Old Chen, and then handed over the recharge card.

Old Chen had no choice but to deduct the amount from the bill, and then used sign language to ask the customer not to drink lime juice in the store.

However, that customer simply unscrewed the tab on the can of lime juice and then... drank the entire can of lime juice!
Old Chen and Azi didn't even have time to stop them!

The next moment, something terrible happened.

The customer who drank the lime juice, after about three seconds, suddenly placed the bottle on the cashier's counter, and then...

He grabbed Old Chen by both shoulders!
Old Chen, a strong middle-aged man, was actually lifted up horizontally!

Then, the masked customer opened his mouth and shoved Old Chen's head directly into it!
No... it's not a mask!
That so-called "mask"... was actually the customer's real face!

Ah Zi's scream came at this moment!

Already weakened by her period, she remained motionless for a full two seconds before remembering to run away!

At this moment, only Old Chen's two feet were still outside; his entire body had been swallowed by the ghost customer! And when Ah Zi tried to run away, the ghost customer grabbed her!

The ghost customer tilted his head back and swallowed Old Chen whole. Then, he grabbed Ah Zi and did the same!
Ah Zi's resistance was futile; she was easily grabbed by the ghost customer and swallowed whole. Despite her desperate struggles, the ghost customer devoured her completely, as if sucking on a snail!
Then, the ghost customer picked up the lime juice can and the prepaid card, and walked out of the convenience store!

　Sorry, all my drafts are gone, so this is all improvised code, hence the late post.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)