Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 111 The Student Who Tells Horror Stories
At this moment, Murong Yan and Qiu Feng finally managed to use sign language to tell Jiang Jin and Dr. Lin what had happened. Then, Wu Ge took out his phone and played the video for everyone to see.

Throughout the process, Qiu Feng and Murong Yan remained hidden behind the shelves, trembling with fear.

Looking at the video in front of him, Dr. Lin was alright; he had seen scenes of ghosts eating people before.

When Wu Ge saw this scene, he couldn't help but twitch the muscles on his face. After all, he was still just a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy.

Jiang Jin rushed over immediately and tremblingly pulled open the freezer door—there were still eight cans of lime juice neatly arranged on the third shelf. His fingers touched the cans, the cold metallic feel so real.

“Still… eight cans…” His voice was so dry it didn’t sound like his own. Even though that cannibalistic customer had drunk one can, the number was still exactly the same.

Murong Yan suddenly grabbed Jiang Jin's arm, her nails almost digging into his flesh. "Those masks..." Her pupils contracted sharply, and she lowered her voice as much as possible, "Those ghost customers' masks are their real faces! Or is it because they drank lime juice that they became like this?"

The air in the convenience store seemed to freeze instantly.

Qiu Feng's back was completely soaked in cold sweat. He mechanically repeated, "If you drink it, you'll turn into... a cannibal?"

[We still have to keep working at the checkout.] Dr. Lin gestured calmly, but the bulging veins on his temples betrayed him. [The rules stipulate that someone must be on duty at the checkout counter during the night shift. Ah Zi and Lao Chen are both dead, which means the ghost doesn't only kill checkout staff. And the fact that Murong Yan and Qiu Feng, who were hiding behind the shelves, survived means the ghost only kills those "who can see them."]

Jiang Jin's temples throbbed: "So... as long as I don't make eye contact with the ghost customer?"

"Or they might not notice." Wu Ge added, raising his hand, his eyes sinister. "But the cashier will definitely be seen."

By this time, the fear had dissipated.

Someone definitely needs to be at the checkout counter to collect payments; others could avoid danger if they hid behind the shelves. But who would want to be at the checkout these days?

The group communicated using sign language as quickly as possible:

Jiang Jin: [Lime juice may be a conversion medium]

His fingers trembled slightly with fear: "After drinking it, the customer will start killing."

Wu Ge swiped his fingers: [Draw lots, take turns on duty! Ten minutes each, everyone else hide in the office area.]

Dr. Lin shook his head: "It's too risky. If the cashier is killed, those hiding inside might not be able to determine whether the cashier is alive or dead in time. There won't be enough time to relieve them or change the incense, which would violate the rules."

[Every minute, as long as you're not dead, knock on the door of the safe zone.]

Drawing lots is indeed the fairest method, but the problem is, who is willing to put their life or death in the hands of luck?
"Are we really going to draw lots?" Qiu Feng continued waving his finger: "Just one person to handle the cashier?"

"Do we need two people to work as cashiers?" Wu Ge waved his fingers: "If we draw lots, anyone could get one. Or you can volunteer."

So, Dr. Lin wrote the lots and quickly placed them on the table for everyone to draw. To ensure fairness, after the draw, all the lots were turned over to be checked.

After the five people present drew lots, they turned the paper over and looked at it again...

Murong Yan's expression turned the most unpleasant.

She drew the paper labeled "Cashier".

Qiu Feng breathed a sigh of relief, while Jiang Jin looked at Murong Yan with mixed feelings.

After all, Jiang Jin also suspected that Murong Yan was a ghost.

Murong Yan gritted her teeth. Without a doubt, if she were to handle the cashier herself, her chances of survival would depend entirely on luck.

She had no way to convince customers not to buy the lime juice! And according to the rules, the lime juice had to be placed in a position where customers in the third row could see it!
Then, gritting her teeth, she said, "If all else fails, just say it's something an employee left there, not for sale!"

She's going to die anyway! She just won't deduct the money from the prepaid card. Is the other person going to drink the lime juice in front of her?

Recalling Old Chen and Ah Zi, how such large bodies were so easily swallowed into the ghost customer's body, she felt a chill run down her spine!

Then, everyone else entered the safe zone.

Murong Yan had no choice but to gamble. Fortunately, it only took ten minutes. After ten minutes, the shift would change, and they could draw lots again.

About six minutes later, with only four minutes left before the shift change, a customer came in.

This time, the customer was still wearing a mask, but it was obvious at a glance that he was a child. He was wearing a school uniform and carrying a backpack, and the school uniform had the words "Yimin Private Academy" printed on it!

The abandoned Yimin Private Academy!

Murong Yan subconsciously swallowed.

No, is that a mask he's wearing?

His mask was different from the others—not the traditional Nuo opera style, but a pale young man's face with a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth as if he were smiling, but his deep-set eyes gave off an eerie emptiness.

Murong Yan gritted her teeth and decided to use sign language to say: "Welcome! What do you need?"

After understanding the other person's needs, she can recommend products to them, preventing them from choosing lime juice!

In addition, avoid buying instant noodles, sausages, potato chips, or similar foods, as they may cause the other person to feel thirsty and want to buy drinks instead!

If you really need to buy lime juice, just say it's a beverage stored by employees!

If all else fails, just say the machine is broken and you can't collect payments today!
Since we're going to die anyway, we might as well try every possible method!
But the other person... shook their head and walked to the cashier.

Then, Murong Yan saw clearly that the child's school badge had his name printed on it—Jin Sheng.

He took a picture book out of his bag and then opened it to the first page.

The first page had a line that read: "I want to tell you a ghost story."

She hurriedly responded in sign language: "Sorry, I'm at work."

The young customer, Jin Sheng, held up one finger, his eyes narrowing beneath his mask. He continued flipping through the comic book, trying to "tell" ghost stories.

On the next page, a picture appeared. The picture had accompanying text.

“There used to be a school on this street called Yimin Private Academy. There was an old lady who cleaned the school, and the students called her ‘Grandma Chen’.”

The image is a very childish doodle. Crooked lines outline the weathered iron gate of Yimin Private Academy, the faded characters "Yimin Private Academy" barely legible on the gateposts. A hunched old woman is sweeping the ground with a broom; her face is drawn as a simple circle, two black dots representing her eyes, and a downward-curving line representing her mouth. The background features several crooked trees and a few stick figure-like students.

In this state, Murong Yan actually calmed down.

This way, the child won't go shopping right away. In this way, they can successfully delay until the shift change is over.

"Grandma Chen had a strange temper, but she was not a bad person. Every night she would bring food to the homeless in the neighborhood and take care of the students at the school. Until one day, a drunk man broke into the school and caused trouble, and ended up stabbing Grandma Chen."

The young customer continued flipping through the comic book. In the next scene, a large pool of blood was hastily drawn with red crayon. An old woman lay on the ground, a crooked knife protruding from her chest, the tip deliberately emphasized in dark red. Her eyes were colored red with crayon, and her mouth was a wavy line, as if she were groaning in pain. The background was a similarly crooked school gate, but with several jagged lines indicating panic.

Murong Yan's fingers trembled slightly upon seeing this scene.

"Old Mrs. Chen didn't die, but she didn't live either. She lay in a pool of blood, watching the drunkard run out the door, watching her blood slowly drain away, and then she stood up."

The next page of the picture book redraws the old woman in eerie green and purple crayons. She stands stiffly, her originally simple round face painted a ghastly white, her eyes becoming two empty black circles, while the corners of her mouth are turned into an exaggerated smile. She still holds the broom, but the broom head has turned red, as if stained with blood. The school gate in the background is even more warped, as if the entire scene is distorted.

As Murong Yan looked at the contents of the picture book, she immediately felt goosebumps all over her body.

Is this the end of the story?
Immediately afterwards, Jin Sheng turned to the last page.

There was no painting on it, only a note that read: "Be careful, Granny Chen may appear at any time."

Murong Yan swallowed again, glanced at her Reincarnator watch; time was almost up.

When she looked up again, she was shocked to see...

The cashier was completely empty!
That guy named Jin Sheng...

Murong Yan's gaze abruptly shifted to the outside of the convenience store, and in that instant, her blood seemed to freeze—

In the pale moonlight, an old woman's face was pressed against the glass!

That face was so white it didn't look alive; it looked like it had been roughly plastered with cheap plaster.

The old woman's skin had an eerie, unnatural pale white color, making it look like a poorly made mask, with irregular wrinkles and cracks visible at the edges.

Her eyes were two dark, gaping holes, devoid of any white, only bottomless darkness. Her mouth was stretched upwards at an exaggerated angle, a smile that looked as if it had been carved in with a knife, terrifyingly stiff. Her white hair was sparse and dry, a few strands clinging to the glass!
This scene startled Murong Yan so much that she lost her balance and fell to the ground!

At this time, the door opened.

It's time to change shifts.

Jiang Jin immediately rushed over to help Murong Yan up and used sign language to ask what was wrong.

Murong Yan pointed to the glass wall. But there was no one there now.

After quickly using sign language to tell Jiang Jin and the others what had happened, she fled directly into the back office area!
In her memory, the old woman looked like she was wearing a mask at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it was actually her real face!

Then, the remaining four people drew lots again.

This time, Jiang Jin was captured.

There was no other way; he would have to take over the cash register from now on.

Jiang Jin was also on guard... whether "Chen Po" would suddenly appear.

A short while later, the convenience store's automatic door opened again.

And this time... students wearing school uniforms and "masks" walked in again!

Jiang Jin looked at the name "Jin Sheng" on the school uniform and was immediately stunned.

Again?
After Jin Sheng came in, he took out a picture book from his bag and turned to the first page: "I want to tell you a ghost story."

Jiang Jin could not respond and could only stand there in silence.

The other person didn't seem to care, continuing to flip through the comic book and "tell" Jiang Jin the ghost story they had just heard—

"Grandma Chen has a strange temper, but she is not a bad person. Every night she would bring food to the homeless in the neighborhood and take care of the students at the school."

Jiang Jin's fingers tightened slightly, but he didn't interrupt him.

As long as I don't buy lime juice, anything goes!

One day, a drunkard stormed into the school and caused trouble, and ended up stabbing Granny Chen in the process.

"Old Mrs. Chen didn't die, but she didn't live either. She lay in a pool of blood, watching the drunkard run out the door, watching her blood slowly drain away... Then, she stood up."

He slowly raised his head, his eyes beneath the mask staring intently at Jiang Jin.

Jin Sheng seemed unconcerned by his silence, turned to the last page, turned and walked towards the door, leaving.

Jiang Jin looked outside the convenience store, but this time he didn't see the old lady.

However, there is no doubt that the so-called "Old Woman Chen" is still lingering outside, and may enter the convenience store at any time.

Will this child come over again when the next person takes turns collecting payments?
　The third update is here.
　　Readers who have read "My Healing Game" may or may not remember the character Jin Sheng.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)