Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 312 Shadow Curse
Next, it was Zhou Qiang's turn to select fruit to feed the hidden Muay Thai expert.

At this moment, almost everyone's gaze, filled with undisguised suspicion and fear, was focused on Zhou Qiang. His terrifying Muay Thai skills, which he had just displayed, instantly made him the most suspicious target.

Jiang Jin took a deep breath and stepped forward.

As a police officer, even though he wasn't a frontline criminal investigator, he had learned observation and questioning skills from experienced teachers.

He needed to test the waters to see if he could find any flaws in Zhou Qiang's words.

“Master Zhou,” Jiang Jin began, his tone as calm as possible, “your skills just now were definitely not something you’d just learned through ordinary training. Could you elaborate? You said you fought in underground boxing matches in Thailand when you were young… what was the reason? And why did you come back later?”

Looking at the doubtful gazes of the crowd, Zhou Qiang's face revealed a hint of bitterness and reminiscence.

He sighed and began to narrate, his voice low and tinged with the vicissitudes of time: "When I was young... I was ignorant and reckless. I felt that the job market in China was not good, so I went to Southeast Asia to make a living and came to Thailand. As a result, people thought I had a good foundation, and through an introduction, I went to fight... fight in underground boxing."

He described those dark days, fighting like a wild beast in underground boxing rings in Bangkok and Pattaya, exchanging his fists for meager pay. As a result, after gaining fame, he was often asked to throw fights and cause upsets so that the bookmakers could make money.

“In that place, once you go on stage, only one person can stand up and come down... Serious injuries, even death, are common occurrences.” He subconsciously touched the old wounds on his elbows and knees. “I’m covered in injuries. I didn’t feel them when I was young, but now that I’m older, they hurt terribly on rainy days.”

"And then? Why did you quit?" Jiang Jin pressed.

“Being unable to fight is one reason,” Zhou Qiang’s eyes became somewhat unfocused, filled with deep guilt, “but more importantly… my wife. She also… illegally crossed the border, working there, living a very hard life. We’re together now, and I want to give her a more stable life, she can’t continue living like this, never knowing what tomorrow will bring…”

His voice choked up, "But... in the end, I still dragged her down with me. Because I fixed a match, causing a wealthy man to lose a large sum of money, he sent people to hunt me down, and she... she tried to save me..."

He didn't say anything more, but the immense grief and self-blame almost overflowed from his chest.

He took a deep breath and choked up as he said, "Later, I desperately escaped back to China. After wandering abroad for so long and taking so many wrong turns, I finally realized that my motherland is still the best, and peace and safety are the most important things. So I got my driver's license and started driving long distances, hoping to completely say goodbye to the past... I never expected to end up in this horrible apartment again."

Jiang Jin stared intently at his eyes, every tremor of his facial muscles, and the natural expression of his immersion in painful memories as he recounted the story.

His police instincts and professional training told him that Zhou Qiang's grief and remorse were genuine. If this were acting, it would be worthy of an Oscar.

Jiang Jin's heart tipped slightly in favor of the conclusion that "Zhou Qiang is a human being."

At the same time, Li Yin's brows furrowed, his brain racing.

The ghost's disguise is flawless. It's entirely possible that the rules protect it, making it impossible for us to identify it through conventional means.

He pondered rule number eight repeatedly: "Residents who have been transformed into ghosts cannot identify themselves."

This means that ghosts cannot "commit suicide" or expose themselves through identification, but conversely, who in their right mind would easily identify someone? A wrong identification would mean the annihilation of everyone!
If all the fruit has been selected and the ghost still hasn't been found...

Li Yin seemed to see that desperate ending: either all restrictions on the apartment would be lifted, and it would instantly kill them all; or the cruelest shadow curse would be triggered, and everyone would be manipulated by their own shadows, committing suicide in the most painful way...

The thought of the Shadow Curse's characteristic that "suicide will not stop until the person dies" sent a chill down Li Yin's spine.

……

In the real world, at Dingyou Camp in Muxu City.

Inside the Blood Lord's study, the alluring Vice-Captain Bernadette noticed that the Captain was unusually not handling official business, but instead quietly reading a physical book with yellowed pages and a sinister cover.

The book's cover read "Hell Apartment".

Bernadette's pupils contracted slightly.

"Hell Apartment" is a forbidden book among forbidden books, strictly prohibited from being circulated or read in private! Only someone of the rank of group leader could openly read it.

She walked lightly to Blood Lord's side and asked with a hint of concern, "Guild Leader, are you troubled by Jiang Jin entering the [Hell Apartment] instance?"

Blood Lord didn't even raise his head, his deep voice echoing in the room: "Hmph, that kid is courting death for disobeying me. To prevent those who have read the 'original work' from cheating, the reincarnation system usually selects time periods or tasks that are not described in detail in the original work, or are even completely blank. For example, the blood words that happened before the male protagonist Li Yin entered the apartment, or after he left the apartment... those unrecorded stories."

Bernadette's heart skipped a beat as she recalled some rumors: "I seem to recall seeing some posts on the Reincarnator forum that require high-level access to read, mentioning that the male protagonist Li Yin's first Blood Letter quest is still a mystery on the forum. No information has been leaked."

Blood Lord finally put down his book, nodded, and said, "That's right, because the author didn't write anything at all. But..."

A mysterious smile played at the corners of his lips: "I know."

Bernadette was startled.

How did the regimental commander know this? What channel did he obtain such top-secret information from?

She dared not think too much about it, her curiosity completely piqued: "Then... what was the protagonist's first blood inscription? Guild leader, can you tell me?"

Looking at her inquisitive face, the Blood Lord nodded and said, "I can tell you, but keep your mouth shut and don't tell anyone. The protagonist's first blood-letter instruction is to enter a fruit shop..."

He briefly explained the rules of the "Fruit Origin Fresh Fruit" shop—eighteen kinds of fruit, choose to feed to the corpses according to the order of the users, identify them among the ghosts, one identification opportunity...

Bernadette listened intently; the rules sounded treacherous and hopeless.

"So, what is the way out of this blood-written message? Who is the ghost?" she asked impatiently.

Blood Lord leaned back in his chair with a leisurely air and said, "Why don't you take a guess? But I can tell you that this word 'blood' hides a very terrifying dead end trap."

Bernadette frowned in thought, then shook her head: "It's hard to guess, there's too little information. Can you give me a hint?"

Blood Lord then suggested, "The key to survival lies with one of the residents."

“Li Yin?” Bernadette immediately thought of the protagonist.

"No."

Bernadette's curiosity was piqued to its peak.

Her eyes sparkled, and suddenly a charming smile appeared on her face. She gently unbuttoned the first button of her collar, revealing her delicate collarbone, and said in a seductive voice, "Commander... if you tell me, I'll... take off another layer."

Blood Lord seemed quite pleased with this ambiguous game of wit and sensuality. He chuckled softly, his gaze sweeping over her unbuttoned clothes, and finally dropped the preamble: "The key to survival lies with... Zhou Qiang. So, he can't die. If he dies, those residents... will probably be finished."

……

Inside the fruit shop, the countdown to death continued. Zhou Qiang stood in front of the shelves, seemingly unconcerned by the suspicious looks from the crowd.

Jiang Jin's question just now reminded him of his days on the run in Thailand and the wife he owed so much to.

Ah Ning...

He silently repeated his wife's name in his heart, filled with endless regret and longing.

He remembered his wife saying that when she was a child, there was an apricot tree in their yard that was full of golden fruit every summer. That was her sweetest and most beautiful childhood memory...

She said she longed to go back to her hometown, but... she could never go back.

His gaze involuntarily fell upon the bright yellow apricots on the shelf.

The color was just like the apricot fruit from the hometown his wife described.

A mix of mourning, atonement, and boundless sorrow welled up inside me.

Let's choose this one...

Zhou Qiang thought silently, even if it's just a tribute to A Ning.

He reached out, carefully picked up an apricot, walked to the center of the shop, and silently threw the apricot into the corpse's gaping maw.

The fruit disappeared, the neck protrusion slid off... the process was exactly the same as before.

However, the very next second after the fruit was "swallowed"...

A sudden change occurred!

Zhou Qiang's body stiffened abruptly!
An invisible, utterly irresistible force instantly took over his body!

His eyes, too, changed from calm to extreme terror!

"Help...help me! Someone please help me!"

He let out a shrill scream, but his body turned stiffly and uncontrollably toward the hard wall beside him!

"what happened?!"

"Zhou Qiang!"

The warehouse door opened, and everyone rushed out, only to witness this horrifying scene!
Zhou Qiang used all his strength to slam his forehead hard against the cold wall!

"boom!!"

A deep, muffled bang that sent chills down one's spine!
Blood spurted from his forehead instantly!
"The shadow curse on him has been triggered!" Li Yin exclaimed, his expression changing drastically.

Under the light, Zhou Qiang's shadow also made the exact same frantic slamming motion against the wall!

"Turn off the lights! Turn off the lights now! If you turn off the lights, there will be no shadows!" Wang Tianba shouted in a panic.

"It's useless!" Li Yin roared, his voice trembling slightly. "Once the Shadow Curse is triggered, the shadow will exist and carry out the killing regardless of whether there is a light source! This is the apartment's most absolute rule!"

"Hold him down! Hold him down!" Zheng Jie screamed.

Qian Yong, Sun Miao, and the others rushed forward, attempting to grab Zhou Qiang from behind. However, Zhou Qiang, under the control of the shadows, unleashed terrifying power far exceeding his usual strength!
He delivered a swift Muay Thai elbow strike, slamming it into Qian Yong's chest. Qian Yong groaned in pain as he was knocked away! At the same time, he executed a low sweeping kick, sending Sun Miao crashing to the ground with a scream!

"Why! Why!" Zhou Qiang roared desperately, banging his head against the wall with tremendous force, "Bang! Bang!" He screamed in bewilderment, "What rule did I break? Why!!!"

Soon... the walls and the ground were splattered with a shocking mixture of blood and brain matter.

His forehead was already torn open, and the sound of his skull shattering could be faintly heard.

The scene was so bloody and cruel that it made everyone feel nauseous and their scalps tingle!

Finally, after each increasingly feeble impact, Zhou Qiang's strong body collapsed limply to the ground.

His head was deformed, blood was gushing out, and his breath was as weak as a candle flickering in the wind. He was about to die completely at any moment.

at this time……

Ten minutes are up.

The biting cold and stench returned.

The ghost clone, carrying an aura that seemed even more urgent and ferocious, emerged from beside the shelf piled with plums!

Its rotting finger rose without hesitation and pointed—at the plum!
It's pointing to plums?!

Everyone was stunned!

Plum?

Didn't Sun Miao already choose plums? Rule four clearly states that starting from the second resident, it's forbidden to choose fruit previously chosen by other residents! Doesn't the ghost know that? Or is it...?

Before they could figure it out, the ghost clone had already transformed into a black shadow, and with a ferocious roar, it pounced on... Zhou Qiang, who was lying on the ground, barely alive!

What does that mean? Did you guess right?
Zhou Qiang actually chose plums? Is that why he triggered the Shadow Curse?

The lights flickered wildly, and when they finally stabilized, Zhou Qiang had completely stopped breathing.

His corpse, like Wu Qian's and the original corpse, had its mouth wide open, forming a terrifying black hole.

died.

Yet another resident has died in the most tragic way!
(End of this chapter)