Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 315 Layout
At this moment, the oppressive atmosphere almost solidified into a tangible form.

Just then, Qian Yong pulled out a slightly crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took one out, put it in his mouth, and lit it with a lighter with a "snap".

Immediately, wisps of smoke filled the enclosed space, making it extremely pungent.

Wang Tianba glanced at him, then silently took out his cigarette, lit it quickly, and took a deep drag, as if he wanted to expel the fear in his lungs with the smoke.

Surprisingly, Sun Miao, who seemed timid, licked his chapped lips and whispered, "Give...give me one too."

Qian Yong didn't say anything, silently handing over the cigarette case and lighter. Seeing that Sun Miao was clumsy and couldn't light the cigarette for a long time, he lit it for him. As a result, Sun Miao only took one puff before coughing repeatedly, but he still stubbornly held the cigarette between his fingers, as if it could give him courage.

Zhao Meiling watched the three men puffing away on cigarettes, but didn't join them. Her eyes were vacant, as if she were also immersed in her own world.

During the brief period of nicotine anesthesia, a bizarre "complaint session" began.

Qian Yong exhaled smoke rings, his voice low: "I thought the first Blood Letter would be easier to get through. Before I came in... I acted as a guarantor for some damned friend, and ended up taking the blame, owing a mountain of debt, and having nowhere else to go but to find a place to hide from my creditors, and then... hey, I ended up hiding in this godforsaken place."

Wang Tianba replied gruffly, "I'm even more wronged! I was fighting with someone on the street, and while I was chasing them, I somehow ended up in that apartment building's entrance hall! If I had known, I would have preferred to have been slashed twice!"

Sun Miao pushed up her shattered glasses, her voice trembling with tears: "I...I'm just an ordinary student. I was taking a shortcut back from the library at night...and then...my parents are still waiting for me to graduate and find a job..."

He couldn't continue speaking, took a deep drag of his cigarette, and choked, tears welling up in his eyes.

Zhao Meiling also spoke, her tone filled with profound weariness and resentment: "I'm just a beauty salon owner, I've poured all my investment into it, and I'm still drowning in debt. My husband? That heartless man has been keeping a mistress on the side for a long time! Men are all the same, that vixen is just younger than me, and has a better figure than me, right? In the end, I went to confront him that day, and in my confusion, I took the wrong turn..."

They recounted their misfortunes, trying to find common ground in these tragic experiences, or rather, trying to prove to others that they were living, breathing people with painful pasts, not ghosts in disguise.

Amidst the smoke and sorrowful narration, Li Yin quietly moved to Jiang Jin's side.

He couldn't glean any valuable information from their venting, but the moment when their attention was focused on reminiscing about the past presented a good opportunity.

With his back to the group, his gaze seemingly fixed on the shelves, his lips moved with barely a whisper, his voice low to ensure only Jiang Jin could hear: "Jiang Jin, listen to me. Don't make a sound, and don't look at me."

Jiang Jin's body stiffened slightly, but he didn't make any obvious reaction; his ears just perked up quietly.

Li Yin's voice continued to whisper in his ear: "I have a plan now, and I'm confident I can find the ghost. And you are the most crucial link in this plan. Our lives or deaths today depend on you."

Jiang Jin was shocked!
As expected! The male lead is about to unleash his power!

Without any hesitation, he nodded slightly.

"Listen carefully, and remember one thing from now on: whatever I tell you to do, just do it, and don't ask why. Okay?"

"Okay." Jiang Jin responded with a breathy tone, decisive and firm.

The brief exchange was completed in a few seconds, unnoticed by anyone.

Li Yin quickly regained his previous composure, while a glimmer of hope ignited in Jiang Jin's heart, even though he didn't know what Li Yin's full plan was.

At this moment, Zhao Meiling was still rambling on about her husband's betrayal and the failure of her business, her emotions running high.

Suddenly, Jiang Jin walked over, his face showing a suppressed frustration and impatience that was finally erupting. Looking at the four people who were "complaining," he interrupted Zhao Meiling in a cold voice: "Enough! Are you having a storytelling session?! Every story is so melodramatic and outrageous, they all sound so damn tragic! But who knows which one of them is made up?! Huh?!"

His sudden outburst stunned everyone.

Before they could react, Jiang Jin's emotions seemed to be growing increasingly agitated. He pointed at each person, his voice suddenly rising, filled with an almost out-of-control rage: "I've had enough! I've had enough! Soon! Soon it's my turn to choose fruit! One in seven! One in seven chance of dying! Who's the ghost?! Get out here! If you have the guts, stand up right now! Don't fucking hide in the crowd pretending!"

This blatant provocation and aggressive words instantly ignited the atmosphere that had just begun to calm down.

"Jiang Jin! Why are you yelling so loudly!" Wang Tianba was the first to jump up; he already disliked Jiang Jin.

"Do you really think you can scare ghosts out of their nests?!" Qian Yong mocked. "Don't be childish!" "Brother Jiang, calm down!" Sun Miao hurriedly stepped forward to persuade Jiang Jin.

"Calm down? Don't fucking pretend with me," Jiang Jin sneered, his words becoming even more scathing and vulgar, even spewing out profanities. "Who knows if your pathetic stories are just for sympathy? Maybe that damn thing made them up to lull us into a false sense of security! A bunch of useless trash! You can't even find a ghost! When the time comes, we'll all die together! I'd like to see you bunch of trash reincarnated as animals in your next life!"

"Fuck your mother! I'll kill you!" Wang Tianba's face turned red, and he swung his fist at Jiang Jin! Almost at the same time, Qian Yong was also enraged by Jiang Jin's insults and attacked Jiang Jin from the other side!
Faced with the simultaneous attack from the two, Jiang Jin's eyes sharpened, and instead of retreating, he advanced! He sidestepped Wang Tianba's powerful but somewhat clumsy punch with precision, and his left hand instantly grabbed Wang's wrist like an iron clamp, pulling and twisting it in one smooth motion, while his right foot swiftly tripped him!

"Ugh!" Wang Tianba felt a sudden, unexpected force, and his center of gravity instantly went out of control. His massive body was thrown to the ground with a "thud"!
Almost simultaneously, Jiang Jin blocked Qian Yong's whip kick with his right arm, his body moving as close as a fish, and delivered a short, powerful grappling strike aimed at Qian Yong's joint! Qian Yong reacted extremely quickly, hastily retreating to break free, but his arm was still struck by Jiang Jin's fingers, sending a tingling sensation through him!
In the blink of an eye, Jiang Jin used his superb grappling and fighting skills to instantly defeat the two!

Back in police academy, he always understood the principle of "more sweat in peacetime, less blood in wartime," and trained extremely hard. Even his older brother, Jiang Han, had praised his talent in close combat. Although he wasn't going all out at this moment, the strength he displayed was enough to intimidate everyone.

Just as the conflict was about to escalate into a full-blown brawl, Li Yin rushed forward and stood between Jiang Jin, the struggling Wang Tianba, and the furious Qian Yong.

"Stop! Stop it, all of you!" Li Yin spread his arms wide, facing Jiang Jin, his tone pleading, "Jiang Jin! Give me some face! Calm down! I need to choose the fruit soon! Time is running out!"

Jiang Jin's chest heaved, seemingly still furious. He glared at Li Yin and said viciously, "After you make your choice, it's my turn! One in seven chance of death! I have to find the ghost! Otherwise, I'm just waiting to die!"

"I understand! I understand!" Li Yin quickly reassured him. "Okay, wait until I finish making my selection! After I finish, we'll discuss it properly, and I'll definitely help you find the ghost! I'm begging you, please don't do anything now!"

“Yes, yes!” Sun Miao chimed in, “Li Yin is so smart, he’ll definitely figure something out!”

Jiang Jin glared fiercely at Li Yin for a long while before letting out a cold snort, seemingly extremely unwilling: "Fine! Remember what you said! After the selection, you must give me an explanation!"

After saying that, he angrily stepped aside, but his eyes still swept over the others like knives.

The conflict was temporarily quelled. Wang Tianba and Qian Yong were helped up, their eyes filled with resentment and fear as they looked at Jiang Jin.

"Damn it, no wonder he's a veteran, his skills are amazing!" Wang Tianba cursed under his breath. "He's lucky, one in seven. When it's my turn, it'll be one in a quarter!"

"It's time, let's go into the warehouse." Li Yin rubbed his temples wearily and said to everyone except Jiang Jin.

Zhao Meiling and Sun Miao helped Qian Yong up. Wang Tianba's face was gloomy. The five of them walked towards the warehouse again. When they passed Jiang Jin, each of them subconsciously quickened their pace and kept their distance from him.

The warehouse door was closed.

Only Li Yin remained in the shop.

The anxiety on his face vanished instantly, replaced by an extreme calmness and focus.

He took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over the gruesome corpses on the ground, the immense psychological pressure pressing down on his nerves like a tangible force.

But he forced himself to ignore these things and focus on the fruit in front of him.

One-eighth...

His gaze swept quickly over the smaller fruits, finally settling on the largest one, with its clear dark green stripes—a watermelon.

That's it!

Without hesitation, he stepped forward and laboriously lifted the heavy watermelon. Reaching the corpse in the center of the shop, he gritted his teeth and, with the watermelon—a behemoth to most people's mouths—shoved it into the dark, gaping maw.

A scene defying the laws of physics unfolded: the watermelon seemed to be swallowed by an invisible space the instant it touched the corpse's mouth, disappearing in an instant! There wasn't even an exaggerated bulge on the corpse's neck; it was simply "swallowed" calmly.

After doing all this, Li Yin did not immediately call for help. His sharp gaze swept across the ground, finally landing on the few peaches that had been knocked over, rolled on the ground, and trampled during the earlier fight.

Peach juice and pulp left a small stain on the ground, near the shelf where lychees were displayed.

Li Yin walked over without making a sound, seemingly unintentionally but actually deliberately stepping on the peach juice residue left behind with the soles of his shoes, making the soles of his shoes covered with sticky peach juice.

Then, he paced back to the body in the center of the shop, leaving several clear footprints on the ground, stained with peach juice!
(End of this chapter)