Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 73 Zhao Kaiming and the Wishing Ghost

The flavor of the pickled radish was so strong that Zhao Kaiming immediately remembered his wife's complaints that he had a heavy palate and that eating too much salt was bad for his health and would cause his blood pressure to rise.

He picked up the glass beside him; the beer inside had long since lost its bubbles, leaving only a layer of whitish foam clinging to the glass. He tilted his head back and took a swig; the icy liquid slid down his throat, carrying a slight bitterness, but unable to suppress the lingering saltiness in his mouth.

Half a cold fried pork chop still sat on the edge of the plate; when the knife and fork cut into it, only a dull tearing sound could be heard. The meat inside was rather dry, with distinct fibers, making it a bit difficult to chew. He remembered that his daughter, Xiaoya, loved fried pork chops, but she always only ate the tenderest part in the middle, leaving the edges for him.

He looked down at his plate, feeling no appetite whatsoever. But out of habit, he still used his chopsticks to stir the fried rice, letting the grains roll around in the plate—his wife used to love making him egg fried rice.

Finally, he put down his chopsticks and reached for the golden pistol beside him. The cold touch of the metal brought him back to his senses. He took a deep breath and then opened the photo album on his phone—on the screen, Xiaoya's cheerful laughter and his wife's gentle voice were playing.

Zhao Kaiming's finger hovered above the phone screen, trembling slightly.

A thumbnail of a video clip lies quietly in the photo album, dated two summers ago.

Those were his last happy memories with his wife and daughter.

It was an ordinary weekend, the sun was shining brightly, and the sky was a dazzling blue. He remembered that his wife wore a pale yellow dress that day, while his daughter, Xiaoya, stubbornly insisted on wearing the sun hat with a cartoon rabbit print, even though the hat was already a bit too small for her.

He clicked on the video.

The footage shook a few times before stabilizing. The camera focused on the concrete surface of the parking lot, and Xiaoya's excited footsteps and his wife's gentle reminder could be heard: "Slow down, don't run."

"Dad! Take a picture of me!" Xiaoya's voice came from off-screen, as clear and crisp as a glass wind chime.

The camera pans up, and Xiaoya's figure comes into view—she's wearing light blue overalls, and a pair of bright eyes peek out from under her hat brim as she stands on tiptoe to reach the car door handle. Sunlight streams in from behind her, gilding the ends of her hair with a golden edge.

"Can't reach it, can you?" Zhao Kaiming's voice came from behind the camera, tinged with laughter. A hand entered the frame, easily opening the car door.

"I can do it!" Xiaoya stomped her foot angrily, but then smiled again. "Daddy, carry me up!"

The scene spun around for a moment, then settled on the car roof. You could hear Xiaoya's giggles and his wife's helpless sigh: "You just spoil her."

“Of course I have to spoil my daughter.” Zhao Kaiming’s voice was very close, his breath brushing against the microphone, carrying a warm tremor.

The noise from the amusement park suddenly flooded the video. The camera panned across the colorful rides, finally stopping at the carousel. Xiaoya rode a snow-white carousel, gripping the pillar tightly, her face flushed with excitement.

"Mom, look over here!" She waved towards the camera, her hat almost flying off. Her wife quickly reached out to catch it, and then smoothed down her daughter's bangs, which were stuck to her forehead with sweat.

Zhao Kaiming's voice suddenly turned low: "Xiaoya, hold on tight."

The three of them rested in the shade of a tree during the hottest part of the afternoon. The camera focused on Xiaoya—she was intently licking a strawberry ice cream cone, cream sticking to the tip of her nose.

"Dad, have a bite!" she suddenly held the ice cream up to the camera.

The screen was filled with pink ice cream, then it shook violently.

You can hear Zhao Kaiming's exaggerated scream: "Ah! My camera!" and Xiaoya's triumphant laughter.

In the background, his wife was humming a lullaby. It was a lullaby, and Zhao Kaiming later realized that it was one that Xiaoya often sang when she was a baby.

Seeing this, he put the cold fried rice into his mouth, and it seemed that the fried rice had warmed up a bit.

The last part of the video was filmed at sunset.

The camera, through the glass windows of the Ferris wheel cabin, captured the magnificent sunset. Xiaoya leaned against the window, her nose pressed against the glass, her breath condensing into white mist on the surface.

“Dad,” she suddenly turned her head, her eyes reflecting the sunset glow, “can we come again next time?”

"Of course." Zhao Kaiming's voice was a little hoarse.

The wife's hand came into the frame, gently stroking Xiaoya's head. The wedding ring on her ring finger reflected the light.

My wife has a faint scar on her right wrist, which she got from protecting Xiaoya from being hit by a falling vase years ago.

He played the video again.

He feared that as time went by, he would forget what his wife and daughter looked like when they were alive.

Sometimes, he would also notice some interesting details.

When Xiaoya runs and jumps, the left shoelace always comes undone before the right one.

There was a sound of a balloon suddenly popping in the background, which startled everyone, but Xiaoya laughed even harder in the video.

When the Ferris wheel reached its highest point, Zhao Kaiming could be seen holding his phone in the reflection of the glass – that was the only scene in the entire video where he appeared.

"I'm willing to pay any price to bring you all back to life... even if it means selling my soul to the devil!"

He lost not only his wife and daughters, but also other family members... Now, they are all cold corpses.

Zhao Kaiming recalled the deal he made with the "Wishing Ghost": in return for releasing the starving ghosts to occupy the entire Dachang City, the Wishing Ghost could resurrect all his deceased family members. This was Zhao Kaiming's only and strongest obsession.

Watching the video again, Zhao Kaiming's throat bobbed, and his eyes reddened. He abruptly closed his eyes, a tear sliding down and landing on the edge of his plate.

"Soon... Xiaoya, wife, Dad, and Mom... I'll be able to get you all back to me soon..." he murmured, as if trying to convince himself.

He took a deep breath, turned off the video, picked up his chopsticks, and mechanically shoveled the remaining cold fried rice into his mouth.

Just then, a chill suddenly ran down the back of his neck. Above him was the rooftop of the faculty and staff dormitory.

Jiang Jin squatted in a classroom in the adjacent teaching building. The rusty crossbow was already set up, with the coffin nail tied to the tip of the arrow.

"Are you ready?" Liu Yan's voice came through the telepathic link.

"Hmm." Jiang Jin's hunter vision penetrated the faculty dormitory and clearly saw Zhao Kaiming watching a video while eating with his head down, completely unguarded.

"Is the death knell in place?"

"Let it wait there."

Jiang Jin narrowed his eyes, his finger on the trigger.

--It's now!
"Whoosh!"

The dead man's finger bone arrow shot out of the air, the power of the Gu worms on the arrow burning rapidly during its flight, easily piercing through the window and shooting towards the back of Zhao Kaiming's head!
Consume SAN points, guaranteed to hit the target!

At the same instant, Jiang Jin whispered the order: "Deathstroke, bite down!"

Zhao Kaiming sensed the danger the moment the arrow pierced the ceiling. He jerked to the side, but it was too late—

"puff!"

The coffin nail pierced straight through the back of his head, protruding half an inch from between his eyebrows!
"Uh...!" Zhao Kaiming's pupils suddenly contracted, and his body stiffened.

The next second, Deathstroke leaped in through the window, his sharp canines biting precisely into his throat and tearing it apart!
"Crack!"

Blood splattered as Zhao Kaiming's body slumped heavily onto the dining table. His phone screen was still lit, and the little girl in the video was still laughing.

However, at the very moment Zhao Kaiming's heart stopped beating—

"drop."

A device on his chest activated.

A recording played automatically, and a hoarse voice echoed in the room:
"Protect me... the wishing ghost..."

The air suddenly distorted, and time seemed to be turned back by an invisible hand!

Time rewinds to 40 minutes ago.

At that time, Zhao Kaiming was exercising on the playground while also monitoring the situation there.

When he regained consciousness, Zhao Kaiming noticed that he was doing pull-ups with his legs wrapped around a horizontal bar and his body suspended in the air.

"Who was it! Who tried to kill me just now!"

Zhao Kaiming felt a sudden panic. Was it a ghost baby? But it didn't seem like it!

Fortunately, he had a backup plan, otherwise he would be in real trouble now.

This is the wishing ghost's ability! It can rewind time by 40 minutes when he is in mortal danger! However, this is not a passive skill; he must first ask the wishing ghost to protect him!

At this moment, Zhao Kaiming was completely unaware that a ghost hound had silently emerged from the shadows, carrying the coffin nail in its mouth.

“If, in a moment…” In Deathstroke’s memory, Jiang Jin’s voice was terrifyingly calm, “if Zhao Kaiming suddenly shows an expression of extreme panic on his face… especially if he quickly gets off the horizontal bar after showing that expression… immediately drive that coffin nail into his neck!”

A low groan escaped Deathstroke's throat, as if he had already understood what Deathstroke meant.

"Then rush over here immediately and drive the coffin nails into his throat!"

Deathstroke's pupils contracted, but it did not refuse. It simply sat quietly to the side, awaiting the order.

At this moment, Zhao Kaiming had no time to think about all that; he immediately got off the horizontal bar.

At this moment, Zhao Kaiming's arm muscles tensed, and sweat slid down his neck. His pupils suddenly contracted, and a muffled whimper escaped his throat.

Suddenly, as the death knell struck, the coffin nail pierced his cervical spine with pinpoint accuracy, the tip protruding from below his Adam's apple, carrying a drop of dark red blood.

"Giggle"

His body convulsed violently!
There was no pity in Deathstroke's eyes, only the calm of a hunt completed.

"drop."

The recorder on his chest started up, and the hoarse recording had barely uttered half a syllable:
"Protect."

The next second, countless gray worms burst from the nails of the coffin, like boiling shadows, instantly crawling all over Zhao Kaiming's body. Countless wriggling gray dots bulged under his skin, as if millions of ants were frantically gnawing at him.

"I"

The tape recorder emitted a distorted, mechanical sound, which was then drowned out by the Gu worms. A dense gnawing sound replaced the electronic tone. Zhao Kaiming's eyeballs disappeared first, turning into two pools of murky blood that flowed from his eye sockets. His lips moved, as if he still wanted to utter that forbidden name, but the Gu worms had already burrowed into his mouth, tearing his tongue to shreds!
　Sixth update! The remaining four updates will be delivered shortly!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)