Thriller Zone: From the Mental Hospital to the Ghostly World

Chapter 569 (Chapter 2) [Domain · Second Gate] Old Wang

To be honest, that simple sketch was nothing special; you could barely make out that it was a person with black hair.

But for some reason, Chen Ji felt a sense of familiarity the moment he saw the painting.

But where does this sense of familiarity come from?

Is the person in that painting himself?

A black-haired man holding a sharp object reminded Chen Ji of himself when using a fountain pen.

This idea is actually a bit far-fetched. After all, the person in the painting has no distinguishing features, and he has been in the domain for so long, yet Feng Yao has never shown any of the characteristics she knew before.

But Chen Ji had experienced even more outrageous things, so he couldn't help but be suspicious.

Just then, Feng Yao muttered, "Screwdriver?"

She paused for a moment before taking the painting from Chen Ji's hands.

"Why do you think so?"

Chen Ji sensed something unusual in her words, and a thought struck him.

The screwdriver thing was obviously just a guess, a test to see what Feng Yao would do, but her reaction... was a bit strange.

Feng Yao was also testing herself.

"I was just guessing," Chen Ji said simply. "So what was he holding?"

After a brief silence, Feng Yao shook her head.

"I don't know either, I didn't draw this. Do you know Old Wang?"

Old Wang.

The moment the word "king" appeared, Chen Ji's heart skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly nonchalant: "Who?"

“…I’m an apprentice at the auto repair shop.” Feng Yao’s voice was somewhat disappointed: “Never mind, it’s alright.”

She originally thought Chen Ji was the person Lao Wang was looking for.

After all, she had already ruled out Luo Weicheng when she discussed it with Wu Hui. Now that Huang Yue was dead, only Bai Shaohua and Chen Ji remained.

But Chen Ji doesn't seem to know this name.

But at that moment, she suddenly felt Chen Ji touch her hand, gesturing for her to go to the inner room to talk.

Feng Yao's heart skipped a beat.

A moment later, in the bathroom.

"Regarding that 'Old Wang' you mentioned," Chen Ji said directly, "I might know him, but not through that name."

"Feng Yao, what I'm about to say is very important. If the 'Old Wang' you're talking about is really the person I'm thinking of, then he's extremely dangerous."

Upon hearing the name "Old Wang," two words immediately popped into Chen Ji's mind:

Wang Chao!

From the company's pursuit to the Ghost Infant Tomb, then to the past of Spring City, and the prophecy of "You are the Source Corpse"—

All the puzzles point to Wang Chao.

A person who exists in the past, present, and future...?

To be honest, Chen Ji now has a bit of PTSD about the surname "Wang," and has even developed a great deal of wariness towards Feng Yao as a result.

But after quickly recalling all of Feng Yao's actions after entering the domain, Chen Ji still tended to believe...

Feng Yao probably doesn't know.

"Wait, extremely dangerous?"

Feng Yao was stunned, completely unexpected that Chen Ji would say that.

While it's true that the person Lao Wang is looking for is an Entrant, there's something fishy about it, but it shouldn't be to the point of being "extremely dangerous," right?

They had faced many ghosts together, and even when facing the blind ghost of 309, Chen Ji had never used such a term.

Are you sure we're talking about the same person?

Feng Yao asked hesitantly.

"...If your employee always wears a mask, never shows their face, and behaves in exaggerated ways, like they're acting, does that suggest they have a mental illness?"

“Then, yes.” Chen Ji sighed softly, “There’s a high probability we’re talking about the same person.”

But to his surprise, Feng Yao immediately shook her head.

"I don't know who you're talking about," she said with certainty, "but it's definitely not Old Wang."

“Old Wang is completely different from what you described. He doesn’t talk much, he’s never worn a mask, he’s very honest, and he does whatever I ask him to do.”

She paused, then said somewhat subtly, "However, regarding his mental illness... he is indeed quite different from normal people."

"what?"

Chen Ji was stunned.

But he immediately seized on the key point: "You said he never wore a mask, so what does he look like?"

"Hmm... a bit sloppy."

Feng Yao's lips twitched: "When I found him, he looked no different from a homeless man, with a stubble beard and wearing a dirty cotton-padded jacket that looked like it had been picked up from a trash can."

"But her face is just a normal person's face... she's not bad-looking." She coughed lightly and added:

"Her skin is very fair, and she has a beauty mark under her eye."

A homeless man...? No, a beauty mark under the eye?

Chen Ji's brain buzzed, and he didn't know which point to think about first!

First of all, the word "homeless" immediately reminded him of the warning notice that had been placed in the elevator of his apartment building some time ago.

A homeless man who went around trying to strike up a conversation with a child was also wearing an old cotton-padded coat.

He had been frequenting the vicinity of Chen Ji's house and had even been to Du Tingfeng's villa area... Warning notices about his illegal trespassing and child abduction were posted in Chen Ji's elevator for a whole month.

But after they returned to Tianhai from Yanjing, they never heard from this person again.

"Feng Yao".

Chen Ji's throat went dry: "When did you pick up this 'Old Wang'?"

“…more than a month ago?” Feng Yao thought for a moment: “Anyway, it was before May Day.”

The timing also matched up.

At this point, Chen Ji was almost 95% certain that "Apprentice Lao Wang" was the same as "the homeless man downstairs".

It is now clear that Lao Wang's goal from beginning to end has always been to find himself; he just hadn't succeeded before.

What exactly is this person's purpose?

Is he really Wang Chao?

Chen Ji's emotions surged. After confirming Lao Wang's target, this person's image actually became increasingly distant from Wang Chao's.

He had not forgotten what Wang Chao had done.

First, even if they weren't present, they could have simply blown Tang Qin's head off.

Second, they moved with ease through the Ghost Infant Tomb, reaching the innermost chamber with Zeng Guichuan by their side.

Third, it predicted Zeng Guichuan's death date, when he would die, and who would kill him; at the same time, it claimed that "Chen Ji is the last source corpse."

Anyone who can do the above three things will inevitably find Chen Ji.

The homeless man seemed to only know a general area and couldn't determine Chen Ji's actual location?

Chen Ji turned his head slightly and looked outside the door, where he saw a light, floating figure swaying back and forth outside the bathroom.

That's Faye.

Wang...tear mole...

Another name flashed through Chen Ji's mind. Of everyone present, only he and Fei'er had seen this person before.

Wang Yunfei!

Wang Yunfei, the maintenance worker at Liting Apartment!

The last scene before passing through the Liting Apartment flashed through his mind.

Wang Yunfei glanced at him with a melancholy expression, his eyelids above his beauty mark gently closing, his voice carrying an indescribable emotion:

"Thanks......"

"Goodbye."

Then he stopped breathing.

Wang Yunfei had long since died in the domain; he had killed him with his own hands.

and many more.

Chen Ji's heart skipped a beat.

How did he kill Wang Yunfei?

His gaze slowly shifted to the painting in his hand, looking at the black-haired boy who was holding a sharp, cone-like object.

The stick figure in the drawing is poised to thrust forward with a weapon in its hand; and this weapon...

It might be fencing.

It might be a fountain pen.

It's also possible that, just as Chen Ji said during his previous probing, it's true.

It's a screwdriver.

This thought immediately sent a chill down Chen Ji's spine.

But in an instant, he suddenly remembered something else—no, he couldn't be sure it was Wang Yunfei.

Although this person spans multiple domains, and even appeared in his uncle's tenth domain, there is a problem.

You said Old Wang has very fair skin?

Chen Ji confirmed.

Feng Yao nodded affirmatively.

But Wang Yunfei has wheat-colored skin, and it's not the kind of tan that comes from sun exposure.

Chen Ji and his uncle discussed that the young Wang Yunfei they met at Jixiangyuan was not much different from the grown-up version of him.

A strange feeling rose in Chen Ji's heart.

Wang Yunfei is like a microcosm of the Wang family; the more you learn about him, the more confused you become.

However, he still cannot be completely certain that Wang Yunfei is not Wang Chao.

Chen Ji even suspected for a second that these three people might be the same person, just in different forms; however, the possibility of this was rather low.

Everything will have to wait until he actually meets [Apprentice Old Wang] before we can discuss anything further.

"Feng Yao".

Chen Ji confirmed his suspicions and returned the painting to the woman in front of him: "Your apprentice might be looking for me."

"Didn't you say... we weren't talking about the same person?"

Feng Yao was a little confused. Since the paper figure had no expression, she couldn't see what Chen Ji's expression was. She only knew that he hadn't said much just now.

They just kept throwing out one question after another.