Thriller Zone: From the Mental Hospital to the Ghostly World

Chapter 541 [Domain - Second Gate] Ma Zhao

After a while.

They crammed most of the items that future customers might buy into the warehouse.

That is the warehouse that Chen Ji had previously inspected, but as the curse began, they were transported to another timeline, and Chen Ji was naturally no longer inside.

Du Tingfeng could even imagine the bewildered look on Chen Ji's face when he returned to the store after the search and found that the two of them were gone.

"That's the most I can put in."

Xu Sandao clapped his hands and looked at the warehouse in front of him, which was packed full.

There's no way around it; the warehouse wasn't very big to begin with, and things are different now than before.

Previously, there were only a few paper figures here, but now there are all kinds of things inside.

A pile of dusty paper horses, sedan chairs, statues of gods, and even many houses, gold and silver jewelry and the like.

When they saw the paper-mache phone and router, the two of them almost couldn't hold back... Why would someone who's dead still want to play on their phone?

But these things can't be taken out no matter what, so the actual space left is very small.

After closing the warehouse door, Du Tingfeng breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the much cleaner storefront.

The atmosphere in the store finally wasn't so gloomy anymore.

However, they still couldn't find mourning clothes, confirming that the store didn't sell them.

The fact that something that should be there most is missing doesn't mean it's useless; it just proves that it's special.

The mourning clothes are most likely the source of the curse.

Putting this matter aside for now, Xu Sandao looked out the door. The outside was as desolate as ever, as white and hazy as winter.

He made a frame with his finger and looked out at the street through it. The more he looked, the more he felt that something was missing.

One less procession, dressed in white mourning clothes, was there, mourning and sending off the deceased.

If it actually appeared outside, it wouldn't feel out of place at all... He even vaguely hallucinated this scene, and to be honest, it gave him the creeps.

"How large is the area we're trapped in?" Xu Sandao murmured. "Is it just this shop, or the entire Daping City?"

If it's the latter, then it might be an opportunity for investigation. He really wants to know what the other original locations are like in this world.

The two pushed open the door and walked out naturally, without any restrictions.

But it did not fulfill Xu Sandao's wish.

The streets, both ends, were shrouded in a thick fog, clearly telling them that they could only move around on this street at most.

There wasn't a soul in sight outside, like a crudely made texture.

"Let's go back and wait for the second customer."

Du Tingfeng turned around and was about to step into the store when he suddenly stiffened.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw it—right by the wall outside the shop, in a blind spot from inside the shop—

There was a person standing there.

He was an ordinary person whose appearance was easily forgotten, but Du Tingfeng still recognized him because of his familiar white T-shirt.

Those were the people who bought paper money earlier.

In an instant, he realized what had happened: the customer hadn't left at all after being refused!

After leaving the store, it took at most two steps, and then stood straight outside the store!

In other words, it heard all the conversations in the store, as well as the sounds of hiding the goods.

Ignoring it, the two turned and went inside, but as soon as they stood behind the counter, the glass door was pushed open again.

The customer came in again.

"Buy paper money."

It said the exact same things it said the first time, just like the first time it came in.

"...Out of stock." Xu Sandao said without batting an eye, "The store is sold out. See for yourself if you don't believe me."

He deliberately used a different reason than last time.

The customer left the store without going back to confirm or asking again.

As he watched its figure disappear by the door, Xu Sandao's fake smile slowly faded, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

He knew the customer hadn't left, and so did Du Tingfeng.

They can't see it, but the customers are still outside.

However, the conversation just now made the two realize something:

First of all, they weren't trying to find loopholes before; rather, the curse simply doesn't care what excuses they use to delay.

Even if they directly say they don't sell, the customers won't react.

For customers, there are likely only two options: "successfully purchased" or "failed to purchase".

This is very strange.

Secondly, they currently have no idea what else to sell, because the customer won't leave until they buy the paper money.

In other words, assuming this is a linear process, they got stuck in the first stage.

This doesn't actually conflict with Xu Sandao's previous thinking; there's still no danger, at most he'll just have to refuse customers again and again.

but......

He and Du Tingfeng exchanged a glance, both of them with a hint of unease in their eyes.

It can't be that simple. There must be other troubles in the process of opening a store... Did the previous owner also experience this?

Opening the ledger, they found that, just as they had suspected, the contents had changed.

Zhou Liang's name was still on it, but this page seemed to have been read too many times, so much so that the paper was somewhat cracked.

"The shop owner has been reviewing Zhou Liang's purchase records," Du Tingfeng murmured.

Therefore, their transactions, or rather, exchanges, are not as simple as one-sided seller/buyer interactions.

I turned a few more pages.

Suddenly, a piece of paper fell out.

This piece of paper wasn't in the ledger before... Is it the shop owner's record?

The handwriting was messy, and the person who wrote it seemed to be in a very bad mental state.

No! No! No!

What did I do? What did I do? How could I have done something so stupid?!

Paper horses, paper sedan chairs... why don't I sell them? Why?

Ma Zhao, do you even know what the hell you've done?

[It’s over, it’s over]

Everything is over.

I have brought this upon myself.

Oh, right...

[There's still Zhou Liang... I can still salvage this situation...]

[As long as we can find someone to take the blame...]

......

"Ma Zhao." Du Tingfeng raised his eyebrows and put the paper down.

This is the name of the funeral home owner, and this bizarre record suggests that the owner is very likely a person under a curse.

So... the ghost of mourning in 2014?

Whatever the reason it made that wish, it should be entangled in a curse by now.

There are several key clues in this piece of paper.

First, the paper horses and paper sedan chairs must be sold, otherwise there will be huge consequences, consequences that people cannot bear.

No wonder the curse didn't force them to sell; that's where the problem lies.

Second, Zhou Liang.

There it is again.

It seems it can help the mourning ghost break the curse? The method is...

"To die in someone else's place."

Xu Sandao murmured.

He slowly turned his head to look at Du Tingfeng. From the other man's face, he knew that Du Tingfeng was just like him.

This led to an extremely terrifying speculation.

Just then, the door was pushed open again.

The customer in the white T-shirt came in for the third time, with the same request: to buy paper money.

This time, Du Tingfeng did not refuse immediately.

"Who died?" he asked directly. "For whom are we mourning?"

The customer remained silent.

A few seconds later, it let out a short, strange sound, as if it couldn't help but laugh at their antics.

It raised its hand, pointed at Du Tingfeng and Xu Sandao, and said:

"You guys."