Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 100 Nuo Opera Mask
Old Chen and Qiu Feng entered the store, and soon their conversation with the owner could be heard.

Jiang Jin stood at the door and saw the owner enthusiastically pointing to the back shelf: "We also have newly arrived imported cigarettes here, on sale."

"Let's buy a pack of Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes, what about you, Lao Chen?"

"Let's bring peace to the world."

After paying, Old Chen asked, "Boss, is Mingquan Road the only road in the outer district of this city?"

“Of course,” the owner said, “Judging from your accents, you’re from out of town, right? Are you tourists?”

"Okay...okay. So...is that the only convenience store nearby called Yimin?"

"Yes, as for convenience stores, there's this one called Yimin, which has been open for almost twenty years. There's also an abandoned primary school over there called Yimin Primary School."

"Is Yimin Convenience Store open 24 hours a day?"

"Yeah, this shop is open all night, but there aren't many people buying things late at night. What, are you planning to go shopping tonight? My advice is, it's best not to go out on the night of the Ghost Festival."

Qiu Feng took a cigarette from the pack the boss handed him, gave it to the boss, and said, "Boss, I'll just offer this as a token of my appreciation. You can have one too."

"That's good," the boss said, a cigarette dangling from his lips. After Qiu Feng lit his cigarette for him, he asked, "What do you want to know?"

"Boss," Qiu Feng asked after lighting a cigarette for himself, "You said you wouldn't go out on the night of the Ghost Festival... Does this place get haunted at night?"

"Huh?" Upon hearing this, the boss's expression changed drastically, and he said, "What did you say?"

Old Chen couldn't help but rub his forehead. He shouldn't have let this guy come; the topic changed too abruptly.

“Boss,” Qiu Feng continued, “tell me more about it. I’m a bold person!”

"Out-of-towners, if you're here to sweep the tombs, I suggest you leave early. This is near a cemetery. If you're really afraid of ghosts, you'd better stay far away."

"boss……"

"If you don't want to buy anything, then let's go!"

The boss made it clear that he wanted them to leave, so the two had no choice but to leave disappointed.

"I feel like he knows something, but he won't say it," Qiu Feng reported.

Dr. Lin looked at the grocery store and said, "Let's ask a few more people. Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. We don't have any professional skills right now. But remember, don't use threats or bribes."

"Huh?" Qiu Feng was taken aback. "Even bribery won't work?"

"If someone offers you a few hundred yuan on the street to find out some secrets you know, would you readily tell them or be wary? Also, when asking about paranormal events, naturally steer the conversation towards topics like the Ghost Festival and masks, without making it seem like you have ulterior motives. Do you know if they're organized? Are they human or ghosts?"

Just then, a cold wind blew by, making everyone shiver.

Immediately afterwards, everyone split up to inquire and searched online, and they were basically able to confirm that this was indeed Mingquan Road, and there was only one Yimin Convenience Store there.

Although the city names are outlined in black, asking a group of people with their professional skills sealed to travel to another city within a few tens of minutes is an impossible task. The Reincarnation System would never issue a mission that guarantees certain death.

But when it comes to topics like ghosts, everyone becomes tight-lipped and unwilling to discuss them in depth.

I also called the reservation number for the haunted house again, but it was still busy.

"What should we do?" Old Chen asked impatiently. "What can we do now?"

Jiang Jin realized that the reincarnation system was probably intentionally preventing them from asking the protagonist for help.

Old Chen gritted his teeth and went to that grocery store again.

"What do you want to buy?" The shopkeeper frowned when he saw Old Chen approaching and said, "If you want to buy something, hurry up, I'm about to close. It's the Ghost Festival today, and I need to go home early. This place is right next to a cemetery, the yin energy is really strong!"

"Boss... what do you mean by 'heavy yin energy'?"

"If you're not buying anything, then leave! I have to close up shop!"

The boss chased away Old Chen, while Jiang Jin thought for a moment, stepped forward, and took out his police ID.

"Hello, boss, I'm a police officer."

The shop owner was taken aback, but Jiang Jin only flashed his police ID briefly to avoid the shop owner seeing the words "Muxu Market," and said, "Boss, I have some questions I'd like to ask you, is that alright?"

The shopkeeper looked at Jiang Jin with suspicion, then at Old Chen, and asked, "Is this man also a policeman?"

Jiang Jin did not answer his question, but said, "It's like this, we are investigating a case of a missing child."

He directly applied the story of the orphanage children to this scenario.

This was something his master had taught him: when dealing with criminals, you need to fabricate lies, but don't make them up on the spot. Try to use a real event as a reference, so that it's less likely to reveal flaws or inconsistencies in the details.

"A child abduction case?" The shop owner quickly waved his hand and said, "Well, I'm just running a small business honestly, what does this have to do with me?"

"Boss, let me ask you something seriously first, please answer truthfully." Jiang Jin glanced at his watch again; it was already 17:50 PM. "That Yimin convenience store," Jiang Jin pointed to the Yimin convenience store not far away, "I want to ask you, do you know anything about it?"

"This..." The boss immediately shook his head and said, "Officer, I really don't know..."

Just then, Dr. Lin suddenly walked in, grabbed Jiang Jin and Old Chen, and pulled them both out!

"Boss," Dr. Lin said to the supermarket owner, "you can lock the door now, we have no more problems."

"Dr. Lin!" Old Chen cried out anxiously, "There are less than 10 minutes left! We..."

"That's enough," Dr. Lin said decisively. "Let's go."

Then they discovered that the owner had also put on a Nuo opera mask, then closed and locked the roller shutter door.

"What should we do now? We're about to get the information!" Azi became anxious. "Master, do you have any ideas?"

Dr. Lin said to Jiang Jin, "You made a huge mistake just now, which was pretending to be a policeman. Do you think that even if it's really haunted, the grocery store owner would tell a policeman the truth about the paranormal events here?"

Jiang Jin, disregarding the fact that he was actually a police officer, said, "I can't think of any other way right now, but at least I can try to find out indirectly... For example, I can ask him if there are any rumors about Yimin Convenience Store?"

“You’re too hasty. We know nothing about Yimin Convenience Store right now. Asking too many questions might backfire. It’s more appropriate to ask about ghost stories based on the Ghost Festival customs. Besides, he said he knew nothing when the police questioned him. There are only two possibilities.”

Jiang Jin was taken aback.

"First, the boss is an honest man who wouldn't gossip behind people's backs, but he's mentioned the child abduction case and still won't say anything? He's been running this shop for so long, and there's really nothing unusual about the convenience store nearby? Second, he has a conflict of interest with Yimin Convenience Store, and continuing to question him might just alert him."

"Then?" Jiang Jin had to admit that Dr. Lin was very thoughtful.

"Let's head straight to the convenience store next; that's where we can get more firsthand information."

At 17:59, everyone arrived in front of the "Yimin Convenience Store".

Under the moonlight, the five large, gold-plated characters of "Yimin Convenience Store" gleamed with an eerie luster.

Through the glass windows, you can see that the store is spacious and bright, with shelves neatly arranged.

Inside, several employees, also wearing Nuo opera masks, were packing up to leave work. Their masks were more elaborate than those worn by pedestrians on the street, with gold lines drawn at the corners of their eyes.

At that moment, Jiang Jin suddenly noticed a residential complex not far away. The complex was called Happiness Complex.

Looking at this name, it seems somewhat ironic.

"Let's go." Dr. Lin pushed open the door and entered first.

As they entered the convenience store, the SAN value on all of their Reincarnation Watches began to drop!
Wearing a judge's mask, a man who looked like a convenience store manager looked up from behind the counter, the paint on his mask gleaming eerily under the light: "You guys are right on time."

“Yes,” Dr. Lin replied calmly, “we’re here to take over.”

The shopkeeper took out seven Guichi Nuo opera masks from under the counter, each mask with a different expression: "Tonight is the Ghost Festival. You must wear masks during the night shift."

He then handed the masks to them one by one and explained their names to them.

Jiang Jin accepted the blue-faced demon mask. Its face was a chilling bluish-green, faintly radiating an eerie aura. Its eye sockets were deeply sunken, resembling two black holes, and a pair of blood-red pupils were embedded in its mouth, their gaze revealing ferocity and greed. Its nose was high and straight, and its mouth was wide open, revealing two rows of sharp fangs, arranged like interlocking saw teeth. A trace of red paint, symbolizing blood, lingered at the corner of its mouth.

Dr. Lin received a judge's mask similar to the boss's, with a black face, wide mouth, high brow bones, deep nasolabial folds, tightly closed lips, and a square chin. Overall, it was dignified but not ferocious, but its eyes were terrifyingly empty, like a serious official who had been frowning for years.

Azi received a Kui Xing mask, its face ferocious and terrifying. Its forehead was high, its eyes bulging and red, like flames. Its eyebrows were thick and messy, pointing upwards to either side.

Old Chen received the mask of Yama, the King of Hell. His face was very broad, his complexion somber, a bluish-black hue. His eyebrows were like sharp swords, his eyes wide open, his gaze majestic, as if he could see through all the evil in the world. His nose was high and straight, his lips tightly closed, the corners of his mouth slightly downturned, displaying the imposing authority of his impartial and just judgment.

Qiu Feng received a plague god mask. His face was as pale as paper, his eyes appeared half-open and empty, and his mouth was slightly open, revealing black teeth that seemed to emanate the poisonous gas of plague. Black spots were painted on his face, representing the symptoms of the plague, making him a terrifying sight.

Wu Ge received a mandrill mask, with a colorful face, deep-set eyes, a high nose, a wide mouth, and exposed fangs, giving it a fierce appearance.

Murong Yan received a mask of a soul summoner, its face blackened, its gaping maw revealing sharp teeth, as if it were about to suck souls into it. Its eyes were wide open, exuding a sinister aura.

"The office area behind that door connects to the warehouse, and there are restrooms inside." The store manager pointed to a door with a sign that read "No Customers Allowed." "Also, the night shift employee handbook for tonight is posted on that wall over there."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately looked over.

"These are the keys to the office area, the changing room inside, and the warehouse." The boss handed over a bunch of rusty keys. "Go change into your employee uniforms first. They have your individual name tags on them, so don't wear the wrong clothes. After that, carefully read the night shift employee rules. Remember: you must strictly abide by every rule; this is for your safety. Tomorrow morning, around 6 or 7 a.m., the day shift employees will come to take over."

Dr. Lin took the bunch of keys and nodded to the shop owner: "We understand."

At this moment, Azi, Murong Yan, and Qiu Feng had already gone ahead to the night shift employee handbook and were carefully reviewing it.

The store manager nodded and led the day shift staff toward the door. After the door closed, they quickly left, disappearing lightly into the night.

　I reread Air Conditioner's book; it should be Yimin Convenience Store, in "My Healing Game." Air Conditioner and I have confirmed that the designers of the haunted house/healing ghost stories are from the same universe. Of course, the horror instances will definitely differ greatly from the original works, so we can't completely match them up.

　　Also, the original author has passed away, so the second update may be released a little later. Please be patient.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)