Is this what a zombie is?

144. Dotting the Eyes of the Paper Figure

On the left is a convenience store, with shelves selling everyday necessities like rice, oil, and salt. There are also several strings of homemade cured meat hanging at the entrance.

Right next to the convenience store was a department store that sold brooms, mops, chairs, stools, and the like.

Further on were welfare lottery and sports lottery shops, which were very small.

Then came a funeral clothing and coffin shop, and the atmosphere suddenly changed.

Her shop wasn't big, but there was a small coffin painted black at the entrance, and behind the glass door, you could vaguely see various paper figures and paper appliances.

Well, these paper offerings now need to keep up with the times; they need to include cell phones, televisions, washing machines, and air conditioners.

But if there really is an underworld, then is this air conditioner used for cooling or heating?

Next to the funeral clothing shop is a glutinous rice restaurant with the words "Authentic Glutinous Rice Fried Rice" on its sign.

It's almost lunchtime, so the glutinous rice restaurant is bustling with activity, and the steaming aroma of glutinous rice is quite tempting.

Yes, that's good.

Jiang Chen thought to himself, "This arrangement is quite thoughtful. If something goes wrong, we can use glutinous rice locally. I just don't know if this glutinous rice is adulterated."

Just as he passed by the funeral clothing shop, he caught a glimpse of something unusual out of the corner of his eye.

The pair of paper effigies of a boy and a girl displayed at the shop entrance seemed to move their eyes slightly.

It wasn't just a "seem"; Jiang Chen was absolutely certain that their gazes were fixed on him, precisely locking onto this outsider, and moving silently with his every step.

Jiang Chen walked past without stopping, his expression unchanged, as if he hadn't noticed anything.

After walking a few steps, he stopped seemingly unintentionally and turned around to look back.

Everything returned to normal.

The paper figures still stood there quietly, their smiles eerie, their eyes vacant.

Everything that just happened seems like an illusion.

A fleeting golden light flashed in the depths of Jiang Chen's eyes.

Under the vision of his Qi-observation technique, he saw that the surface of the boy and girl was covered with a faint layer of Yin energy.

This yin energy extended downwards, penetrating the ground and connecting with something deep underground.

Therefore, these two paper figures are essentially surveillance devices, serving as the other party's eyes.

He looked up into the shop and saw an old woman with gray hair and a wrinkled face sitting on a small stool, her head down. Her withered hands were unusually nimble as she skillfully pasted a new paper figure with bamboo strips and colored paper.

Under the detection of the Qi Observation Technique, there was no energy fluctuation on the old woman's body; she was just an ordinary elderly woman.

Therefore, the anomaly of the paper effigy was clearly not her doing.

Perhaps sensing the gaze from the doorway, the old lady raised her head, her cloudy eyes looking at Jiang Chen, and asked in a hoarse voice.

"Young man, what would you like to buy?"

Jiang Chen withdrew his probing gaze and walked over with a smile.

"It's nothing, I just feel like those two paper figures at your door are staring at me, and it's making me a little uneasy."

Upon hearing this, the old lady grinned, revealing her few remaining teeth.

"Hehe, it's probably just your imagination. Young people shouldn't overthink things. If you don't think about it, nothing will happen. You young people these days all believe in science, don't you?"

"Really?" Jiang Chen scratched his head, pretending to be skeptical. "I think I've heard someone say that there's a taboo when making these paper effigies: you can't put eyes on them. If you do, they'll easily attract unclean things."

A hint of surprise flashed in the old lady's eyes, as if she hadn't expected that a young man like him would know these old sayings.

"Oh, you know about this too."

She looked Jiang Chen up and down again.

"That's true, but the pair in front of my door are custom-made. Someone came specifically to order them. It's just strange that they paid for them but haven't come to pick them up yet; they've just been sitting here."

"It's custom-made." Jiang Chen leaned closer to take a look. "I don't see anything special about it."

As he spoke, his hands were busy; he casually picked up a stack of paper money and a few incense sticks from the store shelf.

"Grandma, I'd like to buy some of this. I heard the God of Wealth here is very effective, so I'm going to offer my prayers."

He handed over the money.

When she heard about worshipping the God of Wealth, the old lady paused slightly.

Her cloudy eyes scrutinized Jiang Chen again, her gaze becoming meaningful.

"Young man, you're not from around here, are you?"

"Yes, I just arrived," Jiang Chen nodded in acknowledgment.

The old woman took the money and handed him the paper money and incense, her voice soft and distant.

"The God of Wealth here is very effective."

"However, you have to find the right path to succeed."

She paused, her cloudy eyes seeming to see through something, and then changed the subject.

"Also, young people, it's better to be down-to-earth and earn money with your own hands and feet so that you can live a stable life."

"Don't always think about taking shortcuts; taking shortcuts often leads to a quicker demise."

Jiang Chen's expression shifted slightly, but his face remained impassive. He simply nodded solemnly, "Thank you for reminding me, Grandma. I'll remember."

He picked up his things, turned around, and left.

This old lady should know something about the situation here. People may not have good eyesight and hearing when they get old, but they are still very clear-headed.

Her words were a warning, but she didn't explain them clearly, nor could she articulate them explicitly.

Jiang Chen had no intention of asking further questions, because he was unsure if he had attracted attention or alerted the enemy, so he chose to temporarily retreat and try another approach.

After Jiang Chen left, he did not go far.

He went around to the other side of the tenement building and found a secluded corner.

With his eyes closed, lightning strike patterns flowed across his body, and he pushed electromagnetic induction to its limit.

An invisible field of perception, centered on him, permeated into this old tenement building.

Everything inside the building formed a three-dimensional picture in his mind.

From a different perspective, he "saw" Zhao Hongyuan leading Jin Peilin into the depths of the residential building.

In the long, dark corridor, Jin Peilin's life force fluctuated, and this was fear.

How could he not be afraid? Although there was no eerie or terrifying feeling here, the temperature dropped a lot as soon as he entered, and he felt a chill run down his spine, with goosebumps all over his body.

"Mr. Zhao... Mr. Zhao, why is it so cold in here?"

Jin Peilin kept turning around, feeling like many eyes were staring at him, but there was nothing behind him.

"A calm mind brings coolness," Zhao Hongyuan said without turning his head, his tone indifferent. "The Venerable One prefers tranquility. When you see him later, relax and don't make a fuss, understand?"

"I...I understand," Jin Peilin replied, but his inner fear did not diminish in the slightest.

Something was wrong, nine-tenths or even ten-tenths wrong, but Jin Peilin's greed overcame his instinctive fear.

His desire to rise to prominence and become a superior person made him ignore all the warning signs.