Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 106 Changes in the Lost Layer
The lights in the convenience store began to flicker, causing all the reincarnators' hearts to pound wildly!
With all professional skills now banned, everyone is feeling an intense sense of terror!
"My SAN value has dropped below 60%!" Old Chen looked at his Reincarnator watch: "This...this means we've entered the Lost Layer..."

The Lost Layer was no stranger to Jiang Jin. However, he had only ever entered the shallower areas of the Lost Layer in the past. Given his current LV1 class, it would be very difficult for him to return from the deeper parts. And here, he had no way to replenish his SAN!
This means that he might continue to fall down the Lost Layer...

The Lost Layer, the Lost Layer, is so named because at this level, as the SAN value decreases, one enters a lost zone from which there is no way out. Physical concepts such as direction and location become meaningless. In layman's terms, the common saying "being lost in a maze" is actually a typical characteristic of entering the Lost Layer due to a decrease in SAN value.

Just like the Manhattan Island in the Lost Layer, it can appear simultaneously in locations visible to the naked eye, such as the Sydney Opera House and Merlion Park!
Comparatively speaking, the Mysterious Layer retains many characteristics of the Materialist Layer, and its geographical location in three-dimensional space is relatively stable. However, once you fall deep into the Lost Layer, returning to the Mysterious Layer is extremely difficult, let alone returning to the Materialist Layer!

After a while, the lights in the convenience store finally stopped flashing wildly.

Everyone was worried, and there were less than twenty minutes left until 23 p.m.

At this point, the SAN value on everyone's watches had dropped below 60%!

Suddenly the convenience store lights flickered again. When the lights came back on, the street sign outside was visible—

Mingquan Road has been transformed into Yimin Road!

They have completely fallen into the Lost Layer!
Unexpectedly, before midnight even arrived, I had already entered the Lost Layer!
At this moment, Jiang Jin noticed that A Zi came out of the office area with a mop.

"What are you doing?"

Ah Zi gripped the mop tightly and said, "Even if I die, I'll fight back first! If all else fails, I'll bite off a piece of flesh from the ghost!"

Wu Ge shook his head and said, "Please have some common sense. Do you think the ghosts in the Lost Layer can let you bite off their flesh?"

Then, he took his phone and went back to the shelf to continue his inspection.

He continued to compare the photos with the various products on the shelves.

Soon, he moved to the food section and faced the eerie and frightening doll.

Jiang Jin walked over and asked, "Do you think there might be other things like the dolls that appear?"

“That’s not all.” Wu Ge flipped through the items. “We can’t just pay attention to what’s written in the rules; we must always be on alert for any possible anomalies.”

Then, Wu Ge glanced at Dr. Lin and the others who were still at the cashier, and lowered his voice, saying, "Do you remember what the manager said, that the rules are to protect our safety?"

"Yes, I remember. But I don't really believe it."

"Don't think like a diode. In this world, besides protection and harm, there are also gray areas. For example, the rules say that we should try not to sell lime juice to customers, but at the same time we should make sure that lime juice is in a place where customers can see it, which seems quite contradictory."

"Indeed, the rules often contain some seemingly contradictory content."

“From this perspective, the person who drafted the rules may not necessarily be trying to harm us, but he also can’t explicitly state what lime juice means. So, he can only draft the rules this way.” Wu Ge continued to look through the products. “If we consider it this way, perhaps he has more things he should say but can’t write in the rules.”

"Then I'll help you..."

"No need. You can observe the other five people for me."

The convenience store lights appeared particularly pale in the dead of night. Wu Ge stood in the food section, mechanically checking the integrity of each package, while his eyes occasionally glanced at Murong Yan beside him.

She was organizing the shelves in the household goods section. When she looked down, a talisman could be seen peeking out from her collar, gleaming dimly under the light.

Wu Ge was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke: "I seem to have heard that your sister died at the hands of Lady Pustuca of the Insect Nest team?"

Murong Yan's fingers paused slightly before she continued arranging the toothpaste on the shelf.

She didn't look up, her voice calm to the point of being icy: "Yes."

Wu Ge picked up a bag of biscuits, his expression growing increasingly serious.

Murong Yan finally stopped what she was doing and turned to look at him. "Why are you asking this?"

Wu Ge shrugged, his tone casual: "Just curious. Lady Pustules is a LV4 Gu Mother; those who die at her hands are usually not simple."

Murong Yan paused, her voice revealing a hint of suppressed hatred, "Madam Pustules used her to test the Gu, letting her be devoured by the 'Bone-Eating Gu' for three days before she died."

Wu Ge's fingers tightened slightly. He didn't respond immediately, but silently walked to the next shelf.

Murong Yan stared at his retreating figure and suddenly asked, "Did you also have companions who died at the hands of the Insect Nest team?"

Wu Ge didn't answer directly, but said calmly, "If you can get out of here alive, you might as well join the Bloody Team."

Murong Yan frowned.

“Blood Lord and Lady Pussy are mortal enemies.” Wu Ge’s voice was calm, but it carried a hint of coldness. “The hatred between them is deeper than you can imagine. Back then, Blood Lord was the vice leader of the Insect Nest team. He was also being hunted down by Lady Pussy and entered a completely rule-based instance like this one, which is how he formed the Bloody Team.”

"Huh?" Murong Yan asked, puzzled, "Didn't you say that Blood Lord was just a low-level member of the Insect Nest back then? He was only able to join the group because he and Lady Pussy were from the same hometown? Who told you that he was once the vice-captain?"

“Oh,” Wu Ge’s eyes darted around, “then I must have remembered it wrong.”

Murong Yan was silent for a moment, then shook her head and smiled bitterly: "The bloodshed is huge. How could I, a mere LV1 Grass Demon Granny, be qualified to go in? Besides..."

She paused, her voice low, "Everyone who joins the Bloodthirsty Team will have a 'soul imprint' planted by the Blood Lord, and from then on, their life and death will be in his hands." Wu Ge sneered, "So what? Many people would kill for this opportunity."

Murong Yan looked at him with a complicated expression: "Neither the Insect Nest nor the Bloodstained team are good people. Lady Pussy uses living people to raise Gu, and Blood Owl uses Soul Imprints to enslave its members. Both sides have the blood of innocent people on their hands."

Wu Ge finally turned around, his eyes beneath the mask appearing exceptionally deep in the dim light: "You want revenge, but don't want to dirty your hands?"

His voice was laced with sarcasm: "Then you might as well give up now."

Murong Yan's breath hitched slightly: "I just don't want to become a monster like them."

Wu Ge stared at her, then suddenly laughed, a chilling laugh that sent shivers down one's spine: "Monster? In this cycle of reincarnation, if you don't become a monster, you can only be prey. If it were me, I would use any means necessary to get revenge."

Murong Yan frowned: "Where do you get such a fierce temper at such a young age?"

Wu Ge did not answer. His gaze passed over her and went into the darkness outside the convenience store.

A few seconds later, he slowly spoke: "Age has nothing to do with hatred."

Murong Yan stood there, watching his back, a strange chill rising in her heart.

What exactly did this boy go through?
Ten minutes later, Wu Ge walked to the cashier.

"Dr. Lin, I have three very important things to say next."

Dr. Lin nodded and gestured for everyone to gather around the cashier.

"Old Chen, keep an eye out for customers coming from the doorway," Dr. Lin said after making the arrangements. "Go ahead."

Wu Ge then held up three fingers.

"First, all the allergen warnings and instructions on the addition of genetically modified soybean oil on all food packaging have disappeared; second, the 3C certification mark on all toy packaging has also disappeared. Clearly, the changes that have occurred at Yimin Convenience Store in the Lost Layer are beyond our imagination."

"what?"

Everyone looked shocked.

“I know about GMOs, but what are 3Cs?” Qiu Feng asked.

Jiang Jin answered from the side: "3C stands for the three Cs in CCC, the abbreviation for China Compulsory Certification. It is a mandatory product certification. Our police station shut down an illegal factory last year that produced counterfeit toys and forged 3C certifications."

Dr. Lin asked, "Then, is there a third one?"

"All products have lost their production dates and expiration dates!"

Everyone's expression changed upon hearing this!

“There are no allergen warnings…” Jiang Jin walked to the food section and checked it. Sure enough, none of the foods were labeled with allergens or whether they used genetically modified soybean oil.

Wu Ge said, "I checked carefully before. Originally, when we were in the Mysterious Layer, the food packaging had this information, but now it's all gone."

"Why...why is this?" Azi asked, puzzled. "It's an allergen indication..."

“We might think of it this way: suppose the guest eats it and is unlikely to have an allergic reaction…” Dr. Lin immediately thought of this possibility.

The reason this point isn't written into the code is because the codemakers don't want them to notice this change, or because they are also restricted and can't understand why it should be written into the code? It's like they can't write in the code why customers can't drink lime juice in convenience stores, or explain why incense can be burned in the store.

Next, Jiang Jin went to the entertainment section and took some plastic toys from the shelf.

Not only does it lack 3C certification, but it also lacks warnings such as "Contains small parts, not suitable for children under three years old" and "Keep away from fire."

Dr. Lin walked over and asked in a low voice, "How is it?"

"As expected... none of the toys had the 3C certification mark."

Jiang Jin put the plastic toy back and said, "These products no longer have these kinds of labels after entering the Lost Layer. That means that customers who buy them will still buy them even if they see that the food packaging doesn't have allergen warnings, production dates, or expiration dates. This is because... people who need to buy them don't need to look at the food's expiration date!"

Dr. Lin turned his judge's mask toward the shelves: "There's another situation. Paper offerings burned during funeral rites don't need to have an expiration date either."

Just then, Ah Zi walked over and heard these words. Her breathing became rapid. She looked out of the glass door—a few burning paper moneys were floating by, and the firelight reflected the faint watermark of the character "奠" (meaning "offering" or "condolence") on them.

"No way?" Old Chen said, "Could it be that all those goods have been turned into paper offerings?"

Jiang Jin pondered for a moment and said, "There's another point. The rules stipulate that the store cannot accept cash. Actually, this is the most absurd thing. No matter how widespread mobile payment becomes, completely refusing cash? Then, the question is, is what we receive actually RMB?"

Everyone immediately looked at Jiang Jin and instantly understood what he wanted to say.

"You mean... ghost money?" Azi asked, her voice trembling.

　My drafts have failed to be salvaged, so daily updates may be delayed until the evening. Please understand. The second update's release time is uncertain, but it will likely also be in the evening. I have to work during the day, so I hope everyone can understand.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)