Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 160 Balloon
Junyan grabbed Yuko's wrist and dragged her stumbling down the observation deck.

Yuko stared at the sky in terror, letting the cold wind cut her skin like a knife, but she dared not stop.

Behind us, the wailing of air raid sirens continued unabated.

"Don't turn around!" Junyan shouted, holding onto Yuko tightly.

The red light in the sky grew increasingly intense, as if blood rain would fall at any moment.

Yuko staggered, a sharp pain shooting through her right ankle, but instinct compelled her to keep moving forward.

"Go...go to the shrine!" Junyan said breathlessly, changing direction.

The torii gate gleamed with an ominous hue in the red light, and the two filed in.

They huddled together in the cramped space behind the worship hall, breathing heavily.

Yuko's clothes were torn at the hem by a branch, and blood seeped from the scrapes on her knees. Toshihiko's situation was worse; he had a long, thin cut on his left cheek, likely from being grazed by a branch.

“What exactly is that…” Yuko asked, her voice trembling.

The alarm sounded intermittently, sometimes near, sometimes far, occasionally accompanied by a harsh noise similar to sandpaper rubbing against metal.

Junyan did not answer. He stared intently at the direction of the main shrine—the shimenawa rope there was moving on its own without wind, as if manipulated by an unseen hand, and the divine patterns on the paper pendants looked as if they were bleeding in the red light.

Another alarm sounded, this time causing Yuko to cover her ears.

Finally, after confirming that the meteor had not fallen, Junyan seized the opportunity to pull her towards the side gate of the shrine. The two ran wildly along the path and finally saw the outline of the residential area.

The streets of Black Crow Town were deserted, and all the doors and windows were tightly shut.

The extinguished streetlights cast long shadows in the red night, and for some reason, Yuko always felt that those shadows were twisting and writhing, as if they had their own life.

Yuko saw a faint light coming through the gap in the curtains of her second-floor window—her mother might have woken up.

“You should go back now,” Junyan said, his face pale, as he stopped in Yuko’s backyard. “We’ll talk about it at school tomorrow…”

Yuko wanted to say something, but a chill suddenly swept over her.

"Go inside quickly!" Junyan shoved Yuko. "Don't turn on the light! Cover your head with the blanket!"

When Yuko climbed back into her room by scaling the outer wall, her fingers were so frozen they were almost numb.

She gently closed the window, drew the curtains tight, and then slumped to the floor.

The clock by the bed showed 1:25 a.m., and the sky was still blood red.

……

"This is it."

When Yu Tianlun pushed open the door of the "Black Crow Hotel," the old woman who was dozing behind the counter was suddenly awakened, her cloudy eyes scrutinizing the four uninvited guests.

The four members of the Nirvana team now automatically had passports and Japanese yen notes on them.

"Two double rooms, stay for three days, choose a room on the first floor."

Yu Tianlun naturally spoke fluent Japanese.

The old woman replied, "3000 yen per room per day, 18,000 yen in total."

Yu Tianlun placed two 10,000-yuan banknotes with Fukuzawa Yukichi's name on them on the counter. After checking them, the old woman gave him two 1,000-yuan banknotes in change, which featured the Japanese literary giant Natsume Soseki.

The old woman shakily handed over two rusty keys, saying, "Rooms 108 and 109 are at the end of the corridor on the first floor, on the right. By the way, did you all see the Red Night outside?"

“I saw it,” Jiang Jin replied. “It does look rather frightening. Is this the first time you’ve experienced such an extreme weather phenomenon?”

“It happened once before in 1941,” the old woman replied, “and I didn’t expect it to happen again today. The town government even said that we should listen to the radio at six o’clock tomorrow morning.”

"Showa 41? Back then..."

Jiang Jin was about to ask another question, but Yu Tianlun interrupted him and took the key.

"Thank you, landlady. We'll check in now. We don't have much luggage, so we don't need your help moving things."

The corridor was long and dark, with mold spots showing where the wallpaper had peeled off.

The doorplates of the two rooms at the far end had begun to turn black, and "108" and "109" could barely be made out.

"Yinqiu and I will be staying in room 108," Yu Tianlun assigned. "Set your alarms. We'll meet at six tomorrow to listen to that broadcast."

Jiang Jin nodded and put his arm around Liu Yan as they entered room 109.

The moment the door closed, Liu Yan took out a small cloth bag from her Reincarnator watch and sprinkled the black powder inside around the door and windows. Jiang Jin also crouched down and began to use his professional skills to set up traps.

Liu Yan lit a specially made incense stick, and the smoke condensed into the shape of a spider web in the air.

"I have carefully collected intelligence on all of Bloody's subordinate groups. Qin Mei's strength is quite good, and she has a daughter who is in her final year of high school."

"Wait a minute," Jiang Jin said hastily, "You're not going to use her daughter to threaten her, are you?"

"Since the other party has a weakness, how can we not use it? Don't worry, I won't really hurt her daughter. I'll just say that I implanted a Gu worm in her daughter's body, and she won't be able to go back to verify it."

“That’s a good idea,” Jiang Jin said. Since it wouldn’t really harm the innocent, and he wasn’t a stubborn person, “this can definitely intimidate her. But the Bloody Team members have all had their soul imprints planted by the Blood Lord, so we can’t expect to make her give up chasing us with this trick.”

"That should make her hesitate to act rashly." Liu Yan glanced at the crimson night outside the window. "However, this horror instance is quite different from what I expected."

"Will there be any fundamental differences between this instance and its original counterpart?" This was also a point of concern for Jiang Jin, "After all, this is your first time entering this instance."

"Let's listen to tomorrow's broadcast. We're already in here, so there's no point in thinking about it now."

Based on the current situation, the rules should be announced in tomorrow's broadcast.

Every horror game has its own set of rules, without exception.

"Hmm, let's see what the rules are."

Jiang Jin didn't tell anyone that, in the worst-case scenario, he had one ultimate trump card: the ability to change the rules!

He remembered clearly that Wu Qin, who had tampered with the rules and was practically a Level 3, died instantly in front of him! Therefore, in the worst-case scenario, he planned to use this move to kill Qin Mei and Zhou Chen, who posed the greatest threat!
Especially Zhou Chen... He's a renowned figure among the Reincarnators, currently the youngest LV3 Reincarnator! No matter who mentions him, the word "genius" is invariably used! Many believe his future achievements might even surpass those of Blood Lord! Blood Lord values ​​him highly and is actively cultivating him; it's said that as soon as he advances to LV4, he will immediately be promoted to the third vice-leader of the Bloody Team!

Outside the window, the air raid siren sounded again.

This time, it lasted even longer.

Jiang Jin walked to the window and carefully parted a gap in the curtains—looking at the red clouds outside.

“It’s starting.” Liu Yan moved over and said, “We need to be prepared. ‘They’ will be arriving in large numbers soon.”

Inside room 108, Xu Yinqiu sat cross-legged, staring intently at her phone screen.

Yu Tianlun took out a peach wood sword from the Reincarnator's Watch and leaned it against the corner of the wall. He turned his head and saw Xu Yinqiu's strange expression.

He walked behind her and gently rested his chin on the top of her head.

On the phone was a photo of two girls—Xu Yinqiu and her younger sister Yindong, who was five years younger than her. The two girls were standing under a tree, arms around each other, smiling brightly. "Missing Yindong?" Yu Tianlun's voice was deep, and his right hand subconsciously touched the ring finger of his left hand—where the white mark of his wedding ring was still visible.

Xu Yinqiu sighed as she locked her screen: "Yin Dong finally has a boyfriend, but Li Qin insists that he pay a dowry of 300,000 yuan."

Xu Yinqiu and her younger sister Xu Yindong are half-sisters. She has a good relationship with her sister, but she has never gotten along with her stepmother.

The younger sister resolutely refused the bride price, but the stepmother insisted that the other party pay the full amount, clearly intending to sell her daughter.

Yu Tianlun said, "Everyone has their own way of living. Let's first figure out how to face the Crimson and Shadowblade teams in this terrifying dungeon."

Then, he took out a sandalwood box from the Reincarnator's Watch.

He lifted the lid, revealing five warm, lustrous copper coins arranged in a pentagon—Qianlong Tongbao, Jiaqing Tongbao, Daoguang Tongbao, Xianfeng Tongbao, and Tongzhi Tongbao. Each coin's hole was threaded with a red string, and on the string were jade beads engraved with secret inscriptions.

“It takes me three minutes to form the Five Emperors Coins array.” He checked the knots on the red thread. “But Zhou Chen can do it in almost ten seconds. Everyone says he’s a genius, and he truly lives up to his reputation.”

Then, Yu Tianlun quickly hung the Five Emperor Coins at the four corners of the doors and windows. The coins moved automatically without wind, emitting a faint buzzing sound.

He took off his black trench coat, revealing an indigo Taoist robe underneath—embroidered with Tai Chi Bagua diagrams on both the front and back, and the cuffs densely covered with cinnabar runes. This Taoist robe was the exclusive battle robe of a shamanic reincarnation practitioner.

If he had grown a beard back then, he would have really resembled Lam Ching-ying.

Xu Yinqiu watched Yu Tianlun skillfully tie his hair and put on his crown, and suddenly recalled the scene of their first meeting. It was in Qingtan Residential Area, when their SAN value dropped to 25%, triggering a zombie spawn. This man, wielding a peach wood sword, fought his way out of the horde of zombies, his Taoist robe stained with black blood, yet his expression remained calm.

“Even if Zhou Chen is a genius, you were once a level 4 witch doctor, so your foundation is definitely not inferior to his, right?” she suddenly asked.

Yu Tianlun replied, "That's hard to say. Among reincarnators of the same profession, strength often lies in the application of professional skills, which is very dependent on talent, rather than who is more proficient. You should know that the essence of all professional skills lies in how to maximize the development of the resentment crystals absorbed within the body. In essence, they all use the curse of ghosts to gain abilities similar to those of ghosts."

Then, he took out three purple talismans, bit his fingertip to draw incantations, and the blood seeped into the yellow paper before sticking them in the room.

"If all else fails, use that one," Xu Yinqiu suddenly said.

Yu Tianlun shook his head: "The backlash from forbidden techniques is too great. It's best to avoid using them if possible."

Finally, Yu Tianlun lit three incense sticks and placed them on the windowsill. The smoke flowed down eerily, forming a transparent barrier.

The smoke from the three incense sticks formed a spiderweb-like barrier in front of the window, and Yu Tianlun's pupils flickered with the rotation of the Bagua mirror.

"Yinqiu, do you know why the strength of reincarnators of the same profession varies so much? The key lies in how to analyze and reconstruct the curse rules in the resentment crystal. Even... you have to learn to extract rule abilities from the resentment crystal fragments and integrate them into skills. Very few people can do this. Most people can only directly use resentment crystal fragments to enhance items."

He took out a fragment of resentment crystal and said, "For example, this fragment of resentment crystal comes from the hanged ghost in our original horror instance. Ordinary reincarnators might only extract the superficial ability of 'rope manipulation' and integrate it into rope props. But if you see through its essence—it truly contains the causal law of 'death by neck compression'. If developed properly, it can form the rule skill of 'anyone whose neck is touched by a finger will suffocate'."

Xu Yinqiu said with a wry smile, "You're right, this really depends a lot on talent. If you can figure it out, you can figure it out; if you can't, no amount of resentment crystals will help."

“Exactly,” Yu Tianlun said. “When you absorbed the resentment fragments generated by the female ghost who died in childbirth, you comprehended the profound rule of ‘pausing the flow of life’.”

Then, Yu Tianlun continued to draw runes on the surface of the Bagua mirror with cinnabar: "So-called professional skills are essentially about transforming oneself into a container that can safely bear curses. But most people really think they can become some kind of ghost-catching master."

“Forbidden techniques…” Yu Tianlun said, “They follow the path of ‘preserving the characteristics of resentment.’ Each time a forbidden technique is used, a bit more ghostly consciousness is added to the body. I believe that the path that reincarnators should take is to choose ‘complete transformation,’ refining the curse into pure rule power. Of course, this path will be much more difficult.”

"Yes, it is indeed difficult. There are also many people who choose to use the 'advance' effect of rule-based skills. For example, Qin Mei is taking this route."

"The most dangerous aspect of rule-based skills lies precisely in their 'pre-emptive' effect. For example, a certain reincarnator could now obtain a '100% accuracy' sword technique through resentment crystals, but..."

“But you must actually reach that level through training afterwards,” Xu Yinqiu continued, “otherwise you will suffer a backlash from the rules and your SAN value will plummet.”

Yu Tianlun nodded: "It's like taking out a loan to buy a house. The bank lets you live there first, but you have to repay the principal and interest in installments. Lin Ye relied too much on 'advance payments' back then, and later a bunch of curses erupted. This is the penalty for overdue payments."

"According to the intelligence I've obtained, Qin Mei is different. She directly signed a 'betting agreement' through resentment crystal fragments. As a medium, she traded accelerated demonization for immediate combat power. This is actually very dangerous. As a medium, she might one day become a real ghost. This might be an asset to us."

"Yinqiu, finally, remember this..." Yu Tianlun tossed the Five Emperor Coins into the air, and the coins formed a pentagram array that slowly rotated, "Never absorb crystals that exceed your professional level."

Yuko had a chaotic dream.

In her dream, she stood in the sea of ​​fire at Honnoji Temple, but Oda Nobunaga was not the portrait in the textbook, but a human-shaped red light, speaking to her in her father's voice.

When I woke up, my pajamas were soaked with cold sweat.

The alarm clock showed 5:50 a.m., but it was still as dark as night outside the window. Yuko pulled back a corner of the curtains—the red clouds showed no signs of fading; on the contrary, they were even thicker, like congealed blood clots.

There was no one on the street, and even the bicycle bells that usually rang on time to deliver newspapers were gone.

The sound of a radio broadcast came from downstairs. Yuko tiptoed downstairs and found her mother already sitting at the dining table, with a bowl of miso soup steaming in front of her.

The radio is broadcasting an emergency announcement:

"The red night phenomenon in Black Crow Town will continue until tonight... Residents are advised to lock their doors and windows and avoid looking directly at the sky as much as possible. There will be an important announcement from the town government at 6:00 PM..."

Yukiko's face was paler than usual.

"Sit down and eat," she commanded. "Your school just called to say that classes are canceled today."

Yuko had just picked up her bowl when she heard a new broadcast coming from the radio:
"Town government notice: The entire area of ​​Black Crow Town has entered Level 2 alert... Repeat... This is not a drill... The town government's disaster prevention office will issue a notice later."

Yukiko's chopsticks fell to the ground.

Yuko had never seen her mother so distraught—this usually strong woman was now gripping the tablecloth tightly, her knuckles white.

"Mother?"

She remembered that if the Red Night phenomenon had also occurred in 1966, the 41st year of the Showa era, then her mother should have experienced it as well. Counting the time, she was only 13 years old at that time, and her maternal grandparents were still alive.

Yukiko suddenly stood up, spilling soup all over the table.

Finally, it was six o'clock.

The radio has started broadcasting a notification:

"The Disaster Prevention Office of Kurokazu Town, Aomori Prefecture, is issuing an emergency notice effective immediately, urging all residents of the town to remember and strictly adhere to the following guidelines:"

1. Residents should bring their original resident registration certificate to the Disaster Prevention and Control Office to receive one box of blue pills and one silver thermal blanket per registered household member. Residents are advised to be vigilant for any floating, human-head-shaped objects (hereinafter referred to as "balloons") in the air.

2. Every morning between 6:00 and 6:15, place your left ring finger on the edge of the stainless steel sink in your kitchen and observe your reflection (those without a fixed address may borrow someone else's kitchen, and residents cannot refuse). If the face in the reflection appears obviously abnormal, it proves that your balloon has appeared, and you should immediately take the blue pill provided by the office.

3. Starting today, if any resident of this town sees a balloon that looks exactly like you, please immediately close your eyes, take three steps back, then turn around and leave with your eyes open. Do not look directly into the balloon's pupils for more than three seconds. Taking photos of the balloon with your mobile phone is prohibited, as is revealing your full name.

4. If the balloon starts mimicking your facial expressions (especially if you notice the balloon's mouth turning up more than your own), immediately stop all facial muscle movements, cover your face with a silver thermal blanket, and walk around.

5. If you are followed by a balloon, do not scream. Immediately protect your neck and find the nearest building to take shelter.

6. The following actions are strictly prohibited: damaging the balloon in any way (including but not limited to pricking, burning, or shooting), communicating with the balloon, or responding to its calls.

7. Night patrol officers will wear silver armbands. If you find a patrol officer who is not wearing an armband, please pretend you don't see him and do not respond to his calls.

8. Your skin may gradually become smoother and more durable, and your pores may gradually disappear. Your fingers may feel sticky when they sweat. This is normal and you do not need to go to the hospital for treatment.

9. If you encounter someone with deep, ring-shaped bruises on their neck, please stay away from them as much as possible, and never let them into your home.

10.每日23:00-23:07，您家中镜面有可能会渗出粘稠的琥珀色液体。请用玻璃瓶收集，然后统一扔到町内垃圾场的专用回收箱内。”

(End of this chapter)