Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 256 Nine Yin Gathering Body
Yihai Camp, the villa where the Nirvana Team is based.

The lights were deliberately dimmed, and a chilling horror movie was playing on the television screen in front of us.

Yu Tianlun leaned back comfortably in the soft leather sofa, while Xu Yinqiu naturally nestled beside him, her head gently resting on his shoulder.

The two shared a large bucket of popcorn—this was Xu Yinqiu's insistence, saying that watching horror movies required this kind of "ritual," although Yu Tianlun found it a bit ridiculous.

The film playing on the screen is the classic Thai horror film "Crossroads of Death".

Nowadays, obtaining complete horror movie sources is hundreds of times more difficult than obtaining "Japanese adult films".

The scene playing now is the famous "In-flight Horror" segment: On a night flight, a flight attendant is horrified to discover that in the supposedly empty luxury cabin sits a ghost of a "princess" dressed in traditional Thai court attire, with a pale face and venomous eyes.

What followed was a suffocating chase within the confined cabin at 10,000 meters altitude. The ghost was elusive and used bizarre methods, driving the flight attendant to the brink of despair, creating an atmosphere of claustrophobia and a sense of having nowhere to escape.

"Thai horror films do have a unique approach to exploring folklore and psychological horror," Yu Tianlun commented after popping a handful of popcorn into his mouth and chewing for a while.

"Especially those based on elements such as curses, grievances, and reincarnation often have a strong aftereffect, and the resulting meme pollution is particularly troublesome. The ghosts and monsters in them are full of resentment and use strange methods, making them very difficult to deal with."

Xu Yinqiu snuggled closer to him, popped a piece of popcorn into her mouth, and mumbled, "But if we're talking about the scariest one, I think it's the [The Ghost is Coming] instance, right? It's always been in the rooftop cinema of the Youxiang Shopping Mall. That's one of the few confirmed, almost permanently fixed, horror instance entrances."

Mentioning this, Yu Tianlun's expression became more serious, and he nodded: "Yes, the [Haunted Ghost] instance... is indeed dangerous. The rules inside are very strange, especially the haunted ghost that hanged itself. Its resentment has almost reached the deepest level of the Annihilation Layer. Even many LV4 Reincarnators are deeply wary of it. If you are not careful, you will fall into its trap and die a very miserable death."

Yu Tianlun asked himself, even when he was still at LV4, he wouldn't really want to enter this instance unless there was enough benefit.

He paused, then added seriously, "So I've already told Jiang Jin that no matter what happens, when he goes to give a newcomer a training session tonight, he absolutely must not go to the movie theater on the top floor of the Youxiang Shopping Mall, and even more so, he must not look at that movie poster for 'The Haunted House' hanging in the corridor outside the theater. That thing itself is a powerful meme trigger. 'The Haunted House' is basically recognized as the most terrifying Thai horror movie."

“Speaking of which, the Thais’ horror ideas are really quite good,” Xu Yinqiu seemed to remember something, shifting into a more comfortable position, and continued, “Not just movies, their horror games are also pretty impressive. For example, the horror instance of ‘Sweet Home’…”

The game "Home Sweet Home" mentioned by Xu Yinqiu is a first-person survival horror game based on Thai folklore and horror culture.

Players take on the role of a man searching for his missing wife, who stumbles into a cursed otherworld. They must utilize various items and stealth mechanics to evade and fight against terrifying monsters from Thai folklore, such as "Nana" and "Flying Head Ghost." The game features a suffocating atmosphere and frequent jump scares, demonstrating a high degree of fidelity to Thai horror culture.

“Yes, indeed.” Yu Tianlun confirmed, a hint of reminiscence in his eyes. “It is said that Zhou Chen went in there back then and even gained some inspiration from it. The dungeon itself is not the most difficult; even LV1-LV2 reincarnators can go in for trials, but the environment and monster designs inside are very unique.”

“But that’s all ancient history, before the ‘Manhattan Meme Incident.’” Yu Tianlun’s tone changed. “Since then, the meme contamination of Thai horror dungeons has changed quite a bit. Many of the original dungeons have undergone drastic distortions and mutations. The ‘Sweet Home’ dungeon is said to have been completely ‘modified.’ The rules and monsters inside have become more bizarre and dangerous than before, and it may even have incorporated horror elements from other cultures. In addition, now that there are no other options besides reserve reincarnators, many reincarnators are temporarily afraid to go to Thai horror dungeons. Nobody knows what it’s like now.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Yinqiu sighed softly, her eyes somewhat unfocused, as if she were lost in some unpleasant memory: "The [Sweet Home] instance... I went into it once with a temporary team before I joined Dawn. Back then... I almost didn't make it back."

"Was it the time you encountered Blood Skull?"

"Yes, we encountered the 'Blood Skull Team' in the dungeon." Xu Yinqiu's voice lowered, carrying a hint of barely perceptible lingering fear.

He was all too familiar with the name Bloodskull. It was a team of reincarnators infamous for their cruelty, bloodlust, and extremely perverse methods. In the end, they were wiped out by his Dawn team in the [Pale Youth] dungeon, with only Blood Spider managing to escape.

Xu Yinqiu subconsciously moved closer to Yu Tianlun. "The three people who were chasing me back then were the three most terrifying people in their team—'Butcher' Andro, 'Blood Spider' Valeria, and 'Corpse Oil Ghost' Song En, who was good at black magic."

Her tone was filled with deep apprehension: "If my profession weren't Zhu You, which gives me top-tier survival skills among all professions, I would probably have been torn to pieces by them long ago..."

Yu Tianlun sighed, his tone filled with regret and a hint of resentment: "What a pity... back in the [Pale Youth] dungeon, in the end, that woman 'Blood Spider' Valeria still managed to get away."

"This woman is an absolute demon!" Xu Yinqiu's voice was filled with obvious disgust and fear. "I saw it with my own eyes in the [Sweet Home] instance. She... she completely and without any reason, she brutally and meticulously dismembered the male protagonist, who was already pitiful enough and was the core of the plot! And she was laughing all the while! And that male protagonist had absolutely no grudge against her! They hadn't even met before!"

Xu Yinqiu's voice trembled slightly, "Her twisted personality, which takes pleasure in the pain and death of others and completely disregards life, is simply outrageous. Although, this may be related to her choice of the profession of spiritual medium... I really don't know what Blood Lord was thinking when he recruited her into the Bloodthirsty Team, just for her death reversal skill? Even if he gets the Soul Imprint, isn't he afraid that one day he won't be able to control it and will be devoured by her?"

Yu Tianlun listened in silence, his arm gently encircling Xu Yinqiu.

At this time, it was located in a luxury area of ​​Changming District.

Inside the "Phantom Vortex" lingerie store, the air is filled with expensive fragrances. The lingerie in this store is mostly characterized by bold designs and a focus on sensuality.

Valeria the Blood Spider was leaning lazily behind the counter, her scarlet fingernails tapping absently on the glass surface.

She wore a black lace bodysuit of her own design, with a silk robe over it, the robe's sash loosely tied, generously displaying her incredibly hot and almost exaggeratedly perfect figure, especially her proud, overflowing breasts and perky, full peach-shaped buttocks.

Who could imagine that she would dare to dress like this in public, even in a lingerie store, without any hesitation?

A plainly dressed, slightly thin woman walked into the store, somewhat timidly picked up two thongs with extremely daring designs and pitifully little fabric, and asked softly, "Boss, this... can I try it on? The brand description says it can lift the buttocks, I'd like to try it on and see..."

Valeria lifted her eyelids, glanced at her, her gaze like a precise measuring tape, measuring her from head to toe, and then let out an undisguised sneer: "You want to try it on? Forget it. This size doesn't suit you. Do you think you're me? Wearing this size is too presumptuous of you; forcing yourself into it will only humiliate you."

The woman's face flushed instantly, both ashamed and angry: "You! How dare you talk to me like that! I'm going to file a complaint against you with the Consumer Association!"

"Go ahead." Valeria waved her hand dismissively, not even bothering to glance at her again. "The door's over there. Goodbye."

The woman was trembling with anger. She glared at her fiercely and slammed the door as she left.

Just then, the fitting room door opened, and another slightly chubby girl came out holding a bra, her face full of anticipation: "Boss, I want to buy this one, it feels really nice... How much?"

Valeria only glanced at it before interrupting her without any politeness: "Wearing this will cause your breasts to bulge, it's the wrong size, it's embarrassing."

She paused, even with a hint of disdain, and picked up one of the bra straps with her finger, holding it up to her chest, saying, "On the other hand, this size is too small for me, it's too tight."

The slightly chubby girl was taken aback at first, then became angry. She was about to retort, but when her gaze fell on Valeria's ample breasts, which were nothing short of a weapon, she realized that she herself paled in comparison. Her confidence immediately crumbled, and she could only mutter with a flushed face, "Damn it! So what if you have big breasts? Do you think you can be so arrogant just because you're a foreigner? I think you're all talk and no action! With such terrible service, your lousy shop will go out of business sooner or later!"

"Thank you for your kind words." Valeria gave a forced smile, completely unconcerned. She opened the shop purely out of personal whim and to pass the time; she had no intention of making money and cared little about complaints. Of course, complaints wouldn't do any good anyway.

If it weren't for the fact that this is the real world, where order still exists, given her temper in the horror dungeon, she would have already completely dismembered and bled these two noisy and self-aware women.

Just as she was feeling bored, the cell phone on the counter rang.

Valeria raised an eyebrow, picked up her phone, and went inside to make the call: "Speak."

The other party was an information broker who worked specifically for her. Within the Bloody Team, intelligence gathering had always been a joint task for her and Kim Sook-mi.

The voice on the other end of the phone was very low: "Blood Spider, I just intercepted some intelligence. Tonight, a new memetic infection case named Lin Lu was discovered in the Tiexi District. According to the standard procedure, she should be sent to the nearest isolation zone at the end of Line 14 in Tiexi District. However, the receiving party reported that, but after checking the transfer records, I found that she was diverted midway and taken by cleaners to the Youxiang Shopping Mall in the New South District!"

"She was deemed a better fit for Thai horror films?"

The intelligence broker's voice carried a hint of excitement and mystery: "Blood Spider, this is the key! According to the information from our informant, that Lin Lu... her physique is extremely special! It's said to be a 'Nine Yin Gathering Evil Body,' a rare find in a century! Her birth chart is entirely Yin, her destiny is fraught with tragedy, and she's surrounded by malevolent energy that she doesn't unleash. She's the perfect vessel for cultivating black magic, controlling ghost children, and nurturing evil spells! People with this physique, if they choose the profession of black magic practitioner, have an incredibly high adaptability and affinity for black magic! That's why she was directly sent to the 'Ghost Image Marketplace,' which is the most suitable place for the growth of a black magic practitioner!"

"Nine Yin Gathering Body? What is that?" As a foreigner, Blood Spider Valeria had no idea what this term meant.

"If she were to embark on the path of a sorcerer, she would at least start with the LV3 'Flying Head Spell,' and in the future, she would even have a very high chance of reaching the LV4 'Blood Spell'!"

Valeria understood instantly!
The profession of sorcerer is rare, difficult to advance to, and extremely risky, and each sorcerer's techniques are extremely bizarre and unpredictable. For example, in Lanruo Temple, even a legendary reincarnator as powerful as Feng Ya was caught off guard and fell victim to a level 3 sorcerer's dying counterattack!

Their only LV3 sorcerer in the Bloodthirsty Squad is currently the vice-leader, Long Cang. If they could recruit this sorcerer prodigy named Lin Lu into the team, and have Long Cang personally train him…

Then the Bloodstained Team will most likely gain another powerful LV3 Flying Head Slayer in a short period of time! The team will be even more powerful, and its overall strength and ability to deal with various strange dungeons will achieve a qualitative leap! Especially with the upcoming battle with the Insect Nest Team, this is undoubtedly a very important trump card! "Is the information accurate?" Valeria's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement.

"I'm 80% sure! The informant wouldn't joke about something like this!"

“Excellent! I’ll double your intelligence fee!” Valeria decided immediately. “I’m going to the Shadow Mall right now! Hopefully, I can find her in time, get her to choose the sorcerer profession, and then join our Bloody Team!”

She hung up the phone, her eyes gleaming with a determined light.

She had to get ahead of everyone else, especially Kim Suk-mi who always disagreed with her, and firmly control this "precious" Lin Lu in the hands of the Bloodthirsty Team!

“Nine Yin Gathering Body…Lin Lu…” Valeria licked her red lips, revealing a confident, almost cruel smile. “You really are…a gift from heaven. Hmm, if she refuses to join, then even killing her won't let her join another team!”

……

A strong wave of dizziness and weightlessness washed over him, and after a long while, Jiang Jin suddenly opened his eyes.

He found himself lying on a genuine leather sofa.

He quickly sat up and looked around warily.

This is a spacious bedroom with a distinctly Southeast Asian style. On the wall is a faded Thai poster with illegible text.

The furniture was mostly made of dark wood and looked very new. Outside the window was a night sky, suggesting that it was in a metropolis.

"This... is the horror instance?" A panicked female voice came from the side.

Jiang Jin turned his head and saw Lin Lu struggling to sit up from the floor beside him, her face filled with confusion and fear. She had also been teleported to this room.

“Yes, this is a Thai horror instance. Take a look at your Reincarnator watch,” Jiang Jin said in a deep voice.

Lin Lu was slightly taken aback when she saw the data displayed on her watch screen—[SAN value: 100%].

"My SAN value...restored?" Lin Lu noticed the change in her watch and exclaimed in surprise, "100%? What...what's going on?"

The SAN value, which had been declining and even falling below the safety line due to violations of the monthly rules, has now returned to full!
At this moment, text prompts appeared on Lin Lu's left retina:
"Reincarnator Lin Lu, you have entered the horror instance."

Please select your reincarnation class within 3 minutes. If you do not select one within 3 minutes, you will be randomly assigned a class. (This system strongly recommends that reincarnations choose the "Sorcerer" class.)

As she finished reading, Lin Lu's voice was filled with astonishment and confusion: "The...system...suggested I choose sorcerer? Officer Jiang, what...is this? Does the system even recommend professions?"

Jiang Jin's brows furrowed tightly, his expression becoming extremely grave: "No... this isn't right. The Reincarnation System never recommends any specific profession to reincarnators! Profession selection is made by each reincarnator based on their own traits, risks, and future plans. The system only provides options and will never interfere!"

This was the first time he had encountered such an unusual situation!
What does this mean? Is it a special rule of this instance? Or... is there some unknown interference or distortion in the system itself?

"Then... what should I do?" Lin Lu panicked completely. She only had three minutes to make a decision and had encountered such an unprecedented strange thing.

Jiang Jin forced himself to calm down.

This time, his role as a newbie mentor was to see it through to the end and help Lin Lu clear this dungeon. After all, his presence would significantly increase the dungeon's difficulty.

He walked up to Lin Lu, looked into her eyes, and spoke quickly but as clearly as possible: "Listen, time is running out. Sorcerers can use the legendary Southeast Asian sorcery, which is extremely strange and powerful. They are skilled at cursing others, creating ghosts, and even interfering with fate."

He abruptly changed the subject, his tone becoming extremely serious: "But! The biggest risk of this profession—its LV3 rank, called 'Flying Head Curse'! That's a true life-or-death situation! You need to use a special method to cut off your own head while remaining conscious! If you succeed, your head will detach and fly away, your abilities will skyrocket, and you'll gain all sorts of incredible and bizarre powers; if you fail... that's true death, there's no room for luck! Countless people are stuck at LV2 because they don't dare to take that truly 'head-losing' step! In the last dungeon, I personally witnessed a LV3 Flying Head Curse sorcerer, and his final counterattack... was extremely terrifying."

He laid bare the harsh reality before Lin Lu, letting her weigh the options herself. Fear and opportunity are often two sides of the same coin.

“Deathstroke, watch her,” Jiang Jin ordered Deathstroke.

With the SAN value at 100% and in a materialistic state, Lin Lu couldn't see its existence and was momentarily confused.

"Miss Lin, that's all I have to say. Take your time to consider it."

Jiang Jin, meanwhile, seized the opportunity to quickly search the house. He needed more clues to determine the details of this instance.

He went into the adjacent bedroom, which contained a bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and a bookshelf. Some stationery and a few Thai books were scattered on the desk.

Suddenly, he stopped moving.

On the desk, there was a picture frame.

Inside the frame is a group photo.

The people in the photo are none other than Jiang Jin and Lin Lu!
The two are dressed in casual summer clothes, with a sun-drenched beach in the background, seemingly a tourist destination in Thailand. Lin Lu is affectionately holding Jiang Jin's arm, resting her head on his shoulder, her face beaming with a sweet and happy smile. Jiang Jin's expression in the photo also appears gentle, even with a slight smile.

The photo looks so natural, so real, as if they really were a couple in love, or even... a married couple?
But Jiang Jin and Lin Lu only met by chance at the subway station today! They had no connection before!

It seems the system forcibly assigned them identities, just like in the Lanruo Temple instance? In this instance, they're set up as some kind of intimate relationship? Lovers? Or husband and wife?
Moreover, Jiang Jin's knowledge of Thai horror stories is quite limited, and he cannot immediately determine which movie, game, or legend it corresponds to.

"Officer Jiang?" Lin Lu's voice was choked with sobs and urgency from the living room outside. "Time...time is almost up! I...what should I choose?"

Jiang Jin took a deep breath, walked out of the bedroom, and returned to Lin Lu.

The three-minute time limit is about to expire.

"Think it through." He looked into her eyes. "Being a sorcerer is high-risk, but potentially high-reward. However, the system's recommendation should be trustworthy. Other professions might be safer, but their future is uncertain. You have to decide for yourself."

Lin Lu's face was pale, her body trembled slightly, and her eyes struggled violently between extreme fear and a desperate, all-or-nothing resolve.

She thought of her impoverished family, her longing to bring her parents to the big city for a better life, her boyfriend who ultimately broke up with her because of reality, and the increasingly serious problem of meme pollution...

Perhaps only with power strong enough and strange enough can one survive and obtain everything one desires?
Meanwhile, Jiang Jin continued his exploration inside the room.

Suddenly, his footsteps led him to a piece of paper pasted on the wall near the front door in the living room.

Although the text above is in Thai, Jiang Jin can understand it with the help of the system.

Just one second before the countdown ended, Lin Lu suddenly raised her head, a glint of madness and determination flashing in her eyes!

She decided to choose the profession of a sorcerer!

Jiang Jin stared wide-eyed at the piece of paper.

The title above is:

【Sweet Home Rules】!
(End of this chapter)