Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 327 Takamiya Yui's Sudden Intrusion
Just then, a muffled thud came from the other side of the living room, as if something had fallen to the ground.

The seven people immediately became alert, and then discovered that a pen had fallen off the coffee table.

Was it the wind? But all the windows were tightly shut.

Lian Xuan's breathing suddenly became rapid.

The group looked around, observing simultaneously with the Hunter's Eye, the Wishing Eye, and the Spirit Medium's Eye, but the living room remained empty except for the seven of them.

“Listen carefully, regarding Rule Seven…” Yu Tianlun broke the silence first. His calm demeanor as the team leader was reassuring to the team at this moment. “We are required to copy the videotape within seven days and ensure that the other person who did not watch it can watch it in its entirety. This is the key to the transmission of the curse, and it is also a rule clearly given by the system. But who gets to watch the videotape is something to consider.”

He glanced at the crowd and continued, "I think the easiest way is to find some social scum, like gang members, and make them scapegoats. It's efficient and there's almost no psychological burden involved."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jin shook his head: "Commander, hiring gangsters? That might alert the underworld and cause unnecessary trouble. I have a better idea... Don't forget what era we're in now? 1997. If you do the math, many of those Japanese veterans who committed heinous crimes during World War II, especially on our homeland, are still alive."

Upon hearing this, everyone around lit up, including the foreign player Li Shang.

A fierce glint flashed in Jiang Jin's eyes: "Lian De is a priest, skilled in divination and tracking. Why not have him find a few of these old Japanese devils in Hakone and the surrounding area? Let them 'inherit' the 'blessing' of this videotape. Wouldn't that be more in line with the natural order? It would satisfy the rules and also be considered as us acting on behalf of Heaven, collecting some interest for countless wronged souls."

Jiang Jin's words caused the atmosphere in the room to change abruptly. The oppressive feeling brought about by the curse seemed to be replaced by a more proactive and chilling sense of killing intent.

"Brilliant!" Kong Huaizheng was the first to clap his hands and exclaim, a look of satisfaction on his face. "Letting this curse torment those old beasts who deserve to go to hell is just perfect!"

Xu Yinqiu nodded slightly and said softly, "Using evil to fight evil, and killing two birds with one stone!"

Lian Xuan and Lian De exchanged a glance, and Lian De said in a deep voice, "The deputy commander is absolutely right. It is not difficult to locate a person burdened by specific karma through the divination techniques of the ritual. Leave this matter to me."

Seeing that the team members were in complete agreement, Yu Tianlun immediately made the decision: "Okay! It's settled then. We'll prioritize finding deeply sinful Japanese veterans from World War II as targets for the curse. Lian De, you're in charge of this matter. Get results as soon as possible."

"Yes, Commander." Lian De solemnly replied.

With one of the primary tasks determined, Yu Tianlun steered the conversation in a deeper direction: "Next, is our core objective—breaking the curse. According to the information we have and the original movie plot, 'her' remains are in that ancient well on Izu Oshima. If we can obtain 'her' remains, we can reverse Kong Huaizheng's 'curse-binding' technique. Although it's unlikely to cause serious damage, it's possible to apply some restraint."

He looked at Jiang Jin and Xu Yinqiu: "However, Rule Eight explicitly forbids us from mentioning 'her' name in any way. Therefore, our overt investigation cannot directly point to 'her,' but must start with 'her' parents—'her' mother, the psychic Yamamura Shizuko, and 'her' father, Professor Ikuma Heihachiro. Izu Oshima is Shizuko's hometown, and also the starting point of the tragedy. We must go there as soon as possible and find that well."

Kong Huaizheng's eyes gleamed: "As long as I get the remains, I'll really experience the power of the Annihilation Layer evil spirits."

Jiang Jin suddenly said, "Kong Huaizheng, you are now a Level 2 Spellcaster. Can you cast a spell on the videotape?"

Before Kong Huaizheng could speak, Yu Tianlun said first, "The videotape is an ominous object from the material layer that has been contaminated by memes. The situation is special, so I'll try it first."

He then walked to the open space in the center of the room.

Yu Tianlun gestured for everyone to step back, then took out several pieces of yellow paper with cinnabar runes drawn on them from his Reincarnator watch and pasted them on the floor in specific positions to form a simple rune array. Then, he had Jiang Jin place the videotape in the center of the rune array.

Next, he took out five Emperor Coins that shimmered with an eerie light and placed them at the five corners of the talisman array. Finally, he held an ancient Bagua mirror, face down, above the cursed videotape placed in the center of the talisman array.

He began chanting incantations, the obscure and ancient runes echoing in the room. The Bagua mirror began to tremble slightly, its surface faintly shimmering and reflecting onto the videotape.

However, as time passed, the videotape remained unresponsive. There was no black mist emanating from it, no unusual sounds, and even the talisman array and the Five Emperors' Coins showed no signs of being activated.

After a while, Yu Tianlun put away the incantation, picked up the videotape with a furrowed brow, and deactivated the formation.

“No,” he said in a deep voice. “This videotape is merely a material carrier on a material level. Although it contains resentment, the true source of the curse exists in the annihilation layer. My spells cannot directly affect the annihilation layer through the videotape.”

He looked at his team members, his tone grave: "This means that simply destroying this videotape, or trying to purify it on a material level, will be futile. 'Her' curse was projected directly onto us from the Annihilation Layer. Moreover, everyone must understand that the current rules are significantly different from the strategy information we obtained before entering the instance. Whether 'she' will strictly adhere to the 'seven days later' timeline for her killing spree is now unknown. We must be prepared for her to launch an attack at any time, in any way permitted by the rules or even outside of them."

Yu Tianlun's analysis weighed even heavier on everyone's hearts. The root of the curse was deeper, the rules were dynamically changing, and the danger was imminent and unpredictable. At this moment, a resolute glint flashed in Jiang Jin's eyes: "Leader, since this dungeon has been severely contaminated by memes, perhaps... this extremely dangerous and terrifying dungeon, with its high concentration of resentment and distorted rules, can actually bring immense pressure and help me break through to LV3."

Then, he took a deep breath and continued, "I want to try training here, especially in the Lost Layer of this instance. Below the Materialist Layer, although the deeper you go, the more dangerous it is, but it may also contain opportunities for breakthroughs. If I can advance to Hunter LV3 Forbidden Zone Hunter here, our chances of defeating 'her' will greatly increase."

Yu Tianlun gave Jiang Jin a deep look, understanding that this was a way to win by taking risks.

He patted Jiang Jin on the shoulder: "You can try, but be extremely careful. If you sense anything is wrong, stop immediately and return to the material world. Your safety is the top priority."

"Understood." Jiang Jin nodded solemnly.

While Jiang Jin was talking with Yu Tianlun, Lian De had already begun his work.

He walked to a corner of the room and took out the shrine. He respectfully placed it on the ground, then took out three specially made incense sticks, lit them, and placed them in the incense burner in front of the shrine. The wisps of smoke rose gently, but did not disperse; instead, they seemed to swirl around Lian De as if they were alive.

Lian De closed his eyes slightly, formed a mudra with his hands, and chanted an ancient prayer. His spiritual power spread out with the smoke, communicating with the "information flow" of this place in a mysterious way, searching for targets that met the criteria of "World War II Japanese veteran", "heavy karma", and "located in or around Hakone".

The room fell silent for a moment, with only Lian De's deep chanting and the crackling of burning incense sticks.

Everyone else held their breath so as not to disturb his divination.

The process lasted for about fifteen minutes.

Suddenly, Lian De's body trembled slightly, and he opened his eyes!
He quickly took out paper and pen from his pocket and, based on the information obtained from divination, swiftly wrote down names and approximate addresses on the paper.

“Found them,” Lian De handed the paper filled with information to Yu Tianlun. “We have identified seven targets that meet the criteria within the Hakone and neighboring Odawara city area. These are their names and approximate activity areas. Further details will need to be determined once we arrive at the locations.”

Yu Tianlun took the note, quickly glanced at it, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes: "Very good. Make preparations, we'll set off shortly to 'visit' these people and let them 'enjoy' this special 'documentary'."

Meanwhile, at another holiday home in Hakone.

A young man dressed in modern casual wear, but with a samurai sword at his waist, was frowning as he looked at the reincarnation system notification that appeared in front of his left eye.

He is none other than Takamiya Yui.

"The mission is... to travel to the coordinates and meet up with the 'Nirvana Team'. After meeting up, you must watch the entire cursed videotape within 24 hours. Is this the Nirvana Team you encountered in the [Lanruo Temple] instance?"

Takamiya Yui repeated the mission details in a low voice, her right hand unconsciously resting on the katana at her waist.

"It's actually a [Midnight Ring] horror instance!"

He gripped his katana tightly.

Just two days ago, he had advanced to Samurai LV2 Apprentice, and was already proficient in the "Slash and Return" sword technique, which emphasizes striking first after the opponent has moved, defeating the enemy with a single blow. Little did he expect that wandering around Shibuya subway station would lead him into such a dangerous and terrifying dungeon!
"The Nirvana Team... I wonder if we'll be able to meet Commander Yu and Jiang Jin..." Gao Gongwei muttered to himself. With his resolute character and firm belief in the Bushido spirit, the thought of watching that cursed videotape that supposedly meant certain death weighed heavily on his heart.

"Within a day..." Takamiya Yui stood up, quickly packed her things, and looked firmly at the rendezvous coordinates given in the system prompt. "We must find them as soon as possible."

He pushed open the door of the holiday home and took firm steps.

Meanwhile, inside the villa belonging to Jiang Jin, the members of the Nirvana team had completed their basic rest and planning, preparing to launch their first proactive attack in this twisted [Midnight Bell] horror instance.

The operation to hunt down the old Japanese devil and the journey to find the origin of Sadako are about to begin!

(End of this chapter)