Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 336 Izu Oshima
The high-speed ferry "Shojaku" slowly docked at the pier of Okada Port on Izu Oshima Island.

The pier was quite lively, with passengers who had just disembarked, islanders welcoming their relatives and friends, and guesthouse owners soliciting business.

Yu Tianlun's gaze swept across the area and he noticed a family of three not far away: a young couple and their little girl, who looked to be about five or six years old. They were taking pictures on the beach with the azure bay as a backdrop.

When Yu Tianlun saw her husband holding an old-fashioned Polaroid camera, an idea struck her. She stepped forward, greeted him politely in fluent Japanese, and asked, "Excuse me, sir. We are tourists visiting the island. Would you mind taking a group photo for us?"

The husband seemed to have a cheerful personality and readily agreed: "No problem! It's no big deal!"

He adjusted the angle and gestured for Yu Tianlun and the other six to stand properly.

Jiang Jin, Yu Tianlun, Xu Yinqiu, Li Shang, Lian Xuan, Lian De, Kong Huaizheng, and Gao Gongwei stood in a row.

With a click, the camera ejected a photographic sheet.

The husband held the photograph, his smile suddenly freezing on his face, replaced by astonishment and a hint of panic.

On the photograph, the figures of eight people were clearly visible, but their faces were extremely strange, with distorted, misaligned, and blurry features, making it impossible to tell who was who.

"What...what happened? Is the camera broken?" The husband looked at Yu Tianlun helplessly, holding the photographic paper, and then checked his own camera.

Yu Tianlun understood, calmly took the unsettling photo, and said to her husband, "It's probably a camera malfunction or a lighting problem. It's alright, thank you."

Rule six came true: After viewing it, any photo taken from the front of your face will be distorted.

This little incident made my slightly relaxed mood tense up again.

At this moment, Jiang Jin noticed that since Gao Gongwei disembarked, his gaze had often been fixed on the vast Pacific Ocean in the distance, his eyes filled with a complex mix of hatred and...fear.

"Takamiya-kun, you seem to have a deep connection with the sea?" Jiang Jin walked up to him and asked.

Takamiya Yui took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag. His voice was low and menacing: “I hate the sea. Jiang-san, for us reincarnators who know the truth, the Sea of ​​Japan is like a prison. The people are trapped on this narrow strip of land by the ‘Death Ferry.’ Anyone who tries to escape this land completely, whether by plane or ship, may encounter misfortune in the ‘Sea of ​​Death’ area and be dragged into the abyss by that cursed ship. The Edo Special District now… is even more synonymous with death, the deepest scar of global meme pollution. And coincidentally, in the original movie, the sea is also a key link in the curse.”

Jiang Jin remained silent, recalling the plot of the movie.

In the original film, when Reiko Asakawa and Ryuji Takayama came to Izu Oshima to investigate, they met Shizuko Yamamura's cousin, who was filled with primal awe and fear of the sea. He also said that his cousin, Shizuko Yamamura, could "communicate" with the sea in a non-human language.

The sea where the small stone statue of the Upper Envoy was salvaged seems to have some deep connection with the source of Sadako's power.

According to the information they obtained before entering the instance, unlike the original movie, no team of reincarnators has yet been able to pinpoint the exact location of the well where Sadako died in the [Ring] instance.

Their trip was largely a gamble. After all, they had thoroughly checked the villas and holiday homes in Hakone and found no trace of that ancient well.

In order to get a quick understanding of the local situation, they hired a middle-aged man who looked experienced as a guide.

Jiang Jin paid a generous fee, and the guide readily agreed, driving an old minivan to take them on a tour around the island.

The vehicle traveled along the coastal road, and the guide enthusiastically introduced the island's local customs and culture.

Taking the opportunity, Jiang Jin asked, "Mr. Tomimura, have you heard of a superpowered person named Yamamura Shizuko? About forty years ago, she was said to have predicted the eruption of the Mihara volcano."

The guide frowned and thought for a long time before finally shaking his head: "Yamamura Shizuko? Never heard of that name. I've lived on this island for decades and have never heard of any local with superpowers who could predict volcanic eruptions. Mt. Mihara is an active volcano; there are signs before it erupts, and the government monitors it. There's no need for any predictions."

This answer surprised Jiang Jin.

His mind raced, and he suddenly remembered the third rule of the videotape rules—the videotape content was "the documentary 'A Study of Izu Folklore' produced by NHK."

"Then... what about NHK? About forty years ago, when the Mihara volcano erupted, did NHK come to the island to film a documentary or anything like that?" Jiang Jin asked from a different angle.

"Oh! NHK! I know that!" The guide suddenly remembered and started talking. "I was still in elementary school back then! That's right, not long after the volcanic eruption, a team from NHK came. They said they were going to make a documentary about the Izu Islands. They filmed a lot of footage and interviewed many people on the islands. It was a big deal back then. People from Tokyo's major television network came. Lots of us kids ran to watch the excitement!"

Jiang Jin and Yu Tianlun exchanged a glance and saw the light in each other's eyes.

NHK television station—this is an important clue! Perhaps by investigating the archives left by NHK back then, we can find information related to the videotapes and Sadako Yamamura.

The guide drove them to the vicinity of Mount Mihara, found them a clean guesthouse to settle down temporarily, and said he would continue to help them find out more details about "superpowered people" and "NHK TV station".

Inside the hotel's Japanese-style room, everyone gathered together, their faces grave.

“The situation is more complicated than we thought,” Yu Tianlun said in a deep voice. “It seems that Shizuko Yamamura’s existence has been replaced by meme contamination. We need to follow up on the NHK’s leads, but that may take time.”

Jiang Jin stood up, his eyes resolute: "Time waits for no one. Commander, I need to go and copy another videotape."

Everyone was shocked when they heard this.

The lessons learned from Lian De's past are still fresh in our minds!
“It’s too dangerous!” Xu Yinqiu objected first. “You saw Lian De’s situation. Copying the videotape doesn’t remove the curse at all; it might actually strengthen the connection and even lead to his control!” “I know the risks,” Jiang Jin said firmly. “But this is related to my ability to reach LV3 as soon as possible. Only by reaching LV3 and gaining initial control over the domain’s power will we have a chance when facing ‘her.’ I feel… this is a crucial step in my advancement.”

He looked at Lian De: "Lian De, help me one more time, and divine whether there are any suitable targets on this island."

Lian De nodded, then took out the shrine and incense sticks again and began the divination.

This time, the process seemed to go much more smoothly. Soon, he provided an address and some vague information: "Found it. It's on the other side of the island, near a village called 'Bofu Harbor.' The target... participated in the Pacific War."

Despite everyone's continued concerns, Jiang Jin remained resolute.

He took Kong Huaizheng with him, and the two of them first borrowed equipment from the only shop on the island that still provided videotape-related services to make a second copy of the tape. Then, following the guidance of Lian De's divination, they found the old soldier's house.

It was an old, somewhat dilapidated house located on the edge of the village.

Kong Huaizheng used the same method, controlling the old soldier who opened the door with a hypnotic bone bell. The old man initially seemed quite energetic, but his eyes gradually became dull under hypnosis.

Jiang Jin briefly inquired about his past.

The veteran's name was Katsuo Sato. At the end of the Pacific War, because Japan's manpower was nearly exhausted, the conscription scope was constantly expanded. At the age of 14, he was forcibly conscripted and sent to the front line of the Pacific theater. He was lucky enough to survive until the end of the war, but he never went to China.

“Even if you’ve never been to China, you’re still a Japanese devil, there’s no difference,” Jiang Jin said coldly, without a trace of pity in his tone. For the people of Asian countries who suffered in that war, the identity of the aggressor did not change because of the different battlefields.

The two settled Katsuo Sato in a chair in the living room, in front of an old Toshiba television and VCR.

Jiang Jin carefully inspected the surroundings: the landline was in the corner, and the dial tone was normal. He turned on the living room ceiling light and a table lamp placed on the cabinet. Combined with the light coming from the television, this perfectly met the requirement of "three light sources".

After confirming that everything was correct, Jiang Jin inserted the copied videotape and pressed the play button.

The eerie scene shifted again, and Sato Katsuo, under hypnosis, stared blankly at the screen with wide eyes. After one minute and twenty seconds, the playback ended, and static appeared.

Jiang Jin breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to retrieve the videotape. However, just as his gaze swept across the room's light source for a final check, his heart suddenly clenched!
wrong!

Inside... only two light sources were on: the ceiling light and the television! The table lamp on the cabinet had somehow gone out!

"What's going on?!" Jiang Jin shouted, rushing to the light switch.

The switch was actually off!
He clearly remembered that he had turned on the light himself!

He immediately activated his Ghost Eyes and focused on the lamp switch, only to discover a blurry, wet fingerprint on the surface of the plastic switch!
The fingerprint pattern... looks very swollen!

"Swelling fingerprints..."

Jiang Jin immediately understood...

These are... Sadako's fingerprints!

It's Sadako, the one who was pushed into the well and soaked in the well water for a long time!

She came into this room and turned off the light while they were watching the videotape!
A chill ran down Jiang Jin's spine and straight to the top of his head.

She came!

Just now, I sneaked into this room without a sound, right under their noses, and broke the rules!
Is this Sadako's punishment for using the rules of "The Ring" to create a rule-based domain?
"Kong Huaizheng!" Jiang Jin turned his head sharply. "Did you notice when the desk lamp went out?"

Kong Huaizheng looked bewildered, even somewhat confused as he looked at Jiang Jin: "Extinguish? Vice-Captain, wasn't that light always on? I saw it very clearly; from the beginning to the end of the broadcast, there were always three light sources in the room!"

His tone was very certain, and he didn't seem to be faking it at all.

Jiang Jin's heart sank to the bottom. Kong Huaizheng was affected!
Or rather, the moment Sadako's power intervened, his perception was distorted, and he was completely unaware of the change in the light source!
What happens if you break the rules?
Jiang Jin felt a pang of fear. He couldn't use the Lawyer's ability to remedy the situation; the ability was still on its four-hour cooldown and couldn't be used again!
The moment this desperate thought arose, Katsuo Sato, who was sitting in the chair, suddenly began to convulse violently!

He suddenly opened his mouth, but instead of making a sound, he vomited out large amounts of turbid, salty seawater!

In the seawater, there were large clumps of wet, black hair tangled together!
The strong, fishy smell of the sea instantly filled the entire room, as if bringing the deathly aura of the ocean directly into the room.

Sato Katsuo continued vomiting, his eyes wide open, filled with unspeakable fear, his body contorted in an unnatural posture, clearly experiencing the horrific punishment that came with the violation of the rules.

Jiang Jin and Kong Huaizheng stood frozen in place, watching this scene unfold, their backs instantly soaked with cold sweat.

Sadako is not only capable of distorting cognition and silently violating rules, but she can also directly trigger such a tangible and terrifying phenomenon related to the sea!
So next...

What will happen?
(End of this chapter)