Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 362 Employees in Black Uniforms

Early morning, inside the zoo's beverage shop.

At this moment, Liu Yan's feelings were a mixture of intense tension and excitement.

Because today is the last day of her scout job. She'll be able to go back and see Jiang Jin soon.

Having not seen them for so long, she missed the Nirvana Team more and more. This time, she could receive many rewards from the United Nations, and she could also get the [Black Datura] that Sister Yinqiu had always wanted. She would definitely be very excited then. At that time, the team's strength would experience a huge leap forward.

But at that moment, she suddenly sensed something was amiss.

It wasn't pain or dizziness, but a persistent low hum originating from deep within the brain.

What followed was a dull sense of oppression, as if my chest was stuffed with soaked cotton, making each breath somewhat difficult.

Next, extremely fine snowflakes would occasionally appear in my vision, especially when looking out of a brightly lit window.

She immediately went to look in the mirror and found that her eyes were unusually red and swollen, looking as if she had conjunctivitis!
She immediately realized what this was!
Symptoms mentioned in Article 14 of the Zoo Staff Handbook!

She couldn't escape it after all; she was corrupted by "it"!

Five minutes... as long as it doesn't exceed five minutes...

Today is the last day!
She tried to concentrate and mobilize the Gu energy within her body to soothe it, but the low moan and chest tightness were like a persistent, intractable disease.

Time passed second by second, but the symptoms did not lessen at all. On the contrary, as time went on, the tinnitus seemed to become more piercing, and a faint, needle-like stabbing pain began to come from the temples.

It's been more than five minutes.

The conditions of the rule have been triggered.

Without hesitation, Liu Yan immediately got up; she had to go to the Lion Park right away!

Liu Yan walked quickly out of the beverage shop, the sunlight outside making her feel slightly dizzy.

She took out her walkie-talkie, wanting to report her situation to her teammates.

"This is Liu Yan, number... *sizzle*... I'm exhibiting the symptoms described in Rule Fourteen, and am heading towards the Lion... *sizzle*..."

However, all that came through the walkie-talkie was a harsh, irregular electrical noise.

Her heart sank, and she quickly took out the satellite phone issued by the United Nations, which had undergone special encryption and reinforcement. On the screen, a red "X" was clearly displayed on the signal bars.

No service.

Communication has been cut off!

She immediately realized...

This is the work of the old nuclear organization!
A chilling sense of isolation and helplessness instantly enveloped her.

But she didn't stop; instead, she walked even faster, almost running.

When she rushed breathlessly to the entrance of the lion enclosure, the four majestic white lions, as usual, were lazily strolling or lying down among the artificial hills and lawns.

The fences that seal them off are unusually low, only waist-high, so the staff here explain to tourists in their daily work that these white lions are extremely docile, like well-trained animal acrobats in a circus, and would never harm anyone.

However, at this moment, in Liu Yan's eyes, the posture of the four white lions seemed to carry an indescribable... scrutiny.

Their gazes were no longer indifferent or languid as usual, but focused on her alone, their pupils seemingly gleaming with a cold light.

She stepped into the park, trying to get closer, hoping that perhaps being closer to them would alleviate her painful symptoms.

Just as she was less than five meters away from the nearest white lion, something unexpected happened!
The white lion, which had been lying down, suddenly sprang up without warning!

Its massive body unleashed a terrifying speed completely disproportionate to its size, like a white lightning bolt, instantly leaping over the low fence and rushing straight towards Liu Yan!
Before Liu Yan could even react, she felt a tremendous force slam into her body, and an indescribable, bone-crushing pain shot through her throat!

"Crack!!!"

A clear, shattering sound echoed in her mind. The white lion's incredibly sharp canines had precisely and viciously severed her neck.

My vision was instantly swallowed by darkness, and my consciousness, like a kite with a broken string, drifted into an endless abyss.

I do not know how long it has been……

A strange sense of "clear-headedness" pulled Liu Yan back from the void.

She "opened" her eyes, or rather, she regained her senses.

She found herself still lying on the cold ground in the lion enclosure.

The perspective was strange; she could "see" herself lying in an unnatural, crooked position.

Her neck was a bloody mess, with crimson blood gushing from severed blood vessels and trachea, staining her blue employee uniform and the ground beneath her.

The excruciating pain remained, but it felt distant and detached, as if it were happening to someone else.

She couldn't breathe because her trachea was severed, but a strange "sense of life" sustained her consciousness.

She raised her wrist and looked at her watch.

On the dial, the SAN value has dropped to 49%.

The potential for a decrease in the SAN value has reached level S!
She is not dead.

After being "killed" by the white lion, her consciousness continued in a state of neither life nor death, and was severely polluted.

And next...

She was to go to the aquarium in accordance with Article 15 of the Employee Code.

At this moment, the location of the aquarium appeared in her perception with unparalleled clarity, like a lighthouse in the night. Liu Yan supported herself with her hands and stood up somewhat stiffly.

Ignoring the horrific wound and the still-flowing blood, she walked with slightly unsteady yet unusually firm steps toward the exit of the lion enclosure, toward that "non-existent" direction.

Her figure moved through the park's paths, and the surrounding scenery began to blur and distort.

The familiar path had vanished, replaced by a trail she had never seen before.

She began to delve deeper into the dimension of the Lost Layer, where direction and distance lost their meaning, and only the pull from the "Aquarium" served as the sole coordinate.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, a building suddenly appeared in front of us, completely out of place with the overall style of the zoo.

That is the aquarium.

Its exterior is dark blue, with large areas of peeling paint revealing dark mold underneath.

Inside the glass doors at the entrance, there were no bright lights, only a few eerie blue wall lamps that swayed silently on both sides of the porch, casting a sinister and mysterious atmosphere over the surroundings.

On the wall at the entrance of the aquarium, there was a laminated notice with curled and yellowed edges.

Liu Yan's eyes were unusually cloudy at this moment, but she still read on word by word:

[If you are fortunate enough to see this notice, please do not make it public. It is taboo for others to know that you have seen it. As you can see from the rules on the map, this zoo is not safe, and is even eerie. We are an undercover government organization dedicated to protecting innocent visitors. Please be sure to follow these rules to ensure your safety; this is your only way to escape this zoo.]

1. Upon entering the aquarium, you'll find it deserted. Simply pick up a black uniform at the entrance and put it on. This is the only way to signal to our staff that you're in distress. Our staff will notice your uniform as you walk around outside. Don't worry about being bothered by official zoo staff; they won't bother you.

2. Do not go to the lion enclosure.

3. Make sure there are rabbits everywhere you go: escaped rabbits, rabbit-themed toys, people wearing rabbit earrings, or "rabbit blood" at beverage shops. Rabbits are our code; they symbolize "safety" and "protection."

4. When visiting the elephant enclosure, do not look at the signs.

5. Do not trust or follow any of the signs on the map. If you do follow any of them, immediately check the map provided at the zoo entrance that has a dotted line. Tear off the dotted line, go to the rabbit enclosure, and feed the paper to the rabbits as discreetly as possible. Then stay there. When you hear laughter that is clearly not coming from the direction of other visitors, you can leave the enclosure. After that, go to the ape enclosure; the emergency exit is at the end of the street on your right.

The content of this notice is completely contrary to, and even contradicts, the zoo's rules in many ways.

A very faint ripple flashed in Liu Yan's cloudy eyes, but it quickly returned to calm.

She seemed to "understand," or rather, her current state made her "accept" this new logic.

She walked into the aquarium.

Inside the door was a spacious, dimly lit hall with only a lone box placed at the entrance.

Inside the box, neatly stacked sets of black uniforms stood in stark contrast to the zoo's blue uniforms.

Liu Yan silently selected a size that fit her and then walked towards the room marked "Women's Changing Room" on one side of the hall.

The dressing room was unusually quiet, with only the sound of her own footsteps.

She stood in front of the dusty mirror and reached out to unbutton the blood-stained blue uniform she was wearing.

After taking off her blue uniform, she picked up the new black uniform and slowly put it on.

The fabric felt unusually cold to the touch... and was smooth.

As she buttoned the last button, an indescribable feeling arose within her, as if she were becoming one with the dark surroundings.

At that moment, in the mirror... the horrific wound on her neck, the broken bones and torn muscles, were visibly wriggling and healing!
The blood seemed to be drawn back into the body by an invisible force, and the skin tissue regenerated and covered it rapidly.

In just over ten seconds, the fatal wound completely disappeared without leaving a scar.

Liu Yan was completely unaware that her wedding ring on her left ring finger had disappeared at that moment!
Liu Yan glanced at the figure in the mirror—a man dressed in black with cloudy eyes that held a strange calmness—then turned and walked without hesitation into the darkness deeper into the aquarium.

Meanwhile, inside the zoo.

"Liu Yan has been missing for an hour." Kyle frowned and tried to contact her again using the walkie-talkie and cell phone, but all he got was busy signals and no signal.

An ominous premonition enveloped the remaining four. They immediately set off to various parks, asking every blue-clad employee they encountered along the way if they had seen Liu Yan.

Without exception, the answers received were all negative.

They also spoke with employees at the lion enclosure, who gave the same straightforward answer: "Everything is normal here. No employees have come, and nothing unusual has happened."

Kyle requested that Team Leader Wang retrieve surveillance footage from the vicinity of the Lion Park, but the park management flatly refused, citing "operational privacy concerns, which are not provided to employees."

They even risked venturing into the lion enclosure again, where the four white lions remained languid, and the ground was clean and tidy, with no trace of fighting or blood.

Finally, the deadline for the scouts' work arrived, and they had to leave.

Carrying the mystery of Liu Yan's disappearance, a heavy sense of powerlessness, and a deeper fear of this zoo, Kyle, Mark, Victor, and Jack used a time-limited return-to-town item to leave the eerie "Zoo Tales" instance...

……

At the same time, Jiang Jin, who had just arrived at the laboratory of Bai Mei Hospital, suddenly stopped in his tracks!
He was horrified to discover that his wedding ring was missing!

Instead, a white pendant was hung around her neck!

"Reincarnator Jiang Jin, your spouse Liu Yan has been confirmed dead."

Your marriage has ended, and your wedding ring has been transformed into a keepsake pendant.

The remaining functions of the "Last Will and Testament Pendant" include...

At this moment, Jiang Jin felt as if he were enveloped by an immense chill. Everything in front of him was completely covered by the white pendant, and he could no longer see the text that was supposed to appear in his left eye...

(End of this chapter)