Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 367 Sadako Reappears
A dilapidated sedan crashed violently into Jiang Jin's Maybach, which was parked on the side of the road. The impact was so great that the Maybach's body was deformed.

A man staggered out of the car, his face flushed, clearly drunk.

But instead of checking the damage to the vehicle, he pointed at Jiang Jin and Lingzi, who had rushed over after hearing the commotion, and roared, "Since Muxu City is going to collapse sooner or later anyway, and everyone is going to die! Let's all die together!"

Police officers happened to be patrolling nearby, and they quickly arrived and subdued the man.

Jiang Jin called the insurance company and asked them to handle it.

"I'll take you home," Reiko said softly.

On the way back, Lingzi turned on the car radio.

Qi Qin's singing started, and it was normal for Lingzi, who was born in 97, to like Qi Qin's songs.

"Does the leader like Qi Qin's 'About in Winter'?" Lingzi asked, her eyes fixed on the road ahead.

"Hmm, it's alright," Jiang Jin replied simply.

“After reading the news, I still feel... it's a pity about him and Joey Wong. Joey Wong is still unmarried to this day.”

Jiang Jin said, "Everyone has different choices. Although it was controversial, Qi Qin must have truly loved her back then."

"I believe it. And Wang Zuxian probably felt the same way. When you're young, you shouldn't meet someone too amazing."

Silence fell over the carriage again, with only Qi Qin's singing flowing between the two.

Lingzi tapped her fingers lightly on the steering wheel in rhythm, occasionally glancing at Jiang Jin in the passenger seat.

He leaned against the car window, watching the street scene rushing past outside, his profile appearing particularly deep in the flickering streetlights.

The atmosphere became subtle and ambiguous, like a thin veil shrouding the two of them. But neither of them dared to break through that barrier.

After Li Shang's curse was lifted, Lingzi's feelings for him were no longer the passionate and ardent declarations of the past, but rather a quiet and enduring affection, like a gentle stream flowing into the sea.

At this moment, Lingzi gently placed her hands on the steering wheel, her eyes fixed on the road ahead, and her tone carried a seriousness as if she were reporting her work: "Captain, Vice Captain Lin Lu suggested at the meeting a few days ago that the team's next goal could be to consider horror dungeons based on the 'New Tales of Ghosts' series and its theatrical version. In fact, everyone thinks it's worth considering."

She paused slightly, seemingly organizing her thoughts: "It's a classic Japanese collection of ghost stories, composed of countless short and concise horror tales. The content is all-encompassing, ranging from subtle anomalies in daily life to chilling urban legends, mostly focusing on spiritual phenomena in the mysterious layer. The rules are highly corrupting, but the individual destructive power is relatively controllable, with only a very few involving evil spirits in the lost layer. Vice-Captain Lin believes that this environment, with its dense collection of rule-based ghost stories and numerous but generally low-intensity ghosts, is very suitable for training the team's mental resilience and ability to identify rule-based corruption; it's a great training opportunity. Lian De has also been to [Ghost Stories: New Ear Bag] and supports Vice-Captain Lin's opinion."

She glanced at Jiang Jin through the rearview mirror, and seeing that he didn't react, she continued, her tone unconsciously tinged with envy: "Moreover, I also hope to take this opportunity to advance to LV2 as soon as possible so that I can better help the team. To be honest, I really admire Vice Leader Lin. Her advancement speed is too fast; she's simply... a genius."

Jiang Jin leaned back in his chair, as if resting: "There's no need to put too much pressure on yourself. Lin Lu has a rare constitution, something that can only be encountered by chance."

He turned to look at Reiko and continued, "Reiko, what you need to consider more now is that the essence of a reincarnator is to suppress the potential decline of your SAN value in the face of countless indescribable terrors. Level is important, but a stable mind is the foundation for survival."

Although he said that, his keen insight allowed him to easily see through the tension beneath Reiko's calm surface.

After all, she is only a level 1 Zhuyou, and her direct combat strength is definitely weak. It is inevitable that she will feel pressure when facing unknown high-intensity dungeons.

He changed the subject, his tone softening: "I've actually considered this suggestion. [New Tales of the Strange] is indeed a good training ground. I'm just unsure about the other members of the team, what their true thoughts are, and what their bottom line is."

Reiko nodded and said nothing more.

Silence fell again inside the car, accompanied only by the low rumble of the engine and Qi Qin's singing.

A few days later, Jiang Jin led the main members of the Nirvana team into Bai Mei Hospital.

The air was thick with the smell of disinfectant, and medical waste and broken glass were scattered everywhere underfoot.

The team members were on high alert, advancing slowly in the established formation, the beams of their flashlights swaying in the dark corridor, cutting through the suffocating darkness.

According to intelligence, the fifth-floor surgical outpatient clinic today leads to the [Strange Tales of New Earbag] instance.

At first, everything went smoothly. They successfully evaded several wandering low-level earthbound spirits and dealt with the rule contamination of a recurring suicide scene.

However, as they walked through a narrow corridor marked "Internal Medicine Corridor," something strange happened.

Ahead in the corridor, at the door of a waiting room, an old-fashioned convex-screen television with a static-filled screen was being powered on by someone and was emitting a piercing hissing sound.

The static on the screen distorted, and gradually a blurry image of an ancient well appeared!

Having experienced the "Midnight Ring" scenario, Jiang Jin, Lingzi, and Lian De's expressions changed drastically! "Be on guard!" Jiang Jin roared, and everyone felt a chilling, hair-raising malice surging from the direction of the television set like a tidal wave!

Soon, a female ghost wearing a long white dress, with black hair hanging down her face and a twisted body crawled out of the television screen!
Long, black hair spread across the ground like living tentacles, accompanied by the creaking sound of bones grinding together!

Sadako Yamamura!

Jiang Jin's pupils also contracted sharply!
He had witnessed firsthand how terrifying Sadako was!

They had such bad luck to encounter Sadako inside the White Plum Hospital!

As the rule notes state, looking directly at the crawling female ghost will cause everyone's SAN value to drop by 1% every second! This means they will soon fall into the depths of the Lost Layer!

Something even more despairing happened!
As if in a chain reaction, old-fashioned television sets of the same model suddenly appeared on the previously empty walls on both sides of the corridor. The screens lit up one after another, with static, and then, one after another, Sadako figures dressed in the same white dresses and with long black hair crawled out of these screens, as if copied and pasted!

"Chuck... cluck..."

The sounds of bones grinding and crawling echoed in the corridor, enveloping everything from all directions!

The intense resentment almost solidified, and the air became thick and cold!
"Scatter and break through! Escape the hospital!" Jiang Jin made a decisive decision, issuing the order in a stern voice. Facing so many Sadako clones, a direct confrontation would inevitably result in heavy casualties for the team!
The group instantly split into smaller groups, fleeing down different corridors and paths.

Jiang Jin grabbed Lingzi, who was closest to him, and shouted to a burly man beside him, "Huo Yan, keep up!"

The trio rushed into a nearby emergency exit, only to find Sadako at the bottom of the stairs. They could only run upwards, trying to shake off the chilling crawling sound behind them.

Huo Yan is the team's heavy firepower specialist, a Level 2 Ghost Hunter. He joined the Nirvana team because he admires Jiang Jin.

Huo Yan's face was deathly pale. He ran while occasionally turning back to fire Ghost Eye bullets, but they were of no use to Sadako!

"Huo Yan! Let's go to the fifth-floor surgical clinic! Let's escape into the horror instance!" Jiang Jin shouted, panting heavily. This was the best option right now.

They burst through the fifth-floor emergency exit and rushed into an even darker corridor.

The smell of disinfectant was even stronger here, and behind them, the sound of Sadako crawling followed closely like a persistent, lingering infection.

Just as the metal sign for the surgical outpatient clinic came into view, the accident occurred.

Suddenly, a strand of Sadako's hair grew longer and wrapped around Huo Yan's ankle!
"Ah!" Huo Yan staggered and fell to the ground. He reacted quickly, turning the gun to Sadako's head and pulling the trigger.

"boom!"

However, it was no use.

Three... no, five Sadako figures surrounded Huo Yan from the front and back of the corridor, their long black hair spreading out like a living thing, instantly wrapping around Huo Yan's limbs and neck!

"Commander! Go!" Huo Yan only had time to let out one last roar before his body was tightly wrapped and dragged by countless strands of black hair...

Jiang Jin's eyes were bloodshot. He grabbed the terrified Lingzi and, with all his might, slammed her against the heavy wooden door of the nearby surgical clinic.

"boom!"

The wooden door was kicked open, and the two tumbled inside in a disheveled state. Jiang Jin immediately turned around and slammed the door shut. He then quickly pulled out a talisman that was shimmering with a faint light from his watch and slapped it onto the door. A pale golden light instantly covered the door, temporarily blocking out the desperate crawling sounds from outside.

The outpatient room was a mess, with overturned instrument cabinets and scattered medical records everywhere.

The two, still shaken, leaned against the door, panting heavily. Outside, they could faintly hear the scratching sound of Sadako's fingernails against the door, and the faint, almost imperceptible, resentful whispers that seemed to echo directly in their minds.

Huo Yan is dead. Right before their eyes.

They were temporarily trapped in this small clinic. Outside the door lurked an unknown number of cursed evil spirits that seemed impossible to kill.

Jiang Jin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and scanned the temporary shelter with a serious expression.

He knew the talisman's effects wouldn't last long. They had to wait for the horror dungeon to open before entering! Sadako couldn't enter any horror dungeons other than [The Ring]!
“She’s even more terrifying than she was six months ago…” Jiang Jin said with lingering fear, “This proves that the meme contamination Japan is suffering from is still intensifying…”

Lingzi leaned against the wall, her body still trembling slightly. She looked at Jiang Jin, her eyes filled with dependence and lingering fear.

Soon, text prompts appeared on the retina of their left eyes!
(End of this chapter)