Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 374 The Knock at Midnight
The plot of the original movie, *Tales of the Haunted Apartment*, played out clearly in Jiang Jin's mind: the source of the curse was a girl named "Ai." She was sexually assaulted by the original owner who built or bought the apartment, and was eventually murdered, her body cruelly sealed into the apartment's walls.

Therefore, her resentment lingered, transforming into an eternal curse upon the apartment building, haunting every resident.

However, this seemingly clear clue proved so weak and ineffective in the face of actual investigation.

Shortly after checking into room 304, Jiang Jin secretly used his "Ghostly Eyes" ability. Those eyes, capable of seeing through illusions and discerning the origins of energy, meticulously scanned every inch of the apartment's walls, even penetrating deep into the building's structure. He searched for any possible remnants of corpses or points of unusually powerful resentment. In the end, he found nothing.

To ensure absolute certainty, he even had Deathstroke explore even deeper. Deathstroke had ventured into the Contaminated Layer and reached the furthest point between the Lost Layer and the Oblivion Layer. If Love's body had been hidden or moved by some force, the Lost Layer was the most likely hiding place.

But the result was still disappointing. The information from Deathstroke was that there was absolutely no trace of human remains inside the walls, neither physically nor in terms of contamination. Not even a trace of the core of resentment belonging to the specific individual "Love," strong enough to be the source of the curse, was found.

Combining the words of the old man, Ebisu, the administrator—"The curse has lasted for thirty years, but the source remains unknown, and the owner of the house is also unknown"—Jiang Jin came to a chilling conclusion.

“The plot of the movie may have completely failed in this modified version of the movie due to meme contamination,” Jiang Jin said to Lingzi in a deep voice. “Under the powerful influence of ‘meme contamination,’ the source of the curse on this apartment building may have nothing to do with that girl named ‘Ai’.”

Lingzi pondered for a moment and then suggested a possibility: "Then, perhaps the source of the curse is the evil spirits of the Lost Layer? Judging from the original movie plot, even if it was modified, the evil spirits of the Lost Layer should be the limit, and shouldn't reach the level of the Annihilation Layer."

“We can’t be blindly optimistic.” Jiang Jin shook his head, his eyes deep. “This apartment is currently being manipulated by a powerful, unknown ‘meme.’ This meme has been around for thirty years and should not be underestimated.”

This judgment made the atmosphere even more somber.

A meme curse whose source cannot be located and is only known to manifest itself in the form of "rules" is undoubtedly more troublesome.

Time, in the oppressive wait, slowly flowed until midnight.

Both of them took sleeping pills and were completely unable to fall asleep.

However, the hallway outside was unusually quiet. There were no footsteps, no whispers, no strange noises of furniture being moved, only a deathly silence.

Jiang Jin frowned, a strong sense of foreboding gripping his heart.

This premonition didn't stem from a clear threat, but rather from the uncertainty surrounding the "unknown" and the "rules" themselves. He had experienced too many terrifying scenarios and knew all too well that the calmer the surface, the more likely a deadly trap might be lurking beneath.

Lingzi, meanwhile, consistently diverted a portion of her mental energy to closely monitor Jiang Jin's SAN value. As a healer, she was particularly sensitive to mental pollution. Having personally experienced the terror of rule-based evil spirits in her own origin story, the [Midnight Bell] instance, she knew all too well how particularly unpredictable and difficult to guard against rule-based entities in Japanese horror instances.

Rules are a double-edged sword. Reincarnators can gain a certain degree of safety buffer by strictly abiding by the rules, and even take advantage of them. But once the rules are broken, even unintentionally, the most terrible curse backlash will be triggered immediately.

Just then...

"Boom, boom, boom."

A clear and rhythmic knocking sound suddenly broke the stillness of midnight!
Jiang Jin and Lingzi's expressions instantly turned serious!

coming!

Jiang Jin had already set up an invisible, rusted bear trap outside the entrance hall. Ordinary ghosts, once they approached, would surely be imprisoned by the corrosive power of its resentment. However, his senses clearly told him—…the bear trap outside the door remained unresponsive! The trap hadn't been triggered!
This means that the existence of knocking on the door has a far greater impact than that of a bear trap!
Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Jin immediately triggered several other layers of protection he had set up inside the entrance hall—several talismans inscribed with exorcising talismans spontaneously combusted without wind, emitting a pale golden light; a trap he had set up in advance also lit up faintly.

However, his series of defensive measures seemed to have angered the presence outside the door.

“Boom boom boom boom—!”

The knocking suddenly became incredibly rapid and intense!
The knocking was no longer rhythmic, but a furious barrage, as if the door would burst through at any moment! The door groaned under the relentless pounding!

Jiang Jin's expression changed drastically!

This situation was completely unexpected!
According to the rules, they strictly adhered to returning home before midnight, and neither checked through the peephole nor opened the door. Logically, they should have been under the "protection" of the rules!
However, the presence outside the door still elicited such a strong reaction from their defensive measures?

Reiko also sensed that something was extremely wrong; the urgent knocking contained a corrupting force that could cause mental confusion. Instinctively, she was about to activate her incantation to construct a mental barrier, preventing any intrusion of this corrupting force.

"Don't move!" Jiang Jin immediately whispered, his eyes stern. "Your Zhuyou class is only LV1 Zhuyan Master, your mental strength isn't strong enough. Don't risk fighting against this unknown rule pollution! Leave it to me!"

After saying that, Jiang Jin's eyes sharpened, and without hesitation, he took out the shotgun from Silent Hill from the Reincarnator's Watch!
The dark muzzle of the gun was steadily aimed at the constantly shaking door!
At the same time, he took out a seemingly ordinary hair clip and quickly stuffed it into Lingzi's hand.

"Reiko, put it on."

Lingzi held the cold hair clip, stunned for a moment: "Commander?"

“This hair clip comes from the [Ghostly Shadow] dungeon,” Jiang Jin said rapidly, his gaze still fixed on the doorway. “Wearing it will allow you to escape the ghosts’ senses. If the ghosts break down the door later, with the hair clip on, I won’t have to worry about protecting you.” His calm yet sharp gaze, and his unwavering act of handing her this life-saving item in a moment of crisis, filled Lingzi with a strong sense of security and an indescribable bittersweet feeling.

She gripped the hair clip tightly, thinking to herself: If... if I were strong enough at Bai Mei Hospital to save Huo Yan and let him enter this instance as well...

That way, the commander wouldn't have to bear such a huge burden alone...

Immediately, Jiang Jin let out a low roar and activated his professional skill as a LV3 Forbidden Zone Hunter—[Rusty Armament]!
A dark red energy, visible to the naked eye and carrying an aura of blood and decay, coiled around the Silent Hill shotgun in his hand as if it were a living thing.

The gun became rusty at an alarming rate, as if a hundred years had passed in an instant in the long river of time, but the rusty marks revealed an even sharper and more terrifying aura of destruction!

This corrosive power can not only erode matter, but also pollute energy and the soul, making it a powerful weapon against abnormal entities!
He gripped the rusty weapon, which seemed to come from hell, its muzzle brimming with destructive power, and aimed it intently at the doorway, ready to deliver the most ferocious counterattack the moment the door was breached.

However, just as the [Rusty Armor] was fully activated, and the terrifying aura of corrosion spread out...

The frantic, heart-stopping knocking stopped abruptly!

It came suddenly, and it left suddenly.

Outside the door, all was silent once more.

Jiang Jin did not immediately lower his guard. He maintained the position of raising his gun and listened intently for a full three minutes. Only after confirming that there was no further movement outside the door did he slowly exhale a breath of stale air and put the rusty shotgun away.

The rust on the gun gradually faded after his skill was deactivated, restoring its original cold texture.

The crisis seems to have been temporarily averted.

Seeing this, Lingzi breathed a sigh of relief and subconsciously tried to hand the hair clip back to Jiang Jin: "Captain, this..."

“I’ll give it to you, so just take it.” Jiang Jin interrupted her, his tone leaving no room for argument, but his eyes softened slightly. “What would it look like for a grown man like me to wear a hair clip? Don’t worry, I also have a ring-like item that basically functions the same as this hair clip. This… you can return it to me after we safely get through this dungeon.”

Lingzi looked at Jiang Jin and understood that this was just the commander's way of protecting her self-esteem.

Compared to the card from the [Ghostly Shadow] dungeon, the raid leader's [Invisible Ghost Ring] requires someone to be nearby to work.

She whispered to confirm, "This is... the hair clip that Nata, the female ghost in the [Ghostly Shadow] dungeon, wore, right?"

“Yes.” Jiang Jin nodded, not denying it. The resentment and hidden aura entwined on the hairpin originated from that terrifying female ghost.

Lingzi stopped refusing and held the hair clip tightly in her hand, feeling its cool touch as if she could draw courage from it.

She raised her head, her beautiful face filled with unprecedented determination: "Captain, I... I don't want you to always be the one protecting me. I am the team doctor of the Nirvana team. My duty is to protect you, Captain, assist the entire team, and enhance the team's ability to resist cognitive contamination. I will definitely find a way to advance to LV2 as soon as possible and gain stronger abilities!"

Seeing the unwavering determination in her eyes, Jiang Jin paused for a moment before speaking: "Protecting you is my duty. Back in the [Midnight Bell] instance, if it weren't for protecting me, you wouldn't have been forced to become a reincarnator, and you wouldn't have... been separated from your young son."

There was a hint of barely perceptible guilt in his voice.

“Even now, I would still be willing to risk my life to protect you, Commander! And even if I hadn’t been there, with the Russian dolls, you wouldn’t have died,” Reiko’s voice rose slightly, filled with urgency and sincerity. “Commander, I want to become stronger, strong enough that you can confidently entrust your back to me, instead of always standing behind you and being protected by you!”

Looking at her cheeks, slightly flushed with excitement, and her eyes, which shone with unwavering determination, Jiang Jin was momentarily at a loss for words.

In truth, Reiko understood perfectly well. With her talent and potential, the chances of advancing to LV3 were extremely slim, meaning she might only have about two years left to live. Sooner or later, her SAN value would continue to decline, eventually leading her to the Abyss. Of course, the more likely scenario was that she would become food for vengeful ghouls before even reaching the Annihilation Layer.

Conversely, the team's vice-leader, Lin Lu, a highly talented sorcerer, will have virtually no difficulty advancing to LV3, and her future prospects are limitless. Moreover, Vice-leader Lin Lu is young and powerful; from any perspective, she is the best candidate to stand shoulder to shoulder with Leader Jiang Jin until the end and become his ideal partner.

And what about herself? A single mother who had given birth and was forced to separate from her child... how could she ask for too much? She dared not, nor was she worthy of, hoping for anything.

She only hoped that in the remaining short and destined-to-be-tumultuous life, she could help the leader as much as possible, repay his kindness, and contribute her last strength to the Nirvana team until the end of her life.

Therefore, she could only bury this restrained and humble feeling deep in her heart...

At that moment, she suddenly saw Jiang Jin grab the hair clip and put it on her head.

“It suits you perfectly,” Jiang Jin said, scrutinizing Lingzi. “Lingzi, if you want me to entrust my future to you, then live well. Whether or not there are Russian nesting dolls, you became a reincarnator to save me. So, I absolutely… will not let you die!”

(End of this chapter)