Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 378 The Moment of Life and Death
Meanwhile, inside apartment 301 of the Beizuka First Apartment.

Yamato Aimi carried the groceries she had bought from a nearby shopping street and quietly walked into the kitchen.

Today I need to prepare dinner for four people, which is quite a workload.

She dared not look into her father Yamato Mitsuru's room; that direction... to Aimi, was like a silent and dangerous beast lurking there.

Since his mother passed away, and his father went from being a reporter for a well-known weekly magazine to a freelance writer who made a living on meager manuscript fees, the family income has plummeted, and his temper has become increasingly unpredictable.

Most of the time, he was either drowning his sorrows in alcohol or slumped in front of the computer, playing endless card games with a blank stare. All the housework—shopping, cooking, cleaning—fell onto the young Ai Shi's shoulders.

She mustered her courage, walked to her father's door, and asked softly, "Dad, why... knowing the apartment's rules for residents, did you still invite Mr. Asakawa and the others to dinner? Wouldn't it have been better to invite them to lunch?"

In the room, only the monotonous sound of playing cards being dealt came from the computer speakers.

Yamato Mitsuru stood with his back to the door, ignoring his daughter's question.

Aishiro's heart sank lower and lower. Since moving into this eerie apartment, her father had not only failed to improve, but had become even more terrifying, the oppressive atmosphere almost suffocating her.

She went back to the kitchen, picked up a cleaver, and began to prepare the ingredients.

More than once... she wanted to pick up the knife and end that nauseating fear.

Sometimes, when her father was drunk, he would barge into her room, tear at her clothes, his cloudy eyes filled with a frantic desire to see her as a substitute for her mother.

Each time, she managed to avoid being truly harmed only through desperate resistance and a sliver of luck. But she dared not actually kill anyone, nor dared she call the police. The belief that family scandals should not be aired in public, coupled with the lingering complex emotions she felt for her father deep within her, bound her like shackles.

She mechanically chopped the vegetables, only to discover that the soy sauce had expired.

She had no choice but to go to her father's room again, hoping to ask him for money to buy new soy sauce.

"Dad, we're out of soy sauce. Could you give me some money to buy some new ones?"

However... the room was empty!
The computer screen remained lit, the poker game was paused, and the chair was casually pushed aside.

Aishi's heart skipped a beat. Her father was gone? She hadn't heard a door open or any footsteps!
A chill ran down my spine.

Is it...

She turned off the stove and decided to chop vegetables first, waiting for her father to come home.

at this time……

"Ta...ta...ta..."

The sound of incredibly clear and steady footsteps came from behind her, as if someone was approaching at a leisurely pace.

Aimi felt every hair on her body stand on end! She whirled around, but there was no one behind her!
Fear gripped her heart in an instant.

Ai Shi trembled as she began searching the entire room—the living room, the bathroom, the balcony… but there was no sign of her father.

Just when she was on the verge of collapse, she inexplicably looked towards her father's room again...

Yamato Mitsuru was sitting upright in front of the computer, as if he had never left, his fingers still on the mouse, as if he had just finished a game!

"Dad! When...when did you come back?" Ai-mi's voice was choked with sobs.

Yamato Mitsuru slowly turned his head, his face showing an almost numb calm, tinged with a hint of impatience at being disturbed: "I've been playing games here the whole time. Aimi, what are you yelling about?"

Ai felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave; overwhelming fear engulfed her like a tidal wave. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

That evening, a fairly lavish meal was laid out on the table, but the Asakawa couple never appeared. In this era before cell phones were widespread in the late 20th century, immediate contact was impossible.

So, Ai nervously went to knock on the door of room 304, but no one answered.

Back in room 301, Yamato muttered sullenly, "Hmph, what an untrustworthy person."

Time slipped away quietly amidst the oppression and unease, and the hands of the wall clock slowly approached 11 p.m.

Within the dark cage formed by the [Dark Witch Barrier], Jiang Jin and Lingzi's situation was already extremely precarious.

Jiang Jin's [Sky Rift] skill can indeed tear open ordinary lost-space layers, but this [Dark Witch Barrier] is essentially a domain constructed by European black wizards based on their own professional rules, and its rule pollution has an extremely high "priority" judgment.

In Europe, the dark wizard profession holds the same level of authority as the witch profession in China in terms of rule construction and distortion. Crucially, Jiang Jin is unaware of these rules, making it impossible for him to alter them using the Trickster's professional skills.

Time ticked by, and midnight drew ever closer.

The shadow of death loomed over the two of them as if it were a tangible reality.

"We can't wait any longer!" Lingzi's eyes were resolute. "Captain, I want to try to reach the Zhuyou LV2 level here!"

"Now? Here?" Jiang Jin frowned. This place was fraught with danger and was by no means an ideal place for advancement.

"Although the Dark Witch Barrier is a deadly layer of confusion, extreme crises often contain opportunities, and a chaotic, polluted environment can sometimes accelerate a breakthrough!"

Without further hesitation, Lingzi sat cross-legged on the tatami mat in the Dahei family's house. She took out black and red resentment crystals from her Reincarnator Watch and began to absorb the resentment ash within them to break through the bottleneck that had imprisoned her for so long.

Information about the "Zhu You" profession surfaced in her mind. It was a system focused on defense, purification, and healing. Once evolved to its peak, it could even combat and heal most forms of corruption at the rule level, making it a support profession with extremely high growth potential.

In order to combat the increasing number of meme contamination incidents, the government has been vigorously promoting and encouraging the development of the Zhuyou Reincarnation Practitioner, and providing very generous subsidies. When Yu Tianlun and Xu Yinqiu first established the Nirvana Team, they relied heavily on government subsidies to keep the team running.

However, even so, not many people choose the Zhuyou method. Many reincarnators firmly believe that "prolonged defense will inevitably lead to defeat," and think that offense is the best defense, so they tend to choose more aggressive professions.

Moreover, there is an extremely demanding prerequisite for advancing in the Zhuyou realm—one must possess a strong "heart of protection." One must have the unwavering belief that "one is willing to sacrifice oneself to protect someone or some people."

Most reincarnators struggling between life and death find it difficult to maintain such pure and selfless thoughts, which is why Zhu You's advancement is often exceptionally difficult. Conversely, the stronger and more steadfast this protective spirit, the greater the power boost gained after advancement.

At this moment, Lingzi had only one thought in her mind, which was extremely clear and extremely strong—"We must not let the commander, or Jiang Jun, die here!"

The thought that the leader might be cursed by memes for not being able to return to the apartment on time when the clock struck midnight fueled her will, which was like an instinct, like a raging flame, breaking through fear and despair!

Driven by this powerful belief, the power of incantation within her body circulated, condensed, and underwent a qualitative change at an unprecedented speed!
The miracle happened!
Within that dense, impenetrable barrier of darkness, a pure, gentle white light, carrying both healing and dispelling properties, emanated from Reiko's body!
The spiritual energy surrounding her suddenly increased to a higher level, becoming more solid and expansive!
In the face of adversity, she broke through in one fell swoop and advanced to the level 2 of Zhuyou - Disaster Relief Master!

The surge in power brought about by her promotion greatly enhanced her ability to perceive the corruption of rules.

She keenly detected a subtle fluctuation of pollution in the Dark Witch Barrier due to its vast size!

Reiko opened her eyes, her gaze gleaming, and looked in the direction of the pollution flowing through the barrier. She immediately used her professional skills to purify it!
Within the Lost Layer, even if the barrier appears far away, the Zhu You technique can still easily reach it!

Soon, a stable gap was successfully torn open in the barrier's tough dark curtain!

Light and air from the normal world outside rushed in!

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Jin also used the gap to activate [Sky Rift]!
The barrier has finally been broken and torn apart!

After rushing out, the Reincarnator's watch showed the time: 23:32!

There's less than half an hour left until midnight! And getting back to the Beizuka First Apartment is a real rush!

Their professions don't involve long-distance, high-speed movement!

"It's too late!" Jiang Jin's gaze swept across the street, landing on two bicycles parked by the roadside, chains hanging from them. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he drew his katana, "Tsuki-yin," from his spatial storage. With a flash of light, the chains snapped!

“Ride this back!” Jiang Jin pushed one bike to Lingzi and climbed onto the other himself.

The two hopped on their bicycles and rode wildly through the quiet streets at night!
Jiang Jin, relying on his hunter's physical abilities and driving skills, moved at an extremely high speed. However, Lingzi had just advanced in rank, and her mental energy was greatly depleted. Moreover, at this moment, she embarrassingly discovered that, perhaps due to the intense mental stress, her period had arrived two days early!

The lower abdominal pain and physical discomfort severely affected her speed and endurance. She gritted her teeth and pedaled desperately, but watched as the distance between her and Jiang Jin gradually increased.

23:59:30!

We can already see the Beizuka First Apartment from afar!
Jiang Jin's hunter's instincts were screaming an alarm, telling him that if he couldn't cross the white line precisely at midnight, he would surely die!
So, he suddenly activated his professional skill [Time-Space Deep Eye] and looked at the result thirty seconds later.

However, what he saw made his eyes widen in fury—in the future fragment, only he rushed into the white line, while Reiko's figure... was not inside the white line!

"Lingzi! Faster!!" Jiang Jin roared back, his heart filled with anxiety.

Lingzi was pale and her forehead was covered in cold sweat. She had tried her best, but her physical condition prevented her from accelerating any further.

As the second hand of his watch relentlessly ticked toward zero, a glint of madness flashed in Jiang Jin's eyes.

He couldn't just stand by and watch Reiko die in front of him!

He immediately used the abilities of the "Deceptive Lawyer" to tamper with the core time determination of the first rule of the Beizuka First Apartment! He changed 00:00 to 00:10!

However, the instant he activated his ability, a line of cold text appeared directly on his right retina, carrying an undeniable warning:
"Warning! Reincarnator Jiang Jin, your attempt to tamper with the core rule 'Access Control Time Limit' of the instance has been detected! This rule has the highest priority. Forcibly modifying it will require a one-time payment of 20% SAN points (which cannot be offset by Resentment Crystals), and any means of replenishing or restoring SAN points will be ineffective within one hour after the modification takes effect. Confirm?"

Jiang Jin did not hesitate at all.

confirm!

The moment he completed the alteration, the SAN value plummeted!
"Bang!" Jiang Jin was the first to rush across the white line at the apartment entrance! The time was exactly midnight!
He turned around immediately.

Using her last bit of strength, Lingzi finally rode across the white line a few seconds after midnight!
She practically fell off the car, and her first instinct was to look at her Reincarnator watch!
The timer showed that she had exceeded the time limit!
Overwhelming fear and despair instantly engulfed her!

"Commander!!" she cried out in anguish, throwing herself at Jiang Jin with all her might and clinging to him tightly. "Please! If I die, bury my body in the world of [The Ring]! That way... that way my son Yangyi will still have the chance to visit my grave in the future... And, Commander, please... don't forget me... never forget me!"

Her tears instantly soaked Jiang Jin's clothes, and her voice was filled with endless longing and pleading.

However, Jiang Jin shouted loudly and resolutely in her ear, "You won't die! Believe me! You will never die!"

Reiko was stunned, and then...

The anticipated curse did not come.

A few seconds later, she realized that she was actually still alive!

The immense shock of surviving the ordeal caused her to completely break down emotionally. She clung tightly to Jiang Jin and burst into tears, as if trying to release all her fear, grievances, and pressure.

Jiang Jin gently patted her back, feeling her body tremble. He looked at the Beizuka First Apartment in the Lost Layer and repeated in a deep, firm voice, "Didn't I tell you? I absolutely... won't let you die!"

(End of this chapter)