Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 8 Heavy Rain
A sudden gust of wind swept through the alley, swirling a few withered leaves around Jiang Jin's feet.

Jiang Jin turned around, but the two children had already vanished without a trace.

"This aim is really bad, I didn't even need to dodge."

Jiang Jin shook his head, holding the dog in his arms, and continued walking forward, as if this was just a trivial little incident.

However, if you look closely at Jiang Jin at this moment, you will find that... his pace quickens, and at the same time, fine beads of sweat begin to appear on his forehead.

Holding the dying dog in front of him, Jiang Jin began to think of a solution!

On his watch, the rate at which the SAN value decreased showed a clear increasing trend.

His SAN value has now dropped to 90%!

At this rate, the SAN value may drop below the safe level of 80% before the new player gift pack is even airdropped!
According to the SAN value displayed on the watch, 80% is an absolute dividing line between safety and danger for reincarnators. As long as the SAN value is above 80%, they are absolutely safe.

The watch records that when the SAN value is above 80%, the ghosts will not only not prioritize attacking the Reincarnators, but will also be unable to physically touch them.

Jiang Jin just witnessed the stone falling from the shadow on the wall!
He had realized that something was following him like a shadow!

Are the children in the village also typically below 80% in terms of SAN (Sanity) value?
Moreover, from the moment he witnessed this scene, his SAN value began to drop even faster!

However, Jiang Jin must remain as calm as possible and not panic excessively, deliberately pretending that he has not noticed anything.

The Hunter LV1 Blood Tracker possesses the skills Hunter's Vision, which can track ghosts; Bloodstained Imprisonment, which can be used to set traps; and the Hunting Curse Blade, which requires close range to effectively damage ghosts.

Hunter's Vision is an option to activate, but it consumes 3% of your SAN value per second and allows you to track ghosts within a range equal to your remaining SAN value multiplied by 1.5 meters. The other two abilities, Bloodstained Imprisonment and Hunting Curse Blade, require learning to unlock. Therefore, Lu Zhao initially didn't understand Jiang Jin's choice of the Hunter class, feeling it wouldn't translate into immediate combat capability.

Therefore, for novice hunters like Jiang Jin, the newbie pack serves as a transition until they master the latter two skills. In the early stages, as long as they have Hunter's Vision and their SAN value is still within a normal range, it's sufficient to handle most situations.

But now he's already being targeted... Is it because of that pool of water? But isn't this supposed to be a trial for newbies?

Jiang Jin did not put the dog down at this moment, in order to confuse the "invisible thing" behind him as much as possible and make it seem as if he had not noticed anything.

In this way, even if the SAN value drops below 80%, it might buy some time.

Suddenly, a raindrop landed on Jiang Jin's nose. Then, more rain poured down!

It’s really raining all night when the house leaks!

Jiang Jin walked down the alley, the cold rain sliding down his cheeks and soaking through his thin clothes.

Next, Jiang Jin kept circling in the alley. Although the narrow alley was not conducive to dodging, it was enough for him to roughly locate the position of the ghost behind him. For him, who was still at a safe SAN value, it was actually a better choice.

But the one thing he hadn't anticipated was that it would suddenly rain!
89%...88%...

As he watched the numbers on his watch tick, Jiang Jin suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

The sky turned pitch black, the sound of rain pounding the ground grew increasingly muffled, and the air on both sides of the alley became extremely oppressive.

Jiang Jin must find a way to hold out until the newbie gift pack airdrop arrives.

First, he must keep moving and looking for a turning point.

The dog finally died.

"Damn it, why is it raining so hard... Am I lost? How do I get out? This dog is so pitiful..."

Jiang Jin pretended to know nothing, "concerned" about the dead dog he was holding, and continued walking briskly along the alley, deliberately making his steps light, stepping on the edge of puddles with each step to avoid making too much noise.

As Jiang Jin turned a corner, he suddenly stopped. The road ahead was blocked by a pile of wooden crates, each five or six meters high.

Jiang Jin turned his face to the left, where there happened to be a rotten wooden door.

He went up and pushed the door open with his shoulder.

The interior looked like an abandoned restaurant, with dusty tables and chairs scattered haphazardly in the darkness.

Inside the restaurant, you can also see bronze mirrors hanging.

He quickly slipped inside and closed the door behind him.

Jiang Jin endured the smell of rotting wood and proceeded cautiously.

Suddenly, his heel bumped into a pottery jar, making a soft "ding" sound.

A bead of cold sweat slid down Jiang Jin's temple. He gently lifted his foot and discovered that the earthenware jar was half full of water.

Some of the water spilled out and splashed onto Jiang Jin's feet.

Jiang Jin's pupils suddenly contracted; the sensation from the water felt as if, for a fleeting moment, a hand had grabbed his foot...

Could this water also be from a pool?

At the same time, he was surprised to find that the SAN value had dropped to 85%!

There's still half an hour until the gift pack airdrop!
Can he hold out until then?

The threat of death was ever-present.

He could have met the same fate as the dog in his arms at any moment. If he hadn't encountered those two brats, perhaps his SAN value wouldn't have dropped so rapidly after noticing the "thing" behind him, and he might have been able to hold out until the newbie gift pack airdrop.

Is he really going to die at the hands of two brats?
In any case, he can't stay here any longer.

The water on the ground continued to flow, gusts of wind blew in from outside the window, and the sound of fabric rubbing against each other filled the room.

Jiang Jin forced himself to calm down.

Regardless, his SAN value was still above 80%. He was still in a "safe period".

Jiang Jin continued carrying the dog's corpse as he walked forward, his pace gradually quickening.

He needed to create distance between himself and the ghost behind him!

This charade is probably about to fall apart. Therefore, we must take advantage of the "safe period" to evade its pursuit!

How exactly did that ghost track him? Did it start the moment he drank the water from the pool?
So, is it tracked visually or by sensors?

Jiang Jin pondered the statement, "When the SAN value is above 80%, the ghosts will not only not prioritize the Reincarnators, but they will also be unable to physically touch them."

This statement gives the impression that... a high SAN value seems to greatly limit the ghost's abilities. Since it's difficult to physically contact Jiang Jin, in other words, "it" can likely only track Jiang Jin through physical means at this stage. Therefore, leaving its line of sight might make escaping the ghost's pursuit possible. Once the newbie gift pack drops, he can counterattack!
Jiang Jin took a deep breath.

I'm not going to act in this play!
He suddenly placed the dog's corpse on a table near the window, then picked up a chopstick holder and smashed it violently against the window opposite.

"Wow--"

The loud crash of shattering glass echoed through the quiet teahouse.

At the same time, Jiang Jin flipped over and lunged at the broken window!

I can only take a gamble!

He walked into a new alley outside the window, but this back alley was narrower than the front alley, with the walls on both sides almost touching.

Jiang Jin's arm scraped against the rough wall, drawing blood, but he ignored the pain and sped forward!

He needs to find a way to escape the ghost's sight! Perhaps then he can have a glimmer of hope!
Finally, Jiang Jin rushed into one of the three-way intersections. After choosing one of the corners, he suddenly saw a piece of broken tile on the ground. He picked it up and threw it with all his might towards the corner in the opposite direction!
Jiang Jin took the opportunity to continue deeper into the alley, where a set of steps appeared before him.

He jumped down, getting soaked in the rain.

With each step he took, he could feel something gently brushing against his trouser leg underwater.

At the end of the side path was an ancient well. A faded red rope was wrapped around the well's rim, and several rusty bells hung from the knots. Beside the well was an iron bucket used for drawing water.

A crazy idea flashed through my mind.

Jiang Jin rushed forward and hurled the iron bucket into the well. The splash echoed through the well, followed by the clanging of chains. At the same time, he swiftly dashed behind another house beyond the well!

I wonder how long I can fool "it"!
run!
Jiang Jin ran as fast as he could, his heart pounding violently in his chest.

Finally, he rushed into a wide street.

Jiang Jin looked at his watch; the SAN value was at 82%, and the watch showed that there were still twelve minutes until the airdrop.

Twelve minutes.

At the current rate of decline, he won't last until then.

All he could do was pray that the ghost wouldn't find him in those twelve minutes!

He dared not stay on the wide street, and completely lost his way in the heavy rain.

He looked at a local earth god temple in front of him, rushed up to it, and quickly closed the door.

Once the newbie gift pack is airdropped, no matter where he is, that ghost will probably detect him immediately.

He must seize this opportunity!

Outside the door, the sound of rain pattering on the stone steps was mixed with some discordant noises.

Could it be... that "thing" has finally arrived?
Jiang Jin stared at the flickering candlelight, which swayed abnormally, the flame sometimes elongating and sometimes shortening, as if it were fighting against an invisible force.

They moved cautiously inside the earth god temple, praying that time would pass quickly.

A while later, there were only six minutes left before the airdrop.

He pushed open the half-broken door behind the earthen temple and rushed into the rain.

The cold rain soaked him through again, but it brought him a sense of relief—only when he was outside could he receive the newbie gift pack dropped from the air.

Suddenly, the watch beeped.

The SAN value... has fallen below 80%!

　If you enjoy this book, please be sure to read it daily during the new release period. Reading data is very important for this book!

　　The update schedule is not fixed at the moment. Although I have drafts saved up, I still need to revise them carefully before publishing.

　　Finally, a big thank you to the generous patron who donated during his late-night drunk driving adventure! In gratitude, I'll be posting three updates tonight!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)