83: Chapter 83 Human-Headed Centipede, Mountain Taboo
Inside the Rebirth Temple.
Lin Chuan took everything in through Zhou Kai's perspective.
He stared at the thirty-one extra 'people'.
At first glance, these 'people' appeared quite normal.
Lin Chuan couldn't even sense any weird Taboo Rule fluctuations coming from them.
They were as if they were truly living people!!
But soon, Lin Chuan still detected an extremely subtle sense of incongruity.
The aura on them... was too "clean".
It was as if... they had just been carved out of some mold.
Just then.
In the depths of Lin Chuan's consciousness, a line of blood-red warnings suddenly popped up on the panel:
[Warning! High-risk Taboo Rule detected!]
[Rule Name: Mirror Surface!]
[Rule Rank: S-Rank Ninth Tier!]
[Rule source: Undetectable!]
[Rule Description: Within this Domain, the boundary between reality and illusion is broken. People in the mirror can step out of the Mirror Surface and replace their original selves. Meanwhile, everyone's memories will be forcibly synchronized, making it impossible to distinguish truth from falsehood!]
"An S-Rank Ninth Tier rule?"
Lin Chuan's heart chilled slightly.
An S-Rank Ninth Tier level rule was already quite terrifying.
At least for Ning Shou and the others, Rule Power of this Rank was almost irresistible.
And... the source of this rule was actually undetectable?
After gaining insight into the rule, Lin Chuan was in no hurry to warn Zhou Kai.
Because a warning right now would be meaningless.
Under the influence of the rule, even if he told Zhou Kai the truth, the man wouldn't be able to distinguish who was real and who was fake.
It might even... lead to panic due to suspicion.
When that time came, Zhou Kai and the others would only die faster.
While Lin Chuan was deep in thought, the Great Xin Dynasty's team continued to move forward.
At this moment, not just Zhou Kai, but Ning Shou and several other perceptively keen Ghost Controllers had also noticed something was wrong.
"The number of people... has increased."
Ning Shou walked at the very front, the blood-colored scythe in his hand vibrating slightly, emitting a low hum.
He looked back.
Over sixty silhouettes were faintly visible in the mist.
But he couldn't distinguish which ones were the extras.
And as time passed, in his memory, the number of people for this operation... seemed to have been sixty-two all along?
No!
That's not right!
Ning Shou shook his head violently, trying to shake off that chaotic memory.
He was an S-rank Taboo Master; his mental will far exceeded that of ordinary people.
He clearly remembered that there were only thirty-one people when they set out!
"Everyone, be careful!"
Ning Shou barked in a low voice, his tone carrying a hint of solemnity.
"Something has snuck into the team!"
"Everyone stay alert, do not trust anyone!"
Hearing this, the team instantly became restless.
Everyone looked at the person next to them warily, their eyes filled with suspicion and fear.
Watching everything through Zhou Kai's perspective, Lin Chuan sighed inwardly.
Because of Ning Shou's words, the team had completely fallen into panic!
Next, if things went poorly, there would be casualties.
"Damn it! Who exactly is real?!"
"Don't look at me! I'm real!"
"How can you prove you're real?!"
Panic was spreading.
But in this eerie environment, panic would only lead to a faster death.
"Everyone shut up!"
Ning Shou roared, his Taboo Rules suddenly diffusing, forming wisps of terrifying pressure that instantly suppressed all the noise.
"If you don't want to die, be quiet!"
"Keep moving forward!"
Under Ning Shou's intimidation, although the crowd was still fearful, they could only forcibly suppress the unease in their hearts and continue forward... Meanwhile, at the rear of the team.
Bao Teng, leading the main force of Bureau 749, came to a halt.
"Captain, the situation ahead seems a bit off."
A team member leaned in close to Bao Teng and whispered.
"The number of those 'baits'... why does it seem to have increased?"
Bao Teng waved his embroidered fan, narrowing his eyeliner-rimmed eyes as he looked at the team ahead.
"You noticed it too?"
He let out a feminine laugh.
"This is the Kunlun Ruins! Danger at every step!"
"According to the data, as long as one steps into this area, an identical copy of oneself will be replicated."
"And..."
He paused, a flash of cruel light in his eyes.
"That replica will possess all the memories and abilities of the original."
"As for the replicated original, their memory will become chaotic, and they might even lose themselves."
"Then what do we do?" the team member asked with some concern.
"Us?"
Bao Teng glanced at him, a confident smile curling his lips.
"We're walking behind; if we bypass certain areas, we'll be fine!"
"Anyway, for the most dangerous areas... we have these baits to scout the way!"
"Even if we encounter unavoidable dangers, this group of baits can test out the dangers contained within the rules for us!!"
At this point, Bao Teng's smile grew even more radiant and smug... the fatty skin on his face began to wrinkle and deform.
However.
He did not know.
In his own team, there were also three "people" watching their backs with extremely eerie gazes.
And all of this.
Was under Lin Chuan's observation.
Half an hour later.
The team's forward speed became increasingly slow.
The surrounding mist grew thicker, and the temperature dropped lower and lower.
Zhou Kai followed closely behind Ning Shou, not daring to fall behind by a single step.
As he walked, he silently chanted Lin Chuan's honorary title in his heart.
"na mo Ancient Buddha of Rebirth..."
"na mo Ancient Buddha of Rebirth..."
This was currently his only spiritual support.
Just then.
The path ahead was suddenly blocked.
A huge, eerie dark shadow lay across the center of the road.
"Stop!"
Ning Shou raised his hand to signal the team to stop.
With the faint light of the ghost candles, everyone finally saw the true face of that dark shadow.
It was a statue.
A giant statue at least thirty zhang long, pitch-black all over, emitting an ancient and weathered aura.
Its shape was extremely bizarre.
It had a huge human head with ferocious and twisted features, as if it were enduring immense pain.
And its body... was a centipede covered with countless legs!
Human head, centipede body!
This eerie combination made anyone who saw it feel physiological discomfort.
Even more terrifying.
This statue didn't seem like a dead object.
Although it was motionless, it emitted a suffocating pressure.
"What is this thing?"
Everyone whispered, their voices full of fear.
Ning Shou frowned, carefully observing the statue.
"No rule fluctuations..."
"It should just be an ordinary stone statue."
"Go around it!"
He didn't want any unnecessary complications.
However.
Just as they were preparing to detour.
"Crack!"
A crisp cracking sound suddenly rang out in the silent valley.
Everyone's footsteps instantly froze.
All eyes looked toward the statue in unison.
On the originally pitch-black and smooth surface of the statue, a fine crack had suddenly appeared.