Forbidden Item

Once everyone in the team had arrived, the handover between the two sides began immediately.

A large number of elite Night Watch members quickly poured into the deeper levels of the Black Prison.

They took over for the fifth squad members stationed inside.

In the center of the plaza, Yáng Chén looked at the captain of the fifth squad and smiled. "Long time no see, Pale. Let's spar sometime. Let me see how powerful your sixth ability is."

The fifth squad captain, Pale, was a tall and beautiful woman.

But she carried a pitch-black coffin on her back. Her long, ink-black hair hung loose, and beneath her pale skin, she seemed utterly lifeless and shrouded in gloom.

Her somewhat gloomy eyes fixed on Yáng Chén. "The first thing you say to a beautiful woman is that you want to spar?"

The Handlers from both squads laughed. Captain Pale seemed quite confident in her looks. She was indeed attractive, but she could not shake off that gloomy air. It made people forget she was a beautiful woman at first glance.

Yáng Chén could only spread his hands. "Then how about we have a drink when we get the chance? And spar after we've had a few?"

"Damn, the captain really doesn't know how to take a hint, does he?" Li Yèlái could not help complaining.

His teammates also began discussing it among themselves. "Exactly! He's such a blockhead!"

"A man without women in his heart draws his sword like a god!"

"Women only slow down the captain's sword-drawing speed!"

Pale was exasperated into laughter. She waved her hand and said, "Forget it. I'll leave the Black Prison to you. With you here, I'm at ease. Speaking of which, I heard you found a pretty good newcomer. Don't tell me you're raising a successor? Hurry up and let me see!"

Pale then looked over the teammates of the first squad.

"Haha, nothing like that." Yáng Chén quickly laughed it off and changed the subject. "Is there anything we need to watch out for during this deployment?"

"Hmm. The Black Dragon Armor has been rather active. It tempted my teammates several times and caused quite a few disturbances. Keep an eye on it. Also, that Yin Tiger tried to break containment, but we beat it back. Be careful."

"Were the losses serious?" Yáng Chén nodded before asking.

"Seven Night Watch members need time to recover, and twelve Handlers need psychological evaluations. Be careful. I'm leaving." After replying, Pale led her teammates away from the plaza.

Yáng Chén watched them leave, gave a few orders to the team leaders, and then led the Night Watch members deeper into the lower levels of the Black Prison.

They were going to take turns suppressing the Forbidden Items ranked B and even Grade A.

Some of the Night Watch members stayed on the upper levels in case they were needed.

Considering that Li Yèlái was a newcomer and this was his first time entering the Black Prison,

after the handover was completed, Cheese took him around to familiarize him with the Black Prison's layout.

"This is the rest area. It's the safest place in the Black Prison, and it's also the command center for the upper half." Cheese pointed toward a building in the distance. It was brightly lit, and many clerical workers monitored the movements of the various Forbidden Items from inside the command center.

"I thought the Black Prison was full of psychics," Li Yèlái said.

"That's impossible. There are a little over a thousand people in the Black Prison. Psychics make up only slightly more than a tenth of them." Cheese smiled. "More than half are clerical staff. Research, testing, supervision—there's no way psychics could handle all of that."

"Research?" Li Yèlái asked in confusion. "Do Forbidden Items need to be researched too?"

Forbidden Items were extremely dangerous. That old bastard Wang De was not even a psychic, yet he had once used the Ghost Immortal altar to suppress three psychics at once.

Shouldn't something like that simply be suppressed properly?

"Of course. The establishment of the giant cities relies heavily on research into Forbidden Items. The reason our giant city can defend against the erosion of the Calamity Mist is that we obtained certain substances from these Forbidden Items and used them for defense," Cheese explained. "Researching Forbidden Items is risky, but protecting the giant city makes it unavoidable."

Li Yèlái nodded, and Cheese continued introducing the area. "This is also where we rest and eat. I'm right next door to you, so come ask me if you don't understand something. Now I'll take you to see the Forbidden Items."

Cheese then took Li Yèlái into an elevator and brought him to the upper half of the Black Prison.

This was the containment area for the Forbidden Items.

It contained Forbidden Items ranked C and D.

There were quite a few Forbidden Items on the upper level—seventy-six types in total. Their forms were strange and varied: scarves, flagpoles, masks, books, branches, and even a pair of door-god stickers.

They were placed inside sealed rooms.

The thick observation windows allowed people to monitor the Forbidden Items' movements and respond appropriately.

Li Yèlái followed Cheese as they examined the containment rooms. A document had been left outside each one, describing the Forbidden Item's name, abilities, usage requirements, and prohibited actions.

"Cheese has such an amazing figure. Her body is so soft. I really want to hug her again, rub her, and touch her some more. Hehehe~"

A voice suddenly came from the side. It was lewd and lascivious.

Li Yèlái froze. That was actually his voice.

Cheese, who was walking ahead of him, froze as well.

She turned back with a strange look on her face. Covering her chest, she scolded him, "Couldn't you wait until we got back to say that?"

"No, no, no! I didn't say that!" Li Yèlái's old face reddened.

He had indeed hugged Cheese when she was dressed in rags. He might even have touched certain places, but the situation had been urgent. He had never had such a lewd thought, much less said it aloud.

He quickly waved his hands, clearing his name.

"Fine. At most, you only thought about it." Cheese gave Li Yèlái a snort.

She then looked toward the containment unit beside them.

On the display stand inside, a dark-red scarf had split open along one edge. It opened and closed like a mouth as it spoke.

It had just used Li Yèlái's voice to say those lewd words.

Now it switched to Cheese's voice, letting out flushed, breathy moans and words.

"Ah~ Xiǎo Yè's embrace is so comfortable. I've missed it so much. Mmm."

Li Yèlái stared blankly. He had never heard Cheese speak in such a tone.

Cheese's voice was usually crisp and businesslike, but from the scarf's mouth, it had become irresistibly seductive and alluring.

"I knew it was this thing." Cheese gave a cold laugh and picked up the document outside the containment unit, handing it to Li Yèlái.

Forbidden Item: Concealment Scarf

Danger Level: D-Rank

Forbidden Item Effect: As long as one tells it a joke it finds satisfactory or performs a dramatic act it enjoys, it can be carried inside one's clothing for one hour. The carrier gains the ability to conceal their aura and become optically invisible.

Negative Effect: It may speak at any time and read portions of nearby humans' memories. It then imitates nearby people's voices to sow discord between them. It seems to enjoy this.

Loss-of-Control Reaction: If it is not removed promptly when the carrying time ends and the carrier can no longer tell it a joke it finds satisfactory, it will become active on its own and grow dramatically in size. After strangling the carrier, it will continue attacking nearby humans.

Suppression Method: Break its giant form to force it to return to normal. Or insult it—insult it relentlessly! Captain Moon Shadow once managed to curse at it until it stayed silent for a month.

Can It Be Used: Level One authorization required.

"I remember that when it was discovered, it had already destroyed a family." Cheese looked at the scarf with an indifferent expression. "Since it can read parts of people's memories, some of what it says is true and some is false. Ordinary people can't tell the difference. It causes misunderstandings that eventually tear families apart."

"I understand. This scarf really is a piece of trash. Even a diaper is better than it!" Li Yèlái closed the document and began insulting it outright.

What he said was actually quite reasonable. Its ability was invisibility, which sounded extremely useful.

But its negative effect meant it could reveal its location at any time.

Combined with its talent for sowing discord, it really was a useless Forbidden Item.

At that moment, several passing Handlers and clerical workers saw what was happening.

They immediately came over and joined the furious stream of insults.

A group of people launched a powerful verbal assault at the scarf.

"Alright, just leave the suppression to them." Cheese reminded him.

Li Yèlái rubbed his forehead. "So this counts as suppression too?"

"It isn't out of control right now, so there's naturally no need to suppress it with force. If we really had to use force, it would only be a little troublesome," Cheese replied.

"What does the final line about whether it can be used mean?" Li Yèlái asked.

"Oh, it means whether we're authorized to use the Forbidden Item when necessary," Cheese explained. "For example, in an extremely dangerous situation, our Handlers can decide whether to use a Forbidden Item. As for Level One authorization, all our Handlers have it from the beginning. Of course, some Forbidden Items are less threatening, and clerical workers can use them too."

"For example, there's a teapot-shaped Forbidden Item that can produce tea capable of restoring a person's stamina as long as it's used according to the instructions. Its negative effect is that it sometimes gives people diarrhea. As for its loss-of-control reaction, it merely makes people nearby choke on water. It isn't fatal."

Li Yèlái understood. "So not every Forbidden Item is that dangerous."

"But there aren't many like that," Cheese replied. "Most Forbidden Items are still highly dangerous. Once they lose control, they can cause a major disaster."

"Can one Forbidden Item be used to fight another?" Li Yèlái asked.

"Generally speaking, we don't recommend it." Cheese stopped and pointed farther inside.

They had reached another containment unit.

Inside the containment room was a wanted notice placed on a tray.

Yáng Chén had told him about this Forbidden Item before.

As long as the commission was sufficient, it could order a Void Realm Creature to hunt down a target.

According to the document, that Void Realm Creature was as powerful as a fourth-awakening psychic. Moreover, because it was a Void Realm Creature, it could not truly die.

It would return again and again until it killed the target or the employer canceled the contract.

But the moment the commission was insufficient, it would immediately lose control.

"We once used this wanted notice against a Forbidden Item that had lost control. The battle grew increasingly fierce, causing many other Forbidden Items to break containment," Cheese said. "So using one Forbidden Item against another carries great risks. Don't do it unless absolutely necessary."

Li Yèlái committed that to memory.

Cheese then led Li Yèlái through every containment unit on the upper level.

He saw many Forbidden Items with bizarre and varied abilities.

For example, there were two door-god paintings that could activate sturdy Psychic Barriers to protect the people behind the doors. They required someone to keep offering incense. If they lost control, they would open every door in the Black Prison.

There was a tree that grew fruit capable of temporarily raising a person's psychic resistance. But if no one watched it, it would wildly grow strange branches and trees. Once the branches became dense enough, bizarre birds would emerge and attempt to attack everyone.

There was a flag that increased one's reaction speed when held. But every night, it released a cold, mournful wail and attempted to break containment.

There was also a bright-red, beating heart. After making physical contact with it, a person's body would be strengthened periodically, causing their vitality and blood to surge.

The price was that the person would develop a craving for power and become unwilling to put down the heart.

Eventually, because of their greed, they would quickly turn into a merciless killing machine.

When it lost control, it would tempt the nearest human to put it on.

These Forbidden Items were the targets Li Yèlái would have to guard day and night for the next month.

Just as Li Yèlái and Cheese finished checking the last Forbidden Item and were preparing to return for some rest and food,

they suddenly heard another voice.

"Someone like you is still alive?" The voice was frivolous yet old.

Li Yèlái and Cheese stopped and looked back.

It was the final Forbidden Item on the upper level.

The C-Rank Forbidden Item, the Ghost Diviner Nuo Mask.

It was a black mask painted with strange patterns.

Using Nuo masks to drive out ghosts and gods had once been a mysterious belief on this land.

Who would have thought that even Nuo masks would become Forbidden Items infiltrated by the power of the Void Realm?

The voice had come from the Nuo Mask, old yet frivolous.

It seemed to be mocking him, though it also sounded surprised.

Li Yèlái and Cheese exchanged a glance.

The Nuo Mask's effect was to grant powerful divination abilities when worn. The price was that after removing it, the wearer would lose a large portion of their memories.

When it lost control, it would tempt someone to put on the mask, forcibly seize control of their body, and unleash dangerous combat power.

"Does this count as being out of control?" Li Yèlái asked, pointing at the Nuo Mask.

Cheese shook her head. "It doesn't seem like it. This thing occasionally talks with the Handlers. It has extremely powerful divination abilities and sometimes says strange things. But as long as no one puts it on, it isn't dangerous."

Li Yèlái thought for a moment before asking, "Then what did you want to say?"

The Nuo Mask let out a laugh. "How has a human like you survived until now? Someone with a fate line like yours should have been dead for ages!"

"You can see my fate? Are you talking about my misfortune?" Li Yèlái's expression shifted slightly before he asked, "Do you have a way to resolve it?"

"Perhaps I can..." The Nuo Mask seemed to hesitate. "Forget it. It's too dangerous."

After that, it said nothing more.

Cheese frowned. "That old bastard really is an old riddler. Don't bother with it. Come on, let's go back and eat."

"Alright." Li Yèlái did not take it to heart. He nodded and left with Cheese.

After they had gone far away,

the Nuo Mask spoke in a low, eerie voice. "Misfortune clings to you. You cannot trust vehicles. Heavenly lightning will strike your head. You are destined to encounter powerful enemies! If you do not die, you will become the most terrifying monster."

Meanwhile, in a hotel somewhere in Border City No. 3,

the handsome man opened his eyes once again. He had obtained more favorable information from the 'Ark.'

He smiled and said, "Good. The pieces are in place. No matter whether the plan succeeds or fails, we'll be fine now!"