Spread and upheaval

Spread and Turmoil

That's why they say human initiative is limitless.

After realizing the tangible threat emanating from the Ju-On, especially the sudden disappearance of living people in broad daylight, and the illusory Spirit Entity that had begun to emerge with the increasing number of deaths in just one day and one night.

Along with the second wave of eerie dreams, which were also played by the same Ghost Shadow, this time, many people dreamed of a man twisting a woman's limbs and neck in a house.

In a brutal manner that could only be described as torture, as if intentionally venting his anger, the murderer even dismembered the body with a knife.

What followed was a deathly pale face, almost inhuman, emerging from beneath the victim's disheveled black hair, accompanied by a familiar "giggle" sound!

Only a very few people in the know probably understand that this was the scene when Kayako was tortured and murdered by her husband before her death.

It's obvious that the connections between Ju-On are becoming increasingly widespread!

The very act of dreaming about such a scene signifies that one has been "marked" by a vengeful ghost.

Soon, amidst the "greatest traffic jam of the century" on the overpasses leading out of the city and a series of car accidents, and the terrifying situation of many people mysteriously dying or disappearing while some prescient individuals attempted to escape on a large scale but failed, those in the know naturally experienced an escalating panic.

In this seemingly hopeless situation, a viral video quickly went viral on Tokyo's local internet!

Yes, it was the footage of Sadako from the TV show that was taken afterwards!

Regarding the impact of that anonymous black videotape, based on regular online viewership ratings and incomplete statistics from Tokyo Metropolitan Television regarding the corresponding broadcast time, the main impact was concentrated in Tokyo and the surrounding areas, directly affecting approximately 20-30% of the local population!

After all, in the late 20th century, unlike later times, television news was still the primary source of information for most people every day, so the number of people "victims" was extremely large.

Millions of people, unsurprisingly, soon received a series of unusual "Ghost Call" after suddenly seeing the contents of the videotape!

This unusual situation naturally caused great panic in society!

Not everyone is like the Main God User, who have the invisible protection of Sadako, the maiden.

Therefore, the rumor of "death in seven days" is now circulating everywhere on the internet, and those who hear it are quite panicked, as no one knows what terrible things will happen in seven days.

The problem is that when two "life-threatening situations" occur simultaneously, a subtle chemical reaction occurs.

When the moment arrives...

Based on the actual experiences of a few survivors who "dreamed of two Ghost Shadow at the same time," and even on the testimonies of "veterans" who had previously been affected but survived, it is stated, both openly and implicitly, that this "cursed image" is extremely dangerous.

However, if one actively observes the situation when all else fails, thereby gaining a seven-day "final deadline," it is not without its challenges!

That's right. After roughly confirming the conflict effects between the "ghosts," some clever people, in a moment of ruthlessness, simply used Sadako's videotapes as amulets!

After all, compared to Ju-On, where people vanish into thin air and die in broad daylight, with their bodies often completely destroyed or in extremely gruesome circumstances, making it seem as if they've been dragged into another dimension, Ju-on at least gives a seven-day period for a will, and even leaves behind a complete corpse like Sadako's videotape, which certainly seems much more humane!

Moreover, for experienced individuals, the cursed video can be used as a substitute for death by "copying it to show others"—a way to avoid the consequences.

It can only be said that the act of trying anything when one is desperate is a basic human instinct.

Meanwhile, among the users who remained huddled indoors, many sensed that something was amiss.

It must be admitted that when a large city experiences widespread power and water outages, it means that its functions are gradually becoming paralyzed!

Under these circumstances, continuing to stay in this small house, which was quite a distance from the original site of the Saeki House, seemed rather unnecessary. More precisely, at this point, with Sadako Yamamura enjoying the familiar surroundings...

After a peaceful rest and sleep.

For safety's sake, everyone should stay away from that direction as much as possible.

Firstly, to avoid the source of danger, and secondly, considering the principle of "the lone one dies first" in horror movies, with the number of living people around them decreasing, they needed to go to places where people are now concentrated to avoid threats.

Not to mention these local students, after understanding the facts, have been pleading for the past two days to be able to call their families and important people to inform them to come and survive under the "protection" of this girl Sadako, whom they actually didn't think much of.

There's nothing we can do; things are getting increasingly chaotic outside.

Putting everything else aside, explosions and gunshots, screams and roars can be heard from time to time on the streets. Amid the chaos, order is rapidly crumbling.

In Tokyo during the millennium, most of the local residents were still Showa veterans with a strong sense of martial spirit. Even when faced with these invisible, bluish-white Ghost Shadow and when there was no way to avoid them, many people still picked up guns and knives and tried to fight to the death.

Even the internet signal has become intermittent, but judging from the current information, many people, now that they know they cannot easily leave Tokyo, have risked gathering in nearby places such as temples, shrines, and churches, probably for the sake of seeking psychological comfort by sticking together.

As it turns out, the kind of unorthodox ideas that Tang Yuyang and his group had previously had—seeking out high-ranking monks, exorcists, or other shamanic practitioners—are a very common way of thinking for ordinary people.

Unfortunately, this is probably of little use.

After a brief discussion, it was decided that everyone would go out and evacuate during the hottest part of the afternoon sun. During this process, many people deeply felt how crazy and terrifying it was to break free from the Ju-On of their cage.

The streets were ablaze with fire and thick smoke. Some people, barely clothed, were running through the streets, crying and laughing like madmen. Corpses and wrecked cars were scattered everywhere on the ground, and the traces of car accidents blocked most of the nearby roads.

A large van with its front end deformed and overturned now lies across the middle of the intersection, reeking of chemicals; some of the liquid that had seeped out of the van has already dried.

At first glance, judging from the few intact corpses by the roadside with envelopes still attached to their chests, some people even left suicide notes before hanging themselves from tree trunks by the roadside!

It seems that after keenly perceiving certain "truths," they are attempting to use this to escape an even more terrifying ending.

In a world overrun by ghosts and monsters, the human world is a distorted version of hell.

In this scene that resembled a premature apocalypse, everyone's expression was not too good, but compared to the users, the local students naturally felt it more deeply.

But at this point, everything else is meaningless; only being alive is real.

Putting everything else aside, many of the residents in the surrounding houses are probably already gone, or have been murdered.

This place is becoming increasingly unsafe.

Looking up at the helicopters circling overhead, Yong Qi didn't say much, only whispering, "Maintain vigilance! Keep moving forward!"

Compared to the chaos on the ground, there is no doubt that powerful and intelligent people will think of taking to the air for "emergency refuge," or even trying to escape this city that has been cursed invisibly.

But whether such an approach can ultimately evade the vengeful spirit's clutches is hard to say.

Anyway, he wasn't very optimistic about it.

In this city that is gradually becoming paralyzed, even the deliberately released videotape curse has begun to compete with and balance it. However, as the Ju-On spreads like a chain reaction virus, people are constantly dying and becoming part of the Ju-On, which in turn causes it to snowball faster and faster!

Only heaven knows just how much that vengeful ghost has grown.

It's only been five days!

Despite the heavy thoughts weighing on his mind, Yong Qi maintained a composed expression, wearing gloves, one hand resting on his gun, his gaze constantly sweeping across the room.

They still traveled by palanquin.

Having already proven her invaluable worth, Sadako, embracing the enshrined stone statue, was held firmly in the center by the crowd, who treated her like a star surrounded by the moon.

Especially when looking around, one occasionally sees bluish-white shadows appearing quietly within a few dozen or a hundred steps.

Those transparent Spirit Entity, barely perceptible unless carefully observed, would immediately dissipate as soon as they showed any sign of approaching the group, their "forms" flickering violently like static on a television screen.

It's no exaggeration to say that if any threat suddenly appeared at this time, there would be plenty of people around who would be willing to take bullets for her with their own bodies!

Judging from this "safe range," for the past few days, the middle-aged woman, who was only First Tier Psychic, had been trying to conduct repeated one-on-one stimulation communication, or rather, "teaching," in her spare time.

The girl, who had already begun to vaguely sense some inner spiritual power, seemed to have made some progress compared to before.

After all, for ordinary spiritual and mental practitioners, improvement requires self-awareness and mental refinement. But for a natural "raw gem" like Sadako Yamamura, what she needs most is a guide!

With such a "ballast stone" sitting in the middle of the group, the group can now move forward quietly with almost no hindrance.

However, when they reached a corner, considering the supplies they were carrying and the need for the people carrying the palanquin to take turns, they needed to rest for a while.

The group temporarily took refuge in a nearby milk tea shop where half of the glass was shattered and the doors were wide open.

The shop was clearly empty, and the owner had disappeared. The only thing left was the large ice cream cone machine covered with colored paper, and a pool of dried brown blood remained on the ground in front of it.

Looking at the ice cream cone machine whose dispensing spout was completely "blocked" by solidified solidification, and feeling the lingering metallic smell in the air, no one had the courage to open its lid and see what was inside.

I just tried to sit as far away as possible while driving.

During the brief rest stop, while people were taking out food and supplies and chatting quietly, Tang Yuyang suddenly looked up with lightning speed for some reason!

I don't understand.

But when everyone followed his gaze, they too felt a chill.

Just a few dozen steps away, in the glass window of a shop, a pale-skinned figure had somehow appeared and was staring intently at the group.

It's clear that this thing isn't an ordinary Spirit Entity; you can tell from the fact that it can touch such a close place without completely dissipating like a snowflake.

Even so, judging from its increasingly blurry and shimmering appearance, getting this close was probably already the limit for this vengeful spirit.

But seeing that blurry yet familiar lifeless face, and hearing the "clucking" sound that followed after being discovered by a living person, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

Kayako!

Or rather, one of the incarnations of Kayako, the main character of Ju-On!

Perhaps instinctively sensing that she could no longer get any closer, the female ghost lingered around with cruel and resentful eyes.

It wasn't until Sadako got up and took a few steps closer that the figure, draped in a soiled nightgown and with disheveled long hair, finally had to retreat rapidly.

Like a real spider, the female ghost flipped over the building headfirst, limbs on the ground, in a manner that defied ergonomics, and disappeared from everyone's sight.

Strangely enough, despite being extremely timid and fearful in the presence of living people, the girl didn't seem to show much fear instinctively when encountering these supernatural signs.

This minor incident made everyone more wary.

With the utmost caution, as if navigating through trenches, they dodged the bizarrely shaped corpses and the burning houses and vehicles along the way.

With transportation difficult to use, the group finally arrived at a modern place near dusk.

In front of the temple.

Sure enough, unlike the increasingly chaotic and desolate urban environment, at this moment, places with religious significance have become the first choice for many people in a moment of desperation!

A large number of people crowded inside the temple, densely packed every inch of the land.

Keen-eyed users can even spot that the Kong statue holding a pestle in front of the temple gate, also known as the "Niō Statue," has been repeatedly moved, thus seemingly "expanding" the interior space time and time again.

So you really think that anything behind the door gods is considered part of the temple's natural grounds?

It left viewers both amused and exasperated.

But it's hard to say whether these temples, where believers offer prayers and place their hopes, actually have some effect, or whether it's due to the strong popularity of the large number of people gathered there. Or perhaps it's simply because they are far from the original site of the "Ju-On House," so the influence is not so obvious yet.

At least for now, those bluish-white Ghost Shadow that occasionally roam in the distance do not seem to have any intention of making a move in this direction.

This discovery undoubtedly brought a small sense of relief.

But the good fortune didn't last long. As more people gathered, several monks and police officers who were guarding the door approached.

Despite not daring to step out of the mountain gate even once, these current "gatekeepers" still spoke in a relatively polite tone, expressing their disapproval.

That's too polite.

"I'm sorry, everyone, Sūgen Shōshū Temple is already full. We have limited supplies and cannot accept any more guests. Please leave."

Seeing the monk's polite demeanor and the police officer's deliberate or unintentional display of his firearms, which clearly served to intimidate the situation, one could see the situation clearly undermined.

Yong Qi didn't say much, but simply pointed to the makeshift tents that had been set up nearby outside the temple. "No need to trouble yourself, we don't need to go through the mountain gate. We can just stay around here. That should be fine, right?"

"Of course, please make yourself at home, esteemed guest."

The monk at the head of the group bowed, displaying a weary reaction that suggested he was used to such things and that as long as the monk didn't force his way in, everything would be fine. He then sat down to rest.

It's clear that the situation is indeed quite dire. Even these temples that used to open their doors to visitors are no longer accepting guests.

With a sigh, they did not attempt further negotiations.

Yong Qi led his team directly around the main gate and stopped in an open area outside the side wall of the temple. He saw that many tents had already been set up here, presumably for newcomers who, like them, had been turned away.

They carefully chose a spot nearby with a fairly open view, and the group quickly set up a place to rest.

Being constantly on guard, under constant tension and psychological pressure, takes a huge toll on a person's physical and mental health.

They knew very well that the further they went, the more dangerous Kayako, who was secretly killing people everywhere, would become.

Gazing at the setting sun sinking towards the horizon, and the dim light accompanying the approaching night, the pale blue figures gradually became even more inconspicuous under this illumination.

What's even more dangerous is that, including themselves, they can become increasingly "clear" at such times!

Tang Yuyang couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the Main God has given them only two days to live—in reality, it's only been a little over a day since the Ju-On House was destroyed!