Chapter 30: Forbidden Objects

As the full team arrived, the handover immediately commenced.

A large number of elite Ye Bushou (Night Unrest) surged into the deeper layers of the Black Prison, taking over the positions of the fifth squad.

In the center of the plaza, Yang Chen looked at the captain of the fifth squad and smiled. "Long time no see, Pale. Let's spar sometime; I want to see just how powerful your Sixth Ability has become."

The captain of the fifth squad, Pale, was a tall woman with a beautiful face. However, she carried a pitch-black coffin on her back. Her ink-like long hair hung loose, appearing lifeless against her pale complexion, exuding a heavy, yin-like aura.

Her somewhat dark eyes looked at Yang Chen and said, "The first thing you say to a beautiful woman is a challenge to spar?"

The handlers from both teams laughed. Captain Pale seemed quite confident in her looks—she was indeed attractive—but she couldn't shake off that gloomy temperament. It made people instantly forget she was a beautiful woman.

Yang Chen could only shrug. "Then how about a drink? And then, we spar after we've had a drink?"

"Holy crap, is the Captain just completely impenetrable?" Li Yelae couldn't help but complain.

His teammates nearby also whispered among themselves: "Exactly! He's such a straight man!"

"With no women in his heart, the sword naturally becomes divine!"

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

Pale was even laughed out of anger. She waved her hand and said, "Forget it, I'll leave the Black Prison to you. With you here, I can rest easy. Speaking of which, I heard you found a decent newcomer. You're not training a successor, are you? Let me see!"

Pale then began to size up the members of the first squad.

"Hahaha, nothing like that," Yang Chen laughed it off, changing the subject. "Is there anything specific I should watch out for during this watch?"

"Hmm, the Black Dragon Armor has been somewhat active. It has tried to bewitch my teammates several times, causing quite a bit of trouble. Keep an eye on it. Also, that Yin Tiger tried to attempt a containment breach, but we beat it back. You need to be careful."

"Was there much loss?" Yang Chen asked after nodding.

"Seven Ye Bushou need rest, and twelve handlers need psychological evaluations. Be careful, I'm leaving," Pale responded before leading her teammates away from the plaza.

After watching them leave, Yang Chen gave instructions to several squad leaders before leading the Ye Bushou into the lower layers of the Black Prison. They were going to rotate the suppression of the Grade B, and even Grade A, Taboos. Some Ye Bushou remained on the upper levels for emergencies.

Considering Li Yelae was a newcomer and it was his first time in the Black Prison, Cheese took him to familiarize himself with the layout after the handover was successful.

"This is the rest area. It's the safest place in the Black Prison, and also the command center for the upper layers," Cheese pointed to a distant building. It was brightly lit, filled with many clerical staff monitoring the movements of various Taboos in the command center.

"I thought everyone in the Black Prison was a psychic," Li Yelae remarked.

"That's impossible. There are a little over a thousand people in the Black Prison. We psychics only make up a little more than a tenth of them," Cheese smiled. "More than half are clerical staff. Research, testing, and supervision—it's impossible to leave all of that to the psychics."

"Research?" Li Yelae asked in confusion. "Do Taboos even need research?"

Taboos were extremely dangerous. That old guy Wang De wasn't even a psychic, yet he had once used a Ghost Immortal Altar to suppress three psychics. Shouldn't things like this just be suppressed quietly?

"Of course. The establishment of the Megacity is inseparable from the research of Taboos. The reason our Megacity can defend against the erosion of the Disaster Mist is that we obtained certain substances from these Taboos for defense," Cheese explained. "Although researching Taboos is risky, it is unavoidable for the protection of the Megacity."

Li Yelae nodded, and Cheese continued her introduction. "This is also where we rest and eat. I'm in the room next to yours; if there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me. Now, I'll take you to learn about the Taboos."

Cheese then led Li Yelae into an elevator to reach the upper layers of the Black Prison. This was the containment unit for Taboos, housing those of Grade C and D danger levels.

There were many Taboos in the upper layers—seventy-six in total. Their forms were bizarre: a scarf, a flagpole, a mask, a book, a branch, and even a pair of Door God stickers. They were kept in sealed rooms. One could observe their movements through thick observation windows to ensure a proper response.

Li Yelae followed Cheese, looking at these containment rooms. A file was left at the entrance of every room, detailing the Taboo's name, abilities, usage requirements, and prohibited behaviors.

"Cheese's figure is truly amazing. Her body is so soft... I really want to hold her again, rub her, touch her, hehehe~"

Suddenly, a voice drifted from the side. The voice was filled with lewdness and lust.

Li Yelae froze. That was actually his own voice.

Cheese, walking ahead, also froze. She turned back to look at Li Yelae with a strange expression, clutching her chest with a look of reproach. "Couldn't you wait until we got back to say that?"

"No, no, no! It wasn't me!" Li Yelae's face turned bright red.

Although he had indeed held the disheveled Cheese before and seemed to have touched certain parts, it was an emergency at the time. He had never had such lewd thoughts, let alone spoken them aloud. He hurriedly waved his hands to clear his name.

"Fine, at most you were just thinking it," Cheese huffed, looking at Li Yelae.

Then, she looked toward the containment unit nearby.

On the pedestal of the containment unit, a dark red scarf had actually split open, closing and opening like a mouth as it spoke. It was the one that had just used Li Yelae's voice to utter those lewd words. Now, it switched to Cheese's voice, letting out a series of blushing, breathless words.

"Ah~ Xiao Ye's embrace is so comfortable, I miss it so much, mmm..."

Li Yelae was stunned. He had never heard Cheese use such a tone. Her usual tone was efficient and crisp, but inside the mouth of the scarf, it had transformed into something incredibly flirtatious and seductive.

"I knew it was this thing," Cheese sneered, picking up the file at the entrance of the containment unit and handing it to Li Yelae.

***

[Taboo: Hidden Scarf] [Danger Level: Grade D] [Taboo Effect: As long as the user tells a joke that satisfies it or performs a dramatic effect that satisfies it, they can wear it for one hour. The wearer gains breath concealment and optical invisibility.] [Negative Effect: It may speak at any time, reading parts of the memories of nearby humans and mimicking their voices to sow discord. It seems to take pleasure in this.] [Out-of-Control Reaction: If the wearer does not remove it in time after the duration ends and fails to tell a joke that satisfies it, it will become autonomously active, grow to a massive size, strangle the wearer, and continue to attack nearby humans.] [Suppression Method: Defeat it to force it to cease its growth. Or, insult it—insult it relentlessly! Captain Moonshadow once managed to insult it so badly it didn't speak for a month.] [Usability: Requires Level 1 Authorization.]

***

"I remember when it was discovered, it had already destroyed a family," Cheese said flatly, looking at the scarf. "Because it can read parts of memories, what it says is a mix of truth and lies, making it difficult for ordinary people to distinguish. This leads to misunderstandings and eventual destruction."

"I get it. So this scarf is basically trash; it's not even as useful as a diaper!" Li Yelae closed the file and immediately started venting.

What he said made sense. Looking at the effect alone, invisibility was very useful. But the negative effect meant it could speak at any time, which was equivalent to exposing one's position at any time. Combined with its ability to sow discord, it truly was a garbage Taboo.

At that moment, some passing handlers and clerical staff saw this. They immediately stepped forward, aggressively joining in on the verbal abuse. A group of people began a massive verbal assault on the scarf.

"Alright, just leave it to them to suppress," Cheese reminded him.

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

"It's not out of control right now, so there's no need for force. If it actually goes out of control, it gets more troublesome," Cheese replied.

"What does the last line in the file mean regarding usability?" Li Yelae asked.

"Oh, it refers to whether we can utilize the authority of this Taboo when necessary," Cheese explained. "For example, in a very dangerous situation, we handlers can use Taboos depending on the circumstances. As for Level 1 Authorization, we handlers have it from the start. Of course, for certain Taboos with lower threat levels, clerical staff can use them too."

"Like a teapot-shaped Taboo; as long as you follow instructions, you can drink tea that restores physical strength. The negative effect is that it sometimes gives people diarrhea. As for an out-of-control state... it just makes people nearby choke on water, nothing fatal."

Li Yelae understood. "It seems not all Taboos are that dangerous."

"But those kinds are rare," Cheese replied. "Most Taboos are very dangerous. Once they lose control, they cause massive chaos."

"Can you use a Taboo to fight another Taboo?" Li Yelae asked.

"Generally, it is not recommended." Cheese stopped walking and pointed further in.

They had arrived in front of another unit. Inside the containment room was a "Wanted" poster placed on a tray. Yang Chen had mentioned this one to him before. As long as the commission was high enough, one could command a Void Creature to hunt a target.

According to the file, the strength of that Void Creature was equivalent to a fourth-awakening psychic. Furthermore, because it was a Void Creature, it would not truly die. It would return time and again until the target was killed or the employer canceled the contract. But once the commission was insufficient, it would immediately go out of control.

"We once used this Wanted Poster to fight an out-of-control Taboo. The result was that the fight became even more intense, causing many other Taboos to break containment," Cheese said. "So, fighting a Taboo with another Taboo carries great risk. Do not do it unless it is absolutely necessary."

Li Yelae took note.

Subsequently, Cheese led Li Yelae through all the containment units in the upper layer, allowing him to witness many Taboos with bizarre abilities.

Such as two Door God paintings that could open a thick psychic barrier to protect those behind the door, requiring people to continuously burn incense. If they lost control, they would open all the doors in the Black Prison.

Such as a tree that grew fruit capable of temporarily increasing a person's psychic resistance, but if left unobserved, it would grow bizarre branches wildly. Once the branches became dense enough, they would sprout strange birds and attempt to attack everyone.

Such as a flag that, when held, could accelerate reaction speeds, but every night, the flag would emit chilling wails and attempt to break containment.

And a bright red, beating heart; upon physical contact, it would periodically strengthen the body and cause blood and qi to surge. But the price was a growing craving for power, making the user unwilling to let go of the heart. Ultimately, due to greed, they would quickly turn into mindless killing machines. When out of control, it would bewitch the nearest human into wearing it.

These Taboos were the targets Li Yelae would have to guard day and night for the next month.

As Li Yelae and Cheese finished inspecting the last Taboo and prepared to head back to rest and eat, a voice suddenly rang out again.

"Hey, how has someone like you managed to stay alive until now?" The voice was flippant yet aged.

Li Yelae and Cheese stopped and turned around. It was the very last Taboo of the upper layer.

A Grade C Taboo: The Nuo Mask.

It was a black mask painted with mysterious patterns. Using Nuo masks to exorcise ghosts and gods was once a mysterious belief on this land. He hadn't expected even a Nuo mask to become a Taboo permeated by Void power.

It was the Nuo mask that had uttered that aged, flippant voice. It seemed to be mocking, yet also expressing wonder.

Li Yelae and Cheese exchanged a glance. The effect of this Nuo mask was that wearing it granted powerful divination abilities, but the price was losing many memories upon taking it off. When out of control, it would bewitch someone into wearing it and forcibly take control of their body, unleashing dangerous combat power.

"Is it considered out of control?" Li Yelae asked, pointing at the mask.

Cheese shook her head. "Doesn't seem like it. This thing occasionally talks to handlers. It has very strong divination abilities and sometimes says strange things. However, as long as no one wears it, it isn't dangerous."

Li Yelae thought for a moment and then asked, "Then what do 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 died long ago!"

"You can see my fate? Are you talking about my misfortune?" Li Yelae's expression shifted, and he followed up with, "Do you have a way to solve it?"

"I might be able to..." The Nuo mask seemed to hesitate. "Forget it. It's too dangerous."

Then, it fell silent.

Cheese frowned. "This old geezer is such a riddle-maker. Don't pay it any mind. Come on, let's go eat."

"Yeah." Li Yelae didn't care much either. He nodded and left with Cheese.

After they had walked away, the Nuo mask said gloomily, "Beset by misfortune, unable to find a vessel, struck by heavenly thunder... destined to meet a powerful foe! If he does not die, he shall be the most terrifying monster of all."

***

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

The handsome man opened his eyes once more. He had once again obtained useful intelligence from the 'Ark.'

He smiled and said, "Good, the items are in place. Regardless of whether the plan succeeds or fails, we will be safe!"