Chapter 179: Endless Return, Impossible to Contain

"When the dead first started returning, there weren't that many of them," Gao Tian said with regret. "If the Supernatural Disaster Bureau had contained them back then, maybe none of what followed would have happened."

Qin Zhuguang shook her head. "You severely underestimate how terrifying the Old District is."

Every single station born in the Inner World was an absolute nightmare.

"The ghost hunters who survived the Old District back then, along with every file on the incident—including the conclusion reached by that top-tier expert at the end—all pointed to one absolute truth: the Old District could not be contained by any means.

"The moment anyone interrupted their 'normal' lives, it triggered an expansion event.

"If anyone tried to use a Supernatural Item on them, or cast these dead souls into an alternate dimension or even outer space, it would only force them to realize sooner that they were already dead.

"Those dead souls would automatically return to the Old District and remember who they truly were. After that, the Old District would trigger a new wave of expansion.

"This was an absolute rule. There was no way to stop their return.

"That is why the file for this incident was officially named the 'Returner Event'."

Hearing Qin Zhuguang's explanation, Gao Tian was at a loss for words.

How exactly had the Old District issue been resolved later on?

Qin Zhuguang continued, "Five years later, the Old District underwent its third expansion.

"This expansion wasn't triggered by living people from the outside going in. The yellow warning line left by that expert was effective; it successfully isolated the humans outside the district.

"Rather, the people living inside the district naturally discovered the truth of their own deaths.

"No matter how well the dead imitate the living, there are always discrepancies. Even without outside interference, it was only a matter of time before they realized they were dead.

"Even during the course of a normal daily routine, performing certain actions would trigger the Killing Rules of the district's residents. Or, specific movements would spark flashes of their final moments before death.

"These tiny details piled up day after day. Finally, after five years of peace, every resident of the entire Old District woke up to reality once again. Thus, the Old District ushered in its third wave of expansion.

"This wave of expansion was incredibly dangerous. Experts estimated that the district's population would surpass five hundred thousand and cover an area of over three hundred square kilometers.

"If the situation had spiraled out of control, the catastrophic consequences would have directly rivaled the devastation the King of All Ghosts, Xu Yuan, unleashed upon Minghai City.

"The expert who quelled the initial Old District chaos was already in semi-retirement. Ordered to step up in a time of crisis, he came out of retirement and dragged his sick, broken body into the Old District.

"Fortunately, he was there. Because of him, the tragedy of Minghai City did not play out ahead of time."

"First, at an enormous cost, the expert forcefully pacified the residents of the Old District once again," Qin Zhuguang said. "The expansion ultimately ended halfway through. The Old District's population capped out at 150,000, far below the initial estimates.

"After that incident, his physical condition deteriorated by the day. He must have suffered severe lingering injuries. He was younger than Old Man Sun, but in the end, he passed away long before him.

"Of course, everyone knew that the Old District's expansion had merely been contained and delayed. A few years later, the people inside would remember their deaths all over again. With every expansion, the Old District's population and scale grew more massive. When that time came again, would there be anyone left in this world capable of suppressing it?

"During the final years of his life, the expert lived inside the Old District, constantly tinkering, working on a single task.

"He was terrified that once he was gone, no one would be able to keep the Old District in check."

"What did this senior do?" Gao Tian asked.

Qin Zhuguang jutted her chin, gesturing for Gao Tian to look inside the Old District.

It was densely packed inside. Every street and every flight of stairs was plastered with various Rule-Based Horrors.

No singing.

No closing your eyes.

No washing your hands.

No smoking.

"Every single one of these warning signs, every one of these Rule-Based Horrors, was hung up by him personally," she said. "They cover the entire district.

"Forbidding the residents from doing these things was meant to prevent them from triggering their Killing Rules, and to stop familiar actions from reminding them of how they died.

"As long as they lived strictly according to these Rule-Based Horrors, the residents of this district would continue to believe they were normal people for ten, even twenty years. They would never realize that the entire city was filled with corpses mimicking the living.

"'No Entry for the Living.' That is the Old District's first core rule.

"It prevents people from the outside from entering and making the residents remember they are dead.

"The tens of thousands of rules act as the second core rule to keep the Old District from waking up.

"It prevents the residents from remembering their own deaths.

"In this way, the expert spent the rest of his life using these two core rules to completely lock down the Old District. He turned it into an isolated paradise—a self-contained utopia trapped forever in an unwaking dream.

"Perhaps, whether for the residents inside the town or the real world outside, this was a good thing.

"After all, every time these residents remembered their own deaths, they suffered immensely too."

Gao Tian was shaken by the sheer number of capable figures in the ghost hunter world. "Would the residents really obey the Rule-Based Horrors written by this expert?"

"They would," Qin Zhuguang replied.

"Rules are absolute. Not only must ghosts obey them, but humans must as well.

"The residents of the Old District followed every single rule with genuine strictness. From then on, the Old District remained incredibly peaceful and stable. It never expanded again.

"The Black Death Beetle I put on you can bypass the first core rule, allowing you to move freely in the Old District for seven minutes.

"However, you must still obey the densely packed second core rule. If you see 'No looking up,' you absolutely cannot look up. If you see 'No drinking water,' you can't even swallow a mouthful of saliva.

"Failing to do so will trigger the dying memories of nearby residents. The rules left behind by that expert will directly wipe you out of existence."

At this point, Qin Zhuguang offered Gao Tian a bit of reassurance. "Once we go in, you don't need to be too tense.

"If you accidentally trigger one or two rules, I'll find a way to keep you alive.

"After all, I promised that no matter what happened, I wouldn't let you die.

"But it's best you remain careful. There are no absolutes in this world; if you can avoid stepping on a landmine, don't.

"Moreover, the ultimate purpose of the rules is to keep the Old District from waking up. If that happens, even I won't be able to handle it."

"What was the ultimate fate of the Old District in reality?" Gao Tian asked.

"Not long after setting up the rules, the expert passed away from his illness," Qin Zhuguang said.

"The entire Old District operated strictly according to his rules. For a full ten years, it didn't expand.

"The area was completely sealed off for those ten years as well. Even satellites in the sky were forbidden from peeking inside. The photos of this region displayed to users by massive foreign companies like Google were all from decades ago.

"Then, one day ten years later, the Supernatural Disaster Bureau's monitoring station suddenly discovered that everyone inside the Old District—along with the Rule-Based Horrors and warning signs—had vanished completely.

"Nothing was left on the empty streets. Overnight, the city had turned into a ghost town.

"No one knew what had happened. The lockdown on the Old District didn't end; instead, it became even stricter.

"Judging by the results, the Old District had already crossed into the Inner World."

They prepared to enter the district.

"Once you get what you need inside, let me know," Qin Zhuguang said. "I'll use my ability to instantly pull you out.

"Because I'll be carrying someone, there might be a ten-second delay."

Gao Tian crouched down and placed a palm-sized Mirror just outside the Old District. "You don't need to worry about that.

"Once I grab what I want inside, I'll find my own way out. You don't need to look after me."

Qin Zhuguang breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "That's good.

"For me to leave the district alone, it won't even take a single second.

"Also.

"There's a specific logic to the signs in the district.

"The rules written on the circular signs are effective within a three-meter radius.

"The rules on the rectangular signs are effective within a ten-meter radius.

"And the rules on the triangular signs are effective within a thirty-meter radius.

"The 'No Entry for the Living' rule on the warning line applies to the entire district. Once the Black Death Beetle you're carrying starts its timer, you only have seven minutes. No matter what happens, when time is up, we must leave.

"Let me emphasize this again. If you accidentally break a few rules in the district, I will do my best to help. But whatever you do, do not let the residents inside remember they are dead. The consequences of that are something even I would struggle to bear."

The young girl nagged endlessly, drilling the instructions into him again and again, terrified that Gao Tian might forget a single rule.

Gao Tian glanced at the compass in his hand. "Don't worry. I'll do my best not to cause you any trouble."

"Where are you heading after the Old District?" Qin Zhuguang asked.

"The second stop is Longshu Temple," Gao Tian replied.

"But that's a personal matter. You don't need to help me there.

"The third stop is Blood Door Village.

"I need to find someone there. I might still need your help for that."

Hearing the words Blood Door Village, Qin Zhuguang covered her face with her two small hands, groaning in agony. "You really know how to pick your spots.

"After Blood Door Village, you aren't thinking of taking a stroll through the Abandoned Pagoda School, are you?"

Even when Old Man Sun was alive, he wouldn't dare set foot in these hellholes.

"I wouldn't go that far," Gao Tian said.

"Blood Door Village is the final stop."

Hearing this, Qin Zhuguang let out a slight sigh of relief.

The Black Death Beetle's timer began. The two of them stepped onto the stairs of the Old District, ready to enter the city.

Walking ahead of him in her blue and white school uniform, Qin Zhuguang suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her single ponytail swayed as if she had just remembered something. "Right.

"There's one more little thing I want to ask you.

"Although it doesn't really matter."

She slowly turned her head. "Before the old man died... was he in pain?"

Qin Zhuguang was Old Man Sun's final disciple.

"Even though, after he was gone, I never had to wake up at four in the morning before sunrise to practice on the wooden dummies in the courtyard—

"But thinking back on it carefully, I still kind of miss it.

"Sometimes, I even dream of him at night. He asks me if I've been studying hard and practicing properly while he's not around."

Gao Tian fell silent for a moment.

"It wasn't painful. He died of old age, and he left with a smile.

"In a one-on-one duel, Old Man Sun fought honorably and contained the King of All Ghosts, Xu Yuan.

"Right up until the moment of his death, he never lost. He died as a true warrior."

"That's good," Qin Zhuguang said.

"Let's not waste any more time. Let's go."

She quietly turned her face away.