Night’s Nomenclature

"I always thought that coming to Forbidden Land No. 002 was like going back home for you," expressed Qing Chen, "But even you also need to find a mimosa to check whether there's been any additional rule?"

Li Shutong explained, "A Forbidden Land would not be immediately formed after the death of a superhuman. A few decades ago, a senior Knight was buried in this place, yet the rule that belongs to him has yet to appear."

"If that senior's rule were to appear, what do you think it would be?" Qing Chen asked, "Is Teacher familiar with him?"

Li Shutong thought it over, "His rule may be that Li Shutong and Chen Jiazhang are not allowed to come in…"

Qing Chen, "???"

"I often made trouble for that senior uncle when he was alive," said Li Shutong with a trace of nostalgia on his face, "He was always the one who helped me and my senior brother to wipe our butts when we were young. At that time, we were awfully naughty and gave him a lot of headache."

"It won't be to the extent that he'd stop you from coming in, right?" Qing Chen sighed, "Can you answer seriously?"

"It's hard to predict what the rule would be," Li Shutong shook his head, "Perhaps only he himself knew what it was he hated the most. To be honest, after the formation of Forbidden Land No. 002, many rules have made even us as junior Knights feel dumbfounded. Compared to other Forbidden Lands, this place is simply too down-to-earth.”

"So, teacher, Forbidden Land No. 002…" Qing Chen suddenly stopped speaking, remembering he wasn't supposed to talk about the rules of the Forbidden Land.

Li Shutong pinned him with a solemn stare, "I need you to vow that you will not divulge the rules of Forbidden Land No. 002 to others."

Qing Chen was taken aback. He had never seen Li Shutong look this serious before.

"Teacher, I vow not to divulge the rules of this place," Qing Chen replied just as seriously. "But won't something bad happen if you tell me the rules of this Forbidden Land while we're in it?"

Li Shutong shook his head, "No."

"Why?" Qing Chen asked in shock.

Li Shutong smiled mysteriously, "Don't worry, you'll understand it in a few days. Let's talk about the rules first."

"First, you can't urinate or defecate at random."

Qing Chen, "…"

"Second, you're not allowed to swear."

Qing Chen, "……"

"Third, no spitting."

Qing Chen pressed his hand to his forehead, "No, Teacher, wait a moment, let's slow down for a second."

Li Shutong looked at his student amusedly, as if he had expected the boy's reaction.

The boy looked at his teacher and asked doubtfully, "Why does this Forbidden Place have such upright values!?"

It even made Qing Chen feel as though he was listening to a civics education class on how to be a civilized and disciplined youth.

"Rather than the land itself, it's more accurate to say that the values of our Knight founders are very upright," Li Shutong cheerfully replied.

"It's almost like they're obsessed with cleanliness," complained Qing Chen helplessly…

"Rule 4, don't pick the flowers in this land."

"Rule 5, drones are not allowed inside."

"Rule 6, the use of firearms is prohibited."

"Rule 7, killing is not allowed."

Qing Chen raised his hand, "Why did you bring me here if we're not allowed to kill?"

Li Shutong glanced at him, "You can't do the killing directly."

It meant that you could only utilize the rules to kill.

"Rule 8, you can't play jump rope."

"Wait a minute," Qing Chen once again stopped his teacher, "Is that for real? What kind of rule is that? How could there be such a rule?

Li Shutong continued, "Rule 9, you can't say that beef is not delicious."

"Rule 10, when someone else is singing, you're not allowed to sing along."

Qing Chen wondered, "Was this senior a mic hogger?"

"No," Li Shutong shook his head, "He was a very introverted person, but every time he mustered the courage to sing, no matter what song he sang, his senior brother would follow and sing the same thing, which really annoyed him."

"Rule 11, you can't lose in a rock-paper-scissors game."

"Rule 12, you must be punctual."

"Rule 13, you can't steal the birds' eggs."

"Rule 14…"

Qing Chen was currently very confused. There were indeed a lot of rules in Forbidden Land No. 002, but these rules were quite different from what he imagined.

In other Forbidden Lands, you had to give one liter of fresh blood or sacrifice a teammate each day.

But in the home ground of the Knights, why were the rules so… out of left field.

Li Shutong asked Qing Chen with a smile, "Do you think these rules are like a joke? But the fact is, it's these exact rules that have killed the most people. Forbidden Land No. 2 is recognized as one of the Forbidden Lands with the most victims."

Qing Chen suddenly fell into deep thought.

Yes, it was impossible for a human not to eat, drink, and excrete waste. According to the rules, spilling even a single drop of urine would make all the living beings in this Forbidden Land hunt you down.

Furthermore, it wasn't unusual for people to slip out a swear word or two when they were surprised or panicked, but swearing in this place would get you killed.

The inability to use firearms also meant that humans wouldn't be able to fight beasts with modern, conventional weapons.

Li Shutong told Qing Chen, "When you know the rules of a Forbidden Land, killing people in it becomes a very simple matter."

"How?"

"Don't worry about that for now. I'll let you map out the surroundings for two days, and once you remember most of the terrain, I'll show you a demonstration," answered Li Shutong.

However, Qing Chen suddenly said, "Teacher, two days later, I want to try it by myself first."

"Huh?" Li Shutong raised his eyebrows, "Teacher already promised to help you, so there's no need to be reserved with me."

"It's not that I'm being reserved with you, I've just suddenly got some ideas now," Qing Chen said after some thoughts, "If I fail to do it, I'll ask Teacher to help me."

Once he finished talking, the boy started to walk forward. Li Shutong sighed and spoke into the woods, "I suddenly feel that it's really boring to be his teacher. But you guys should know, I like his unyielding spirit."

After walking for a while, Qing Chen turned his head and asked, "Teacher, what's the most popular song in the Inner World?"

Li Shutong paused and said, "Oh, I remember something I have to settle with you. I've seen the musical scores you gave me. At first you gave me classical music scores, and those are pretty good, but later on you began fooling me with scores of nursery rhymes."

Qing Chen was stunned for a moment. "How do you know that what I gave you were nursery rhymes…"

Li Shutong answered with a blank face, "Because those songs also exist in the Inner World. Just like Farewell,1the song they talked about when Qing Chen first came to Prison 18 they've been passed down the generations from a long time ago."

"Hahahaha, how embarrassing…"

…

Countdown 66:00:00.

Two days later, in the morning.

In the depths of the Forbidden Land, where the outskirts met the hinterland, a well-trained troop was slowly advancing inside.

More than a hundred people stepped on the soft decaying leaves, making minimal noises.

They had turned off all the intercom channels, because communication needed to be kept silent the moment they entered the Forbidden Land.

So as not to say the wrong thing.

All the soldiers looked fierce and tough in their black combat uniforms and sturdy combat boots, the gingko symbol of the Qing Family's army printed on their shoulders.

At the forefront of the troop, there were four mechanical hounds scanning the area, transmitting all information into the monitor held by the person behind them.

In the midst of the woods, one of the soldiers suddenly stopped marching.

It only took an instant for the rest to follow suit.

The air grew thicker.

An officer in his early thirties took a deep look at the forest in front of him and realized that he could not move forward for the time being. Any further and they would cross into the hinterland of the Forbidden Land.

He said to the soldier behind him, "Let Sir Qing Huai come over."

In a regular context, ‘hinterland' and ‘outskirts' were usually rather vague.

However, in the Forbidden Land, this dividing line was especially distinct.

Because right in front of your eyes, there were countless unusual animals and plants, making it seem as if you were about to enter a different, bizarre world.

At this moment, a young man with a stern face walked from behind the team.

He wore a black beret, highlighting his thin and angular face, looking like a perfectly cut sculpture.

Translator: Zee

• 1the song they talked about when Qing Chen first came to Prison 18