Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 102 Humanity is destined for extinction

Jiang Jin arrived at the convenience store's magazine shelf, brushed aside a few entertainment weekly magazines with his fingers, revealing several newspapers underneath.

Having grown accustomed to reading news on his phone for years, Jiang Jin picked up a newspaper, the familiar smell of ink evoking a sense of nostalgia. He casually picked up a copy of the "City Evening News," flipping through it to see if there were any clues.

[Rain intensifies during the Ghost Festival in the city; a murderer appears in the old city during the rainy night]

[Man collapses on the street due to sudden illness; crowds work together to help, warming hearts]

[College student falsely accused of taking photos without consent on subway; online outburst exacerbates gender antagonism]

[Woman attempts suicide by jumping off bridge after drinking; firefighters and police officers work together to rescue her]

[Caring Enterprises Donate Supplies to Help Children in Impoverished Mountainous Areas Pursue Education]

[With the domestic game market showing a bleak outlook for horror games, Magic Image Technology's Night Light Studio is shifting its focus to developing romance games.]

[Government criticizes the phenomenon of burning paper figures and houses during the Ghost Festival: Traditional worship should not fall into a vicious cycle of superstitious consumption]

Upon seeing the last title, Jiang Jin immediately began to read carefully:
"Recently, high-priced Ghost Festival (Zhongyuan Festival) sacrificial items such as paper figures and paper houses have appeared in the funeral market in our city, which has attracted the attention of the government. Relevant departments have clearly pointed out that traditional sacrificial activities should return to their essence of remembrance and avoid falling into the trap of superstitious consumption."

During the Ghost Festival (Zhongyuan Festival), people express their remembrance and respect for their ancestors through sacrificial rites. However, in recent years, the items used for these rites have been continuously "upgraded," evolving from simple incense, candles, and paper money to paper figures and houses, with prices soaring accordingly. Merchants exploit this to incentivize consumers to engage in competitive purchasing, causing the cost of funeral rites to rise continuously.

Government departments expressed concern, stating that such superstitious consumption not only increases the economic burden on the public but also deviates from the original purpose of traditional ancestral worship. Ancestral worship is a solemn ceremony for upholding filial piety and remembering ancestors, and should not be excessively swayed by commercial interests. The departments emphasized that the public should view ancestral worship rationally, adhere to the principle of frugality, and express their grief in a more environmentally friendly and civilized manner.

Jiang Jin read to the end but still couldn't figure out much. He looked around and continued reading the article.

He still wasn't quite used to not having Deathstroke by his side in the horror dungeon.

At this moment, Wu Ge stood in front of the frozen food shelves in the food section, the cold light from his phone screen reflecting on his mask, making him appear particularly gloomy.

He pulled up photos taken at the same location ten minutes earlier and carefully compared them one by one.

Wu Ge reached out, took a sandwich, and flipped it over to check the ingredient list:

Ingredients: Wheat flour, water, ham, salt, sodium nitrite, eggs, vegetable oil, egg yolks, vinegar, cheese, preservatives...

Production Date: ▇▇▇▇Year▇▇Month▇▇Day
Shelf life: Until [Date]
The date field is entirely outlined in black, making it impossible to tell whether the product has expired.

At the same time, Murong Yan stood next to Dr. Lin, her fingers unconsciously stroking his pants.

Dr. Lin quickly distanced himself from her, looking at her coldly, and used sign language to ask: "What do you want to do?"

“I can’t die.” Her voice was extremely low, almost squeezed out from between her teeth. “I’m willing to do anything. My sister died at the hands of the Bug Hole team, and I absolutely cannot die before I get my revenge.”

Dr. Lin slightly turned his judge's mask, scrutinizing her through his deep-set eyes.

He certainly understood the subtext of those words—in the cycle of reincarnation, it is the norm for the weak to depend on the strong, and when a woman says "anything" to a man, it often means the most primitive survival transaction.

But he just shook his head.

“I won’t give special treatment to anyone.” His voice was calm to the point of being cruel. “Too many reincarnators have died at the hands of the Insect Nest team, and you’re no exception.”

Murong Yan's fingers clenched tightly, her pitiful eyes looking at Dr. Lin through the eye holes of her mask.

"Give up on revenge," Dr. Lin continued in a low voice. "Lady Pustules is a mutated branch of witchcraft, and she has advanced from LV3 'Insect Molting' to LV4 'Gu Mother'. Her 'Bone-Eating Gu' can even gnaw an LV5 Reincarnator to an empty shell. What do you have to fight with?"

Murong Yan's breathing became rapid, and her face beneath the mask was contorted with rage.

“I can wait!” she said through gritted teeth. “As long as I’m alive, there’s always a chance—”

"An opportunity?" Dr. Lin leaned closer to her and said in a voice only she could hear, "Her body is already a mobile insect hive, and her true form is most likely no longer human. Rather than hoping for revenge, we should pray that she dies from meme contamination someday."

He turned and walked away after he finished speaking, leaving Murong Yan standing there, her nails digging deeply into her palms.

Meanwhile, in various corners of the convenience store, others were also secretly taking action:
Jiang Jin stood in front of the newspaper rack, flipping through the newspapers, hoping to find clues between the lines of the news.

Old Chen and Qiu Feng stood guard by the cashier, vigilantly observing every "customer" who entered the store.

Wu Ge continued to examine the food packaging, while A Zi kept an eye on the customers dining in the food section.

Dr. Lin's fingers unconsciously traced the edge of the judge's mask, his thoughts drifting back to that blood-red night—the Heian period, Kyoto, the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.

Back then, he was a Soul Reaper who had reached the pinnacle of LV3 Soul Refiner, just one step away from becoming the Lord of the Soul Prison. Relying on the reputation of the Dawn Team, he stepped into that terrifying dungeon with great confidence.

He remembered that the streets of Kyoto were shrouded in thick fog after nightfall, and the red light of the paper lanterns was tinged with blood in the fog.

On the first night, across three bridges, the scout "Night Owl" was the first to run into trouble. Standing in the middle of a bridge, he suddenly pointed at the river and shouted, "There's someone in the water!"

The next second, his throat was ripped open by invisible claws, and blood splattered onto the demon relief on the bridge railing. When everyone rushed over, they only saw a pale woman's face float on the surface of the river, her mouth stretched to her ears, slowly sinking into the water.

The second night, Suzaku Avenue.

The entire team was trapped in an abandoned mansion by the webs of the "Jorogumo". Hunter "Iron Wall", a Level 3 Forbidden Zone Hunter, bravely faced the half-human, half-spider monster to cover their retreat, only to be ensnared in a cocoon. They could hear his screams through the silken cocoon, but could only watch helplessly as thick blood seeped from within.

The third night, Xiajing District.

That was the most brutal breakout battle. Nearly twenty members of the group were surrounded and attacked by the "Hundred Demons," and more than eight members died. Dr. Lin remembered that he was leaning against a burning townhouse, holding the Devouring Blade, facing the demons in front of him. His professional skills were practically meaningless.

Most importantly... the [Night Parade of One Hundred Demons] instance is nearing a [containment breach] state. The Reincarnation System is no longer able to suppress it, and it may even backfire and spread beyond the isolation zone, invading the Muxu City!

Just when he thought he was going to die, Xu Yinqiu arrived at his side.

The most trusted healer of the entire regiment, covered in blood, stood atop the pile of corpses as she rushed over. Had she not used her healing magic to save herself in time, Dr. Lin… no, it should be said that Lin Ye wouldn't be alive today.

Even now, he still dreams of the firelight from that day. He dreams of kneeling on the scorched earth, looking at the remains of his comrades who shared life and death with him.

When Xu Yinqiu resolutely followed Commander Yu out of the regiment, he repeatedly tried to swallow, wanting to leave with them, but ultimately couldn't bring himself to say it. Leaving the protection of such a large group as Chenxi, and starting all over again with Commander Yu? He didn't have that courage.

Ah Zi said to him, "Master, please carry me?" Lin Ye himself found it so absurd he wanted to laugh. Did these people really think this was a group raid in an online game? They would soon realize that when faced with real terror, even the most powerful skills and items were just paper, and whether they were sealed or not made no difference.

The extent of the newbie protection each reincarnator receives at LV1 determines the despair they will face in the future. All reincarnators are destined to die in the end; they can only endlessly enter terrifying dungeons until they perish, and there will never be a day when the memetic contamination is completely cured.

In truth, the imperial court had long ago accepted a reality: all of humanity would eventually be wiped out by meme contamination. The only difference was how much longer this generation could delay that day. At this point, the feuds between reincarnators seemed utterly ridiculous to him.

The blast of cold air from the convenience store's frozen shelves pulled him back to reality. Dr. Lin looked at his slightly trembling fingertips and suddenly forced a smile.

Those who survive are often the ones who suffer the most. A glimmer of hope is more agonizing than utter despair.

At this moment, Jiang Jin walked to Dr. Lin's side and, under the guise of tidying up the shelves, said in a very low voice, "I've thought of something. Some items show zero inventory, but they're clearly on the shelves. Could it be the extra items mentioned in the rules?"

His hands clenched unconsciously, and his voice lowered even further: "I'm sorry, Dr. Lin, I'm still not very used to communicating in sign language."

Dr. Lin's judge's mask turned slightly towards him, then he skillfully responded in sign language: "Possibly. Remember which items have abnormal inventory levels."

After a pause, he added, "[Sign language requires a lot of practice; it comes down to feeling.]" His finger movements were clean and crisp, clearly showing that he had adapted to this form of communication very quickly, just like a professional sign language teacher.

Just then, a violent cough broke the silence of the convenience store. A customer, choked by the smell of incense, began to breathe rapidly beneath the Nuo opera mask.

Azi's fingers gripped the edge of the shelf tightly; Wu Ge silently retreated behind the shelf.

The air in the entire convenience store seemed to freeze.

Then, the hunched-over elderly customer slowly walked to the cashier, holding a loaf of bread in his hand.

The old man placed the bread on the counter and, with trembling sign language, asked: "I can't see clearly, what kind of filling is in this bread?"

Cold sweat seeped from beneath Old Chen's Yama mask.

He picked up the bread and examined the label closely—"Pork Floss Bread"—but at that moment his mind went blank.

What's the sign language for pork floss? I can't remember!
His fingers froze in mid-air, trembling, afraid of angering the customer in front of him, who was neither human nor ghost.

At this critical moment, Jiang Jin quickly stepped forward and used sign language.

His movements were still a little clumsy, but his gestures were accurate: first, he put the five fingers of one hand together and the palm against the outside of the other arm; then he spread the five fingers of both hands and shook them quickly with the palms facing each other; finally, he put the five fingers of one hand together and pressed it lightly against the palm of the other hand. The old man nodded and then showed the payment code.

After the transaction was completed, Old Chen gave Jiang Jin a grateful look.

However, just as the old man turned to leave, he suddenly stopped.

Then, the old man turned back to the cashier and gave Jiang Jin a series of rapid sign words: "You must leave here before midnight."

Before Jiang Jin could respond, the old man strode out of the automatic door, his figure instantly swallowed by the darkness outside.

Jiang Jin stood frozen in place, his fingers unconsciously repeating the warning gesture. Dr. Lin, who had somehow appeared behind him, had also clearly seen the gesture. These days, they could understand the meaning of any sign language as quickly as a professional sign language teacher.

It's midnight...

What will happen?

(End of this chapter)