Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 117 Disguise
How long is a second?

At this moment, looking at the ghost customer's split mouth, Jiang Jin realized that the so-called mask was indeed just a part of the ghost customer's facial features. If examined closely, one could also find subtle differences in facial texture and the mask of Guichi Nuo Opera.

Now, can he survive?
They cannot live.

First, the time for rule changes has not yet arrived.

Secondly, paper effigies are no longer available in convenience stores. Even if they were, the effects of incense would likely still be present.

Jiang Jin immediately leaned back, preparing to dodge the ghost's attack! Then, he planned to take the fruit knife and plunge it into the ghost customer's neck!
Go to hell!

But at that very moment, a flash of inspiration suddenly appeared in Jiang Jin's mind!
In the blink of an eye, within a single second, three or four thoughts flashed through Jiang Jin's mind.

The effects of incense...

correct!

The cognitive pollution caused by incense makes it difficult for ghost customers to distinguish between people and ghosts, and also makes it difficult for paper figures to distinguish between people and ghosts, so...

Isn't it the same...

Could this cause ghost customers to have difficulty distinguishing between humans and paper figures?!

The next instant, Jiang Jin dodged the ghost's outstretched hands, immediately stood still, suppressed all expression, and tried to make his facial muscles as stiff as possible.

Then, he took a step forward!
He didn't bend his knees at all during this step!
The calf and thigh are almost a straight line!
The ghost customer's hand froze in mid-air.

The scent of incense continued to linger in the convenience store.

At this moment, Jiang Jin, whose walking was extremely stiff and whose face was expressionless, gently moved the checkout counter partition with his body and walked around the convenience store step by step!
Just like a... real paper doll!

The difference between the paper figure and the ghost customer is obvious. One of them is that although the paper figure's face is stiff, it still looks like a real person's face. The ghost customer's face, on the other hand, looks extremely strange, as if he is wearing a mask.

So, the difference between paper figures and real people lies in their facial expressions and walking postures!

Having observed the paper figures' movement pattern many times, Jiang Jin was able to imitate them on patrol!
Now, Jiang Jin understood.

Why did the ghost customer rush straight at the paper figure when it first appeared?

When the paper figure walked to the food section, its legs were blocked by the shelves. When the ghost customer entered, the first thing they could see was the paper figure's face!
Even with the cognitive pollution of incense, without the mask, ghost customers can still mistake the paper figure for a living person at first glance!

Ghost customers are completely powerless in front of paper figures, but upon seeing a human, they are killed without mercy!

That's why ghost customers rush straight in!
But then the paper figure started walking in front of him! Its eerie gait and expressionless face made the ghost customer realize that it wasn't human, but a paper figure!
So those creepy customers dared not bother them anymore!

However, the ghost customer did not run away immediately. Instead, he carefully followed behind the paper figure in order to observe it further and confirm that it was a paper figure and not a living person!
The paper figures, due to the cognitive pollution caused by the incense, couldn't distinguish between ghost customers and masked living people in the convenience store. Only when the male and female paper figures (presumably arranged for a ghost marriage) left the convenience store did they take the old woman ghost away!

Therefore, Jiang Jin must continue to feign innocence and continue this charade of an empty city!

Under the fear that Jiang Jin might be a paper doll, the ghost customer, though still following behind Jiang Jin, clearly dared not get too close.

It's observing whether Jiang Jin is faking it or is truly a paper doll!
Jiang Jin could only continue moving step by step with mechanical steps, making sure his knees never bent. His heart pounded wildly during this process; now, the slightest misstep could send him straight to the gates of hell!
Thank goodness! Thank goodness I didn't stab myself with the fruit knife! Otherwise, even if a celestial being descended to earth, I would be doomed!
After Jiang Jin circled around three times, the ghost customer seemed to finally dispel his doubts.

The gaping mouth began to close up little by little, and now it looked like it was wearing a mask again.

The ghost customer then left the convenience store.

Fearing a counterattack, Jiang Jin stubbornly continued pretending to be a paper doll, walking around for a full four times before finally stopping.

so close!

Almost!
I was just a hair's breadth away from dying!

……

Next, Jiang Jin told the remaining three people about it.

They suddenly realized!

So all you had to do was pretend to be a paper doll!

“The shopkeeper is probably also a paper figure,” Jiang Jin replied. “The paper figures are folded out, probably on the night of the Ghost Festival, to protect people from these ghosts from the underworld.”

“So people learn sign language and wear masks to pretend to be ghosts. Also, because there is incense here, it is easier for ghosts to mistake them for ghosts,” Wu Ge continued, “The customers in the food area were planning to stay here before.”

Everyone looked at the incense burning at the cashier.

The most crucial element is still the incense!

Only with this can they avoid death!
“But lime juice is still a threat to us.” Wu Ge was still not entirely at ease. “We are also unsure to what extent lime juice can repair the cognitive pollution that incense has caused to ghost customers.”

"Lime juice is only good for waking up humans; it's far less effective than coffee or tea," Jiang Jin deduced. "It'll probably have a similar effect on ghosts. We just need to try our best to look like paper dolls..."

“If only there were a resident paper figure here,” Murong Yan sighed. “That way, we could just extinguish the incense and watch the paper figure deal with each of the ghost customers who came in.”

"You wish," Wu Ge shook his head. "Why don't you suggest finding the Wen family's Twin Demons to suppress them here?"

"The Wen Family Duo?" Murong Yan was taken aback.

Jiang Jin replied, "It's a very old American TV series called Supernatural, which features a pair of very skilled witch hunter brothers."

"Americans have the surname Wen?" Murong Yan still found it strange. "Could they be of Chinese descent?" "Their surname is Winchester," Wu Ge said. "In China, they are jokingly called the Wen Family Duo."

……

It's half past four in the morning.

The dim lights in the office area illuminated the solemn faces of Jiang Jin and Lin Ye.

Murong Yan is currently on duty, while Wu Ge is too tired and says he will sleep for a while and asks Jiang Jin to wake him up if anything happens.

“Dr. Lin,” Jiang Jin suddenly said, “we’ve been through thick and thin together, and we’re not exactly strangers. Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

"You say it."

“You…” Jiang Jin remained wary of the possibility that there might be a culprit among the remaining people, “You were under the command of Yu Tianlun, the leader of the Dawn Team, weren’t you?”

"Commander Yu Tianlun," he murmured the name, his voice filled with long-lost nostalgia, "He is the purest person I have ever met."

Jiang Jin leaned against the locker, listening quietly. He could tell that Lin Ye wasn't just chatting idly; he was retrieving his most precious memories.

“Once he’s made up his mind about something, he never compromises.” Lin Ye’s fingers tapped lightly on the table, the rhythm steady. “Whether it’s facing a terrifying dungeon boss or the dirty dealings between reincarnators, he always stands on the side he believes is right.”

"I heard that one of your Dawn's horror dungeons was based on the horror movie Silk. I've seen that movie, could you tell me about it?"

Lin Ye's eyes were slightly unfocused, as if he had returned to that bloody night.

……

"Those scumbags from the Blood Skull team kidnapped a female researcher from that paranormal research team, Su Yuan." Lin Ye's tone turned cold. "They plan to do something inhuman to her in the lab."

Jiang Jin naturally understood what he was talking about. No matter what a reincarnator does in a terrifying instance, they can always return to reality afterward, and constantly walking the line between life and death, so it's not surprising that they might commit heinous acts. Even the imperial court never investigates the crimes committed by reincarnators within instances. Those with strict team discipline, like Yu Tianlun, are the rare exceptions.

"Yu Tianlun kicked open the laboratory door." Lin Ye's voice was deep and powerful. "The leader of the Blood Skull team, Andro—nicknamed 'The Butcher,' a hunter by profession—was standing there, holding a specially made chainsaw."

Jiang Jin had heard Yu Tianlun and Xu Jiaqiu recount that battle in detail; Su Yuan, the current leader of the Dawn team, was a character from the original storyline of that dungeon. Bloodskull, on the other hand, was a long-extinct team, known for its madness.

"That guy's a madman. He likes to slice off pieces of flesh from living people and listen to their screams," Lin Ye sneered. "But he ran into a brick wall that day."

"Commander Yu didn't waste any words and took action immediately."

"The Blood Skull team is not as strong as Dawn as the rest of the team, but Andro is indeed a ruthless character," Lin Ye recalled. "In that battle, all the glass in the laboratory was shattered, and the ghost boy Yoshi was also released, and he would pester anyone he saw."

"But Yu Tianlun personally killed Andro, that bloodthirsty butcher. Almost the entire Blood Skull team was wiped out, except for one person, Valeria Pasniola, nicknamed 'Blood Spider'."

"Wait, Blood Spider? I remember she was with the Bloody Team, right?"

Jiang Jin deliberately made a probing remark.

He recalled that intelligence indicated that "Blood Spider" Valeria was an Italian from the South Tyrol region who had illegally entered China.

Western Europe has consistently been the region with the most severe memetic contamination in Europe, while Eastern Europe and Russia have relatively less contamination. The two Western European countries with the most severe memetic contamination are Germany and Italy.

Therefore, an extremely bizarre scene unfolded: Western European refugees fled en masse to Eastern Europe, with Russia even experiencing a Western European refugee crisis. A significant number of refugees also illegally crossed into China, many of whom had criminal records; a large portion were drug addicts, prostitutes, murderers, and robbers. After being contaminated with memes in China, they were all sent to drug markets. People had no sympathy for these illegal immigrants who transported drugs thousands of miles.

“You’ll understand once you hear me out. She tried to escape, but Commander Yu wouldn’t let her go.” Lin Ye’s fingers tightened slightly. “But then Blood Lord appeared.”

"The leader of the Bloodthirsty Gang, perhaps?"

This person is a well-known reincarnator. Although he is not among the top-ranked LV4 giants, he is already a terrifying existence for Jiang Jin now.

"That guy was doing a side quest in the horror dungeon at the time, which wasn't his business. But he was interested in 'Blood Spider' Valeria's abilities—and perhaps also her curvaceous figure."

"The Blood Lord gave her two choices—to submit, or to die."

“She chose to submit. Then she knelt on the ground and let the Blood Lord etch the mark of enslavement into her soul, thus becoming a lackey of the Bloody Team. Commander Yu can no longer attack the Blood Lord,” Lin Ye closed his eyes, “That guy is, after all, a Soul Master LV4 Soul Prison Lord.”

"So," Jiang Jin asked softly, "you've been trying to kill her all along?"

"No, not really. After all, we almost wiped out the Blood Skull group without losing any members, so she didn't have any feelings for the dead members."

So far, what he has said is completely consistent with what Yu Tianlun told Jiang Jin.

It seems Wu Ge was overthinking things. There's nothing sinister among them, is there? If there really were sinister people, they would have known they were alive long ago and would have just pounced on them and eaten them. Why bother pretending?
Jiang Jin continued to look at his watch.

It's almost 5 a.m.

His ability to alter the rules will soon be restored!

There are only about two hours left before the day shift employees come to relieve them!
At 4:45, the four people drew lots again.

However, just as the results of the lottery were about to be announced...

The automatic door is open!
This time, three ghost customers entered at the same time!

　The Yimin Convenience Store arc ends tomorrow.

　　Do you all like the style of this volume?
　　
　
(End of this chapter)