Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 126 The Twelfth Patrol
"Thankfully, it won't rain tonight."

Looking at the somber night outside, Yu Tianlun turned to Jiang Jin and said, "Jiang Jin, do you remember my warning?"

“I remember,” Jiang Jin nodded solemnly, “there are some things that you have to turn a blind eye to.”

"We are currently able to take refuge here thanks to the care of important figures in the imperial court. There are currently significant disagreements regarding the management of reincarnators and the prevention of meme contamination."

Jiang Jin was also somewhat aware of this.

Currently, there are five cities in the country that have been invaded by memes, and without a doubt, Muxu City is the most severely affected and the one that the imperial court is paying the most attention to.

Many cabinet officials believe that most reincarnators enjoy the various benefits of the reincarnation camps built for them by the court and the court's meme pollution prevention and control system, but they do not think about serving the country or the court, and are really ungrateful.

Therefore, they have always hoped to change the current management of reincarnators and forcibly conscript them. Most reincarnators are still flesh and blood beings of the material world, and they will die under gunfire.

However, the cabinet currently still hopes to treat the reincarnators with a conciliatory approach, lest they be pushed too far and end up doing more harm than good. The radicals, on the other hand, believe that with the meme contamination situation becoming increasingly severe, a conciliatory approach will not solve the problem and will only embolden the reincarnators. They argue that the government is paying them to serve the country!

Yu Tianlun continued, "If it's to serve the country and stop the spread of meme pollution, I'll naturally do my duty without hesitation, even if it means dying in battle. But do they want our loyalty to the court, or our loyalty to our superiors?"

Jiang Jin had also watched "Lurking".

He even wondered if the leader would say that there were two crystals of resentment here, and which one was noble and which one was filthy.
"Many people hope to make an example of me by suppressing me. The fact that I can still live in a villa like this is something many people can't tolerate. That's why those bastards like the 'Fierce Tigers' were able to come and attack you so aggressively." Yu Tianlun's expression turned furious as he said this. "The country is in a state of crisis right now. If it weren't for the fact that meme contamination prevents surrender, I don't know how many of them would be willing to do it!"

The situation is indeed extremely dire. Some pessimists believe that within the next ten to fifteen years, the urban area of ​​Muxu City will fall and be completely eroded by the pollution layer, just like the cities in the Edo Special District that have already been completely isolated and sealed off! At that time, without exception, all the reincarnators will either die or become…

Located in the central region of the country, Muxu City guards the memetic pollution defense lines on both the north and south sides. Its fall would be catastrophic!
“You can broaden your horizons on this patrol. The 12th Patrol Brigade only patrols the suburbs, so there’s not much danger. At most, it’ll just be some strange occurrences in the Mysterious Layer.” Yu Tianlun continued, “As long as they don’t go too far, some things… you can just pretend you didn’t see them.”

……

The night was heavy in the outer ring of Muxu City, enveloping the city's outer ring.

The ring-shaped zone was equipped with countless measures to defend against memetic contamination, for which the imperial court spent a great deal of money.

Jiang Jin followed the 12th Patrol Brigade, setting off from the camp and trekking along a fixed route, circling the five-kilometer area outside the ring road. They were expected to patrol 15 kilometers on foot that night, before changing shifts with the 13th Patrol Brigade.

As they slowly made their way along the road, the beams of their flashlights pierced the darkness, illuminating even those lurking in the shadows.

Captain Ning Daoyi walked at the front, his shaman's robe swaying slightly in the night wind, holding a string of bells in his hand, which he gently shook every few steps.

It was as if... testing whether there was any "unclean thing" responding.

Jiang Jin followed at the back of the group, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

He could feel the other team members' rejection of him—their deliberately slowed pace, their hushed chuckles, and even someone "accidentally" shining a flashlight in his eyes.

On the one hand, it's because the Nirvana team isn't very popular right now; on the other hand, they're also unhappy that Jiang Jin, a newly recruited reincarnator, can join the patrol team.

It's important to understand that this area, so close to the ring-shaped belt, is relatively safe and offers a government salary—a truly desirable position. Jiang Jin, however, lacks any significant background or achievements, so naturally, everyone is dissatisfied.

"Newbie, don't hold us back." A teammate with a fierce face glanced back at him, his tone full of contempt.

“Newbie, keep an eye on your dog,” another team member, also a hunter, said, “and make sure it doesn’t bite anyone.”

Jiang Jin didn't speak, but simply gripped the boning knife at his waist and the mournful hunting rifle on his back.

After driving around for about three kilometers, they arrived at a small town on the outskirts of town.

The houses here are low and dilapidated, and a few dim lights are lit on the streets. Most residents have already stayed indoors, and only a few vendors are still doing business.

"Same as always." A team member named Liu Ning grinned and strode towards an old man selling roasted sweet potatoes.

"You need to pay your patrol fee for this month." He knocked on the stall cart, his tone leaving no room for refusal, and then directly took out a QR code for payment.

The old man clasped his hands tremblingly and said, "Please, everyone, have mercy. My small business was almost shut down by the city management officers a couple of days ago... Could you please give me some leeway?"

Liu Ning's face darkened: "Grace period? Are you kidding me?"

"Business has been bad lately... especially after what happened at the Pacific Ocean a few days ago. More and more people are afraid to go out at night, saying they're worried about generating meme resonance," the old man explained in a humble voice.

"Business is bad?" Liu Ning sneered, then suddenly kicked over the stall, sending roasted sweet potatoes scattering all over the ground. "Then don't set up this stall anymore!"

Jiang Jin's pupils suddenly contracted.

So this is what Yu Tianlun told him to turn a blind eye to.

The patrol team is paid by the imperial court, which is taxpayers' money. Why are you trying to collect protection money from them?
In this era of ubiquitous surveillance cameras and everyone having a mobile phone to create their own media, and they dare to be so arrogant even in places so close to the city center, what about the outskirts? I bet they could kill someone and no one would care.

Liu Yan was hunted down for killing someone, but these people can collect protection money at will. The only difference is that these people receive salaries from the imperial court.

Ha ha……

No wonder Yu Tianlun refused to serve such a "court"! He would have to go along with it from the start! What angered him even more was that another team member named Wang Meng had already set his sights on a girl who sold handmade jewelry.

"Little sister, where's your dad?" Wang Meng leaned closer, his fingers lightly lifting the girl's chin. "If you don't have money to pay protection money, you can use other 'methods'..."

The girl was so frightened that she stepped back, but Wang Meng grabbed her wrist.

"Sir, please don't do this!" the girl cried. "Business is really tough here, it's not that we don't want to pay..."

"Ah Meng, what are you dawdling for?" Captain Ning Daoyi didn't scold him, but said, "Is it not going well?"

He said this while also observing Jiang Jin.

In reality, when collecting protection money, it's not always done in such a brutal manner; verbal intimidation is the primary method.

But now, many people above want to get rid of Yu Tianlun, so those below naturally have to know how to figure out what their superiors want and share their burdens.

Many people know about Yu Tianlun's personality. Are his subordinates also "unruly"?
He gave Wang Meng a look, signaling him to get serious.

Then, Wang Meng actually grabbed the little girl and rushed into a small alley!
The girl cried and screamed desperately, but no one around could stop her!

This is a chaotic world!

Under the threat of meme contamination, no one dares to offend the Meme Contamination Monitoring Department! Moreover, this department is not a local department, but belongs to the central government! Even the mayor dares not say much in front of their minister.

"stop!"

Jiang Jin's voice rang out quickly!
He remembered that Yu Tianlun had said he would turn a blind eye, provided it was "not too excessive"!
Everyone looked at Jiang Jin, and Ning Daoyi grinned maliciously, turning back to look at him.

Wang Meng released the girl, narrowed his eyes, and looked at Jiang Jin: "Oh, does the newcomer have a problem?"

"I am a police officer! The laws of the imperial court are supreme. If you stop now, your crime will be considered closed!"

Jiang Jin said, word by word.

This might sound weak, but it's crucial to maintain the moral high ground. There are surveillance cameras all around here!
Liu Ning scoffed, "Oh dear, I'm so scared! Come on, officer, I'll put my hands out here so you can handcuff me!"

“Don’t say that,” another officer said. “Give me some face. Officer, don’t be afraid of what I’m about to say…”

Liu Ning said sarcastically, "We are police officers, we are not afraid!"

"I just saw someone abducting a woman on the street!"

"Ah...hahahahahaha..."

"why are you laughing!"

"Sorry, we've been professionally trained. No matter how funny it is, we won't laugh unless we can't help it... Ahahahahahaha..."

Ning Dao stepped forward and took out the shaman's bell.

“Our patrol team is specially authorized to use Reincarnated Weapons,” he said in a low voice. “I’m LV2, and you’re LV1. You have no chance! Of course, I won’t kill you, but taking away 50% of your SAN value is no problem!”

Seeing Jiang Jin's cold expression, Ning Daoyi assumed he was afraid and continued, "Wang Meng, go do what you're supposed to do. As a newcomer, you're so immature; someone must be behind you. Tell me, who instructed you, and I won't pursue the matter."

“Ordered?” Jiang Jin’s gaze swept over the other team members, and he found that their faces were full of mockery and indifference.

He suddenly realized—these people were doing it on purpose; they were targeting Commander Yu!
"Don't think you can rely on the surveillance cameras here, or that passersby might be recording videos with their phones. Muxu Market has a high degree of information control; anyone who wants to upload a video must go through AI review!"

Suddenly, he couldn't continue.

Jiang Jin saw that a gray worm was crawling out of Ning Daoyi's right arm!

Upon seeing the gray worm, Jiang Jin's eyes immediately lit up!
Ning Dao's face immediately turned grim when he saw the gray worms emerging from his arm!

Gu insect!

A sorcerer practicing reincarnation is nearby!

You should know that even level 2 people don't want to face level 1 witchcraft!

The twelfth patrol team's job wasn't meant for highly skilled reincarnators; most were just there to gain experience and seniority. Sending them to fight witchcraft was no different than sending Benbo'erba to fight Tang Sanzang and his disciples.

Then, a flash of light appeared.

Jiang Jin's boning knife flashed past swiftly, severing Ning Daoyi's right arm that was holding the bell!
"Captain Ning, are you alright?" Jiang Jin shouted, "I couldn't help it, worms crawled out of your hand!"

Ning Daoyi was in excruciating pain, screaming in agony, but he couldn't retaliate!
His arm and the bell were completely devoured by gray worms in an instant!

Not even a bone was left!
(End of this chapter)