Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 165 No solution
Black Crow Hotel.

Many of the events that happened today were completely unexpected by Jiang Jin and the others.

This also added many variables to the execution of their plan.

First, they saw bizarre news in the newspapers—the Manhattan meme had also occurred in this alternate world! Second, large numbers of walking fish began landing in the waters off Japan and South Korea!
This instance world obviously cannot be the real world, after all, the current timeline of this instance is 1998! And the meme contamination outbreak occurred in the 21st century!
The appearance of the walking fish has also reminded people of another work by Junji Ito, "Gyo" (Fish). This is quite puzzling; first, there were supernatural phenomena in "Ancestors," and now the walking fish from "Gyo" have appeared?
Although it is by the same author, this phenomenon is theoretically rare.

Clearly, it all stemmed from the emergence of the Manhattan meme. The appearance of Manhattan Island in the Pacific Ocean contaminated this uncontained copy with memes!
The world has long feared the infiltration of Manhattan Island's memes into their countries.

The meme-based contamination of Manhattan Island is currently recognized globally as the most alarming. While isolated zones like those in China can be stably controlled long-term, this is a special case; in most countries, isolated zones struggle to prevent further spread. In that case, the Manhattan-style contamination will likely apply to the affected areas as well.

The Charging Bull of Wall Street would transform into a cannibalistic monster every night, devouring the middle class and the proletariat; the torch held by the Statue of Liberty would become a terrifying syringe, injecting into the clouds; the Times Square screens would repeatedly play "Become a Bourgeois You," and would be replaced if viewed for more than 10 seconds; Benjamin Franklin on US dollars would appear behind people like a shadow... If all sorts of terrifying rule pollution were to spread globally, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Of course, given the relatively stable state of China's material world at present, even if it is eroded by meme contamination, it will take some time.

“I suspect that when we get back, the news might report an even more terrifying phenomenon of meme contamination,” Liu Yan said, looking at the news in the newspaper. “At that time, Zhenming Island will bear the greatest pressure.”

One of China's five memetic contamination zones is Zhenming Island, which is adjacent to the Zhoushan Islands. Because China's strata are relatively stable, if memetic contamination spreads to China, it will inevitably erode gradually according to the geographical location of the strata. After Zhenming Island, it's likely that Anchor Ridge City, located in the southern coastal area, will be next. Muxu City, located in the central region, should be able to withstand the impact for a longer period.

Of course, that's something for later. The priority right now is to figure out how to wipe out Shadowblade and Crimson Team in this terrifying dungeon.

Just ten minutes earlier, a text message had appeared on my left retina, indicating that the Shadowblade team had entered the instance.

They have most likely already arrived in Black Crow Town!

“The Shadow Blade team has seven members in total.” Yu Tianlun sat cross-legged on the tatami mat, five Emperor coins arranged in a defensive formation in his palm. “The Shadow Blade team is slightly weaker than the Crimson team, but Qin Mei is a very troublesome person. Personally, I hope to capture her alive…”

“Our primary targets are Lin Ping and Chen Yao.” Xu Yinqiu played a slideshow in the dark room: “Although Lin Ping is only a Level 1 healer, he has the unique skill ‘Reverse Meridian Talisman.’ If we cripple him, the Shadow Blade team will lose its healer.”

The slideshow image switches to a girl with a ponytail.

"Chen Yao is a priestess who can divine our location. We must kill her as soon as possible. The Bagua Formation won't last more than 24 hours."

Suddenly, the Reincarnation System issued a notice stating that one of the Shadow Blades had died.

"Sigh, one of them has already died?" Xu Yinqiu was also taken aback. "So quickly someone died, could it be... that their balloon has already appeared?"

Tomie suddenly chuckled as she was manicuring her nails: "Losing personnel in just ten minutes, what's this Shadow Blade guy? He brought a lot of newbies this time."

Yu Tianlun, on the contrary, did not think this was a good thing.

"In this way, they will figure out the rules of the meme first, and then we may not be able to launch a surprise attack. Although I can temporarily keep them from finding us with the Bagua Formation, I cannot predict how long the Bagua Formation can be maintained. It requires a large amount of resentment crystals to activate."

The key is that it can only be activated by resentment crystals; using resentment shattered crystals is ineffective.

“They wouldn’t dare to use their skills on a large scale under the noses of the Self-Defense Forces equipped by the US military,” Xu Yinqiu said. “Of course, we will also be subject to restrictions. So, we might clash with the police and Self-Defense Forces in this instance.”

“It’s alright,” Gu worms kept crawling on Liu Yan’s sleeves. “In the end, they are not reincarnators. No matter how many there are, I can handle it. I won’t show any mercy when it comes to killing ordinary military and police officers.”

Jiang Jin said, "It's best not to kill if we can avoid it. If it attracts a large number of US troops stationed in Japan, it won't be good for us either."

If the reincarnators could truly fight against the army, they wouldn't have to be beholden to the imperial court anymore.

"This person is a shrine maiden from the Shadowblade team." The slideshow suddenly switched to a petite female image, "Shirakawa Rin, LV1 Grass Demon Witch."

"Li Zhen, a professional practitioner of apotropaic magic, is a Level 2 talisman master."

“Sun Jing, a hunter reincarnator, is a LV2 Ghost Hunter.”

"Duan Pei, a Soul Reaper and professional Reincarnator, is a Level 1 Soul Locker."

We had already seen this information before we set off, but we're playing it again now to reinforce it in everyone's minds and help them remember who is LV1 and who is LV2.

At this point, the slides showed the contents of their intelligence notes collected that day.

“Based on the current intelligence analysis,” Yu Tianlun said, “the rules of this instance have placed restrictions on us, resulting in significant differences from the original work. First, it seems that the balloons require three seconds of eye contact to trigger the rule curse; second, others cannot see each other's personal balloons; and third, it is impossible to determine when each person's balloon will appear.”

“In other words…” Liu Yan hadn’t anticipated this situation either, “We can neither directly see the enemy’s balloons, nor can we be sure that they have already generated their own balloons.”

This makes the situation quite complicated.

"So you can only hide until their balloons appear? Hehe, maybe your balloons will appear even sooner." Tomie, standing to the side, immediately wore a gloating expression.

"Stop talking nonsense, Tomie," Liu Yan warned. "If I'm going to die, I'll take you down with me."

At this moment, Yu Tianlun said, "However, it seems that balloons may appear on a large scale. When that happens, Black Crow Town will be thrown into chaos, and that will be our chance to fish in troubled waters."

"What do we do?" Tomie asked. "None of you know where they are."

“I naturally have a way,” Yu Tianlun said. “The key is that if our balloons also appear at that time… we will be in a rather tricky situation. In the worst case, we may perish together.”

Liu Yan suddenly frowned: "But even if the balloons appear, how can we ensure they will trigger the rules that relate to the balloons? We must make them look at each other for three seconds."

"Well..."

Jiang Jin thought to himself that he could solve this problem.

Changing the rule that prohibits destroying balloons requires 30% per word. However, changing other rules is not so difficult.

"The girl we must kill first is Chen Yao."

Jiang Jin memorized the other person's name and appearance.

……

At this moment, the six members of the Shadowblade team stood in front of a telephone pole with a sign that read "Guide to Dealing with the Black Crow Town Balloon Phenomenon".

Qin Mei's fingers, painted with purple nail polish, traced the rules, her medium's eye glowing with a ghostly blue light in the darkness.

suddenly,

Three figures wearing silver armbands were patrolling mechanically, their steps as synchronized as those of marionettes.

The patrolman at the front suddenly stopped and shone his flashlight beam: "It's curfew now. You've violated martial law and need to come with me to the town hall!"

The sorcerer Li Zhen chuckled, the cursed nail hidden in his sleeve already poised to strike.

Before he could even make a move, hunter Sun Jing's silenced pistol had already fired repeatedly—the bullets quickly pierced through the foreheads of three patrolmen!

Zhu Youlin quickly threw out three Soul-Suppressing Talismans, which rapidly burned the corpse to ashes.

The six people then quickly evacuated the scene and hid in a narrow alley.

"Where to now?" Priestess Chen Yao nervously clutched her ponytail. "To stay at a hotel?"

"We stayed at a hotel during curfew and martial law. How do we explain how we got here?" Qin Mei said, her gaze sweeping over the houses on both sides of the alley.

A typical Japanese-style longhouse, each with a nameplate bearing the resident's name hanging in front of the door—"Tanaka Family," "Sudo Family," etc.

Her gaze lingered on the "Yamamoto family" sign: only two names, suggesting the couple lived alone.

Japanese people traditionally display the names of all family members on their door, making it easy to see how many households there are.

“We’ll stay here tonight.” Qin Mei straightened her collar, her expression instantly softening. “Remember, leave them alive.”

After ringing the doorbell three times, the sound of slippers walking could be heard from inside.

The person who opened the door was an elderly woman with silver hair; her face was full of wrinkles, and she looked to be about seventy years old.

She squinted her blurry eyes: "It's so late... Isn't there a curfew? Who are you?" "Sorry to bother you." Qin Mei bowed ninety degrees, her Japanese so gentle it could melt your heart, "We are disaster investigators sent by the town government, and we need to complete an urgent questionnaire."

As the old woman hesitated, a hoarse male voice came from inside the house: "Who is it?"

An elderly man who also looked to be in his seventies appeared in the entryway. His left leg was clearly a prosthesis, but his back was ramrod straight.

Just then, Sun Jing suddenly drew his gun and pointed it at the couple's temples: "Let us in."

Both of them were terrified, and with a gun pointed at them at such close range, there was no way they could escape!
"Gentlemen..." The old lady trembled with fear, "I...we don't have much savings..."

Qin Mei maintained her gentle tone: "Don't worry, we'll stay the night and won't harm you."

Then, before the two could speak again, all six members of the Shadow Blade team entered the entrance hall and closed the door.

"Chen Yao," Qin Mei said to her, "be prepared to continue divination at any time. I don't believe Yu Tianlun can maintain the formation indefinitely. Duan Pei can't just die in vain!"

Ten minutes later, the Yamamoto couple were tied to chairs in the living room.

Qin Mei was rummaging through the cupboard when she found two boxes of blue pills, a neatly folded silver thermal blanket, and an old newspaper from the night of 1941 (Showa 41).

“Commander, you’re really smart,” Zhu Youlinping said. “After all, it’s impossible to collect these supplies from the town government office building during curfew and martial law.”

The old man looked at them coldly and said, "You're not Japanese, are you? You don't seem to be used to kneeling on tatami mats at all."

Lin Ping sneered: "Of course, I am a proud Chinese, how could I be a Japanese devil!"

"Lin Ping!" Qin Mei glared at him immediately. Why did you leak your information to others? You could have just said you were Korean!
Qin Mei squatted down to be at eye level with the two elderly people: "I'm sorry to speak to you in this way, but we really need to know about Red Night and the balloon. I assure you, as long as you cooperate, I will absolutely not harm your lives."

She suddenly turned to the old woman and said, "You have rheumatism in your knees, don't you? It must be very painful in this damp weather."

The old woman opened her eyes wide in surprise.

Qin Mei had already taken out her acupuncture kit: "I come from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and currently work as a school doctor at a private high school. If you don't mind..."

Before anyone could answer, the silver needles had already precisely pierced the acupoints around the old woman's knees.

"You!" The old man struggled to get up.

"Please rest assured." Qin Mei skillfully twirled the silver needles. "I told you, I won't harm your lives."

Qin Mei knew it was important to keep the elderly couple calm. She still needed to extract information from them, so she needed to first reduce their resistance and reassure them that their lives were not in danger.

Having lived through the meme contamination outbreak to this day, Qin Mei has a thorough understanding of human nature.

“There’s not much food in the fridge,” Lin Ping said as he came out of the kitchen. “I used to watch Japanese dramas and you Japanese people only had so few dishes on your tables. It’s true!”

"Lin Ping! Show some respect when you speak to the elderly!" Qin Mei skillfully performed the good cop/bad cop routine, saying, "It's normal for you two to be suspicious right now, but we have our reasons and have no choice but to do this. We won't take a single penny from you, please rest assured."

Qin Mei knew that the balloon would definitely reappear.

If the plot matches the manga she used to read, then staying indoors is perfectly safe.

Furthermore, they can use the water tank tomorrow to see if their balloons have appeared. At the same time, the elderly couple can also use it to experiment with the differences between the human-head balloons and Junji Ito's original manga.

After Qin Mei saw that the two elders' expressions had relaxed slightly, she asked, "You two...did you experience the Red Night of 1941?"

The old man then asked, "Will you leave after we answer?"

"We can leave tomorrow. But as long as you cooperate, we will never harm you."

“Back then…” the old woman answered unconsciously, “after the red night appeared in the town, many people died, all by hanging. Those who hanged themselves all experienced hallucinations…”

"A hallucination? Did you see a giant human head balloon?"

"Yes, everyone says they saw a balloon that looked exactly like themselves, and then they hanged themselves."

"You're talking about suicide... Did you actually see them hang themselves?"

"No, the police investigated and said it was suicide."

How long did this situation last?

"One week? Or two weeks? After that, no one committed suicide again." The old woman pleaded, "I can't remember anything more specific. Please, please, let us go!"

After asking her questions, Qin Mei fed the two elderly people some tea and asked, "Have any strangers come to town recently? Like foreign tourists?"

"not sure……"

The old man suddenly said, "Um, I need to go to the toilet."

Qin Mei looked wary, but then she thought, the other party was just an old man with a broken leg, what was there for her, a level 3 medium, to be afraid of?

“Alright, Mr. Yamamoto, I’ll go with you. Chen Yao, untie Mr. Yamamoto’s ropes.”

After untying the rope, she followed behind the old man, watching his movements.

Suddenly, the old man lunged at the drawer with surprising agility!

He pulled a rusty folding knife from the drawer, turned around, grabbed Qin Mei, and held the knife to her neck!

"Release the commander!" Sun Jing had already raised his gun.

Everyone else gathered around too!
"Don't come any closer!" the old man roared, "or I'll kill her!"

Qin Mei neither dodged nor evaded. When the tip of the blade was only three inches from her throat, her medium's eye suddenly burst forth with a blinding blue light.

The old man froze on the spot, then suddenly screamed, and the folding knife clattered to the ground!

"Ghost, there is a ghost!"

The old woman was terrified and shouted, "Old man!"

Qin Mei said softly, "Since you're courting death, don't blame me."

The sound of bones cracking was particularly jarring in the quiet living room.

The old woman's scream was immediately silenced by Lin Ping's talisman, leaving her only able to whimper.

Qin Mei shook her head, and then it was as if an invisible hand reached out and snapped the old woman's neck.

"I already said I could spare your lives." Qin Mei didn't look at the couple's corpses any longer and said, "Clean up the scene."

She went to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water.

Chen Yao walked into the kitchen and said, "The body has been disposed of."

"Sigh," Qin Mei sighed, "We finally had two cannon fodder to use for some experiments, and now look what's happened..."

"Commander, you originally planned to check if their balloons had appeared tomorrow as well?"

"Hmm... Oh no, this is bad. What if the newspaper deliveryman comes tomorrow, or someone else has arranged to visit? It'll be troublesome, especially now that there are patrolmen everywhere."

"Compared to this, what about that balloon... how are we supposed to deal with it?" Chen Yao looked terrified. The image of Duan Pei dying still sent chills down her spine when she thought about it.

“There’s no solution,” Qin Mei replied. “This is an unsolvable meme curse!”

(End of this chapter)