Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 185 Edo Special District
The worm wriggling from the charcoal resembled a centipede, but its head had a distorted human face, its abdomen was covered with sharp spikes, and its tail dripped corrosive mucus!
It was incredibly fast, heading straight for Xu Yinqiu's throat!
"Watch out!" Liu Yan shouted sharply, and three purplish-black centipede gu snakes shot out from her sleeve in an instant, intercepting the enemy in mid-air!

"laugh--!"

The worms collided, producing a corrosive sound.

The Heart-Eating Gu struggled frantically, but Liu Yan's Gu worms held it tightly!

Fortunately, although Zhou Chen's blood pact had ended, the damage he caused was still there; otherwise, Liu Yan's Gu worms would naturally not have been able to withstand it.

"Don't kill it!" Liu Yan stepped forward quickly, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "What a powerful Gu worm! If I can tame it... I'm confident I can easily kill a LV2 Reincarnator!"

She quickly took out a jade box from her waist, bit her fingertip, and drew a blood talisman on the lid.

"Gu Technique - Withdraw!"

The Heart-Eating Gu was forcibly sucked into the jade box, and the lid slammed shut with a loud bang. A violent impact came from inside, but it quickly subsided.

Liu Yan's lips curled up: "Good stuff."

This left Xu Yinqiu, who was standing to the side, stunned.

"You... Master Ball?"

These are Gu worms! Why are they being made like Pokémon?
Just then, the hotel door was suddenly pushed open, and Jiang Jin staggered in.

"Commander! I'm back..."

Recalling his previous experience of being suspended by balloons, Jiang Jin still felt lingering fear.

At the last moment, he had no choice but to use his rule-altering ability!

At this moment, Jiang Jin's voice stopped abruptly, and his gaze fell on Zhou Chen, who looked like a charred corpse, and Qin Mei, who was kneeling to the side.

"What's happening here?"

Yu Tianlun nodded: "Bai Chuanlin is dead, Shadow Blade only has Qin Mei left, and Scarlet only has Zhou Chen and Tang Min left. This... this is Zhou Chen. I need to revive him first."

Jiang Jin frowned: "Why didn't you kill them?"

“Zhou Chen is more valuable alive,” Yu Tianlun said calmly. “The Blood Lord won’t let us go; we need intelligence.”

Jiang Jin was silent for a moment, then looked at Xu Yinqiu: "Can his injuries be healed?"

Xu Yinqiu shook her head: "My Zhuyou Aura can only keep him alive. To fully recover, he must return. The Reincarnation System will automatically restore him completely."

At this moment, Yuko's eyes were filled with hatred. She really wanted to rush up and kill Qin Mei, but everyone around her had to protect her first!
This woman caused my mother's death!
How did she manage to survive?

At the same time, in the real world.

Oedo Special Ward, Tokyo Metropolitan Area, Japan.

The sky was as dark as iron, and the gray clouds hung low, as if they might fall at any moment.

On the streets, people were running frantically, screams and cries mingling with the piercing alarms, creating a scene reminiscent of the apocalypse.

Junji Ito's horror world's walking fish has landed.

However, calling them walking fish is a misnomer; they're more like walking machines. These machines have stiff yet swift limbs, and they swarm onto the streets in groups to capture people.

"Help! Help me—!"

An office worker was pinned to the ground by a walking machine, which used its mechanical limbs to tear open his back and insert rusty metal tubes into his body.

"Ahhhh——!"

His screams abruptly ceased, his pupils dilated rapidly, and his body began to convulse. A few seconds later, he stiffly stood up, his limbs making mechanical clicking sounds, and joined the ranks of the walking fish.

Humans are being transformed into "power sources".

The closer to Tokyo Bay, the more serious the situation becomes.

Luxury store windows in Ginza are all shattered, and walking fish drag modified humans through the ruins.

At Shibuya Crossing, the once bustling crowds have been replaced by mechanized "walking corpses," their spines connected to rusty metal pipes, being manipulated forward like marionettes.

In fact, after the Oedo Special Ward was designated as an 'irreversible pollution zone,' the imperial court, which had already moved westward in its entirety, had abandoned the Oedo Special Ward.

The emergency announcement was playing on a loop over and over again:

"All civilians evacuate immediately! Repeat!! The Self-Defense Forces will conduct a saturation bombing in 2 hours!"

At that time, Meguro Ward in the Edo Special Ward was a relatively safe location, being somewhat far from Tokyo Bay.

Yui Takamiya stood in front of the convenience store shelf, her fingers trembling slightly.

The shelves were empty, with only a few packets of expired instant curry and a few bottles of mineral water remaining.

Instant noodles, canned goods, biscuits... all foods that can be stored for a long time have already been snapped up.

At the checkout counter, several men who looked like office workers were fighting over the last bag of bread with red eyes.

"I got it first!"

"Bullshit! I was clearly ahead of you in line!"

During the scuffle, the bread packaging was torn, and the food was scattered all over the ground.

Takamiya Yui sighed and put the remaining two bottles of water and a pack of compressed biscuits into the shopping basket.

This is the third convenience store I've visited today.

As he stepped out of the store, a cold wind blew several flyers across his face.

Emergency Evacuation Guide for the Oedo Special Ward

Self-Defense Forces Notice: Residents are urged to remain calm and not believe rumors.

Takamiya Yui sneered, crumpled the flyer into a ball, and threw it into the trash can.

"Self-Defense Forces? They can't even protect themselves."

On her way home, Yui Takamiya ran into Mrs. Sato, her neighbor.

She was carrying a small cloth bag, her face was pale, and she had heavy dark circles under her eyes.

"Mr. Takamiya, you went shopping too?"

Gao Gongwei nodded, her gaze sweeping over her bulging cloth bag.

"What did you buy?"

Mrs. Sato gave a wry smile: "A few packets of salt and sugar... I heard they'll be out of stock soon. Those people in the government say they won't give up, but they're just leaving us in Edo to fend for ourselves."

The two walked side by side in silence for a while.

"Have you heard?" Mrs. Sato suddenly lowered her voice, "Last night... the last train at Shibuya Station had one less car."

Takamiya Yui paused in her steps.

Rumors of ghost carriages.

It's said that recently, the last train on the Yamanote Line in Edo occasionally has an extra, non-existent car. Those who boarded it never returned.

But now, everyone's become numb.

After the fall of Edo, the former Tokyo metropolitan area was renamed the Oedo Special Ward, which had become a complete demonic place.

"What did the Self-Defense Forces stationed in Edo say?" he asked.

Mrs. Sato shook her head: "They blocked the news, but last night a witness took a picture...that the carriage was full of faceless people."

Gao Gongwei gripped the shopping bag tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"Mr. Takamiya, is it still possible for us to leave Edo?"

He was silent for a moment, then shook his head: "Where can we go?"

Mrs. Sato hesitated for a moment, then finally sighed and said, "Mr. Takamiya, may I... may I discuss something with you?"

"You say."

"Can I, my son, exchange one rule with you?"

"Exchange rules?"

Gao Gongyu thought for a moment and said, "Your son needs to follow five rules. Which rule would you like to exchange?"

"It's like... once you see a fish, you have to immediately start singing the Cherry Blossom Ballad..."

Takamiya Yui understood instantly.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Sato, it's not convenient..."

Just kidding, if we switch rules, then I'll be the one who has to follow this rule!

Nobody can guarantee that the walking fish won't come to Meguro Ward!
When she opened the door, Takamiya Yui smelled a faint scent of thread.

His wife, Takamiya Mai, was kneeling in front of the Buddhist shrine, her hands clasped together, and she was softly chanting something to the Ksitigarbha statue above.

"I am back."

Gao Gongwu turned around and forced a smile: "Did you buy any food?"

Yui Takamiya placed the shopping bags on the table: "These are all that's left."

Gao Gongwu glanced at it, her brows furrowing slightly, but she said nothing. She got up and walked to the wardrobe to begin packing her clothes.

“I’ve already made contact,” she said calmly. “A distant relative in Hachioji City has agreed to take us in for a while.”

Takamiya Yui suddenly looked up: "What?"

Takamiya Mai continued folding clothes: "We'll leave early tomorrow morning, taking the Central Expressway. That should allow us to avoid the checkpoints. The Self-Defense Forces are really only active for the time being these days, so it shouldn't be difficult to slip through. Once we get there, they've promised to help us find a secret route to leave Edo."

Takamiya Yui stood up and grabbed her wrist.

"Are you crazy? You can't leave Edo right now!"

Takamiya Mai broke free from his hand, her eyes resolute: "Rin was the one I sent away back then."

Shirakawa Rin, his wife's younger sister, was sent away by Takamiya Mai before the fall of Edo, and then smuggled herself to China.

Takamiya Yui sneered: "That was before Edo fell!"

He abruptly pulled back the curtains.

Outside the window, the Tokyo Tower loomed in the twilight, its surface shrouded in a black mist that seemed to writhe like a living thing.

“Look outside! This is no longer a place where humans can survive!” Gao Gongwu pursed her lips and took out a yellowed photograph from the drawer.

The photo shows a secluded mountain road with a red torii gate at the end.

"How can we not give it a try? The route we used to send Rin away back then... can still be used."

Yui Takamiya stared at the photo and suddenly smiled.

Do you know what this road looks like now?

He took out his phone and pulled up a video—

In the picture, the red torii gate is decayed, and the surrounding area is piled with bones.

Even more terrifying, the pillars of the torii gate were covered with countless human skins, each one bearing the painful expression of someone who died.

"Anyone who tries to pass through the torii gate will be transported back to Tokyo in 1940 and burned alive by incendiary bombs dropped by the American military. Even now, at night, you can still see the vengeful spirits of those who were burned there."

Immediately afterwards, Takamiya Yui took a deep breath.

No one can deny that, apart from the United States, Japan is currently the country with the most severe meme contamination.

Moreover, Japan's current meme pollution situation is thanks to China's substantial assistance. The Japanese people greatly admire China's current meme control efforts and are grateful for China's selfless help.

The Edo Special District is beginning to transform into a true hell.

Many ghost stories and urban legends are beginning to become reality.

He could easily list a whole bunch of them just by thinking about it...

Convenience store late at night: Zashiki-warashi will randomly appear. People who encounter them will be "invited" to play games. Those who lose... will become its new "friends".

The souvenir dolls at Senso-ji Temple: Every night, a new "tourist doll" is made, and the person being made gradually becomes stiff in the joints and eventually turns into another doll.

The Slit-Mouthed Woman in the Alley: A woman wearing a mask who asks passersby, "Am I pretty?" If they answer incorrectly, her mouth will be cut open with scissors.

An extra step on the apartment's staircase: At midnight, an extra step may randomly appear on the apartment's staircase, causing anyone who steps on it to fall into the Mound of No Return—an alternate dimension filled with nameless corpses.

Now, there are also ghost cars on the Yamanote Line: an extra car randomly appears on the last train, and the people who get on will disappear. When they are found the next day, they have become mummies and are sitting on a bench at a station that never existed.

Gao Gongwu's fingers trembled slightly.

"Then... are we just supposed to wait to die?"

After a long silence, Takamiya Yui suddenly looked at the Ksitigarbha statue on the shrine.

"No... there's another way."

Takamiya Yui removed the Jizo statue from the shrine and gently rotated its base.

"Click" —

The base detached, revealing a rusty key inside.

Takamiya Mai's eyes widened: "This is...?"

"The key to the Edo underground drainage system," Takamiya Yui whispered. "Before the fall of Edo, I participated in the flood control project of the Meguro River and know a... unmonitored route."

He opened the drawer and unfolded a hand-drawn map marked with a complex network of underground passages.

“Go down from here and you can reach the Tama River, then leave the Edo Special Ward along the riverbank.”

Takamiya Mai's voice trembled: "But underground...isn't it even more dangerous?"

Yui Takamiya smiled wryly: "At least it's better than facing the Slit-Mouthed Woman or the Ghost Carriage."

He put away the keys, his gaze resolute.

"We'll set off at midnight tonight."

Of course, escaping Edo was extremely difficult. But we had to try; staying here was tantamount to waiting to die.

Then, Takamiya Mai took out her phone and dialed her younger sister Shirakawa Rin's number.

"Sorry, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable..."

The mechanical female voice repeated coldly, and the call log on the screen already showed [7 unanswered calls].

My younger sister, Shirakawa Rin, has gone missing.

Takamiya Mai's fingers trembled slightly.

Although my sister is far away in China, we have never been completely cut off from each other like this before.

"Did something happen?"

The doorbell rang abruptly.

Gao Gongwei frowned, walked to the entrance, and looked through the peephole—a woman was standing outside the door.

She wore a black trench coat, her long hair was tied in a neat ponytail, she wore sunglasses, and a faint smile played on her lips.

"Mr. Takamiya, is it convenient for us to talk?"

Gao Gongwei did not open the door immediately, but asked in a deep voice, "Who are you?"

The woman took out a metal badge from her bosom, which was engraved with the words "Musashi".

“Musashi Team, Chinatsu Nikaido.” She nodded slightly. “Our leader wants to see you.”

Takamiya Yui's pupils contracted slightly.

The Musashi Team is one of the largest reincarnation organizations in the Edo region.

He knew about the existence of reincarnators because his sister-in-law, Shirakawa Rin, was a reincarnator.

Compared to China, Japan is slightly more lax in its control over information regarding reincarnators, and the families of reincarnators are allowed to know.

He glanced back at his wife, who was still in a daze, and whispered, "Wait for me."

Stepping outside, Takamiya Yui stared coldly at Nikaido Chinatsu: "What do you want with me?"

Chika pushed up her sunglasses, her smile deepening.
"About your sister-in-law, Shirakawa Rin."

He could only make up an excuse to his wife and went out with the other person.

He dared not offend the reincarnators, after all.

After leaving home, Chinatsu led Takamiya Yui through several alleys and finally stopped in front of a bookstore called "Kohonya".

Upon entering the store, one sees that most of the books on the shelves are yellowed and old, and the store is empty.

"This way."

Chinatsu led Takamiya Yui deeper into the bookstore and pushed open a hidden wooden door.

Behind the door was a Japanese-style room, where a middle-aged man was kneeling on the tatami mats.

He wore a dark blue kimono, his temples were slightly gray, and his eyes were sharp as knives.

"This is Isaka Sousuke, the leader of the Musashi team and a Samurai Reincarnator," Chinatsu introduced respectfully. "By the way, I am an Onmyoji."

Sousuke Isaka nodded slightly, gesturing for Yui Takamiya to sit down.

"Mr. Takamiya, I've long admired you."

Gao Gongwei didn't stand on ceremony and asked directly, "You're looking for me, right?"

Isaka Sousuke slowly poured a cup of tea and pushed it in front of him.

"Shirakawa Rin, she's your wife's sister, right?"

"Correct."

Isaka put down the teapot, his gaze turning serious:
"Shirakawa Rin is a member of the Shadow Blade Team, a branch of the Bloodthirsty Team, a famous Chinese reincarnation team, and we need to establish contact with reincarnators in China."

Takamiya Yui frowned: "Why?"

“Cooperation,” Isaka said slowly. “The horror instance in Edo is spiraling out of control; we can’t handle it alone.”

He took out a photograph and pushed it in front of Takamiya Yui—

The photo shows the entrance to Ueno Zoo, but behind the iron fence are not animals, but densely packed human-shaped shadows with twisted limbs, as if forcibly pieced together by some force.

“We’ll be entering this place in three days,” Isaka said in a low voice, “but we need outside help.”

Yui Takamiya stared at the photo, cold sweat beading on his back. He knew from Rin Shirakawa that Ueno Zoo was a so-called "isolated restricted area," a gateway to a terrifying alternate dimension.

"You want me to contact Shirakawa Rin?"

Isaka nodded: "You are the most suitable person to act as matchmaker. Although your wife is her blood relative, you are the head of the family and should have the right to make the final decision."

Yui Takamiya remained silent for a moment, then finally shook her head:
"We are unable to contact her at the moment."

Isaka narrowed his eyes: "Why?"

"do not know."

The air in the room seemed to freeze.

Isaka Sousuke's expression remained unchanged; he simply tapped the table lightly.

"Are you saying this because you don't trust us?"

"No, it's not..."

Isaka stood up, walked to the safe next to him, entered the password, and took out a document.

Then, the document was spread out on the table, and Takamiya Yui saw that it was covered with densely marked route maps.

“This is the map showing the layout of the entrances to Ueno Zoo this week,” Isaka said, pointing to the map. “This is a very valuable document; you can send it to your wife’s sister.”

Then, Isaka Sousuke slowly took out a charm from his pocket and placed it on the table.

"This thing..." Isaka said softly, "I'll give it to you."

Takamiya Yui's fingers trembled slightly. This must be a very precious treasure.

“And—” Isaka continued, “I can guarantee that you and your wife will leave the Oedo Special District safely.”

The room fell into dead silence.

Finally, Takamiya Yui slowly raised her head: "So... shall we talk about the specifics?"

(End of this chapter)