Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 188 Musashi's Team
Zhou Chen quickly averted his gaze, avoiding looking at the balloons outside the window. He leaned against the corner of the wall, his eyes slightly narrowed, watching Jiang Jin sitting opposite him.

"Commander Zhou, don't look at me like that," Jiang Jin said coldly. "You are now a prisoner of our Nirvana Team."

Zhou Chen twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "Why did you choose the profession of hunter in the first place?"

Jiang Jin raised an eyebrow: "What, you want to give me some guidance on my career planning?"

"There are relatively few reincarnators who choose the Hunter class. Most people prioritize survivability when choosing a class initially, followed by immediate combat ability. However, at level 1, the Hunter is neither good at attacking nor defending. On the contrary, the Zhuyou is the class with the strongest defense and can also ensure stable SAN value. Most importantly, the Hunter is a class that is recognized as having a high level of difficulty to advance."

“But it is also the profession with the strongest growth potential.” Jiang Jin replied, “Moreover, for me, the ability to sense and locate the existence of ghosts is the most important professional skill, and this profession can bind ghosts even at the first level.”

"Most people don't think that way. When choosing a profession, their top priority is to stay as far away from ghosts as possible, or to ensure their SAN value doesn't drop. Most people don't have the courage to fight ghosts, especially after being told that ghosts can't be killed. Even if they do consider fighting ghosts, they usually prioritize magic-based professions, as long as they don't have to get close to ghosts, and most people think that magic-based professions are stronger. From this perspective, I actually admire you a bit."

"So..." Jiang Jin asked with some curiosity, "You chose the Shaman class because it's a magic-based class?"

“No,” Zhou Chen shook his head and said, “I just picked it randomly.”

"casual?"

"The first time I was contaminated with memes was when a cleaner took me to Bai Mei Hospital."

Bai Mei Hospital, one of the seven restricted areas in Muxu City, has always been a daunting place for reincarnators, as it is a forbidden zone leading to the Japanese-style horror instance. The average mortality rate in the Japanese-style horror instance is significantly higher than in other instances.

"I woke up directly in my hospital bed. There were three other trainee reincarnators like me in the room. We were told that because our memetic contamination had reached an irreversible state, we could only survive by entering the Horror Dungeon. Moreover, we had to choose one of ten classes. Of course, we could only choose from eight. I couldn't choose the Priestess or the Sorcerer class. In such a short time, how could I tell which class was the most suitable? I just randomly chose the Sorcerer class."

"..."

"If you ever go to Bai Mei Hospital in the future... you'll know how eerie and terrifying it is."

Zhou Chen observed Jiang Jin.

Did you choose the Hunter class because there was already a hidden class at that time?

If his speculation is correct...

As long as he reports it to the reincarnation system, he can completely turn the tables!
Considering Wu Qin's death and the massive amount of resentment crystal fragments... he felt there was an 80% chance that Jiang Jin was the Ghost Lawyer!

Jiang Jin became increasingly certain that Zhou Chen was plotting something.

Jiang Jin also communicated with Liu Yan through a mental link to confirm that there was nothing unusual on Qin Mei's side.

"Liu Yan, is it really impossible to use the Mind-Reading Leech to try and read Zhou Chen's mind?"

"The Mind-Reading Leech is the lowest-level Gu worm. It requires the cooperation of LV1 reincarnators to read its secrets, and it is completely ineffective against LV3."

"How about letting Tomie give it a try?"

"Do you think he even glanced at Tomie? Professions like mediums and shamans have a certain degree of enhancement to their souls. Wearing anti-magic shackles can help them resist cognitive pollution to some extent. Otherwise, they would easily fall into the annihilation layer in the horror dungeon."

Jiang Jin stared at Zhou Chen.

At that moment, he had a rather uneasy intuition.

Meanwhile, at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan.

"The invasion of the walking fish is not accidental; it is very likely related to the newly appeared Junji Itō Horror Dimension Entrance at Ueno Zoo."

The person who said this, Matsuyama Susumu, is the vice-captain of Musashi's team. He is a ninja and is already a Level 3 Chunin.

He turned to Gao Gongwei and said, "Still can't get in touch with your wife's sister?"

Yui Takamiya bit her lip, took out her phone, and tried to contact Rin Shirakawa again.

Still no response.

"Damn it, where did she go?"

A teammate next to him asked, "Mr. Takamiya, do you have a way to contact the rest of the Bloody Team?"

Takamiya Yui shook her head and said, "No."

Originally, if this information had been reported by Shirakawa Rin, leading to a cross-border collaboration between the Musashi and Bloody teams, he and his wife, Takamiya Mai, would have had a chance to escape the Edo Special District.

The Tokyo metropolitan area was once the dream home for every Japanese person, much like how Chinese people aspire to buy property and obtain residency in Beijing. But now, all Japanese people yearn to escape Edo, a place that has become a nightmare.

"Are you really sure there's an entrance to a Junji Ito horror manga copy in Ueno Zoo?" Yui Takamiya had read Junji Ito's manga when she was in school and was deeply impressed by it, especially stories like "The Head Balloon," "Tomie," and "Uzumaki."

“Of course we are confident enough that we would like to share this intelligence with China,” said Matsuyama Shinya. “Now that the walking fish have invaded and entered the Junji Ito horror instance, the reincarnation system will give even more generous rewards. I think that the Bai Mei Hospital in Muxu City, China, may also have a Junji Ito horror instance. We should be able to find a way to enter the same Junji Ito horror instance dimension.”

"That's terrifying... If it's a dungeon like Souichi or Tomie, it's alright, but if it's a dungeon like Hell Star or Vortex, that would be too horrifying..."

"Otherwise, why would we choose to cooperate with the Bloody Team?" Matsuyama Shinya said, "It's because we know that Junji Itoh's Horror Dungeon is too dangerous, and our Musashi Team alone can't handle it. You also know that the Chinese Reincarnators are generally stronger than our Japanese teams. Now that the Americans have all withdrawn to Hawaii, only China is willing to continue to aid us."

“Yes…” Takamiya Yui exclaimed with deep emotion, “Especially since the Edo Incident, China has been actively providing us with a lot of assistance!”

Meanwhile, Isaka Sousuke and Nikaido Chinatsu were in the aquatic life exhibit at Ueno Zoo.

Sousuke Isaka, who has reached the level 4 swordsmanship of the samurai profession, stands in front of the thick glass and gently touches the cold surface with his fingertips.

On the other side of the glass is a closed body of water known as “S-4 zone”.

This is an area that has been declared closed to reincarnators below LV3.

Now, something is swimming in that murky water.

Not a fish.

At least... it's not a normal fish.

"Commander Isaka, you'd better take a look at this."

Behind Isaka Sousuke, Chinatsu handed him a tablet computer.

The screen displays last night's surveillance footage—

Suddenly, the water surface churned, and a creature about two meters long slowly crawled ashore.

It had the head and gills of a fish, but four deformed appendages resembling human arms grew from its lower body, with sharp claws at the tips of its fingers. It dragged across the concrete floor, leaving a trail of viscous liquid, before finally stopping in front of the glass and tilting its head back.

Its eyes are human.

Frankly speaking, this is no longer the walking fish from Junji Ito's works; it is clearly caused by meme contamination.

Sousuke Isaka recalled the team meeting the night before.

At that time, the members of Musashi's team were sitting around a long table in the conference room.

The team's intelligence officer, Kenichi Kubota, pulled up a set of data projections:
“过去72小时，上野动物园S-4区共出现7条步行鱼，体型从0.5米到2.3米不等。”

He tapped the screen, and the view switched to a 3D scan—the anatomical structure of the walking fish.

“They were just ordinary fish that were mechanically restrained, just like the walking fish in Junji Ito’s novel. But 48 hours ago, they were different. The newly emerged walking fish have biological limbs, 47% of the DNA sequence we collected is the same as that of humans, and undigested fingernails were found in the stomach contents.”

Sousuke Isaka frowned: "Were there any reincarnators injured or killed at Ueno Zoo?"

Kubota shook his head: "Not yet, but one of the researchers on one of the teams was scratched while collecting samples, and now his skin is starting to show... scaly lesions."

He pulled up another photo—a researcher's arm, with dense, bluish scales emerging from his pores.

"He is mutating."

The conference room was dead silent.

Clearly, this is an invasion of Junji Ito's world.

However, no entrance to the instance was found underwater. But there is no doubt that the entrance to Junji Ito's horror world is hidden inside the Ueno Zoo.

The aquarium was deathly silent.

Chika pressed her face close to the glass, and suddenly—

"Snapped!"

A pale human hand slammed violently against the inside of the glass!

She suddenly stepped back and saw a three-meter-long walking fish pressed against the glass. Its upper body was highly anthropomorphic, and the outline of a woman's breasts could even be seen, but its lower body was still a fish tail, and its limbs were twisted and deformed.

The most terrifying thing is its face—

It was the face of a middle-aged woman, with serrated, shark-like teeth showing in her mouth.

"Run...run away quickly..."

The walking fish suddenly spoke, its voice seemingly coming from underwater, indistinct and distorted. Takamiya Yui froze on the spot.

—Is it talking?!

The walking fish's eyes darted around, fixed on her. The next second, its body suddenly convulsed violently, its skin bulging with countless bubbles like boiling water. Finally, it began to swim into the depths of the water...

"Chika... let's stick to the original plan and send a scout team in to take a look..."

……

Half an hour has almost passed.

Zhou Chen decided to take a gamble and report it to Jiang Jin!

Just as he was about to contact the reincarnation system...

A line of text was projected onto Jiang Jin's left retina:
"Attention all members of the Nirvana team: The Musashi team from Japan has entered this instance."
Number of members: 5

Jiang Jin's pupils contracted sharply, and he rushed out of the room, looking at Yu Tianlun outside, and said, "Team Leader, a new reincarnation team has come in! And... it's a Japanese reincarnation team?"

Yu Tianlun also received this prompt and said, "First, prepare to meet the enemy!"

Liu Yan's Gu worms instantly surged out from her sleeves, forming a defensive formation at the four corners of the room.

Tomie leaned lazily against the window, toying with a strand of hair between her fingers: "Oh dear, this is going to be interesting..."

This is a team-based killing instance; you must be extremely vigilant.

It's common for foreign raid groups to enter horror dungeons; it's not surprising. When you encounter one is completely random and unpredictable.

The interrogation of Zhou Chen had to be temporarily put on hold.

Everyone went to guard the hotel entrance.

Unexpectedly, less than an hour later, there was a knock on the door.

"Dong dong dong."

There was a gentle knock on the hotel room door.

Everyone's weapons were instantly pointed at the doorway.

A Chinese voice with a distinct Japanese accent came from outside the door:
"Excuse me, I am an envoy from Musashi's team, and I mean no harm."

Jiang Jin and Yu Tianlun exchanged a glance and slowly opened the door.

Standing outside the door was a thin young man wearing a black bodysuit, with only his sharp eyes visible beneath a mask.

He had two short swords strapped across his back and chains of hidden weapons wrapped around his wrists—a standard ninja outfit.

Upon seeing Jiang Jin, he bowed slightly and said in fluent Chinese:

"Nice to meet you, I am Ryo Kitano, from the Musashi team in the Edo Special District."

Yu Tianlun frowned: "How do you know we are reincarnators?"

“Our team has a special prop.”

Yu Tianlun narrowed his eyes: "What are you doing here?"

Kitano Ryo put away his smile and said seriously, "We were ordered by the leader to conduct reconnaissance first, but we did not expect to encounter Chinese reincarnators."

He paused, then his tone suddenly lightened, "But it's wonderful to meet you here! We've always remembered China's aid to Japan over the years, especially the supplies they provided during the fall of Edo..."

Jiang Jin frowned and interrupted, "Get to the point."

Kitano Ryo scratched his head: "Anyway, we are not enemies! Commander Musashi has always advocated for cooperation and mutual benefit between Chinese and Japanese reincarnations. As the saying goes, though we are in different places, we share the same moon and sky."

Yu Tianlun gestured for him to come inside, but he did not put away his weapon.

Kitano Ryo stood at the door with a sense of propriety and took the initiative to explain: "Our team of five is all scouts. In addition to me, there is the craftsman Miyata Sho, the onmyoji Murayama Isamu, the samurai Matsuzaki Ken, and the puppeteer Kobayashi Kyoko."

"Didn't you encounter any Self-Defense Force personnel?"

"I am a ninja, although I am only a LV2 genin, this kind of ninjutsu is not a problem for me."

"Level 2 is a Genin?" Xu Yinqiu asked curiously, "Then what is Level 1?"

She only knew that one of the professions for reincarnators in Japan was ninja, but she didn't know the specific rank.

"LV1 is Grass Ninja. Hmm... I think you all learned about our country's ninja professions through Naruto, right? Actually, the differences are quite significant."

“I know that, after all, you don’t have chakra or tailed beasts.”

Liu Yan suddenly interjected, "Did you encounter any 'balloons'?"

Kitano Ryo shook his head: "No, but we detected a large number of 'invisible energy bodies' in the sky using ninjutsu."

Yu Tianlun's eyes narrowed—Musashi's team's reconnaissance capabilities were stronger than expected!
Xu Yinqiu suddenly spoke up: "Why did your commander send an envoy?"

Kitano Ryo smiled: "Two purposes."

"First, we want to express goodwill. Our team leader does not want unnecessary conflict with the Chinese team."

"Secondly... we actually hope to have the opportunity to work with the Chinese Reincarnators team to conquer the terrifying dungeon of Junji Ito's world."

Why the Chinese Reincarnators team?

"Chinese reincarnation teams are generally quite strong, and you are better at maintaining the stability of SAN values ​​than we are. In particular, your management of meme contamination prevention is also number one in the world. In fact, many Japanese reincarnation teams have started to cooperate with your country's reincarnation teams. For example, the Kuroshio team on Zhenming Island in your country has allied with the three major teams in our country."

Jiang Jin sighed, "As expected of Japan, they side with whoever is strong."

Now even their American daddy doesn't care about them anymore. News reports say that the US military has basically withdrawn completely back to Hawaii.

The current state of Sino-Japanese relations can be said to be very close to that of the Tang Dynasty.

Next, Yu Tianlun confirmed one thing.

The entrance to this instance is located inside Ueno Zoo.

After the fall of Edo, all the quarantine zones in the Edo Special District had become ineffective. What is the current state of Edo? You might trip and fall on the street, and when you get up, you might find yourself in a terrifying dungeon, becoming a reincarnated being.

For the past five years, China has been doing everything in its power to support the Edo region, ensuring that memetic contamination in Japan does not spread. After all, if something happens to Japan, it will inevitably lead to a situation where both sides are affected.

Are you a team of reincarnators?

“Our team is called the Nirvana Team,” Yu Tianlun replied. “The team isn’t large. But you mean you entered this instance through the Ueno Zoo?”

"Yes."

"I see……"

Edo was a completely fallen area, so they must have entered directly through the dungeon entrance.

Wouldn't that mean they could leave the instance through the same entrance they came in through?

Yu Tianlun leaned close to Jiang Jin's ear and said, "Bring Zhou Chen and Qin Mei down. Let's leave this instance first. Oh, and... shut them up."

The streets of Black Crow Town were now eerily quiet.

The silence was almost unnatural.

Yu Tianlun walked at the front of the group, scanning his surroundings warily.

Jiang Jin, Liu Yan, and Xu Yinqiu followed closely behind, escorting Zhou Chen and Qin Mei. The two had talismans sealed to their mouths, preventing them from chanting spells or calling for help.

Kitano Ryo led the way, his figure moving like a ghost through the shadows, stopping from time to time to check the location.

"Our temporary base is 500 meters ahead."

The group quickened their pace, but Qin Mei suddenly struggled, letting out a muffled whimper through her gagged throat. Zhou Chen turned to look at her, his eyes narrowing slightly, as if conveying some kind of message.

Jiang Jin immediately gripped his shoulders tightly: "Behave yourself!"

Before us lay a forest. After passing through it, we arrived at the entrance to the dungeon, where a tree had split open wide enough for one person to pass through.

“This is it.” Kitano Ryo squatted at the edge of the crack. “Random cracks can appear anywhere in Edo now. The other four members of our team will be here in a while.”

Just then, Zhou Chen suddenly sprang into action! He slammed his head into Jiang Jin's nose while simultaneously kneeing him in the abdomen.

Jiang Jin let go in pain, and Zhou Chen grabbed Qin Mei and together they... jumped into the crack in the tree in front of them!
(End of this chapter)