Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 195 Strange Core
Jiang Jin's eyes darkened slightly as he continued communicating via the mental link: "Commander Yu has also mentioned the Old Core to me many times. The organization's 'home base' has always been a mystery; the imperial court has been investigating for so many years without finding it."

The news on TV continued, but Jiang Jin's thoughts had already drifted far away.

The Old Core Organization—no one among the Reincarnators is unaware of them; it is a fanatical group composed of extreme Reincarnators.

They do not acknowledge that memes are pollution; instead, they regard them as "baptism."

Their members have been lurking in the horror replicas for a long time, and some even actively accept meme infection, believing that this is the only way to "awaken".

Even more terrifying, they specifically hunt down official reincarnators of the imperial court, considering them heretics who rebel against memes.

Yu Tianlun said that he had personally witnessed a reincarnator who had been attacked by the Old Core. The person's body was arranged in a strange kneeling posture, with the Old Core's mark engraved on his forehead.

The autopsy revealed that the deceased's brain tissue had been completely reconstructed by some kind of meme, with the neural synapses exhibiting an abnormal radial pattern.

Chang Wuyong, the current leader of the old core, is an extremely dangerous figure.

The imperial court organized several encirclements and suppressions, but the members of the old core were elusive, and their "home base" was unknown to anyone.

"Jiang Jin, you haven't encountered anything strange while you were on patrol lately, have you?" Zhou Huilan suddenly asked, interrupting Jiang Jin's thoughts.

Jiang Jin snapped out of his daze and smiled, "No, Mom, don't worry."

Zhou Huilan hesitated for a moment, then finally sighed, "You two brothers need to be careful... In this day and age, your profession is becoming increasingly dangerous."

Both of her sons became police officers, which seemed like an honor, but Zhou Huilan was always uneasy. She would rather they did ordinary clerical work than have to fight criminals on the front lines, or even risk being exposed to meme contamination.

Jiang Zhiguo patted his wife's hand: "Alright, the kids are all police officers, they know more than we do."

Zhou Huilan glared at her husband. It was he who had supported Jiang Han's decision to take the police academy entrance exam and wanted their youngest son to go with him!

Jiang Zhiguo pretended not to see it and happily drank his wine. Since Jiang Jin became a member of the patrol team, he was no longer as harsh on his second son as before. Instead, he felt that "this little rascal has really made something of himself."

Jiang Han suddenly spoke up: "Recently, the Municipal Bureau has indeed received several reports of pyramid scheme activities, but they are all minor cases, and no evidence has been found that is directly related to the old core."

The police had always believed that Old Core was a large-scale pyramid scheme.

Liu Yan noticed that Zhou Huilan seemed a little uneasy, so she changed the subject: "Auntie, your braised pork ribs are so delicious. Can you teach me how to make them?"

Zhou Huilan paused for a moment, then said, "Well, it's actually very simple. The key is the heat..."

After dinner, Jiang Han checked the time and stood up: "Dad, Mom, we should go back now."

Jiang Zhiguo nodded: "Okay, be careful on the road."

After seeing off Jiang Han and his wife, Jiang Jin and Liu Yan also prepared to take their leave.

Zhou Huilan hesitated for a moment, then took a box out of the cabinet and handed it to Liu Yan.

"This is..." Liu Yan asked, somewhat puzzled.

“I intended to leave this bracelet from when I was young to my daughter-in-law,” Zhou Huilan said calmly, but her eyes softened. “You can keep it.”

Liu Yan's eyes reddened slightly as she took the box and said softly, "Thank you, Auntie."

Jiang Jin grinned and put his arm around his mother's shoulder: "Mom, thank you!"

Zhou Huilan patted him on the shoulder: "Stop talking nonsense! Hurry up and go back, don't delay your rest."

Stepping out of the community gate, the night breeze was slightly cool.

Liu Yan looked down at the bracelet in her hand and asked softly, "Your mother... seems to have accepted me?"

Jiang Jin smiled and squeezed her hand: "She has never disliked you, she was just worried."

Liu Yan nodded and squeezed his hand.

“I still feel uneasy about what’s going on in Pingdong District. Especially since your brother might get involved.”

"My brother's SAN value is still normal at present, and it is also possible that the scarecrow incident was a murder case."

At this moment...

Blood Lord looked at the few sheets of paper in front of him.

Lord Gentori's current instructions are simple, but the signal sent by the Imperial Court's garrisoning of troops in Edo is extraordinary.

This means that... the memes in the Edo Special Zone have reached a point of being out of control!
Walking fish is just the beginning...

"Next, the pressure will fall on Zhenming Island." Blood Lord looked at the detailed memetic contamination risk report: "So the imperial court also wants to clear the [Zoo Tales] instance as soon as possible, so that the reincarnation system can completely contain the zoo memes?"

At present, the imperial court is indeed facing both internal and external troubles.

"This should also be an important reason why the court decided to purge the Insect Den team at this time. After all, they have always suspected that Lady Pustules and Chang Wuyong have a cooperative relationship. If the Insect Den and the Old Core are working together, the consequences will be unimaginable."

Clearing the [Zoo Ghost Stories] is an incredibly difficult task, as you can imagine. This garrisoning of troops in Edo clearly signals an alliance between the two nations!
The various conflicts between the two countries in the past are indeed insignificant in the face of the crisis of life and death of all mankind.

"You all agree, right? Zhou Chen? Qin Mei?"

Not far from Blood Lord, Zhou Chen and Qin Mei were suspended in mid-air by iron chains. Their wrists were already raw and bloody from being rubbed by the rough metal, and their bodies were covered in blood.

Valeria the Blood Spider leaned down and used her fingertips to lift Qin Mei's chin: "Miss Qin, I've long wanted to leave scars on your fair skin. I remember you had three or four vengeful spirits attached to you, but now there aren't a single one left?"

Qin Mei's pupils had lost focus, and her lips trembled slightly, but she couldn't utter a complete sentence.

Long Cang was playing with a glass bottle with a yellow talisman on it, and the eyeball of some kind of creature was soaking inside the bottle.

"Commander," Long Cang said, his heart filled with boundless hatred, "their failure has caused our Bloodstained Team to lose all face. They must be severely punished no matter what!"

Upon hearing this, Kim Suk-mi immediately took a bronze box from the altar. The moment the lid was opened, more than a dozen blood-red nematodes raised their heads from inside, making a sound like a baby crying.

This was also a Gu worm taken from Sima Jin's body.

Blood Lord raised his hand to stop them.

He slowly walked up to Zhou Chen.

“Zhou Chen,” his voice was terrifyingly gentle, “you were my brother who went through thick and thin with me in that completely rule-based dungeon. I’ve always treated you well. But when I entrusted the team to you, they all died, including Duan She! He was also my brother in arms! You even ended up in the [Undying Curse] dungeon, your class dropped to LV2 before you managed to escape alive!”

He suddenly grabbed Zhou Chen by the throat and squeezed hard: "What I hate most is betrayal and failure! And now, you have one of those qualities!"

Zhou Chen's throat bones creaked under the strain, but his eyes remained calm.

Blood Lord is terrifying, but compared to Kayako, he would rather face this leader.

He truly never wanted to enter the [Undying Curse] dungeon again; he felt it was a miracle he had returned alive. The price he paid was a drop to LV2, with virtually no chance of advancing to LV3 anytime soon. All the vengeful spirits possessing Qin Mei had been unleashed, yet they couldn't even last a minute against Kayako!

The entire Twilight team was wiped out, not a single one survived!
"I...I know I was wrong...Qin Mei, don't be mute...please say a few words for me!"

He knew that he must not plead for Qin Mei in front of the Blood Lord; only in this way could he protect her.

Blood Lord wouldn't dare kill him. In the eyes of the court officials, he was a LV5 seed player. Without orders from above, Blood Lord had to spare his life! Only if Blood Lord confirmed that he and Qin Mei were at odds could they live!

Zhou Chen forced out broken syllables through clenched teeth, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth onto the Blood Lord's hand: "Your subordinate is willing... to atone for his crimes through meritorious service..."

Surprisingly, Blood Lord suddenly released his grip.

He turned around and took out a snow-white handkerchief from his body, slowly wiping his fingers: "Zhou Chen, your humiliating defeat this time has greatly weakened the strength of our Bloodstained Team. Now, I have become a laughing stock! Atone for your crimes? Dream on."

However, he still couldn't bring himself to kill Zhou Chen.

It wasn't to give an explanation to the officials appointed by the imperial court.

He was genuinely wary of Zhou Chen, but he also genuinely regarded him as a brother in life and death.

Now, only Zhou Chen and Qin Mei have returned. If they aren't severely punished, morale will be low. But executing them would only weaken us further and make us a laughingstock.

As for Tang Min? She's dead, of course.

How could Yu Tianlun possibly spare her life? It's just that it was Musashi's team that did the killing, so it doesn't count as breaking his oath.

The Blood Lord stared at the two for a long time, then suddenly said to Blood Spider Valeria, "Inject them with 'blood marrow essence' and lock them in the confessional."

Upon hearing this, Blood Spider revealed a cruel smile on her short head and pulled out two glowing red syringes from her skirt.

When the needle pierced his carotid artery, Zhou Chen finally showed a pained expression. He could feel the cold liquid flowing through his veins towards his heart, as if countless ants were gnawing at the surface. This drug kept him conscious but unable to control his body—an unbearable form of torture.

Qin Mei had already begun to convulse, her eyeballs rolled back until only the whites of her eyes were visible, and blood foam kept spitting from the corners of her mouth!
Death penalty can be avoided, but living crime cannot be avoided!
After the heavy iron gate closed, Blood Lord stood in front of the monitor screen and looked at the scene in the confessional.

The two people who were injected with the drug were experiencing various hallucinations, convulsing wildly like two fish out of water.

just now……

Although Blood Lord was furious, he could not deal with Nirvana for the time being.

Yu Tianlun had already contacted him using Tang Min's phone and sent him a text message.

The content was that he knew the weakness of the Blood Owl Lord's forbidden technique. If anyone in Nirvana, including their family members, died, no matter how they died, even if it was from a heart attack or cerebral hemorrhage, this secret would immediately fall into the hands of the Insect Nest team.

Therefore, he had no choice but to cease hostilities with the Nirvana team!

Even after suffering such a huge loss and losing a large number of elite troops, he could only swallow his pride and bear it!
"Yu Tianlun! Sooner or later, I will extract your soul and refine your spirit, casting you into the eighteenth level of hell!"

late at night.

In Blood Lord's bedroom, heavy curtains blocked out all light, leaving only a dark red wall lamp by the bedside, which illuminated the entire room as if it were soaked in blood.

On the bed, Xia Yu pleaded tremblingly, "Commander, please, please spare me..."

Blood Lord had his eyes closed, but his brows still held a lingering ferocity, clearly indicating that his earlier "venting" had not truly quelled his anger.

Then, he released his grip on Xia Yu's neck and slammed the pillow down on her face!
"You despicable woman! Because of your insufficient intelligence, I have lost so many valiant generals!"

This crushing defeat has completely tarnished the reputation of the word "bloodshed," and allowed Nirvana to gain fame by stepping on his face! He has lost both his wife and his army!
at this time--

"The bedroom of the dignified Blood Lord is actually a place where lust and filth are hidden!"

A mocking female voice suddenly came from the doorway, with its intonation rising and falling. The lines were exactly the same as the ones Kumārajīva used to mock the Shaolin Temple in the TVB version of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.

The Blood Lord looked up and said coldly, "Benadeta, stop fooling around."

At that moment, he let go of her hand, and Xia Yu immediately removed the pillow, took deep breaths, and then turned to look at the door.

A tall, white woman leaned against the door frame, wearing a tight-fitting black combat suit, with a sniper rifle strapped to her back!
She immediately recognized the woman as Bernadette, another vice-leader of the Bloody Squad, a Hunter Level 3 Forbidden Zone Hunter!
She hails from Bologna, Italy, and is an exceptionally skilled marksman, the most terrifying sniper in the Bloody Squad.

Bernadette has been trying to break through to LV4 recently, almost ignoring everything else. She just finished her seclusion and although she did not succeed in advancing, she felt that her strength had improved. She originally wanted to come directly to Blood Lord to report, but she did not expect to encounter such a scene as soon as she entered the door.

Of course, no one would stop her. After all, all the female members of the main group could frequently enter and leave Blood Lord's bedroom without prior notice.

After all, as Master Kumārajīva said, this is an era where even Shaolin monks can have numerous mistresses and illegitimate children, let alone the Blood Lord. Within the circle of reincarnators, Yu Tianlun is probably the only male reincarnator who has become a leader without any mistresses.

"Oh dear, sorry to bother you?" She covered her mouth in feigned surprise, but there was no apology in her eyes, only a hint of teasing.

Blood Lord finally opened his eyes and glanced at her indifferently: "You've emerged from seclusion?"

"Hmm, just broke through to the edge of LV4, but unfortunately, he's still one step away from it." Bernadette shrugged, but her gaze fell on Xia Yu's body, a hint of vigilance flashing in her eyes.

This woman...

As a Western woman, Bernadette has always been extremely confident in her figure, but Xia Yu in front of her made her feel a sense of crisis for the first time.

Xia Yu's figure is perfect, with exquisite curves, snow-white skin, and prominent breasts, which is no less than my own, and may even be better.

Bernadette knew that this woman was the wife of Sima Jin, the leader of the Misty Swamp Team, a branch of the Insect Cave Team. She was known as the "Witch Queen" in the Reincarnator circle, and countless men had been infatuated with her and fallen at her feet.

Now, she's actually joined the Bloodstained team? It seems I missed quite a few important things while I was in seclusion?
Bernadette narrowed her eyes, secretly making plans in her mind.

The Blood Lord seemed to sense her thoughts and said calmly, "Xia Yu is now my subordinate, and her witch abilities are very useful to us."

"A subordinate?" Bernadette chuckled. "I remember she used to be one of Sima Jin's people. What, has she switched sides now?"

Xia Yu's body was trembling like a leaf. She felt like she had almost died just now!

Bernadette raised an eyebrow, saying nothing more, but she was already on high alert.

Blood Lord rubbed his temples, clearly not wanting to dwell on this topic, and asked directly, "What brings you here?"

Bernadette put away her joking expression, walked to the bedside and sat down, her tone becoming serious: "I just came out of seclusion and heard about Nirvana. Both squads were wiped out, and Zhou Chen and Qin Mei were even locked up by you?"

Blood Lord's eyes turned cold: "They did a poor job, suffered heavy losses, and caused us to suffer heavy losses."

"So, what are you planning to do?"

"Now that we are beset by internal and external troubles, and are about to join the court in a full-scale war against the insect nests, it is not advisable to create any further complications. Let us let them live a little longer for now."

Bernadette pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "How about... I deal with Nirvana? I'm very confident in my assassination skills."

Blood Lord shook his head: "No."

"why?"

"What, do I need to explain why I do things to you?"

“I dare not,” Bernadette frowned, “but if we don’t act, the reputation of the Bloodthirsty Team will be ruined…”

"Reputation?" Blood Lord sneered. "Now is not the time to care about reputation. The imperial court has already begun to station troops in Edo, and the memetic pollution in the Pacific region is becoming more and more serious. We must preserve our strength."

Xia Yu said tremblingly, "Commander, since the deputy commander is here, should I leave first?"

Blood Lord has calmed down now. After all, this woman is still useful, and he can't really kill her.

"roll!"

Xia Yu felt as if she had been granted a pardon. She grabbed her clothes from the bedside, quickly dressed, and left immediately.

Bernadette, seeing her disheveled appearance, said, "It seems she's not very favored."

"To me, there are three types of women. The first type is capable, the second type is capable, and the third type is a combination of the first and the second. As for her... I originally thought she was the third type, but now it seems she might be the first type."

Bernadette was stunned.

"What's the difference between the first and the second type?"

"Chinese is profound and complex; you still need to study it carefully." Blood Lord glanced at her: "What, are you jealous?"

"Jealous? Why would I be jealous so late at night?"

Blood Lord was taken aback. Indeed, as an Italian, how would she know the story of Lady Fang Xuanling?

"So, to you, am I the third type?"

"That's natural."

Bernadette said no more, climbed into bed, and nestled obediently beside him, ready to continue their state of "hidden passion and concealed filth"...

"I want to have your child..."

Blood Lord had just unbuttoned half of the female deputy commander's clothes when he heard these words and stopped.

“I remember we had an agreement on this issue.”

"But...I've already had three abortions..."

"The abortion system within the Reincarnation System is safe and has no side effects, so there's nothing to worry about," the Blood Lord said coldly. "Put away your ulterior motives and do your job! I'll emphasize again today: I will not get married, nor will I have children! I only have one son, and that is Wu Ge! Do you understand?"

"Yes... I understand."

For Blood Lord, all the people around him were destined to die from memetic contamination. Even the vice-commander in front of him had little hope of advancing to LV5 and would die sooner or later. Since that was the case, he naturally wouldn't have any real feelings for them.

Even Wu Ge is destined to die eventually. The Blood Lord can only try his best to let him enjoy a life like that of his peers while he is still alive.

Now, he must do everything in his power to reach LV5! Then, what will Yu Tianlun have to threaten him with!
"Oh dear, it seems I've arrived at a very inopportune time?"

Suddenly, a voice appeared behind Blood Lord!

He quickly turned around and unleashed his professional skill, [Dark Prison Sacrifice]!
However, the intruders behind him remained as steady as a mountain!
"Let me introduce myself. I am Li Ming from the Strange Core branch of the Old Core organization. I am here to invite Blood Owl Lord to join us and welcome the new world together!"

(End of this chapter)