Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 240 Old Nuclear Memes
Meanwhile, the situation on the other side is already extremely precarious!
Georgia's healing light had dimmed to the point of being like a candle flickering in the wind, and her pretty face was covered in sweat and anxiety.

Unable to dodge in time, Li Yuanxiu suddenly released several Gu worms. If Aurora hadn't used a cursed doll to deflect the force in time, Georgia would probably have lost her life!

Aurora's situation was even more dire. At this moment, the chilling ghostly energy surged wildly into her body through her wounds, causing her SAN value to plummet! Her face was deathly pale, devoid of any color, and the speed at which she could cast curse spells had noticeably slowed down; each time she raised her hand, it was extremely difficult.

Bai Miya's damned Soul Refining Gourd was still hanging high in the air, emitting a powerful suction force targeting the soul. Aurora felt as if her three souls and seven spirits were being hooked by countless cold hooks and being dragged out of her body little by little!

"Captain—!" Aurora let out a panicked scream, her voice trembling with tears. She was really about to give up! Both her willpower and physical strength were nearing their limits.

However, both she and Georgia had been imprinted with soul marks, and they could not retreat without the leader's order!
Blood Lord, his eyes blazing with fury, roared, and the black and red aura around him instantly shattered large sections of the approaching Netherworld Chains, temporarily forcing Lady White Night back a step.

He turned around abruptly, wanting to rush over and deal with Li Yuanxiu and Bai Miya without regard for anything else!

"Hmph! Your opponent is me!"

Would Lady Baiye give him that opportunity?

I thought the Blood Lord was ruthless and wouldn't care about the lives of the team members who had their soul imprints planted on them, but I didn't expect him to be a chivalrous person!

She sneered, suppressing her surging blood and qi, and her hands formed hand seals even faster. The Netherworld Chains shot out from the shadows behind her like giant pythons, once again blocking the Blood Lord's path!
"Today, none of you... are leaving!"

Blood Lord's heart sank. A desperate struggle of extreme unwillingness flashed in his crimson pupils!

In a one-on-one situation, without Georgia and Aurora, who would distract him and become a burden, he had plenty of time and means to deal with Madam Baiye, and might even find an opportunity to severely injure her!

This is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for revenge!

but……

Georgia's gasp and Aurora's desperate scream pierced his anger like cold needles.

He couldn't just stand by and watch them die here!

"Hold!"

Blood Lord uttered a furious curse through clenched teeth, but ultimately made the difficult decision.

"Bai Yewei, Bai Miya, you two bitches, just you wait!"

He abruptly abandoned his attempt to continue attacking Lady White Night's defenses, his body retreating like a ghost. At the same time, his hands flashed as he pulled out a silver runestone that shimmered with spatial fluctuations from his Reincarnator Watch—a precious team recall item!

"Grab me!" he shouted at Georgia and Aurora.

Upon hearing this, the two women almost unleashed their last survival instincts, rushing towards the Blood Lord without regard for anything else.

Lady Baiye's expression changed: "Trying to run away?!"

The reason she appeared with her daughter was to provoke Blood Lord with hatred and prevent him from escaping!

The Netherworld Chains shot forth like a venomous dragon!

Li Yuanxiu and Bai Miya also intensified their attacks at the same time!
But at this critical moment, Blood Lord triggered the rune stone!

Om-!
The blinding silver-white light instantly engulfed the three of them!
Space twisted violently, forming a brief vortex.

Lady Baiye's chains, Li Yuanxiu's Gu worms, and Bai Miya's ghost claws pierced through the silver light almost simultaneously, but only hit air!

A flash of silver light disappeared in an instant, along with the three people inside, vanishing completely from the elm-lined street.

All that remained was Madam Bai Ye's ashen face and the bewildered gazes of Li Yuanxiu and Bai Miya.

"Bitch?" Lady Baiye's expression was icy. She was the vice leader of the Insect Nest team, and with Lady Pussy currently in seclusion trying to break through to LV5, she was the de facto leader of the Insect Nest team!

No matter who it is, they all treat her with utmost respect. Who would dare to be disrespectful to her?

"I didn't expect Blood Lord to still have some humanity, valuing the lives of his team members so much?" This surprised Li Yuanxiu somewhat. "If he were alone, it would be hard to say what would have happened in today's battle."

"If I wasn't confident enough, how could I dare to challenge him to a duel?" Lady Baiye said, "With my unpredictable skills, I can send him to the deepest part of Ghost King Freddy's nightmare world!"

Then, she looked at her daughter and felt really disappointed. How many resources had she fed Bai Mia, yet she still hadn't managed to kill Aurora after all this time? She couldn't help but worry. If this continued, when would her daughter ever be able to advance to LV4?
……

After a brief period of dizziness and a feeling of space being torn apart, the three Blood Lords crashed heavily onto the cold, hard ground.

The air was thick with the smell of rust and decay, and the eerie nursery rhymes and the scraping of iron claws from Nightmare Street seemed to linger in one's ears.

They left the Nightmare Street instance, at the cost of losing half of the rewards they had earned from completing the quest.

Blood Lord shook his slightly dizzy head and immediately looked around warily.

This is an amusement park that has been abandoned for many years.

A massive, rusty Ferris wheel stood askew in the darkness, the roller coaster beside it twisted and broken. Broken clown dolls lay scattered around, their paint peeling, yet their faces still bearing exaggerated, eerie smiles. The carousel's eyes had all been gouged out, casting chilling shadows in the dim moonlight.

This is one of the seven restricted areas of Muxu City—the Night Amusement Park located in Pingdong District. It is a European and American horror game zone, leading to various bizarre European and American horror worlds such as "A Nightmare on Elm Street," "Silent Hill," and "It."

Back then, when Jiang Jin and the others went to Red Rust Town, they were actually going to Pingdong District. Blood Lord thought they were going to Night Amusement Park to enter some Western-style dungeon.

"Cough...cough cough..." Aurora's painful cough pulled Blood Lord back to his senses.

She lay on the ground, black blood still gushing from the wound on her shoulder. The ghostly energy was chilling her to the bone, making her tremble. Her SAN value was still dropping, and her consciousness was becoming somewhat blurred. Georgia was in slightly better condition, but she was also pale.

"Georgia! Quick! Heal her!" Blood Lord roared, forcing himself to stand up and guarding her warily, his eyes scanning every dark corner of the amusement park, on guard against any danger that might emerge from anywhere.

Georgia gritted her teeth, crawled to Aurora's side, and once again released a gentle healing aura from her hands, pressing them against the terrible wound. The white light and the black ghostly energy clashed fiercely, producing a sizzling sound. Aurora convulsed in pain, but bit her lip tightly to keep herself from screaming.

Blood Lord watched nervously until the black aura at the wound was gradually dispelled, new granulation tissue began to grow slowly, the SAN value rose again, and Aurora's complexion regained a rosy hue. Only then did he slowly breathe a sigh of relief, and his tense body relaxed slightly.

He leaned against a dilapidated ticket booth, watching the two women bandaging each other's wounds, a self-deprecating bitter smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

The perfect opportunity for revenge was missed.

All three were exhausted, both mentally and physically drained.

What's more troublesome is that the precious items she carries to restore SAN points have already been exhausted in the previous series of fierce battles, and Georgia, as a healer, cannot use her healing abilities indefinitely.

Standing in this eerie nighttime amusement park, the omnipresent terror and distorted scenes continue to provoke their tense nerves.

"Leave the quarantine zone first, then find a place to rest. Return to the Reincarnation Camp at dawn," Blood Lord made the decision, his voice hoarse.

The three of them helped each other and carefully avoided the extremely ominous-looking amusement facilities. With considerable effort, they finally made it out of the rusty iron fence of the night amusement park. The soldiers who had been guarding the area 24 hours a day were quite surprised to see Blood Lord in such a disheveled state.

Next, they found a nearby hotel and booked a room.

Once inside the room, the door was locked, and Aurora began to put up various talismans. Finally, the tension that had been running high for the three of them completely eased.

Extreme fatigue, exhaustion from surviving a disaster, and the amplified emotional effect of low SAN value surged up like a tide.

Before Blood Lord could even take off his coat, Georgia suddenly turned around, stood on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around his neck, and planted a long, warm yet slightly wild kiss on his lips!

Aurora, watching this scene, blushed slightly on her pale face and gave a weak smile, her voice still a little hoarse: "Georgia...you're too impatient, aren't you? We're covered in sweat and blood, and we smell terrible...let's go take a shower first..."

Georgia, however, ignored everything and kissed him even more deeply, as if trying to confirm their existence and release her inner fear and excitement.

The Blood Lord froze for a moment, then finally, slowly embraced her…

In the morning, sunlight streamed into the room through the gaps in the curtains.

Blood Lord awoke, feeling much more energetic. He moved his arm and found Georgia curled up in his left arm like a kitten. On his right, Aurora was also fast asleep.

The two women woke up one after the other, their eyes filled with indescribable emotion and love as they looked at the Blood Lord.

They knew very well that in yesterday's situation, with the leader's strength, if he were to abandon them, he would have no fear of Madam Baiye, and there was even a great chance that he could keep the mother and daughter.

But he didn't. He chose to protect them, giving up the easy opportunity for revenge.

Looking into their eyes, Blood Lord sighed, reached out and ruffled Georgia's hair, then gently touched Aurora's bandages: "Forget it, there will be plenty of opportunities to avenge... But when a person dies, everything is truly gone."

His gaze drifted out the window, recalling the most painful regret he had felt during the [Evil Spirit Chase] dungeon.

Georgia grabbed his hand, pressed it against her face, and said with unwavering determination, "Commander, don't worry! We were the ones who held you back this time! From now on, we'll work our hardest to improve our strength! One day, we'll help you kill that vicious mother and daughter, Madam Baiye!"

Aurora nodded emphatically, her face filled with guilt: "It's because my skills are not good enough, and my curse techniques are not yet perfected, that I was injured so badly and dragged everyone down with me. I will work harder!"

“However, my SAN value has not fully recovered…” Blood Lord raised his Reincarnator watch. “I am still in the Lost Layer.”

Of course, for a LV4 Soul Prison Master, even falling asleep in the Lost Layer poses no danger. In the terrifying Nightmare Street dungeon, he wouldn't have the chance to sleep so soundly.

"Georgia, please help me restore my SAN value first."

“Okay, fine…” Georgia sat up, aimed her hand at Blood Lord, and began to use her class skill.

But at that moment, Blood Lord suddenly jolted awake and straightened up!

He opened his eyes wide and looked out the window in disbelief!

A huge balloon with a face exactly like yours was floating outside!

"A... a head... a balloon?"

"What did you say? Commander?"

Georgia's healing aura had begun to take effect. As the SAN value increased, the giant human head balloon outside the window began to dissipate little by little, eventually turning into nothingness.

After returning to the mysterious layer and even the materialistic layer, the human-head balloon completely disappeared.

"Captain, what did you just say about 'human head balloons'?"

Blood Lord felt cold sweat break out. He had naturally heard about the terrifying meme of the human head balloon from Zhou Chen and Qin Mei long ago!
Could it be that the memes have failed to be contained?
No, strictly speaking, this is a meme that was not contained by the reincarnation system!
"Quickly, get out of Pingdong District! Quickly!"

First there was the scarecrow meme, then the human head balloon... plus the walking fish that appeared before...

These are all horror scenes from Junji Ito's manga!
It's definitely not a coincidence!
The old nuclear organization must have done something shady in Japan to cause the repeated leaks of Junji Itoh's horror memes!

He immediately took out his phone and called Long Mingzhang directly.

"Minister Long!" As soon as the call connected, he shouted, "Immediately dispatch sanitation workers to Pingdong District! Something terrible has happened!"

After listening to him finish speaking, Long Mingzhang nodded and said to Xiao Tianze, who was standing next to him, "You heard everything just now, right?"

The phone was on speakerphone, so Xiao Tianze could hear it clearly.

"I'll make arrangements."

Then, Long Mingzhang's gaze fell on Jiang Jin and Yu Tianlun in front of him, and he said, "I really didn't expect this, Jiang Jin, you are so capable that you actually brought the meme carrier out of the [Lanruo Temple] instance."

"Just luck." Jiang Jin also felt like he had escaped a disaster. If he hadn't summoned Yang Jian, he really wouldn't have been able to escape from the dungeon this time. He would most likely have died there, and might even have become a black-robed monk.

The memes inside Lanruo Temple remain shrouded in mystery, and the reincarnators still need to continue exploring its depths.

"What Blood Lord just said was..." Yu Tianlun said nervously, "that a human head balloon meme has appeared in Pingdong District?"

“Yes,” Long Mingzhang continued, “the situation is somewhat beyond our expectations. This must be the work of the Old Core Organization. In fact, recently, patrol teams in several towns in the Pingdong District have submitted reports of discovering more Ash Humanoids, and even more Ash Ghouls have appeared in the Annihilation Layer.”

Patrol teams stationed closer to the outer ring are usually bullies who extort protection money, while those stationed further away are comprised of truly skilled reincarnators. Their role is to hunt down as many Ash Humanoids and Ash Ghouls as possible to ensure the stability of the material layer outside the outer ring. As long as the material layer remains stable, the rate of Ash Humanoid invasion must follow a physical distance, gradually increasing towards the nearest point, and cannot directly appear within the outer ring.

"I will arrange for the Reincarnator team to be deployed to focus on the Pingdong District. Alas, this means the plan to wipe out the insect nest team will have to be postponed again."

The collusion between the Old Core and the Insect Nest is an open secret. Jiang Jin suspects that they probably have their own reasons for doing so!
"Master Shen..." At this moment, Jiang Jin finally asked the question he cared about most, "Where is he now?"

Shen Mohan is the key to saving his brother and completely eliminating the scarecrow meme. But Jiang Jin didn't expect that when he came out this time, the people from Black Sparrow Pavilion said that Pavilion Master Shen had temporarily entered the Horror Dungeon and that he could hand the items over to Minister Long first.

"Yes, Pavilion Master Shen has gone to report for duty," Long Mingzhang replied. "I will help you deliver the items, and then I will explain to the people of Black Sparrow Pavilion that they should keep their promise."

Jiang Jin breathed a sigh of relief.

that would be great.

However, he became puzzled again.

Black Sparrow Pavilion should be a very detached organization. What is the connection between them and the Meme Contamination Monitoring Department?

Even if Pavilion Master Shen is temporarily absent, why arrange to hand the items over to Long Mingzhang first?

Half an hour later.

Long Mingzhang opened his laptop and established contact with a certain terrifying dungeon through an encrypted channel.

“I’ve always turned a blind eye to the Duncan Club’s activities in Muxu City,” Long Mingzhang continued. “This time, I also want to thank Pavilion Master Shen for being willing to share the meme carrier with me.”

The video shows Shen Mohan's face!
"Our Duncan Club and your country's interests are originally aligned. Minister Long and I facilitated this deal in the hope of achieving genuine cooperation with your government, so that the reincarnators of our two countries can truly form an alliance. Now, the old nuclear force is our common mortal enemy."

Long Mingzhang nodded, recalling the information the Blood Lord had given him, and clenched his fists tightly.

"They are really going too far."

"We can now be certain that the core figures of the Old Core organization are mostly residing in the Edo and Japanese-style horror instances. The Duncan Club hopes to join forces with your country's reincarnators to jointly conquer the Old Core in those Japanese-style horror instances!"

"That insect nest..."

"The old core and the worm nest were always in cahoots... Haha, I didn't use that Chinese idiom wrong, did I? Once the old core is removed, dealing with the worm nest won't be difficult!"

"Hmm... Speaking of which, the situation in Edo right now... is really bad."

"Yes, it's the same in Japanese horror dungeons...."

Shen Mohan slowly looked behind him.

This is inside a Japanese horror game instance.

This is a typical tatami room.

At that moment, a closet was slowly pulled open...

(End of this chapter)