Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 250 Curse and Human Favor

The night was as dark as ink, heavily enveloping the outskirts of Muxu City.

The terminus of Line 14, known as the most terrifying quarantine zone on par with Muxu City and Baimei Hospital, lies silently in the desolate land of Tiexi District.

Centered on this station, a three-kilometer radius area has been designated as an absolute military control zone, with layers of barbed wire, searchlights, and temporary roadblocks to ensure that ordinary people cannot get close or use drones to film the area.

The elite "Dragon Guard" troops of the Muxu Military Region are stationed here.

The Imperial Guards have been officially reorganized and are now called the Dragon Guards. The common people now refer to the Imperial Guards as the Dragon Guards Army, and the Dragon Guards Army in Muxu are the true elite of the Imperial Guards.

Dressed in the latest digital combat uniforms and armed with firearms purchased and exchanged through the reincarnation system, bearing faint runes, their faces were stern and their eyes sharp. They guarded every entrance and every passage leading to the subway terminal with impeccable military bearing, their discipline as strict as that of steel machines.

In stark contrast to the style of these Dragon Guard soldiers was the 55th Patrol Brigade, composed of a mixed group of reincarnators.

They huddled together in twos and threes, leaning against the cold walls or armored vehicles, cigarettes dangling from their mouths, the embers glowing brightly in the darkness. Clearly... compared to professional soldiers, the reincarnators had absolutely no discipline.

Amidst the swirling smoke, they whispered their discussion about the current grim global situation.

"Have you heard? Those lunatics from the Old Core have really messed things up in Area 11!" A Reincarnator took a deep drag on his cigarette. "This is a huge mess! The memetic contamination is spreading like a plague, and the death toll is impossible to keep up with. They say it's like hell on earth there!"

“Yes, the truth about meme contamination and the existence of reincarnators may no longer be a secret!” Another female reincarnator chimed in, her voice suppressed. “Those monstrous things—'human head balloons'—have appeared in several districts of Edo! Damn, just thinking about it sends chills down my spine. They’re floating in the sky, densely packed, with dead people hanging below. The key is that you can’t pop them, or you’ll all die together!”

A younger reincarnator couldn't help but shudder: "Damn! If that thing appeared here... I can't even imagine! Even many soldiers of the Dragon Soaring Army have been hanged by those ghost balloons. This thing is impossible to defend against!"

"Actually, I heard that the Pingdong District area has also seen human head balloons appearing in the Annihilation Layer or the Lost Layer. The cleaners have already gone to deal with it. Recently, the reincarnators are afraid to go to the Night Amusement Park's horror dungeon."

"Sigh, there's no use in us little karaimis thinking about it. Anyway, if the sky falls, there will be tall people to hold it up..."

The topic quickly shifted back to the upcoming grand operation that was gripping the nerves of reincarnators worldwide.

"In a few months, the 'Zoo Tales' dungeon expedition will begin..." The reincarnators' tone was filled with awe and a hint of fear. "The world's top reincarnator teams, the Duncan Club, the Cross Council, plus our country's Temple and the Nine Provinces Dragon Guard leading the charge... This lineup is simply amazing!"

"There's no way around it. Our 'Zoo Ghost Stories,' Japan's 'Vortex,' and India's 'Dead City' are all globally recognized as the top three most despair-infected memetic dungeons. None of them are easy to deal with. Especially 'Zoo Ghost Stories,' which is practically the origin of all rule-based ghost stories. I've heard that less than one in ten people who go in actually come out alive, and most of them will have their SAN value drop potential never going down..."

In this oppressive and tense atmosphere of casual conversation, a figure silently passed through layers of police tape and arrived at the subway station entrance.

The patrolling reincarnators immediately recognized him, straightened up, and changed their casual attitude, greeting him respectfully: "Good evening, Vice Commander Long!"

The newcomer was none other than Long Cang, the vice-leader of the Bloody Team!

Long Cang nodded slightly and said succinctly, "I've come to the forbidden zone for trials."

The patrol captain was somewhat surprised: "Deputy Commander Long, you... you're going in alone?"

The other party is the vice-commander of the Bloodthirsty Guild, a confidant of the Blood Lord.

Coming alone? Could it be that he's confident in advancing and is aiming for LV4 in one fell swoop? If the Bloody Team has two LV4 Reincarnators, that would be truly remarkable.

"Hmm." Long Cang spoke sparingly, his gaze already fixed on the dark subway station entrance, as if something there was attracting him.

The patrol members dared not ask any more questions.

Their main task is to prevent ordinary citizens from accidentally entering, but for a powerhouse like Long Cang, there is naturally no obstruction.

Of course, the process still had to be followed. After confirming Long Cang's reincarnation identity through the reincarnation system, he was immediately allowed to pass.

The crowd parted to let Long Cang walk down the steps of the subway station entrance and disappear into the darkness that led deep underground.

The air inside the Line 14 subway station is perpetually filled with a faint smell of ashes from burning paper money and a barely perceptible musty odor, and the temperature is several degrees lower than outside.

Long Cang's footsteps echoed in the empty underground hall. The emergency lights around him emitted a pale white light, barely illuminating what lay ahead, but most of the area was hidden in deep darkness, a darkness so thick it seemed to be tangible, as if it could swallow up all light and sound.

At this moment, he felt a deep sorrow. Years ago, when he first entered this quarantine zone, Xiao Wu was still by his side. Now, however, he was gone.

He now deeply regrets not stopping Xiao Wu from choosing the profession of a sorcerer.

The ashes of paper drifted in from who knows where, silently settling on his shoulders and the ends of his hair.

Scattered on the ground were some old, tattered newspapers with illegible handwriting. Occasionally, one could see some startling headlines, but they would disappear upon closer inspection.

The deeper you go, the more eerie the atmosphere becomes.

Suddenly, a paper effigy of a boy, about half a person's height, brightly colored, but with a strange smile, floated out from behind an abandoned ticket machine without warning!
It was wreathed in eerie blue phosphorescent flames, and the smile painted on its face with rough oil paint was stiff and terrifying. It almost brushed past Long Cang's face before silently igniting itself a short distance away, turning into a small clump of ashes and dissipating into the air.

Long Cang's expression remained unchanged; his eyes even grew colder. As a seasoned reincarnator, he was already accustomed to this level of terror. Ordinary ghosts and monsters posed no threat to him whatsoever.

He passed through the turnstiles, which had long been de-energized and stopped operating, and arrived at the platform level.

It was even darker and more desolate here.

The dark track, like a giant beast's lair, stretched into an unknown abyss, and the decaying and unsettling atmosphere in the air almost solidified into a tangible form.

Long Cang stopped in his tracks.

He took a deep breath and slowly pulled a dagger from his pocket.

This dagger was given to him by Li Yuanxiu. It has an ancient design, but the blade is as black as ink, and a dark red blood light flows faintly at the edge, giving off an extremely ominous aura.

Without the slightest hesitation, he gripped the dagger in reverse with his right hand, and with a sudden, sharp blade, he aimed it at his own neck and slashed it 360 degrees around it!
As the blade passed, his neck and head were severed!

The head floating in mid-air became increasingly ferocious, its eyes flashing with an eerie light.

The headless body below remained standing steadily, its hands beginning to form complex and eerie hand seals.

The jet-black dagger hovered between the head and body, buzzing and emanating a dense curse power.

The use of professional skills within the restricted area is permitted by the Meme Contamination Monitoring Department.

With this dagger, he is about to unleash a long-range curse!

In fact, as a sorcerer, there are many ways to use a remote curse to kill someone, but the difficulty lies in how to successfully frame Jiang Jin. After all, Jiang Jin is not a sorcerer, and there are no sorcerers in his team. Therefore, at the very least, a knife wound that matches the appearance of a hunter must be created!
His target was none other than Reysel Tali, who was currently being held in custody at the Golden Scale District Police Station!
"With my blood, I feed the Ghost Gu... a thousand miles to chase souls, a curse to kill and take lives..."

The incantation was uttered from the floating head of the dragon, and the blood-red light on the black dagger grew stronger and stronger, as if it had connected an invisible curse channel that spanned space!

Meanwhile, at the Jinlin District Police Station, inmate detention room.

Resai Talley suddenly let out a painful groan without warning!

He suddenly clutched his chest, his face turning deathly pale, and veins bulging on his forehead!

"Pfft—!" A mouthful of dark red blood gushed out of his mouth, splattering onto the cold wall!

"What's going on?!" The guarding policeman was shocked and rushed over to check, while making an emergency call via walkie-talkie.

When Jiang Jin arrived quickly, he saw Lei Sai curled up on the ground, convulsing in pain, with blood constantly spilling from his mouth. His condition was extremely critical!
Even more horrifying, the shirt on his chest was quickly stained red!

Jiang Jin's eyes narrowed, and he suddenly tore open Lei Sai's clothes!
On his left chest, near his heart, a deep, bone-revealing wound had spontaneously torn open in the skin and muscle! There was no weapon, no external force; it was as if he had been pierced from afar by an invisible blade! Blood was gushing out continuously!
"This is... a curse?!"

Jiang Jin instantly understood! Someone wanted to kill him! And they were using an extremely insidious and difficult-to-defend long-range curse technique!

A witch? A curse? A black magic spell? It could even be witchcraft!
Jiang Jin immediately took out a strangely shaped pair of scissors from the Reincarnator's Watch—the very same pair of scissors that could cut the invisible "curse thread"!

In the real world, most reincarnators have their watches sealed, preventing them from retrieving the items inside. However, Jiang Jin is a mysterious lawyer, so the system's seal has no effect on him!

As he held the scissors, he saw an extremely thin, almost invisible dark red thread, exuding a strong sense of malice, connecting to the depths of the wound on Lei Sai's chest, leading to the distant void!
Without hesitation, Jiang Jin raised the scissors, aimed at the cursed line, and swiftly cut it off!

"Crack!"

A crisp sound, seemingly emanating from the very depths of the soul!
The dark red curse line snapped instantly and vanished without a trace!

The horrific wound on Lei Sai's chest seemed to be paused; the bleeding stopped immediately, and it began to wriggle and heal at a speed visible to the naked eye!
His painful groans gradually subsided; although he was still weak, his life was saved.

The final station of Line 14, deep inside the platform.

The moment the cursed thread was cut!

"Pfft—!" Long Cang's floating head was struck as if by a heavy blow, and he suddenly tilted his head back, spitting out a mouthful of blood!

His headless body, which was forming a hand seal below him, also shook violently and almost fell to the ground.

The powerful backlash of the curse surged along the invisible connection, violently impacting the very essence of his soul!

"Ugh..." Long Cang's head let out a painful growl, his face filled with disbelief, shock, and anger!
The curse attack... was forcibly interrupted! And the other party even used the connection to launch a backlash!
How could that be? Jiang Jin is a hunter, where would he get such methods? The tools are all sealed, he can't use them!
With his plan thwarted and himself injured, Long Cang dared not linger any longer. His floating head quickly returned to his neck, the wounds healing, but his face was frighteningly pale.

He gritted his teeth venomously, quickly sheathed his dagger, and, dragging his injured body, staggered back the way he came.

Inside the subway station, the ashes of the paper continued to fall silently, as if the incredibly dangerous, remote curse and backlash had never happened.

The next day, morning.

Meme Contamination Monitoring Department, Minister's Office.

Long Mingzhang sat at his desk, reviewing documents.

The office door was pushed open silently, and Blood Lord walked in.

Without exchanging pleasantries, he went straight to Long Mingzhang's desk.

"Blood Owl, I heard you're going to plead for Jiang Jin, right?" Long Mingzhang looked up and said, "We'll talk about it later, I need to deal with the documents first."

Blood Owl carefully took out an ordinary-looking one-cent coin from the Reincarnator's Watch.

The obverse of the coin features a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, while the reverse depicts the Lincoln Memorial.

“Minister Long,” Blood Lord’s voice was low and hoarse, carrying an indescribable heaviness, “this is the ‘meme carrier’ that I managed to bring out with great difficulty from that hellish place, ‘Final Destination’.”

He gently pushed the coin toward Long Mingzhang.

Long Mingzhang paused, his pen still as he reviewed the documents.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze falling on the coin, his eyes suddenly becoming incredibly sharp, as if trying to see through the countless bloody and desperate cycles of death connected behind this small coin.

The air in the office seemed to freeze.

"Death has arrived..." Long Mingzhang slowly repeated the name, his tone filled with obvious fear, "You actually...really got your hands on something like that?"

He raised his eyes, his gaze pressing down on Blood Lord with an almost tangible intensity: "Blood Lord, you should know very well what such a 'vessel' means. It is itself a... no, a condensation of countless twisted rules of death. For an ordinary team of reincarnators, how many lives would they have to sacrifice, how many gruesome and incomprehensible deaths would they have to endure, to have any chance of obtaining such a thing? Don't tell me you're offering this to mediate between me and Jiang Jin?"

His meaning was clear: the value of this thing far exceeded the reconciliation of a conflict.

Using this to ensure Jiang Jin's safety is too high a price to pay.

Blood Lord's voice remained calm: "Of course I know. But I think it's worth it."

Long Mingzhang leaned back slightly, his fingers interlaced on the table, scrutinizing Blood Lord: "Oh? Jiang Jin's talent is indeed astonishing, and I also have a very high opinion of him. But talent is talent, and strength is strength. He is only LV2 at the moment. I've seen many geniuses, but only one in ten will survive to reach your or my level. He could die in the next terrifying dungeon at any time, and your investment could very well be a complete loss."

“I’m willing to take the gamble.” Blood Lord answered without the slightest hesitation, his tone resolute. “When it comes to investment, the higher the risk, the higher the potential return. In this world, where are there so many sure-fire deals? If there were, I, Blood Lord, wouldn’t even look at those petty profits.”

He paused, then added meaningfully, "I just hope that Minister Long can... keep his word."

Long Mingzhang gave him a deep look, then finally reached out and gripped the coin tightly.

Seeing the instructions from the Reincarnation System on the coin transmitted through his left retina, he finally realized that the Blood Lord was serious.

"Alright. I'll accept the gift. That's the end of Jiang Jin's matter. I'll let him know that you used this coin to secure my decision not to pursue the matter further."

Blood Lord secretly breathed a sigh of relief; his goal had been achieved.

He went to great lengths and took enormous risks to acquire this hot potato, not to do a good deed anonymously like Lei Feng. He wanted Jiang Jin to owe him a huge favor, clearly and unequivocally!

A Reincarnator who has shown such potential at LV2 will definitely be a sharp weapon against the Insect Nest once he grows up! He's taken a gamble on this investment!

"Thank you, Minister Long." Blood Lord nodded slightly. Then, he changed the subject, his tone becoming unusually serious, even carrying a rare, almost pleading tone. "In addition... regarding Zhiping's case, I hope Minister Long can continue to exert influence and urge the relevant departments to find the real culprit as soon as possible and clear his name."

Upon hearing this, Long Mingzhang sighed softly and rubbed his temples: "Wu Zhiping... he's been dead for so long, yet you're still so persistent?"

Blood Lord's fist clenched instantly, his voice hoarse from suppressed emotions: "He is dead! But he was executed as a 'murderer'! His son, Wu Ge, still carries the stigma of 'murderer's son'! The thing I regret most in my life is that I couldn't save him back then! But I absolutely cannot let him suffer such an injustice even in death! I want Wu Ge to be able to stand tall and live with dignity from now on!"

His words carried an unwavering resolve.

Long Mingzhang was silent for a moment, then finally nodded: "I understand. I will do my best to push it forward, but don't have too high hopes."

"Minister Long's words are enough." Blood Lord nodded again, said no more, and turned to leave the office.

After the office door closed, Xiao Tianze's figure suddenly appeared.

He looked at the coin with a complicated expression: "I really didn't expect him to be so willing to go all out this time. This coin... contains extremely strange and powerful rules of death. If it were given to the cleaner to analyze, it might be able to be made into an extremely terrifying rule-based weapon."

He paused, then looked at Long Mingzhang: "With this, even if someone in the court tries to use your collaboration with the Duncan Club to bring in Resley and cause such a big incident, you'll have enough leverage and achievements to deal with it. But... to get such a coin, just how many times did he make Blood Spider go through death rewinds in 'Final Destination'?"

He had guessed long ago that it was most likely the Blood Spider who was behind it.

Long Mingzhang's fingers tapped unconsciously on the table, his gaze deep: "He has never been one to be subservient to others. Remember to keep a close eye on him. Although he seems to be leaning towards me now, he has always been working for Chen Chongming, and we are not entirely on the same page. This time, he has made such a big bet, so his ambition must be considerable."

Xiao Tianze sneered: "Him? He has never been anyone's man. He has great ambitions. Everything he is doing now, investing in Jiang Jin and cultivating relationships, is paving the way for his own ambitions. Minister, we must be wary."

Long Mingzhang neither confirmed nor denied, but simply picked up the internal phone on the table.

……

At the same time, Jiang Jin, who was at the Jinlin District Police Station, received a phone call directly from Long Mingzhang.

“Deputy Regiment Commander Jiang,” Long Mingzhang’s voice came through the receiver, calm and even, “Blood Owl came to see me and said a lot of good things about you.”

Jiang Jin was taken aback, and his heart tightened immediately.

Long Mingzhang continued, "He also gave me a... rather important 'meme carrier' in exchange for my promise not to pursue your past actions, including how the Resai Tully incident was handled."

Jiang Jin was utterly shocked! The Blood Lord had actually sacrificed a precious meme carrier? This…

“That’s the end of your business.” Long Mingzhang’s tone left no room for doubt. “Afterwards, I will have the Ministry’s Inspection Department take Lei Sai Tuli away. You will hand over the duties properly, and everything will be handled officially from now on.”

"I...I understand. Thank you for your generosity, Minister Long."

"You should thank Xuexiao."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Jin held his phone, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.

He immediately picked up his phone and dialed Blood Lord's number.

The call was answered quickly.

"Blood Owl Chief, Minister Long just called me... He said... he won't pursue the matter further."

“Since Minister Long has said so, then it means everything is fine.” Blood Lord interrupted him, his tone relaxed and natural, as if he had only done a trivial matter. “You can rest assured.”

Jiang Jin remained silent for a few seconds. He wasn't stupid; he naturally knew that the "meme carrier" that could make Long Mingzhang say "this is the end" and retract his order was of unimaginable value.

He took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Blood Lord, thank you for this! I, Jiang Jin, will remember this favor."

Blood Lord seemed to chuckle on the other end of the phone, his voice still calm: "No need to be polite, Deputy Commander Jiang. I'm glad you're alright. I have high hopes for your future. I hope that in the future... we'll have more opportunities to form alliances and work together."

call ended.

Jiang Jin put down his phone, his feelings complicated and hard to describe.

What deeper meaning lies behind Blood Lord's sudden act of kindness? How will this heavy favor be repaid in the future?

(End of this chapter)