Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 284 Promotion
In the early hours of Halloween night, within this Western horror instance, the contamination layer becomes more active than ever before.

But for the reincarnators, especially for Jiang Jin who was frantically cultivating inside the Lost Layer, this was the perfect opportunity when the rules were most active and the resentment was most refined.

At this moment, Jiang Jin sat cross-legged, his brows furrowed.

He was surrounded by a large amount of resentful ashes.

The vermilion jade pendant worn on his chest emitted a warm yet powerful light, constantly attracting the surrounding resentment, blocking the violent resentment within, and then channeling it into his body.

This is his best chance to reach near-LV3.

"Let's see if this wave can succeed..."

Jiang Jin could feel that he had reached the peak of LV2 and had touched an invisible and tough barrier, but that barrier was also like the hardest alloy in the world.

That is precisely the barrier to the LV3 realm!
The transition from LV2 to LV3 is a true qualitative leap.

His time to reach LV2 was ultimately too short. His foundation was not solid enough, and his understanding of the nature of meme pollution and the distortion of rules was not deep or systematic enough.

Those elusive, crucial inspirations that form the basis of one's own field remain elusive, like trying to see flowers through a fog.

At this moment, he absorbed ten more crystals of resentment, which dimmed and gradually dissipated completely.

To reach near LV3, you must break through the barrier in front of you!
This will allow him to begin to truly integrate into the Lost Layer, little by little!
Without hesitation, he took out ten more resentment crystals and continued his attack!
The reason he could be so extravagant and wasteful was because he made a deal with the Blood Lord.

At that moment, Blood Lord abruptly asked him a question: "Jiang Jin, is Wu Qin's [Soul Refining Jar] in your possession?"

Jiang Jin nodded; there was no need to hide it now. The Soul Refining Jar was indeed one of the spoils he had obtained from its treasure chest.

This thing was completely unusable for him as a hunter; it was practically useless and had been sitting in the far corner of his watch's storage space.

Blood Lord cut to the chase: "That thing can only be used by Soul Reapers. I won't beat around the bush with you. At least half of the reason I sent people to hunt down Wu Qin was for this Soul Refining Jar."

His frankness about his past plans revealed his true nature as a ruthless and ambitious man.

He held up five fingers, his tone calm yet carrying astonishing weight: "I'll offer 500 resentment crystals for this useless urn in your hand."

500 crystals of resentment?!
Upon hearing this, even with his composure, Jiang Jin was stunned.

This price far exceeded his expectations! 500 crystals are definitely a considerable fortune for any LV2 Reincarnator!

Seeing Jiang Jin's surprised expression, Blood Lord continued to explain, "You need to know that since the 'Manhattan Island' incident, the value of crystals has increased many times over. My price is absolutely fair, even a premium. Half of it is because this [Soul Refining Jar] is indeed crucial to me, and the other half..."

He paused, looking intently at Jiang Jin: "I also want to make friends with you, Jiang Jin."

Jiang Jin quickly calmed down and weighed the options in his mind.

Blood Lord was right; the Soul Refining Jar was useless to him, just taking up space. And right now, he was desperately short of Resentment Crystals to buy cleaning tools. The 50 crystals he earned from the newbie tutorial mission, since only Lin Lu survived, were a drop in the ocean. These 500 crystals were a godsend!

Since the other party had expressed goodwill and offered an irresistible price, Jiang Jin naturally had no reason to refuse.

"Deal." Jiang Jin agreed without any hesitation.

Immediately, the Blood Lord also transferred 500 Resentment Crystals to Jiang Jin through the Reincarnation System, directly depositing them into Jiang Jin's watch space. They didn't even sign a notarized contract.

Jiang Jin also admired the Blood Lord's magnanimity, so he took out the black ancient urn that looked simple and unadorned, but faintly exuded the aura of absorbing souls from the Reincarnator's Watch - the Soul Refining Urn.

A hint of joy flashed in Blood Lord's eyes. He took the Soul Refining Jar, carefully caressed it, and felt the wonderful power of rules contained within it, which was incomparably wonderful for Soul Masters.

The transaction was completed, and the relationship between the two seemed to have become much more familiar due to this purely transactional exchange of interests and the goodwill signals released by the Blood Lord.

Jiang Jin looked at the total number of crystals displayed on his watch screen and felt a surge of joy.

Blood Lord carefully put away the Soul Refining Jar.

This Soul Refining Jar is useless to hunters, but it's a rare treasure for Soul Reapers. It contains a complete shard of resentment, allowing the wielder to transcend rank limitations and refine and control ghosts far more powerful than they could normally subdue as slaves!
With this item, Blood Lord was like a tiger with wings! In his opinion, spending those 500 crystals was absolutely worthwhile!
This deal, in the perilous [Summoning] instance, temporarily brought both of them a small "benefit" that they each needed.

Jiang Jin was in high spirits when a question suddenly occurred to him: "Blood Leader, there's something I've never quite understood. A single Resentment Crystal can be exchanged for tens of millions of RMB. Isn't that a bit outrageous? Is its actual 'purchasing power' really worth that much?"

Because he was in a very good mood, Blood Lord smiled and said, "Jiang Jin, you're oversimplifying this issue. This isn't a simple matter of comparing 'purchasing power' at all."

Blood Lord paused, organized his thoughts, and explained in a more professional tone: "First, you need to understand the essence of 'currency.' It's a general equivalent, and its value depends on scarcity and consensus. The 'issuance volume' of Resentment Crystals is on a completely different scale from RMB, and their scarcity is worlds apart. Second, there's the rigidity of demand and irreplaceability. What can Resentment Crystals buy? Power, survival capital, promotion opportunities, and weapons against meme pollution! You can't buy these things outside of Muxu City, no matter how much RMB you spend! Next, there's the circulation range and market segmentation. If you take a basket of vegetables and fruits that are only worth a few dozen RMB at the place of origin, transport it to a deserted island isolated from the world, how much can it sell for? The price can increase hundreds or thousands of times! Muxu City, from a certain perspective, is such a 'special economic zone' isolated by meme pollution. Resentment Crystals are the hard currency in this 'special economic zone,' and their circulation range, the market they serve, and the value basis they are anchored to are completely different from RMB."

"Finally, there are also its value storage and safe-haven attributes," Blood Owl Lord added. "In a world where memetic contamination is ubiquitous, the ordinary monetary system is very fragile, and inflation is the norm. However, due to its scarcity and fundamental role for reincarnators, Resentment Crystals possess extremely strong value preservation and appreciation functions, making them an excellent safe-haven asset. A large amount of capital is willing to pour in, using massively increased, potentially depreciating RMB, to exchange for Resentment Crystals, whose quantity is stable or may even decrease, and whose value remains strong. This further drives up the price of the crystals."

As Jiang Jin listened to the Blood Lord's clear and insightful analysis, his previously vague concepts gradually became clearer. He suddenly realized, "So that's how it is... I had been thinking too superficially about the problem. It's not just about 'things being expensive,' but rather a change in the entire economic logic and monetary system."

He looked at Blood Lord and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Blood Lord, you know so much about economics? Did you... study this in college?"

Blood Lord paused for a moment, seemingly not expecting Jiang Jin to ask this. Then, a complex and reminiscent expression appeared on his face, tinged with a self-deprecating smile: "Yes. I studied International Economics and Trade in college."

Blood Lord nodded, understanding Jiang Jin's feelings. Then, he changed the subject, mentioning a seemingly distant term: "Jiang Jin, do you know about the Light Wheel Team?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jin's expression turned serious: "I know. I've read about it in the records. It's said to be the strongest Reincarnator team in Muxu City more than ten years ago, and they're a legend."

"They were more than just the strongest in Muxu City," Blood Lord's tone took on a solemn, almost nostalgic quality. "Back then, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were the strongest Reincarnator team in the world. Think about it, the memetic contamination in our country was basically contained within Muxu and a specific area around it, unlike some countries where it completely spiraled out of control and spread over a large area. The Light Wheel Team deserves at least 50% of the credit! If the Light Wheel Team were still around, if their leader, Zhuge Yu, were still around, how could someone like Long Mingzhang have gotten the position of Minister of Memetic Contamination Monitoring?"

He paused, his tone carrying absolute certainty, even a hint of barely perceptible awe: "I'm not exaggerating when I say that if Zhuge Yu were to make a move, Long Mingzhang... wouldn't last five minutes at all."

He looked at Jiang Jin and continued, "Currently, there is controversy in the international community about which side, the Chinese or American reincarnators, has stronger overall strength. We in East Asia generally believe that we are stronger, while Europe and the United States generally acknowledge that the United States has a deeper foundation. But in Zhuge Yu's era, this issue was undisputed—we were the strongest, because he alone was enough to overwhelm the other side for an entire era."

Jiang Jin was shocked by the information revealed in Blood Lord's words. He hesitated for a moment and said, "But Commander Zhuge has already passed away."

The Blood Lord's expression darkened at this moment.

He nodded, his voice much lower: "Yes, Commander Zhuge is no longer alive..."

Back then, the nation faced the most severe meme proliferation crisis in its history. Some high-intensity pollution layers had already breached the boundaries of Muxu. If the pollution layers continued to erode further, the next to suffer would be international metropolises like Yanjing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, with populations of tens of millions! Jiang Jin knew that would be a true apocalyptic scene, and Muxu City would become like Edo today.

Zhuge Yu of the Light Wheel team, along with his team members, paid an unimaginable price to successfully prevent the disaster, forcibly suppressing and even partially reversing the spread of pollution, and guarding that boundary!

Sadly, the hero has passed away!
……

It was through a deal with the Blood Lord that Jiang Jin was able to so extravagantly absorb the resentment crystals!

Jiang Jin then ventured deeper into the Lost Layer, where the environment was more chaotic and dangerous, but the resentment contained within was also more refined.

Jiang Jin was frantically absorbing the crystallized resentment almost without regard for the consequences!

One by one, the crystals containing pure pollution power turned to ashes in his hands, and the vast and chaotic pollution of rules surged into his body like a flood breaking through a dam!
Such crazy behavior is extremely dangerous. If one is not careful, one's reason may be overwhelmed by the massive amount of resentment, leading to alienation or a drop in SAN value to zero.

However, Jiang Jin has a huge advantage: he can use the ability of the "Deceptive Lawyer" to modify the rules of the Crimson Jade!

LV2 Cunning Lawyer: Can modify all rules caused by memetic contamination!

He increased the resentment absorption efficiency of the Crimson Jade from 500% to 800%! The rule comprehension bonus was increased from 200% to 500%!

This is the limit of rule modification! Otherwise, even with the LV2 trickster lawyer's ability to ignore logical paradoxes and tamper with rules, it cannot be improved any further.

At this point, the Crimson Jade was already a legend!

That's an 800% absorption efficiency! And a 500% comprehension boost!

In addition, there's the special moment of Halloween night when the activity level reaches its annual peak, the pure resentment environment deep within the Lost Layer, and the large amount of resentment crystals as fuel!

Multiple factors combined to produce an incredible chemical reaction!
Jiang Jin felt as if his consciousness had been thrown into a huge furnace made of rules and resentment!
Countless fragmented pieces of information about meme pollution, spatial structure, the nature of energy, and causal distortion flooded into his mind with unprecedented speed and clarity, which he forcibly understood, absorbed, and integrated!
His body was like a bottomless pit, frantically devouring the surrounding resentful ashes, and the light of the Crimson Jade even formed a small red vortex around him!

His soul is roaring and transforming, and his understanding of the rules is deepening and systematizing at an unprecedented speed!

That seemingly indestructible barrier has begun to show tiny cracks!
"Break for me!!"

Jiang Jin roared silently in his heart, gathering all his power, all his insights, and all his will into a final, most powerful attack!
Boom! ! !

It felt like something exploded in my mind!
That alloy-like barrier shattered instantly!

A new and more powerful sense of strength surged from the depths of my soul, sweeping through my entire body like a tidal wave!

His perception of the surrounding rule pollution became clearer than ever before, and he could even vaguely sense a blurry force field forming around himself—the rudimentary form of a domain!

The surging ashes of resentment around him gradually subsided, and the crimson jade regained its warm glow, but the power it contained seemed to be more restrained and profound.

Jiang Jin slowly opened his eyes, his gaze gleaming with a sharp light!
He felt the surging power within him and a deeper connection to the rules, and exhaled a long, trembling breath.

Almost Level 3!

He did it! He made the leap from LV2 to near LV3 in such a short time!
This is not just an upgrade in level, but a huge leap in the level of life and the understanding of the rules!
This speed of cultivation is nothing short of an epic miracle, even considering the entire group of reincarnators!
(End of this chapter)