Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 344 The Mystery of the Origin of Meme Pollution

Jiang Jin finally managed to coax and coax Reiko Asakawa back to her bedroom. The moment the door closed, Jiang Jin let out a long sigh of relief, feeling as if he had fought a tough battle, one that was even more mentally taxing than dealing with an evil spirit.

He rubbed his temples, drawing his attention back to the most pressing issue at hand.

“‘Golden Eagle Emblem’…” Jiang Jin pondered, “This is definitely a special rule mark formed by memetic contamination in this instance, but what is its origin? Why is it associated with ‘repair’? What does Sadako’s curse require ‘repair’?”

He looked at Takamiya Yui, hoping this local reincarnator could provide more clues: "Takamiya-kun, regarding the Death Ferry, besides the known terrifying legends, do you reincarnators have any more specific details, such as... symbols, related markings, or records of specific individuals?"

Takamiya Yui shook his head, his expression grave: "Mr. Jiang, all the detailed information directly related to the Death Ferry is classified as top secret by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and is basically only shared to a limited extent with the intelligence departments of the US military stationed in Japan. However... the Dragon Soaring Army should also be sharing relevant intelligence with our imperial court now, but the specific details are beyond my knowledge."

Yu Tianlun picked up the thread, his thinking taking a broader perspective: "Ultimately, the root of all this is the meme pollution that has engulfed the entire globe. I've always wondered why meme pollution seemed to erupt all at once in the early 21st century?"

His words evoked memories and resonated with everyone.

It was a global catastrophe that defied common sense.

Almost everyone experienced that moment of panic during their childhood or adolescence—the sudden outbreak of the "meme contamination syndrome" pandemic worldwide.

Patients initially experience indistinguishable, terrifying hallucinations, followed by a variety of bizarre and physically unnatural "somatization" symptoms, with alarmingly high mortality and irreversible rates. This pandemic has not only claimed countless lives but has also fundamentally altered the international political landscape and diplomatic strategies.

Of all the meme contamination incidents, the most terrifying are the "Manhattan meme" in the United States and the "Death Ferry meme" in the Far East.

“That period was hell for Japan,” Yui Takamiya’s voice trembled slightly, as if she were back in that desperate time. “The legend of the death ferry, combined with the fear of the sea, triggered a collective panic in society. The Great East Japan Earthquake and the tsunami that followed in 2011, along with the widely circulated Mayan doomsday prophecy in 2012, pushed this panic to its peak. The economy collapsed, GDP plummeted, the yen depreciated like a free fall… even the strategic balance of the United States in the entire Western Pacific was broken.”

Xu Yinqiu exclaimed, "In some horror scenarios set in the near future, I even saw Japan successfully host the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Looking back now, it's simply unbelievable."

Yui Takamiya gave a wry smile: "In the real world, Tokyo hosting the Olympics? I can't even imagine such a thing."

"That's the key!" Yu Tianlun's eyes gleamed with insight. "In all the horror scenarios set in the 21st century, none of them have experienced this global meme contamination phenomenon! Our real world seems to be an 'alternate IF world' where meme contamination has forcibly distorted and altered the course of history!"

This conclusion sent chills down everyone's spine.

"So, is it possible..." Jiang Jin slowly began, his voice low, "that in the original course of human history, there shouldn't have been a meme contamination event in the 21st century?"

Lian De gasped: "Vice Regiment Commander, you mean..."

Following this line of thought, Yu Tianlun analyzed: "Once meme contamination enters the annihilation layer, the linearity of time will be broken, generating countless parallel branches that can coexist and even interfere with each other. So, is there an extremely powerful force of meme contamination that not only exists in the present but also... reverses and alters human history?"

This idea is so shocking, yet it logically explains why those "future" copies are not contaminated with memes—because they are based on an "unaltered" historical timeline!
“For example,” Jiang Jin added, recalling some fragmented information, “in all the horror stories set after 2008, the president of the United States in 2008 was a black man named Barack Obama. But in our real history, because of the extreme fear of meme contamination and the desire for a tougher leader, it was Republican John McCain who was ultimately elected to succeed President Bush.”

"A Black man was elected President of the United States in 2008?" Liam looked bewildered. "Is that even possible?"

“That’s right,” Yu Tianlun said in a deep voice, “because our history has been rewritten. Japan’s Death Ferry, our Three Chimneys, Europe’s Devil’s Blood, India’s Molehill of Death, North America’s Manhattan Meme… all of these occurred at the same time. It’s as if some unknown force, beyond our understanding, simultaneously propelled a global meme contamination phenomenon at the beginning of the 21st century.”

So, is this "golden eagle-shaped badge" that appears in the rules of Sadako's curse also related to this force that alters history? What exactly is it a symbol of?

……

In the latter half of the night, the house was completely silent, with only the occasional sound of vehicles coming from outside the window.

Jiang Jin, who was on night watch, suddenly woke up!
Cold sweat instantly soaked his back!

He discovered that he had actually fallen asleep!
Not only him, but also Yu Tianlun, Li Shang, Lian Xuan, Lian De, Xu Yinqiu, and even Gao Gongwei, who were either leaning or lying down in the living room, were all fast asleep!

Their breathing was steady, but their postures were stiff, as if they had been forcibly dragged into a dream. What chilled him even more was that the television in the living room had been turned on at some point.

There was no program on the screen, only a screen full of glaring, constantly jumping white snow noise, emitting a hissing sound, which seemed particularly eerie in the quiet room.

An intense, almost suffocating sense of crisis gripped his heart!

He remembered Rule Five, and he remembered Takamiya Yui's experience of wiping the picture tube before!

Without any hesitation, he instantly pulled the Silent Hill shotgun from the Reincarnator's Watch, cocked it with a "click," and pointed the dark muzzle at the television set that was emitting ominous noise!
His finger was on the trigger, his breathing rapid, his muscles tense, ready to deal with anything that might crawl out of the television.

However, nothing happened.

Only the silent, pulsating noise of snowflakes seemed to mock his tension.

Just as Jiang Jin relaxed his guard slightly, the television screen suddenly changed!
The noise from the snowflakes disappeared, replaced by an extremely clear yet chilling image—it was Kong Huaizheng!
In the image, he is in the dimly lit, lost-world corridor, his neck is being strangled by invisible hair, his eyes are bulging, his face is filled with extreme pain and fear, his hands are flailing helplessly in the air, and his body is convulsing violently... It is his last struggle before death!

This gruesome scene lasted for a full five seconds, as if deliberately reminding them of the horrific death of their companion.

Then, the scene shifted again. A huge, bloodshot eye, its pupils reflecting a kind of madness and resentment, suddenly filled the entire screen, staring intently at Jiang Jin outside the screen!

Those eyes were cold and lifeless, yet they carried a mocking and chilling terror.

The next moment, the eyes disappeared, and the screen was once again covered by dense snow-like noise.

Jiang Jin's heart pounded, and cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

This is not an attack, this is a warning!

Sadako is using this method to clearly tell them—copy the videotape, enforce rule seven, otherwise, Kong Huaizheng's fate will be their lesson!
A strong sense of powerlessness welled up inside him. Faced with this terror that transcended the physical realm and directly affected the rules and the mind, even with the shotgun he brought from Silent Hill in hand, he felt as if he were fighting bare-handed.

He subconsciously took out the Russian nesting doll from his Reincarnator watch to calm his tense emotions.

However, the moment he took out the matryoshka doll, his body suddenly froze!
It should have been a full and rounded piece, but now it feels like... it's shrunk a bit!
He hurriedly took out the matryoshka doll and, by the dim light of the overhead lamp and the static on the television screen, took a look—and sure enough!
There were supposed to be seven matryoshka dolls in a set, but now there are only six left!

The outermost layer has disappeared!
Jiang Jin's pupils suddenly contracted, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head!
He understood immediately!

In the brief moment he inexplicably fell asleep, Sadako launched a fatal attack on him!

The Russian nesting dolls turned the tide of the attack for him, so the outer layer disappeared!

He had already walked through the gates of hell, but he was completely unaware of it!
he already……

I died once!
Cold sweat instantly soaked through his heavy clothes.

Could it be that... even though he copied the videotape according to the rules and tried to pass on the curse, his actions of using the "Lawyer of Ghosts" ability to modify the rules and attempt to build the prototype of the domain touched some kind of taboo, causing Sadako to completely eliminate him, this "outlier," no matter what?
Copying the videotape might delay the curse on others, but for him, the crisis not only didn't end, it became more urgent and deadly because he tried to "control" the rules!
This realization plunged Jiang Jin's heart into an abyss.

The specks of snowflakes before my eyes seemed to transform into Sadako's cold mockery!

He knew very well how terrifying the gap was between himself and Sadako. Even if he successfully advanced to LV3, how long could this [Russian doll] protect him?
"Summon Yang Jian...and then have him use his Ghost Eye to activate the coffin nails, sealing it completely..."

Sadako Yamamura!

(End of this chapter)