Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 349 Invasion of the Insect Nest

Time passed second by second. At first, the people outside thought that Xu Yinqiu was just taking a little longer to wash, but as time went on, an ominous premonition gradually spread in everyone's hearts.

"Yinqiu? Are you not done yet?" Yu Tianlun walked to the bathroom door first and gently knocked on it.

There was no response from inside.

"Sister Yinqiu? Are you alright?" Lian De raised his voice and called out.

It remained deathly silent.

Jiang Jin's face instantly turned extremely ugly, and he immediately ordered, "Deathstroke, go in and take a look!"

With a low growl, Deathstroke pierced through the bathroom door and entered.

A moment later, the death knell emitted a restless and sorrowful mental fluctuation, but there was no one inside!

"Oh no!" Jiang Jin was shocked. He could no longer care about anything else and kicked open the not-so-sturdy bathroom door!

Everyone rushed in.

Xu Yinqiu, who should have been in the bathroom, has vanished without a trace!

Only a faint, lingering, chilly, fishy smell of well water remained in the air of the shower room.

There was nothing else. There were no signs of struggle, no bloodstains, as if she had simply evaporated into thin air, or... been dragged into a deeper layer of contamination by something.

"Yinqiu!!!"

Yu Tianlun let out a heart-wrenching scream. He staggered into the shower room, groping around in vain, as if trying to grasp the vanished figure from thin air.

The usually composed regimental commander's face was now filled with disbelief, despair, and deep-seated pain.

His knees buckled, and he almost collapsed into the water, but Jiang Jin beside him held him firmly.

“How could this be… how could this happen…” Yu Tianlun’s voice trembled, filled with sobs, “We promised… we promised that once I stepped back into LV4… we would… we would get married! Yinqiu… you…”

Jiang Jin clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms, drawing blood, but he didn't even notice. He stared blankly at the empty bathroom, his mind filled with Xu Yinqiu's usual voice and smile, remembering how she always carefully treated everyone's injuries, how she silently supported the leader, and how she often showed great care for him, the vice-leader…

Having been a member of the Nirvana team for so long, he had long regarded this team doctor, who was like a gentle spring rain, as his own older sister!
But now... she's just gone? Killed right under our noses by that damned evil spirit...?!
An unprecedented, fiery hatred, as intense as magma, erupted from Jiang Jin's heart like a volcanic eruption, instantly engulfing his entire body!

The hatred was so intense that it temporarily overwhelmed the fear of Sadako's strange power.

His eyes were bloodshot with extreme anger, his chest heaved violently, and his teeth clenched so tightly they made a grinding sound.

Sadako Yamamura!

Jiang Jin turned around abruptly, his gaze sweeping across the still raging rain outside the window, as if trying to pierce through the barrier of the material layer and look directly at the terrifying existence hidden deep within the annihilation layer.

"I, Jiang Jin, hereby swear..." His voice was low and hoarse, yet it carried an undeniable power, as if it were branded onto the very rules, "In this life and the next, no matter what kind of vengeful spirit you are, what kind of curse you are, even if I chase you to the very end of annihilation and shatter the deepest hell, I will definitely... utterly destroy you!"

"Till death!!!"

The continuous losses, the tragic death of Kong Huaizheng, and now even the highly respected team doctor has disappeared without a trace, coupled with the ever-present and insidious terror of Sadako...

All of this allowed fear to spread like a plague.

Lian Xuan looked at his brother Lian De, who was distraught and immersed in immense grief, and then at Jiang Jin and Yu Tianlun, whose faces were ashen and filled with murderous intent. Finally, he made up his mind.

He couldn't let his brother stay in this hell any longer.

“Ade,” Lian Xuan’s voice was hoarse but firm as he grabbed Lian De’s shoulders, “Listen, now, immediately, we’re leaving using the return rune! Don’t hesitate any longer!”

At the same time, Yu Tianlun also forcibly broke free from his immense grief.

As the leader, he had to be responsible for the remaining team members. Xu Yinqiu's death broke his heart, but he couldn't watch more people die here.

He took out his return-to-town rune, preparing to unbind it and hand it over to the brothers Lian Xuan and Lian De.

However, when he channeled his mental energy into the runestone in an attempt to activate the path back to White Plum Hospital... the runestone remained unresponsive!

The gentle spatial fluctuations that should have been present were now completely silent!
Yu Tianlun's expression changed drastically. He tried several more times, but the result was the same!
"What's going on?!" he growled, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

The Reincarnation System notification appeared: "Warning: Reincarnator Yu Tianlun, the Reincarnation System has detected high-intensity spatial interference. All 'Return to Town Rune Stones' and similar escape items in the current instance have been sealed by an unknown force, and their functions are temporarily disabled. All escape paths have been blocked."

"Sealed?! The path back to the city has been sealed?!" Yu Tianlun exclaimed in shock. This news sent a chill down his spine even further than Xu Yinqiu's death!

What does this mean? It means that their last resort, their biggest trump card for survival, has been artificially and forcibly cut off!
They were trapped like fish in a barrel, dying in this terrifying "Midnight Bell" instance!

"How is this possible... Who did this?!" Jiang Jin also saw the notification, and the anger in his eyes was almost bursting out.

This isn't part of the instance's own mechanism; it's something artificial!
Other reincarnators have entered this instance and used rare items to block the entire return path! They're going to wipe them out!
……

Meanwhile, inside a house at a holiday home in Hakone, there were five figures.

The leader was a woman dressed in a dark purple robe. Most of her face was covered with rotting sores, and the only eye that was visible gleamed with cruelty, tyranny, and coldness.

Lady Pustule!

In her hands she held a compass-shaped object that emitted chaotic starlight—the Reincarnation Star Compass.

It was precisely because of this extremely rare spatial positioning and interference item that she was able to forcibly break through the dungeon level limit as a near-LV5, descend here, and block the return path of all reincarnators.

Behind her stood four chilling, differently dressed reincarnated individuals; they were Lady Pussy's most loyal and powerful bodyguards:

First was a pale-faced man with sinister eyes. His name was Sun Ming, and he was a sorcerer who was one of the earliest followers of Lady Pustules.

Beside him stood another sorcerer, codenamed Black Mound. He was gaunt, like a skeleton, taciturn, and exuded a foul stench from a mixture of various poisonous insects.

There was also a woman whose clothing style exuded an evil aura. Her name was Chiyo, she was Japanese, and her profession was a shrine maiden.

In the end, it turned out to be a man whose face was mostly stitched up with rough black lines in many places. His code name was Evil Stitch, his profession was curse, and his eyes were filled with resentment and destructive desire.

Lady Pussy put away the astrolabe, her single eye sweeping across the silent forests of Hakone, a ferocious grin spreading across her face: "The Nirvana team... a few little rats, I'll take care of them completely."

The reason she came in person was because she had received a divination from Chang Wuyong. Therefore, Lady Pustules decided to take action herself, with overwhelming force, to completely eliminate this potential threat and prevent future troubles.

Among the bodyguards, Sun Ming, the most senior, stood quietly behind the lady, his gaze complex as he watched her back, now so unfamiliar and terrifying. His thoughts drifted back to many years ago…

At that time, not long after the legendary reincarnator Zhuge Yu was assassinated, Chang Wuyong triggered a shocking "meme leak" incident, thus announcing the establishment of the Old Nuclear Organization.

That meme leak was very serious and spread at an alarming rate.

Soon, a terrifying outbreak of meme contamination occurred in several major cities, with the first-tier cities being particularly affected.

One coastal city was among the hardest hit. This metropolis, with a population of 20 million and considered one of Asia's financial centers, was quickly engulfed, resulting in a large amount of bizarre and disruptive pollution of its rules.

For example, at the foot of the Oriental Pearl Tower, if you're holding a Mixue Ice Cream drink or taking a photo with an Android phone, you'll immediately trigger an instant-death rule. The Oriental Pearl Tower will instantly transform into an incredibly twisted and terrifying shadow in the contaminated layer, and those who violate the rule will quickly descend into madness and ultimately be transformed into memes. The only supposed solution is to immediately buy a Starbucks coffee or the latest iPhone.

At that time, panic gripped the city, with countless people infected with "meme contamination syndrome," experiencing various terrifying hallucinations and physical mutations.

He, along with the then-ordinary Lady Pustuca and Blood Lord, were all forcibly sent to the Muxu City isolation zone in the same batch, where they became reincarnators and established the Insect Cave team.

At that time, Lady Pustules, though extremely volatile in temperament, was upright and just in her actions, fair in rewards and punishments, and utterly abhorred the indiscriminate killing of innocent people. With her formidable strength and relatively impartial conduct, she won the support of many, including Sun Ming.

However, the turning point in her fate lay in the path she chose.

In her quest for greater power and revenge, she embarked on an extremely dangerous and mutated branch of the sorcery profession, one that required dealing with all sorts of poisons, curses, and rotten things.

Power comes at a price; her body begins to be eroded by toxins and curses, her appearance is ruined, and her personality is constantly eroded by meme contamination, gradually becoming twisted and perverse, eventually turning her into the cruel, bloodthirsty, and inhuman "Lady Pustule."

Sun Ming advised, "Madam, why should you personally take charge of the Nirvana team?"

"Chang Wuyong's divination is absolutely infallible," Lady Pustules said coldly. "I don't like surprises. Let's first ascertain the current situation of the instance and refrain from any rash actions for now!"

(End of this chapter)