Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 354 Void-Sheath Insect

Yu Tianlun squatted down and carefully used the Zhuyou magic tool to lift up the Gu worm corpse that Jiang Jin had cut in two, examining it closely.

The insect corpse still emitted faint spatial fluctuations and a nauseating stench.

His brows furrowed deeper and deeper, and his face turned extremely pale.

"This is... a mutated subspecies of the Sky-Splitting Gu Worm!" Yu Tianlun's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible shock.

"The Void-Splitting Gu Insect?" Jiang Jin was unfamiliar with the name, but he knew it was extraordinary just from hearing it.

Yu Tianlun took a deep breath and explained in a deep voice, "It's an extremely rare spatial-type Gu worm. They can almost ignore most spatial barriers and freely travel between the Lost Layer and even different terrifying dungeons, making them extremely difficult to defend against. As far as I know, only Lady Pussy of the Insect Nest team can cultivate and control this Gu worm."

He paused, then gave an example: "During the assassination attempt on Captain Ye Xiu, Bai Miya helped Li Yuanxiu escape using another subspecies of the Sky-Splitting Gu Insect—the Sky-Splitting Spider. And this one in front of us..."

Yu Tianlun pointed to the more delicate, almost transparent wings and more concealed mouthparts on the insect corpse, "This is a subspecies that is rarer and more dangerous than the Rift Spider—the Rift Void Sheath Insect. This insect can break through almost all known spatial protective barriers and methods. Moreover, the stronger the Reincarnator, the more closely they are connected to the pollution layer, the less likely they are to detect its approach. It's as if it has blended into the 'background noise' of our perception."

Jiang Jin felt a chill run down his spine: "Then why did Miss Asakawa, an ordinary person, discover it earlier than me?"

His half-domain was completely unaware of it!

A very strange look appeared on Yu Tianlun's face: "Speaking of which, it is indeed very counterintuitive. Its only weakness is that it is almost impossible to hide from purely materialistic life forms!"

"What?" Everyone was stunned.

Because they were speaking Chinese, Lingzi couldn't understand a word they said.

"This is because the evolutionary system of the Void-Sheath Insect is completely opposite to that of conventional Gu worms," ​​Yu Tianlun explained in detail. "In the perception of us reincarnators, whose bodies are infused with the ashes of resentment and whose power originates from the contaminated layer, its life signal blends perfectly into the spatial background of the contaminated layer, like a chameleon. However, in the naked eye of pure materialistic life forms that have not yet been contaminated by any memes, it appears exceptionally conspicuous, even with a strange 'fluorescent' effect. Miss Lingzi could see you and pushed you away just now because this insect was as obvious to her as a firefly in the dark."

This conclusion sent a chill down everyone's spine, making them feel both absurd and uneasy.

The strongest point has become the most fatal weakness, and this weakness is actually in the hands of the most "weak" ordinary people.

“This can only mean one thing,” Yu Tianlun stood up, his sharp gaze sweeping out the window, “The Insect Nest team has already infiltrated this instance! And the one who came is a formidable character who can control the Voidsheath Insects! Even if it’s not Lady Pussy herself, it’s definitely one of her most trusted confidants!”

Lady Pustules, that's a LV4 peak witchcraft master! Her strength is completely comparable to LV5! Looking across the entire country, she's one of the top reincarnators!

And her personal guard is absolutely not to be underestimated!

Just as everyone was feeling down because of the Insect Nest team's intervention, something even more unfortunate happened.

Having just become a reincarnator, Reiko Asakawa, whose face was still pale from the toxins and weakness, suddenly covered her left eye, her face showing confusion and a hint of fear.

“Kurosaki-kun…” she instinctively used the more familiar form of address, “I… I saw some strange characters in front of my eyes… It said… said…”

"What did you say?" Jiang Jin had a bad feeling.

Reiko read aloud the task prompt she had seen, her voice trembling: "I need to watch the entire cursed videotape within two hours. It also says that if I fail, I'll be cleaned up by the cleaners... What... what does this mean, Kurosaki-kun?"

Jiang Jin and Yu Tianlun exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes.

"It seems Miss Asakawa can't escape this situation." Jiang Jin sighed, realizing he had dragged her into this mess.

Left with no other choice, they could only try to comfort Yang Yi, who was terrified and crying.

Jiang Jin personally carried Yang Yi into the bedroom, gently but firmly telling him that his mother needed to rest and that he should go to sleep first. He repeatedly assured Yang Yi that his mother would be alright, then locked the door to ensure that Yang Yi would not run out and see the videotape out of curiosity or for other reasons, as he did in the original movie.

Back in the living room, Jiang Jin took a deep breath and decided to tell Lingzi the truth.

Looking at the still-shaken Lingzi, he said sincerely, "Miss Asakawa, now that things have come to this, I must tell you the truth. We... are not ordinary people. We are called 'Reincarnators,' and my real name is Jiang Jin. I am Chinese. We are forced to travel through different... well, you can think of it as 'horror movie worlds' or 'duplication spaces,' completing missions and struggling to survive."

He pointed to the watch on Lingzi's wrist: "This watch is the symbol of a reincarnator. Wearing it means you've also been drawn into this endless vortex. The text you just saw is the task we must complete. Failure... has serious consequences. The cleaners are the agents of the reincarnation system and can easily kill all reincarnators."

Reiko stared wide-eyed, trying to process the information that was far beyond her comprehension.

Reincarnators? A horror movie world? A mission?
Her worldview completely collapsed at that moment. However, what tore her heart apart even more was...

"Then... what about Yang Yi?" she asked, her voice trembling. "Should I... leave him?"

She instantly understood: how could someone who needs to adventure in different "worlds" possibly lead an ordinary life? How could they possibly still pick up and drop off their child every day and accompany him as he grows up?
Seeing the despair and pain that instantly welled up in Lingzi's eyes, Jiang Jin's guilt reached its peak. He nodded with difficulty: "I'm afraid... yes. The world you live in is a terrifying replica. And you... will find it very difficult to return to this 'world'."

Reiko's tears fell silently as she looked toward the bedroom, as if she could see her sleeping son through the walls.

The premonition and pain of being separated from her flesh and blood almost suffocated her.

But the system's task hung like the sword of Damocles over her head. She had no choice.

Under Jiang Jin's guidance, Lingzi watched the cursed videotape with trembling hands.

A familiar, eerie scene flashed by, and the phone rang as expected... She was officially marked by Sadako's curse.

Afterwards, with trembling hands, Reiko dialed a number she hadn't contacted in a long time—her ex-husband, Ryuji Takayama.

On the phone, she couldn't explain much, but she asked Long Si to take care of Yang Yi temporarily in an almost pleading tone, saying that she had encountered some very difficult things and had to leave for a while, with no return date in sight.

When Ryuji Takayama arrived, his face was filled with confusion and worry when he saw Reiko, who was pale and dazed, and the group of "colleagues" around her who were all different and obviously unusual.

Lian De exclaimed in a low voice, "Wow, he really looks exactly like Hiroichi Sanada!"

Reiko looked at her ex-husband, then at Yoichi, who was clinging tightly to her legs, seemingly sensing something and with tears in his eyes, and her heart ached.

She knelt down and hugged her son tightly, her tears soaking his clothes.

“Yangyi, be good… listen to Daddy… Mommy… Mommy is going on a business trip… I might be away for a while…” She choked up, barely able to continue.

"Mom! Don't go!" Yang Yi hugged her tightly and cried loudly.

This scene, so poignant as to feel like a separation of life and death, left all the reincarnators present speechless, their hearts filled with a complex mix of emotions. Even the indifferent Yang Jian slightly averted his gaze.

In the end, with a resolute gesture akin to entrusting her son to someone, Reiko placed Yoichi into Takayama Ryuji's arms, took one last deep look at her son as if trying to etch him into the depths of her soul, and then abruptly turned away, unable to bear looking again, fearing she would collapse.

"Ryuji...Yoichi, I'm entrusting this to you!"

As a psychic, Ryuji had already vaguely sensed something. He nodded in agreement with Reiko, then comforted his son and took him away.

She finished speaking with a sob in her voice, tears streaming down her face.

Jiang Jin watched Lingzi's painful and resolute back, feeling a mix of emotions, unsure how to comfort her.

Yu Tianlun walked to his side and whispered, "Now is not the time for guilt. The people from the Insect Cave have already set their sights on us, and the situation is becoming more complicated. Li Shang's curse... cannot be lifted for the time being. Otherwise, given her current mental state, once she regains consciousness, she may lose control of her emotions and even use the professional skills of a Zhuyou Reincarnator to clash with us."

Jiang Jin nodded heavily. He understood what the commander meant.

In this perilous instance, a single destabilizing factor can have devastating consequences.

The group, along with Reiko Asakawa, who was on the verge of a mental breakdown and filled with fear and confusion about the future, silently boarded a taxi to Hakone.

The Tokyo night view outside the window rushed past, still bustling, but no longer relevant to Reiko.

She lost her stable job, her peaceful life, and was forced to separate from her only son, stepping into a world full of unknown terror.

"Kurosaki-kun," Reiko said silently, tears streaming down her face. She still addressed Jiang Jin by that name. "Is there any hope that I can come back to see Yoichi?"

“If we want to make a world permanent, the only way is to turn that instance into the team’s home world,” Jiang Jin replied. “That’s difficult, but… there is still hope.”

For example, the Insect Nest team can stay there indefinitely because they turned the [Miao Jiang Gu Shi] dungeon into their home world.

Hearing that there was still hope, a light finally shone in Reiko's eyes.

“Miss Asakawa, I’m so sorry…” Jiang Jin sincerely apologized to her: “It all started because of me…”

at this time……

Several Gu worms flew in the sky, their eyes fixed on the taxi carrying the Nirvana team!

(End of this chapter)