Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 377 Dark Witch Barrier
The couple examined the character closely, their faces showing genuine confusion. They shook their heads: "'Love'? What's wrong with this character? I've never heard of anything special about it."

It seems... the plot has really changed drastically. In the original movie, this word was an absolute taboo in the apartment.

Jiang Jin and Lingzi comforted the Budai couple for a few more minutes before getting up to take their leave.

Leaving room 103, the two walked out of the apartment building with heavy hearts. Jiang Jin noticed that the key old lady from the movie, who always sat in the courtyard across from the apartment and witnessed "love" return to the apartment before disappearing, was nowhere to be seen.

“It seems that the source of the curse has indeed been completely transformed by ‘meme contamination’,” Jiang Jin said in a deep voice. “Even key historical witnesses have disappeared.”

“Yes,” Reiko said gravely, “we must be extremely careful and not rely on any of the original plot points.”

Just then, they saw a slender, delicate figure walking slowly with her head down in the distance. It was Yamato Aimi from room 301.

The two approached. Reiko greeted her gently, "Ms. Aimi, are you going out?"

Aimi seemed startled, looked up, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was them. She whispered, "Um... I'm going to buy some alcohol for Father. He's been... a heavy drinker ever since Mother passed away." This was consistent with the movie's setup.

Jiang Jin asked directly, "Miss Ai Shi, is there something you want to discuss with your father that you invited us to dinner tonight?"

Aimi lowered her head, fiddling with the hem of her clothes, her voice even softer: "I...I'm not quite sure either. Maybe...maybe it's because he heard that you, Mrs. Asakawa, are an NHK reporter? My father...he used to be a weekly magazine reporter, but he lost his job because of alcoholism...maybe he wants to ask you to help him find someone? Or...he just wants to talk to someone about his old job?"

Her tone was uncertain, but then she unconsciously added, "Father... he always felt that Mother's death was his fault... when he's drunk, he always... always says that I'm looking more and more like Mother..."

These words struck Jiang Jin and Lingzi like a thunderbolt! Considering Yamato Mitsuru's beastly behavior in the movie, the subtext of these words was almost self-evident!

"That beast deserves to be torn to pieces!" A surge of intense anger and murderous intent welled up within both of them simultaneously.

Jiang Jin suppressed his anger, took out a yellow talisman folded into a triangle shape, and handed it to Ai Shi, saying in as calm a tone as possible: "Miss Ai Shi, take this and stick it on your door tonight. This is... a talisman that can ward off evil spirits."

This talisman's defense is effective even against ordinary people.

Ai Shi hesitated for a moment, then timidly accepted the talisman and whispered, "Thank you... Mr. Asakawa."

Finally, Reiko asked casually, "By the way, Ms. Aimi, do you know where the Daikoku family, who moved away before, is now? We have something we'd like to ask them about."

Ai looked up, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes, but she still nodded: "Yeah... I know. The administrator gave me the address, and I went to their house... I'll write it down for you."

Subsequently, Jiang Jin and Lingzi went to the Daikoku house based on the address provided by Ai Shi.

On the way, they passed through a somewhat desolate public parking lot located on the edge of a residential area.

At this time, the parking lot was sparsely populated and unusually quiet.

In a corner, inside a black van with dark tint, a brief but intense "deep exchange" had just ended.

The interior space of the car has been modified, with the rear seats folded down and covered with a simple blanket.

A lean man with sharp, hawk-like eyes, codenamed "Mantis," was leaning against the carriage, lighting a cigarette after the fact, his expression a mixture of satisfaction and his usual vigilance.

Beside him stood a Western woman with striking and alluring features. She was a member of the Dream Core branch of the old nuclear organization, named Milano.

She lazily tidied her slightly messy hair, a lingering haze of fading passion still in her eyes.

"Rumor has it that women in the Old Core Organization regularly offer their bodies to the organization and its allies, and it's true," Mantis leered. "Madam's decision to ally with the Old Core was indeed the right one."

Milano remained noncommittal, casually glancing out through the one-way glass window on the side of the carriage.

That one glance froze her completely, the dazed look vanishing in its place, replaced by utter shock.

“Mantis, look over there!” she said in a low voice, speaking urgently in English, her slender finger pointing out the window.

The mantis looked in the direction she pointed, and its pupils suddenly contracted.

On the sidewalk at the edge of the parking lot, a man and a woman were walking side by side. The man was tall and imposing, with a cold and stern face and sharp eyes. Even from a distance, one could feel his imposing aura, like a drawn sword. The woman was gentle and beautiful, clearly resembling a young Nanako Matsushima.

That man... was the dangerous figure repeatedly mentioned in the old nuclear organization's internal documents—

"Reincarnation Hunter, Jiang Jin!" Mantis practically gritted his teeth as he uttered the name, unconsciously crushing the cigarette butt in his hand.

“He appeared in this remote West Tokyo City…” Milano thought quickly, his eyes flashing, “Then, he must be here for the Beizuka First Apartment mockup!”

She and the praying mantis came in on a mission to participate in another theatrical film of the "New Tales of Ghosts: Mr. Nobuhiro". Now that their mission is complete, they're delaying their return by 24 hours, planning to explore Tokyo at the end of the 20th century.

"No matter why, this is an opportunity!" Mantis's eyes flashed with a fierce light. "He only had a female team doctor, Asakawa Reiko, with him, and her combat strength wasn't strong. This is a once-in-a-lifetime assassination opportunity!"

Milano was clearly tempted as well. If they could eliminate Jiang Jin here, it would be a major achievement for both the Old Core and the Zerg Nest, bringing immense rewards!
Without hesitation, Milano picked up a cell phone that could communicate across copies and quickly dialed a number.

After the call connected, she quickly reported: "Headquarters, this is Mirano. The mantis from the Insect Nest and I have discovered an important target in West Tokyo City, Japan, in the 'New Tales of Ghosts' area—the Reincarnation Hunter Jiang Jin and his team doctor, Asakawa Reiko. The target appears to be on a mission, his status is unknown, and his security is weak. Requesting immediate support to carry out the assassination!"

Although he wanted to take all the credit, Jiang Jin was already a near-LV4 and a world-renowned genius reincarnator, so he was not so easy to deal with.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a processed, cold electronic voice replying: "Message received. However, we cannot provide support at this time."

"What? Why?" Milano asked urgently, "The target is Jiang Jin! This is a rare opportunity!"

"Membrane contamination activity is currently unusually active in Japan, at an unknown level, and the risk of a Japanese-style terrorist replica has become extremely high. Organizing a large-scale infiltration could cause unpredictable chain reactions and may even trigger more dangerous membrane entities. After assessment, headquarters has decided to temporarily freeze most of its active operations in Japan."

Milano and the mantis both looked grim.

The electronic voice continued: "Given that you have encountered the target, headquarters authorizes you to act according to the situation, make your own judgments, and seek opportunities to eliminate the target, Jiang Jin. However, no additional support will be provided, and you will bear all consequences yourself. Repeat, you assume all risks associated with your actions. Over."

Communication was abruptly and decisively cut off.

The car fell into a deathly silence.

Without support, it meant they would have to hunt down Jiang Jin, who was known as a near-LV4 and possessed terrifying potential, on their own! "Damn it!" Mantis slammed his fist against the carriage wall, making a dull thud.

Milano took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, his eyes flashing with madness and calculation: "Headquarters isn't providing support because they're worried that a large-scale operation will trigger an uncontrollable memetic disaster. But that doesn't mean we have absolutely no chance."

She glanced at Jiang Jin and Lingzi's departing figures outside the window and lowered her voice: "This is [New Tales of Ghosts], a high-risk area for rule-based ghost stories and memetic contamination. The fact that Jiang Jin and the others are here most likely means they've fallen into the ghost apartment's memetic curse. We can use this!"

The mantis frowned: "What do you mean?"

“We won’t confront them head-on.” Milano’s lips curled into a cold smile. “We can exploit the rules of memes themselves!”

The mantis's eyes lit up: "Using someone else to do the dirty work? Let the curse of that haunted apartment do our bidding?"

“That’s right!” Milano nodded. “This way, we can avoid the risks that headquarters is worried about and greatly increase the success rate.”

The two quickly reached a consensus. The assassination plan was changed from a direct assault to a more insidious "rule trap" more suited to the current environment.

At this moment, Jiang Jin and Lingzi were completely focused on finding the Daikoku family and dealing with the Yamato family's dinner invitation that evening, unaware of the impending crisis.

Based on the address provided by Yamato Ai, Jiang Jin and Reiko arrived at a slightly old residential area.

The Dahei family must have moved out of the Cursed Apartment in a hurry, and obviously had too little time, so they had no choice but to choose this kind of cheap public housing.

After knocking on the door, the woman who opened it was the landlady, Mariko Ookuro. Jiang Jin had seen the movie, so he recognized her immediately.

"You are?"

“Hello, Mrs. Daikoku. I am Asakawa Jin, a new resident of Beizuka First Apartment. This is my wife, Reiko.” Jiang Jin introduced himself in a calm tone. “Excuse me for bothering you. We have some questions about the apartment that we would like to ask you.”

Upon hearing the words "Beizuka First Apartment," Mariko Ohguro's face turned deathly pale. Her first instinct was to close the door: "I'm sorry, we don't know anything! Please leave!"

"Mariko! Who is it?" A hoarse male voice came from inside the house, and then the male homeowner, Muneo Oguro, walked over.

“They are new residents of the apartment…” Mariko said softly, looking apologetically at her husband.

Dahei Muneo immediately rebuked angrily, "I told you! Who told you to tell the administrator our new address in the first place?! Didn't you think it was unlucky enough? Did you want to attract those dirty things?!"

Mariko lowered her head and stammered an explanation: "I... I just felt bad... We were only able to move out because new residents moved in... I was thinking that if the new residents needed any help..."

"Help? What help can we offer? We're already struggling ourselves..." Dahei Zongxiong was furious, but seeing Jiang Jin and Lingzi's calm yet firm gazes, and glancing inside the room, he finally suppressed his anger, stepped aside to make way for a crack, and said with extreme reluctance, "...Come in, don't stand at the door."

After thanking Lingzi, Jiang Jin and Lingzi went inside.

The room was small and cramped, with simple furniture, and an indescribable sense of oppression permeated the air.

Most noticeably, in the corner of the living room, sat a pair of young children. Jiang Jin remembered... the boy's name was Qiao, and the girl's name was Ai.

They all had their heads down, eerily quiet, with heads of white hair that looked far too old for their age, making them appear like elderly people!

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Jiang Jin cut straight to the point, asking, "Excuse me, but I'd like to know why you invited the Budai couple to dinner for three consecutive days?"

Upon hearing this question, the expressions of Muneo Daikoku and Mariko immediately turned extremely ugly. Their eyes flickered, and their lips moved as if they had something difficult to say.

Just as the atmosphere reached a stalemate, and Jiang Jin was about to press for further questions...

"what!!!"

A bloodcurdling scream, filled with extreme terror, suddenly came from outside the window!
Suddenly, it was pitch black outside the window!
Jiang Jin and the others came to the window and saw that the darkness outside was absolute darkness, without any starlight or moonlight, as if even light had been completely swallowed up!
The darkness quickly enveloped the entire residential area and continued to press down, as if it were about to swallow the whole earth!

A cold, obscure aura, carrying a strong aura of dark magic, surged in from all directions like a tide!

“This is… [Dark Witch Barrier]!” Jiang Jin’s voice carried a rare hint of solemnity.

He immediately recognized where the thing came from!

This is a high-level professional skill that only LV3 Black Wizard professional reincarnators in the European reincarnation system can master!
It can create a dark realm that isolates the inside from the outside and distorts space!

They are trapped!

Immediately afterwards, chaotic screams, cries, and running sounds came from downstairs.

Clearly, other residents in the community also noticed this terrifying change in the world. Terrified, the crowd surged towards the community entrance like headless flies, trying to escape this suddenly descended dark hell.

Jiang Jin was even more shocked. To be able to unleash such a vast [Dark Witch Barrier], almost covering the entire residential area, the caster's strength was absolutely extraordinary—at least a near-LV4 level Black Wizard Reincarnator!
They came for him?
"Mr. Daikoku! Ms. Mariko!" Reiko hurriedly turned around, wanting to remind Daikoku's family.

However, in those few chaotic seconds, when she turned around, she found that the two white-haired children, Takumi and Ai, who had been standing in the living room just moments before, had all vanished without a trace!

It was as if they had never existed!
"It's gone?!" Reiko exclaimed in surprise.

Jiang Jin's face was ashen: "It's the effect of the barrier! An independent lost layer space has formed inside the Dark Witch Barrier! The rules of space have been distorted, physical distance has lost its meaning, and people may be randomly separated into different areas, or even... completely separated, as long as they cross a certain range! Lingzi, don't leave my side for more than a meter from now on!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a strange, sticky, and pulling sensation in the surrounding space.

He and Reiko were so close, yet it was as if they were separated by a constantly shifting, distorted glass, and their vision of each other began to blur.

Without further hesitation, Jiang Jin grabbed Lingzi's hand!
A strong sense of crisis quickly swept over them.

Not only because of the sudden attack from other reincarnators, but also because of an imminent, deadly threat—

The first rule of the Beizuka First Apartment stipulates that you must return to the apartment before midnight every day, which is determined by crossing the white line at the door!
If they are trapped in this isolated layer of space created by the Dark Witch Barrier and cannot return to their apartment before midnight...

What awaits them is the merciless curse of the Ghost Apartment meme!

(End of this chapter)