Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 379 Assassination and Opening the Door

In the distance, Mirano and Mantis, hidden high up, clearly saw everything that was happening at the entrance of the Beizuka No. 1 Apartment through a high-powered telescope.

When Milano saw that Reiko Asakawa had not triggered the apartment curse and died on the spot despite clearly exceeding the time limit, his eyes were filled with extreme shock and confusion.

"This is impossible!" she whispered, her binoculars trembling slightly. "The instant death effect of a rule-based memetic curse should be absolute! She was clearly past midnight! Why is she still alive?!"

This contradicted all common sense she knew about meme contamination. Either there was an unknown loophole in the apartment's rules, or... some kind of interference at a higher level that she couldn't comprehend had occurred.

It's important to know that the old nuclear organization's motto has always been: Rules are sacred!
Unlike Milano's shock and inquiry, the mantis beside her licked its lips, a smile of lewdness and relief on its face, not caring about whether the rules were sacred or not.
"It's good that she's alive, it would be such a waste if she died..." He clicked his tongue twice. "This is Nanako Matsushima, the queen of Japanese dramas when she was young! It's a bit of a pity that she had children, but her temperament, her face... Hehe, Jiang Jin must have played with her countless times, now it's my turn to have a taste! Like Yuwen Chengdu, I don't like to waste food. Every grain of rice in the bowl must be eaten clean!"

Milano, of course, didn't understand this tired joke. Suppressing her surprise and doubt, she glanced coldly at the mantis, her tone regaining its usual calm and decisiveness: "They've just broken free of the barrier, and they're probably at their weakest right now. I'll go try and see if I can take care of them."

Upon hearing this, the mantis raised an eyebrow and finally turned its gaze away from Lingzi in the distance, focusing on its companion who was right in front of it.

He made no attempt to hide his gaze as he looked Milano up and down, and said, "Aren't you afraid of death?"

Assassinating Jiang Jin is far too dangerous!
No wonder everyone says that the old core people are all a bunch of lunatics!
At this moment, the mantis stared at Milano with immense regret. She wore a black, form-fitting combat suit that allowed for easy movement; the fabric clung to her fiery, sexy curves like a second skin—below her slender, powerful waist were stunningly rounded, full, and firm buttocks, while her upper body was a series of undulating peaks, her breasts almost bursting out, outlining breathtakingly alluring lines. Such a beauty, it would be such a pity if she died like that!

"Think it over carefully? Even if Jiang Jin is in bad shape, he's still a near-LV4 monster. With your great figure, if you fall into his hands... to put it bluntly, aren't you afraid he'll rape and then kill you?" His words were flippant, but they were also stating a fact: facing Jiang Jin alone was extremely risky.

Milano was well aware of her own charm and was used to the mantis's gaze.

A cold, slightly arrogant smile curved her lips, and a dangerous glint flashed in her blue eyes: "How will you know if you don't try? Someone has to find out what he's capable of. Besides... I'm not without ways to protect myself."

Meanwhile... Jiang Jin and Lingzi returned to room 304, temporarily shutting out the suffocating darkness and madness outside. Both of them felt completely exhausted.

Lingzi barely managed to stay upright thanks to sheer willpower; the advancement and escape had taken a heavy toll on her mental and physical strength.

Jiang Jin appeared calm on the surface, but his SAN value had plummeted to 45%, which meant he was in a "moderate level of disorientation." Of course, for a strong person like Jiang Jin, whose strength had reached near-LV4, this was not something to be ignored, but overall it wasn't considered too dangerous.

What we really need to be wary of is the chain reaction that the meme curse behind the deeper layers of delusion might trigger.

The Reincarnators' fight against meme contamination is not a computer game. It's not like you can be invincible within the Lost Layer just because you're almost LV4. Rule contamination is often unreasonable, and there are many precedents of people capsizing in the gutter if they're not careful.

Jiang Jin went to the kitchen, wanting to find something to eat, but felt a gaze following him closely.

He turned around and found Lingzi staring at him, her once clear eyes now filled with intense worry and fear.

Jiang Jin naturally knew that her Eye of Blessing had been activated. Now, Asakawa Reiko could not only observe SAN more closely, but also directly "see" the mental fluctuations of the reincarnators and... the degree of meme contamination.

Jiang Jin waited patiently for her questions: why she hadn't died despite exceeding the time limit, and what price he had paid.

This is almost an inevitable question.

However, Reiko simply looked at him quietly, her lips moved slightly, but in the end she didn't ask anything.

Her eyes were filled with complex and indescribable emotions—understanding, heartache, gratitude, and a deep, unspoken understanding.

Clearly, she had keenly realized that this involved a secret that Jiang Jin could not or was unwilling to reveal, a taboo that might be related to his hidden abilities.

So she chose to remain silent, suppressing all her doubts and worries.

This tacit understanding surprised Jiang Jin, and what followed was... a deeper emotion.

Lingzi formed a gentle hand seal in front of her chest, chanting an ancient and peaceful incantation. A warm, pure, and healing aura flowed from her hands, gently enveloping Jiang Jin.

However, when the white light touched Jiang Jin's mental landscape, it was like a drop of water falling into a red-hot iron, emitting a hissing, invisible repulsive sound, unable to truly merge!

Lingzi's face paled slightly. She could clearly sense that Jiang Jin's SAN value was not only not rising, but was even slowly and stubbornly declining!

“It’s no use,” Jiang Jin said calmly, interrupting her futile efforts. “This is… the price. It’s alright, it’s only temporary.”

Lingzi withdrew her hand, but still kept her Zhuyou Eyes open. In those eyes, there was only worry and helplessness.

Jiang Jin didn't want the atmosphere to remain heavy, so he walked to the refrigerator, took out two boxes of instant noodles that the Chu Yun family had given him, and casually changed the subject: "We've been up all night, let's eat something, just make do with this." He paused, looked at Lingzi, and said with sincere admiration: "Speaking of which, Lingzi, your talent for incantation healing is really strong. You were able to break through in that situation and save us by breaking the barrier."

But he knew very well that this had little to do with so-called talent. The core of Zhu You's advancement was "the heart of protection." The sole, and most powerful driving force behind Lingzi's rapid breakthrough was her unwavering determination to protect him at all costs. Keep in mind, for a newly promoted LV2 to briefly tear through at least a near-LV3 level [Dark Witch Barrier] is absolutely a miracle!
Based on this alone, the name Reiko Asakawa could become famous overnight and rank among the top in the country's Zhuyou reincarnation practitioners!
This profound affection deeply moved him, but also made him feel an invisible pressure.

The phrase "It is hardest to bear the kindness of a beautiful woman" came to mind.

Not only Lingzi, but also the deputy leader Lin Lu—that exceptionally talented and decisive sorcerer—had made no attempt to hide her feelings for him over the past six months, which he had all witnessed. Inside and outside the team, many people were even trying to bring them together.

After all, if the two core members, especially the highly promising Lin Lu, were to advance to LV3 and register their marriage with Jiang Jin, they would receive a powerful buff from each other according to the rules of the reincarnation system, which would greatly enhance the strength of the entire Nirvana team.

However, the "marriage" binding in the reincarnation system requires both parties to actually have a relationship. Jiang Jin cannot accept such a union for the sake of interests, and even if the other party is willing, he cannot do it.

With humanity's extinction looming like the Sword of Damocles, and the blood feud with rival organizations like the Zerg Hole and the Old Core still unresolved, he has no time to dwell on these complex personal feelings amidst internal and external troubles. He must devote all his energy to improving his strength and leading his team to survival.

The two silently prepared instant noodles, the steam temporarily dispelling some of the chill in the room.

They then began discussing the identities of the reincarnators who had attacked them that night.

“Anyone capable of setting up a Dark Magic Barrier of that scale must be a top-tier dark wizard,” Jiang Jin analyzed. “The fact that they dared to attack us makes their identity quite obvious. There are indeed such experts within the Old Core Organization, and the Insect Nest team may have hired outside help. But without leaving any obvious markers, it’s impossible to determine their exact identity for the time being.”

"Their target is very clear: you, Commander," Reiko said worriedly. "And the fact that they chose to attack while we were out shows that they clearly know something about our movements. We must be even more careful from now on, not only dealing with the curse of the apartment, but also guarding against these enemies lurking in the shadows."

Jiang Jin nodded, and was about to say something when suddenly his expression changed drastically!
An extremely dangerous hunting instinct pierced his spine like an ice pick!
Before he could even explain, he instantly pulled out the Silent Hill shotgun, a weapon brimming with violent aesthetics, from his Reincarnator watch!

Almost at the same moment he drew his gun...

In the corner of the living room of room 304, the shadow under the light suddenly boiled up as if it were alive!

A lithe and murderous figure shot out from the shadows like a ghost!

She was a Western woman with striking features; she was Mirano from the Dream Core branch of the Old Core Organization!
She held a short blade made entirely of concentrated dark energy, its tip gleaming with an all-consuming light, aimed straight at Jiang Jin's back!

This strike was ruthless, cunning, and silent!

A dark wizard, who actually displayed assassination skills to the fullest extent, just like an assassin!

"court death!"

Jiang Jin reacted extremely quickly. Without even turning around completely, he used his hunter's combat instincts and his police officer's reaction speed, which was far beyond that of ordinary people, to generate power from his waist. His arm propelled the shotgun backward like a scorpion's tail!

"boom!!"

Deafening gunshots rang out in the small room!
The shotgun spat out angry tongues of fire, engulfing the figure that lunged out of the shadows like a torrential rain!
Milano clearly hadn't expected Jiang Jin to react so terrifyingly even with his SAN value damaged!
She only had time to hold the dark dagger horizontally in front of her, forming a thin layer of shadow shield.

"Pfft!"

The barrage of bullets easily tore through the hastily formed shield. Although most of them were deflected and neutralized by the dark energy, a few still embedded themselves hard in her shoulder and arm, leaving a trail of blood!
She let out a muffled groan, her body injured, the impact sending her flying backward.

But that's the eeriness of the black wizard! As her body flew backward, it became blurred and transparent, like ink dissolving in water, and disappeared into the shadows!
This is precisely the Dark Wizard's class skill—[Shadow Cover]!
"Milano! Old Core scum!" Jiang Jin's expression turned extremely ferocious at this moment, his eyes burning with violent killing intent!
He recognized the woman on the international wanted list!

New and old grudges surged into my heart in an instant!
However, just as he was about to rush forward and take advantage of the wound to completely subdue him...

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The familiar and rhythmic knocking sounded abruptly again!
Exactly the same as last night!
Like a death knell, the sound was exceptionally clear and chilling in the still-lingering silence after the gunshots!
Jiang Jin and Lingzi froze at the same time!
What made them even more chilled was that a hand immediately reached out from the shadows next to the entrance door!

Milano, she actually turned the doorknob of room 304, which was not locked!

"Squeak-"

The door was opened!
(End of this chapter)