Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 46 Target! Dachang City! (Part 1)
"What? Stunned?" The patrolman next to him noticed Jiang Jin's expression and sneered.

“Yes.” Jiang Jin did not deny it. “I always thought this was just an ordinary quarantine camp with only medical personnel inside.”

"Medical personnel?" The other person seemed to have heard a joke. "Let me tell you, outside the outer ring, the material layer space is always unstable. And once a high-risk meme suddenly leaks into the mysterious layer or even erodes the material layer, ordinary people may not even have the chance to be sent to the terrifying dungeon trial!"

The camp was surrounded by runic barriers, and at the entrance stood a blood-red stone tablet inscribed with:

"Welcome to the real world."

The inscription on this stone tablet can only be seen by those who have reincarnated.

Upon entering, the camp's layout was more organized than Jiang Jin had imagined.

A large number of gray-white modular container apartments are arranged in a grid pattern, their surfaces coated with fire-retardant ceramic paint, gleaming coldly in the sunlight. Each container's door and window edges are inlaid with gray-black filters; Jiang Jin knows these are used to absorb the "ash" drifting in the air. Everyone in Muxu City knows that if "ash" is seen falling from the sky, it means the SAN value has dropped to at least 50%, or even lower.

This also reminded him of the ash substance present in both Deathstroke and Liang Qin's hunting dogs.

Jiang Jin looked up at the sky.

A semi-transparent ash filter, like a giant spider web, covered the entire camp.

Jiang Jin was then led into an office, where a woman in a black trench coat sat opposite him, toying with a rusty coin in her hand.

“Jiang Jin, 27 years old, police officer of Jinlin District Police Station of this city, a local of Muxu City. Before his parents retired, they were metal workshop workers in Tiexi District. His older brother is a police officer of Changming District General Bureau and is about to be promoted to captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade,” she looked up, her eyes sharp, “Yesterday he was tested for memetic contamination and sent to Qingtan Community for trial… He came out alive today, and then your mentor died.”

Jiang Jin remained unfazed: "Just luck."

He felt something was wrong.

Judging from the grandeur of this office and the woman's demeanor and attire, she likely holds a high position.

Why was he, a newly reincarnated being, brought to meet such a high-ranking person as the other party?

The woman chuckled softly and didn't press the matter further.

“My name is Wen Qi, the chief assistant of the Yi Hai Reincarnation Camp.” She flicked a coin onto the table. “Congratulations, you have officially become a reincarnator and… an ‘insider’ of the real world.”

Then, Wen Qi handed Jiang Jin a black magnetic card and a white booklet.

“This is your temporary ID card, which can also be used as a room key. With this, you can move freely in the Yihai Reincarnation Camp, but don’t cause trouble.” She said in a calm tone, “This manual is the camp’s rules. The main thing you need to remember is that violence is strictly prohibited in the camp. Violators will be ‘dealt with’ by ​​the cleaners.”

Jiang Jin took the magnetic card and the manual, then asked, "I'd like to ask if it's possible to find information about my family and..."

"Do you want to know if they've been infected by you and become reincarnators too?"

Jiang Jin nodded.

“They’re all fine. However, there is one person… that is indeed the case. That’s why I met with you alone. Your ex-girlfriend, Liu Yan, registered as a reincarnator a month ago. Moreover, she is currently wanted by our internal authorities, and her whereabouts are unknown.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jin's brain went blank for a moment before he could react.

"Liu Yan... is a reincarnator? You've put a warrant for her arrest, and she's gone missing?" Jiang Jin gasped, the explosive information causing a huge shock in his mind.

a month ago?
For the past month, Liu Yan had been using her busy work schedule as an excuse to avoid meeting him, and even her text messages had become shorter and shorter. A few days ago, when they finally met, she broke up with him, citing a promotion and her desire to work at the overseas headquarters as the reason.

Looking back now, it was simply because she felt she had become a reincarnator and would face the threat of death at any moment, so she chose to separate from herself!

“Liu Yan, she…” Jiang Jin’s voice trembled, “She…now…”

Wen Qi leaned against the desk, her fingertips lightly tapping the surface: "Her profession is still a sorcerer—you should know what that means."

The sorcerer is the rarest of the ten professions, capable of controlling mutated Gu worms that are corrupted by ominous signs, thus eroding targets on both physical and supernatural levels.

Jiang Jin's Adam's apple bobbed: "She registered a month ago? Why didn't anyone notify me?"

"You didn't see her in the week before she was confirmed to be contaminated with memes, so there's no need to notify you. You should also know that the meme contamination monitoring department only notifies close contacts and relatives of patients, not girlfriends. And even parents won't be told about the identity of a reincarnator."

Yes, a little over a month ago, the police station organized a closed-door memetic contamination drill for frontline officers. During the drill, even cell phone usage was strictly limited, so he and Liu Yan hadn't seen each other. Judging by the timeline, she must have been contaminated with memes during the training.

Liu Yan's parents passed away early, and she had no other relatives in Muxu City except for one best friend who was as close as a sister to her, Jin Lanlan. However, this best friend was a video blogger who was always on the go, and Jiang Jin would never bypass Liu Yan to contact her best friend.

"However, you shouldn't have been infected by her. During your most recent meeting, we monitored her SAN value throughout, and it was consistently above 80%, which is within the normal range. This makes it impossible for her to be infectious. Therefore, it can only be assumed that your successive transformations into reincarnators are merely a coincidence."

Coincidence? Is it really just a coincidence?

Jiang Jin suddenly stood up, the chair scraping against the floor with a screeching sound.

Why is she wanted? Where is she now?

He must find Liu Yan!
Now that they are both reincarnators, he must support her and never let her go on that terrifying dungeon adventure alone!
"It's simple, she killed someone."

"Kill...kill someone??"

"The Meme Contamination Monitoring Department has long had a strict order that the criminal acts of reincarnators within the Horror Instance will not be investigated. However, if a reincarnator dares to kill someone in the real world, especially an ordinary person, then reincarnators will be dispatched to arrest and prosecute them! This is an ironclad rule; otherwise, if reincarnators act as they please, the consequences will be unimaginable! A few days ago, she was discovered to have used her professional abilities in the real world. After investigation, it was found that she controlled a type of Gu worm called 'Mind-Gazing Leech' to kill a prisoner in the Third Prison of Muxu City. He had less than three months left before his release when he died."

"The Third Prison?" Jiang Jin suddenly realized, "The murdered prisoner... was his name Liu Wenqiang?"

"Yes, I've checked. You were the one who arrested him back then."

"He participated in a jewelry store robbery back then. His gang also took a lot of hostages, and one person died in the process. Liu Yan was one of the hostages! I also personally arrested Liu Wenqiang..."

"However, you've made such a great contribution, how come you haven't been promoted? According to the records, you're still just a junior officer?"

“That’s not important!” Jiang Jin continued, “Liu Wenqiang was only 17 years old at the time, and the gang used fake guns. He didn’t kill anyone, so he ended up with the shortest sentence. But his father had coronary heart disease, and after learning about this, he suffered a stroke and died. Liu Wenqiang was shouting in prison at the time… ‘If you tell anyone, they will kill me!’”

　I consulted a reader who is a police officer, and he told me that promotions within the police station are actually unrelated to meritorious service...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)