Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 91 Ash Dolls and Ash Ghouls

time flies.

During this time, Jiang Jin repeatedly trained and practiced various skills in the camp. He also learned a lot about the reincarnation system and dungeon reincarnation through Yu Tianlun.

“Resentment crystals are a general equivalent, unlike currency which can be printed infinitely. Their total amount has an upper limit. SAN values, on the other hand, are data that can be purely distributed by the reincarnation system.”

"In other words, the total amount of resentment crystals that the reincarnation system can supply is limited?"

"Yes, so resentment crystals are also considered a kind of hard currency. However, we should try to avoid using SAN points for consumption as much as possible in daily life. Everyone's SAN point limit is 100%, which is a matter of life and death for reincarnators."

"Since the total amount is limited, the reincarnators constantly consume resentment crystals every day..."

Resentment crystals are not gold or silver; their greatest use for reincarnators is to continuously absorb the resentment within them. Resentment itself is a form of curse power, and only curses can counteract demons. Once absorbed, the resentment crystal will disappear.

Therefore, for the resentment crystal currency system to continue to exist, it must have a channel for continuous production.

"Could there be a mine for crystallized resentment?"

"Of course not. There are two ways to increase resentment crystals. The first is to extract them from the ashes, which is a technique only cleaners have. The second is to hunt ashe dolls and ashe ghouls."

Yu Tianlun continued, "The Yihai Camp is relatively close to the city, and you mainly live in the area of ​​low-level reincarnators, so it's normal that you don't know. Ash Humanoids and Ash Corpses are generally information that only the highest-level reincarnators at least LV2 would have in-depth knowledge of. Although you are a LV1 reincarnator, you can still learn about them in advance."

"All ears."

"Within the city of Muxu, the farther away from the outer ring, and the closer the SAN value is to 30%, the more likely you are to see a large amount of ash floating in the sky. This is common knowledge that all citizens of Muxu City understand."

"Yes, but doesn't that mean we're deep within the Lost Layer, approaching the Annihilation Layer?"

"Yes... the Ash Humanoids are a bit better; they exist deeper within the Lost Layer. But the Ash Wraiths are different; they are true evil spirits existing in the Annihilation Layer!"

No wonder only the most powerful LV2 beings understand this. Frankly speaking, even for LV2 reincarnators, the depths of the Lost Layer are terrifying enough. As for the true Annihilation Layer, even LV3 reincarnators would have to temporarily avoid its edge! Only LV4 reincarnators have enough ability to ensure they can return from the Annihilation Layer!
While both are layers of pollution, the Lost Layer and the Annihilation Layer represent a complete qualitative change! Therefore, to protect reincarnators, the Reincarnation System temporarily locks their SAN value when it drops to 30%. At this point, the reincarnator is in a liminal space between the Lost and Annihilation layers, and there's still hope of returning to the Lost Layer. However, if a reincarnator below LV3 falls into the Annihilation Layer, the probability of returning to the Lost Layer is extremely low. Even for LV3, only the very top-tier individuals have a chance of returning. Now, Jiang Jin recalls that if he had entered the Horror Dungeon any later when he first entered Qingtan Community, causing him to fall into the Annihilation Layer, then even a god couldn't save him (at the time, as a reserve reincarnator, he wasn't protected by the Reincarnation System's SAN lock)!

"For you right now, surviving in the Lost Layer is already extremely difficult, but let me tell you clearly, if you ever see the Annihilation Layer, you will realize that the Lost Layer truly is paradise."

Jiang Jin realized that Yu Tianlun was once a Level 4 Reincarnator, so he had most likely witnessed the true Annihilation Layer.

"What exactly does the Annihilation Layer look like?"

“It’s best if you don’t know this at your current class level. Even if you fire hundreds of bullets from your shotgun at the Ash Humanoids and Ash Ghouls, I can guarantee that you won’t even blast off a single grain of ash,” Yu Tianlun replied. “Even the gap between the Lost Layer and the Annihilation Layer is quite terrifying for you. As for Reincarnators, they can only encounter Ash Humanoids and obtain Resentment Crystals by attacking them, at least at the level of Deep Lost.”

"The deeper you are lost, the harder it is to come back."

In the deeper Lost Layer, the effectiveness of SAN replenishment will decrease over time, making it difficult to gradually return to the shallower Lost Layer area, or even back to the Mysterious Layer.

"In the Annihilation Layer, when encountering Ash Ghouls, you will not only obtain more Resentment Crystals, but there is also a chance to obtain Resentment Shards. Therefore, LV4 teams may take risks and choose to enter the Annihilation Layer in order to obtain Resentment Shards."

"Then, do the reincarnators use resentment crystals to purchase various items, allowing the reincarnation system to acquire resentment crystals?"

"Yes, in addition, the cleaners themselves also enter the deep Lost Layer and the Annihilation Layer to absorb and clean up the Ash Humanoids and Ash Ghouls, and obtain Resentment Crystals and Resentment Shards from them."

Jiang Jin then asked, "Will the Ash Humanoids and Ash Ghouls appear in the Horror Dungeon?"

"No, Ash Humanoids and Ash Ghouls never appear in the Horror Dungeon. What's worth mentioning is that the areas where Ash Humanoids and Ash Ghouls appear are getting closer to the outer ring of the city every year. Both the imperial court and we are doing our best to prevent them from infiltrating the outer ring. Where they are, it means that memetic pollution will become more active. Ironically, Resentment Crystals are the foundation for the advancement of Reincarnators, and only a sufficient number of high-level Reincarnators can find a way to stop memetic pollution from gradually shrinking into the city. But the more Resentment Crystals there are, the more Ash Humanoids and Ash Ghouls there will be."

Hearing this, Jiang Jin felt even more depressed.

Hunting ash humanoids and ash ghouls is still a long way off for him right now.

And just like that, a month passed.

Liu Yan still hasn't returned.

Jiang Jin, after being tested, was finally approved to leave the Reincarnation Camp and go home because his SAN value was steadily declining at level D and remained above 80%.

Jiang Jin was also very excited. After all, in order to prevent memetic contamination, the Reincarnation Camp was completely cut off from the internet, and there was no way to contact the outside world. The only way was to send letters in through the Memetic Contamination Department. Jiang Jin could not write letters to his family outside either! Now, he could finally go home to see his parents and brother!

However, before entering the city, he was repeatedly warned against using any of the Reincarnator's active job skills, as the Reincarnator's Watch would be blocked by the camp administrator. Furthermore, the Death Knell had to remain at the Reincarnation Camp and could not be taken out!

Jiang Jin and Deathstroke had long been close comrades-in-arms, and they felt reluctant to part ways now.

This is also for security reasons; if a reincarnator commits a crime, the resulting damage and impact will be far greater. Of course, he was also warned that if he dared to break the law, he would be arrested and brought back to the reincarnation camp for trial, handled according to the laws of the imperial court. He would be imprisoned in a special prison, only allowed to leave when entering a terrifying instance. If sentenced to death, he would be permanently imprisoned until his SAN value continuously decreased until the cleaners appeared and removed him.

He was told that under the Reincarnator's Watch's surveillance, any use of his active skills would be detected, requiring an investigation, a written report, and a hearing, even if there were valid reasons. However, while the Reincarnator's Watch was supposed to block it, it was completely ineffective against Jiang Jin, the cunning lawyer. Just like the Cursed Paper Bag, Jiang Jin could see and touch it completely, and even his mentally synchronized undead hound could see and swallow it.

Although we will have to separate from Deathstroke from now on, fortunately it doesn't need to eat, so there's no need to worry too much. Just tell it to stay in the Reincarnation Camp and wait for him to return.

Subsequently, the Membrane Pollution Monitoring Department dispatched a vehicle to take him into the city and back to his home in Yunjue District.

Yunjue District is one of the five main urban areas of Muxu City. It is close to Tiexi District in the southwest. Most of the areas around the house are second-hand markets and building materials markets. It is relatively far from large supermarkets and vegetable markets, and about one kilometer away from the subway station.

Because the location of his hospitalization camp will not be disclosed to the public, his letters can only be handed over to the monitoring department for delivery, and his family can only wait for him at the entrance of the residential area.

Returning to his familiar home, at the entrance of Fuyou Community on Changhong Road in Yunjue District, he looked up at the familiar residential building.

I haven't been back for a few days, but I have a strange feeling that it's like a lifetime has passed.

At the entrance of the residential compound, Jiang Zhiguo, the father, paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, his brows furrowed, occasionally looking up and glancing around.

The mother, Zhou Huilan, stood to the side, clutching her phone, her knuckles white.

The eldest brother, Jiang Han, was supporting his mother with a solemn expression, while his sister-in-law, Lin Yue, was holding her nephew, Xiao Yu, and quietly comforting the child.

Upon seeing his family, Jiang Jin was immediately moved to tears!

"Alright, you can get off now," the driver said. "You already know the precautions, so we won't go and say goodbye to your family."

"Okay, I understand. Goodbye."

Jiang Jin took a deep breath, opened the car door, and stepped over.

"Dad, mom."

The mother looked up abruptly, her eyes instantly reddening. She rushed forward and grabbed his arm with surprising force: "You child! You've finally come back!"

The father stood still, his brows furrowing even more as he looked him up and down. After a long while, he finally let out a cold snort: "Meme contamination... I told you not to be so careless in your work, and to strictly follow the monthly rules. And look what happened, you got meme contamination! The worst part is, you've caused trouble for others!"

“Dad, it’s good that Ah Jin is back safe and sound,” the older brother said, looking at his younger brother with concern. “The monitoring department also said that meme contamination sometimes happens without any reason, and the source cannot be found. We and his colleagues have all been tested, and none of us have been infected by him.”

The father sighed; though his words were stern, a closer look revealed his eyes were slightly moist. He looked Jiang Jin over for a few seconds and asked, "Are you alright now?"

"Yeah, it's nothing." Jiang Jin smiled. "You just need to keep an eye on the SAN value changes regularly and have it checked periodically."

"Sigh, why can't Xiaoliu come back at this time?" The mother said with a dissatisfied look. "She's even changed her phone number, and I can't contact her! She hasn't been able to reach you for a month, and she hasn't even come to ask us how things are going?"

"Mom, her workplace is doing the same thing I did a while ago, they had a closed training camp. It's okay, I've already contacted her. I haven't told her about the meme contamination, she'll be back in a while."

Jiang Jin never told his family about their breakup. And now, it can't be said that he's married to Liu Yan.

"Uncle!" Xiaoyu broke free from her mother's hand and rushed over to hug Jiang Jin's leg. "They said you went to fight the disease! Did you win?"

Jiang Jin bent down and rubbed his nephew's head: "We won."

The elder brother, Jiang Han, walked over and, without saying a word, squeezed his shoulder tightly. The two brothers exchanged a glance, and Jiang Han said softly, "Ah Jin, it's good that you're back."

A simple sentence warmed Jiang Jin's heart.

From childhood to adulthood, my older brother has always been like this—not talkative, but always standing behind me.

When he was a child, he was bullied by thugs on the street, and Jiang Han chased them for three blocks with a brick in his hand; later, when he was admitted to the police academy, Jiang Han secretly gave him some money and told him not to tell his parents.

Although their father did show some favoritism towards the eldest brother, it did not affect the relationship between the two brothers.

"Alright, stop standing at the door." The father turned and walked into the residential area, his tone still harsh. "Your mother made some soup, drink more when you get back."

His mother gripped Jiang Jin's wrist tightly, as if afraid he would disappear again: "It's good that you're back safe and sound. In a couple of days, your brother will be promoted to the head of the criminal investigation team at the Changming District Public Security Bureau. It's a double celebration."

"Brother, congratulations." Jiang Jin was not surprised, after all, there had been rumors before that his brother would be promoted.

"It was also because of the promotion from above that I have more responsibility." Jiang Han said, taking Jiang Jin's backpack from him, and the family slowly walked towards home.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the old neighborhood road, lengthening the shadows of a family.

(End of this chapter)