Chapter 388

Only Shajin who brings an invitation letter is allowed to attend the banquet; we attendants… have no qualification to enter the dream, we can only stay in the real hotel.

Jizi suddenly realized: "It turns out Shajin has been looking for people to cooperate everywhere; it turns out he cannot get the company's aid in the dream."

Tuopa knows his situation is not optimistic, and he also knows that the nameless guests are investigating things unfavorable to the family; if they need help, Tuopa is happy to provide assistance.

Several people found the hounds monitoring them nearby, and from them learned that the sheriff is now at the dream border. When they arrived at the border, they happened to be blocked by a familiar guard.

The guard recognized Xing at a glance, and seeing her made him grit his teeth in anger: "Last time it was you, shouting about friendship while trying hard with the clock trick, and together with that silver-haired little girl you gave me a beating!"

"……"

Sanyueqi and Jizi were both left speechless.

The guard said fiercely: "This time, no matter what I say, I cannot let you pass… Please go back, otherwise I might have to kneel and beg you!"

——

Absolute Zone Zero.

Ling turned the corner, just about to go into the cinema, when she happened to see two familiar figures standing by the river at Guangying Square—Hugo was leaning on the railing with his arms crossed, while Rekain stood straight as a fir tree forcibly transplanted into a bustling city.

"Wow, your relationship has gotten so good that you privately go to see the river view together?" Ling ran over excitedly and greeted the two.

"Hmph, just happened to run into you by the river." Hugo gave a dismissive glance at the wolf‑person beside him, "If I had known I'd run into this guy on that road, I should have left later for the gallery."

Rekain gave Ling a slight nod: "Good morning, Miss Ropeworker. We're just discussing some occupational hypothetical questions."

"Occupational… hypothetical? What is that?" Ling didn't quite understand but was very curious.

"Well—just the scene on the skyline." Hugo looked up at the horizon, seeing the family guards with spirit but seemingly not many, and said, "I'm discussing with him whether, if the sheriff hires Rekain as his gate……person, he would let Xing and the others in."

"Of course not." Rekain said calmly.

"Hmph, look… Ropeworker…… this guy's brain is as rusty as unsmelted iron, unable to adapt; if everyone were like him, sticking rigidly to routine, that meme would probably have killed everyone by now, and he's still foolishly blocking the other side."

"This is my duty, Mr. Hugo." Rekain adopted a more solemn tone, "The employer's order is the highest instruction of Victoria Domestic Service; this is both out of responsibility to the employer and an embodiment of the contract spirit."

"Out of sentimental consideration, I naturally hope this guard could make an exception; but as a rational judgment, he believes he's doing the right thing." Saying this, Rekain gave Hugo a cold glance, "Your misunderstanding of our professionalism is as regrettable as your taste in perfume."

"My perfume taste? … Rekain, what nonsense are you spouting?" Hugo instantly couldn't stay seated.

Seeing the atmosphere turn bad, the two seemed about to argue again; Ling quickly stepped between them, and in her urgency she proposed an idea: "I happen to be going to see a movie later—how about we go together? There's no conflict that can't be resolved by watching a film."

"Watch a movie?"

"Yes, but… um… I just made an appointment with Miss Ya to accompany her in cultivating through watching horror films; how about we all go together?"

Hugo glared at Rekain angrily and waved his hand dismissively: "Better skip the horror film; watching it with this guy would ruin even the scariest atmosphere."

Rekain smiled slightly: "Oh? Is that so? I think Miss Ropeworker's suggestion is good, but if someone is afraid of horror movies and dares not go, they might as well say it outright; I believe Miss Ropeworker will understand."

Ling seemed to hear the sound of a string snapping.

"I… am… afraid…?"

Even though half a meter apart, Ling could hear Hugo's "creak‑creak" grinding of teeth; his gaze was terrifying, as if he wanted to turn into two lasers and pierce Rekain on the spot.

"Let's go! We're going now! Rekain…… you'd better not regret what you just said!"

——

Jizi quickly produced the family documents, indicating she only wanted to assist the investigation and hoped to meet Mr. Galah.

"Who exactly is this Galah you're talking about? Several people have already mentioned this name to me, and that gray‑haired fellow said it before."

"Huh?" Sanyueqi scratched his head in confusion, "Wasn't it him who sent you here?"

The guard emphasized: "It's the sheriff who sent us! I can't say anything else."

This guard simply wouldn't yield; at the crucial moment, Sanyueqi could only beg Xing to use the clock trick to shift his mood a bit, and Xing, waiting for her words, immediately adjusted his mood to resentment.

The effect was immediate: the guard's nostrils blew out two thick streams of air, his face visibly reddened, and he gritted his teeth and stomped his feet: "You gray‑furred thing… why won't you listen to what I'm saying?!"

"The sheriff's order is a death order; I tell you, this patch of land ahead lets in neither wind nor rain, not even the dream master can enter!"

Xing widened her eyes: "Even the dream master can't come in?"

"Nonsense! Even the dream master can't……" The guard suddenly regained his senses: "... uh, we'll talk about it when the dream master comes! And this is just a metaphor, a metaphor! Do you understand?!"

Saying this, he rolled up his sleeves, indicating that if Xing kept pestering him, he'd have to show his true strength.

Xing had been waiting for this moment; she lifted her bat, weighed it in her hand, and said: "You dare defy me, who wields a bat?"

The guard sighed regretfully: "Ah, humans just can't understand each other…"

Sanyueqi helplessly rubbed his forehead: "... Well, even if Krippet came, he couldn't protect him now."

——

Fire Shadow Ninja

"Dream Master?"

Naruto scratched his head; it was the first time he'd heard that name, "... Sounds pretty powerful."

"Well, Pinokangni is divided into many houses—the Oak House, the Hound House, and the house where Liuying previously posed as an entertainer…… I'm afraid this Dream Master's status is even higher than the heads of those houses; he is the true power behind Pinokangni." Shikamaru analyzed.

"That Xingqiri is merely one of his subordinates. Just thinking that there are several others as troublesome as him…… and an even more troublesome Dream Master besides him, I feel this family's power is unnecessarily strong."

Naruto suddenly remembered something, and quickly shook Shikamaru's shoulder: "Right, do you remember when Xingqiri interrogated Shajin earlier, that bird perched high in his room?"