Chapter 807: The Number 404 Is a Strange Number

Okay.

After emerging from the reed bed and seeing the expanse of white reeds before him, Li Ang nodded in satisfaction.

Though the view wasn't as good as flying, it was decent enough—at least for observing the environment, there were no major issues.

Stand up straight!

Patting the Snow Woman's head, Li Ang absentmindedly stroked her cool, slippery hair before speaking:

Don't wobble! Hold steady! And… turn half a circle to your left—I want to see what's over there!

…

Damn humans!

Hearing the command from above, the Snow Woman, her face flushed with rage, gripped Li Ang's two muddy thighs and struggled to turn half a circle to the left.

Riding on my head… you sick pervert! May you die with a broken neck the moment you get off me!

Having discarded the unnecessary reed sandals and found a more practical new mount, Li Ang rode atop the gritting Snow Woman's shoulders and began observing the wasteland with his own eyes.

In this boundless, desolate marsh, apart from black mud and pale reeds, no third color could be found; the occasional small pools of water were stained only in pure black and white.

Still can't see anything…

After commanding the Snow Woman beneath him to turn a full circle and finding no anomalies, Li Ang's brow furrowed again.

It seems this black-and-white marsh is far larger than I anticipated—finding the Scorpion Bureau Chief is impossible, and even determining his location is extremely difficult… What should I do?

Just as Li Ang was at a loss, a damp, chilly wind from the wasteland, carrying the scent of mud and drifting reed fluff, swept swiftly and delicately over the reed canopy, passing by his side.

Sensing something unusual, Li Ang's nose twitched slightly, then he took a deep breath.

This wind… there's something faintly off about its smell?

Relying on his heightened senses granted by eight points of Dye Value—far sharper than an ordinary human's—Li Ang detected the anomaly in the wind and reached for his sleeve, calling out the pup from the Mirror World.

You're a dog, aren't you?

Woof?

Smell this wind, then tell me what you detect.

Woof…

After nodding the pup's tiny head, Li Ang lifted him up; the pup twitched his pink little nose, sniffing hard against the wind, then was choked by drifting reed fluff, letting out several high-pitched, babyish sneezes:

Woof! Woof woof!

Burnt smell? And a faint trace of blood?

Understanding the pup's barks through the Cleaner Badge, Li Ang narrowed his eyes slightly, identified the wind's direction, then spoke to the Snow Woman beneath him:

Go right. Something's over there.

To the right…

Following Li Ang's order, the Snow Woman turned right with bitter resentment, sweat glistening on her brow from exhaustion, and gasped out:

How far… how far do we have to go?

At this wind speed, the scent won't spread far… so… about two or three kilometers?

What? Two or three kilometers?!

Having been dragged from the snow mountain nightmare, then had its nightmare core shattered, the Snow Woman had lost both bonuses—her physique was even weaker than an ordinary human's; had Li Ang not been relatively frail, he might not even have been able to carry her.

Hearing she still had to be carried two or three kilometers, the Snow Woman—who had been expelled from the Dream Realm by the Nightmare King and demoted to a mount—felt her legs go weak, nearly collapsing outright.

Please, just kill me now! You damned pervert! If I live another moment, I don't know what else you'll do to me!

…

This really isn't working… she's moving too slowly!

Feeling the Snow Woman's timid stride and her unsteady, three-shakes-per-step gait, Li Ang paused, then slid off her thin shoulders; before her stunned eyes, he reached for her skirt.

You! What are you doing?!

Nothing.

Amid the Snow Woman's desperate resistance, Li Ang tore two strips from the hem of her white dress, wrapped them around his shoes, and stepped into the marsh.

He didn't sink.

As expected—the Snow Woman in stories always wears white, so this dress must be part of the "Nightmare Messenger" attire, possessing the same resistance to the Dream World's rules.

Confirming his hypothesis worked, Li Ang immediately turned, crouched slightly, and faced the Snow Woman, who was retreating in panic, then ordered:

Get on!

…

Hurry up! Don't dawdle! I'm pressed for time!

…

Damn human!

First you ride my neck, then you tear my dress, then you glare at me—you're not even human!

After mentally cursing him with the cruelest profanities she knew, the Snow Woman exhaled slightly, her clean, pale face smudged with black mud, then climbed onto his back, wrapping her smooth legs tightly and fiercely around his waist.

I'll strangle you.

Crawl up higher!

Lifting the Snow Woman on his back to a position that wouldn't hinder his running, Li Ang bent his spine slightly and sprinted toward the direction the pup had scented.

The situation turned out far better than Li Ang expected—barely eight hundred meters into their run, a vast, bottomless tunnel emerged from behind the towering reeds, slanting deep into the marsh.

This looks like… something gigantic burrowed out?

After examining the scale-like scrapes on the tunnel's "floor," Li Ang narrowed his eyes—he knew this was the trail left by the Marsh King Snake as it dug through the mire.

Of course—if it's a giant snake, the marsh couldn't support its weight, so the Marsh King Snake's primary movement must occur underground. If the Scorpion Bureau Chief clashed with it, the battle likely took place beneath the surface.

Standing beside the tunnel, Li Ang inspected the partially vitrified, still-warm sections scorched by intense heat, then sniffed the still-fresh blood scent, and immediately concluded:

The Scorpion Bureau Chief was here not long ago, fighting the Marsh King Snake underground.

But since there's now no sound at all, and the Marsh King Snake—the "landlord" of this place—hasn't emerged since my intrusion, they've most likely left this area and moved to another dream layer.

I have a question.

Slapping the Snow Woman's tense thigh, Li Ang asked:

How are the six dream layers arranged? Stacked vertically, one atop another, then looped end to end?

Hmph!

If I hear you hum again, you'll get off and I'll ride you instead!

…

Damn human!

Facing the terrifying threat of becoming a human's mount again, the Snow Woman clenched her teeth, then stiffened her refined face and answered coldly:

Yes! And the man you're looking for has probably killed the Marsh King Snake and descended to the layer below!

Already gone down?

After hearing the Snow Woman's answer, Li Ang paused briefly, then ordered:

Then let's go up! Take me to the layer above!

???