Chapter 949: Equivalent Exchange

Amon? Jian Na, standing beside the car, froze in place.

She vaguely understood why she had arrived at Star Dream Grocery so early, escaping that lethal “illusion” at the most critical moment.

Amon had helped in this matter; otherwise, the outcome was unimaginable!

She and Franca had already estimated the risks to the maximum, yet they never imagined the reality would be so terrifying that she had no chance to escape the dream at all!

This was even though she was a “Witch,” among the top tier of same-sequence Exalted Ones in both survival ability and life-saving capacity.

So indeed, Amon and His Father were aligned with us in awakening Mr. Fool, merely differing in the desired pace—hence He had only now offered one act of aid. Hmm, this aid targeted the demonic god of the Fantasy Society. If I had failed today’s mission and died, and the painting had returned to Rosan’s hands on its own, would that have triggered a development Amon and His Father wished to avoid? In an instant, Jian Na envisioned countless possibilities, with no time even to feel fear.

“Close the door for me,” Amon said with a smile, wearing a monocle in his right eye socket, like a genuine ride-share driver reminding Jian Na.

Jian Na finally returned to normal and casually shut the car door.

Watching the white sedan smoothly drive away from the street, Jian Na, clutching the Painting of the Cliff, rushed into Star Dream Grocery without caring for her dignity.

As the light suddenly dimmed, Jian Na relaxed instantly.

Only then did confusion arise within her:

How could Amon have precisely picked up my order?

How did He know we had obtained this painting and were delivering it to Star Dream Grocery today?

Under the suppression of Sequence 7, prophecy or divination couldn’t achieve such precision…

Could it be that True Gods in the Dream City are somehow special, subject to different restrictions than us?

So, did Amon “coincidentally” save me with His Father’s help?

This could also explain why the painting made me so helpless, leaving me no chance to save myself—if we were both at Sequence 7, it shouldn’t have been like this. Or perhaps I did have a chance to break free, but due to my first encounter with such an attack, I made a mistake in response and failed to notice the exploitable details? Jian Na gazed at the oil painting in her arms, quieted her thoughts, and walked to the cash register at the very back of Star Dream Grocery.

“Do you accept items with esoteric elements?” Jian Na politely asked the shopkeeper, who was playing with her phone.

The shopkeeper slowly lifted her head, and the blazing sunlight outside suddenly seemed obscured by clouds.

“We do,” she said, offering Jian Na a faint smile.

Really? Jian Na felt a surge of joy and quickly placed the oil painting on the counter:

“Could you check if it meets your requirements? How much is it worth?”

The shopkeeper extended a hand, lifted the painting to her face, and after a few seconds said:

“Thirty thousand.”

What? Jian Na instinctively doubted her ears.

This wasn’t because she thought the strange oil painting lacked esoteric value or wasn’t worth thirty thousand—it was that, for her and Franca, the painting was a burden, a danger, something they’d pay to get rid of.

If the shopkeeper had said she’d only take it for thirty thousand, Jian Na would have agreed after consulting Franca, gritting her teeth.

In a flash of thought, Jian Na considered a possibility:

The shopkeeper of Star Dream Grocery was clearly an ally, and her current action was providing more funds to Jian Na’s team!

And money held immense symbolic significance in the Dream City.

Not giving it directly, but using this opportunity to purchase esoteric items… Was this because the Dream City’s rules required it—rules even gods couldn’t violate? Equivalent Exchange? If so, the Major Arcana cards providing each person with two thousand starting funds was already incredibly generous… As Jian Na pondered this, she unconsciously wondered whether she should haggle, raise the price a bit.

Since this was an ally, they’d surely be pleased by such behavior—it meant offering even more help.

After brief consideration, Jian Na abandoned the idea.

The other side was a True God’s avatar or projection; the price given was surely the most appropriate, most balanced, and least likely to cause anomalies after careful deliberation.

From the perspective of Dream Consciousness, every item had an estimated price; excessive markup in a transaction was problematic, possibly illegal, and would inevitably trigger reactive changes? Realizing this, Jian Na replied to the shopkeeper:

“Fine.”

Only after the shopkeeper actually transferred thirty thousand to her did she suddenly regret letting Ludwig eat all the other paintings.

Those might have fetched some money too!

But those were just paintings by Rosan—they probably weren’t worth much, maybe only equivalent to Ludwig’s late-night snack…

“Thank you,” Jian Na thanked the shopkeeper once more, then turned and walked out of Star Dream Grocery.

Bright, brilliant sunlight from above fell upon her, finally giving her the sense that the danger had completely receded.

Only now did she begin to feel fear.

She still had many things she wanted to do, many people she couldn’t bear to leave behind.

…………

Outside Tech Tower.

Franca, wearing low-heeled shoes, carefully ascended the steps.

Her current attire was something she had never worn before, instinctively making her feel more insecure and ashamed.

This also made her more sensitive to the glances and scrutiny around her—she found the admiring looks acceptable, but the ones she’d always considered impolite and disgusting seemed to have increased, or perhaps she was just noticing them more now. Some people hurried past her, took a few steps ahead, then turned back with a pretended air of secrecy, revealing slightly disappointed expressions.

It seemed they expected her makeup, attire, and appearance to match the body and clothing they’d imagined upon seeing her.

“Disappointed, are you?” Franca silently flipped them the middle finger and muttered under her breath.

After climbing the steps, she looked toward the entrance guard—and didn’t see Lu Mi’an.

She had hoped to exchange a glance with him at the entrance, pretending not to know him, like in some spy dramas… Franca silently grumbled and entered the lobby, heading for the elevator area.

In the surveillance room.

Lu Mi’an sat before several large screens, each divided into multiple scenes, carefully examining each frame from a considerable distance—the minor incident yesterday gave Security Director Green an excuse to assign him to monitor surveillance, rotate floor patrols, and no longer guard the main entrance.

Lu Mi’an quickly noticed Franca in the elevator area.

Though she had deliberately made herself look older—wearing thick black-rimmed glasses and clothes she’d never worn before—he still recognized her immediately.

“Pity ‘The Lie’ is only equivalent to top-tier makeup now; it can’t adjust height or body shape at all. Otherwise, the disguise would be better. As it is, she’s still too conspicuous…” Lu Mi’an mentally evaluated.

The other guard beside him, seeing him stare intently, glanced around and said, pretending to clutch his stomach:

“Little Li, I’ve got a stomachache—I’m going to take a shit. Watch things yourself.”

Is this what they call paid toilet breaks online? Lu Mi’an silently chuckled and replied:

“Alright.”

Perfect—maybe I can even check yesterday’s footage to see how Zhou Mingrui reacted privately to my hiring, what he did!

Once his colleague had truly left for the restroom outside the surveillance room, Lu Mi’an noticed Franca had finally succeeded in squeezing into the elevator after two failed attempts.

Suddenly, several screens displaying the surveillance room itself went black.

This… Lu Mi’an didn’t move.

Just two or three seconds later, someone appeared beside him.

It was Security Director Green, wearing a thin blue suit.

Green stared at the large screens, speaking casually:

“Watch out for Huang Tao.”

Watch out for Huang Tao? What could Huang Zong possibly have to do with me, a male security guard? Lu Mi’an felt puzzled and asked calmly:

“Why?”

Green kept his gaze on the screens and explained simply:

“He betrayed his mother. He is no longer her child.”

No longer… He was, but now isn’t? “The Magician” had mentioned that during the Vortex Incident, Emperor Luo Saier, though slain, severely wounded the strongest “Mule,” broke free from the Great Mother’s corruption, and preserved the hope of resurrection… This was part of the same event as Amon gaining Mr. Fool’s consent to borrow power from his past self… So Mr. Fool knew Emperor Luo Saier’s state, his subconscious perception changed, and thus Huang Tao in the Dream City no longer concealed the Great Mother’s corruption? Lu Mi’an began to piece together the logic.

This also revealed a problem to him.

Previously, he only knew that accidents and encounters in the dream might reflect into reality, bringing true death or risky advancement. But in this moment, he believed reality’s changes could also affect the dream—provided Mr. Fool truly perceived them.

The dream and reality weren’t one-way—they could interact… Lu Mi’an noted this discovery and then smiled at Green:

“Don’t you wonder why I, as a God’s Child, am not female?”

Green looked puzzled:

“The Mother’s children can be any gender, or no gender, or multiple genders.

“These don’t matter. What matters is the ability to reproduce, to bring forth new life.

“God’s Child, why are you asking such a question?”

Green’s brow furrowed slightly.

Of course, to test you! Lu Mi’an silently laughed.

He was testing whether Green only sensed him as a God’s Child, or if he knew further—that the current God’s Child was Oumibera, like the Handless Brother.

If Green knew Lu Mi’an “was” Oumibera, he’d be confused by the gender mismatch; if not, it proved he lacked the necessary wisdom, more like a NPC as Franca said, yet influenced by the Great Mother.

This also indirectly proved the Handless Brother’s ability to call out “Oumibera” was deeply problematic.

Lu Mi’an smiled and said to Green:

“I thought Mother had already revealed my true identity to you.”

As he spoke, his hair slowly lengthened, his facial features swiftly softened.

(End of Chapter)