Chapter 969: New Problem

Anthony didn't pull the curtains of the room, because he still had to observe the situation outside.

This was to compare with his own condition.

After sitting for a while, he stood up, walked to the window, and enjoyed the urban scenery that was still colorful even in the middle of the night.

Just at this moment, he felt a strong dizziness.

He then discovered that the air around him was sucked dry at once, no, a more accurate description was that he was "thrown" out of the world and isolated from the air.

At the same time, his thinking began to be chaotic, becoming stuttering. His hands involuntarily reached toward his throat, wanting to pull out his trachea and plug it back into the original world.

"This is very similar to Franca's, description...

"Contacting Peng Deng, will also cause, oneself, to be kicked out of, the dream...

"More importantly, is, I was, during the day, contacting, the target, and didn't hint at, the existence of extraordinary power, and, the hidden, weird events...

"Contacting, Zhou Mingrui, in this, way, wouldn't cause problems...

"Is Peng Deng, more special, than, Zhou Mingrui?"

Anthony calmly examined his own state, thinking about the process of this experiment.

After feeling that he couldn't resist the tendency to become a marionette, he used the power that tried to kick him away to actively exit the dream.

He opened his eyes and saw the dark ceiling and the crimson moonlight shining through the thick curtains.

Such a scene was not available in the dream city.

Anthony had heard Franca talk about the situation in reality, simply confirmed the things he carried and the state of his body, and then turned over and got out of bed, walking toward the bathroom.

He had originally planned to go to the bathroom in the dream city too.

After a while, Anthony heard the sound of knocking on the door.

Without asking, he naturally knew that outside was Lady "Justice" and Miss Susie.

Anthony opened the door and, not surprisingly, saw the holder of the Major Arcana card and the gentle and knowledgeable golden retriever.

Without waiting for him to greet, Lady "Justice" asked in a soft voice:

"Why did you suddenly leave the dream?"

"I was kicked out," Anthony answered with a hint of doubt.

Lady "Justice" shook her head:

"Although I can no longer influence Mr. 'Fool's' dream, I have been monitoring the changes in the dream.

"I didn't find any signs of you being rejected by the dream."

"But..." Anthony didn't question Lady "Justice's" statement and told the details of how he contacted Peng Deng, how he self-isolated, and what he encountered just now, completely and thoroughly.

Lady "Justice" didn't interrupt Anthony's words, listening patiently and attentively, and then nodded gently:

"I think what you felt was inner fear. Your fear turned the description of 'Cup of Two' into substance, making you mistakenly think you were being kicked out of the dream, so you chose to actively leave.

"As a 'Psychiatrist,' you and I both know very well that this degree of fear, fear without warning, is not normal at all. This is the abnormality brought by your initial contact with Peng Deng during the day."

"Fear... Contacting Peng Deng induced my fear of being kicked out of the dream and let it reach its peak in the early morning, evolving into a near-substantial hallucination? This is also a manifestation of being watched by that Celestial Worthy? A symbol of some of His abilities? Or, Peng Deng's specialness is not directly related to that Celestial Worthy, but has another source?" Anthony recalled before and recognized Lady "Justice's" speculation. He whispered thoughtfully.

"We are also not sure, because Peng Deng's role and position in the dream city are too special. We put him in the last few links of confirming the situation. Unfortunately, we haven't reached the corresponding process yet and can no longer influence the dream. This is the first time our 'Tarot Club' has truly contacted Peng Deng in a real sense..." Speaking of this, Lady "Justice's" emerald-like gemstone eyes turned slightly, her mouth half-opened, and she stopped her subsequent words.

After two seconds, she said thoughtfully:

"Perhaps, the fact that 'we put Peng Deng in the last part to probe' itself also has certain problems, but there are too many possible reasons. 'Fooling' can completely do it...

"Whether that Celestial Worthy can unconsciously induce the fear in your heart and let it erupt at a specific time, we are also not sure. For the authority of the Sequence 0 of the 'Seer' pathway and the symbol of the corresponding existence, we know very little, especially the latter."

Although Lady "Justice" didn't tell all her speculations, Anthony still roughly knew the line of thinking she might have, and said after deliberation:

"Later, we must design more detailed experimental plans for Peng Deng to determine the source of the problem.

"What can be confirmed now is that he has a certain difference from Zhou Mingrui. The abnormalities that appear due to contacting them under the same conditions are different."

Lady "Justice" smiled and said:

"Your contact with Peng Deng this time has given me a lot of gains.

"Mm... don't be in a hurry to return to the dream. Stay outside for three hours, turn around in the villa, and eat something.

"This is not to say that there will be problems if you go back now. You weren't kicked out, so we don't have worries in this regard. This is just a simple adjustment to your psychological situation: staying in the dream city for too long makes it easy to not distinguish between reality and dream. Since you have already left, it is best to re-experience reality and deepen the corresponding psychological cognition."

"Yes, Lady 'Justice'." As a "Psychiatrist," Anthony could naturally understand the meaning of these words.

To use a word he learned in the dream city:

Nip it in the bud.

…………

Lu Mian returned to the Technology Building and continued the task of patrolling the floors with Old Xia until 12:30 AM when he got off work.

He "teleported" to the vicinity of Red Moon Hospital, then arrived outside Li Keji's ward through the world within the mirror, waiting for possible attacks.

Of course, he didn't always stay in the same position, nor did he always stay at the Red Moon Hospital.

He picked out the three time periods he felt were most suitable for assassination and only ambushed during those three time periods, sleeping or playing with his phone at home normally the rest of the time.

And during those three time periods, he would randomly choose one of the six hiding places each time, and the adjacent two times couldn't be the same.

This was to guard against Zarathustra and other Celestial Worthy subordinates thinking that someone might borrow Li Keji to ambush them and make targeted attacks in reverse.

When it was dawn, Lu Mian went out to buy breakfast.

On the way, he specifically turned into a quiet alley and met Jenna.

This was what both sides had agreed upon.

Jenna handed Ludwig to Lu Mian. She was going to the Hall Film Company for an interview today and couldn't bring the child.

Lu Mian looked around and told Jenna what happened last night, letting her share it with Franca.

Lu Mian added at the end:

"For now, contacting Zhou Mingrui during the day and hinting at the existence of extraordinary power also has risks, but won't be subjected to precise strikes. And after being remembered by Zhou Mingrui and knowing the corresponding danger, he will encounter rapid marionettization at night, which might be avoided. It's currently impossible to determine if it's an isolated attack. I'll observe Zarathustra's situation again tonight.

"You let Luo Shan find Zhou Mingrui and remind him of Zarathustra's problem again to see if he has forgotten the corresponding matter. Don't worry, after I went to Zarathustra yesterday, Zhou Mingrui should have guessed that I, Franca, and Luo Shan are in the same group. What he doesn't know for now is the existence of you and Anthony."

Just as Jenna said "Mm," both of them received a friend request from "Anred" almost at the same time.

After looking at each other, Lu Mian signaled Jenna not to be in a hurry to add, and he passed the request himself.

After "Anred" told about the situation last night and Lady "Justice's" speculation, he confirmed the other party's identity and sent a voice message with a smile:

"Go back to the rented house and talk in detail. I also have quite a harvest on my side."

"Peng Deng seems to be even more special than we imagined..." Lu Mian turned to tell Jenna about Anthony's encounter.

Jenna listened carefully, added Anthony back, waved goodbye to Lu Mian and Ludwig.

…………

Intis Group, inside the Administration Department.

When Franca and Luo Shan went to the bathroom together, taking advantage of the fact that there was no one inside, she told the other party the demand Jenna conveyed.

Luo Shan asked a bit nervously and excitedly:

"How should I hint?"

Franca brought her "Instigator" specialty into play and helped think of a set of rhetoric.

After more than half an hour, Zhou Mingrui, wearing a gray shirt, came to the Administration Department again and asked Luo Shan if there was anything in the company recently. If there was work, work overtime; if not, work overtime for a while.

Good question! Luo Shan praised Zhou Mingrui in her heart and said with a smile:

"The merger negotiation between the group and a large company has entered the formal process.

"The boss of that company is Zarathustra, who came to visit twice."

When saying the name "Zarathustra," Luo Shan looked at Zhou Mingrui, wanting to read the change in expression from his face.

Zhou Mingrui suddenly realized:

"General Manager Huang even grabbed me to pick up the plane, be the translator, and be the guide before, but unfortunately, I didn't pick him up."

"He came to the company to visit, and you weren't there either.

This was the excuse Seeing Fu Lan Ka had concocted for her.

Zhou Mingrui paused for a moment, then said thoughtfully:

"Perhaps there is some force in the dark preventing me from meeting him."

After chatting for a few more sentences, Zhou Mingrui left Luo Shan's workstation and walked toward the door.

As he passed Seeing Fu Lan Ka's seat, Seeing Fu Lan Ka suddenly spoke up:

"Watch out!"

Zhou Mingrui swiped to the side and looked toward Luo Fu.

Seeing Fu Lan Ka pointed at the wet marks on the ground and said:

"I just spilled some water on the floor; it's a bit slippery, so be careful."

"Oh, oh, you scared me." Zhou Mingrui responded with a smile.

He bypassed the area with the wet marks and exited the Administrative Department, the smile on his face gradually fading:

"Luo Fu told me to be careful? Luo Shan just mentioned Zarathustra...

"Are they teaming up to tell me to be careful of Zarathustra?

"Hmm, they really are in cahoots with Li..."

Inside the Administrative Department, Luo Shan sent a message to Seeing Fu Lan Ka:

"He has a certain level of vigilance toward that enemy; he shouldn't have forgotten your reminder."

(End of chapter)