Chapter 972: Crossover (Thanks to An_Amanises_Dog_Na for supporting the Antigonus Silver Treasure Chest)

Inside the dark hospital room, illuminated only by a sliver of moonlight, Lu Mi saw the fingers of An Xiaotian, who had been in a vegetative state for over a year, twitch slightly.

While surprised, he felt no fear; instead, a smile appeared on his face.

It's good that there's an anomaly. Only with an anomaly can more information be revealed!

If there were no changes at all, how would I be able to interpret the secrets hidden in this matter?

Lu Mi leaned against the window, staring at An Xiaotian on the hospital bed, waiting for further anomalies.

An Xiaotian's fingers twitched again.

The darkness within the room seemed to grow even deeper.

Lu Mi's gaze suddenly shifted toward the doorway of the hospital room.

The door was opened silently, and a nurse wearing a white cap walked in.

Lu Mi did not immediately "teleport" away; he hid within the shadows cast by the curtains.

He saw the nurse busying herself beside the hospital bed with a blank expression, occasionally adjusting instruments or changing infusion bags, yet her hands remained empty, and nothing was hanging on the IV stand.

Through the open door, Lu Mi discovered that more than a dozen people had appeared in the dimly lit corridor at some point.

There were nurses pushing empty carts, women in patient gowns walking back and forth, and men moving their arms as they walked, as bustling as if it were midday.

Yet it was the middle of the night, and they didn't make a single sound, nor was there any expression on their faces.

After a moment of thought, Lu Mi took the initiative to step out of the shadows.

The nurse busy beside An Xiaotian didn't even glance at him, as if he were merely a puff of air.

Lu Mi walked out of the room at a steady pace, placing himself among the coming and going nurses and patients.

When the man moving his arms was about to collide with him, he naturally bypassed him, never once looking at him throughout the process.

Lu Mi, hands in his pockets, watched them, as if he were not in the same world as they were.

The nurse pushing the empty treatment cart turned around and walked straight toward Lu Mi.

Just as they were about to bump into each other, the nurse stopped abruptly, opened her mouth, and uttered a single word:

"Lit..."

Her voice ceased abruptly, and with a blank expression, she bypassed Lu Mi.

Behind her was the female patient who had been walking; she also arrived in front of Lu Mi and began to speak:

"tle..."

Little... careful? Careful of what? Lu Mi's spirit lifted, feeling that this trip had not been in vain.

The female patient also only said one word before bypassing Lu Mi; behind her was another nurse.

Just as that nurse opened her mouth, Lu Mi suddenly heard a buzzing sound.

The lights at the end of the corridor, which had already been dimmed, began to flicker, alternating rapidly between bright and dark.

Almost simultaneously, Lu Mi felt an uncomfortable sensation of being rejected by the surrounding environment, as if he were about to be squeezed out.

He saw the nurse in front of him rapidly stepping backward, while the female patient who had just bypassed him retreated to his front, then continued to move backward.

Just like that, the scenes Lu Mi had seen and the events he had encountered began to rewind at an extreme speed, as if he had accidentally pressed the corresponding button while watching surveillance footage.

A strong sense of fear suddenly erupted from the bottom of Lu Mi's heart, which even his "Ascetic" endurance could not suppress.

He felt that if he stayed here any longer, he would encounter something truly terrifying, and might even be directly locked onto by that Celestial Worthy, leaving him with no future opportunities to come to the dream city!

Without hesitation, he activated the black mark on his right shoulder and disappeared from the corridor of the current ward.

Lu Mi's "teleportation" destination was not the rental apartment in Xinhong Residential District, but the entrance of the Star Dream Grocery Store.

At this time, the Star Dream Grocery Store was already closed, but not far away was the Dream City Police Department, and many rooms in the corresponding building still had their lights on.

Lu Mi calmly examined his own feelings, discovering that the fear was rapidly receding, and the uncomfortable sensation of being rejected by the surrounding environment was gone.

"Is it an anomaly targeting that area, or rather, a gaze? Once I leave, is there no problem?"

"Those nurses and patients were being manipulated by An Xiaotian in his vegetative state, trying to tell me something, and as a result, it triggered an anomaly in the dream?"

"What he wanted to tell me must be critical; it actually triggered such a violent change, not giving him any chance to continue... If Franca were to find Zhou Mingrui at night and try to tell him the whole story, then in all likelihood, it would be the same as just now—barely having started before being forcibly rewound or kicked out of the dream..."

"What exactly does An Xiaotian want to warn me about... careful of whom?"

There were too many potential subjects to guess; Lu Mi couldn't find a train of thought for a moment.

He felt it was necessary to "contact" An Xiaotian again, but the prerequisite was to find a way to bypass the restrictions and let the other party say at least two more words.

If the information An Xiaotian wanted to convey was critical, Lu Mi would not begrudge the number of times he was kicked out of the dream; even if his subsequent opportunities were to be consumed, he was willing to do it.

It's no big deal if I'm completely kicked out; I still have teammates.

As long as I can get the critical information, sacrificing myself is very worthwhile.

Must trust the teammates!

…………

Late at night, Dechuang Garden, Room 2303.

Franca was awakened by the sound of her phone vibrating.

She picked it up and saw it was a voice call request from "Idiot."

Uh... before Franca could answer, Lu Mi had already hung up and then sent a message.

The reason he did this was that messages and voice call logs could be deleted using the "Information Shredder," whereas the content of a voice call could not, and it might be monitored.

Glancing at the awakened Jenna, Franca carefully read Lu Mi's message.

As she read, Franca's expression changed.

She lowered her voice and said:

"Boss Huang might have a problem..."

"Zarathul has been trying to contact Zhou Mingrui on the surface during this time, but in reality, he is using the Roselle in the mirror to erode and influence Boss Huang... Too damn insidious!"

Jenna leaned over and finished reading Lu Mi's message.

She also couldn't help but frown:

"If Boss Huang stands on the Celestial Worthy's side, things will be troublesome..."

"Troublesome is an understatement. With people, money, and influence, how are we supposed to play? Should we take Zhou Mingrui to rent a place near the police department and find jobs that Boss Huang can't influence?" Franca felt more and more of a headache the more she thought about it. "He wants us to confirm whether Boss Huang is abnormal, but how do we confirm that? If he suddenly announces he's had gender reassignment surgery, does that mean he's completely controlled by the Roselle in the mirror?"

Jenna thought for a moment and said:

"If Boss Huang is really controlled and can't be saved, we can sacrifice one person to kill Boss Huang and let Huang Beibei become the CEO of the Intis Group."

"Good idea..." Franca's mouth twitched. "If Boss Huang is really controlled, it means he is the Roselle in the mirror, a Beyonder with Angel-level status. Moreover, he has Zarathul helping him and powerful security personnel protecting him. Even if the four of us joined forces, it would be tough to assassinate him, let alone just separating one person to do it..."

Speaking of this, Franca said with bitter humor:

"Besides, Huang Beibei still has two younger brothers; it's not certain it would be her turn to inherit the CEO position..."

As she spoke, Franca suddenly froze.

After she and Jenna looked at each other, their eyes lit up, and they blurted out:

"Huang Beibei!"

The best person to confirm whether Boss Huang is abnormal is Huang Beibei!

Relying on Franca and Jenna themselves, unless they forcibly infiltrated and spied in secret, whether they could even encounter Boss Huang would depend on luck, let alone testing him.

"How do we contact Huang Beibei and persuade her?" Franca's first reaction was to find Luo Shan and ask if she had Huang Beibei's phone number or WeChat.

As her eyes turned, Franca's smile blossomed, her face full of smugness:

"I have a way!"

"What way?" Jenna asked expectantly.

Franca cleared her throat and said:

"The person we should be looking for isn't Huang Beibei, but Bei Er Na Dai.

"We will write a letter to the Major Arcana cards tomorrow and let them contact that 'Mysterious Queen.' If Bei Er Na Dai still has the opportunity to enter the dream, then she will naturally handle it; we don't need to persuade or instigate her.

"Inside and outside the dream, online and offline, they can be linked!"

Jenna nodded slowly and said:

"If the 'Mysterious Queen' can no longer enter, then we will consider how to contact and 'instigate' Huang Beibei."

"We can formulate the plan now." Franca no longer felt sleepy.

Jenna thought seriously for a few seconds and said:

"This matter is very important. I don't think we can wait until tomorrow to write the letter. I will actively leave the dream now and tell the Major Arcana cards guarding the villa about Boss Huang's problem."

Franca pondered for a while and said:

"Good. It's not frequent entry and exit of the dream, just an occasional one; it won't be a problem and won't affect the number of times we are kicked out of the dream."

Jenna immediately changed her posture to leaning back.

Under the current circumstances, she could not use the dream's rejection to actively leave; she could only use meditation to enter that state of emptying her thoughts, and then imagine herself jumping down from a high place.

Amidst the sensation of falling rapidly while losing weight, Jenna woke up abruptly.

She opened her eyes, rolled out of bed, and confirmed whether she had returned to reality.

Then, she opened the door and walked out, following the stairs downward.

Guarding them in the living room tonight was Lady "Justice," wearing a white dress with gold trim.

"Is there an emergency?" Lady "Justice" stood up and asked.

Without Jenna needing to emphasize it further, she already knew the severity of the problem.

Jenna nodded and recounted Lu Mi's speculation, Franca's information, and Zarathul's recent contact with Huang Tao.

Lady "Justice" nodded gently:

"We will contact the 'Mysterious Queen' immediately."

She raised her right hand and quickly sketched a small bird in mid-air.

The bird was transparent and dreamlike, chirping a few times before circling and landing toward Lady "Justice," merging into her body and disappearing without a trace.

"This is a dream messenger I wove; it can use the collective subconscious sea to travel to the specific target," Lady "Justice" explained simply.

She paused and continued:

"Since you have returned to reality, I will tell you directly about An Xiaotian.

"At that time, I had already been kicked out of the dream once and had started preparing to film 'The Great Pirate 3.' This was not only because I wanted to show the experiences of Gehrman Sparrow to the dream image of Mr. 'Fool' to try to awaken his memory and let him wake up, but also because I was exploring how to realize a sentence Mr. 'Fool' had told us:

"'The World' wakes, 'The Fool' returns."

PS: Thanks to An_Amanises_Dog_Na for supporting the Antigonus Silver Treasure Chest~

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 973 =====