Chapter 947: Equivalent Exchange |
Amon? Jenna, standing beside the car, was stunned.
She vaguely understood why she had been able to arrive at the Star Dream Provisions Store early and escape that deadly "hallucination" at the most critical moment.
In this matter, Amon had provided help, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable!
She and Franca had already estimated the risks to the greatest extent possible, but they still hadn't anticipated that the real situation would be so terrifying that she wouldn't even have a chance to exit the dream!
This was even with her being a Demoness, with survival abilities and life-saving skills among the top of same-Sequence Beyonders.
Indeed, Amon and His father are on the same side as us in awakening Mr. Fool, just with different desired paces of progress, so He only provided help once until now. Hmm, this help was aimed at that evil god of the Fantasy Association. If I had failed my mission today and died, would the painting have returned to Luo Shan on its own, leading to developments that Amon and His father don't want to see? In an instant, Jenna thought of many things, not even having time to feel fear in hindsight.
"Please help close the car door," Amon, with the monocle clasped in His right eye socket, reminded Jenna with a smile, just like a real ride-hailing driver.
Only then did Jenna return to normal, closing the car door with her free hand.
Watching the white sedan drive smoothly away from the street, Jenna, hugging the precipice painting, rushed into the Star Dream Provisions Store without any regard for her image.
Only then did she feel a surge of confusion.
How could Amon accurately accept my order?
How did He know we had obtained this painting and were going to send it to the Star Dream Provisions Store today?
With everyone being suppressed to Sequence 7, it's impossible to be so precise with prophecies and divinations…
Could it be that true gods are a bit more special in the Dream City, subject to different restrictions than us?
So, did Amon "coincidentally" save me with the help of His father?
This could also explain why this painting was so difficult for me to resist, not even giving me a chance to save myself. If we were all at the Sequence 7 level, it shouldn't have been like this. Or perhaps I actually had a chance to break free from its influence, but being my first encounter with this type of attack, I made mistakes in my response and failed to notice details that could have been utilized? Jenna looked at the oil painting in her arms, suppressing her thoughts, and walked to the cashier at the very back of the Star Dream Provisions Store.
This could also explain why this painting was so difficult for me to resist, not even giving me a chance to save myself. If we were all at the Sequence 7 level, it shouldn't have been like this. Or perhaps I actually had a chance to break free from its influence, but being my first encounter with this type of attack, I made mistakes in my response and failed to notice details that could have been utilized? Jenna looked at the oil painting in her arms, suppressing her thoughts, and walked to the cashier at the very back of the Star Dream Provisions Store.
"Do you buy items with mystical elements?" Jenna politely asked the shopkeeper who was playing with her phone.
The shopkeeper slowly raised her head, and the blazing sunlight outside suddenly appeared to be obscured by clouds.
"Yes, we do," she said with a slight smile at Jenna.
They really buy them? Jenna's heart leapt with joy, and she quickly placed the oil painting on the counter.
"Could you take a look and see if it meets your requirements? How much is it worth?"
The shopkeeper reached out a hand, bringing the painting in front of her, and after looking at it for a few seconds, said, "Thirty thousand."
How much? Jenna instinctively doubted her ears.
It wasn't that she thought this bizarre oil painting had no mystical value or wasn't worth thirty thousand dollars, but rather that for her and Franca, this painting was a burden, a danger, something they would pay to get rid of.
If the shopkeeper had said she would take the painting for thirty thousand, Jenna thought that after discussing with Franca, they would grit their teeth and pay.
As thoughts raced through her mind, Jenna considered a possibility.
The shopkeeper of the Star Dream Provisions Store was clearly an ally, and her current behavior was to provide more funds for their team!
And money had a very important symbolic meaning in the dream city.
Not giving it directly, but using this opportunity of buying mystical items as the method… Is this because certain rules of the dream city have to be satisfied, rules that even gods can't violate? Equivalent exchange? If that's the case, it must have been quite difficult for the Major Arcana card holders to provide two thousand in startup funds for each person… As Jenna pondered this, she subconsciously thought about whether she should haggle and try to raise the price a bit.
Since they were allies, they should be happy to see such behavior, as it meant they could provide more help.
After brief consideration, Jenna abandoned this idea.
The person across from her was the manifestation or projection of a true god. The price She quoted must have been carefully considered to be the most suitable, appropriate, and least likely to cause anomalies.
In terms of dream consciousness, every item has an estimated price. If the transaction price is too high, it would be considered problematic and might involve illegal activities, inevitably leading to reactive changes later? Thinking of this, Jenna responded to the shopkeeper, "Alright."
When the shopkeeper actually transferred thirty thousand yuan to her, she suddenly regretted letting Ludwig eat all the other paintings.
Those might have been worth some money too!
However, those were just painted by Luo Shan, probably not worth much, maybe just equivalent to Ludwig's late-night snack fee…
"Thank you," Jenna thanked the shopkeeper again and turned to walk out of the Star Dream Provisions Store.
The bright and brilliant sunlight from high above fell on her, finally giving her the feeling that the danger had completely passed.
Only then did she begin to feel fear in hindsight.
She still had many things she wanted to do, and several people she couldn't bear to part with.
…
At the entrance of the Tech Building.
Franca, wearing low-heeled shoes, carefully ascended the steps.
Her current attire was something she had never worn before, instinctively giving her a sense of insecurity and embarrassment.
This also made her more sensitive to the gazes and appraisals around her. She felt that the admiring ones were still acceptable, but those she previously considered impolite and a bit disgusting seemed to have increased, or perhaps she just noticed them more. Some people hurried past her, then turned back to look after taking a few steps, thinking they were being discreet, revealing slightly disappointed expressions.
This seemed to be because her makeup, attire, and appearance didn't quite match what they had imagined after seeing her figure and clothes.
Why are you being disappointed, asshole!? Franca secretly gave the middle finger and cursed under her breath.
She finished climbing the stairs and looked towards the security guard at the entrance, but didn't see Lumian.
I thought we could communicate with eye contact at the entrance, pretending not to know each other on the surface, just like in some spy dramas… Franca muttered silently, entering the lobby and walking towards the elevator area.
Inside the surveillance room.
Lumian sat in front of several large screens divided into multiple scenes, carefully scrutinizing each image from a not-so-short distance—yesterday's minor incident had given the security director Grimm an excuse to arrange for him to watch the surveillance cameras and patrol floors on rotation, no longer needing him to guard the main entrance.
Lumian quickly noticed Franca in the elevator area.
Although she had deliberately made herself less attractive, wearing old-fashioned black-framed glasses and clothes she had never worn before, he still recognized her.
It's a pity that Lie now only equates to top-level makeup skills and can't adjust height and figure to a certain extent, otherwise the disguise effect would be better. As it is now, it's still too eye-catching… Lumian commented inwardly.
Seeing him watching so intently, the security guard sitting next to him rolled his eyes and said, clutching his stomach, "Li, my stomach hurts. I'm going to take a dump. Keep an eye on things yourself."
Is this what they call getting paid to poop online? Lumian chuckled inwardly and said, "Okay."
This couldn't be better, maybe there's even a chance to check yesterday's surveillance footage and see how Zhou Mingrui reacted to my employment in private, what he did!
After his colleague had really gone to the bathroom outside the surveillance room, Lumian saw that Franca had finally managed to squeeze into an elevator after two failed attempts.
Suddenly, on the big screen, several images showing the situation inside the surveillance room went black.
Wh— Lumian didn't move.
Just two or three seconds later, there was an additional person beside him.
It was security director Grimm, wearing a thin blue suit.
Grimm, looking at the big screen, said in an seemingly casual manner, "Be careful of Huang Tao."
Be careful of Huang Tao? What relationship could Mr. Huang have with me, a male security guard? Lumian was puzzled and asked calmly, "Why?"
Maintaining his posture of watching the surveillance footage, Grimm explained briefly, "He has betrayed Mother and is no longer Mother's child."
No longer… He was before, but not now? Madam Magician mentioned that in the Vortex event, although Emperor Roselle perished, he also severely injured the strongest Broker, breaking free from the corruption of the Great Mother and retaining hope for resurrection… This and Amon obtaining Mr. Fool's consent to reborrow power from His past self are different components of the same event… So, Mr. Fool learned about Emperor Roselle's status, his subconscious cognition changed accordingly, causing Huang Tao in the dream city to no longer secretly harbor the corruption of the Great Mother? Lumian preliminarily sorted out the logic.
This also made him realize a problem.
Previously, he only knew that accidents and encounters in the dream might reflect in reality, bringing about real death or problematic advancements, but at this moment, he believed that changes in reality could also affect the dream, provided that Mr. Fool truly perceived it.
The dream and reality are not one-way, they can interact… Lumian remembered this discovery, then turned to smile at Grimm.
"Don't you find it strange that as a Child of God, I'm not female?"
Grimm showed a confused expression.
"Mother's children can be of any gender, or even genderless, or multiple genders.
"These are not important. What's important is the ability to procreate and bring new life.
"Child of God, why do you ask such a question?"
Grimm's brow furrowed slightly.
Of course, it's to test you! Lumian laughed inwardly in response.
He was testing whether Grimm only sensed that he was a Child of God, or if he knew more specifically that the current Child of God was Omebella, like Hand Bro.
If Grimm knew that he "was" Omebella, he would be confused about the gender discrepancy. Otherwise, it would indicate that he indeed lacked the necessary wisdom and was more like an NPC as Franca had said, but influenced by the Great Mother.
This also proved from another angle that there was a big problem with Hand Bro being able to call out the name Omebella.
Lumian smiled and said to Grimm, "I thought Mother had already let you know my true identity."
As he spoke, his hair gradually lengthened, and the lines of his face quickly softened.
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