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Chapter 987: Calamity

What has Li Keji done again? Franca took a light breath.

She reflexively wanted to check and confirm, hoping to prevent more dangerous things from happening in time, but as soon as she moved her body, she remembered she was still sick and didn't have the ability.

Jenna can't go either; she still has to watch Lumina and not let her run around… Anthony has another task… We certainly can't let Lumina go, the outcome would either be Lumina covered in mushrooms all over her body, or Li Keji getting pregnant… After thinking it through, Franca decided to wait a bit, wait until Lumian returned to the dream city, and go himself.

Li Keji is an ally, no need to worry too much… Li Keji is an ally, no need to worry too much… Franca kept repeating these words to herself.

She planned to forward this news to Lumian, so he would know what happened as soon as he returned to the dream city.

Just as Franca was about to select the option, she suddenly froze.

Shit, I almost slipped up…

Isn't the current Lumian actually Lumina?

Being sick really messes with your head…

Good thing I realized in time…

Inside the Tianyue Hotel, in the room next to Zaratulstra's.

The two bodyguards who had originally been following Zaratulstra appeared here, with an elderly man with white hair but a youthful face standing in front of them.

This elderly man wore white training clothes and had his hands behind his back. He paced back and forth near the wall and said, "Still no clues about the killer?"

"No, we can only be certain that a Demoness was definitely involved," one of the bodyguards answered.

The elderly man in white training clothes pondered for a moment and said, "Zhou Mingrui couldn't have appeared at the Shujin Hot Pot Restaurant for no reason; such a coincidence is unlikely.

"Investigate who invited him there, or rather, who induced him to invite people to eat there.

"Luo Shan and Luo Fu, who ate hot pot with him, are key subjects for investigation."

"Yes, Mr. Cui," the two bodyguards responded in unison.

The elderly man referred to as "Mr. Cui" considered for a few seconds and then said, "Be careful when investigating Luo Shan. Previous feedback indicates that Luo Shan belongs to an otherworldly evil god and is a potential collaborator with considerable strength."

The two bodyguards acknowledged and left the room.

After pacing for quite a while, Mr. Cui brought his own bodyguard and silently opened the door to leave.

He deliberately didn't tell the two previous bodyguards that he would also investigate Luo Shan, that he would secretly follow them. If they stepped into a trap or encountered an accident, he would be able to glimpse the truth, catching any adversaries by surprise.

Out of the room, Mr. Cui walked unhurriedly along the thickly carpeted corridor towards the elevator area.

In one of the ventilation openings on the ceiling of the corridor, a pair of eyes was quietly observing him.

Those eyes were deep brown, completely blending into the darkness.

They belonged to Zhou Mingrui.

Zhou Mingrui had somehow sneaked into the ceiling of the corridor at an unknown time, observing every move of Zaratulstra's bodyguards and followers, and observing Mr. Cui's situation.

This was because, when he got up this morning and opened the door to get some good breakfast, he found a letter stuffed in the door crack, with a printed paper pasted on the envelope surface that read "For Zhou Mingrui".

At that time, Zhou Mingrui perplexedly opened this letter and found a photo inside, a secretly taken photo of "Mr. Cui".

On the back of the photo was also paper and text: "This is Zaratulstra's assistant. He will inherit Zaratulstra's will and do some things targeting you."

After reading the content on the back of the photo, Zhou Mingrui's spirit immediately tensed.

He believed this was a reminder from the group that shot Zaratulstra last night. He even suspected that Luo Shan inviting him to eat at the Shujin Hot Pot Restaurant was to let him witness Zaratulstra's death.

What exactly does Zaratulstra's group want to do to me? And what does the group that killed him want to do? Zhou Mingrui couldn't figure out the answer and finally decided to come and secretly observe the target person to see if he could discover any clues.

He thus confirmed that Mr. Cui, who lived next door to Zaratulstra and had no apparent connection to Zaratulstra's negotiation team on the surface, was indeed part of Zaratulstra's group.

He is indeed suspicious, Zhou Mingrui nodded slightly in the darkness within the ceiling.

At the same time, he also noticed some other oddities.

He originally thought he would be inexperienced and clumsy at crawling through ventilation ducts, climbing ceilings, and secretly monitoring, making many mistakes, but in actual operation, he had a strange sense of familiarity and very smoothly accomplished his intended purpose.

This relied on more than just the power of an Assassin.

Yesterday too, when I saw Zaratulstra being shot, I wasn't nervous at all, nor panicked, very calm… Is this the psychological quality of a qualified Assassin, or is there another reason? Zhou Mingrui fell into deep thought.

He vaguely suspected that it wasn't just this world that he didn't understand enough, but also himself.

Mr. Cui, accompanied by his bodyguard, took the elevator to the first floor.

Just as he had taken a few steps towards the revolving door, he suddenly raised both hands to cover his neck.

He felt the rapid arrival of marionettization, and also felt the rejection of the dream.

His breathing became difficult, as if his whole being had been thrown into a void without any objects.

How could this be? Mr. Cui's pupils dilated, not daring to force himself to stay, and voluntarily exited the dream.

Thud!

His bodyguard suddenly collapsed and died on the spot.

A small insect flying nearby also fell to the ground with a splat, motionless.

In the temporary parking lot at the entrance of the Tianyue Hotel, Anthony, sitting in the driver's seat with Ludwig, calmly watched this scene.

The other Seer pathway demigod mentioned by the magic mirror Arrodes had also been kicked out of the dream!

And once the other party lost control of their marionette, the latter was essentially dead.

Lumian and the others, with information provided by the magic mirror Arrodes, hadn't ignored the Seer pathway demigod living next door to Zaratulstra who had helped Zaratulstra discover intruders before. But they all understood that before dealing with Zaratulstra, it wasn't appropriate to act against Mr. Cui, as that would alert them. So, they only secretly photographed Mr. Cui, and after the hot pot restaurant operation was over, Anthony, the only one who could still do things normally, stuffed the pre-prepared envelope into the door crack of Zhou Mingrui's home early the next morning.

With Lumian kicked out of the dream, Franca seriously ill, and Jenna needing to look after two people, Anthony obviously couldn't deal with Mr. Cui on his own, so he could only "get" Zhou Mingrui's help.

Anthony watched the hotel staff hurriedly coming to check on the collapsed bodyguard and the bewildered Mr. Cui, not getting out of the car, taking the opportunity to eliminate the latter's dream manifestation.

It wasn't that he didn't want to, but after his observation, he found that there were police personnel discreetly deployed near Mr. Cui. If he were to act, even with Psychological Invisibility, he wouldn't be able to escape.

That would mean he was confronting the main consciousness of the dream, and the consequences could be more severe than being kicked out of the dream!

Anthony waited patiently, never finding an opportunity, so he decided to act after Lumian returned to the dream city.

When it came to covert killing, Lumian was more skilled than him, Jenna, and Franca!

Anthony chose to go back to rest last night and stuff another letter the next day, rather than going directly, in order to create a time difference.

Under the premise that the corresponding dream manifestation hasn't been killed, the time interval for those kicked out of the dream to return was about the same. If Anthony had reminded Zhou Mingrui last night, then Mr. Cui's return to the dream city and regaining control of his dream manifestation wouldn't be much later than Lumian's, at most a few hours later, and in those few hours, Lumian might not find an opportunity to make his dream manifestation die unknowingly.

Now, after Lumian returned around seven or eight in the evening, he would have nearly a day to plot the murder of Mr. Cui's dream manifestation.

In Room 2303 of Dechuang Garden.

Just past 7 pm in the evening, Franca and Jenna, who had been watching Lumina constantly, saw this beautiful woman suddenly change her appearance, becoming male.

Lumian immediately took the Lie earring, changing his facial features in a direction not too similar to Li Ming.

Franca took the opportunity to tell him about the mushroom set meals at Crimson Moon Hospital.

Lumian nodded. "I'll go deal with the other matter first."

As he said this, he stood up.

Franca held back her laughter and pointed at him. "Change your clothes first, don't walk away wearing Jenna's nightgown."

Lumian looked down and discovered that Lumina had been wearing Jenna's nightgown all along.

At 10 pm, in a white car parked by the roadside, Lumian was on his phone as if bored, seemingly waiting for someone.

They had rented a new car, because the previous car was registered under the name "Luo Fu", and if a car rented by Luo Fu happened to appear near the scene of Mr. Cui's death, the suspicion on Franca would be strong enough for an immediate arrest.

Lumian waited for a while, and through the rearview mirror, he saw Mr. Cui walking alone, preparing to cross the intersection to return to the Tianyue Hotel.

As Mr. Cui passed by his vehicle, Lumian's eyes suddenly took on a silver-white color with black.

Eye of Calamity!

Before Mr. Cui had passed the rearview mirror, he had already found the fate branch leading to the other's doom.

In the next second, Lumian hid his left hand wearing the Circle of Binding and slightly raised his right palm.

He touched Mr. Cui's main fate trunk from afar and violently pushed it towards the branch that appeared black.

His spirituality poured out frantically, his expression unchanged, his movements as usual.

Mr. Cui's dream manifestation was completely unaware of this, and the police monitoring him from hidden spots didn't notice anything unusual.

Mr. Cui continued walking for about fifteen to twenty meters, stepping onto the pedestrian crossing.

By now it was truly night, and there weren't many people on this road, nor many cars.

Suddenly, a car driving from afar seemed to lose control due to excessive speed, directly running the red light.

Mr. Cui saw this scene, his pupils suddenly dilating.

Bang!

He was hit and sent flying, his head heavily hitting the ground.

Then, he was run over by the out-of-control car, dying as thoroughly as possible.

Comments 49

  1. Offline
    (115) Chapter 999: Opportunity
    Chapters 997 - 998 in comments to chapter 985.

    As the surrounding collapse gradually spread toward their location, and after hearing Luo Shan’s clearly frightened question, Franca and Jenna exchanged a glance. They quickly decided and told Luo Shan:

    "Try to draw a door leading to the outside world as soon as you can!"

    It was evident that they could no longer move forward, searching between the elevator and the safety exit.

    "Got it!" Luo Shan nodded firmly.

    She turned her body, one hand holding a pen and the other tightly gripping a pencil, and began swiftly drawing on the wall.

    At this moment, Franca and Jenna noticed that those foreign pregnant women who had given birth to monstrous babies started swarming toward their group.

    These creatures seemed to fear falling into the abyss below, doing everything they could to avoid such a fate, to the point that they forgot their primary target: attacking their enemies.

    Since they were so close to Jenna’s group, the monstrous babies quickly closed the distance to just two meters. Some of them once again locked eyes on Franca, Jenna, and Luo Shan, their fierce and aggressive desires to attack rising sharply.

    Just at that moment, a thick "ice wall" appeared in front of them.

    A shimmering layer of ice, shaped like a dome, enveloped Franca’s group. This was a creation of Jenna.

    Seeing the grotesque monsters, some of them cube-shaped, some like small beds, others with heads resembling lightbulbs, crawling densely on the surface of the ice dome and attempting various methods to shatter this barrier, Franca felt her trypophobia and aichmophobia both threatening to trigger simultaneously.

    She conjured quiet yet eerie Demoness`s Black Flames around her, awaiting the moment when the first layer of ice would break apart.

    Seven or eight seconds later, the beautiful shimmering ice wall emitted a crisp cracking sound as the monstrous babies’ attacks took effect.

    Clusters of black flames quickly flew out from Franca and Jenna’s vicinity, slipping through the expanding cracks and igniting nearly twenty of the monstrous babies.

    They were soon engulfed in flames, screaming and writhing, impeding many of their siblings from advancing, and spreading fire to the surrounding area.

    Seizing this opportunity, before the ice dome completely shattered, Franca and Jenna worked together to create a second layer of ice, only ten centimeters away from the previous one.

    "Done!" Luo Shan's voice rang out.

    Franca and Jenna, while continuing to fend off the advancing monstrous babies, glanced expectantly at the drawing on the wall.

    It was a vivid depiction of a door, drawn in pencil and blue ink, with a room number "1502" written above it.

    This was the door to Luo Shan’s home, almost identical to the one in Franca and Jenna’s memories, though the colors were slightly different.

    They were close to completing the drawing!

    Luo Shan pressed her thumb against the door’s lock on the drawing, causing it to emit a releasing sound.

    She then twisted her hand, pushing open the door she had drawn to her home.

    Behind the door was a dim light, encircling all the items within room 1502, but they appeared strangely ethereal.

    As the ethereal objects gradually solidified, Luo Shan’s delighted expression suddenly froze.

    She saw the windows collapsing, her balcony collapsing, all of it falling toward the dense, dark Abyss below!

    The door she had drawn, the passage it created, was also collapsing, just like the surroundings.

    "No…" Luo Shan muttered in a near-whisper.

    Her eyes, filled with both despair and hope, turned toward Franca and Jenna, hoping they could come up with a new solution.

    At that moment, the closest collapse had already swallowed the original hallway, causing the wooden doors separating both sides to shake and fall.

    The distance to Franca’s group had grown dangerously small.

    Through the gaps between the monstrous babies, Franca could see more clearly into the endless, thick darkness, where something seemed to lurk.

    That obscure figure, wrapped in a gigantic cloak, appeared to be stirred by the wind, with the cloak itself flapping wildly.

    Even from such a great distance, Franca could vaguely make out the shape, and the terror inside her surged without warning.

    Her skin began to turn slightly transparent, and the flesh underneath started writhing, as if it had gained a life of its own.

    Franca instinctively looked away, pulling her gaze back. Suddenly, she understood:

    What she had just seen was Mr. Fool’s or Celestial Worthy’s deepest subconscious fear, the most intense psychological trauma!

    That clearly transcended the forces suppressing them in this dream-like realm. If they couldn't escape and fell into the Abyss along with the hallway, death might be the most gentle and merciful outcome.

    Franca shook her head vigorously, as if trying to shake off some "sticker" thoughts clinging to her mind.

    As Jenna used a third ice wall to hold off the monstrous babies, Franca pulled out an Ice Amulet and a mirror.

    She said to Jenna and Luo Shan:

    "We’ll escape through the mirror world. Its hidden dangers and horrors can’t be worse than the shadow of fear at the bottom of this Abyss!"

    Between two evils, choose the lesser one!

    "Alright," Jenna agreed. Luo Shan, lacking experience, trusted her companions.

    The Ice Amulet in Franca’s hand began to glow with a clear light.

    But a second later, Franca realized that the surface of the crystal mirror had unknowingly turned pitch black, solid as rock, and impenetrable.

    "It’s not working… This is different from before…" Franca struggled to hide the rising despair in her voice.

    Were they really going to fall into that bottomless Abyss and face the full force of that terrifying shadow of fear?

    "Not working?" Jenna’s actions slowed for a moment as she unleashed another wave of Demoness’s Black Flames against the monstrous babies.

    Luo Shan stood frozen for a moment before hesitantly asking, "No way at all?"

    Upon hearing this, Jenna gritted her teeth and created yet another ice dome.

    The monstrous babies were crawling all over the outer surface of the ice wall, densely packed, with less than a meter between them and Franca’s group.

    The collapsing hallway was approaching their area.

    Franca’s mind raced, her eyes flickering as she said, "I have another plan!"

    While speaking, she pulled out the black eyeball left from Panadia, the resurrected female corpse, and other supporting materials from her Traveler’s Bag.

    "I’ll ascend as the Demoness of Despair!

    "And I’ve already been subtly influencing this hallway monster with Sickness, which will save us a lot of time."

    The monstrous babies crawling over Jenna’s ice wall, along with those behind them, were now within three meters of Franca, their numbers approaching a thousand.

    "It’s useless. The Demoness of Despair is still restricted to Sequence 7, at most reaching Sequence 6. It can’t forcibly open the way to the mirror world!" Jenna reflexively argued.

    She was trying to stay calm, but the swarming monsters had rattled her, and she barely managed to create a new ice dome just sixty centimeters away.

    Franca, while using the resurrected female corpse’s extraordinary traits to condense an even more potent virus, poured a healing potion for herself and reminded Jenna:

    "You should also take a moment to drink a bottle, Luo Shan just drank one." Then, Franca quickly explained:

    "The important thing isn't that I ascended to Demoness of Despair, but that every Demoness ascension attracts the attention of the 'Primordial Demoness.' I need her gaze!"

    Seeing Jenna drink the healing potion, Franca helped hold the defense line and asked:

    "Does Mr. Fool know about the 'Primordial Demoness?"

    "He definitely knows," Jenna replied without hesitation.

    "Mr. Fool has had multiple encounters with the Demoness cult, so he must be aware of the 'Primordial Demoness's existence."

    Franca looked at the collapsed medical bed in the hallway and said to Jenna and Luo Shan, "Let's move to the center, buying as much time as possible."

    The collapse of both sides of the hallway was almost equal, but it was clear that Franca's group was getting closer to one side.

    Without waiting for Jenna and Luo Shan's response, Franca suddenly withdrew the force maintaining the ice wall and sprinted at her fastest speed to the central section of the hallway, about ten to twenty meters ahead.

    Luo Shan ran even faster.

    After determining their position, Jenna once again condensed an ice wall, blocking the small monsters chasing after them, while Franca continued to spread mysterious pathogens around them.

    She quickly explained:

    "If Mr. Fool knows about the Primordial Demoness, then there must be a corresponding representation of the Primordial Demoness in this dreamscape; we just haven't found it yet. And True Gods can directly enter the Dreamscape City.

    "If I ascend here, my real self will also ascend. Based on our experiences, no matter what state the Primordial Demoness is in, whether good or bad, she will surely cast her gaze on us.

    "As a True God, it won't be hard for Her to notice my consciousness in the real Dreamscape. There's a high chance She will project herself here, using the Dreamscape image, and truly focus on me as I ascend in the underground section of the Mushu hospital.

    "She probably won't risk descending here, and She certainly don't have the emotions or motivation to save me. But as the ruler of the world within the mirror, simply focusing could open a passage between the mirror world and this area, and potentially cause the dangers within the mirror world to temporarily recede!"

    "That's not guaranteed," Jenna blurted out, her tone both worried and confused.

    This place is a product of the psychological shadow of a great being and the Deep Abyss symbol of the Mother Tree of Desire. Additionally, more great beings have projected a sliver of their power here. Even if they are suppressed to lower tiers, could the Primordial Demoness'break the mirror world's veil just by focusing?

    "There's no hundred percent chance of success, but not trying guarantees failure," Franca quickly responded.

    Jenna fell silent, biting her lip, her voice trembling as she said:

    "But this could prevent you from leaving the Dreamscape, and if the Dreamscape doesn't end soon, you might die."

    Waiting for the mysterious pathogen to take effect, Franca stayed silent for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said:

    "We'll worry about that later!

    "If we don't survive now, there is no 'later!'"

    "But..." Jenna's voice suddenly choked.

    Her mind tried to grasp something, but it found nothing.

    Franca cut her off, her expression complicated as she reflected on her past naivety and love for fantasies:

    "Killing and resurrecting the female corpse, gaining extraordinary characteristics and supplementary materials, knowing that all ritual requirements in Dreamscape City would drop to Sequence 7 afterward, I wondered... Is this giving me a chance? A chance to, when everyone falls into despair with no other options, stand up like a hero, take the potion, break through in battle, forcefully ascend, reverse the outcome, save everyone, and save the world...?"

    At this point, Franca's expression calmed.

    She looked at Jenna steadily, revealing a beautiful smile:

    "Now, that chance has come."
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    1. Offline
      + 220 -
      I think Franсa will be able to
      before the end of the Dream, because she will learn the truth about "her world".
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      1. Offline
        + 130 -
        maybe even lose control
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    2. Online Offline
      + 120 -
      Bruh, this all sounds like something Adam and Amon would arrange, but are they really capable of doing this much?
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      1. Offline
        + 180 -
        I think it's too much for them... After all, this is the territory of the Fool and CW. + the influence of the Outer Deities. It seems to me that Adam's next "Great Plan" is bad for the plot, after all, he is not even the Great Old One now
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        1. Online Offline
          + 60 -
          Franca saw something resemble Clock in dark abyss, do you think it is has something to do with Amon? Amon is someone Klein fear the most?
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          1. Offline
            + 170 -
            it's CW
            CW is the most deepest subconscious fear, the most intense psychological trauma
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            1. Online Offline
              + 30 -
              Why he appear in a form of clock?
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              1. Offline
                + 160 -
                today chapter's description is the same for CW description when klein looked inside the sefirah castle
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                1. Online Offline
                  + 30 -
                  Ohk
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          2. Offline
            + 130 -
            This is the psychological trauma of Mr. Fool, not Amon's true body. The question here is whether Amon could have replaced this "trauma" with himself to force Franca advances to Sequence 4. It seems to me that He is not strong enough for this, even True Gods are afraid to enter Mushu Hospital. Although, maybe it is possible for a short moment, to implement Their plan... If it was Amon of course
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            1. Online Offline
              + 90 -
              It's kinda weird to be honest, if someone say it was done by Adam and Amon i would probably believe it, cause it's always fill like those f#ckers can do anything they want.
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          3. Offline
            + 120 -
            Where did you saw clock, isn't it cloak?
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              + 60 -
              Okay my bad, for some reason i read it as Clock.
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        2. Offline
          + 110 -
          Isn't he already half great old one by accomodating his sefirot? He "only" lack three pathway more. And maybe there is probability he's using first slate blashpemy to rise his level. CMIIW
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          1. Offline
            + 130 -
            Yep, Half of Great Old One, but Chaos Sea wasn`t completely accommodated. In some case you are right, after Adam merged with the True Creator, He can use the Chaos Sea as a source to become Half Great Old One in a short period.
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    3. Offline
      + 60 -
      Ло Шань: Что? Истинные боги? wtf!?! O_o
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    4. Offline
      + 20 -
      Could CW real body or consciousness be in Mushu Hospital through the use of a bug
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