Dream Travel

Chapter 208: A price equal to the bounty will suffice.

The people from the Elwick Disposal Bureau are not from the Rota Disposal Bureau, so if the other party gets the benefits, they won't get any.

Therefore, no matter how bad the people there were feeling, Borei could not empathize with them. Moreover, their original intention in coming here was to influence the actions of the Rota Bureau. If they acted too slowly, the White Curtain would get there first.

That doesn't mean the Rota Bureau is incompetent.

Time within the alternate dream is out of sync with real time. By the time the people from the Elwick Disposal Bureau arrived, the White Curtain had already gone off to do something big.

Even if it's late, you can't say they were wrong.

Blame it on the lack of timely communication methods; if we could communicate promptly, this wouldn't have happened.

Now that this has happened, everyone is feeling bad... Hahahaha!
Upon seeing what Bai Mu brought back, Borei couldn't suppress the smirk on his face.

"You're a real talent. Tell me quickly, how's the Dream Source doing now?"

"Well...dead."

"?" Borre's smile vanished instantly: "What did you say?"

"He's dead. Don't look at me. It wasn't me who did it. It was the people from the Dream Organization who did it. But I helped Dream Source out, and now he's become the same kind of 'ghost'."

Borre sighed and nodded: "Say it more completely next time."

He didn't blame the White Curtain, because eliminating the source of the dream was also a way to prevent the holes in the dream from increasing.

Since the Otherworld Organization has directly targeted the Otherworld Source, it is clear that they intend to sever the Otherworld.

This is a good thing, as it means that the related alternate dreams will be 'abandoned'. The alternate dreams may have more holes added, but the associated alternate dream terminals should not increase.

"I'm a little curious, if the source of the strange dream becomes a 'ghost,' what will happen to him in reality?"

"They will also become the same kind of being, and they will be very difficult to kill." Now that Bai Mu had come into contact with this kind of thing, Bo Lei recounted the relevant details.

“Normal dream sources are easy to handle, but some dream sources are quite special. Can you imagine a dream source turning into a stone golem?”

Bai Mu nodded: "I've already seen ghosts, so I can accept it if you tell me which Dream Source turns into a robot... Hmm? There really is one?"

Borre nodded seriously, "There really is!"
"When destroying a normal alternate dream source, you only need to kill the real alternate dream source. The problem is that this process is not so easy."

Once a source of a strange dream is stimulated, it can easily draw a person into a strange dream. This process is unaffected by the individual's strength. If a source of a strange dream cannot be killed in one go, it will cause a sudden outbreak of strange dreams, and the scope of this outbreak can be very large.

"But destroying them shouldn't be too difficult, right?"

"It's not that difficult, but that only applies to ordinary dream sources. Like the dream source you're talking about now, I doubt that dream organization would even have much interest in it."

Bai Mu's expression relaxed: "So I did the right thing after all."

“But you can’t keep doing this. Come with me to the agency.”

Bai Mu picked up the two boxes, somewhat curious about what would happen next: "So what will happen to 'Marius' after that?"

"Let's try our best to find it. The source of the dream may not be within the country. As long as we can relatively ensure that the holes in the dream don't continue to increase, that's fine."

Borre is conflicted about this matter. Generally speaking, local authorities are only responsible for their own cities.

Of course, this is also divided by region. For example, the Rota City Processing Bureau, any village or town surrounding Rota City that has a processing bureau can be considered a branch of the Rota Dream Processing Bureau.

His workplace is the headquarters; areas further away are not the responsibility of Rota City.

For example, if the white curtain runs to a place one or two hundred kilometers away, the Rota City Bureau of Justice has no jurisdiction over that area.

Previously, the Rota City Bureau believed that the source of the dream associated with the dream terminal was in the city or nearby.

But now that we know the source of the dream may be in a more distant place, the relevant investigations no longer require such a large investment of resources.

Report it directly to the Ministry of the Interior and let them issue a new task. Anyway, the Dream Processing Bureau of Rota City can't handle this matter comprehensively.

Unless a certain dream terminal connected to the dream source is in Rota City.

If they're not there, how can they enforce the law across borders? They haven't received an invitation or request for assistance. If they go directly there, they might be mistaken for deep-sea fishing by the authorities in other cities. It's a thankless and arduous task.

We don't need to invest so much effort in investigating the Dream Terminal anymore, so the Bureau can relax a bit. We still need to deal with the Dream Organization.

Let's be conservative until higher-level instructions come down.

Of course, the White Curtain's handling of this alternate dream was rather rough, but overall the result was alright. Since the alternate dream organization no longer had any goals for development within the alternate dream, it wouldn't bother with this alternate dream source anymore.

Destroying the Dream Source would have endless consequences. Although it's not like a nuclear bomb, it would still leave behind strong dream erosion residue. The traces left by the explosion of a Dream Source with many holes would be easy to detect.

The Dream Organization can cause trouble in dreams all they want, but to cause trouble in reality? Do they really think government agencies are just sitting around doing nothing?
Right now, let's deal with what Bai Mu brought back first. The complete set of research data on condensed matter 'ghosts' would confuse anyone.

Borre didn't have much expertise, but he could tell that this thing was important.

How much does this cost?

"It's hard to estimate the price. Once you get to the processing bureau, you'll need to give me a statement and provide some other information for evaluation. The rest will be decided by the Ministry of the Interior."

This thing is beyond the limits of the Rota City Bureau of Processing. Although they can buy it directly here, how much would it cost?
Ten million? Bai Mu's head is already worth fifteen million. He offended the new Dream Organization, so the value of his head will continue to increase, and the prize pool is still accumulating.

Ten million? Does that mean Bai Mu is being a little too accommodating?
Actually, giving them 10 million wouldn't be a bad idea. But if they did, the bureau would have a lot more to do.

For example, they could eliminate the bounties that the new Dream Organization might offer, but they can't control what happens in the Golden City.

The head of the local bureau was put on the wanted list in the Golden City, and the situation will be the same as that of the White Curtain.

"This is your spoils of war. Although the Disposal Bureau can acquire it, how you ultimately dispose of it is your choice. The Disposal Bureau will keep your possessions confidential until then, but it won't be long."

Bai Mu clicked his tongue twice: "Even the Bureau of Handling Cases isn't clean."

“That’s not a one-person department.” Borre glanced at the guy. He had always thought highly of White Curtain, but this guy was really not suitable for joining the Processing Bureau.

It's fine to just continue being the 'temporary worker' he mentioned.

No wonder the director, after learning about some of Bai Mu's affairs, never mentioned meeting Bai Mu in person again, but instead kept arranging for him to have contact with Bai Mu.

Bai Mu changed the subject: "Have the people from Elvik left?"

"I left the processing bureau after receiving news of your return."

"Hmm...so you mean they're still in Rota City?"

"So you should be careful," Borre did not deny it.

Bai Mu arrived at the processing bureau with the white curtain and had some of the documents examined by professionals. Bai Mu then took the briefcase to Bo Lei's office to wait for the results.

While he was playing on his phone until almost midnight, Borei came into the office smoking: "It's confirmed, the research data is fine, the biggest problem is we can't use it."

"How to say?"

"What else can I say? The technological level is not up to standard." Borre's tone became relaxed; this situation had occurred more than once or twice.

The local authorities also obtained highly advanced technology from the dream world, but what happened? It was useless.

How can we use technology if it doesn't meet our standards? We can try to be ten, twenty, or even fifty years ahead, but for technology that is more than a hundred years ahead... well, we can only dream about it for now.

Instead of trying to utilize them, we should look to technologies closer to our time and let them develop before using those technologies that are currently difficult to use.

The technology brought back by the white screen is like this. At this stage, it can be used on a small scale if costs are not a concern, but the cost is too high.

If you're willing to pay such a high price for a 'tech ghost' that's only good for a quick kill, then why not just study magic in the first place?
At least in the early stages, magic is much easier to learn than technology.

In these high-tech fantasy worlds, there are technologies that resemble magic, yet without exception, everything in these fantasy worlds is extremely advanced.

Even if there are wastelands, they were once advanced.

And what about the power of magic? In worlds with such powers, there are countless types: medieval witches, demigods from classical times, swords and magic like in novels, or even more modern types.

Technological advancements do not hinder the application of magic. Even in worlds with very underdeveloped technology, there are still mages who use magic to fly around or control the dead.

According to the evaluators' estimates, the cost of creating this special technological ghost is enough to attempt to create a low-end undead calamity.

Therefore, the technology in Bai Mu's hands is both very valuable and worthless at the same time; it can only be said that it is technology from the wrong era.

If real-world technology were to develop to the same level as that otherworldly dream world, this thing would be extremely advanced, and it would be something that could be used immediately.

In reality, it's not so easy. If you encounter someone who knows its value, they will seriously consider whether it's worth it. If you encounter someone who doesn't know its value, they probably can't afford it.

Unless White Curtain is planning to give it away for free.

Of course, there is another option, which is to obtain the corresponding equipment through the source of the dream, but this requires a lot of time.

Some of the equipment is so large that even Dreamwalker might not be able to transport it intact. If there is any damage caused by Dream Erosion, the entire item could be rendered unusable.

Marius, the source of this strange dream, has already been betrayed. The local army has occupied the nuclear power plant that produces this technology, and the best scenario for acquiring the equipment is already ruined.

Obtaining them from other similar dream worlds is also an option, but that would require a significant time investment, and some things can't be bought just because you want to.

"Then what about the Otherworldly Dream Organization, which wants to take this thing away?"

“Hmm…” Borei was silent for a moment, then said, “Why don’t you take a loss and sell this thing?”

Bai Mu placed the briefcase on the table: "Give me what I want, and then give me the money equal to my bounty to buy it out."

The White Curtain couldn't estimate the exact price of this item, so let the enemy set the price for him.

Once a new bounty is offered, the value of the information in this box will be the same as the value of his head.

“You’re really open-minded,” Borre said, somewhat surprised by Bai Mu’s straightforwardness.

"What else? I have no use for this thing. I might as well leave it to someone who can cause trouble for that organization."

(End of this chapter)