Dream Travel

Chapter 214 Is this considered stealing?

"Is this really edible?" Bai Mu carefully observed these meatballs, which were formed from a large number of wild boar hearts.

The process was carried out using demonic power. Although he didn't know which demon the demonic pattern was associated with, it should be a serious demon.

Furthermore, demons capable of creating such things are not weak; not all demons can be connected to themselves through specific demonic scripts.

The two demons that Bai Mu controlled were no good; they didn't even understand demonic writing, making them practically illiterate among demons!
“White Curtain, you need to understand something: most demons will starve to death even if they don’t eat,” Lily explained to White Curtain, sharing a not-so-cold piece of knowledge.

"Can humans eat what demons eat?"

"If demons can eat what humans eat, why can't they eat the other way around?"

Bai Mu stared at the meatball in his hand for a while. Although the raw material was wild boar's heart, it wouldn't be too disgusting to eat, but...

"Won't my head become pointy?" Bai Mu was mainly worried that something strange would grow out of him after he ate this stuff.

"This stuff isn't Dream Eclipse food; it's just meat that's been processed with the power of demons. Just think of it as compressed rations."

Lily explained the thing simply.

"Then why the heart?"

"It's all about the sense of ritual."

Bai Mu couldn't refute Lily's reasoning for a moment, and after returning with Lily, the two said goodbye.

He went home, took a shower to wash off the smell of blood, then drove to the lower city and summoned the Shadow Demon.

After the demon named Luxenbra was summoned, it let out a roar that was not uttered.

Bai Mu was already prepared; the moment he appeared, he would shut this devil up.

The demon is merely a fragment of the spirit; once summoned, it behaves like an idiot.

“This shouldn’t be…” Bai Mu looked at the demon dressed in white robes, who appeared somewhat twisted and holy during the day.

Because this thing lacks intelligence, it looks like it's just for show.

Communicating with this thing is quite troublesome. Bai Mu asked some questions, but the demon's mental fragment either didn't respond or could only provide a small amount of information.

Overall, it's not as good as artificial intelligence.

It's fine to make it fight; the Light and Shadow Demon has two power characteristics. During the day, its power passively transforms into the 'light' attribute.

Of course, this light attribute has nothing to do with the holy attribute; it's just a power attribute. At night, it becomes the shadow attribute.

The two forces switch automatically over time, and the force can be used even at different times, meaning its intensity is within the normal range.

After testing for a while, the white curtain removed the welcome message.

That's probably what constitutes a normal mental fragment. If something is already fragmented but behaves like it's alive, can it still be considered a mental fragment?
As for why the mental fragments he collected before looked like living people, it's because he obtained them in a special way—he killed and collected them on the spot.

It didn't have time to dissipate; it naturally became whole.

Limited by the strength of the mental fragments, the summoned light and shadow demons were not strong.

Perhaps by extracting more fragments of his spirit from his original form in the future, we can strengthen this phantom, but for now, this light and shadow demon is as it is.

After being summoned, White Curtain conducted numerous tests, during which the city defense protocol remained unresponsive.

Lucyella, who was keeping watch for White Curtain, came over: "What is that thing? It looks pretty weak."

"A fragment of a demon's spirit."

"I heard you say you wanted a 'succubus,' but you've changed your mind?"

"Succubus, my foot! Aren't you a succubus?" Bai Mu waved his hand, gesturing for Lucy Ella to get in the car and go home!
After the test, he was fine. Although he got what he wanted from Lily, the appearance of the item was really not flattering.

However, if this stuff is really necessary, Bai Mu will still eat it.

When he parted ways with Lily before, Lily told him that this kind of meatball was not much different from normal meat. Although it had a longer shelf life than ordinary meat, it would still rot if left at room temperature for three to five days.

Therefore, the next day, White Curtain directly gave Lucyella one.

“…Have some humanity.” Lucy Ella ate a meatball with a grumbling expression, then frowned. “It doesn’t taste good.”

"To be honest," Bai Mu glanced at the woman.

"It's alright, I think it's pretty good," Lucyella reluctantly told the truth.

Bai Mu nodded, popped one into his mouth, and the strong, bloody taste exploded in his mouth. It didn't make him nauseous, but it did give him the discomfort of gnawing on raw meat.

Within his acceptable range, Bai Mu didn't feel anything else besides that, since he wasn't hungry while eating anyway.

“Give me some of your demonic energy.” Luciela said bluntly when she saw that Bai Mu didn’t react.

Not being hungry means less energy expenditure. When Bai Mu releases demonic energy, the energy expenditure is quite high. Whether this thing is effective or not can be tested very quickly.

Bai Mu nodded, sharing his demonic energy with Luciela, and then unleashing his own demonic energy.

As time went on, he could clearly feel his physical strength being depleted, but he wasn't feeling very hungry.

A single fleshy ball might not be enough to keep him from getting hungry for ten days, but maintaining a high level of demonic energy release would ensure he wouldn't get hungry during battle...

For at least half an hour, or even an hour, without the stimulation of hunger, the effect of the rage on the mind weakens.

well.

We can cooperate with Lily on this matter.

“Your smile is sinister.” Luciela glanced at the smiling white curtain.

"You go shopping near me, I'll go to the gym." Bai Mu immediately went out, maintaining his energetic state even without using his demonic energy release.

If you don't practice now, when will you?
Over the next two days, besides waiting for news from the processing bureau, he also made a special trip to the craftsman's residence to order a small refrigerator from him.

The craftsman paid 10,000 for this item from Bai Mu. It's about the size of a small box, big enough to fit inside a weapon case. It needs to be charged to maintain its function, and it pairs very well with the weapon case.

Those fleshy spheres can last longer when stored at low temperatures.

Although the white curtain has other insulation methods, the low temperature released by the condensed longsword is too low.

Afterwards, Bai Mu asked Lily to continue making similar things. The ingredients needed were not just wild boar, but a sufficient number of that kind of creature.

If other invasive species are present, similar choices can be made, including animals like rabbits.

However, the hearts of those animals are too small, making them less cost-effective than those of wild boars.

"What if I got a whole bunch of demon hearts?"

"That's fine too, but are you willing to eat the white curtain?"

"Of course not."

Bai Mu immediately shook his head. He didn't want to eat it, but he could let Lucyella eat it, since Lucyella was essentially an external power source for the weapon box.

"I want to learn this." Bai Mu looked at the demon pattern on the ground. This demon pattern was different from the last one. "Did they change people?"

“It’s just another excuse.” Lily shook her head: “The process of dealing with those hearts is similar to a sacrifice, only the outcome is changed during the sacrifice. Using the same excuse all the time is easy to expose.”

"...So this counts as stealing?"

Lily rolled her eyes at Bai Mu: "This is a reasonable way to use the power of the demons, giving them the parts they need and keeping the rest we don't need."

Many demons are greedy and want to keep what they don't need, so they need to use some underhanded methods.

Demons often want both things. They might not need some of the things offered as sacrifices, but if they can take them, they don't mind.

If the person who made the sacrifice wants to keep it, the demon will see it as a provocation. "That's mine anyway! What do you mean by trying to take it? Are you robbing the demon?"

Have you lived enough?

"Dealing with demons is really not easy," Bai Mu said sincerely after hearing Lily's explanation.

Lily laughed and said, "Actually, some demons are quite cute."

Hmm? The first thing that came to Bai Mu's mind was the two-dimensional demons he had seen in various anime works before he transmigrated.

"maybe."

Store the newly acquired meatballs carefully. If stored at low temperatures, they can last a long time, although their effectiveness will decrease after a month.

Lily explained that this substance is a concentrated product of flesh and blood energy, and that the concentrated flesh and blood energy will slowly dissipate if left for a long time.

If stored at low temperatures, it should not exceed one year. Otherwise, the fleshy mass may mutate due to the continuous influence of blood and flesh energy, and there is a possibility that it may become a living organism. However, it is more likely that it will generate toxins.

"But why are there still demon cultists at the scene this time?" Bai Mu glanced around. There were corpses of demon cultists dressed in strange robes. He had killed them.

If the demon pattern encountered last time was a coincidence, this one seems rather deliberate.

“What we do is also related to demons, so we need traces of demons to cover it up.”

"Isn't that illegal?" Lily winked at Bai Mu with her right eye and smiled mischievously: "Our little secret."

"The beginning of a road of no return..." Bai Mu silently shouldered the weapon case and left with Lily.

A dozen or so fleshy balls are enough for him. These are combat consumables, not food. After this operation, he won't need to prepare any more for quite some time.

He doesn't need to take this kind of supply in every battle.

With the new resources in hand, Bai Mu became restless.

As for Lucy Ella, Bai Mu seems to be having a lot of fun lately and doesn't want to leave.

"As an Awakened One, all you think about every day is shopping, buying things, and putting on makeup?" Bai Mu asked her with a hint of exasperation.

"?" Lucyella glanced at him, who seemed to be acting strangely, somewhat puzzled. "What's wrong?"

She is indeed an awakened being, but she is not a beast. Apart from her eating habits being different from humans, her other hobbies remain the same as those of her human self.

However, the era she lived in didn't have much entertainment; it was all just boredom. People can do dangerous things when they're bored, let alone awakened beings.

But with so many fun things to do in real life, she's never bored.

"I'm so bored!"

"Oh." Lucyella casually took off her pajamas, sat on Bai Mu, and wrapped her legs around his waist: "If you're free, then do it."

"What I mean is, go out and find some illegal demons."

That's what they say, but since someone has already challenged him, Bai Mu naturally accepted the challenge directly.

Let's talk about finding the demon tomorrow.

The next day, Bai Mu grinned slightly, somewhat missing real living people, since living beings have physical limitations.

Does the female ghost have a stamina bar?
“Although demons and humans are somewhat different, I won’t accept it.” Dressed in gorgeous clothes, Luciela combed her hair in front of the mirror: “Why are you in such a hurry to go out? Wait for me a while.”

"Hurry up." Bai Mu sat on the sofa and fiddled with his phone. About half an hour later, his landline rang. It was Bo Lei calling.

"You can bring your things now."

"Right away." Bai Mu immediately went out.

At the Dream Processing Bureau, Bai Mu placed a storage disk on Bo Lei's desk: "Here, I've changed the way I store data."

Borei accepted the item without asking anything else, and instead brought up other matters: "The recycling price offered by the Disposal Bureau is 20 million, which is your current bounty, and then there's your friend's matter."

The relevant biochemical virus has been cultured. This virus does not excessively strengthen the body, but rather restores and strengthens it, which is sufficient to repair the damage to the person's body.

The only consequence is an increased appetite; if driven to extreme hunger, they will attack any living creature without restraint.

Biohazards don't necessarily turn people into zombies; they might turn them into monsters or something similar. However, Rota City has complete information on various biohazards.

Therefore, it is possible to develop a virus that prevents one from becoming a monster.

The type of virus that Borre is talking about is the kind that rich people like. Rich people won't starve themselves, and because of various needs, they have a great need for recovery and enhancement.

As for combat effectiveness, they prefer hiring bodyguards who regularly train rather than training themselves.

The fact that Rota City was able to provide such a biochemical virus this time is because the data brought back by the White Curtain was too important.

The Rota Processing Bureau originally intended to use a different type, but took this opportunity to upgrade the recovery items.

"So that means my friend is alright?"

Borre took out a metal box: "I think you should do this yourself."

The Bureau of Handling Affairs can do it for you, but Bai Mu's friend isn't a same-sex friend, so it's better to let Bai Mu do it himself.

"Okay, what's the other thing?"

“There is still no way to guarantee 100% success. The Rota Processing Bureau and the Elvik Processing Bureau have discussed the relevant technology.” Borre shook his head.

As before, if it were easy to bring dream creatures out of the real world, there would only be more dream creatures in the real world. In reality, most dream creatures coming to the real world are mostly due to coincidence.

"Currently, the method with the highest success rate is the separation of the human soul," Bo Lei and Bai Mu explained.

The process isn't too difficult; specifically, it involves temporarily extracting the target's soul and storing it in soul stones made by demons.

In this way, the soul will be sealed, unable to perceive the outside world and forced into a deep sleep, which can be regarded as an object.

The body corresponding to the soul, having lost its soul, becomes similar to an object and cannot observe the outside world, thus it can be brought out by the dream walker.

And that's where the risk lies; even the Dream Walker can't guarantee that he can bring both items back intact.

"Besides, this method with a high success rate has another problem."

Due to quality issues with the Soul Stones, some dream creatures, after the separation of their souls, cannot properly 'return to their bodies' and can only maintain their normal activities by carrying the Soul Stone with them.

"I understand." Bai Mu understood. The situation that Bo Lei was talking about was just turning people into something like magical girls.

It just doesn't come with the magical girl's power for the user, but the Soul Gem is already included.

"Is there anything better?"

“…This is the best way right now; anything better is most likely illegal.” Borre thought for a moment and took out another document.

"This is intelligence shared by the Elvik Processing Bureau. Their Dream Organizations make even greater use of the Dreamwalkers' brains. Perhaps those Dream Organizations have better methods."

"Then let's wait and see," Borre said, but there were many problems with his approach.

The method of separating the human soul is certainly good, but where does the soul stone come from?

How does the process work? He's just a Muggle. Even if he wanted to do it this way, he'd need a suitable operator, like one of those powerful demons...

"Let's go to the bank." After handing the storage disk to an employee of the processing bureau, Borei went to the bank with Bai Mu. This was a large transfer, which would not be easy to do under normal circumstances.

The processing bureau has special privileges, and since they were prepared in advance, the transfer was completed smoothly.

The Ministry of the Interior attaches great importance to this matter, and many procedures have been approved.

After learning about the condensed matter ghost technology, the Ministry of the Interior placed great importance on it. Even if it wasn't used for war, it could be used to deal with illegal dream creatures, fight monsters, mine, and so on...

In reality, there is no such thing as abolishing the death penalty; many death row inmates are still used for jobs such as mining before their execution.

Since those people are going to die anyway, they might as well continue to serve as atonement after they die.

In addition, we can try to use condensed ghosts to deal with some difficult dream sources. Anyway, this technology has many applications, so we can't miss it.

If it weren't for the fact that the Elvik Disposal Bureau had intelligence on the Dream Organization, the Ministry of the Interior would have handled it themselves. But now they have no choice but to cooperate, so they should resolve this matter as soon as possible.

There's no need to worry about the funds. Since this information is important, and Dreamwalker knows its value, let's not make a fuss and just complete the transaction to avoid any unforeseen complications.

After the money and goods were settled, the matter was considered closed for Bai Mu. What followed had little to do with Bai Mu, except for matters involving his illegal bounty.

If that thing were hanging in Rota City, the Bureau of Handling It could handle it, but since it's in the Golden City, there's not much that can be done.

They are money-oriented, yet they value financial integrity.

Even if the White Curtain destroys the organizations that issued the bounties, as long as the pre-deposited bounties by those organizations are not withdrawn, the bounties will remain indefinitely valid...

Whether someone else can take the bounty is one thing, but as long as the bounty is not withdrawn, the bounty will not disappear.

Even if White Curtain is old and dies someday, and someone takes advantage of him and kills him, the person who takes advantage can still take his head to the City of Gold to collect the bounty.

The only difference is that this bounty is fixed, but due to inflation, the high bounty may become less valuable in the future.

Given this situation, many people who place bounties there prefer to deposit the full amount of the bounty in advance.

Therefore, to remove the bounty on that side, it's not as simple as killing the enemy and having the debt wiped away.

Instead, before killing the enemy, one should try to get the enemy to withdraw the bounty.

There is another way to resolve bounties... If the City of Gold no longer exists, then there will be no more bounties, right?
Someone once had a large bounty on their head who wanted to do this, and then the City of Gold claimed the bounty.

The Rota Bureau can handle the Dream Organization in subsequent operations, but the bounties they set up are really difficult to deal with.

But Borei assured White Curtain that if the opportunity arose later, they would try their best to have that bounty withdrawn, provided that the bounty was related to the Dream Organization.

"If I go to the Golden City, will I be surrounded by hundreds of local axemen as soon as I arrive?" Bai Mu asked Bo Lei with some curiosity after returning to the processing bureau.

"Of course not, if they did that, wouldn't no one dare to go? As long as you don't do anything to damage the Golden City, the law enforcement of the Golden City won't target the bounty target."

After saying that, Borre added, "Of course, those law enforcement officers also go off duty. What they do after get off work has nothing to do with the City of Gold. It doesn't matter if the person with the bounty kills the other party."

"...That's really snobbish."

Borre laughed: "Hahaha, not snobbish or is it the City of Gold?"

(End of this chapter)