Fear of food

Chapter 111 Gaining Fat by Eating Nightmares (5k)

“This is my private dream world, which you can also think of as a ‘safe house’,” the mirror explained. “Every dream thief must find their own safe house in order to get a good night’s sleep in the contaminated area.”

Chen Qi was already familiar with the relevant concepts; the exclusive dream corresponds to the exclusive food in the food-fear contamination.

If those who consume strange foods cannot find a way to produce their own food in the contaminated area, they will either starve to death or become contaminated by eating bizarre food.

Dream thieves are similar; if they can't find their own dream world, they either stay up all night or get corrupted in their dreams.

No one can escape pollution in a dream forever by simply running away!

The purpose of a private dream is to prevent dream pollution from occurring while staying in it.

"So you usually sleep in the bathroom?"

"What's wrong with a toilet? At least it's clean and bright. Many people's safe houses are much more outrageous than mine."

The mirror quickened its pace, saying, "However, this safe house is only safe for me, not for you. If you stay here, the dream pollution will still find you."

Chen Qi nodded. Other people's safe houses could not provide him with protection unless he found his own exclusive dream.

But that's unrealistic for someone who eats pica.

No one has yet been able to simultaneously master the abilities of a pagan and a dream thief. Once one consumes the first high-grade food or finds their own exclusive dream, everything is already set in stone.

The mirror's tone became more serious as it said, "Once the dream pollution invades, you will have no choice but to escape from here. From then on, you will have to rely on yourself to survive in the dream."

"We will try our best to save you, but don't have too high hopes. If you want to get out, you still have to think of a way yourself."

Chen Qi's expression also turned solemn. This unexpected event was something none of them had anticipated. In the unfamiliar and dangerous dream world, he not only had to be careful of various forms of dream pollution that could appear at any time, but also had to guard against attacks from nightmares!
"Remember, multiple dream pollution episodes may occur at the same time, so be sure to observe your surroundings promptly."

"Also, it's easier to spot and avoid dream pollution in open areas, but it also makes it easier to encounter parasites. You have to weigh the pros and cons yourself..."

Before the mirror could finish speaking, the bathroom doorknob suddenly made a turning sound.

Mirror's expression changed: "The safe house can protect against dream pollution, but it can't protect against parasites. If they find you, you'll have to wake up as soon as possible. I can't stay here any longer. Take care of yourself."

Chen Qi suddenly looked up and saw a water stain spreading across the bathroom ceiling. However, upon closer inspection, the water stain appeared reddish, more like blood.

"Is pollution back?"

Even when he was in someone else's safe house, dream pollution would still continue to attack Chen Qi.

The mirror didn't even have time to say goodbye before it instantly left the dream.

As soon as he left, the safe house shattered, and Chen Qi found himself no longer in the bathroom, but in a women's clothing store on the street.

"How do we get out?" Chen Qi punched the Nightmare on his back. "If I get caught by the Nightmare, you won't fare any better."

"Traversing between reality and illusion is an innate ability of my Nightmare Clan. By merging with me, you will naturally master this ability as well."

"It seems you're still not in a hurry." Chen Qi ignored the Nightmare Eater and pondered feasible methods on his own.

"Since I brought this in by grabbing a parasite, I can find another parasite and grab him tightly when he leaves the dream. That should give me a good chance of getting out."

The same way you came in, you should go out; logically, that makes no problem.

Just then, the female saleswoman in the store heard Chen Qi talking to himself and asked, "Handsome, are you looking to buy clothes?"

Just as Chen Qigang was about to reply, the mannequin next to him suddenly started to move.

The mannequin in the floral dress took off its hat and draped it over Chen Qi's head.

Chen Qi knew that it was more than just a hat; it was a symbol, and once he was labeled with that hat, he might be corrupted.

Chen Qi took off running, passing straight through the clothing store and heading straight for the back door.

The two female shop assistants were startled when they saw Chen Qi running past. They instinctively cursed him as a "lunatic," but ignored the mannequin chasing closely behind him.

Chen Qi rushed out of the back door of the clothing store and was immediately startled by the crowd in front of him.

They were attacked near the pedestrian street at the beginning, and that's where they started entering the dream world.

Just past that women's clothing store, across a main road, lies Chang Le City's pedestrian street.

It's not that the pedestrian street has a huge flow of people; a quick glance reveals scattered groups of people, probably only a few dozen in total.

But compared to the usual quietness, the sudden appearance of so many people was quite a contrast for Chen Qi.

However, considering that this was just a dream, and that in reality, who knows how many of those dozens of people would still be alive?

The denser the population, the more severe the pollution. This rule also applies to the polluted areas of dreams.

Chen Qi did not approach the pedestrian street, but instead ran in the opposite direction.

The mannequins behind him kept chasing after him. Chen Qi ran wildly along the path and saw an internet cafe with its doors wide open, so he went straight inside.

Upon entering, he was somewhat surprised to find that the internet cafe was quite crowded, probably with forty or fifty people!
Perhaps it's because many people consider internet cafes a good place to sleep... Chen Qi guessed in his mind, as he could hear various noisy sounds coming from the internet cafe from time to time.

"Damn the dealer! I'm one short of a teammate, and I've spent a hundred bucks trying to get a three-star character!"

"The team fight has been going on for three minutes, and the Sword Saint is still farming jungle camps!"

"Guangzhi, save me!"

"Mother."

Chen Qi had no interest in what games everyone was playing and headed straight for the back door of the internet cafe.

He saw someone directly in front of him playing the pixelated farming game "Stardew Valley." This guy clearly had a fishing mod installed; he cast his fishing rod and caught a rainbow trout.

Then the pixelated fish jumped out of the screen. A pixelated fish about half an arm's length swam in the air and rushed towards Chen Qi.

There were mannequins chasing after them, and a pixelated fish blocking their way from the front.

Just as the mirror said, multiple instances of dream pollution can occur simultaneously!

Seeing that there was no time to dodge, Chen Qi decisively turned around and switched the Nightmare Eater behind him to the front.

Using the Nightmare race to fight against corruption, can this be considered using magic to defeat magic?

Nightmare couldn't help but curse, but it was still forced to grab the pixelated fish with both hands and bite into it.

It swallowed the entire pixelated fish in just a few bites.

While the Nightmare was feeding, Chen Qi had already turned around and continued forward.

In the short time he was there, various dream contaminations came one after another. Chen Qi knew that if this continued, he would definitely be exhausted and would inevitably make mistakes when facing all kinds of contamination.

At this point, his best option was to stay away from densely populated areas like pedestrian streets and return to the edge of the polluted area of ​​Chang Le City.

In relatively desolate and quiet places, the frequency of dream pollution will decrease accordingly.

Chen Qi ran out of the internet cafe through the back door and just saw a food delivery guy walk into the internet cafe with a meal. He got on the delivery guy's electric scooter and rode away.

Having such a convenient means of transportation as an electric scooter is incredibly useful in dreams, whether for escaping pollution or simply getting around.

He quickly left the mannequins chasing behind him, and using his memory of the way there to find his way, Chen Qi rode towards the edge of the contaminated area.

As he rode along, the food demon on his back suddenly started cursing. It turned out that the takeout food in the insulated delivery box on the back seat had come to life and were preparing to ambush Chen Qi.

However, the Nightmare Eater discovered them and threw them all out.

"Watch out!" Nightmare suddenly warned.

Chen Qi looked ahead and his pupils contracted. He saw a person whose arms and body were stretched out, one hand grabbing a small tree on this side of the road and the other hand hugging a telephone pole on the other side of the road. This person completely blocked the road in front of him.

His entire body was stretched out of shape, like a piece of chewed gum being pulled hard, and his facial features were no longer recognizable.

This is clearly a parasite.

Chen Qi did not brake in advance and rushed directly towards the parasite.

Just as he was about to reach the other party, he suddenly braked hard. The huge inertia, combined with his own deliberate jumping, sent him flying, lunging at the parasite blocking his way.

While still in mid-air, Chen Qi's mouth was already open.

The parasite's body was like rubber, effectively cushioning Chen Qi's momentum. Before Chen Qi's feet even touched the ground, his mouth was already munching.

Chen Qi had deliberately slowed down the process, hoping that the parasite could escape the dream and he could take him with him. Unfortunately, the other party didn't seem to have thought of this and didn't intend to escape back to reality.

After a while...

After finishing his meal, Chen Qi picked up his electric scooter and continued on his way.

A short while later, as he passed under the pedestrian overpass, another female parasite jumped onto his electric scooter like a cat.

The woman was beautiful, wearing a black bodysuit that perfectly accentuated her hot figure, making her sexy and charming, like Catwoman from "The Dark Knight Rises".

Her rose-like lips gently approached Chen Qi's cheek, and the breath she exhaled seemed to carry flames that could ignite hormones.

However, Chen Qi could see her mouthparts, which were faintly visible, through her lips and teeth.

"It's time to change things up and eat something better."

Chen Qi didn't slow down this time. He grabbed the parasite and ate while riding.

The Nightmare's voice suddenly came from behind: "Didn't you notice they're deliberately feeding you food?"

Chen Qi was stunned for a moment, and had to admit that there did seem to be such a suspicion.

He encountered two parasites in a row, both of whom were weak and posed no threat to him.

"These lowest-ranking Nightmare Clan members are specially sent to you as an extra meal. If I'm not mistaken, there will be more coming."

Chen Qi looked thoughtful. He usually treated the Nightmare Eater's words as nonsense, but now his situation was special. His interests were more intertwined with the Nightmare Eater, so he couldn't completely believe what the Nightmare Eater said, but he also couldn't completely disbelieve it.

"Although the Nightmare Eater spoke very restrainedly, given his style of doing things, his calm tone precisely indicates that he has a strong purpose: to prevent me from consuming more Nightmare Clan members."

"What harm would it do him if I consumed more nightmares?"

Chen Qi thought of two possibilities: one was that eating nightmares would indeed cause him problems, which would then involve eating nightmares;

Another thing is... Nightmare Eater is afraid of being separated!

The abnormality on Chen Qi's back was only shrinkage, not complete disappearance.

If he continues to feed on the Nightmare Clan, those anomalies may regrow, just like they did back at Jingquan Elementary School.

Once the anomaly is fully formed and detaches from his body, the Nightmare Eater will also be separated!
However, being in the dream, Chen Qi was unable to observe the unusual and real changes behind him.

In the dream, the Nightmare on his back was complete except for its lower body.

Even though Chen Qi had already eaten three Nightmares today, nothing had changed.

In reality, the abnormality on his back had long since shrunk to less than 20%.

Chen Qi wasn't sure if his guess was right, but he knew that the Nightmare Eater was still restraining itself, which meant that no matter what the truth was, the situation hadn't reached a critical point yet, and he could continue eating for a while without worry.

Just as the Nightmare Eater had predicted, not long after, Chen Qi encountered another parasite blocking his path.

It was still as weak and harmless as ever, as if it were there to deliver takeout.

Chen Qi chose to continue eating!
"Fine, if you don't believe me, then keep eating." Nightmare sneered and said no more.

The more he acted this way, the more it showed he cared... Chen Qi continued eating.

One thing is clear: the Nightmare Clan is indeed constantly bringing him food, and there's obviously some scheming behind it.

The Nightmare Eater wants to stop him from eating... If the Nightmare Eater and the Nightmare are enemies, then that makes perfect sense.

Something that benefits one side is definitely not good for the other.

“I am at the center of the conflict, with enemies on both sides, and they are also competitors.”

"At times like these, I can only create more favorable conditions for myself by remaining neutral and not leaning towards either side."

Chen Qi realized that he and the Nightmare Eater were originally one, especially after entering the Dream Contamination Zone. Once inside the dream, their fates were intertwined, and their interests became even more intertwined.

But as he continues to consume nightmares, he is moving away from them and gravitating towards their side.

Having figured this out, Chen Qi felt reassured and continued eating heartily.

Along the way, wild parasites would occasionally fall from the sky, and Chen Qi accepted them all without discrimination.

The Nightmare Eater remained silent.

Chen Qi sneered inwardly: Let's see how long you can hold out!
When Chen Qi rode his bicycle to the edge of the contaminated area, he saw five or six parasites huddled together in front of him, waiting for him.

Good grief, they're not even going to act anymore?
Is the Nightmare Clan offering him a buffet?
Just as Chen Qi was about to rush up and enjoy the feast, he suddenly saw a crack torn open in the ground, and an old man crawled out from it.

"Huang Jihai!"

Chen Qi was surprised. Huang Jihai, whom they had been waiting for, finally appeared, but he actually appeared directly in their dream.

Do Nightmare Parasites also have the ability to enter dreams?

As the Nightmare Eater just mentioned, the Nightmare Clan is born with the ability to travel between reality and illusion, so it seems he wasn't exaggerating.

However, it is also clear that Huang Jihai's entry into the dream world is not as easy or casual as that of other nightmare parasites.

Huang Jihai, who had refused to show himself no matter how much he was pressured, finally appeared just as Chen Qi was about to indulge in a full-fledged Nightmare Family Bucket.

Moreover, upon appearing, he immediately displayed a high-pressure stance, activating his full purple domain. With a wave of his hand, his arm transformed into a giant tongue, which slammed down, turning several Nightmare Parasites beside him into a bloody pulp.

"Are you here to stop me from eating?" Chen Qi said unhappily.

At the same time, another purple domain descended, partially overlapping with Huang Jihai's domain. White, ghostly mist continuously emerged at the point where the two domains intersected, as if they were dissolving into each other.

"You're incredibly audacious. It's one thing to enter the territory of our Nightmare Clan, but you even dare to trespass into the Dream Realm."

A baby-faced girl with shoulder-length brown hair appeared behind Chen Qi at some point.

She looked to be under twenty years old, wearing a pair of black round-framed glasses, and had a somewhat cute and innocent appearance.

Huang Jihai said in a deep voice, "You crossed the line first."

The baby-faced girl chuckled lightly: "What boundary did we cross? You trespassed into someone else's home, and now you're blaming others for crossing the line?"

"Besides, I noticed that this young man doesn't have your Nightmare Eater clan's name written on him, so why not give him a chance to choose again?"

At this point, the baby-faced girl moved closer to Chen Qi, her eyes narrowing into crescent moons, and said sweetly, "Little brother, do you like the food of our Nightmare Clan? How about we cooperate with the Nightmare Clan?"

Before Chen Qi could answer, the Nightmare behind him, like a dog guarding its food, roared and waved its hands, about to grab the girl's face.

The girl chuckled softly and gracefully stepped aside.

Chen Qi smacked his lips: "It's alright. You Nightmare Clan talk a good game, but you lack sincerity. The food you just gave me was all low-grade stuff. You couldn't even spare a single Domain-level item."

"You're already so stingy before we've even agreed to cooperate. If I really join your Nightmare Clan, won't you make me go hungry for three days straight?"

The baby-faced girl giggled, not angry at all, and explained, "Serving the main course now would be letting that guy who's clinging to you get away with it. We should at least wait until he gets out before serving the main course."

"How dare you!" Nightmare Eater roared. "How dare you, a lowly third-generation Nightmare Clan member, speak to me like that!"

"So what? Come out and hit me then?" The baby-faced girl made a face and challenged.

Chen Qi seemed to be deep in thought. From the baby-faced girl's words, he confirmed his previous guess—eating more Nightmare Clan members could indeed separate Nightmare Eaters from him!

"Alright, this farce should end now. I'm taking him away." Huang Jihai suddenly lunged forward, a long, thin tongue emerging from his body and curling towards Chen Qi like a blanket.

The baby-faced girl's smile instantly turned cold, her eyes became sinister, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly: "Dreams are our home turf."

As she finished speaking, she casually took off her black-rimmed glasses and tossed them away.

In an instant, various colors of light burst forth from the two lenses of the glasses; one side was a collection of various dark lights, while the other side was full of various light lights.

Different rays of light correspond to different parts of Huang Jihai's body.

Red connects to his blood, purple to the tongue-like organs protruding from his body, white to his teeth and white hair, flesh color to his skin, and cyan to his blood vessels...

The next moment, the multicolored lights in the lens spun like gears, tearing Huang Jihai into pieces of organs and parts.

(End of this chapter)