Fear of food

Chapter 115 Secret Door
"Does the box contain dreams?"

Chen Qi shifted his gaze from the box to the two people at the very back.

One of them held out his hands flat, as if he were holding something, but his hands were empty.

The other person walked forward with a bent back, as if carrying something on their back, but it was also empty.

The two seemed to be performing without props.

But just then, the parasite that was making the lifting motion suddenly jolted and frantically tried to grab something, as if it had slipped from its grasp and fallen.

In Chen Qi's eyes, his previously empty hands suddenly flickered with light and shadow, as if something was about to appear.

But it seemed to be stuck, constantly flashing without actually revealing itself.

Chen Qi looked closely and vaguely discerned that it seemed to be a large bowl containing some kind of food.

He then smelled the enticing aroma of food.

Monroe raised an eyebrow: "What amazing ability! You almost converted even a dream source that was only partially present in a dream!"

Premium wild food!

Chen Qi roughly understood what had happened. It seemed that his "garbage-collecting" ability could even transform the pollutants in the dream pollution zone into high-grade wild food.

However, because the source of the pollution was not entirely within the dream, the transformation could not proceed smoothly.

"So what is this person holding in their hands, a high-level source of pollution? And what is the person behind them carrying?"

Chen Qi looked at the parasite who was bent over; the thing on his back was still not visible.

"Is this source of pollution meant to be an extra meal for me?" Chen Qi asked, trying to make conversation and deliberately stall for time.

He can stall for time as long as possible. Once it gets dark, he can try to switch bodies with the Nightmare Eater and then leave all the mess here to the Nightmare Eater.

Marilyn tapped the somewhat distorted box behind her and laughed, "That's dessert prepared for you after your dream. You can eat as much as you want after you wake up."

"Now close your eyes and have a sweet dream!"

"Wait!" Chen Qi said, "Didn't you say there was a Nightmare with me? Where is he?"

“He’s here.” Marilyn Monroe leaned forward and reached out her fair arms to help Chen Qi take off his clothes. Her slender fingers deftly unbuttoned Chen Qi’s clothes and belt, and without saying a word, she pushed Chen Qi down onto the hotel’s large bed.

Chen Qi's gaze did not linger on Marilyn Monroe's exquisite curves, but instead turned to the hunchbacked parasite: "Is the one you're carrying on your back that generation's nightmare?"

The Nightmare Clan is originally formless; before it parasitizes anything, it is completely invisible and weightless.

That guy probably likes to show off, which is why he had someone carry him into the room.

This is exactly the same as the Nightmare Eater in Chen Qi's body before, who always talks about his identity as a "first-generation Nightmare Clan" and looks down on everyone with an overwhelming sense of superiority.

No one answered Chen Qi. Monroe gave him no more chance to delay, forcefully pressing herself against him and whispering in his ear, "Sleep, sleep..."

A wave of drowsiness washed over him, but Chen Qi forced himself to stay awake and bit down on Monroe's neck.

Marilyn Monroe seemed to have anticipated this, and giggled as she dodged away: "Don't be in such a hurry, I'll let you eat slowly after you wake up."

"Right now!" Chen Qi jumped up and pounced on Monroe.

But Marilyn Monroe was as agile as a kitten, easily dodging the attacks. She moved quickly across the walls and ceiling of the room, hanging upside down from the ceiling, and made a face at Chen Qi: "You can't catch me."

Chen Qi immediately changed his target and pounced on the two parasites carrying the boxes.

The two of them opened the boxes in their hands at the same time, as if by unspoken agreement.

The moment the box was opened, a flood of images poured into Chen Qi's consciousness like a galaxy pouring in.

While he was slightly dazed, Marilyn Monroe leaned close to his ear again and whispered softly. Soon after, Chen Qi's eyes lost focus, and he had been forcibly hypnotized.

Monroe carefully laid Chen Qi down on the bed and quietly knelt beside him, waiting.

At this moment, Chen Qi's consciousness had entered a dream within a dream.

He dreamed of many fragmented images. A person's memories of their childhood are inherently fragmented and intermittent. It is through these fragmented memories, along with the stories told by their parents and elders, that one can piece together their past life.

From as far back as he can remember, he was born in Changle City. His parents had respectable jobs and considerable incomes, and the family atmosphere was harmonious. He was also an excellent student who excelled in all aspects, consistently ranking at the top of his class, and was also very talented...

Not only is he skilled in various musical instruments, but he also has excellent physical abilities, plays basketball well, and is handsome. Girls from other classes would always come to their classroom door to peek at him after class...

When Chen Qi woke up, he found himself in a spacious and comfortable bedroom. He got up and went to the French windows to bask in the warm sunlight.

"Life is so wonderful!" he couldn't help but exclaim.

Indeed, looking back on his life, he has no regrets so far; everything has been perfect.

Everything about him—himself, his family, and his entire environment—seemed wonderful, so much so that he never felt any interest in rebirth-themed novels.

Even if he were to be reborn, he wouldn't know what he could do; he would simply repeat the path he had walked before.

"Life is so boring!"

Chen Qi suddenly sighed, feeling utterly bored.

His life was so perfect that he didn't know what to pursue.

His future is clearly bright; he is educated, capable, and his family is neither short of money nor connections…

When all desires can be easily satisfied, life turns out to be so boring.

"Maybe I should just stay home and play some video games."

When real-world desires are satisfied, seeking fulfillment in the virtual world becomes a perfectly acceptable choice.

"I'll call Marilyn over later to play games with me..."

Marilyn Monroe is his current girlfriend. She is sexy, cute, and considerate. Most importantly, she is open-minded, cooperative, and proactive, fulfilling many of his fantasies about relationships.

Chen Qi stretched and walked out of the bedroom into the dining room, where he saw a middle-aged woman carrying a plate: "Mom just made these pancakes, with your favorite chive and egg filling. Try them."

"Mom..." Chen Qi opened his mouth, but for some reason, the word "Mom" got stuck in his throat and he couldn't get it out.

The woman in front of him was clearly his mother, who gave him life and raised him, yet he felt somewhat unfamiliar with her.

Another face vaguely appeared in his mind, a face struggling in pain, yet trying to force a smile at him.

"Who is that? They seem so familiar, yet so sad..."

"Why can't I remember? I feel like she's a very important person."

Chen Qi frantically tugged at his hair, feeling as if he had forgotten something very important, something he couldn't recall no matter how hard he tried.

"What's wrong?" Chen Qi's mother asked with concern, stepping forward to touch Chen Qi's forehead.

Chen Qi instinctively dodged away: "Wait, who are you...you're not my mom!"

"What nonsense are you spouting, child!"

Chen Qi felt no maternal warmth from this woman; she was nothing but a stranger.

Seeing that the woman was about to get closer, Chen Qi grabbed the ashtray on the table and smashed it over her shoulder.

In an instant, he felt dizzy and everything in front of him became blurry and distorted.

I could vaguely hear people talking.

“He is very sensitive to the concept of ‘mother.’ His mother’s appearance will trigger him and make him doubt the reality of his dreams.” “We only controlled his father; his mother had to be replaced.”

"Then let's revise the dream and change it to start with the mother dying in childbirth."

Chen Qi struggled to open his eyes and saw that one of the people speaking looked exactly like him!
where is this?
His previously suppressed memories resurfaced, confirming that he was not in the hotel room from before.

"That person who looks exactly like me must be the nightmare that's going to parasitize me, right?"

“I can see him, and he looks exactly like me, which means he has already parasitized my body.”

Chen Qi sighed inwardly, "One Nightmare has left, and another has arrived!"
However, he couldn't think about those things now. While he was still conscious, he had to quickly find a way to save himself.

"How much time has passed since I entered the dream within a dream? Is it dark yet?"

"No matter what, we have to give it a try..."

Chen Qi struggled desperately, but felt like he was being paralyzed by a ghost, unable to get up no matter what he did, and even had difficulty opening his eyes.

Following the method he used when he switched bodies last time, he should get up and move his feet in rhythm with his heartbeat.

But he simply can't do it right now... However, he had previously suspected that this might not be a necessary step at all.

"The hidden door left by the Nightmare Eater must be easy to operate so that he can activate it in various situations."

"In addition, it should be discreet, not easily noticed by others, and not easily triggered by me unintentionally."

"And it's highly likely related to heart rate!"

Based on the above points, we can basically rule out his previous practice of moving his feet in accordance with his heartbeat. This is difficult to do when his behavior is restricted, and it is also easy for Chen Qi to trigger it unintentionally.

"Suppose I am the Nightmare Eater right now, trapped by the Nightmare Clan, and I want to escape by switching bodies, what kind of 'secret door' would I design?"

"It's related to heartbeat..."

Chen Qi began to silently count his heartbeats.

As he counted, something suddenly occurred to him.

"My heart seems to be beating a little fast... at least faster than the other body."

He recalled the feeling of controlling another body before, and the heart rate back then was obviously slower than that of this body.

"This is my own body now. Before, I was controlling a parasite's body. Parasites have slower heart rates than normal people..."

"However, my heart suddenly started racing before we switched bodies."

"Could the key to activating the secret door lie in the frequency of your heartbeat?"

Chen Qi thought about it and realized that it was indeed possible!
Adjusting one's heart rate is discreet enough, and can be done as long as one is conscious and in control of one's body.

"It's definitely not because my heart is racing!"

If increasing his heart rate can trigger the hidden door, Chen Qi would unintentionally meet the triggering conditions by engaging in slightly strenuous exercise, which would increase his heart rate.

"If it's not about speeding up, then it can only be about slowing down the heart rate."

Thinking of this, Chen Qi immediately began to try it. He held his breath and started to hold his breath.

Holding your breath can affect your heart rate, causing your heart rate to drop temporarily.

However, holding your breath for a long time can actually cause your heart rate to rebound, making your heart beat faster.

As time ticked by, Chen Qi carefully felt the changes in his heartbeat.

Meanwhile, the Nightmare Clan beside him seemed to be modifying the dream within a dream they had woven for him, which gave him a lot of time.

As he held his breath, Chen Qi clearly felt his heart rate decrease.

Until one moment, a heartbeat suddenly seemed to ring in his ear, exceptionally clear.

But it was only that one sound, gone in an instant!
Chen Qi was thrilled, knowing he had found the right method. After adjusting his breathing and heartbeat, he tried holding his breath again.

As his heartbeat gradually decreased, he focused intently on capturing the changes in his heartbeat, and finally heard that exceptionally clear heartbeat again!

"That's the frequency, that's the heartbeat!"

"Does the heart rate need to be lowered to a certain frequency before we can switch bodies?"

"But why haven't I successfully switched places yet? Is it because it's not evening yet?"

Chen Qi could only try again and again.

Gradually, he became more and more skilled, able to quickly adjust and capture that special heartbeat, and even briefly maintain his heart rate within that range by controlling his breathing frequency.

In this way, each time he held his breath, he could even hear two consecutive heartbeats.

However, the body swap was still not completed.

"The new dream has been revised. Let's start afresh."

Chen Qi suddenly heard Marilyn Monroe's voice.

Then a voice exactly like his rang out: "I will be there to observe and accompany you throughout the entire process. If any flaws are revealed, I will fix them in time and strive for success on the first try."

Chen Qi was anxious and quickly adjusted his breathing and controlled his heartbeat.

thump!
thump!
A powerful, thunderous heartbeat resounded in Chen Qi's ears.

At the same time, all sorts of information and images shot into Chen Qi's consciousness like bullets.

He quickly drifted back into his dream.

But this time was different from the last. While he was having a dream, he could hear his own heartbeat constantly in his ears.

The heartbeat grew faster and faster, each beat as loud as thunder and as rapid as a sudden downpour, directly waking Chen Qi from his deep sleep.

This dream within a dream failed before it even began; Chen Qi knew clearly that he was dreaming.

Hearing the rapidly accelerating heartbeat, Chen Qi was overjoyed, knowing he had succeeded!

The last time we swapped bodies, my heart was beating faster and faster...

Thump thump thump…

The heartbeats were continuous, with no breaks in the sound.

Finally, everything went black before Chen Qi's eyes, and he lost consciousness.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in a pile of ruins, surrounded by hundreds of people pointing guns at him.

"Surrender now! Don't put up any futile resistance!"

"Misunderstandings are all misunderstandings!"

Chen Qi raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Let me explain."

At this moment, a burly man who was two meters tall stepped out from the crowd. When Chen Qi saw this man, a look of joy appeared on his face: "Captain Peanut!"

Peanut's face darkened: "Who told you to call me that!"

(End of this chapter)