Fear of food

Chapter 127 Rules
“Of course!” Menglong said, “The pollution upgrade is equivalent to opening up the upper limit of the entire pollution zone, and everything will be upgraded accordingly.”

Chen Qi seemed to be deep in thought, thinking about the food-finding difficulties of other pica eaters.

Once the first qualitative change in ability is completed, it becomes very difficult to find high-quality food. Some people have speculated that this is because the pollution level has not been upgraded.

Menglong's words also confirm this statement.

After the pollution escalates, the shackles that would unlock the second qualitative leap in the abilities of the alien beings will be broken.

However, the parasites will also be strengthened accordingly.

Even the sources of pollution may be amplified!

Considering the "citywide slumber" in Corning, it's not hard to guess that similar phenomena will occur after the contamination of the food-related pollution zone escalates.

However, the current escalation of pollution in Jinghai City is merely Menglong's speculation, as it has not yet occurred.

Moreover, even if it does happen, in the long run, it may not be a bad thing.

Forcing Jinghai City to complete its pollution upgrade as soon as possible can at least stop the Nightmare Clan's expansion.

Furthermore, the removal of the shackles that would allow for a qualitative leap in capabilities might bring about a turning point.

Judging from the current situation, the combat power of human ability users and parasites is not equal, and they rely too much on ultimate moves.

Perhaps after a second qualitative leap in capabilities, this gap can be narrowed.

The Nightmare Clan's reluctance to upgrade their corruption might be partly due to this factor. First-stage ability users are weak and easily bullied, so keeping corruption at the first stage is more advantageous for the Nightmare Clan in controlling the situation.

Chen Qi stopped thinking about the escalating pollution and had already reached the entrance of the school library in the illusion.

For now, he should deal with the immediate problem first.

This wasn't Chen Qi's first time visiting the library of Jinghai Medical College, but yesterday he entered from the real world, while today he entered from the illusion.

Chen Qi didn't know the difference between the two, only that there was a low-level source of pollution in the real library.

"Be careful of the rules!" Menglong warned. "Once inside, try not to do anything. Observe the situation before taking any action."

"It's said to be a realm of rules and illusions, but I didn't see any rules when I came here last time," Chen Qi wondered to himself.

Menglong explained, "The rules are all hidden. You won't know them unless you trigger them, and once you do, it will be very dangerous!"

"But don't worry too much, the Nightmare Eater Clan's little tricks can't escape my eyes!"

Chen Qi expressed his doubts about this.

The Nightmare Eaters and Nightmare Clan despise each other, and the first generation of Nightmare Clan members are arrogant and love to boast; their words should not be taken at face value.

Therefore, I asked one more question to learn more about the details of the Illusionary Realm of Rules.

Amidst Menglong's rambling on about self-praise and belittling of the Illusionary Realm, Chen Qi extracted some key information:
1. Different areas within the same illusion may have different rules; for example, the library has its own rules, and the cafeteria has its own rules.
2. At present, only one rule will be in effect in a region, although this may change if the pollution level escalates.

3. The rules of each area will generally be related to the local environment. For example, the rules in the cafeteria are likely related to factors such as food and eating.

4. Violating the rules will be punished, but it is generally not fatal;

5. The rules cannot be changed arbitrarily in a short period of time, and everyone is treated equally. Whether human or Nightmare Clan, violating the rules will be punished equally.

Menglong shared his experience: "The best way to avoid breaking the rules is to observe what others in the same area do. Do what others do, and don't do what others don't do."

Chen Qi nodded, got ready, took a deep breath, and stepped into the library.

In a real library, there would definitely be many students at this time, since it is daytime.

But the library in the illusion was deserted and quiet, and apart from being brighter, it was not much different from nighttime.

Chen Qi kept Menglong's advice in mind, and was careful with his words and actions. After entering the library, he did nothing but walk and observe, without making any unnecessary movements.

Although he won't die even if he breaks the rules, he might be attacked by the parasite while he's being punished.

Sun Xuechao and the Nightmare Eater might be waiting for him to break the rules.

Generally speaking, the rules of an area are not too outrageous. For example, rules such as not being able to open your eyes or walk would not appear in a setting like a library.

Chen Qi carefully explored the first floor, but he didn't encounter a single person until he had explored the entire first floor of the library.

This left him with no object to observe.

Therefore, the rules of the library remain largely a matter of speculation.

However, when he stepped onto the second floor, he was slightly taken aback, as several people were waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs!
The group swarmed forward, wielding various weapons, and launched an attack on Chen Qifa.

Chen Qi subconsciously took a few steps back, but did not immediately retaliate.

He observed the students who had suddenly appeared and found that they did not seem to be parasites.

They are just ordinary people who have been contaminated.

It's not surprising that ordinary people would attack him, nor is it surprising that he could enter the illusion.

Sun Xuechao has a certain degree of control over the S-level pollution source and can decide who to pull into the illusion. Whether they are parasites or ordinary people, as long as they are within the Jinghai Medical College, they cannot resist.

However, Sun Xuechao must also know that these ordinary people pose no threat to Chen Qigou.

Is it because too many parasites have died or been injured, and there aren't enough of them, so they have to use ordinary people to make up the numbers?

Obviously there's no need for that. Even if we need to make up the numbers, why only let three or five people in?

Why not just send a large army to invade?
After a moment's thought, Chen Qi understood that the purpose of letting these people in was to make them break the rules!

Fighting these people is obviously pointless and could even break the rules.

Chen Qi decisively turned around and walked downstairs.

He hadn't run more than a few steps when he saw a group of people blocking the stairwell downstairs, armed with various knives, guns, clubs, and other weapons, trying to stop him.

Chen Qi did not panic or rush to take action. He stood in the middle of the stairs, watching the two groups of people rushing towards him from the front and back, and he remained calm and observed.

He immediately realized something was wrong... none of them were saying a word!

Normally, when charging forward with weapons, even if you don't say anything harsh, you should at least shout a few words of encouragement.

But everyone kept their mouths shut and didn't say a word.

"Is the rule that you can't speak?"

The rule of "no talking" is quite fitting in keeping quiet in the library.

But if that's all there is to it, why does Sun Xuechao think that these ordinary people can force him to break the rules?
Chen Qi was confident that he wouldn't need to rely on the power of language to deal with these people.

He doesn't need any special abilities; his superior physical attributes alone are enough to easily overwhelm anyone.

After consuming high-grade wild food six times, Chen Qi's physical condition was far beyond that of ordinary people. Although it could not be said to be beyond the human realm, it had certainly reached the human limit.

The key point is that after he merged with Menglong, he was already a parasite in the early stages of parasitism.

This means that he has broken free from the shackles of being a "human," and his current physical abilities are already at a superhuman level.

These ordinary people posed no threat to him.

"It shouldn't be 'unable to speak,' but something else..."

Chen Qi's eyes flashed, and he already had a guess in his mind.

He took a few steps forward and faced the first student rushing towards him.

The student, holding a hammer, swung it at Chen Qi's head.

Chen Qi stood there motionless, watching the hammerhead less than a centimeter from his forehead, before suddenly dodging. The student, caught off guard and unable to stop in time, lost his balance and fell forward.

He tumbled down the stairs, the hammer slipping from his hand and crashing onto the tiled steps with a dull thud.

Boom!
The sound was neither too loud nor too soft, but it was loud enough for everyone around to hear in a quiet environment.

The student who was tumbling down the stairs suddenly stopped, his momentum abruptly halted, as if forcibly cut off by an invisible force.

Then his body floated up. He struggled desperately, but his mouth was as if it had been sewn shut and he couldn't open it at all. His hands and feet were also as if they were glued together.

This scene confirmed Chen Qi's suspicions.

Clearly, this student violated the rules and was punished accordingly.

The rule in the library is not that you can't talk, but that you can't make any noise!

Slight sounds, such as footsteps or breathing, are fine, but you can't make any loud noises that others can clearly hear.

Simply put, it cannot produce noise.

Chen Qi immediately understood. He leaped up and grabbed the handrail of the stairs leading from the second to the third floor.

Then, with a nimble flip, he leaped onto the steps.

He moved with the agility of a cat, making no noticeable sound throughout.

The people below immediately turned around and chased after him upwards, but Chen Qi ran swiftly, continuing to run towards the third floor.

At this moment, the student who violated the rules was lifted all the way to the ceiling on the second floor.

Immediately afterwards, the ceiling above suddenly opened up, revealing a dark and deep hole.

The student was absorbed inside, and then the cave entrance slowly closed, and everything returned to normal.

"The person who made the noise has been locked in a dark room," Menglong thought to himself with amusement.

Chen Qi went straight to the third floor, headed to the nearest window, opened it, and jumped out!

He chose to jump off the building.

He wasn't afraid of those who were hunting him down, but he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't make a sound in the process of self-defense or retaliation.

Even if he punches someone and breaks their bones, or makes them scream, does that count as breaking the rules?

Chen Qi was unsure, but there was no need to take the risk.

His current goal is to find weaknesses. The Jinghai Medical College Illusion Realm is so large that there are more than one weakness, so there's no need to waste time in the library.

Since the library rules are not conducive to action, let's go somewhere else.

Chen Qi jumped from the third floor without any injury. He quickly got up and left the library feeling completely relaxed.

Rules are unreasonable; once they're broken, they're broken, and the person who deserves punishment can't escape it.

Library rules are indeed easy to break, especially when someone deliberately interferes.

"Where to go next?"

Chen Qi walked and pondered.

"The cafeteria's rules are most likely related to food. If I have to eat once I'm inside, should I eat or not?"

"Classrooms are for classes, and it's important to keep quiet, which is a hassle. What if the rules are the same as the library, or there are rules for exams or questions... I'd rather not go."

"The lab...we just left there."

"..."

Chen Qi used the process of elimination, and as he went through the options, he realized that there weren't many choices left.

He frowned in thought: "How about... we go to the dorm?"

Dormitories are crowded and noisy places, so there's no way to have rules like "keep quiet."

Moreover, when Chen Qi first came to Jinghai Medical College, he passed by the girls' dormitory, but he never actually explored the dormitory area.

The dormitory area includes dormitories for male and female students, as well as dormitories for faculty and staff.

Chen Qi didn't hesitate much and chose the girls' dormitory.

He doesn't deny that there was an element of curiosity involved, since he had never been there before.

Most boys will probably never have the chance to enter a girls' dormitory in their entire lives.

Having identified his target, Chen Qi headed straight for the girls' dormitory.

When Chen Qi arrived at the entrance of the girls' dormitory, something suddenly occurred to him: Could it be that the rules of the girls' dormitory are that boys are not allowed to enter?
That seems very likely!
There's no solution for the gender issue.

Moreover, these rules are quite reasonable.

However, after observing for a while, Chen Qichao heard various noises coming from the dormitories, indicating that a lot of people had gathered in the dormitory building.

He could understand having many people in a dormitory in real life, but it was a bit strange that there were just as many people in the dormitory in the fantasy world.

"Is this the place for concentrated human nature training?"

Menglong said lazily, "I guess it's going to be a concentrated effort to cause deep pollution."

"What do you mean?"

"There are too many people in the dormitory. As long as we maintain an illusion in a small area, we can pull all these people into the illusion and speed up their contamination process. It's very cost-effective..."

"Under the influence of the illusion, these people eat more, and their perception of time may even be affected. They live one day as if it were three or four days, and it is normal for them to eat ten meals a day."

Chen Qi was stunned: "It can be like this?"

Just then, he saw a male student carrying a plastic bag containing a takeout box.

The boy went straight into the girls' dormitory, placed the takeout box on a table on the first floor, and left.

A little while later, a girl came out and took the takeout box away.

"Is this for food delivery? Or is it for your girlfriend?"

Neither the guy who delivered the food nor the girl who came to pick it up gave Chen Qi a second glance, unlike the group in the library who would attack him.

The presence of this boy at least proves that the rules of the girls' dormitory are not based on gender, and this is not a forbidden area for boys.

Chen Qi felt reassured and went inside.

The dormitory supervisor on the first floor was engrossed in her meal, stuffing large chunks of food into her mouth, completely oblivious to Chen Qi's intrusion.

Chen Qi walked briskly on the first floor of the girls' dormitory. He stopped to take a look at some of the open dorm rooms and found that most of the female students were engrossed in eating.

Nobody paid any attention to this boy who had barged in.

In the blink of an eye, he had searched two floors, but he did not find any weak points.

Where should we look for so-called weak points?

Chen Qi felt somewhat at a loss, so he could only foolishly search the entire girls' dormitory.

"By the way, which dormitory did Xu An'an live in before?"

(End of this chapter)