Fear of food

Chapter 134 Chen Qi's Safe House
"Is it okay if I jump from here?"

Before jumping off the building, Chen Qi checked with his two Nightmare Strategists.

The rooftop where he was located was essentially on the third floor.

However, the floor height of self-built houses in rural areas is generally higher than that of residential buildings in urban areas, so they are taller than a typical three-story house.

Given the physical condition of his host, jumping off a building wouldn't be a problem, but this is a dream after all, so asking one more question won't hurt.

The Nightmare Eater said, "Jumping off a building in a dream is fine, but it's easy to wake up."

Chen Qi was taken aback. Indeed, from childhood to adulthood, whenever he dreamed of falling from a height, he would experience a strong sense of weightlessness, as if his body was constantly falling, which would cause him to wake up from the dream.

Waking up from a dream is not a problem in itself, the key is that this is a dream within a dream.

If you wake up, you will return to the first layer of the dream.

Even if one enters the dream within a dream again, this second dream may very well be rebuilt.

That means exploring a new dream all over again, experiencing the dangers once more, and adding many unknown risks.

Menglong explained, "Don't worry, what woke you up from your dream wasn't the act of 'jumping off a building' itself, but the fear of jumping off a building. It's essentially the same as dreaming about being eaten by a monster and waking up in fright."

Chen Qi understood: "So as long as you overcome your fear, you won't wake up."

In fact, he wasn't too afraid of jumping off the building, because he was used to the superhuman strength he possessed, and a mere three or four stories wouldn't cause him much fear.

However, to be on the safe side, it's best to choose a landing site that appears to be safer.

The fear of jumping into water and jumping onto concrete is definitely not on the same level.

Therefore, he instantly targeted his landing spot—a colorful area in the yard.

Upon seeing that area, Chen Qi's somewhat faded memories instantly became vivid and colorful.

"That was... the amusement park my father built for me when I was a child."

When Chen Qi was a child, his parents took him to Jinghai Amusement Park once, and ever since then he has never forgotten amusement parks.

After coming back, he kept pestering his parents to take him out to play again.

That summer, his father built a small amusement park for him in the courtyard of their old home.

I remember my father brought a lot of materials from the city, plus some leftover scrap materials from home, and borrowed some sand and bricks left over from building houses from the neighbors. He worked for a whole week in the sweltering summer to build such a small amusement park for Chen Qi.

This is probably how a quiet, STEM-oriented father shows his love for his child.

Despite being called an "amusement park," there are very few rides and attractions inside: only one slide, one swing, and a small pool the size of a bathtub.

But for kids, having a place where they can run wild is enough.

Mr. Chen understood children's psychology very well, so he decorated everything in bright colors and filled it with many colorful plastic balls, which looked fun.

Moreover, the amusement park uses soft sand as a base and all the edges and corners are wrapped with foam to ensure safety.

At that time, all the other children in the village were extremely envious of him, and Chen Qi's little vanity was greatly satisfied.

"If my safe house is hidden in this dream, then it must be this little amusement park!" Chen Qi was certain of himself.

Just then, several chirps came from overhead.

Chen Qi looked up and saw several swallows, more than twice the size of eagles, flying towards the rooftop. To be precise, they were swooping down on him, poised to hunt.

Chen Qi also heard the urgent chirping of birds behind him. The fledgling swallow struggled to flap its wings and flew from the stairwell to the rooftop.

It seemed that it was the chirping of the fledgling swallows that attracted the adult swallows in the sky.

"They want to catch me like an insect and feed me to the baby swallows."

Several swallows swooped down, their sharp beaks like weapons, their wings flapping and stirring up gusts of wind...

With no way out, Chen Qi aimed at the amusement park downstairs and made a leap of faith.

“That was the playground my father built for me. No matter how naughty I was when I was a child, I never got hurt.”

"Not now..."

This little amusement park gave young Chen Qi a strong sense of security, which is why it appeared in his dreams after many years.

During the jump, Chen Qi felt no fear and was not startled awake.

boom!
Chen Qi landed in the amusement park. The thick layer of plastic balls on the ground, the soft sand below, and the foam wrappings that could be seen everywhere were all cushioning the impact of Chen Qi jumping from the building.

Finally, as if by magic, it absorbed all the impact, making Chen Qi feel as if he hadn't jumped off the roof, but rather bounced around on the spot.

At this moment, the giant swallows on the rooftop missed their target and immediately tracked Chen Qi, swooping towards the amusement park.

Chen Qi lay on the ground, and a thick layer of plastic balls quickly engulfed him.

He liked to play like this when he was a child, hiding inside a plastic ball, which made him feel especially safe.

The swallows that swooped down lost their target for a moment, seemingly unable to find Chen Qi hiding under the plastic ball. After circling in the air for a few minutes, they flew away.

"really……"

Chen Qi was overjoyed, knowing that he had guessed correctly.

This small, makeshift playground is his safe house!

"I never imagined that my safe house would be the childhood playground that my father built for me."

Chen Qi couldn't help but smile as he reminisced about his wonderful childhood.

He sat up. Less than a meter behind him was the slide, and at his feet was a pool the size of a bathtub. A little over a meter ahead was a swing.

What I remembered as a huge amusement park now seems to be just a tiny little place.

It's not that the amusement park has shrunk; it's just that it has grown up.

"But this is my dream; it can be small, or it can be big!"

As soon as Chen Qi had a thought, the surrounding scene was stretched, the old house next to him turned into smoke and disappeared, and the surrounding courtyard walls collapsed with a crash.

Only the amusement park was expanding, but not by much, and then it stopped.

Chen Qi quickly understood the reason... It was too spacious!
His personal dream world was too vast.

More filling is needed to support the continued expansion of this dream.

However, he soon saw the dream magnify in his eyes, and the plastic balls on the ground became even larger, but something felt off.

"Something's not right!" Chen Qi looked down and finally realized where the problem lay.

It wasn't that the amusement park had gotten bigger; it was that he had gotten smaller! His body had shrunk to the size of a four- or five-year-old, making him a little kid.

"What Conan..." Chen Qi couldn't help but mutter.

However, he still looks like an adult, and his physical strength, speed, and development level are also at an adult level, only scaled down proportionally.

Because he himself shrank, some miniature amusement parks appeared larger from his subjective perspective.

"A dream world governed by rules!" Menglong couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"As expected of you!" Nightmare Eater exclaimed in delight, "You activated your own dream with its own rules as soon as you stepped in!"

"Rules?" Chen Qi thought for a moment, then suddenly realized, "You mean, my shrinking is caused by the rules of the dream?"

“That’s right!” Menglong’s joy was palpable. “The rule of our dream is that everyone who enters will be shrunk!”

He used "we," clearly indicating that he also considered Chen Qi's exclusive dream as his own.

In Menglong's eyes, all of Chen Qi's body's abilities were equivalent to his own.

The Nightmare Eater did not refute this, and even seemed equally pleased.

He was ambitious and firmly believed in the Nightmare Eater's heart that one day he could reunite Chen Qi's two bodies and reap the final victory.

Therefore, the Dream Thief ability that Chen Qi has awakened now will also be his ability in the future, and the stronger the ability, the happier he will be.

"What's the point of these rules?"

Although it can shrink the enemy, it also shrinks the dream's master equally, treating everyone the same without any special privileges.

This approach, which simultaneously weakens the rules governing both sides, seems to have no direct effect.

However, considering that other people's safe houses only have the basic function of avoiding dream pollution, his safe house has an additional rule, which is enough to show its extraordinary potential.

“You’ve found your own dream world. The key is to strengthen your abilities now!” Menglong reminded him.

Chen Qi nodded, a hint of curiosity in his mind: "What exactly will my ability be?"

Generally speaking, dream thieves' abilities are inextricably linked to safe houses.

For example, the ability of a mirror comes from that dressing mirror, which is indeed a standard feature in family bathrooms.

When Mirror first found the safe house, he noticed that his private bathroom was missing a mirror, making the wall behind the sink look somewhat empty and unnatural.

He later discovered that he needed to steal dream fragments from higher-level dreams in order to improve his abilities.

What he needs to steal is the mirror in the higher dream!
Only by collecting the three broken mirrors can a complete mirror with special abilities be assembled.

This corresponds to the qualitative change in ability that occurs when a pica eats three servings of high-quality food.

The problem is that Chen Qi is definitely different from other dream thieves, and he cannot simply refer to other people's experiences.

Menglong clearly knew something about this, and instructed, "Go back to the first layer of the dream first, and then our Nightmare Clan will do everything in our power to help you upgrade your abilities."

Nightmare Eater said impatiently, "Hurry up and have your people bring the Dream Source over. Don't waste time. I can't wait to see what our abilities are!"

"What 'we'? You should have some boundaries when you're making nightmares. Don't try to establish connections randomly!" Menglong was very unhappy.

Shi Yan laughed: "Haha, I only said 'we' to give you face. You're not happy about letting me play with you? From now on, it's Chen Qi and my world. What business is it of yours!"

Menglong was also enraged and grabbed the Nightmare Eater, cursing, "You nameless scum..."

The two resumed their usual verbal sparring, which Chen Qi was used to. Combining their previous words, he began to speculate about how his abilities as a Dream Thief would be upgraded.

"From the words of the two Nightmare Clan members, it is not hard to tell that I also need to rely on advanced pollution sources to upgrade my abilities."

"When I was a pagan, I needed to eat high-grade wild food transformed from high-level pollution sources in order to upgrade my abilities."

"Moreover, the so-called food source and dream source should be no different to me. I have previously managed to transform dream pollution sources into high-grade wild food, and eating them will also allow me to level up."

"So as long as it's a high-level source of pollution, no matter what kind it is, I can use it to upgrade my abilities."

"The question is, how do we use advanced sources of pollution?"

When faced with high-quality wild food, Chen Qi can absorb it simply by eating it directly.

However, his current body does not have the ability to convert pollutants into food, nor can it necessarily digest wild food.

After all, he is no longer a pica eater, so it is normal for him to have lost all abilities related to "eating".

Chen Qi tried to put away his exclusive dream, and to his surprise, the first attempt was very successful. The surrounding scenery shattered with a crash, and Chen Qi broke free from the dream within a dream. When he opened his eyes, he found himself back on the side of the main road.

Marilyn Monroe, dressed in a sailor suit, was squatting beside him, her arms wrapped around her knees, which pressed her already bulging breasts so tightly they looked about to burst. Two small buttons seemed to be struggling to hold back the disproportionately large breasts.

"Master, you're awake." Her tone was playful yet respectful.

Chen Qi didn't speak. Just as he was about to stand up, he felt his arm sink into something soft.

Marilyn Monroe took his arm and helped him up.

The Nightmare Eater and Dream Dragon, who were arguing, stopped arguing when Chen Qi returned to the first layer of the dream.

"What do you mean? What am I supposed to do next?" Chen Qi asked.

He believed that the Nightmare Clan must have made some arrangements for this.

Marilyn smiled sweetly, revealing two small tiger teeth and two dimples, and said, "Master, come with me."

As soon as she finished speaking, a luxurious and imposing sedan pulled up to the side of the road. Chen Qi only recognized the double-R logo, but he had never dared to study cars of this caliber in his life, so he couldn't identify which model it was.

Marilyn Monroe, like a caring secretary, helped Chen Qi into the car.

Sitting in the spacious and comfortable back seat, Chen Qi couldn't help but sigh. He never expected that he would be driving a Rolls-Royce at such a young age of just over twenty... even if it was just a dream.

The driver, a middle-aged man in a suit, turned around and respectfully bowed to Chen Qi before starting the car.

"Where are we going?" Chen Qi looked at Meng Lu, his gaze inevitably sinking into a chasm.

It is very difficult for people to fight against their own instincts.

“Let’s go to Chang Le Happy World.” Monroe leaned on Chen Qi’s shoulder and placed one of his hands on her thigh, playfully playing with his slender fingers.

"Amusement park?"

Thinking that his own dream world was an amusement park, Chen Qi naturally wondered if there was any connection between the two.

“That’s right.” Monroe nodded her head like a chick pecking at rice. “The way we upgrade our abilities here is a bit different from that of the Nightmare Eaters. We also have to consider the compatibility of the dream scene.”

"The amusement park should be the perfect dream setting for you, Master!"

(End of this chapter)