Fear of food

Chapter 135 Stealing Dreams
Chen Qi had some prior knowledge about the issue of matching dream scenes.

This is indeed a problem that other dream thieves need to pay attention to.

To understand this, we first need to understand what "advanced dreams" are.

Advanced dreams are independent, smaller dreams hidden within deeper dream layers. They are often more dangerous, with dense and challenging dream pollution.

In other words, advanced dreams can only be entered through a dream within a dream.

Moreover, some more advanced dreams that are hidden deeper may be found in the third, fourth, or even deeper layers of dreams, requiring repeated falling asleep in the dream and constantly sinking into deeper sleep.

This is an extremely difficult task for ordinary dream thieves.

After all, not everyone is like Chen Qi, who can just sleep with anyone he wants.

For an ordinary dream thief, simply moving from the first dream layer to the second requires a long period of preparation and preparation.

This is where the importance of safe houses comes into play. They can prepare slowly inside a safe house without worrying about the invasion of dream pollution.

Simply put, advanced dreams are like dungeons, but there are no clearing conditions. Dream thieves enter only to search for dream fragments that resonate with them.

Whether you can find it or not depends on luck.

A dream scenario that closely matches one's own safe house can undoubtedly increase this probability.

For example, the mirror; his safe house is the bathroom; the dream fragment he is looking for is a "mirror fragment".

Therefore, if he goes to some advanced dream worlds with many mirrors, or some advanced dream worlds with toilets as the focus, he is more likely to find dream fragments that match him.

If a mirror is impossible to find in a high-level dream realm, then the chance of finding a dream fragment is zero.

This is the so-called compatibility between the scene of an advanced dream and one's own safe house. The higher the compatibility, the easier it is to find dream fragments that suit oneself.

Chen Qi's safe house is an amusement park, which is obviously a good fit for the amusement park.

"Is it confirmed that Chang Le Happy World has an amusement park-themed advanced dreamland?" Chen Qi asked.

Advanced dreams aren't available everywhere, just like high-quality food isn't something you can obtain just by farming for it.

Chen Qi had just entered a dream within a dream by the main road, but he ended up entering a private dream constructed from his own memories, instead of a higher-level dream.

This indicates that the location he was in just now did not contain any advanced dream realm, but only a superficial first-level dream realm.

Like high-end food, high-end dreams only appear in densely populated areas... The logic behind this should be the same as that for high-end food: the denser the population and the more severe the pollution, the greater the chance of high-end dreams appearing.

Chen Qi then realized that the appearance of advanced dreams was most likely related to advanced sources of pollution.

It's possible that densely populated areas are more likely to breed advanced sources of pollution, and these pollution sources create advanced dreamscapes.

As a popular tourist attraction, it's not surprising that a high-level dream world would appear at Chang Le Happy World. But does a high-level dream world born in an amusement park necessarily have something to do with the amusement park?

Monroe explained, "Generally, there is a certain chance that advanced dreams and superficial first-level dreams will be connected. As for the advanced dreams in Chang Le Happy World, I have already had them confirmed, and they should be very suitable for the master."

Chen Qi didn't ask any more questions. At this stage, he would just do whatever the Nightmare Clan arranged for him, since he couldn't resist anyway.

Let's focus on improving our own strength first.
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The car sped into the amusement park, with people constantly clearing a path for them, making Chen Qi truly understand what privilege meant.

"arrive!"

Chen Qi got out of the car. The amusement park was bustling with activity, filled with tourists.

He ignored the crowd and walked straight to the large roller coaster next to him.

On the way, Marilyn had already told him that there were multiple advanced secret realms hidden beneath Chang Le Happy World.

Hidden beneath this roller coaster is a small, high-class dreamscape.

Chen Qi went straight to sleep as usual.

Instantly, I sank into the second layer of the dream.

However, this time, when he opened his eyes and saw the unfamiliar scene in his dream, he confirmed that it was not a private dream woven from his memories.

Hidden beneath the first layer of dreams is a deep, independent dream, and it is not a private dream; without a doubt, this is a high-level dream.

This is only the second layer of the dream; there may be even deeper, more advanced secret realms hidden below.

However, at his current starting stage, the requirements for the dream level are not high. Just visiting the second or third level secret realms is enough.

The deeper and more advanced the dream, the higher the level and the more dangerous it is.

Chen Qi drew upon his experience of improving his abilities as a Pseudo-Eater and realized that he didn't need to pursue dream level at the beginning.

For example, the jianbing guozi he ate at the beginning was probably only an E-level pollution source. Although the level was low, it was enough for him. He would not be able to digest pollution sources that were too high level.

The same applies now that I've become a dream thief; what suits you best is the best, and a second-level advanced dream is enough.

"This looks like a park."

Chen Qi noticed the park map next to him, which had the words "Changfu Park" written on it.

He studied it carefully and found that the park was built around the mountain and was quite large.

The park also includes a zoo and a children's playground.

Chen Qi immediately noticed the existence of the children's playground. Compared to large amusement parks like Chang Le Happy World, this kind of children's playground in the park was more in line with Chen Qi's safe house scenario.

"That's probably why Marilyn Monroe thought this place suited me, right?"

Following the map's directions, Chen Qi headed straight for the children's amusement park.

I encountered quite a few people on the way: elderly people practicing Tai Chi, elderly people playing chess in a group, and elderly people listening to the radio with their hands behind their backs...

Occasionally, you can see a few middle-aged people taking a walk and chatting.

It's not uncommon for people to appear in advanced dreams.

Especially since this is only the second layer of the dream, most of the residents of Chang Le City now regard the dream as reality, which means they live in the first layer of the dream year after year.

In their dreams, they live normal lives, with normal eating and sleeping habits, and they sleep just like everyone else.

And once you fall asleep in your dream, you naturally enter the second dream.

In addition, people may be created in dreams, just like ordinary people dream of all kinds of people.

These "dream-created people" are themselves part of the dream.

Therefore, even in the deeper layers of dreams, there are often various living things, including people.

Chen Qi couldn't tell which of these people were real and which were creations of a dream.

He just felt something was off, but couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

It wasn't until he reached the children's playground area that he finally understood why he had felt something was off...

"After walking for so long, I've mostly seen elderly people, and occasionally some young people, but I haven't seen a single child."

I didn't see any children chasing and playing, not even one in this children's playground.

This children's playground doesn't have the large rides found in amusement parks; it only has smaller rides like swing rides and carousels for younger children. The playground looks strange without any children; it's empty and somewhat desolate.

However, this made it easier for Chen Qi to explore, as he guessed that his target was likely inside the amusement park.

"The scenario fits; others steal fragments of dreams, so what should I steal?"

As Chen Qi pondered this, Meng Long immediately offered guidance: "Treat this place as the illusion you experienced at Jinghai Medical College. What you need to do next is find the source of the dream within the dream."

"Finding the source of pollution in the dream? So this advanced dream was also built using the power of pollution?"

"Pretty much, but we Dream Sources are better at disguising ourselves in dreams, and we might disguise ourselves as something that seems reasonable."

Chen Qilian recalled that he had broken the illusion in the laboratory at Jinghai Medical College because he had eaten a contaminant disguised as a stick insect.

What can the pollutants disguise themselves as in this children's playground?

He quickly moved through the various attractions in the children's playground and soon arrived at the carousel area.

The carousel, which had been stationary, suddenly started spinning, and cheerful music began to play, though the tempo was noticeably faster.

Playing it at double speed makes the originally cheerful rhythm sound somewhat eerie.

The speed at which the rocking horse spun also increased several times in sync with the subtle rhythm.

Chen Qi happened to be standing on the turntable. The sudden increase in speed made him wary. Just as he was about to get off the turntable, the speed of the turntable under his feet increased again, as if it was deliberately preventing him from leaving.

Chen Qi felt a little unsteady and was about to grab the rocking horse next to him when, in the next moment, all the rocking horses came to life.

The two wooden horses closest to Chen Qi opened their mouths as if to bite him, while the other wooden horses also detached from their metal rods, galloping wildly and rushing towards Chen Qi like madmen.

In an instant, Chen Qi was surrounded by dozens of wooden horses.

Upon seeing this, Chen Qi spread his hands and fell backward.

Meanwhile, his safe house appeared...

Wow!

He fell to the ground amidst a pile of colorful plastic balls, his body submerged in them.

The surrounding rocking horses instantly lost their target and returned to their original positions, and the spinning wheel also stopped.

Everything returned to normal.

If anyone were nearby at that moment, they would have noticed that Chen Qi's figure vanished into thin air the instant he fell down!
They won't see plastic balls scattered all over the ground, nor will they see slides and swings.

The safe house is Chen Qi's private space, and no one else can see what's inside unless they come in.

Normally, no one else could get in without Chen Qi's invitation.

However, if the parasites have located the safe house, they can force their way in.

A safe house is a haven for dream thieves, a place where they can escape the pollution of dreams and sleep peacefully.

However, entering one's own safe house from the public dream also requires a simple activation action.

For example, when the mirror enters the bathroom, it needs to turn the door open; this is the action it takes to enter the safe house.

Chen Qi's action was to fall down...

Without any worries, he lay down, and the moment he fell, he would enter the safe house and be wrapped in a plastic ball.

Chen Qi sat up. The sudden attack from the carousel had shown him the dangers of advanced dreams—they came without warning and were completely unexpected, making them impossible to guard against.

After all, no one can guard against a group of carousels.

Without a safe house to hide in, one truly feels surrounded by danger and finds it difficult to move an inch in the advanced dream world.

Instead of rushing out, he asked, "Menglong, you are a dignified member of the Nightmare Clan, the king of the Nightmare Clan, don't you know where the source of this pollution is?"

Menglong felt a little embarrassed and spoke up for himself: "This is not my fault. How much of my potential can be realized depends entirely on your ability. You are too weak right now, so even if I have a lot of skills, I can't use them."

Nightmare seized the opportunity and mocked, "Weakling, you can't even sense your own Dream Source. Even if I lose all my abilities, I still know the location of every Food Source in my house."

Chen Qi chuckled: "You said it yourself, and I've kept it in mind."

Shiyan's heart skipped a beat. He had been so focused on suppressing Menglong that he had forgotten to guard against Chen Qi.

Menglong tried to save face, saying, "Go out and wander around a bit more later. Maybe I can sense you if you get closer."

The Nightmare Eater mocked again: "We're already so close, why would we need you? Chen Qi can sense it himself."

Having followed Chen Qi for so long, Shi Yan's understanding of Chen Qi is far more comprehensive than Meng Long's.

Since he said that, there must be some basis for it.

After a brief preparation, Chen Qi stood up and instantly put away the safe house.

He returned to the carousel.

Before the carousel could react, he stepped off the turntable, flipped over, and jumped off the carousel.

Chen Qi quickly ran towards the next amusement park ride, passing by the fish-catching pool, the swing chair, and the dragon boat ride, but he couldn't detect any source of pollution.

He stopped abruptly when he reached the vicinity of the pirate ship.

Chen Qi's gaze lingered on the pirate ship, and a strange feeling suddenly arose in his heart. Unlike the appetite he felt when he first saw Jianbing Guozi (a type of Chinese crepe), he certainly couldn't feel any appetite for the pirate ship.

But what remained the same was that attraction... pure and direct, only it seemed to be obscured by something, so much so that he had to get close to sense it.

"That's right, it's it, it's the one!" Menglong shouted excitedly in Chen Qi's mind.

"Next..." Chen Qi placed one hand on the pirate ship, seemingly knowing exactly what to do.

The next second, his safe house appeared around him, below the pirate ship.

This time, Chen Qi summoned the safe house without using the "fall down" action.

Moreover, this safe house wasn't just visible to him; everyone around could see it.

Thanks to the safe house, the pirate ship seems to be shrinking...

Chen Qi instantly realized that his safe house was meant to house the pirate ship in his small amusement park!

The problem is, Chen Qi's safe house isn't even as big as this pirate ship.

Saying it's like an ant swallowing an elephant is a bit of an exaggeration, but saying it's like a dog swallowing a tiger is probably more accurate.

"Are they going to turn the pirate ship into an attraction in the safe house?"

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out around them.

Chen Qi looked around and saw a group of wooden horses rushing towards him, and giant toads leaping out of the fishpond, jumping several meters away and rapidly approaching him.

(End of this chapter)