Fear of food

Chapter 138 Pirate Ship, Launch!

Chen Qi had heard before that bears were very clever animals that could disguise themselves as humans and beckon people over.

He had only heard about it before, but today he finally saw it for himself.

Moreover, bears sometimes attack humans not for food, but purely for amusement.

When Chen Qi saw what the bear looked like, he immediately stopped in his tracks. Although he was not afraid of the bear, there was no need to take unnecessary risks and engage in a meaningless battle.

In short, it is certain that this brown bear was definitely not his target.

His playground isn't a zoo; there's no need to admit a bear.

Moreover, this bear is unlikely to be a manifestation of the Dream Source, as it does not meet Chen Qi's standards.

But as soon as Chen Qi stopped, the bear also crouched down, like an athlete preparing to start a race, ready to pounce.

Upon seeing this, Chen Qi took two steps back.

This two-step retreat seemed to send a signal, and the giant bear suddenly lunged out like a tank, rapidly crushing towards Chen Qi.

Chen Qi remained calm, leaned back, and entered the safe house.

The next moment, Chen Qi's figure vanished from the giant bear's sight.

Having lost its target, the giant bear roared in anger and paced around in place unwillingly before finally having no choice but to leave.

Watching the giant bear walk away, Chen Qicai walked out of the safe house. After thinking for a moment, he followed behind the giant bear.

He had no clue about this dream, and it seemed to cover a large area. Chen Qi didn't know which direction to explore, so he decided to just follow along and take a look.

Chen Qi followed the giant bear silently the whole way. The giant bear probably had no natural enemies here, so it was not very wary and did not look back at all.

As he walked, Chen Qi suddenly heard the sound of flowing water.

The sound of flowing water seemed to be some distance away from him.

Normally, the sound of flowing water is not very loud. If you can hear it from a distance, it means that the water flow is very rapid.

Upon hearing the sound of water, Chen Qi immediately thought of the pool in his safe house.

The swing was upgraded to a pirate ship, which made Chen Qi realize that the direction for improving his abilities was actually to upgrade the amusement park's rides.

His pool was really rather simple and shabby, and it definitely needed an upgrade.

"The source of that flowing water sound might just be the hope for upgrading my bathtub!"

After all, this was the middle of nowhere, and Chen Qi couldn't think of any place that could possibly be related to his amusement park.

"Could it be that they're going to upgrade my bathtub into a stream or waterfall?"

Chen Qi's spirits lifted, and he began to look forward to it.

After following the giant bear for a while, the sound of flowing water became clearer, and the rapid flow of the water could be heard.

Ahead was a slightly steep earthen slope, and the giant bear leaped down it.

Chen Qi quickened his pace and crept forward, already able to vaguely sense the moisture ahead, confirming that the water flow was not far ahead.

He lay on the slope and looked down, finally seeing the water flowing in front of him.

A stream flows downstream, its current swift and treacherous.

However, Chen Qi's gaze quickly fell on the stream. The giant bear from before was now sitting by the stream, with a slightly smaller adult bear and a cub beside it.

"This is the Xiong family of three."

Not far from this family, a group of people, about a dozen or so, were lying haphazardly.

These people were either injured or disabled; some lay motionless on the ground, their fate unknown.

Chen Qi noticed that they were all soaking wet, as if they had just been pulled out of the water, and some of them were even wearing life jackets.

This made him wonder whether these people were injured by the bear or by falling into the water.

Chen Qi was actually too lazy to meddle in other people's business, because this was a dream, and the people he saw might not be real people. They were very likely dream-created people, just NPCs in a high-level dream.

Even if a few of them are real people, they are still polluters of Chang Le City.

but……

Just as Chen Qi was about to look away, he was drawn to a splash of red among the wounded.

Red is eye-catching, and when he looked closer, he realized it was one of the women with red hair. When he saw the face under the red hair, Chen Qi was slightly taken aback.

Unexpectedly, I ran into someone I knew.

They weren't exactly close; Chen Qi didn't even know the other person's name or code name, but they had fought side by side before.

The red-haired woman was the one the authorities had assigned to protect them when he first entered Chang Le City.

He is a member of the Dream Thief Squad in Chang Le City.

Chen Qi glanced around at her and then noticed a familiar face, also a member of that team, a man with a buzz cut.

At that time, the Dream Thief team from Chang Le City consisted of three people, two of whom appeared here.

How did they get here?

It would be normal to run into each other in the first dream realm, but this is the fourth dream realm!
After thinking about it, Chen Qi decided to rescue the two and ask them.

After all, they were comrades-in-arms who had fought together, and also official combat personnel. Moreover, rescuing the two of them was just a matter of course for Chen Qi.

Most importantly, Chen Qi wants to make contact with the outside world, and these two people might be able to help.

So Chen Qi circled around slightly, using the surrounding environment as cover, and silently approached the injured crowd.

As he got closer, he could see that the red-haired woman and the buzz-cut man were different from the others; they didn't have much water on them, unlike the others who showed signs of drowning.

Moreover, both of them sustained serious injuries, which were clearly combat wounds.

Several of the scratches were clearly left from a fight with a bear.

But their chests rose and fell slightly, clearly indicating they were still breathing, and the red-haired woman even opened her eyes from time to time, her face full of despair and exhaustion.

"It seems there's still hope for them."

Without further hesitation, Chen Qi rushed out from behind the cover.

Now his figure was exposed to the giant bear, which roared and charged at him.

But Chen Qi was not slow either. After absorbing the first high-level dream source, his physical fitness in the dream was greatly improved. He rushed to the injured crowd in three steps, picked up the crew-cut man with one hand and grabbed the red-haired woman's arm with the other, and planned to lead them into his safe house.

Upon seeing Chen Qi's appearance, a glimmer of hope appeared in the red-haired woman's desperate eyes, but then, as if remembering something, her face softened into a pleading expression, and she quickly cried out:
"Save him, take him with you!"

As he spoke, he pointed to a boy of about eighteen or nineteen years old not far away.

The boy was also injured, but his injuries were relatively minor compared to the others. He was lying on the ground with his eyes open and was conscious.

However, there was a scratch on his chest, which stretched from his shoulder to his chest. Fortunately, the scratch was not deep, and only a few ribs were exposed, without exposing his internal organs.

Upon seeing this, Chen Qi knew that the young man was probably also an official.

So he hoisted the red-haired woman onto his shoulder and used his free hand to lift the boy up as well.

Then, he leaned back and led the three of them directly into the safe house.

The giant bear arrived just then, but missed again.

Inside the safe house, the three officials lay among a pile of plastic balls, while the red-haired woman and the boy stared in astonishment at their bodies, which had shrunk considerably.

Only the man with the buzz cut remains unconscious.

"Is this your safe house?" The red-haired woman looked around with curiosity, and didn't forget to thank her, "Thank you for saving us, otherwise we would probably be in grave danger this time."

With that, she struggled to her feet and ran to the man with the buzz cut to check his injuries. "He should be alright," Chen Qi concluded after glancing at him.

Being hurt in a dream is different from being hurt in reality.

Injuries in dreams are less realistic in reality. The man with the buzz cut looks seriously injured, but as long as he leaves the dream and receives timely treatment, he will be out of danger.

The difficulty lies in the fact that escaping the dream is not an easy task for them.

This is the fourth level of the dream realm. Entering such an advanced dream realm is not easy for them.

It's not just difficult to get in; it's equally difficult to get out.

Moreover, each dream thief enters the safe house in a different way, and even when seriously injured, they may not be able to open the safe house.

Therefore, for them, exploring advanced dreams is an extremely dangerous thing.

If Chen Qi doesn't come to save them, their only chance of survival now is to find a way to escape the dream.

However, once you leave the fourth dream realm, you will return to the third dream realm. After that, you must leave the third and second dream realms again before you can return to the first dream realm and wake up directly.

Each dream you pass through may present new dangers.

Chen Qi's judgment was correct; after a short while, the man with the buzz cut slowly woke up.

After seeing Chen Qi and learning what had happened, the man with the buzz cut expressed his gratitude to Chen Qi.

He and the redhead then asked curiously, "Biscuit, what are you doing here? And... is this your safe house?"

They all knew that Chen Qi had been trapped in the dream.

But they also knew that Chen Qi had successfully escaped and returned to Jinghai City.

How did I end up in Changle City again?

Moreover, why would Chen Qi, a pagan, have a safe house?

Could they be twins?
But that doesn't make sense either, because Chen Qi clearly knows them.

"It's too complicated to explain in a few words." Chen Qi didn't answer the question, but instead asked, "And what about you? How did you end up in the fourth layer of the dream?"

The man with the buzz cut didn't hide anything; he considered Chen Qi one of his own and answered directly:
"Liehuo and I brought Dazhuang out this time to search for high-level dream fragments."

"Dazhuang?" Chen Qi looked at the boy behind him who hadn't said much.

"Fiery Blaze" likely refers to the red-haired woman, so "Big Strong" must be the boy's code name.

How can a thin and weak-looking boy be called Dazhuang?

However, Chen Qi didn't ask any further questions and said, "I still have some things to take care of here. You can follow me first, and I can send you back to the first dream realm when I'm done."

Liehuo, the red-haired woman, hesitated before speaking:

"Um, Cookie, could you do me a favor?"

The man with the buzz cut seemed to have thought of something too, and his eyes lit up: "That's right, Biscuit, with your skills, if you're willing to help us, it'll definitely be no problem!"

Having witnessed Chen Qi's abilities in the last battle in Chang Le City, they were all impressed.

The scene of them eating the parasite raw is still unforgettable for them.

Therefore, their attitude towards Chen Qi changed unconsciously; everyone respects the strong.

"What kind of help?" Chen Qi asked.

The crew-cut man explained, "Actually, that giant bear outside is our mission target this time, and also the dream fragment that Dazhuang needs."

Liehuo looked helpless: "We were originally planning to hunt that giant bear, but we failed. We underestimated its strength. But if it were you, there would definitely be no problem!"

The two men's high regard for Chen Qi made the boy named Dazhuang behind them even more curious about him.

He didn't understand why the two Dream Thief predecessors, Crew Head and Blazing Fire, had so much confidence in Chen Qi.

The giant bear was incredibly strong, with high attack and high health, and with a female bear assisting it, it easily defeated the trio.

If the giant bear hadn't been playful and treated them as toys instead of killing them, the three of them would probably have perished long ago.

Besides being curious about Chen Qi, Da Zhuang also harbored a competitive spirit towards him, since Chen Qi didn't look much older than him.

He, Da Zhuang, is now officially recognized as a promising newcomer with great potential.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible to arrange for two experienced dream thieves to escort him and risk venturing into the fourth layer of the dream to help him steal dream fragments.

Chen Qi neither immediately agreed nor refused, but instead asked thoughtfully:
"So you were injured while fighting the giant bear? What about the wounded around you?"

“Those were tourists who came to go rafting. There was an accident, and they all fell into the water. Many of them were injured,” the crew-cut man said. “Later, those two bears pulled them out of the water.”

Chen Qi suddenly realized that the others were not injured because of the giant bear attack, but because of the rafting accident!

drifting……

Chen Qi's eyes lit up. The stream had a rapid current and a large drop in water level, making it quite suitable for rafting.

It looks exciting, but it's also very dangerous.

Wouldn't such an amusement park be perfect for his amusement park?
Amusement rides that are too safe have no danger whatsoever; the more dangerous and exciting they are, the better!

It's very likely that this stream used for rafting is his target, the fragment of his dream he needs.

Chen Qi decided to go out and take a look.

"Okay, you three stay hidden and be careful."

Chen Qi agreed, much to the delight of both Cun Tou and Lie Huo.

For Chen Qi, dealing with the giant bear was just a matter of course.

He couldn't explore the stream in peace until he dealt with the giant bear, as the bear would definitely attack him.

Chen Qi snapped his fingers, and his safe house immediately appeared in the dream.

His amusement park safe house differs from the mirror-like bathroom safe house in that the bathroom only has one door as an entrance.

But Chen Qi's amusement park has entrances on all sides, with only a fence less than a meter high, which anyone can easily cross.

Therefore, when a mirror's safe house manifests in a dream, only one door will appear.

Chen Qi can directly reveal an entire amusement park.

This makes it easier for him to lure enemies into his safe house, unlike a mirror which can only invite enemies in through the front door.

Chen Qi calmly walked out of the safe house and waved to the giant bear.

This provocative action instantly enraged the giant bear, which charged wildly toward Chen Qi on all fours.

Seeing that the giant bear was about to pounce on his face, Chen Qi calmly took a few steps back and led the bear into the safe house.

Upon entering the safe house, Chen Qi's size rapidly shrank to that of a five- or six-year-old child.

The giant bear instantly shrank into a slightly larger teddy bear doll.

It actually looks kind of cute.

The man with the buzz cut, Liehuo, and Dazhuang hid in a pile of plastic balls, staring wide-eyed at the scene.

They were curious about how Chen Qi would fight.

Especially Liehuo and Cuntou, they thought Chen Qi would just bite them, but now it seems that Chen Qi has a new skill.

"Perfect timing to test the power of the new facility on you!"

"Pirate ship, start!"

(End of this chapter)