Fear of food

Chapter 143 Goodbye Father
After learning that Chen Qi's other body had also been resurrected, the Nightmare Clan plotted to seize it.

The Nightmare Clan's initiative to cause trouble in the Nightmare Eater's territory is inherently disadvantageous.

After all, the Nightmare Clan's fighting style relies heavily on dreams. Their strength is diminished when they leave the dream-contaminated zone, let alone enter the Fear-Contaminated Zone, which is someone else's home ground!

Therefore, this operation is very difficult.

But the Nightmare Clan still showed their determination to win.

According to Monroe, this time the force deployed included not only the Nightmare Parasites of Chang Le City, but also combat forces from other Dream Contaminated Zones!
For example, Corning City participated in it.

Chen Qi understood that this was his chance to regain his freedom, and he had to make good use of this rare opportunity.

As for the sixth source of pollution that his body was to absorb, Monroe actually set her sights on Jinghai Paradise, which was something Chen Qi hadn't expected.

Although in theory Chen Qi can absorb any kind of pollution source, and the Jinghai Paradise setting is a good fit for his safe house.

But why go through all that trouble, going to such lengths instead of the nearest option?

Chen Qi didn't believe the explanation that it was "on the way." After a moment's thought, he made some guesses.

Firstly, even for the Nightmare Clan, an A-level pollution source isn't something to be taken lightly, and they would feel the pain of losing one.

Therefore, it's better to use someone else's product than your own.

But that's secondary. Chen Qi believes that the Nightmare Clan's main purpose is to guard against him!

They were afraid he was too powerful and difficult to control.

After completing one qualitative leap in his abilities, Chen Qi's strength was already enough to threaten Meng Lu, a third-generation Nightmare Clan member. If he were to complete his second qualitative leap in abilities sooner, it was unlikely that anyone in Chang Le City would be able to control him.

That's why he postponed the time for completing his second qualitative leap in ability.

Although Menglong is still integrating with him, it will take time to make progress, and Chen Qi is currently in the lead.

However, once they arrive in Jinghai City in a few days, the fusion process between Chen Qi and Menglong will be further accelerated. Moreover, there will be Nightmare Parasites from other contaminated areas present, so there will be no fear of Chen Qi turning against them.
-
The next day, Monroe quietly left Chang Le City with Chen Qi.

A group of high-level parasites from the polluted area of ​​Changle City followed behind them.

However, they did not head straight for Jinghai City, but instead traveled all the way to Kangning City.

After leaving the contaminated area, Chen Qi deeply realized just how dependent he was on dreams as a nightmare parasite and dream thief.

Outside, there are no hidden spaces for them to hide in, nor can they summon their own safe house directly as they do in their dreams.

The most suitable fighting style for them is to directly use the abilities that Nightmare Parasites possess, such as their domains, to hypnotize their opponents and then defeat them from within the dream world.

In other people's dreams, they are invincible and can use all the abilities of the safe house.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Nightmare Parasites are weaklings in reality; they just aren't as powerful as Nightmare Eaters.

Even in terms of control alone, the Nightmare Parasite is superior.

Corning, the first city to enter the second stage of pollution, is now a key target for the authorities.

This city of eternal slumber still holds many official ability users who remain asleep to this day.

The moment Chen Qi stepped into the city, he felt a sense of peace, as if he had come home.

He had unconsciously become accustomed to his instincts as a parasite. Here, he felt that the dream world gave him greater convenience, making him stronger than ever before!
"In the dream world of Corning City, I have more privileges, and the world gives me more support!"

"Is this the second stage of dream pollution...?"

Chen Qi conservatively estimates that fighting here would increase his combat power by more than 50%!
“No need to be envious,” Monroe laughed. “Our Chang Le City can upgrade its pollution levels anytime, it’s just unnecessary.”

Chen Qi nodded and walked with Monroe on the deserted streets of Corning City.

Kangning City was much more deserted than Changle City, truly deserted. There wasn't a soul in sight on the streets, and even sleepwalkers were a rare sight.

Everyone was asleep, in a dream.

The people of this city have come to regard the dream world as the real world, and they live in their dreams.

Upon entering the first layer of the dream, it felt as if I had arrived in the old city of Kangning. Here, people lived like those in other cities, going to school, going to work, leaving home in the morning, returning home in the afternoon, and going to sleep at night...

That's right, they sleep in their dreams just like they do in reality.

After they fall asleep, they continue to dream and enter a second dream world, where they will create a new, large dream world!
Until one day, perhaps no one will be seen in the first layer of the dream anymore, and everyone will sink into the second layer of the dream, taking it as reality...

At that time, dream pollution will escalate once again!
People's bodies in reality will slowly die until they completely lose their vitality. At that time, all those who have been corrupted by dreams will have their souls and consciousness forever imprisoned in the dream world, becoming dream people.

"When can I see my father?" Chen Qi asked the question that concerned him most.

"Don't rush, come with me to a meeting first. I've already sent people from Corning City to find your father. He should be here by the time our meeting is over."

The two arrived in front of an impressive building. This place may have originally been a government office, but it has now been taken over by the Nightmare Clan and has become the offices of the Nightmare Clan's high-ranking officials.

When Chen Qi and his group arrived, there were already many people in the lobby on the first floor.

Based on his sense of connection with others of the same kind, Chen Qi knew that the hall was teeming with nightmare parasites!
They were all parasites from other dream-contaminated areas... Monroe gave Chen Qi a general introduction to the city they came from and the strength of its leader.

Chen Qi discovered that the contaminated areas were usually led by third-generation Nightmare Clan members like Monroe, with second-generation Nightmare Clan members appearing occasionally.

However, not a single member of the Nightmare Clan was ever seen.

This shows how rare the Nightmare Clan is.

Of course, it may also be related to the fact that the first generation of Nightmare Clan had too high standards for selecting hosts.

Chen Qi soon noticed that many people present were secretly observing him.

Everyone seemed very interested in him.

Menglong snorted coldly in dissatisfaction. In an instant, everyone present seemed to hear his voice, and they all withdrew their gazes, turning their heads away, not daring to look anymore.

Chen Qi and Meng Lu found a corner to sit down, and he asked in confusion, "What are we waiting for?"

“We’re waiting for our compatriots from Corning to come,” Monroe replied.

Chen Qi asked curiously, "According to what you said, none of the polluted areas are willing to upgrade their pollution levels. Kangning City took the lead in upgrading, but also lost its potential for expansion. Why do the other polluted areas seem to follow Kangning City's lead?"

Corning City has upgraded its pollution control measures and is indeed temporarily ahead in terms of strength, but at the cost of losing its potential.

Based on Chen Qi's understanding of the Nightmare Clan, the Nightmare Clan members from other contaminated areas would not submit to them; in fact, they should hold them in contempt.

Monroe curled the corners of her lips and asked in return, "Master, why does Corning City think it needs to escalate its pollution levels?"

"Isn't it because the source of pollution is in danger?" Chen Qi frowned. "From what you're saying, there's more to the story?"

Monroe nodded: "At the time, Corning City was indeed under some pressure from your human attacks, but it was not driven to the brink of despair, and it didn't even ask our other cities for help." Chen Qi was taken aback upon hearing this.

Yes, since the Nightmare Clan is a unified entity and can cooperate with each other, why didn't other members of the Nightmare Clan come to support them when the human ability users gathered to attack Corning City?
Because at the time, the official ability users didn't pose a real threat to them!

"Then..." Chen Qi's pupils contracted, "Could it be because of those ability users?"

“That’s right.” Monroe chuckled. “Humans have given us such a great gift. Corning City hesitated for a long time before finally deciding to take it all in one go.”

"Although we paid a price for this, territory isn't the most important thing; our overall strength is equally important."

Chen Qi couldn't help but gasp.

The Battle of Corning, which gathered most of the official ability users, turned out to be a gift to the Nightmare Clan.

For the Nightmare Clan, those with abilities are resources!
Only when a person with superpowers is parasitized can they become a domain-level parasite.

The number of people with special abilities that can be born in a polluted area or a city is limited.

This is equivalent to giving all the elite ability users from several other cities to Corning City at once!

That battle made Corning City incredibly wealthy.

In order to capitalize on this wave of benefits, the Nightmare Clan of Corning City acted decisively, directly upgrading the pollution level and retaining all the ability users.

Only in this way can those four hundred-plus official ability users be trapped and forced into a deep sleep.

Then slowly transform them all into parasites!
Imagine that the original four hundred or so ability users have transformed into the four hundred or so even more powerful domain-level parasites...

This force is indeed enough to make it stand out from the crowd and make other polluted areas bow down.

Not to mention the Nightmare Clan, even the Nightmare Eater Clan both envied and feared this.

That wave was essentially draining the blood from other contaminated areas to fatten up the contaminated areas in Corning City.

The food-contaminated areas were also affected.

This could very well put them at a disadvantage in their future battles against the Nightmare Clan, but fortunately, Chen Qi, an anomaly, emerged from the Terror-Contaminated Zone.

This led the Nightmare Eater clan to see Chen Qi as their hope for turning the tide.

Just then, a commotion broke out in the hall, and Marilyn took Chen Qi's arm and stood up.

Chen Qi looked ahead and saw a large group of people walk in from outside the door. There were about thirty or forty of them, and without exception, they were all parasites, and their levels were not low.

Leading the group were two second-generation Nightmare Clan members, both around thirty years old. One had a large belly and a fat head and ears; the other looked ordinary, wearing black-rimmed glasses and appearing like an older college student.

The fact that two second-generation Nightmare Clan members have emerged from a single city like Kangning is truly remarkable.

The two second-generation Nightmare Clan members led their men straight up to Chen Qi.

Chen Qi stood there without saying a word, his eyes calm and expressionless.

The two men carefully examined Chen Qi, paying particular attention to his eyes and expressions.

In the end, the two bowed slightly in greeting.

Menglong cursed in Chen Qi's mind: "These two pieces of trash dare to put on airs in front of me! They should have bowed to me the moment they saw me. If I hadn't not yet unleashed my full power, I would have gouged out their eyes!"

Chen Qi didn't think the two of them would dare to challenge the Nightmare Clan's strict hierarchical system. He felt that the two of them were just trying to figure out whether he was now a human or the consciousness of the Dream Dragon was in control.

It is possible that they will eventually realize that Chen Qi's consciousness is still in control of this body, which is why the two of them are being somewhat perfunctory.

Not only the two of them, but all the other parasites present had similar thoughts.

If Menglong had complete control over this body, I'm afraid all the Nightmare Clan members in the hall would bow respectfully and wouldn't dare to raise their heads in front of him.

The two second-generation Nightmare Clan members didn't say much to Chen Qi and went straight to explaining the battle plan.

"This time we are going to invade Jinghai City and fight the Nightmare Eater Clan on their territory. This is a huge challenge for us."

"Moreover, the pollution in Jinghai City has escalated, further enhancing their home-field advantage..."

The two went on and on about their disadvantages, then finally changed the subject, saying:
"But our advantage is also obvious. We have the initiative because we are caught off guard by their intentions."

"Moreover, we have an absolute advantage in numbers..."

To put it bluntly, the Nightmare Clan gathered a large group of people to launch a sneak attack this time.

They used their numerical advantage to compensate for their disadvantage in terms of location.

They can gather forces from multiple contaminated areas and launch a concentrated attack on Jinghai City.

However, Jinghai City cannot concentrate its forces from multiple contaminated areas to defend them at all times.

"The most important thing about this operation is secrecy, which is why I told everyone to keep their whereabouts hidden. However, there is still a risk of leaks..."

As the fat, big-eared second-generation Nightmare Clan member spoke, his gaze fell on Chen Qi:

"I know you have another body in Jinghai City with a shared consciousness. You won't tell the Nightmare Eater Clan, will you?"

Chen Qi shook his head: "You're overthinking it. The Nightmare Eater Clan has gone too far. Not only did they imprison me, but they also took my mother hostage. I want them dead more than you do!"

The second-generation Nightmare nodded noncommittally and gave a wink to the person next to him.

The man immediately came to Chen Qi's side and said, "Your father is already waiting outside. Come with me."

Chen Qi understood that this was a way to get him away, to prevent him from hearing the specific details of the plan.

Chen Qi didn't care. Compared to these things, he definitely cared more about his father.

Moreover, he had no intention of informing on anyone this time.

The Nightmare Eaters were already at a significant advantage, fighting on their home turf. If Chen Qi were to betray them, the Nightmare Eaters could easily ambush them, leaving the Nightmare Eaters with no chance of winning.

Chen Qi did not want to see a one-sided victory, as that would not benefit him.

Regardless of which side wins, he won't have many chances to escape.

What he wants to see is both sides weakening each other, giving him an opportunity to take advantage.

Chen Qi followed the Nightmare Clan member out of the hall, and as soon as he came out, he saw a familiar figure outside.

"dad……"

Chen Qi opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

(End of this chapter)