Fear of food

Chapter 157 The Third Qualitative Change in Abilities

Chen Qi traced the source of the pollution and entered the second dream world.

As soon as they entered, they noticed a huge shadow descending from the sky.

As soon as Chen Qi looked up, he saw a giant beast rushing towards him. Its body was as majestic as a mountain and covered with bumps that looked like toads.

It looks a lot like a monster from Ultraman.

Based on his own senses, he knew that this monster was the manifestation of the source of pollution!
In the more abstract world of the second dream realm, the source of pollution has more room to maneuver, and can transform into all sorts of things that do not exist in reality.

Right now, it's just monsters. If there are more abstract third or fourth dream worlds, Chen Qi might see something like a Qilin, a dragon, or Cthulhu.

However, no matter what it transforms into, its essence remains the same.

They seem to be getting stronger and stronger, but it's all just a dream.

As long as he can see through the essence, there is not much difference between a dragon and a dog in a dream.

So, faced with a monster as heavy as Mount Tai, Chen Qi could have dodged or hidden in a safe house, but he didn't do that. Instead, he chose to face the monster head-on, opened his mouth, and took a deep breath...

What monsters? They're all just energy at their core.

Let it become nourishment for my growth!
The mountain-sized monster shrank considerably after Chen Qi opened his mouth and inhaled it.

It quickly swung its tail and fled in panic.

Chen Qi was about to give chase when he discovered that a large crowd had gathered around him to stop him.

They are all polluters in the dream, controlled by the source of pollution, who come to protect and safeguard them.

This is not much different from the food protection mechanism in areas with food phobia.

Normally, with Chen Qi's current abilities, ordinary people wouldn't even be able to touch him.

But this is a dream, or rather, an abstract second dream world.

Some were dressed as Spider-Man, shooting webs; some were flying in the sky on broomsticks; and some were even riding clouds or flying swords...

It has to be said, there are many talented people in dreams.

Of course, even if these people could fly, they wouldn't be able to pose a significant threat to Chen Qi; they were ultimately just ordinary people.

With a flick of his wrist, Chen Qiyu swept away a large number of mosquitoes as easily as swatting them.

Those who chased after Chen Qifei fell in droves as soon as they entered Chen Qifei's territory.

But just then, dust billowed all around, and new enemies arrived.

Chen Qi was slightly taken aback when he saw this group of monsters and demons rushing towards him...

There were dump trucks rampaging through the city, giant fireballs raining down from the sky, tentacle monsters bursting from the ground, and massive waves sweeping across the city...

"What the hell is all this?"

Upon scanning the area, Chen Qi was initially startled, but then a hint of joy appeared on his face.

"These...these are all sources of pollution?"

These creatures that came to protect the source of pollution were actually transformed from high-level dream essences.

Among them are even A-level dream sources, and occasionally an S-level dream source can be found!
"The pollution source in Corning City is indeed impressive, managing to mobilize the city's most advanced pollution sources to protect it."

This did indeed cause some trouble for Chen Qi. While Chen Qi was busy dealing with the monsters and disasters that were transformed from the dream source, the source of pollution was racing against time to transfer energy into a deeper world.

But Chen Qi was not surprised but delighted. His Dream Thief ability was just one S-level pollution source away from completing its qualitative change!
After the Dream Thief's ability undergoes its second qualitative change, Chen Qi needs to absorb two S-level pollution sources, plus one pollution source, in order to complete the third qualitative change of his ability.

The bus that was the source of the pollution is now parked in the safe house. After Chen Qi arrived in Kangning City, he also absorbed an inflatable teddy bear that was the source of an S-level dream.

Therefore, he is only missing a suitable S-level pollution source to achieve the third qualitative leap in his Dream Thief abilities.

And now, among the dream sources attacking him, there are several S-level dream sources, among which there is a high possibility that one is suitable for him.

While dodging the attacks from these dream sources, Chen Qi scanned the dream sources, filtering through them.

"A big dinosaur? Not bad, but it overlaps a bit with teddy bears."

"Big Wave? It's similar to extreme rafting, nothing special."

"A spinning flying chair? It's alright, but nothing new."

As Chen Qi was picking something out, a metal claw came down from the sky and almost grabbed him.

Chen Qi dodged in a flash, looked up, and his eyes lit up.

"A claw machine? A claw machine?"

This is acceptable!

In an instant, shadows covered the sky, and the amusement park descended from the heavens, like a divine kingdom.

The surrounding disasters and monsters were instantly suppressed. The wind and rain stopped, and the monsters cowered as if they had encountered their nemesis.

Chen Qi's safe house was restrained by the source of dream pollution, but these advanced dream sources were only restrained by him.

Once inside Chen Qi's safe house, even a dragon has to coil up and a tiger has to lie down.

This large amount of dream energy was enveloped in the safe house. Chen Qi instantly absorbed and digested the dream energy below grade A to replenish his consumption.

Even if they're not of much use to him, it's something I can do on a whim, so I can't just let them get away.

Then he set his sights on the claw machine formed from the S-class Dream Source!

It's called a claw machine, but it only has a hook; there are no plush toys.

Because it treats everything in the world like a baby!
Lock in, absorb, and refine in an instant!

In the blink of an eye, Chen Qi successfully absorbed the S-level pollution source, making it the eighth attraction in the amusement park.

A metal grappling hook suspended above an amusement park!
It can suddenly grab anything in the amusement park according to Chen Qi's will.

At this point, the safe house only needs to completely absorb the bus inside to complete its third qualitative leap in capabilities!
Moreover, modern safe houses already possess this capability.

After the S-level Dream Source "Claw Machine" was absorbed, the safe house was further upgraded and strengthened. Chen Qi clearly felt that the bus, which was originally as indestructible as a stubborn rock in the sea, was obviously unable to resist his intrusion.

However, Chen Qi didn't have time to stop and absorb the pollution slowly; he had to continue tracking down the source of the pollution.

If we don't seize the opportunity to pursue it, once the source of pollution has gone far away and hidden in the depths of the dream, Chen Qi's connection to it will be severed, and it will be much more difficult to find it again.

So Chen Qi decisively followed his senses and pursued the dream into the deeper third layer.

The third dream world in Corning City has not yet been built into a complete large-scale public dream world like the second dream world.

It still mainly consists of many small, independent dreams.

However, if left unchecked, a large number of contaminated residents will gather in the second dream world, and it will only be a matter of time before an even more bizarre Corning City is created in the third dream world.

Chen Qi traced the source of the pollution and arrived in a small dream within the third layer.

When he arrived, the source of pollution was rapidly transferring its energy, trying to transfer as much energy as possible to the fourth layer of dreams.

Without saying a word, Chen Qi opened his mouth and inhaled upon meeting the source of pollution, regardless of what form the source of pollution might take.

After absorbing the energy from this small dream, Chen Qi continued his pursuit, following the footsteps of the source of pollution, and constantly entering deeper layers of the dream.

The fifth level, the sixth level, the seventh level...

At the same time, he was also controlling the safe house, slowly but steadily infiltrating and absorbing the buses inside.

As progress continues, Chen Qi is getting closer and closer to his third qualitative leap in abilities. Meanwhile, the dream world is gradually becoming unstable as Chen Qi continues to devour the source of pollution.

The whole world seemed unreal, and the difference from reality was obvious, as if it were all an illusion.

The deeper the dream, the greater the influence, and the more obvious the manifestation.

When Chen Qi caught up to the eighth layer of the dream, the entire dream world was like a thin veil, as if a gust of wind could blow it away.

But it was at this moment that parasites began to emerge from the surrounding area.

The remaining advanced parasites in Corning City emerged from their hiding places.

They had nowhere to hide anymore; if they continued to hide, Chen Qi would wipe out the entire city of Kangning.

"Not even a single first-generation Nightmare Clan parasite?"

Chen Qi shook his head in disappointment, continuing to inhale the source of pollution as if no one else was around, completely disregarding these Nightmare Clan members.

Even now, Chen Qi can swallow a second-generation Nightmare Clan parasite whole.

No matter how many small fish and shrimp there are, they will all be wiped out in one net.

However, his safe house is temporarily unusable, which makes it more difficult for him to deal with these parasites.

The safe houses are now operating at full capacity.

Not only are they making every effort to absorb the public vehicles that are the source of pollution, but they are also transforming the first generation of Nightmare Clan members that Chen Qi had captured before.

Chen Qi could only continue to absorb the source of pollution while using the power of his domain to subdue the emerging Nightmare Clan.

These Nightmare Clan parasites clearly intended to stall for time, deliberately spreading out and sending them off one by one in a queue.

Chen Qi immediately understood their intention, because another group of Nightmare Clan parasites had chased after them all the way from the shallow dream realm!
Among these people, there were actually three first-generation Nightmare Clan members!
"Has the Nightmare Clan mobilized all the Nightmare Clan members from within the country?"

The Nightmare race was extremely rare; in most contaminated areas, not a single one could be found.

For example, the Dream Dragon inside Chen Qi's body is not exclusive to the Nightmare Clan of Chang Le City; multiple polluted areas across the country obey his commands and serve him.

The first generation of Nightmare Clan members held a transcendent position within their clan, capable of commanding multiple contaminated zones.

Suddenly, three first-generation nightmares appeared. Together with the Dream Dragon inside Chen Qi's body and the one trapped in the Ferris wheel of the safe house, five first-generation nightmares had gathered around Chen Qi.

He suspects that even if there are other generations of Nightmare in the country, their numbers are extremely limited.

"If we can't use the safe house, it will be quite troublesome to deal with."

"We can only use the energy of the phantom eaters; one mouth isn't enough to handle it all."

"And if you're not careful, you can overeat."

Besides the three first-generation Nightmare Clan parasites, there are more than a dozen second-generation Nightmare Clan members, and the number of third-generation Nightmare Clan members is even larger.

The human wave tactic was indeed effective, especially when Chen Qi's safe house was unusable and he was busy absorbing the source of pollution.

This forced Chen Qi to temporarily abandon absorbing the source of pollution and focus on dealing with these Nightmare Clan members.

As a result, the remaining sources of pollution took the opportunity to transfer their energy and hid in the ninth dream world.

"The ninth layer of the dream seems to be the deepest and the final layer."

Chen Qi understood that the Nightmare Clan's choice to ambush him in the eighth layer of the dream was a last resort.

He has driven the source of pollution to a dead end.

But... can three first-generation Nightmare Clan members really do anything to him?
Chen Qi had just fought against a first-generation Nightmare Clan parasite and knew their approximate strength, so to be honest, he didn't feel any pressure.

Once the safe houses are back to normal, suppressing them will only take a moment.

It can only be said that these Nightmare Clan members timed their appearance perfectly, choosing to appear just when Chen Qi's safe house was unusable.

"Is this really a coincidence? Or did Menglong tip him off?"

Chen Qi instantly began to suspect Meng Long.

He knew that the dream world and the dream network existed, and even if the Dream Dragon was inside him, it probably had ways to contact other nightmares.

It's highly likely that Menglong tipped them off, allowing these Nightmare Clan members to seize the perfect opportunity.

Even so, such combat power is still insufficient in the face of Chen Qi now.

"Are you going to walk by yourselves, or should I eat them one by one?"

While the ability of picapers to consume food is strong, their biggest drawback is that they can only attack a single target.

Eating them one by one does take quite a bit of time.

"You think you've got us cornered?"

One of the first-generation Nightmare Parasites sneered and suddenly shouted, "Dream Dragon, make your move!"

The next moment, Chen Qi felt a tearing sensation in his soul.

Menglong is trying to be expelled from his body!

Chen Qi immediately understood their plan.

His current power is partly due to his fusion of Menglong and Aliang, two members of the first generation of the Nightmare Clan, which gave him control over the Parasite's abilities.

If Menglong were to separate, it would indeed weaken Chen Qi's strength to some extent.

Moreover, it would allow Ah Liang's family to become too powerful, putting Chen Qi under even greater pressure.

Previously, even if Menglong wanted to separate, he couldn't, because he had merged with Chen Qi's humanity.

But now, the humanity within him has been transferred by Chen Qi to A Liang's alter ego.

This is why Menglong felt he had no hope of turning things around and had already been eliminated.

If she remained inside Chen Qi's body, she would only become Chen Qi's tool.

That's why I was willing to withdraw voluntarily at this point!
Chen Qi guessed that Menglong had even secretly negotiated terms with A Liang, and that his withdrawal could help the Nightmare Clan gain some benefits from the Nightmare Eater Clan.

"You were the one who wanted to merge, so let's merge."

"Now you want to break up? It's not that easy!"

Chen Qi opened his mouth and inhaled, swallowing the Menglong that had just separated back into its body.

However, it was not digested directly, but instead reintegrated into its own body.

Menglong, however, was restless and wanted to separate again.

Even Ah Liang, who had been pretending to be dead, finally made a move at this moment, using all his strength to influence Chen Qi's actions!
As the biggest beneficiary of Menglong's loss of humanity, Ah Liang's all-out effort at this moment can indeed temporarily influence Chen Qi's actions.

The other Nightmare Clan parasites around him seized the opportunity and swarmed forward, overwhelming Chen Qi with various attacks.

But just then, the safe house successfully absorbed the bus as the source of pollution!
The safe house has been restored to normal use.

Chen Qi's third qualitative leap in abilities as a Dream Thief has also been achieved!

"Advent!"

In an instant, a miraculous amusement park appeared, replacing the entire dream world.

(End of this chapter)