Deadpan Comedian

Xiang Kun knew that although Xia Libing couldn't perceive the dreamer's various sensory information and emotional fluctuations in the "Dream Within a Dream" she triggered like he could in a first-level dream, her grasp of the details in the dream was much stronger than in reality.

After all, in that "Dream Within a Dream," she has the highest "administrator privileges" and can enter "developer mode." She can decide the information the dreamer receives, their behavior patterns, and their environment in the dream, allowing for greater insights.

Just then, Xiang Kun heard a noise in the bedroom— Lao Xia had also woken up.

Xia Libing yawned as she walked out of the room, tying her loose hair back up.

Xiang Kun frowned. "Why didn't you continue sleeping?"

Based on his sensory information, he judged that Lao Xia was probably still very sleepy and physically exhausted. Normally, after the "Dream Within a Dream" ended, he should continue to sleep.

Moreover, he made a midnight snack for Lao Xia not long before going to bed tonight, so he won't wake up hungry.

Clearly, this was Lao Xia forcibly controlling himself to wake up after returning to his own first-level dream state following the end of Officer Zhao's "Dream Within a Dream".

After sitting down at the dining table opposite Xiang Kun, Lao Xia's first question was indeed about the memory of Officer Zhao's confession at the end of the "Dream Within a Dream".

Why is it funny to fart during a confession of love? Is it because of the contrast? In a formal setting, an event that doesn't fit the atmosphere is more likely to make people laugh. But how do you distinguish between situations that make people feel awkward, painful, angry, and funny?

"It's not that easy to distinguish. Human emotions aren't entirely singular; many emotions are closely interconnected," Xiang Kun said. "Moreover, sometimes the same event can evoke different feelings in the person involved and the bystander. Even different people involved might have completely opposite emotions. At the time of the event and afterwards, there might be different perceptions and feelings. Like Officer Zhao's dream of confessing his feelings, perhaps at the moment it happened, he was so ashamed and embarrassed that he wanted to dig a hole and hide himself, but..."

Halfway through his speech, Xiang Kun suddenly realized something was amiss. Although Lao Xia had difficulty perceiving emotions, he was a double master's degree holder in psychiatry and psychology, and had been researching these issues for years. Lao Xia must have known everything he had just said clearly, perhaps even more comprehensively, deeply, and systematically than he did.

Moreover, based on his past experiences of hanging out with Lao Xia, Yang Zhen'er, and Tang Baona, as well as her various WeChat chat conversations and the notebook that recorded more than 900 behavioral patterns, Xiang Kun could also tell that Lao Xia had long known how to grasp the line between humor and rudeness. Although she herself could not provide a funny or joyful response, it did not prevent her from being an excellent deadpan comedian.

Just as Xiang Kun was feeling puzzled, Xia Libing, who had been discussing things with him in a serious manner, suddenly stuck out her tongue and made an "Einstein face".

Xiang Kun was taken aback, and instantly understood Lao Xia's purpose—she hadn't gotten up from her sleep to argue and analyze theories with him, but had come directly to conduct an experiment.

Lao Xia probably had a new idea after seeing Officer Zhao's "funniest experience" in the "Dream Within a Dream." He wanted to create "funny events" in his own life to make Xiang Kun laugh, trigger his emotions, and then experience Xiang Kun's "Emotional Assimilation" in return, so as to integrate himself into the "funny events," just like Officer Zhao farted when he confessed to a girl in middle school and remembered it for the rest of his life.

Seeing that Xiang Kun didn't react, Xia Libing stopped making faces, her expression remained indifferent for a few seconds, then she stretched out two index fingers, pushed the skin at the corners of her eyes upwards, covered her lower lip with her upper lip, and made a face imitating a fox.

Xiang Kun still didn't react, so two seconds later, Xia Libing returned to normal. After a while, she pinched her cheek with one hand, pouted her lips, pushed her nose up with the other hand, rolled her eyes, and made a very impactful face.

Xiang Kun finally smiled and gave Lao Xia a thumbs up.

After regaining her composure, Xia Libing shook her head at Xiang Kun: "You didn't find it funny at all, you were just being perfunctory. Is it because my funny face was flawed and lacked contrast, or is it because of the current atmosphere?"

"No, not at all. If you suddenly made a few funny faces like that, I'd probably be laughing my head off," Xiang Kun explained helplessly. "But just now, I sensed beforehand that you were deliberately being serious, probably with some other purpose. When you made that face, my attention was completely focused on why you were doing it, and I was even trying to figure out which part of the funny video we watched yesterday afternoon was making that face like..."

Xia Libing nodded. "I understand, I was too deliberate."

Then he asked, "If the humor level is from 0 to 10, how would you rate Officer Zhao's confession?"

"I'd give it a 9 out of 10," Xiang Kun said.

Xia Libing then stopped talking about this topic and began to discuss the information they had obtained from Officer Zhao's "dream within Dream Within a Dream" that night.

With Lao Xia's "professional guidance," Xiang Kun learned that Officer Zhao and his companions had encountered Mi Qiao and his group on their way to the area in Purple Huan Mountain where the body was found.

It just so happens that the colleague had previously reviewed Mi Qiao's file while assisting the Yang City police in investigating a case, and recognized her. He then notified Officer Zhao's branch office, which dispatched personnel to intercept the car Mi Qiao was in and bring her back to the station. This is the scene that Xiang Kun and Lao Xia witnessed on their way back from the airport.

When the people from Yang City arrived that evening, Mi Qiao was very cooperative and gave a very clear account of the Guo Tianxiang case, revealing information that the Yang City police had not noticed or found before.

Officer Zhao and his colleague were also allowed to participate in the interrogation.

Their original plan was to use the identity of "Chen Tianhua" to uncover Guo Tianxiang's whereabouts, or other major cases that Mi Qiao might be involved in.

However, the bureau leadership suddenly gave instructions, which was tantamount to officially endorsing "Chen Tianhua's" identity. Apart from information related to Guo Tianxiang's case, no other related information should be touched, and Mi Qiao's identity was defined as a witness assisting in the case.

Officer Zhao deduced that Mi Qiao was likely someone with an official identity, and speculated that she might be an undercover police officer who had previously been on a mission with Guo Tianxiang. Guo Tianxiang might have discovered her identity, which is why he disappeared. Now, Mi Qiao has changed her identity to "Chen Tianhua" and infiltrated the "Taiyu Laboratory" in Citong to investigate something.

But Officer Zhao immediately dismissed his guess, because if it were a police undercover agent, even if it wasn't from Yang City but from another province or city, it would be impossible for them to have kept Guo Tianxiang wanted for so long without informing him. So even if Mi Qiao was an undercover agent, he was most likely not one of the police.

Because when they met by chance at Purple Huan Mountain, Mi Qiao and his group were taking samples from the area struck by lightning, Officer Zhao had a vague suspicion that perhaps the official department to which Mi Qiao belonged was specifically investigating events like the strange thunderstorm at Purple Huan Mountain on the 14th, the burning aircraft, and that they might even know about the bodies he had discovered.

If that's the case, was it because Mi Qiao stayed by Guo Tianxiang's side before because Guo Tianxiang was similar to the male victim in Purple Huan Mountain who killed two female companions and then committed suicide?

Did Mi Qiao and his department also know about the existence of the "Many-Armed Monster"?

Xiang Kun admired Officer Zhao's speculations, which were half close to the truth and half wildly imaginative, regarding both the process and the outcome. After all, Officer Zhao had very limited access to real information and was often influenced by his and Lao Xia's "dreams." It was quite remarkable that he could come up with such "speculations."

Through the information about Mi Qiao obtained by Officer Zhao, Xiang Kun and Lao Xia also drew many conclusions about "Shenxing Technology".

Xiang Kun was well aware of Mi Qiao's original background. Before working for Guo Tianxiang, she was a "hacker" who extorted money by digging into other people's privacy and had no official identity.

However, since her identity as "Chen Tianhua" has received official endorsement, it means that many of the things "Shenxing Technology" is doing are officially permitted.

It's easy to understand why the authorities were aware of the existence of the "institution researching 'Mutated Creature'" and secretly controlled and supported it.

But Xiang Kun was puzzled as to why these tasks weren't being handled by an officially affiliated department, but rather by being affiliated with "Shenxing Technology."

Based on his previous investigation, he was quite certain that the secret department of "Shenxing Technology" was not an official entity using the name of "Shenxing Technology" as a front, but was actually run by people from "Shenxing Technology".

This can be corroborated by both the dreams of Fang Pingfang, Zhou Rui, Li Shiping, and others, as well as their personal information.

If the sole purpose is secrecy, the government could easily establish its own secret department; there's no need to rely on a private technology company to do these things.

There may be some deeper reasons behind this.

If we can understand this, we might be able to see why the public knows nothing about "Mutated Creature," why the authorities haven't conducted extensive research and investigations into them, and why the world seems to be completely unaware of Mutated Creature existence.

Xiang Kun and Lao Xia discussed this at length and each offered their own speculations, but there is no concrete evidence yet, and further investigation is still needed to verify them.

Xiang Kun said, "'Shenxing Technology' is probably trying to use the police to openly investigate Guo Tianxiang's whereabouts while they secretly covertly investigate and assist in the investigation. After all, in China, no force is stronger than the police in tracking someone's movements. This also further proves that 'Shenxing Technology' has connections with the authorities, and they can ensure that they have a way to contact Guo Tianxiang even after he is taken into custody by the police."

Xia Libing asked, "If the police reinvestigate Guo Tianxiang's movements on the pedestrian street, will they discover your existence?"

Xiang Kun shook his head. "Probably not. Even if they know I exist, they can't pinpoint my identity."

Previously, when the police investigated Guo Tianxiang's whereabouts, they only knew that Guo Tianxiang and Mi Qiao disappeared after going to Willow City, but they did not know his exact movements in Willow City.

Although Mi Qiao knew Guo Tianxiang's movements on the pedestrian street that afternoon, she also knew exactly what Guo Tianxiang doing during that time. Therefore, when investigating Guo Tianxiang's whereabouts, she did not check his past movements.

But now, Mi Qiao has told the police the information she knows, excluding the "vampire" related content. The police want to investigate Guo Tianxiang's whereabouts, but they are very likely to re-investigate Guo Tianxiang's movements on the pedestrian street on the afternoon of October 8.

Lao Xia was worried that the police investigation might uncover the existence of Xiang Kun, a "mantis stalking the cicada."

Xiang Kun had actually considered this possibility many times. Ever since Officer Chen accidentally discovered him while he was patrolling the streets at night through the surveillance system, he had become particularly concerned about surveillance. On the occasion of his meeting with Guo Tianxiang, he not only disguised himself but also kept an eye on the location of the surveillance cameras, ensuring that his face was not captured on camera most of the time.

There were only three places where the police might have realized he existed: first, the waiter at the restaurant where Mi Qiao and Guo Tianxiang dined, as he had previously asked to see the surveillance footage under the pretext that his companion had lost something; second, the security guard at the parking lot, who had looked at the footage under the pretext of catching a lover. People in these two places knew the distinctive feature of "dreadlocks," so they knew the target of his questions.

Thirdly, Mi Qiao contacted Zhang Jin'an, a local resident, through the dark web. Zhang Jin'an had been "intimidated" by Xiang Kun a home invasion. Although Mi Qiao did not see Zhang Jin'an's face, he certainly knew of Zhang Jin'an's existence.

When Mi Qiao explained the details of Guo Tianxiang to the police, he did not mention the online "fishing" process, nor did he mention Zhang Jin'an, so this point can be ignored.

As for the restaurant waiters and parking lot security guards, Xiang Kun wasn't too worried either. The incident happened on October 8th of last year, more than four months ago; many people's memories might have faded, and most businesses had likely erased their surveillance footage. Furthermore, even if the police did manage to question the waiters and security guards, their focus would likely be on Guo Tianxiang, not Xiang Kun, the "investigator who followed." Even if they did find out, without corresponding surveillance footage for comparison, their identities couldn't be verified, and they wouldn't pose a threat to him for the time being.

After listening to Xiang Kun's explanation, Xia Libing nodded, remained silent for two seconds, then suddenly puffed out her cheeks and made a "bú~~~~~" sound.

Xiang Kun was taken aback, but then he remembered Officer Zhao's confession in the "Dream Within a Dream" not long ago from the peculiar voice and the gradual rise in pitch, and realized what Lao Xia was imitating.

Looking at Lao Xia's wide eyes and slightly puffed-out cheeks, and the single stray hair sticking up on his head from his untied hair, Xiang Kun finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Lao Xia's uninhibited humor had a great effect. Xiang Kun watched Lao Xia, who was now serious as if nothing had happened after his "bú" (a vulgar expression), and found it funnier and funnier, laughing until tears almost came out.

The room was instantly filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Star City.

Around four in the morning, before the sun had even risen, Liu Shiling had already rolled out of bed, run to the Egg Pie on the sofa cushion in the corner of the room, squatted down, gently stroked the cat's head, and looked worried.

"Egg Pie, what's wrong with you?"

Egg Pie slightly raised its eyelids, glanced at its little owner, but its chubby body remained motionless, and it didn't respond with its usual meows; it seemed to have fallen asleep again.

Liu Shiling went and got the freeze-dried food that Egg Pie loves most, along with other cat treats, and even her own favorite snacks, and brought them over to tempt Egg Pie.

"Egg Pie, come and eat! You can have it all, but only today! Eat as much as you want! If you don't eat it, if you still don't eat it... I... I'll eat it all!" Liu Shiling said with a hint of "threat".

But the egg Egg Pie, who usually has a particular craving for food, remained lying still and didn't move, as if sleeping was the most important thing for it.

Tears welled up in Liu Shiling's eyes. "Egg Pie, are you going to die? You can't die..."

Hearing the Little Chubby Girl carrying snacks and talking to the cat, Shiling's Mother was also woken up. She stood at the doorway, wearing a coat, looking at her daughter and the cat with some helplessness.