Dream Ranger

Tang Baona, recovering from her earlier burst of laughter "infected" by Yang Zhen'er, said, "I also had a really fun dream last night..."

"Nana, you also dreamed about Ultraman Turkey?" Yang Zhen'er asked.

"Turkey my foot!" Tang Baona glared at her angrily, then picked up the meat bun she had just placed on the plate and stuffed it into her mouth.

Yang Zhen'er took the meat bun in her mouth and ate it happily with her eyes half-closed.

Sensing that Tang Baona seemed a little shy and hesitant, as if she was too embarrassed to speak, Xiang Kun immediately asked, "Nana, what dream did you have last night? How fun was it?"

When asked this, Tang Baona finally said, "I dreamt that I was wearing a mask and giving a concert in a huge venue. I was singing when suddenly someone rushed onto the stage and started causing trouble..."

While eating her steamed bun, Yang Zhen'er couldn't help but ask, "How exactly are you going to cause trouble? Is he going to present you with flowers and propose?"

"Please, my foot!" Tang Baona flicked her friend's forehead, then couldn't help but laugh herself, "That troublemaker came on stage with a megaphone and started yelling, 'This singer is a mannequin! This is an AI conspiracy! They're brainwashing us, blah blah blah!'"

Yang Zhen'er, holding a steamed bun in one hand and covering her forehead with the other, laughed, "Haha, Nana, you're the big villain in your dream! A fake female celebrity who brainwashes all of humanity! Hey, is it because we were discussing creating virtual singers yesterday, and you felt guilty about deceiving the audience, so you dreamt about it and became the villainous big boss in your dream..."

"What villainous big boss? What are you talking about? Hey, focus on eating your buns! Listen to me, the interesting stuff hasn't come yet," Tang Baona said helplessly.

"Yes, yes, Nana, you speak. If the third sister interrupts again, I won't let her eat the steamed bun." Xiang Kun smiled and pretended to snatch the meat bun from Yang Zhen'er's hand.

Yang the Third leaned back, widened his eyes, and brandished his fist at Xiang Kun.

Tang Baona continued, "That troublemaker jumped onto the stage, and even in my dream I was terrified. I was completely at a loss, the song stopped, and the audience fell silent. Then a security guard jumped up, picked up the troublemaker, and threw him back off the stage. Then there were several more troublemakers from the audience; one would come up, and another would be thrown off."

After finishing her steamed bun, Yang Zhen'er couldn't help but ask, "Does that security guard... have hair?"

These words struck a nerve with Tang Baona, and she burst into laughter, tears welling in her eyes. Between laughs, she nodded, "It's bald..."

"I knew it! Nana's concert would be disrupted, Chef Xiang would definitely step in. Wait a minute, what about me? Where am I, Nana? Security guard Xiang is out, and Security guard Yang is definitely going to show up too! Nana, you didn't even dream about me? I'm your number one fan and your number one bodyguard with a knife!"

Tang Baona laughed for a while, then said, "The security guard in the dream was indeed Chef Xiang, but too many people were trying to cause trouble, so Chef Xiang and the security guard used their powers. He took off his shirt and shouted 'Get the hell out of here!' A bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, sending the troublemakers flying! Then lightning bolts fell one after another, precisely striking people under Chef Xiang's command. Then I continued singing in the dream, and the sound of the lightning was like drums, perfectly in rhythm. Chef Xiang was even dancing in the lightning, doing that 'Hunky New Treasure Island' dance, you know? It's hilarious... Oh, Yang the Third, it's all your fault, always interrupting me, making my story lose its rhythm and become boring."

"No, I find it very interesting, it's perfect for watching while eating, hehe." Yang Zhen'er said with a smile, "But I still want to ask, where am I, Nana? Why didn't you dream about me?"

Tang Baona rolled her eyes at her. "You dreamed about me? Don't tell me I'm that turkey!"

Yang Zhen'er was taken aback. "Oh right, I didn't even dream about Nana, that's amazing."

Xiang Kun looked at Xia Libing and said half-jokingly, "Lao Xia, what about you? Are you dreaming?"

Although Yang Zhen'er and Tang Baona were only telling their dreams from the previous night as anecdotes, Xiang Kun astutely deduced from their descriptions of some dream elements and their clear recollection of the story and details that their dreams were likely not ordinary dreams. Normally, spontaneous dreams are difficult to recall clearly after waking up, but both Yang Zhen'er and Tang Baona described the environment and details very clearly when recounting their dreams. This characteristic is more like a dream he induced through "Emotion-Infused Object."

However, upon hearing his question, Xia Libing shook her head and said, "I slept through the night."

Lao Xia wasn't affected by the dream?

This should be unrelated to the surrounding "Emotion-Infused Object," "Super-Linked Object," or the degree of connection within the "Super-Sensing Item System." It might simply be a matter of emotional triggering, an emotion that Lao Xia happens to lack.

But this doesn't quite make sense. Normally, when emotions are triggered, there should be a clear bias in the type of emotion and a related emotional projection. However, judging from Nana and Yang the Third's dream descriptions, the types of emotions they were triggered seem to be different, and there are no distinctive emotional projections.

For the time being, within the entire "Super-Sensing Item System," no one except Xiang Kun can trigger dreams. Even Lao Xia, who has the ability to edit "Dream Within a Dream," needs Xiang Kun to first create a dream foundation and pull her into the dream in order to enter someone else's dream.

Did Nana and Yang the Third gain abilities related to dreams?

But at least Xiang Kun could spy on and perceive other people's dreams, while they were dreaming themselves, using their dreams to recreate and perceive what Xiang Kun had done?

This ability is just too... bizarre?

Xiang Kun pondered, "That can't be it."

He immediately realized that, besides himself, there was another person who could autonomously "dream" and create special dreams using a "Super-Sensing Item System":

Liu Shiling.

He had previously used "Emotion-Infused Object" to enter the Little Chubby Girl's dream, which was already halfway through. Later, when Lao Xia and the Little Chubby Girl shared a dream, it proved that the Little Chubby Girl did indeed have a strong ability to create dreams.

Could it be that the Little Chubby Girl has "developed" the ability to induce dreams? Were Yang the Third and Nana's unusual dreams last night triggered by her?

Come to think of it, every time he uses the prerequisite ability of "Electric Flight" on a large scale, triggering a large-scale thunderstorm, the Little Chubby Girl feels a bit dazed and unaware, and then subsequent abilities are "developed" and "enhanced".

Even during his blood-drinking slumber, he was once awakened from his daze by the Little Chubby Girl through a "super-stimulated" Super-Linked Object, allowing him to enter deep extrasensory information.

Xiang Kun checked the time; it was already past eight o'clock. Little Chubby Girl had already gone to school, so he called Little Apple to chat and learned that she hadn't dreamed last night.

After breakfast, Yang Zhen'er and Tang Baona went to town to find a new office space. "Universe Technology" was planning to expand and hire more people, so the temporary office space they had rented before was no longer sufficient.

With the help of Chu Xiuwen, Liu Caifu, and Liu Feibao, and with Universe Technology having ample funds, this matter is not difficult to handle. Even the Tongshi Town government will fully cooperate. Universe Technology has already gained considerable fame due to the popularity of "Voice Genesis," and such a promising technology company is a rare find for Tongshi Town and even Jianzhou City.

Xia Libing went to the Research Base to pick up a batch of new equipment and instruments that were arriving today. After Xiang Kun found the behavior pattern of the "Ultimate Predator" and resolved or shielded the related threats, Lao Xia would soon be able to conduct relevant research directly. Those laboratories would still be useful.

Therefore, after Xiang Kun received funding from Soaring Dragon Interactive Entertainment, the Research Base has expanded beyond its original scale.

As for Xiang Kun himself, he stayed in the village under the pretext of needing to work on the game's code.

He wasn't writing code, of course; he was refining his plan. Last night's encounter with the "mutant bird" had revealed a lot of new information about the "Ultimate Predator," requiring some corresponding modifications to the plan.

The "mutant bird" tool is ready; the main target now is Mr. Liang.

However, he doesn't need to personally carry out his plan; with the "Super-Sensing Item System" and Alice, he can stay behind the scenes.

On the other hand, he was also pondering how Nana and Yang the Third's dreams last night had been triggered.

Although he was dealing with the "mutated giant bird" last night and didn't monitor the extrasensory information around Nana and Lao San in real time, these changes at the level of consciousness and dreams are relatively difficult to review and trace. However, if the dream was indeed triggered by the "Super-Sensing Item System," then it must have been through "Emotion-Infused Object" or "Super-Linked Object" as the medium to initiate the influence. Therefore, starting with the "Emotion-Infused Object" and "Super-Linked Object" around Nana and Lao San, some clues can still be obtained.

Xiang Kun quickly found a "clue"—the "Super-Linked Object Coin" that Nana and Lao San were carrying had established a very deep connection with the Little Chubby Girl.

Clearly, this was because when they were in Peng City some time ago, they often played various games with the Little Chubby Girl using Coin as props. Unbeknownst to them, the Little Chubby Girl had unknowingly established a strong connection between their "Super-Linked Object Coin." Although the connection wasn't as strong as the Little Chubby Girl's own five large Coin, she could already use them.

Tracing back from the traces of extrasensory information, the "Super-Linked Object Coin" around Lao San and Nana were indeed used last night, and the related effects were not transmitted through "Emotion-Infused Object," but were directly related to the Little Chubby Girl in Peng City.

In this way, we can basically determine who created the dream.

However, what puzzled him was why the Little Chubby Girl didn't appear in Nana's dream. If the Little Chubby Girl had triggered the dream, she should have had a corresponding projection appear in the dream—after all, she couldn't simply perceive other people's dreams like Xiang Kun, but had to participate in the dream itself.

So Xiang Kun learned from Alice that when the Little Chubby Girl finished her third class in the morning, he made a call to her using the smartwatch that Yang Zhen'er had bought for her.

"Little Bell, did you pay attention in class?" Xiang Kun asked.

The Little Chubby Girl knew that Aunt Qin had to pick up her third-grade daughter first and wouldn't be back for a while, so she didn't leave the classroom immediately. Instead, she lay on the desk, holding up her smartwatch, and talked to Xiang Kun: "I wasn't paying attention in class."

Hearing this matter-of-fact tone, Xiang Kun laughed out loud, "So what are you doing in class?"

The Little Chubby Girl first glanced up at the podium, and after confirming that the teacher was no longer in the classroom, she continued to lie down and whispered, "The teacher's explanation was too simple, I already know it all, I'm secretly learning second grade material."

Xiang Kun smiled and said, "Yes, Little Bell is very diligent, but don't overwork yourself."

"I'm not tired, I'm just short on time, and I'm learning too slowly." The Little Chubby Girl's tone carried a hint of worry.

"No rush, no rush, there's plenty of time. By the way, Little Bell, did you have any dreams last night?" Xiang Kun knew that Ms. Qin, whom Shiling's Mother and Zhang Qian had asked to pick up the Little Chubby Girl, had already picked up her daughter and was about to arrive at the first grade, so he got straight to the point.

"Yes, I've had several dreams! I dreamt that Uncle Baldy was fighting monsters, and I also dreamt that Sister Fairy and I went to kindergarten to hunt turkeys. We couldn't beat the turkeys, so Uncle Baldy came out and helped us by knocking off their heads. Then we roasted the turkeys together, but before we finished roasting them and ate any chicken, I had another dream. I dreamt of a pretty lady. The pretty lady was singing, and Uncle Baldy and I were security guards. Someone came to cause trouble, and we beat them up!" Liu Shiling told her excitedly.

Xiang Kun thought to himself, "As expected," but he asked curiously, "You were a security guard at your pretty sister's concert? Where were you? Your pretty sister said she didn't see you."

"I'm in heaven! I'm sitting on Magic Carpet, following Uncle Baldy's instructions to unleash lightning on the bad guys!" Liu Shiling couldn't help but raise her voice slightly. "Security guards can't all be together; they have to divide up the tasks so they can protect our pretty sister."

As she spoke, Liu Shiling suddenly realized something, exclaimed "Eh!", and asked excitedly, "Uncle Baldy, was the person in my dream last night really you? Were the pretty lady and the fairy lady in my dream also real? Can they play with us in our dreams now, just like the Roast Chicken Wing Sister? Were you really fighting monsters last night? Were the monsters turkeys? Can you eat them?"

"Well... I'll tell you later," Xiang Kun said.

Liu Shiling was taken to dinner by the aunt who came to pick her up, Xiang Kun ended his conversation with her.

The fact that Tang Baona didn't notice the Little Chubby Girl "flying" in the air in her dream suggests that the dream's foundation likely came from the Little Chubby Girl, while the various elements within the dream originated from Nana.

This Little Chubby Girl actually managed to invade the dreams all by herself—although she only invaded the dreams of her two favorite older sisters, Nana and Lao San, and it didn't seem like she actively guided or edited the dreams; it was more like she simply threw herself into other people's dreams.

Based on the abilities and characteristics that Little Chubby Girl has shown in the past, it is likely that when Xiang Kun fought the "mutated giant bird" last night, he created a large-scale lightning storm. Through the "Super-Linked Object" around Little Chubby Girl, it attracted the attention of Little Chubby Girl's subconscious mind in her sleep. So, she "imagined" Xiang Kun's "monster-fighting" process to some extent through her self-constructed dream.

However, the continued influence of the "Super-Linked Object" enabled her subconscious to do more things in her dreams. So she used the "Super-Linked Object Coin" around the third sister and Nana that she could call upon to help them create special dreams and handed them her "story outline," and she herself also got involved.

In essence, it's like the Little Chubby Girl accidentally discovering Xiang Kun fighting monsters, so she excitedly runs to report the news to her two best sisters, except that this happens through her subconscious mind while she's asleep.

Before she knew it, the Little Chubby Girl had become a "dream ranger".

However, the fact that she can interact so harmoniously and perfectly with people and dreams, appearing in other people's dreams and triggering other people's dreams without needing to "Emotion-Infused Object" is probably essentially due to her dazed, confused, and unintentional state.

For Xiang Kun and Lao Xia, further research into the Little Chubby Girl and her dreams, as well as the ways she enters dreams, will definitely help them further improve their dream "editing" abilities.

It seems we'll have to create a few more lightning storms when we have time.

Thunderous nights are when the "chubby girl version of Dream Ranger" comes out to play; it sounds pretty cool.