Taking the initiative to chat

After suspecting that Zarathustra's replacement of the Teacher at Dream Tutoring Class and Stars Tutoring Class was a deliberate act targeting the figure of Gehrman Sparrow, who did not actually exist in the Dream City, Lumian and the others discussed this for a long time, but they still couldn't figure out the meaning and purpose of doing so.

They planned to write a letter and have Franca and Jenna take it to the Star Dream General Store tomorrow to mail it, and see what the Major Arcana would say.

As she stood up, preparing to leave the Rented Apartment in Xinhong Community, Franca remembered something and looked at Lumian curiously:

"You previously said that Li Keji's Pregnancy was due to Green's perception, your Ombella bloodline, and the Celestial Worthy influence of the environment at Mushu Hospital, which caused you to equate yourself with the ' Great Mother ' Divine Child Ombella in your Dream, making your casual remark 'he is pregnant' a reality. As the Divine Child Ombella, can you now use the Beyond Ability of the three Pathway: ' Planter,' ' Apothecary,' and ' Warlock '?"

Franca's eyes gleamed, sensing that this matter had a certain "I'm thinking about it" feel to it.

Of course, this "I" refers to the Dream Subconsciousness.

Once the Dream Subconsciousness believes it, anything can happen!

Lumian tried to see if he could use the abilities related to "Vampire," "Harvest Sacrifice Priest," and "Warlock," but he failed.

"No." He shook his head.

Before Franca could respond, he thoughtfully added, "Perhaps at the Mushu Hospital."

As Franca hummed in agreement, Jenna reminded Lumian:

"If that's the case, then frequent visits to the Mushu Hospital might cause you to become more and more like Ombella, until you become completely identical."

Lumian for a few seconds, then said in a low voice, "Possibly."

Franca hissed.

"Why is the style of ' Great Mother ' so insidious? She always manages to trick you without you even realizing it. Sometimes, being vigilant doesn't seem to help at all..."

At this point, Franca answered her own question:

"Judging from the name, ' Great Mother ' may symbolize the 'yin' in the word 'yin and yang'..."

The next day, Sunday, Lumian brought Ludwig to the Dream Tutoring Class again.

As he escorted the children into the classroom, he subtly observed the Receptionist with his "Eye of Calamity," observed every Teacher he encountered, and also observed Anderson Hood.

Apart from the latter, the Mercury-Colored River of Fate corresponding to the others had been black, representing death, at some point in the Past. Some of this blackness had become blurred, while some was still relatively clear. As the illusory river flowed forward, it moved further and further back, becoming increasingly difficult to see.

"Indeed, a Rebirth..." Lumian didn't speak to Anderson Hood, but took two steps back and sat down in his usual spot.

He was just thinking about how to handle this situation when he suddenly saw Zhou Mingrui, wearing a loose light blue T-shirt, walking towards him.

"How dedicated! After witnessing Zarathustra's assassination and observing Mr. Cui, he still remembered to come to his business English class..." Lumian remarked, stood up, and greeted Zhou Mingrui.

As fellow employees of the Intis Group, and having met each other more than once, this is simply proper courtesy.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Mingrui responded with a greeting.

Just as Lumian thought he would smoothly turn into the classroom, Zhou Mingrui stopped in front of him.

Zhou Mingrui glanced around and said, "Has Teacher Da resigned? I haven't seen him every time I've come here recently."

You know Teacher Da, right?

"I know, Dani Zi. I brought my child here to register after seeing his flyer," Lumian replied simply.

He didn't expect Zhou Mingrui to take the initiative to chat with him, and even ask about the Divine Emissary Danitz.

Spurred by the Zarathustra incident, Zhou Mingrui began to more actively investigate the Concealment anomalies around him and more boldly approach those of us with problems. He then discovered that Teacher Da from the Dream Tutoring Class hadn't appeared recently? That's a good thing! Well, there's a bad side too. If he keeps investigating like this, maybe one day Franca and I will be kicked out of the Dream without warning, just like Mr. Cui... Lumian raced, and he formed a rough judgment.

Before Zhou Mingrui could ask any more questions, he sighed and said, "Teacher Da didn't resign; he passed away."

"Huh?" Zhou Mingrui's gaze suddenly froze.

His shock and surprise were evident on his face.

This is how a normal person would react upon hearing similar news.

"When did this happen? What happened?" Zhou Mingrui didn't hide his surprise.

Lumian glanced in the direction of the Receptionist:

"I heard from Principal Ai that she encountered a psychopathic killer and was strangled to death."

"At first, Principal Ai and Teacher Anderson thought it was just a disappearance. Because they didn't have confidence in Teacher Da's ability to survive on his own, they quickly reported it to the police. Later, after searching, the police found Teacher Da in the underground Morgue of Mushu Hospital, in the form of Corpse."

Lumian was only talking about information that Principal Ai Nana had mentioned and that could be found online, and he wasn't worried that this would get him kicked out of the Dream again—after re-entering the Dream, he planned to behave himself for two or three days in front of Zhou Mingrui.

"Killed..." Zhou Mingrui's eyes flickered as he fell into deep thought.

"Yes, the Corpse was found in the underground Morgue of Mushu Hospital," Lumian emphasized deliberately.

He was trying to use normal conversation to draw Zhou Mingrui's attention to the potential problems at Mushu Hospital.

"The murderer even went so far as to send Teacher Da's Corpse to the underground Morgue?" Zhou Mingrui asked, puzzled.

Lumian shook his head:

"It might not have been the murderer; it could have been a passerby who found the Corpse and brought it Past."

"How is that possible? A passerby who sees Corpse would immediately call the police." Zhou Mingrui increasingly felt that something was amiss.

"But why did the murderer insist on sending Teacher Da's Corpse to the underground Morgue of Mushu Hospital? Did he think that hiding it there would prevent others from discovering it? What made him think that...?" Lumian raised the question, emphasizing Mushu Hospital, but offered no further explanation.

For him now, providing an answer is too dangerous.

Zhou Mingrui nodded thoughtfully, pointed to the Business English Class classroom, and said, "I'm going to class."

"Okay." Lumian then sat down.

He leaned against the classroom wall, his thoughts gradually drifting:

"The secret replacement of Teacher at Dream Tutoring Class and Stars Tutoring Class is a really difficult issue to resolve..."

"If this were the real world, I would find an opportunity to blow up the underground part of the Mushu Hospital to completely eliminate the hidden dangers. But in the Dream City, the underground part of the Mushu Hospital serves as a psychological shadow of a Great Ones and a point of infiltration for the powers of other Great Ones. I'm afraid neither the Star Dream General Store That One nor Stiano would dare to easily set foot there, even if they weren't subject to the corresponding restrictions..."

"Using the ' Eye of Calamity ' to distinguish whether a target is a Rebirth, how can we kill and eliminate Huang Jiajia, Ai Nana, and others who have already been replaced?"

"Killing one person, I'm confident I can cover it up and avoid detection. But killing so many, as the head of the Dream City Police Headquarters, as Chief Yagaitze, are we all dead? This is blatant Provocation of the Dream's Main Consciousness; we'll probably be locked down the next day..."

"Furthermore, if Huang Jiajia and others, as individuals associated with Gehrman Sparrow, were to withdraw from the Dream City stage, it might bring about negative Change, or even cause the subsequent awakening plan Predestination fail from the very beginning..."

"A report? Without any leads, it might end up like the previous report about Zarathustra —no response whatsoever..."

What clues could lead the Police to investigate further and uncover something amiss?

"Hopefully, the Major Arcana can offer some good ideas..."

"Um..."

As Lumian wandered further, she caught a glimpse of Zhou Mingrui out of the corner of her eye as he came out of the classroom with his phone and headed towards the Washroom.

Lumian tilted his head, leaned close to "the Hunter's" ear, and eavesdropped on what Zhou Mingrui was saying from a distance.

He heard Zhou Mingrui ask in surprise, "Didn't you say you were coming on Monday? Why have you postponed it to Wednesday?"

On the other end of the phone, a woman's voice faintly reached Lumian's ears:

"I've thought about it. You have to work during the week and can't take me out to play, so why don't you just go and report for duty?"

Zhou Mingrui paused for a moment before saying, "I have annual leave."

"It's okay, take me out to play again this weekend," the woman on the other end of the phone said with a grin.

Zhou Mingrui sighed and said, "Alright, what time is your train on Wednesday?"

Hearing this, Lumian roughly understood what was going on:

According to information provided by the Major Arcana players, Zhou Mingrui's younger sister, Zhou Shasha, has been admitted to a university in Yangdu and will soon be studying there.

Next Wednesday, Zhou Shasha will arrive in Yangdu? As one of the Dream Image most closely related to Zhou Mingrui, what Change will her arrival cause? Lumian raised her right hand and rubbed her temples, feeling that things were happening one after another without stopping.

Star Dream General Store.

Franca and Jenna, who had taken a taxi, entered the dimly lit shop.

The former politely asked the Shop Owner if he could send a letter, while the latter lingered in the entrance area, examining the antiques on the shelves and observing the situation outside.

After obtaining the Shop Owner's permission, Franca moved to the shelf and dropped the letter into the silver-inlaid black Mailbox.

As she glanced around, she noticed the "Pride Armor" that had once belonged to her standing quietly on the inner edge of the right-hand shelf.

The surface of the Silver-White Full-Body Armor was stained with patches and specks of dark red blood. Just seeing it gave Franca the feeling that she was rapidly weakening and that her serious illness was returning.

Even more Evil... Franca didn't dare ask the Shop Owner what had happened to "Pride Armor," and quickly withdrew her gaze, heading towards the door.

At that moment, Jenna raised her hand and subtly pointed to the opposite side of the street.

A white pigeon was perched on a branch of a roadside tree.