Hou Biao suddenly remembered that Qingmu had just told him about saving humanity in his dream, and his heart skipped a beat.
Jiang Deguan slowly stood up and took a few steps forward. There was a towering rock there. He climbed up the rock and could see the night sky in the distance.
A few lights were scattered across the fields. The night was dark and gloomy, and the pitch-black sky was like a large cloth covering the high and low hills, like a coal piled up by a Titan.
Jiang Deguan took a deep breath of the fresh forest air and opened his arms as if embracing something.
"The first company I opened in Shenzhou was a garbage recycling business. At that time, I just wanted to make money, and I didn't have any other way, so I had to do a business that others looked down on. I never thought that I would be involved in international trade in the future, let alone that I could make a profit by bringing back foreign garbage. Sometimes when I think about it, I feel that I am no different from garbage. What have I been pursuing all these years?"
"The country's ban on the import of foreign waste is excellent! No one will ever again use this garbage to harm our people."
Hou Biao felt increasingly uneasy as he listened, and called out, " Master Jiang, let's go."
Jiang Deguan said, "I'm not leaving! I don't want to leave anymore! Let me become dust in this part of history along with all that trash!"
Hou Biao was in a daze, seriously doubting whether he was still dreaming.
In his dream world today, Jiang Deguan has died three times. He was fried in oil once, drowned in a river once, and committed suicide with a pistol in a car once.
Will this be the fourth time? Should I stop him? But even if I do, won't it just end the same way as before?
Hou Biao's thoughts were a jumbled mess.
Jiang Deguan turned to Hou Biao and said, "These past few years you've followed me, doing nothing but petty thuggery. It's been too much of a hardship for you. From now on, you're free. Go do what you want!"
"Do what I want to do..." Hou Biao murmured to himself, a fleeting thought flashing through his mind, yet he couldn't quite grasp it. He wasn't quite sure what it was that he truly wanted to do.
Save all of humanity!
Hou Biao suddenly remembered Qingmu's nonsensical remark and couldn't help but laugh.
Just as he was distracted, Jiang Deguan fell backward and tumbled off the towering rock. Hou Biao saw the corners of his mouth turn up in a relieved smile.
He must be dreaming! Otherwise, how could he see the smile on his face in such darkness?
Thinking this through, Hou Biao was no longer as shocked as he had been the previous two times. So he didn't rush forward to see what was under the rock.
When will this dream end? And where did it begin?
A chill ran through Hou Biao's heart; for the first time in his life, he felt fear. Even when he was being hunted by hostile mercenary groups overseas and was shot multiple times while hiding in a shipping container adrift at sea, he had never felt fear.
However, along with fear, he also felt a touch of curiosity. Curiosity drove him to do something, yet he couldn't think of what to do.
"Can we go back now?" Qingmu's voice suddenly sounded from behind.
"Go back to save humanity?" Hou Biao laughed. He didn't think it was a very funny joke, so his smile contained a hint of bitterness, self-deprecation, and [unclear - possibly a reference to a book or illustration].
However, what Qingmu said next shocked him even more than when he had been startled awake from his dream several times earlier.
Hou Biao once encountered a superhuman in the jungle who could control wild beasts with his mind. That person taught him some basic mental training methods. If he hadn't been a mercenary with a mission at the time, he might have gone with that hunter. Therefore, he had some understanding of lucid dreaming, hypnosis, and mind control. It was precisely because of this that he was able to recognize Qingmu's methods and resist him consciously the moment he started hypnosis.
But he had never heard of consciousness invading someone else's brain or parasitizing their body. He enjoyed watching movies, especially the Bourne Identity, and occasionally sci-fi thrillers. In his mind, aliens were grotesque, disgusting creatures piloting huge flying saucers, equipped with ion cannons and laser weapons, capable of light-speed travel or space jumps. He never imagined that aliens were beings without bodies, only consciousness, that suddenly appeared in his mind, and after a while, he wouldn't be himself anymore, but an alien? That must be the utter nonsense of Hollywood's worst screenwriters!
Hou Biao shook his throbbing head and said, "Stop fooling me. Where is the next dream scene? Back to the big lake where the car was stolen, or when we left Wuzhong? Where exactly did you start hypnotizing me?"
Qingmu said, "You're not dreaming right now."
Hou Biao was stunned. "Not in a dream?"
Qingmu laughed, "It seems you'd rather be in a dream."
Hou Biao said, "No, it's your methods that are too unbelievable."
Qingmu said, "Actually, your Mental Power is very strong, and you possess basic lucid dreaming abilities. It's just that you don't know how to control your consciousness, nor do you understand dreams. With a little learning, you can become an outstanding Awakened."
" The Awakened?"
"Yes, that's what they call it. I thought it was a good name, so I borrowed it."
Hou Biao hesitated for a long time, then suddenly remembered. "You say this isn't a dream? How can you prove it?"
Qingmu said, "You can't create things in your dreams that don't exist in your memories."
Hou Biao looked around at the night scene and listened to the owls' calls. "There's nothing here I don't know."
Qingmu said, "Did you know about the Parasitic Consciousness invasion before?"
Hou Biao thought about it and it seemed to be true. This kind of worldview-shattering thing was something that even the most imaginative and wild thoughts would never have come up with. Only then did he believe that he was no longer dreaming. Suddenly realizing what was happening, he shouted "Oh no!" and ran towards the rock where Jiang Deguan had just fallen.
Below the rocks lay a dark valley, its depth unknown. Hou Biao picked up a small stone and threw it down. After a while, he heard a series of thuds—thuds—thuds, indicating that below was a bare, sloping rock wall, probably twenty or thirty meters deep. A person falling backward like that would certainly not survive.
Hou Biao sat down on the rock and stared blankly at the sky.
Qingmu said, "Let's go."
Hou Biao said, "I want to collect his body; I can't let him die in the middle of nowhere. Let me think about what you've said."
Qingmu said, "Okay, come find me anytime you've made up your mind."
Bi Shenghua was already dressed and was sitting in a mahogany armchair, lost in thought.
Perhaps because she had been soaking in the hot spring for a while, her cheeks still had a faint blush, like pink peach blossoms blooming on her face in early spring. The half-empty glass of red wine in her hand had already fully aerated, and it shone with a jewel-like luster. Its rich aroma spread into the air with the evaporation of alcohol, making people feel intoxicated by it.
The Crow lay sprawled on the ground, fast asleep, occasionally opening its beak to let out a faint smell of alcohol, then suddenly raising its neck and croaking a "Hey K pfft C Ying NO Wu oh," before flicking its long neck back down to the ground and continuing its snoring snoring.
Although Crow can be annoying when they're mischievous, it must be said that these birds are very clever and quite endearing. Bi Shenghua didn't know anything about the Boss Coal's background, but she knew very well that it was the crow that had saved her that day.
Remembering how the Crow had winked at her half-drunk, half-awake moment earlier, she wanted to laugh, and her blush deepened unconsciously.
I'll cook you more delicious food from now on, you gluttonous Crow!
Thinking this, Bi Shenghua swirled the wine glass in her hand and chuckled.