The question was very tactful, but it was very direct to those in the know.
Under the glasses, Hu Wenlei's eyes flashed with a sharpness, and he shook his head:
"Thank you for your concern. My family is fine. Xiao Jiang, you know that there is an insurance company next to our company. I heard that the president there had some health problems a few days ago."
While speaking, Hu Wenlei stretched out his right hand and covered his left chest, as if hinting something to Jiang Yanche.
They are all drama queens, and Jiang Yanche showed a look of sudden realization.
There is no doubt that from Si Qin, he has roughly understood the situation of the first four dead. They are in various industries. If you insist on saying what they have in common...
That is, each of them is not a nobody in the industry.
Like Shang Zhou, he was the secretary of the School of Literature at Yuwang University; the deceased mentioned by Hu Wenlei was the president of an insurance company...
Obviously common characteristics, but why didn't Si Qin reveal this content during the previous communication? What is he hiding, or...what is he guarding against?
Jiang Yanche narrowed his eyes. When it comes to defense, the first thing he thought of was this entire dream world.
But concealing some information is Si Qin's identity?
This doesn't make sense!
As the afternoon passed, the number of pedestrians around gradually increased. Jiang Yanche shook his head and stopped his divergent thinking in time.
Instead of racking his brains to guess here, it is better to find a time to confront Si Qin face to face.
"No matter how busy you are at work, you should also pay attention to your health. A secretary of my college also has some minor health problems."
Patting Hu Wenlei on the shoulder, Jiang Yanche stood up from the bookshelf, as if to say goodbye:
"By the way, how are other friends?"
"Zhang Wei is fine, don't worry, I haven't visited other friends recently."
Zhang Wei... Zhang Xiaowei...
Instantly, Jiang Yanche's eyes flashed the appearance of the man who kept shouting "sue" in Company X, and nodded slightly.
No longer discussing, too much talk will lead to mistakes. The two said goodbye after hinting at the next meeting time, but Jiang Yanche did not leave the bookstore, but found the historical area.
He wanted to see what kind of reasonable or unreasonable history this city built in the dream world would have!
The history area, as Jiang Yanche remembered, was a place with few readers in the entire book city.
But there were few readers, but there were many books.
Jiang Yanche picked up a history book at random, and after flipping through a few pages, there was only disappointment in his eyes.
Normal, too normal...
The history book in his hand seemed to be a children's book, introducing the history from the ancient times from a mythological perspective. But everything in the book was no different from the history that Jiang Yanche knew in the real world.
In other words, if what these history books say is true, there is more than just Yuwang City in the first layer of the dream world. There is another world outside Yuwang City.
But this has formed an information cocoon. For them, the dreamers, even if there is a world outside Yuwang City, what's the use?
In order to play, they can't leave this city at all...
The contradiction is born, but this is no longer something Jiang Yanche needs to go into a dead end. All he can do now is to believe in X Company and the information they provide-the entire dream world is in the shape of an inverted pyramid.
Adapting to the urban life of the first layer as soon as possible and finding the way to the second layer are the primary tasks of them!
Thinking of this, Jiang Yanche silently put the book back in place. This afternoon's trek was not without gain, but this gain...
seems to be smaller than he expected...
Meow~
Without any warning, a cat's cry came from the side. The ordinary cry was heard, but Jiang Yanche felt as if he was facing a great enemy.
His thoughts were interrupted. Before he could react, a flash of white lightning flashed by in his peripheral vision. The next moment, it leaped into the air and landed directly in his arms.
Jiang Yanche was like a ghost with a spell on him. His whole body was stiff and he dared not move. He lowered his head and met a pair of emerald cat eyes.
What on earth does this little ancestor want to do? !
Jiang Yanche was speechless. Didn't he keep a distance? Why did he suddenly get so close?
Lying in Jiang Yanche's arms, the white cat seemed quite comfortable. He yawned, raised his front paws lazily, and stroked his paws.
As he watched, the helplessness in Jiang Yanche's eyes gradually stiffened, and then turned into a sharp and dangerous light———— On the white cat's paw, there was a red, red that had not yet solidified!
This deep red also rubbed against Jiang Yanche's sleeves. He remained calm and sniffed. The blood pungent smelled.
Human blood!
In an instant, he seemed to realize something, and the details that he had previously overlooked appeared before his eyes like a kaleidoscope.
Why did the white cat follow him all the way to the city, but pretend to be a stranger?
Why did the white cat just leave and not follow him into the library?
Jiang Yanche didn't believe that such a guy who would alert the [Star] would make such a low-level mistake of losing him.
The only explanation is:
The white cat found a new "hunting" target and just left just to avoid being disturbed by the [Star] on him and have a chance to attack!
Thinking of this, Jiang Yanche loosened his hands, threw the white cat down mercilessly, and rushed to the library door.
And the white cat? It landed lightly without making a sound, as if it had expected Jiang Yanche's movements, and followed him step by step, keeping up with his back slowly...
...
Chaos, disorder...
Just as Jiang Yanche guessed, the white cat could return in such a short time, and the deceased must be not far away from him.
Look, as soon as he left the library, he was surrounded by noise and clamor.
The city seemed to have been stripped of its peaceful disguise. On the streets, countless pedestrians were running in fear, thinking of Jiang Yanche's direction - the place where the accident happened was obvious.
Jiang Yanche, who was walking against the flow among a group of people, became a very conspicuous "scenery line". Only the [star] trembling in his pocket hinted at the danger of his current situation.
But Jiang Yanche did not stop walking against the flow, but he knew that it was not a solution to keep pretending. With [star], he had more opportunities than other dreamers - opportunities to take risks!
If they could explore the scene of the incident before the criminals arrived, it would be a great help to their mission.
That's right, after thinking about it before, Jiang Yanche had subconsciously been on guard against criminals such as Si Qin. Coupled with the hidden evil of his gloomy personality, when even the captain of the dreamer had doubts, he chose to believe in himself!
[Star] has begun to call upon starlight to shield Jiang Yanche from the dream world, but it is not far from running out of steam. The starlight begins to flicker at a high frequency, as if it will dim and go out in the next second.
Finally, he pushed aside another layer of people, and the thick smell of blood stimulated his nose. The moment he saw the scene clearly, Jiang Yanche was stunned.
A middle-aged man with a gloomy face, wearing a civil servant jacket, looked like a successful person - if you ignore the fruit knife in his right hand and the large pool of blood on his chest.
In front of him, there were two bodies, one was a man with a big belly, facing down and his face could not be seen clearly; the other was a thin woman, judging from the accessories she wore, she looked quite wealthy.
This did not surprise Jiang Yanche. Obviously, the deceased once again met the common characteristics he deduced, all of them were well-known and well-off people.
But...
The two people obviously did not die of cardiac arrest. In this case, there really was a murderer? !
Staring at the large area of blood in his hands and on his chest, the middle-aged man realized it later, and a trace of clarity flashed in his blood-red crazy eyes.
After the madness, timidity grew, and his face began to show a trace of fear.
On the side, Jiang Yanche stared at everything in front of him, not reacting at all. The blood flowing everywhere stimulated his visual nerves, and he just felt that his brain was very confused.
He had always thought that since the first layer of the dream world was set in a modern city, it would naturally be full of order and harmony. But the scene in front of him completely overturned all his previous guesses.
What is the main theme here? !
Deeply shocked and puzzled, Jiang Yanche did not notice that the layer of starlight that permeated his body dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Dim, dim, and dim again, and then...
... extinguished!
Hmm...
The middle-aged man who had just committed the murder seemed to have noticed something, and slowly moved his eyes up and focused on Jiang Yanche.
The moment he saw him clearly, the middle-aged man did not immediately call for help. On the contrary, he was indifferent.
At the same time, a trace of struggle appeared on his face, and the clarity in his eyes awakened by the blood quickly faded. When his eyes were filled with blood again, he roared and rushed towards Jiang Yanche like a beast, with his right hand still tightly holding the bloody fruit knife.
This roar also awakened Jiang Yanche who was in chaos. Feeling the blood coming towards him, he could naturally guess what happened.
Immediately, he frowned, turned sideways, and rushed into the building next to him!
[Star] The power was exhausted, and the only way left for him was to escape. It was impossible to escape from the street. He was now out of the acting state. Taking the initiative to run to the street was no different from seeking death.
But there was a very serious problem in front of Jiang Yanche. If he wanted to get rid of the targeting of the dream world, he had to return to the normal track of life.
According to his original behavior, at this moment, if he was just a normal student, he should have boarded the car to go home.
But if you want to get on the bus, you have to go through the street...
For a moment, Jiang Yanche felt as if he had fallen into a desperate situation and was on the verge of death.
Fortunately, this area is full of public places, with libraries, shopping malls, and restaurants everywhere. He rushed into a shopping mall and rushed through the shops. While running, he picked up items around him and threw them at the people chasing behind him - yes, the crowd!
Even if there was a murder, there were still many people who were unaware of the situation shopping and wandering in the mall. The moment their eyes fell on Jiang Yanche, they stopped their actions at the same time and began to intercept him like machines.
Buzz!
As if they realized that Jiang Yanche was in danger, an untimely tinnitus sounded, and a piece of green mountains and clear waters vaguely appeared in front of them.
"Wait a minute, I'm busy!"
Xilan Ningchang could still help with theoretical problems, but Jiang Yanche didn't think this mysterious woman could help him solve the problems that were targeted by the dream world remotely.
In the final analysis, Jiang Yanche still had a line of defense against Xilan Ningchang in his heart.
He even believed that Xilan Ningchang was also a person in the dream world. In this case, whether she would help him or harm him seemed to be clear.
Concentrating his attention and forcibly refusing Xilan Ningchang's visual sharing, Jiang Yanche turned over and flipped out of the mall window.
Hmm...
But when he landed, he stumbled and misjudged the distance between the window sill and the ground. He twisted his foot and fell to the ground.
Under him, there was a soft and fresh feeling - he came to an outdoor open-air playground!
There was no room for him to rest. The playground in the city was a place that young athletes loved. With Jiang Yanche's arrival, all sports activities on the football field, the running track... and even the basketball court in the distance stopped at the same time. People's rich expressions froze on their faces, and they all turned their heads and locked their sights on his position.
At this moment, the setting sun was in the western sky, spreading red clouds all over the sky. This should have been a beautiful dream.
Jiang Yanche staggered on the grass and ran to the exit of the playground while the crowd didn't react.
He would rather believe that this was a nightmare that he could never wake up from!
...
On the other side.
Being forcibly denied visual sharing, Xilan Ningshang's face was gloomy, and she turned around and went back to the house.
After a moment of silence, she opened her mouth, but she was obviously the only one in the room:
"[Star] is invalid, he is on the first floor again, and he may need your help."
No one responded. The only thing that changed in the room was the frequency of the tarot card on the table flashing.
"Don't do anything? Why, do you still expect [Moderation] to help him?!"
"Don't panic..."
Suddenly, without any warning.
An old voice came from behind, Xilan Ningchang's expression froze, and she turned around, only to see an old woman staggering in from the door.
She was skinny and frail, as if a gust of wind could blow her down.
If Jiang Yanche was here, he would be shocked————This old woman was none other than the one who gave him the [Star]!
Facing her, Xilan Ningchang showed a rare respect on her face:
"Please give me instructions."
The old woman shook her head slightly, turned around, and looked up at the sky:
"No instructions... It's just that it's getting dark..."
...
"Hey, Captain, ask X Company if they can wake me up in advance, my role is invalid, and now I'm being chased by a bunch of people!"
In Yuwang City, Jiang Yanche was still hiding here and there, taking advantage of every opportunity, and while avoiding the crowd blocking the road, he rushed to the west intentionally or unintentionally.
In the west, the sun had completely set, which allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief. People in the dream world don't need vision to sense that his role is invalid, but they need vision to chase him.
As dusk fell, Jiang Yanche also rushed to the street. There were more people chasing him behind him, but his speed slowed down.
After finally getting a chance to breathe, he hurriedly called Si Qin for help.
But on the other end of the phone, Si Qin was silent.
He opened his mouth many times, but after thinking for a moment, he closed it. In the end, he sighed and hung up the phone.
He lowered his head slightly. In his chest pocket was the Bluetooth headset that was connected to Company X. He thought it was just a communication tool until a technician from the criminal department accidentally saw it and indirectly told Si Qin that there was an eavesdropping structure in the headset.
In other words, as the captain, he had no privileges. On the contrary, in some cases, he might become a burden to the team members.
And Jiang Yanche, as Si Qin hung up the phone, his mood became heavy.
His face changed and he sighed heavily.
Did he really want to ask Si Qin for help? Not long ago, he had questioned Si Qin's concealment. What he wanted to know more about this phone call was the attitude of Company X.
Obviously, the attitude of X Company was first revealed when Yong Li died, and it was just confirmed.
They don't take the life of the dreamer too seriously. The dreamer is more like a disposable tool in their hands.
X Company allows the dreamers to explore in the dream world. If there is a discovery, all the benefits belong to the company. If there is an accident, it is only the life of the dreamer that is lost, which has no impact on X Company.
Like what Jiang Yanche deliberately requested just now, there is no such thing as interrupting the dream in advance.
In other words, X Company, since setting up the position of "dreamer", has not set up the "rescue" function for this position!
Squeak!!!
While running against the wind, Jiang Yanche's eyes gradually turned cold as he thought about the intentions of Company X.
A sharp brake slammed, bringing him back to reality. He stopped unconsciously. On the side, three meters away, a private car stopped hitting Jiang Yanche with the help of the emergency brake.
But the moment the driver saw Jiang Yanche clearly, the private car suddenly started. Jiang Yanche couldn't react at all, and the front of the car had already hit him.
His right knee felt like it was hit by a hammer several times, and it was extremely painful. His legs softened and he fell to the ground.
If you don't fall, you don't know. Once you fall, the side effects of the long-term running and tension just now surged into your heart.
Jiang Yanche gasped, feeling only a burning sensation in his lungs and a heavy forehead. Even getting up seemed to be a luxury.
But he still struggled and stood up with the help of the street lamp. It was impossible to continue running. He leaned against the street lamp with his right hand and took out [Star] from his pocket.
The dim street lights gently sprinkled on the [Star], but this card, which had lost all its power to transcend nature, lay in Jiang Yanche's palm, no different from a piece of waste paper.
It only took one second...
He believed that if [Star] could burst out its shielding ability again, he would be able to escape danger, and the people around him would just think he was a student taking a walk after dinner.
But it seemed... there was no other way...