socalfunplaces Chapter 352 Connections and Coordinates
Chapter 352 Connections and Coordinates
Chapter 352 Connections and Coordinates
After finally calming Xiaobai down and getting Tangcao and the others to sleep, Tang Zijun immediately took Katie and headed towards Yandu.
He had previously agreed to bring some samples back to Elder Pan and the others, and now that he had the samples, he naturally wanted to deliver them to them personally.
These otherworldly flesh and blood carry a lot of unknown energy, making it absolutely impossible for them to be delivered by express courier. Not to mention anything else, the bacteria and viruses on them could very likely cause enormous damage to civilization in the real world.
Therefore, for your own safety and for everyone's safety, in the absence of special backup measures, using Katie, the facet world, as an escort is the best option.
Although it wouldn't be difficult to call Zhang Wei and the others to make a trip, it was related to the dream world after all, and Tang Zijun wasn't entirely at ease leaving it to them. Moreover, there were some things he really needed to discuss with Shangguan Su.
After reporting it via text message, under the cover of night, a steam train slowly began to move from underground and sped off towards Yandu.
Sitting in the chair, Tang Zijun looked at the scratches on the back of her hand with a worried expression. After a moment of pause, she sighed again.
"I'm telling you, this is the seventh time you've sighed." Curly-eared girl jumped onto the table, clutching a ham. "It's just a scratch, is it really that big of a deal?"
"I'm thinking about whether or not I should get a rabies vaccine," Tang Zijun shrugged.
"Rabies vaccine?" Curly-eared man's lips twitched.
"You know, Xiaobai is always crazy, who knows if she has any germs on her."
"Wait a minute, I remember Xiaobai said she used to be a pet cat. Didn't her previous owner take her for vaccinations?" Curly-eared cat asked, tilting her head.
"I don't know about that..." Tang Zijun suddenly held up a finger as she spoke. "Oh right, I subtly reminded Tang Cao before, wanting her to take Xiaobai to the vet for deworming and get its vaccinations done while she's at it."
"Wasn't this a good thing? And then what happened?"
"The result..." Tang Zijun shook her head in annoyance. "As a result, Xiaobai chewed through my data cable while I wasn't home. Oh, and she also 'helped' me update my manuscript. Now the protagonist of my novel is an adorable catgirl."
"puff!"
The little curly-eared creature covered its three-lobed mouth with its two little paws, looking like it wanted to laugh but dared not.
"...Well, anyway, your novels aren't doing very well, maybe some readers like this kind of transformation story, haha."
"She likes a big watermelon!" Tang Zijun slammed her hand on the table in anger. "Just thinking about it makes me furious. I'm writing a campus romance novel, and she changed the gender of my main character! How am I supposed to write about a bunch of girls? Form a band?!"
"Ha...hahaha...so that's why cats are never as good as rabbits..." Curly-eared rabbit stuck out its tongue, hopped over to Tang Zijun's side, and patted his arm. "Okay, don't be angry, come and have some ham."
"Thanks." Tang Zijun subconsciously took the sausage Curly-Ears offered, then her expression froze. "Wait...aren't you a rabbit? Why are you eating meat?"
"Who told you rabbits can't eat meat!" Curly-eared rabbit glared at her, then quickly backed down. "...Okay, fine, they can't eat it, but I'm not one of those precious pet rabbits. I'm a spirit beast, you know what a spirit beast is."
"What, you even changed the diet after it awakened into a spirit beast?" Tang Zijun rolled her eyes. "And Little White too, she insists on eating canned food. Humph, this time I'm not buying her anything, let her catch me."
"She arrested you because you went to the dream world and didn't bring her a gift... and you didn't bring me one either..."
"I haven't brought it for Xiao Hui yet, why hasn't he reacted at all?" Tang Zijun pouted, then sighed softly. "It's not that I don't want to buy it, it's just... it's just..."
"You forgot?"
"I haven't forgotten." Tang Zijun thought for a moment and said seriously. "The main problem is that there's not much you can use in that place. It's a remote and impoverished area, right? I can't exactly buy a household registration book, grind it up, and make cookies for you guys, can I?"
"Where did that crown come from?"
Curly-eared pointed to Katie, who was admiring herself in the mirror not far away, and looked at Tang Zijun with a suspicious expression.
"I've never seen her so vain in all the time I've known her. If I didn't know what her true form is, I would have really thought she was human."
"I already said that's not a crown, it's an ornament. You can buy a whole bag of these for ten yuan at the small commodity wholesale market."
"The key is not the value but the sentiment. If you ask me, even if there's really nothing to buy, just take a couple of photos and show them to us."
Hearing this, Tang Zijun sighed softly. "...Okay, I admit you're right. I wasn't fully prepared this time. Next time I go, I'll definitely bring you all gifts."
"No need for that." Curly-eared Tang Zijun fawned over her. "Next time, can you just take me in directly? I promise I'll behave. Besides, I'm a spirit beast, so I can't trigger defensive runes. We haven't finished talking yet, what are you doing?"
"We've arrived. I'm heading out now. Bye-bye."
Tang Zijun walked out without looking back.
Upon seeing this, the rolled-eared creature immediately jumped up.
"Hello!"
"Please think about it. I'm really a good girl!"
"Hello!!"
They took Katie by elevator all the way to the office floor.
As soon as I arrived at Shangguan Su's office, I could see her dozing off through the slightly ajar door, her left hand supporting her head as she noddled.
As expected of the bureau chief, this is already the umpteenth time Tang Zijun has seen her staying up all night.
After exchanging a glance with Katie, Tang Zijun raised her hand and gently knocked on the door.
"Um?"
Upon hearing the sound, Shangguan Su immediately shuddered, and then breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Tang Zijun and Katie standing at the door.
"...Oh, it's you. Come in."
Taking off her glasses, Shangguan Su rubbed her face and then reached for the coffee on the table next to her, only to find that it was already gone.
Just then, Tang Zijun handed Shangguan Su a cup of coffee. He had poured it from the front desk when he entered the lobby, intending to drink it himself. "Sorry to bother you so late."
"It's alright. Our work hours are concentrated at night anyway. After all, you know how those monsters like to visit places in the middle of the night." Shangguan Su took the coffee and took a sip without thinking.
She then put down her cup and looked at Katie. "This must be... Katie, right? I've been seeing you in the reports. It's nice to finally meet you. Hello."
"This is Director Shangguan," Tang Zijun introduced, then paused and added, "My direct superior, who has always been helping me."
Sure enough, upon hearing the second half of her sentence, a hint of humanity appeared on Katie's cold face. "Hello, Director Shangguan."
"Mm." Shangguan Su nodded gently. "Your crown is beautiful; it suits you very well."
Katie's face visibly lit up with joy. "Really? Thank you, you're so kind. This is a gift from my brother."
"You have a good older brother." Shangguan Su shifted her gaze to Tang Zijun, then raised her hand in a gesture of invitation. "Don't just stand there, sit down, let's talk about serious matters."
Tang Zijun didn't stand on ceremony and pulled out a chair to sit down. Katie next to her followed suit, but her gaze towards Shangguan Su was noticeably more benevolent.
"Where's the sample?"
"It has already been delivered to Elder Pan by professional agents," Tang Zijun replied.
Shangguan Su nodded slightly, then asked, "In your previous text message, you said you slept for thirty-seven hours when you entered the dream world this time. What happened?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but I did spend quite a bit of time collecting samples this time."
"But you've never been in that world for so long before, which could be dangerous for you." Shangguan Su's expression was somewhat serious.
Are you worried that I might not be able to come back next time?
"This is not only my concern, but also the concern of the expert team." Shangguan Su closed the laptop in front of her and continued, "After learning about the existence of the dream world, I set up a special task force. Although we haven't found any concrete evidence, some people have indeed claimed to have dreamed of strange and bizarre worlds."
"Where are they?"
"He's dead."
"Dead?"
"Hmm." Shangguan Su nodded slightly. "Brain death, sudden death, inability to distinguish between reality and illusion leading to suicide—there aren't many cases, you can count them on one hand. I don't want you to end up like them."
Hearing Shangguan Su's words, Tang Zijun pursed his lips. At that moment, the image of Old Chang's mother suddenly appeared in his mind.
If the cases found by the Bureau of Demonic Investigation are indeed related to the dream world, then Lao Chang's mother is very likely to have had the same experience as those people.
"We don't have enough information yet. You're the only person who can freely enter and exit the dream world and carry items, so I don't want you to be in danger. You are now our only bridge to that world."
"Director Shangguan, I understand what you mean. Don't worry, with Katie taking care of me, I'll be fine." Tang Zijun smiled. "Besides, she can enter and leave the dream world. If anything happens, she can bring my... spirit back."
Upon hearing this, Shangguan Su turned to look at Katie, who was studying a fountain pen.
"She...can she really drive a train into a dream world?"
"Yes, I was surprised to know about this too." Tang Zijun didn't hide anything, but simply shrugged helplessly. "But it's also a good thing; with her around, I'm much safer in that world."
Shangguan Su fell silent, seemingly lost in thought. After a moment of contemplation, she asked Katie, "Katie, have you... ever tried entering other worlds before?"
"I used to be a world in myself," Katie blinked and answered truthfully.
"What I mean is, how did you enter the dream world? If you were to enter that world again now, could you do it again?"
"this"
Katie thought about it carefully, and then spoke.
"I found that world because of my connection with my brother. I didn't go there on my own initiative. My brother just gave me the coordinates, which is why I was able to get there."