Conan's grammatical investigator

"Dreamland?"

Qin Zhibo scanned this strange world, and as far as he could see was an endless plain, with wormwood growing in the foul-smelling soil, dotted with crooked tombstones, broken urns, and some weird fragments.

No celestial bodies or clouds could be seen on the gray-green shimmering sky, which was a strange phenomenon that could not be seen anywhere on the earth.

"Yes, Dreamland."

Ryohei Matsumoto continued to guide Qin Zhibo forward and explained.

"This is another dimension different from the earth. The laws of physics on the earth do not apply here, but there are many similarities with the earth..."

"To understand it simply, this place is like a 'dream world', but everything here is real."

"Dreams are real."

Qin Zhibo followed Matsumoto Ryohei, passing through one hole after another.

There are such burrows all over the plain, some are spacious, some are narrow, some emit a foul smell, and some have no smell at all.

"In other words, am I dreaming now?"

"otherwise."

Ryohei Matsumoto shook his head, "You didn't enter this world through a dream, but with your real body."

"This means that once you die here, the real you will die, and you will not be able to go back to another world..."

While Ryohei Matsumoto was talking, Qin Zhibo felt some movement on Eisuke Hondo's back, as if he was about to wake up.

Qin Zhibo put him down and slapped the back of his neck, making him fall into a baby-like sleep again.

Matsumoto Ryohei: "...don't let him wake up?"

Qin Zhibo: "No, sometimes knowing too much is not a good thing."

For Hondo Eisuke, everything here is too exciting, especially the terrifying appearance of these ghouls.

……

Next, Ryohei Matsumoto introduced to Qin Zhibo the way to enter the dreamland.

The most common way is to have a special dream, the main content of which is to go down the stairs.

First go down the 70 steps that symbolize "light sleep", pass through a flame cave with the consent of the gatekeeper, and then walk down 700 steps that symbolize "deep sleep" to reach the dreamland.

It is the most common way to enter the dreamland.

And this way of dying in a dream, the body will not really die, what dies is the self in the dream, and will only lose the ability to dream again.

After Matsumoto Ryohei's introduction, Qin Zhibo remembered that he seemed to have had such a dream.

In my dream, I had already obtained the consent of the two "gatekeepers", and was just about to enter the Flame Cave, but was woken up by the sudden ringing of the phone.

The second way is to let the real body enter the dreamland.

This method needs the help of some special space gaps, such as the lair of ghouls, or a certain tree hole in the sea of ​​trees.

This space gap is often not easy to be found, but it is the key to allowing the physical body to reach the other side of the dream.

"You and this young man should have come here through the lair of the ghouls. It is the real body that entered the dreamland."

Ryohei Matsumoto pointed at himself again, and said, "I passed through a certain tree hole in the sea of ​​trees in Aokigahara, and I also entered this world with my body."

Aokigahara Sea of ​​Trees, Qin Zhibo has some impressions of this place.

Aokigahara Tree Sea is located at the foot of Mount Fuji, also known as the "Suicide Forest". It has been a natural cemetery since ancient times, and it has become a famous suicide sanctuary in modern times.

As for the reason why Matsumoto Ryohei discovered this tree hole, it goes back to the farther past.

"I once told you that my father, Seicho Matsumoto, was an archaeologist and also loved literature and philosophy."

"A few years ago, my father disappeared suddenly, and the police investigation was fruitless. I can only investigate my father's whereabouts alone."

"In the study at home, I found a novel written by my father in his early years, called "The Tower of Waves."

"The heroine in this book finally committed suicide in the sea of ​​trees in Aokigahara, which reminded me that my father might be in the sea of ​​trees in Aokigahara."

"At that time, I entered the sea of ​​trees and accidentally discovered a tree hole in the sea of ​​trees that could travel to this world. But because of insufficient preparation, I got lost on the way back and ran out of food and water."

"In order to survive, I had to eat the bodies of those who committed suicide to maintain my life until I got out of the forest."

"I survived and opened the door to the new world...but I still didn't know that the tree hole led to the dreamland, so I kept it a secret."

"Until I was in the hospital a while ago, I found that my desire for meat was getting stronger, and I had various distortions in my body."

"This may be the prion you mentioned, Mr. Qin..."

"I don't want to be hated and leave this world, so I left the hospital and sneaked into the world in the tree hole."

"However, now that I think about it, many of the missing people in Aokihara Jukai have probably entered this world."

"Now I have found it too, this is the real Gensokyo!"

Qin Zhibo could tell that Matsumoto Ryohei enjoyed life here.

Just being with ghouls made his image gradually move closer to ghouls.

But maybe he should have ushered in such a transformation?
Qin Zhibo thought for a while, and then continued to ask: "What about other ways to enter this world?"

Ryohei Matsumoto paused for a moment, and replied: "The last method I know so far is a person with the physique of a 'dream maker'."

"With this special physique, the mind will create palaces, land, money, etc. in the dreamland, and even go directly to the dreamland after death to obtain eternal life."

"The 'dream maker' may not be able to realize that he is in a real world all his life, but he continues to build this world with his subconscious mind."

Matsumoto Ryohei's introduction made Qin Zhibo realize that Suzuki Ayako should be a "dream maker".

A dream maker is an innate ability, it is easier to enter the dreamland than a dreamer, and can create things that do not exist in the dreamland out of thin air.

That villa is a creation constructed by Suzuki Ayako through her subconscious mind.

If this is the case, the sudden disappearance of Suzuki Ayako's body is just waking up from a dream.

But that being the case, what happened to Ryoichi Takahashi?

And room for dust below?
Qin Zhibo told Matsumoto Ryohei the doubts in his heart, and he smiled and answered him.

"The space below is called 'Abyss', and here is the tomb of Xin."

"Although we are now on a plain, this actually belongs to the underground world of the dreamland, and it is also the closest place to the waking world."

"The 'Abyss' below is between waking and dreaming, similar to the flame cave between light sleep and deep sleep. The rules there are also between the waking world and the dreaming world. It is a chaotic place."

"There is a race called 'ghosts' living in the abyss. The person you mentioned is probably a ghost."

"Ghosts are a low-level, depraved race. They cannibalize and bite each other. They don't have any sense at all. They like to live in a completely dark environment."

"But if you want to go to the sober world from here, you have to go through the territory of those disgusting creatures..."

According to Matsumoto Ryohei's description, Qin Zhibo also guessed Takahashi Ryoichi's experience.

Takahashi Ryoichi entered the ghoul's lair by mistake in the last bandage monster incident, and got lost in the abyss.

And this world seems to have magical powers, which can gradually assimilate creatures that stray into it into something.

This may also be accompanied by the gradual reduction of willpower before slowly losing its human form.

In Matsumoto Ryohei's words, ghouls also seem to hate ghosts.

But in Qin Zhibo's case, both are essentially human-eating races, the difference is only in fifty steps and hundred steps...

Ryohei Matsumoto seemed to see Qin Zhibo's thoughts, and explained: "Although ghouls look scary, they are actually a high-level race, and their intelligence is no less than that of humans."

"They have their own language and beliefs, and they have the concept of ethnic groups."

"In fact, some ghouls are even transformed from humans..."

During the conversation, Qin Zhibo unknowingly followed Matsumoto Ryohei to the ghoul's camp.

It is said to be a camp, but there are no buildings or the like, but a concentrated group of tombs.

There are about a dozen ghouls around the cemetery. They are squatting on the ground, holding the gnawed food in both hands, and looking at the two fresh humans curiously.

Although Qin Zhibo had already acted calmly, his pupils trembled unconsciously as he passed by the pile of food scraps that had been partially eaten.

After what happened just now, his willpower is not high now, only 55, which is a level better than ordinary people.

Matsumoto Ryohei communicated with one of the elder-looking ghouls in the strange language of "Gu Ling Gu Ling".

After a while, Matsumoto Ryohei relayed their conversation to Qin Zhibo.

The elder asked the ghoul to prepare a healing herb that could help Qin Zhibo heal the wound on his arm.

As for why they need to heal their injuries first, instead of leaving directly, it is because they have to go through the abyss below before returning to the sober world, and they will definitely not be able to run fast with their injuries.

Qin Zhibo glanced at the elder ghoul sitting on the 1768 tombstone, and asked Matsumoto Ryohei to thank it for himself.

……

Soon, a medicine made by mixing mucus and crushed herbal medicine was taken out and applied to the wound on Qin Zhibo's arm that Ryoichi Takahashi grabbed.

This thing works quickly, and the pain is gone immediately after applying it.

Qin Zhibo wanted to ask about the ingredients of this thing, but Matsumoto Ryohei said it's better not to know.

While waiting to recover, Qin Zhibo learned more about the Dreamland and the ghoul race from Matsumoto Ryohei.

The dreamland is very big, and not all monsters live here, there are also human towns here.

The living conditions of human beings here are probably in the middle ages of the earth. Although they are relatively backward, life is richer than imagined.

At the same time, it is said that there are real gods here, collectively referred to as "dream gods", and most advanced intelligent races have gods worshiped.

For example, most of the ghouls in Dreamland worship the "King of Ghouls", and the ghouls who worship this god only eat corpses, not living people.

In fact, regarding this point, Qin Zhibo wants to correct something, that is, there are real gods on the earth.

It's just that in the dreamland, whether it's humans or other races, they all admire myths and legends more, and the existence of gods is not a secret.

On the earth, the development of science and technology has made human beings gradually abandon the awe they should have.

When Ryohei Matsumoto entered the dreamland, he first came from a human town, and then joined the ghouls.

In the race of ghouls, although Ryohei Matsumoto is a newcomer, he is more popular with ghouls because of his "good looks", so he has a lot of say here.

……

After resting for a while, Qin Zhibo felt that his physical strength was almost recovered.

The time lapse ratio between here and the outside world is 1:1, that is to say, it is almost midnight outside now.

The task of the system is about to be completed, and it is impossible for him to explore the entire dreamland in one night.

But the way back is not absolutely safe, because you have to return to the abyss where there is no difference between day and night.

"In the abyss, besides ghosts, there is also a creature named 'Guge Giant'."

"The worship ceremony of the Gug giants was too profane, so they were sealed in the dungeons of the abyss by the dream gods. They are more disgusting and violent than ghosts."

"If you want to return to the waking world, you have to climb the tallest tower in the dungeon. Only there is connected to the ghoul lair in the waking world."

"If you want to go back safely, you can only pretend to be a ghoul and climb up with us."

"Because those Gug giants are a little afraid of ghouls, this is the best way."

Qin Zhibo frowned, and looked at the faces of the ghouls around him, feeling a little embarrassed.

No matter what you do, you can't cosplay into a dog's head, right?

Really like a dog?
Ryohei Matsumoto said again: "Actually, it doesn't need to be too troublesome. Those Guge giants' ability to distinguish is very weak. You just need to take off all your clothes and climb up with us."

"Take off, take off your clothes!?"

"Well, that's the only way, because obviously ghouls don't wear clothes... but one can keep a pair of pants for shame."

"Forehead……"

Qin Zhibo thought for a while, and he really had no other choice but to take it off.

He took off all his clothes, leaving only a pair of underpants, and packed them all up.

Without the cover of his clothes, Qin Zhibo's muscle lines were exposed to the air, which immediately attracted the attention of several ghouls.

"Guguling, bah——"

"Ring, lingering..."

Ryohei Matsumoto smiled and translated, "They are all female ghouls, saying you are handsome, and hope you can stay."

"what--?"

Qin Zhibo opened his mouth wide, he didn't expect these ghouls to be so straightforward, they would actually molested a boy from a good family in broad daylight!
His intuition told him that it was not suitable to stay here for a long time.

Respect first!

But just as Qin Zhibo was about to carry the unconscious Hondo Eiyu on his back, he encountered another difficulty.

That's right, what about Eisuke Hondo?
You can't dress up as a ghoul with a big living person on your back, right?

There was no other way, Qin Zhibo could only take off Hondo Yingyou's clothes, leaving him only a pair of black underpants.

Compared with the mature Qin Zhibo, Hondo Eiyu's skin is delicate and his figure is much weaker. There is also a scar left by an operation on his chest.

Suddenly, Qin Zhibo was curious, pointed to Eisuke Hondo, who was almost barley, and asked Ryohei Matsumoto.

"Ask these ghouls, do they like this kid?"

Matsumoto Ryohei nodded, turned his head and chatted with each other.

"Guckling, gurgling—"

"Goo! Goo!"

After a few seconds, Ryohei Matsumoto told Qin Zhibo.

"They said, too thin, don't."