On my second playthrough, they were full of malice towards me.

Private rooms on the third floor of Night Charm Bar.

Black Dreams are illegal dreams that the "Dream Inspection Bureau" severely cracks down on and prohibits. For ordinary people who want to obtain them, the only way is to try their luck with black market dealers who act as "middlemen".

However, after Luo Xiaoji used his connections and influence, he was able to skip the middleman and pick up the goods directly from the "manufacturer".

Liao Ji and his group didn't have to wait long, probably less than fifteen minutes, when the door to the bar's private room was violently pushed open. Four or five men and women with unfriendly faces quickly walked in. The last one to enter was a female member with a tattoo resembling a "black flame" on her left arm, who then closed the door behind her.

The group of people had guns on their waists, and their jackets and shirts concealed various non-everyday cybernetic devices. Their attire practically screamed "gangster." The leader, a burly man with two arms completely cybernetically powered, glanced around the room before fixing his gaze on Luo Xiaoji.

"You're the rich guy the boss was talking about, the one who wanted to buy Black Dream?"

"It's me, brother. What's your name?" Facing these fierce-looking gang members, Luo Xiaoji didn't show much fear. Instead, he seemed more curious about the new things and, like he had with Liao Ji before, wanted to chat with them as if they were old friends.

But clearly, this gangster was not as friendly as Liao Ji had been before.

"No need for names, we won't have any more contact with you guys anyway. The buyer's identity has been verified, now give the goods to this rich guy."

The burly man waved to his accomplices, and two or three gang members carrying briefcases immediately walked up to Luo Xiaoji, opened the briefcases on the table, revealing a series of dreamlike films that looked like "cassette tapes".

Seeing these retro mechanical cassettes, Luo Xiaoji looked a little surprised. He thought Huanmeng was something high-end, but it looked like a very outdated DVD.

"In the Alliance of Machines, those people from the regulatory bureau can even find out the color of your underwear using an e-cigarette you've smoked. So for us, the older and more primitive something is, the safer and more reliable it is, understand?"

As the burly man led the way, he lit a cigarette—the most traditional kind, with tobacco wrapped in paper.

After taking a deep drag and exhaling smoke, he plopped down on the sofa in the private room. He glanced down at his mechanical watch, then waved the hand holding the cigarette at Luo Xiaoji and said:

"The goods are all here. Each cartridge has a description of the Black Dream. Pick one yourself, and we'll settle the payment together. But I must remind you, we only have fifteen minutes for the transaction."

While the burly man was talking, Liao Ji and Yilin had already arrived in front of the Black Dream Cards and started to examine them one by one. The girl, in particular, seemed more excited and enthusiastic. On the other hand, Luo Xiaoji, who was supposed to be the buyer, did not show any reaction and remained sitting in the same spot without moving.

The burly man's expression froze for a moment, and he frowned slightly. Several gang members in the private room also showed similar expressions, some even giving the burly man a "what should we do?" look.

However, soon after, Luo Xiaoji seemed to get restless and joined Liao Ji's side, picking out the Black Dream cassette tape together. Only then did the burly man's micro-expression return to normal, and he took another puff of his cigarette.

The reason why Black Fantasy is banned is because many things in it can cause mental problems if watched for a long time. In addition to sex and violence, there are also many perverted things, such as a story about being reincarnated as a dog, which allows you to experience Black Fantasy from the perspective of a dog being raised by a female owner.

There are also elements of horror and mystery, such as the dark dream called "The Killer" that Irene is holding now, which records the perspective of a passerby who was lucky enough to witness the urban legend of "The Killer".

While Liao Ji pretended to be selecting items, he had actually awakened 86 and was scanning each Black Dream cartridge by touching it.

Unfortunately, the result was not as expected. None of these dark dreams could be linked to "Dream Zero". Obviously, the level of secrecy of Dream Zero was even higher than that of these dark dreams.

Despite the regret, Liao Ji had anticipated that he was just there to try his luck. He symbolically took two or three copies of Black Dream, including the "murderer" Black Dream that Yilin had begged and pleaded for. So, it wasn't a wasted trip.

"Have you made your selection? Let me see. There are five in total, 100,000 Ash Coins each, for a total of one million. Please make the payment."

Liao Ji took three parts, and Luo Xiaoji took two, so the total of five parts was indeed not a problem, but...

"Wait a minute, bro, you've got your math wrong, haven't you? One million? Isn't it five hundred thousand?"

After Luo Xiaoji's questioning, there was no "price gouging" scenario. The reason for asking for an additional 500,000 was because...

“These dark dreams cannot be played with ordinary devices, so here, take this. Only our Blackfire Gang’s special dream terminal can read them.”

As he spoke, the burly man got up from the sofa and tossed a portable Dream Terminal, which resembled an "eye mask" and had been prepared beforehand, to Luo Xiaoji.

When Liao Jigang first came into contact with the Dream Terminal, Yilin explained that the most intuitive way to judge the model level of a Dream Terminal is to look at its appearance; the simpler the appearance, the more advanced it is.

And it's clear that this dream terminal, which looks like an eye mask, is definitely not a low-end model.

“Let me tell you, Brother Fu, don’t think it’s expensive. You can’t even buy this terminal on the black market, because it has another function besides watching the Black Dream.”

"What is it?"

"It can take you to see the most realistic dark fantasy."

"The most realistic dark fantasy?"

Seeing that Luo Xiaoji didn't understand, the gang members in the private room burst into laughter, then turned serious and said in a seductive voice:

"It is the head of all Black Dreams, the true Black Dream Zero Dream."

"Do you know why those big corporations banded together to prevent us from entering Zero Dream? Realism, danger—it's all bullshit! Let me tell you, it's because Zero Dream is a gold mine, filled with endless wealth from the Old World. They don't want anyone competing with them for this gold mine; they're trying to monopolize it, understand?"

"Do you remember what I just told you? In the Alliance of Machines, advanced doesn't mean good. On the contrary, the older and more traditional things are the ones that people are more eager to adopt."

The big man showed Luo Xiaoji a traditional cigarette that was half-burned.

"People's deaths in Dream Zero will be brought into reality, but conversely, people's cultivation in Dream Zero will also be brought back into reality. Do you know what this means?"

"This means we no longer have to be trapped in this barren world five hundred years from now, where the turbidity is sparse. We can return to five hundred years ago, to a time filled with turbidity, a time when just taking a breath, given the concentration of turbidity in the air of the old world, could directly turn us into calamity-infected beings, and not only that, but also incredibly stable calamity-infected beings who would not go berserk!"

The more he talked, the more excited he became, and the big man opened his arms wide.

"Too many people have successfully advanced to become Evil Ones by relying on the old world of Zero Dream, gaining immense power. Then they use this superhuman power to continue exploring Zero Dream, seeking out the technology, history, knowledge, and even the legendary legacy of that great emperor from the old world!"

“Even any one of these items, if taken out, would be a fortune that one could never spend in a lifetime. So now do you understand? It was those scoundrel companies who colluded with the government to monopolize, seize, and deprive us of our right to explore the Zero Dream!”

"They keep saying that Dream Zero is dangerous, yet they themselves are developing some kind of intelligent AI, forming an army, and investing it into Dream Zero to help them explore the old world. What else is this but shamelessness!"

The big man became more and more agitated as he spoke, and it was clear that he had great dissatisfaction with the company and the government. Of course, it was also clear that he had an unusual longing for, or even worship of, Zero Dream.

As he gradually calmed down, the big man seemed to realize that he had gone off-topic. He glanced at his watch and realized it was almost time, so he brought the topic back on track.

After listening to the big man's impassioned speech, Luo Xiaoji seemed to be somewhat swayed as well. Previously, Kyle Technology had only been telling them how dangerous Zero Dream was, but from the big man's words, Luo Xiaoji saw another side of Zero Dream. He didn't covet any wealth, but what young man hadn't dreamed of becoming a member of the Evil Ones with "superpowers," and a very stable one at that?

One million was a small sum for Luo Xiaoji, and he paid the money quickly. After receiving the payment, the members of the Black Fire Gang did not linger and left the private room cleanly and efficiently, just as they had when they arrived.

Not long after, Liao Ji and Luo Xiaoji also left the Night Charm Bar and hailed a taxi back to their hotel.

And after their taxi left, a car that had been parked in an inconspicuous corner of the Night Charm Bar also lit up.

The car was unusually manually driven; the driver, wearing dark sunglasses and looking like a secret agent, quickly dialed a number.

After the connection was established quickly

"That's right, Steward William, Luo Xiaoji has gone back."

Chapter 195 Behind the Accident

KEL Technology.

Intelligence Section.

Chief Steward William was currently in the head of the intelligence section's office. After hanging up the phone with the agent reporting, the head of the intelligence section, who was standing to the side, immediately asked:

"Steward William, do you require us to arrest Luo Xiaoji immediately?"

On the large screen in the office, it was clear that Luo Xiaoji's every move had been tracked by Kyle Technology since he left the Kyle Technology Building. Every action he took was under Kyle Technology's surveillance, including his first visit to the Night Charm Bar, his encounter with Liao Ji, and then the sudden involvement of the Black Fire Gang.

The only slight pity is that, because the bar was too noisy, the surveillance footage they accessed didn't reveal why Luo Xiaoji had called Liao Ji over. And, unfortunately, the surveillance camera in Luo Xiaoji's private room was broken, so they couldn't hear what Luo Xiaoji was planning to do after he used his connections to bring in the gang members.

“Forget about the arrest. The press conference is in three days. If we get involved with the Quess Group now, especially with his sister behind him,” Manager William immediately shook his head.

"Could it be that Luo Xiaoji is contacting the gang at this sensitive time to leak our information?"

"No, I'm not worried about that. I deliberately gave him low-priced stocks before to test his attitude. He has invested so much money in our Kail Technology, which means he is already tied to us. Unless he is just trying to lose money, he won't do anything to harm us."

"The reason I asked you to pay so much attention to Luo Xiaoji is actually because I care about this more."

As he spoke, Steward William pushed a news bulletin in front of the head of the intelligence department.

[Breaking News: Fire breaks out in hangar of the Emergency Medical Services building. Cause unknown. The fire is currently under control. Emergency Medical Services officials stated that all data is safe. A possible hacker attack cannot be ruled out, and the investigation will continue.]

After reading it, the section chief was still a bit confused and tentatively asked, "What does this have to do with Luo Xiaoji?"

"While it's highly likely that Tia's loss of control was just a coincidence, have you ever considered the possibility that she lost control because she came into contact with Luo Xiaoji?"

"Does this explain why Luo Xiaoji deliberately waited until the very end to contact Tia?"

"After the technical department repaired Tia, they found that some data had been lost. So we can only speculate based on what Tia was doing with Luo Xiaoji at the time. According to the procedure, what they should have done at that time was to enroll her in insurance and enter Luo Xiaoji's data into the emergency care team."

Upon hearing William's words, the intelligence chief, realizing what had happened, immediately checked the timeline of the news report about the fire at the emergency medical team's building. Taking into account the margin of error, he could almost deduce that it was exactly the same time as when Tia lost control.

They actually connected!

The intelligence chief looked enlightened, and then William became even more respectful, even showing a hint of fear.

After all, William was able to combine seemingly unrelated information based on a small clue and deduce so much new information, which was several times better than what he, the head of the intelligence department, could do.

Fortunately, William's position was higher than his; otherwise, the position would have been replaced.

Thinking of the section chief here, he became even more flattering and obsequious towards William, and quickly asked:

"So, what Chief Steward William means is that it's very likely that there was a problem with Luo Xiaoji's emergency medical team's data, which led to Tia losing control?"

William nodded: "We may have underestimated Luo Xiaoji. He's not as simple as the playboy he seems. After all, with an older sister like that, how could the younger brother really be a useless playboy?"

William frowned as he stared at Luo Xiaoji's photo, his metal prosthetic fingers tapping on the table, making a crisp sound in the dimly lit intelligence office.

In the end, the steward shook his head helplessly, sighed at Luo Xiaoji's background, and got up from his chair.

"Tia is a crucial 'eye' for our exploration of the Zero Dream. We must figure out why she lost control, and whether this same reason will also apply to other 'eyes.' Therefore, before that, do everything possible to keep Luo Xiaoji with Kyle Technology. But remember, it must be something he willingly chooses to do; absolutely no violence is allowed."

"Yes, Steward William. I'll make the arrangements immediately!"

Seeing William about to get up and leave, the head of the intelligence department hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help but call out again, "Wait a minute, Chief Steward William, where is Dr. Liao Ji, Luo Xiaoji's friend?"

"Dr. Liao Ji."

William quickly pulled up another set of documents, which were those of Liao Ji and Irene, who served as his "assistant".

William, who had taken this exchange meeting very seriously and had thoroughly reviewed the list of scholars, had already checked it out. As it turned out, a simple use of his access privileges revealed that all the information about this so-called "Dr. Liao Ji" was fabricated.

It's even the kind of blatant forgery, the kind of forgery without any scruples, where they don't even bother to put in any extra effort.

William had previously taken this person very seriously.

But now...

William always believed in one principle.

Behind every seemingly accidental event lies an inevitability.

"This Liao Ji must have been sent by Luo Xiaoji's sister."

"Also, also a member of the Quess Group?" The head of the intelligence department was completely taken aback.

"If you want your younger brother to leave the sheltered environment, venture out on his own, and hone his skills, but you're also worried that he might be bullied abroad, what would you do?"

After William asked this question, the head of the intelligence department immediately understood.