Dow and Carbon-Based Monkey Breeding Guidelines

Chapter 945 The Boundless Cage (Part )

Although "lucid dreaming" was described beautifully on the Internet, he found it disgusting after actually experiencing it. If it's an ordinary dream, even the worst and most anxious nightmare, at least you don't have to worry about the next day's work when you fall asleep. The moment you wake up, you can even feel happy. But "lucid dreaming" completely deprived him of this happiness of forgetting worries. Even if he walked on the road near the lake again and realized that he had fallen asleep, he still could not forget the things he was worrying about before falling asleep.

He couldn't sleep for too long at this time, otherwise it would be more troublesome to go to the hospital after dark, and his boss might even call the police because of his disappearance. Therefore, he had to wake up as soon as possible, find change in the house first, and then go to the store to buy a pen - the more anxiously he urged himself, the more he delayed and didn't want to wake up. Just go to that lake and have a look. Go and see what changes have happened to the Black Tower on the other side of the lake? Is that blackbird still there? As long as you sleep longer, your body may recover on its own when you wake up, saving you the trouble of going to the hospital for help.

It didn't take much effort to convince himself. He simply put the real dilemma behind him and walked to the lake wholeheartedly. This dream was obviously different from the past - the sky was completely dark, and the full moon was like a red burning cigarette butt, with chaotic clouds scattered in all directions. There is no glow on the skyline directly in front, but it is still shining slightly. It was a light red glow, like a charcoal fire covered under a thick gauze. As he walked, he squinted his eyes and looked up, trying to see the situation in front of him more clearly. However, the cold wind was so fast and mixed with salt-like white frost that he could only pull his neck back.

It's kind of like a winter night here now. After bypassing the fence surrounded by the last forest, the secluded lake that isolated the Black Tower appeared in front of him again. What he saw made him so shocked that he almost turned around and fled back into the dark forest path. Before he could do that, a familiar voice stopped him.

"Hey, if you leave now, you will be completely hopeless."

He calmed down and looked toward the lake. Sure enough, it was the black bird who spoke. It was lying on a pile of lotus leaves less than three steps away from the lake shore, looking at him coldly with its round, dark eyes. He wouldn't think there was anything wrong if a human or even a cat or dog were in such a resting posture, but he had only seen a water bird lying on its side so awkwardly with one of its wings completely pressed under its body. Poultry have done something similar.

"Yes, I'm going to die." Blackbird said, with vain tiredness in his voice.

Cai Ji observed it suspiciously for a while, then slowly walked towards it. During the whole process, the black bird was lying on its side limply, with the thin legs on top of it spasming slightly. Its feathers have become sparse and dull, and a blood-tinged clear liquid flows out from around its nose. The narrow chest was rising and falling rapidly, and it was obvious that he could hardly breathe. But its eyes were still bright and sharp, without any sign of losing consciousness or becoming distracted.

If he had seen it like this in his dream last time, Cai Ji would have laughed mercilessly, but thinking of what he had experienced in reality, he felt a kind of sadness that pitied him. So, he temporarily ignored the extremely obvious abnormality on the lake and squatted down on the shore closest to the blackbird.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" he asked tentatively, "Did you eat the wrong thing?"

"The transfer station is exhausted," Blackbird said. "This transfer station is reaching its limit."

"Transit station? You?"

"I am... receiving point."

The black bird looked at him lifelessly, and after a while repeated: "I am the receiving point."

This was a strange dream, he thought. If the bird's illness is also the result of one's own subconscious, the term "reception point" would have no origin at all. Hearing Blackbird speak like this in a child's voice, he couldn't help but feel a little soft-hearted. Putting aside the point of speaking in human terms, the bird in front of me is a young bird that has not yet grown up. If converted into human age, it is estimated to be only about eight to twelve years old. If you were told that you were going to die at that age, you wouldn't be able to accept it no matter what, right?

"I won't grow up." Blackbird said calmly, "No receiving point can withstand the signal for a long time. The transfer station is overdrawn, so I will also be scrapped. This is known from the beginning."

When a bird is about to die, its song will also be mournful - this sentence came to his mind. The disgusting behavior of the blackbird in the past two dreams seemed irrelevant now. In a daze, he even felt that what lay dying on the lake was not an unusually calm water bird, but a real human child. Although this was just a dream - he kept emphasizing to himself, but still asked hesitantly: "Are you really going to die? Is there no other way?"

"You can also see it, right? Now, the signal is already very poor."

"What about this lake? Will nothing else live here in the future?"

"No. The signal will not be interrupted for a long time. When this transfer station is completely shut down, the next one will take over."

Will there be other black water chickens running on this lake? He thought in his mind that if such black water chickens that could speak human language really existed in reality, and there were so many of them, they would be like a family of monsters. Just as he was thinking about these messy things, Blackbird suddenly asked him: "Did you encounter any problems in that city?"

"what?"

"Are you being ostracized? If you don't do anything, your situation will continue to get worse."

Are you a doctor? Cai Ji really wanted to ask this question. But just as he realized at the beginning, since the black bird is also a dream created by the subconscious, there is no point in arguing with himself. The reason why the other party said this was probably because he himself was pessimistic about recovery. After thinking about this, he only felt depressed. But Blackbird still exposed his thoughts mercilessly: "It's useless to go to the hospital. If you find the wrong hospital, you might die early."

"What do you mean?"

Blackbird let out a thin, slightly malicious laugh. Just by making this small movement, translucent plasma immediately dripped from around its eye sockets. That situation made Cai Ji frightened, but it seemed to be completely unaware of it, and still said to him in a weak and erratic child's voice:

"I know how to save you."

"……help me?"

"This is not your dream, but mine. As long as you can come here in the future. I will continue to answer your questions next time. But, before that - I will tell you how to escape."

Cai Ji stupidly repeated: "Escape?"

"Escape from the thief's dream." The blackbird said, and its serious tone made Cai Ji feel even more dizzy. "Now you are rejected by the city, right?"

He struggled to digest Blackbird's words. If it was the disease that made him see everyone as monsters, then conversely, it seemed acceptable to say that it was the outside world that excluded him. It should be said that it sounds better to shift the responsibility to a subject other than oneself - probably this is why the blackbird in the dream would use this statement.

"……Yes."

"Then, we must have encountered a thief. Is there any?"

"What thief?"

"Have you ever encountered something strange? Who did you meet and then was rejected? Who did you meet that led you to come to me?"

"What could be weird..."

Seeing that he was halfway through his objection, a memory from the day suddenly flashed back to his mind. Didn't it start from that day when the nightmare first appeared?

Seeing his dull look, the black bird flapped its wings happily. Because he was too weak to stand up, only his wings facing the sky could flap.

"Yes?" it asked expectantly, its dark eyes blinking constantly, like a child waiting for praise from an adult. "There are indeed some, right? Someone you haven't met before, someone who impresses you deeply." It must have appeared. Right?"

He did meet strangers, but not exactly impressed. Now when I think about the guests that day, I can’t even remember what they looked like or what they were wearing. The strange thing was that the other party's voice clearly had no characteristics, but it stayed distinctly in his head. The voice that was always cheerful and nonchalant, talking endlessly about movie characters, was neither particularly high nor particularly deep, just an ordinary young male voice.

Why did it stay so firmly in his mind? Now that he thought about it, he vaguely understood the reason: no matter what he was talking about, the voice was full of false enthusiasm. It seemed to be emotionally involved, but in fact it was aloof from the matter. If there is any similar tone in his memory, it is probably only when he participated in the funeral of his neighbor's daughter when he was a child. The adults in the funeral parlor howled until they were hoarse, beat their chests and feet in grief, and stomped the stone bricks to make a clanging sound. , but without even a tear in the corner of his eyes, he cried out his grief. Yes, now he knew that most of the grief was for others to see, and the stranger's enthusiasm was also so fake that it seemed like it was being performed for an audience outside the void.

"...It's that person." He couldn't help but whisper.

"It's that person." Blackbird said, "It's that person's fault."

Could this be true? The stranger mentioned in the dream for no reason, who was just a casual acquaintance at best, was accused of being the culprit of his strange illness. If you are still rational, you should know that this is another subconscious excuse looking for excuses, just like people in your hometown always blame the bad luck on the feng shui of the ancestral graves, or some kind of deliberate curse. However, even though he kept telling himself that this was bad, Blackbird's words still entered his ears word by word, arousing doubts deep in his heart.

"Is there anything special about that person?"

"He's Tails."

"Tail?"

"Well, a snake's tail. A singing tail. The kind that attracts small animals."

Maybe it's a rattlesnake. He didn't know the specific habits of this snake that could only be seen on TV. When Blackbird said this, the first thing that came to his mind was the wild cat he saw crouching in the ridges of the mountains when he was a child, making delicate bird calls to the sparrows on the branches. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that a cat could make that sound. Sometimes he even thought about the stories circulating in the countryside - since wild cats can sing like birds, weasels that can imitate human speech might also exist. However, even if it does exist, it is just the instinctive behavior of livestock. There is absolutely no way in the world that a spirit can dress up as a living person like the "Beautiful Snake".

"Why not?" Blackbird asked. Now that it could no longer jump around like it used to, he was able to see clearly its rugged and thin body under the feathers. The black bird is indeed dying, its black eyes blinking longingly, and it no longer has the arrogant and sinister attitude of the past. Its innocent and helpless look made Cai Ji feel close and sympathetic to it like never before. He almost forgot about the strangeness of the lake at this moment, and leaned down to get as close as possible to where the black bird was.

"I don't know the man," he explained a little stutteringly, "I've only met him once."

"Then, let's go find it. Find it as soon as possible."

How is it possible to find someone in a huge crowd whose face you have forgotten? It would be fine if the other person had obvious characteristics, but no matter how he thought about it, he was just an ordinary male college student. Even if he passed each other on the university campus, he would not be able to recognize him. What's more, the face he saw now...

"Do you remember the voice? That person's voice is unforgettable, right?"

"But the sounds I hear now are..."

"That person is different." Blackbird said with great confidence, "That person's voice cannot be hidden."

"You mean, can I still hear this guy's voice?" "Yeah, I can hear it, and I can see it. The snake's tail."

The tiny bird's beak closed gently in response to the sound, as if it wanted to peck the tail that was singing invisibly. Its desire was so strong that it even struggled to stand up.

"Go find that person. Go find him quickly. Find him and you can get back what you lost."

"Just find him?"

Blackbird looked at him helplessly: "You are so stupid."

"what?"

"The snake's tail needs to be chopped off."

Wouldn't that anger the snake? He thought secretly in his heart. However, because he was so distracted, he had no time for such an argument. No matter what Blackbird said, he never felt stupid. To put it bluntly, don't words like "cut off the snake's tail" mean to kill a person? It was just like what Blackbird said in his last dream, it wanted to tell him that only by killing someone could he be cured.

"If I kill someone, I won't be able to live." While he was scorning himself, he couldn't help but continue to tell Blackbird, "I...I have never killed anyone."

"Never?" Blackbird asked seriously, as if in surprise, "You have grown so big, but you have never killed anyone?"

"Of course not! That's illegal!"

"But you will die if you don't do it?"

That's completely different. Even if you die the same, it is much better to die of illness without doing anything than to be sentenced to death after killing innocent people. As soon as he thought this, Blackbird started laughing again, his innocent laughter interspersed with messy and fragmented breathing. "Why? Rather than watching yourself die of illness, wouldn't it be better to be killed by others in the least painful way? For you, there is no price for committing any crime now. It's just that the method of suicide is different. . Others can no longer kill you."

Hearing these familiar words, he jumped up as if someone had hit him with a stick. The roar rushed out of his throat reflexively: "That shouldn't involve innocent people!"

"really? Why?"

"If you say such things again, I will leave here immediately."

Blackbird raised his thin head slightly and looked at him carefully. Although the gaze still made him feel uncomfortable, it was not as malicious as before. It just looked at him curiously, and after a while asked: "Are you angry? Because of the old man who bit off other people's fingers?"

"you……"

"I know. But it's not because I'm in your dream. For a life at your level, I can know what I want to know."

Before Cai Ji could react, it lowered its head again.

"However, these two things are different. Because that person is just a tail. Even if you kill him, there will be no punishment."

"How is it possible? This is murder, the police will definitely..."

"No way. As long as that person dies, you will be saved immediately. This is absolutely true."

"Are you saying that as long as this person dies, my illness will immediately improve?"

Blackbird stared at him silently for a moment. "You're so stupid," it said. "Even if I try to teach you, it's just a waste of resources. How annoying."

"...Why are you so angry?"

Blackbird still stubbornly repeated: "It's so annoying to waste my resources on you!"

In this case, he might as well just walk away - this idea came to him with anger. He immediately wanted to let this thing die on its own, but seeing its dying appearance, he felt that it was a bit cruel to do so. Before he could clear his thoughts, Blackbird had changed his attitude and almost begged him and said, "Go kill that person, can't you?"

"……no."

"There will definitely be no death penalty."

Hearing the child's swearing words, Cai Ji felt like he was about to laugh out loud. "How do you know not?"

"Because, that person is going to die. When you open the bottle, you have to tear off the seal, right? As long as the bottle is opened and the contents come out, you won't have the death penalty. And... "

"And what?

"Your friend was killed by him."

The lake is completely different from the past, undulating and changing in the sparkling waves. Cai Ji looked at the psychedelic scene a little absent-mindedly, thinking who could be called "his friend"? Then the answer automatically emerged in my mind - naturally, the only person who can be called a friend here is probably the missing Xiao Chu.

"Xiao Chu...is he related to that person?"

"Go and kill him." Blackbird still prayed, "Can't you? It's obviously all his fault. As long as that person dies, the gods will return your friend to you, and the disease will be cured. of."

He would conceive such a dialogue in his dream, and he was probably really suffering from hereditary mental illness - while he was thinking this, he was unconsciously and involuntarily moving towards the black bird as if he was attracted by the lake. Lean further over. He was already close to the limit. If he went any further, he would lose his balance and fall into the lake. He opened his mouth and the words that came out were as soft as breathing on a sleeping snake.

"If we meet him, can I indeed see him?" He asked quietly and dryly, "Can I also recognize his voice when I hear it?"

"Okay, okay!"

The blackbird's repeated responses sounded like the harsh cry of the cuckoo. It's just a dream. In the dream, he regarded unrelated people as the culprit of his illness, and was even persuaded to commit murder. Although it was not a glorious thing, it did not really hurt anyone. It's like watching a thriller movie in order to seek excitement. Only by venting the dark thoughts in your heart to no one can a person's spirit remain normal.

"If," he heard himself say, "if I ever meet such a person, I will believe you."

Of course there will be no "snake's tail" in reality, because he is the one who is sick, and he will only be the one forced to bear the consequences. But - what if such a person really exists? If something beyond reality really happens, does that mean Blackbird’s advice is effective?

The blackbird's eyes sparkle. The flame-like light did not come from its small, dying body, but reflected the color of the lake.

"You must do it," it said. "This is for everyone. As long as the snake's tail dies, the spirit who created me can give you your friend back."

For the first time, he heard sincere emotion in Black Bird's tender voice. Was it really a spirit that sent this human-speaking bird into his dream? So are other miracles possible? Or is this also a weird belief that he fantasized out of despair? Hesitating, he called the other party gently.

"Hey, what's the name of the God who created you?"

"Want to know? Want to know everything?"

"If you don't tell me, forget it. But, what is going on with this lake?"

The question that had been suppressed in his heart since the beginning finally couldn't help but be thrown out at this moment. The blackbird's wings seemed to rise slightly with joy, and soon fell down feebly.

"Isn't it beautiful? The current state. This partition is going to be restarted, so clean up all the old things. It's very beautiful, isn't it?"

As if asking for praise, Blackbird repeatedly asked for his opinion. He had to muster up the courage to raise his head again and look at the entire lake.

There was no trace of the Black Tower in the night, only the billowing smoke-like flying clouds surrounded the full moon. The floating leaves that once grew wildly on the lake surface and were so lush that they pushed each other were showing signs of decay. The round leaves high up are curled and haggard, and their blackened edges seem to have been burned by fire. Among the fallen leaves, clusters of bright red fires swayed. Those should be the flowers produced by these plants, right? However, he couldn't see the shape of the flower clearly. The more your eyes chase the light source, the darker your field of vision becomes. Afraid of losing his sight, he could only look at the reflection on the lake. The luminous shadow was also broken and twisted, dancing in the noisy and boiling lake water.

Fire in water. He couldn't help but think so. The endless flames in the lake are real, and the changing flowers on the water are just the reflection of the fire, a ghost rising from the depths of the lake from the broken stars. If this is just my fantasy, then where is the reality? Is there really a god who created the entire world?

On this lake with fireworks, the shadow of the blackbird gradually became thinner, as if it were just a pile of feathers gathered there by chance. Only eyes with flashing fire looked at him and still asked: "It looks beautiful when it restarts, right?"

Terrifying splendor. He thought about this word in his mind, and slowly nodded as if he couldn't resist the temptation. The children's joyful laughter filled the lake, filling his chest with a sense of hope that he would be reborn, but at the same time he was so ashamed and panicked. Before waking up from the dream, he clearly heard his own voice: If this dream could become a reality, he would be willing to kill someone for it; and after opening his eyes, he felt that he was one step closer to madness.

(End of this chapter)