Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 392 A fish slipped through the net
"So what do you mean, should I ride you and jump in?"

"Stop fucking thinking about this!"

"Alright, who doesn't dream of riding a mythical beast? So tell me, what other ways are there to enter the Dreamland?"

"You should know what a ghoul is, right?"

"know."

"lead the way."

……

Marshall truly lives up to his reputation as a native cat from the Dreamland.

At least Milo had never heard of any connection between ghouls and the Dreamlands.

"In fact, ghouls are one of the major races in the Dreamland."

Marshall shared many secrets with Milo along the way:

“Strictly speaking, they can be considered close relatives of you humans. Humans can be transformed into ghouls, and some ghoul clans will even abduct human children and bring them back to their clans to be raised into new ghouls. As time goes by, the abducted human children will gradually show the physical characteristics of ghouls.”

"Because of their cannibalistic habits, their nests often contain caves connecting the two worlds. They are usually located near human settlements, such as schools, cemeteries, and hospitals. They are often not found in sparsely populated areas because dead humans are also one of their food sources."

……

Milo seemed thoughtful:
"Is that so? Then why is it that they can dig out tunnels without any problems, but when you tear open a spatial tunnel, it causes so much trouble?"

"You'll find out soon."

Marshall kept everyone in suspense.

……

Led by Milo, the two arrived at the outskirts of Nanwei City.

We're very close to the Golden Law Church here; you can see the lights above the church bridge just by looking up.

The fields were very quiet at night. If it weren't for the dense rows of tombstones all around, the environment would have had a peaceful feel to it.

"Speaking of which, this group of ghouls originally planned to settle here, at least that's what their learned chieftain said. But not long ago I discovered they moved away without even saying goodbye."

Milo led Marshall to the entrance to the ghoul cave.

After removing the stone slab blocking the entrance, the interior was completely silent and dark.

However, instead of rushing into the cave, he stood at the cave entrance and said to Marshall:

"Since everything around us could be a replica created by Imnar's fractal rules, is it possible that this cave is also fake?"

"Of course it's possible."

Marshall scratched at the cave wall with his claws and said without hesitation, "But the entrance to the Dreamland at the bottom can't be fake, if that entrance really exists."

“There are still some things in the fractal world that cannot be imitated or replaced, just like you and me, right?” Milo nodded.

He took a small kerosene lamp from his waist, removed the wick, lit it, and then hung the lamp on Marshall's back before asking:

"How far do you think this replacement has progressed? As a cat who was almost replaced once."

Marshall reluctantly tugged at the kerosene lamp's strap a couple of times, but ultimately agreed to Milo's action and replied:

"In fact, I can't explain it clearly either. Its imitation and replacement rules are very peculiar. It's not as simple as just killing the original owner and then taking their place in the human world. Before you woke me up, I felt like I was just having a very real dream. The so-called replacement might not kill the original owner immediately. Imitation through fractal rules is just a process. The real goal is actually fraud."

"The real purpose is fraud."

Milo repeated Marshall's statement, finding it very reasonable, and then added:

"In any case, its current fractal world must still have omissions. We don't know how large this imitator world is or what its ultimate purpose is. These answers should all be in the Nass Chronicle."

He muttered to himself as he entered the cave first, pressing two fingers against his neck to make sure it was safe before signaling to Marshall that he could follow.

But Marshall suddenly asked, "Do you think Rebecca has been replaced?"

“Including you and me, we all know that if the real Rebecca is trapped in a dream within the real world, then she hasn’t been replaced, even if there’s another Rebecca in the city now. Perhaps you can understand it that way.” Milo shrugged.

“You’re quite philosophical about it. No wonder you’ve never mentioned your family since you realized you were in a fractal world.” Marshall shook his head. “I still feel that your subconscious mind is indifferent to ordinary lives.”

"Should I just cry my eyes out first and then try to figure out how to solve the problem?" Milo countered.

“There’s no need for that.” Marshall shuddered. “I find adult men’s tearful tactics disgusting.”

After the two, a man and a cat, ventured deep into the ghoul's cave, they made no remarkable discoveries along the way.

Similar to what Milo saw when he came in not long ago, the ghouls had taken away everything usable, leaving only some human tombstones used as tables and chairs.

The kerosene lamp on Marshall's back magnified his shadow countless times, projecting it onto the inner wall of the cave.

So, a cat is still a cat after all. Although it doesn't fight with its own shadow like a normal cat, Marshall still couldn't control its playful nature. It repeatedly made some moves that it thought were very cool in front of the giant cat's shadow on the wall, and made monster-like roars like "Woohoo~".

Milo could only shake his head helplessly.

……

"At first I thought the ghouls were scared away."

Milo suddenly mentioned it.

"Why do you say that?" Marshall didn't stop pretending to be a monster. It seemed to enjoy the even "larger" figure on the wall. After all, it was usually a black blob, so visually it didn't look much different from a shadow.

“The underground caves they dug were almost interconnected, and they even dug underground rivers. There was an underground river dug under the Garnier Opera House. In the end, the construction team built a huge reservoir under the foundation to store the water from the underground river. At that time, a caveman swam into the reservoir of the opera house and interfered with the construction process. Later, it was the ghouls who helped me find that thing,” Milo recalled.

"You think they were driven away by Imnar?" Marshall may be small, but he's very sharp.

“Or maybe they sensed something and didn’t want to be replaced, so they moved ahead of time,” Milo shrugged.

Deep inside the cave, he and Marshall saw the crack in the earth's crust that exuded a chilling aura.

In fact, as an underground cave that had been sealed off for some time, coupled with days of torrential rain, the depths of the cave should have been a place with thin air. However, in front of this crack, Milo and Marshall smelled an unfamiliar air that was out of place with their surroundings.

The reason it felt unfamiliar was because the air contained an unpleasant smell; it wasn't exactly foul, but it was just awful.

“From here, if we continue deeper, we should soon reach the depths of the Dreamland.” Marshall’s tone suddenly became serious as he turned to Milo and said:

"Are you ready?"

"Is there anything I need to prepare?" Milo shrugged.

"Have you forgotten what I said? There are many wills in the Dream Realm that do not want to see you?" Marshall's face immediately turned sour, but because it was a black cat, its facial expression was not clear at all.

"What, is someone blocking the door?" Milo squinted.

"It's hard to say. I'm just giving you a heads-up. Of course, the passages dug out by the ghoul lairs all connect to the most corrupt areas of the Dream Realm. In that world, neither humans nor other races, nor even the Old Gods, would be willing to step into it, so it shouldn't be a big problem," Marshall said.

“That’s great, what are we waiting for?” Milo asked.

But several seconds passed without him receiving a response from Marshall.

Inside the dark cave, Marshall stood before the crack in the earth's crust, its body beginning to tremble slightly.

Then, it slowly opened its mouth and uttered a question that was completely irrelevant to the question:
"The next step is to eliminate the remaining survivors. Let me see where you're all hiding..."

……

The tone and manner of this statement were completely different from Marshall's usual way of speaking; even his old, husky voice sounded a bit sharper.

Looking at the hairs standing on end on the back of Marshall's neck, Milo knew that those words must have been Imnar's inner thoughts.

"Walk."

He picked up Marshall and jumped into the crevice in the earth's crust leading to the Dreamland.

……

Milo assumed Imnal was tracking them, since the term "fish that slipped through the net" was easy to understand.

however.

At this moment.

Within the city of Nanwei, created by the fractal world, there are actually other survivors.

Not everyone has been replaced by fractal rules.

For example, a young female law enforcement officer who had just joined the force was still immersed in the self-satisfaction of investigating a case. She had no idea that everything around her no longer belonged to that world.

……

(End of this chapter)