TLCBITAR Chapter 247

Chapter 247: Zhuang Zhou’s Dream

Zhou Zhou’s body jolted as he heard Pei Yanlie’s voice, and he fluttered his eyelids open.

Layers of pure white clouds drifted across the azure sky. He turned his head, and his eyes were met with waist-high weeds.

He rubbed his throbbing forehead and sat up. The weeds obscured his vision, so he had to stand. The surrounding environment looked familiar, clearly the place where he had woken up before.

“Squeak, squeak.”

Rustling sounds came from the grass. Zhou Zhou’s pupils constricted, and he lowered his head, staring intently at the creature that poked its head out from the grass.

A round body covered in snow-white fur, with narrow, pointed eyes that widened abruptly when they saw Zhou Zhou. Zhou Zhou’s face darkened, and he bit his lower lip, activating his optical computer’s encyclopedia.

“Screaming Rat, found only in the Tenghu area. Timid, afraid of all non-similar creatures.”

The cold, monotonous mechanical voice hammered into Zhou Zhou’s brain, word by word. Suddenly, he thought of something and looked down at his clothes. He was wearing his pristine white three-piece suit.

Mingming，Mingming，Mingming……

Mingming，Mingming，Mingming……

“Am I caught in a time loop or possessed by a ghost?” Zhou Zhou’s eyes reddened, and his mind collapsed in an instant. He squatted down, clutching his head with both hands, and roared loudly.

Various small animals hidden in the grass scurried away, emitting terrified squeals.

Zhou Zhou lay back, tears welling up in his eyes. “What kind of hellhole is this? Can I ever go back?”

He sniffled and opened his optical computer, searching for call records. No matter how hard he looked, the video call with Pei Yanlie in the tree hollow that night seemed like a mere dream, leaving no trace.

Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, or was it a butterfly dreaming it was Zhuang Zhou?

Zhou Zhou couldn’t tell if he was still dreaming. He prayed that when he opened his eyes again, he would see Pei Yanlie’s face.

Time passed by the minute, and Zhou Zhou couldn’t just sit and wait for death. He had no choice but to get up again and walk south, in the opposite direction he had gone before.

An hour later, dark clouds quietly descended. Zhou Zhou took off his suit jacket and put it over his head, trudging through the weeds.

“Crack, crack,” rain drops the size of beans slammed into the grass, bending it over.

Zhou Zhou was soaked to the bone, even his leather shoes were filled with water, making a “squelch, squelch” sound with every step.

With a deafening boom, dark purple lightning struck the mountaintop to the west, the faint flames quickly extinguished by the rain.

He didn’t know how long he walked. Zhou Zhou only felt a stabbing pain in his legs. His suit pants were torn by the sharp weeds, and his skin wasn’t spared either.

Suddenly, something bumped into his calf from under the grass. Zhou Zhou stopped, panting heavily, and looked down at the Screaming Rat, which was completely drenched.

Its fur clung wetly to its body, and its round figure was half the size it had been before. Zhou Zhou pursed his pale lips, bent down, and scooped up the Screaming Rat with one hand.

The Screaming Rat trembled, obviously terrified of Zhou Zhou’s touch. It stretched out its claws, clutching Zhou Zhou’s sleeve tightly, and squeaked weakly.

Zhou Zhou sighed and continued to walk forward until the rain gradually subsided, and he emerged from the weeds.

Ahead was barren black earth, with small puddles of water in the depressions. Zhou Zhou took off his suit jacket, intending to put the Screaming Rat down.

But the Screaming Rat refused to let go, frantically emitting urgent squeals.

“What? I kindly brought you out here, and now you’re sticking to me?” Zhou Zhou narrowed his eyes, wet bangs dripping down, flowing along his cheeks to his chin.

The Screaming Rat extended its long tongue and licked away the water droplets hanging from Zhou Zhou’s chin, obediently squeaking.

Zhou Zhou’s face darkened. The Screaming Rat’s tongue was covered in barbs, and it didn’t feel good on his skin.

He touched his chin, finding no broken skin. After a moment’s hesitation, he continued forward with the Screaming Rat.

Maybe it was his imagination, but the black earth under his feet was subtly shaking, as if something was rolling beneath, about to break through.

Zhou Zhou stopped, and the shaking disappeared. He continued forward, and his right foot suddenly stepped into a muddy patch.

Soon, he realized something was wrong. His calf was almost buried in the mud. He tried to pull it out, but his left foot also began to sink in due to the force.

“Quicksand… this is quicksand?!” Zhou Zhou wanted to smash his head into the ground, begging God to let him go.

But reality was cruel. Both of his feet were deeply stuck in the quicksand. Helpless, he could only put down the Screaming Rat. “Go on your own. I can’t get out.”

The depths of the quicksand were no different from a bottomless pit. He could clearly feel his legs slowly sinking. If he moved even a little, the sinking speed would increase.

“Not dying in the jaws of a beast, but buried in quicksand instead. Zhou Zhou, your life is truly full of drama.” Zhou Zhou smiled self-deprecatingly, tears glistening in the corners of his eyes.

He wasn’t a particularly brave person. Even though he had experienced death before, he was still afraid.

He had too many wishes unfulfilled. He didn’t want to die.

The Screaming Rat knew the danger of the quicksand. The moment Zhou Zhou put it down, it darted into the grass.

Zhou Zhou tried to lean back, buying himself more time to live.

He opened his eyes, from day to night. His head spun terribly. He didn’t want to sleep, and he didn’t dare to sleep, afraid that once he fell asleep, he would never wake up again.

On the dark night sky, stars twinkled. Zhou Zhou raised his hand, reaching for the distant universe, and murmured to himself, “Pei Yanlie, what are you doing?”

“Pei Yanlie…”

“Mom and Dad…”

He repeated their names, his nose aching, his voice hoarse beyond recognition.

After crying silently for a while, he couldn’t resist the sleepiness any longer and closed his eyes.

In his dream, he returned to Main Star, back to Pei Yanlie, and they embraced tightly.

Pei Yanlie put a hand on his head and said with a sigh, “Don’t cry. Why aren’t you waking up? I’m right beside you. Open your eyes and look at me.”

Zhou Zhou shook his head and said in a muffled voice, “Once I open my eyes, I’ll definitely go back to that awful place again.”

Pei Yanlie gently patted his back, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll always be with you.”

Zhou Zhou was silent for a moment, then reluctantly gave an “hmm.”

“Tap, tap, tap…”

A sound like a nightmare was close to his ears. Zhou Zhou kept his eyes tightly closed and reached out to the side, his heart sinking completely.

“Pei Yanlie, you lied to me.”

He tore up a blade of grass, slowly sat up, and stared blankly at the waist-high weeds, a self-deprecating “heh” escaping his lips.

He was trapped in a never-ending cycle of death. As soon as he woke up, he would appear in the weeds.

The sky was still so blue, but his heart had gone numb.

Next time, he didn’t want to wake up again.

At least in his dreams, he could deceive himself.

…

At two o’clock in the morning, a federally established research institute announced a chilling experimental result.

[After numerous tests, researchers led by Song Shaolin privately used black hole extract R Particles. This substance has strong radiation and hallucinogenic properties, making it difficult to distinguish between reality and dreams. Please take precautions and stay away from criminals illegally carrying R Particles.]