Circle of Inevitability - Chapter 1021: A Night Passes
Jenna had noticed that the jellyfish-like mushroom was already withered and dead, unable to treat An Xiaotian, which was why she asked Ludwig if the mushroom could be eaten.
Of course, she didn’t mean for An Xiaotian to eat it. As a vegetative patient, An Xiaotian no longer had the ability to chew and swallow. And grinding the mushroom into powder or juice to provide to An Xiaotian via intravenous drip was an area she didn’t understand and couldn’t judge whether it would be effective—Demonesses had always only dealt with spreading diseases and plagues, lacking knowledge and abilities in medical treatment.
What Jenna really wanted to ask was whether Ludwig could eat this mushroom, and if after eating it, he could gain the ability to treat vegetative patients.
Ludwig stared at the dried mushroom in his palm, licked his lips and said, “It can be eaten.”
He paused for a moment, hesitated for two seconds and added, “But I don’t know what can be gained from it.”
Even a professional food analyst can’t tell the cooking method and effects—this mushroom is indeed very special… Jenna suddenly realized this and quickly said to Ludwig, “Put the mushroom away first.
“Give it to me, I’ll put it in the Traveler’s Bag.”
Ludwig immediately clenched his fist.
He shook his head while stuffing the mushroom into his coat pocket, as if it were a little hamster, his pet.
Jenna didn’t have any intention of forcibly taking away the jellyfish-like mushroom. She held Ludwig’s hand and quickly walked towards the exit of Mushu Hospital.
Only now did she have the energy to think about what had just happened.
Li Keji’s jellyfish-like mushroom actually fell into the hands of that person wrapped in white bandages, and that person even gave the mushroom to us…
Right, Lumian mentioned that after his colleagues Old Wang and Old Ding were struck by lightning, they now have this scary appearance. When he came to visit Mushu Hospital last time, Old Wang seemed to be asking him for help… This time at the entrance of the basement of Mushu Hospital, he encountered Old Ding again…
Was Old Ding hinting at him to pay attention to the ‘no entry to unauthorized personnel’ sign at that time?
Was it Old Wang or Old Ding who threw down the mushroom just now? If it was Old Ding, it would make sense, as he was there when Li Keji was sent to the basement for ‘treatment’…
But if he could stay in the basement for so long, it means he’s no longer an unauthorized personnel…
What exactly do the current Old Wang and Old Ding symbolize in the dream city?
Why are they helping us?
I wonder if this dried mushroom is Li Keji’s final product…
Amid these thoughts, Jenna took Ludwig back to Room 2303 of Building 5 in Dechuang Garden by taxi. She told Franca about their encounter and asked Ludwig to take out the withered mushroom to show.
Franca gazed at the mushroom, pondered for a moment and said, “My spiritual intuition tells me that this should be the final version of the therapeutic mushroom created by Li Keji, but its specific effects are unknown. Even divination methods won’t provide an answer.”
This was not only because the treatment subject was An Xiaotian, but also because the mushroom itself was very special.
“Should I eat it now?” Ludwig asked eagerly.
He had an expression that suggested the finest ingredient should be cooked in the simplest way.
Eating it raw!
Franca and Jenna exchanged glances before saying, “Wait until your godfather returns before eating it.”
It wasn’t that they weren’t worried about changes happening to the mushroom in the next dozen or so hours, but the current situation was indeed not suitable for such a stimulating “experiment”.
At present, Lumian and Anthony were outside the dream, Lumina had been frightened and needed close monitoring, and Franca herself couldn’t withstand major accidents and couldn’t attempt anything too risky. So, if Ludwig ate the mushroom now and something unexpected happened, the entire situation might collapse.
“Okay.” Ludwig reluctantly stuffed the withered mushroom back into his pocket with some reluctance.
Jenna glanced towards the bedroom direction and asked Franca in a lowered voice, “How is Lumina doing?”
“Being ‘inexplicably’ arrested by the police, she was definitely shocked, has been somewhat dazed, and a bit overreactive. She only truly fell asleep two minutes before you returned to the dream,” Franca answered softly.
She then said to Jenna, “You should go visit An Ruide now and confirm his situation.”
After Anthony was kicked out of the dream, Franca had actually been worried about his dream manifestation, An Ruide, but she was really too busy to observe and protect him—in the morning she had to take care of Ludwig and look after Luo Shan, in the afternoon she first went to Mushu Hospital to provide support, then was busy asking Queen Mystic to help bail out Lumina. She didn’t even have time to care about Jenna’s dream manifestation, let alone An Ruide.
“Alright.” Jenna also had these concerns, but she had to prioritize finding the mushroom that Li Keji might have left behind.
Since returning to the dream city, she had been constantly on the move without rest.
…
At Xinhong District, in a rented apartment.
Jenna’s figure emerged from a dark corner.
She looked towards the smallest bedroom closer to the kitchen and heard relatively long breaths.
Her spiritual intuition told her that the person sleeping inside was An Ruide.
Jenna relaxed a little and surveyed the situation in the room.
She saw a wine glass on the dining table, a plate with crumbs of salted crispy peanuts, a plate of unfinished cold sliced pork head meat, and a plate with only remnants of mashed potatoes.
This was consistent with An Ruide’s cooking level.
Mashed potatoes were a delicacy both inside and outside the dream, while cold sliced pork head meat and salted crispy peanuts could be bought from street vendors outside.
A scene immediately appeared before Jenna’s eyes: An Ruide was in a good mood, bought himself a bottle of wine, and had a couple of glasses with peanuts, pork head meat, and mashed potatoes. Afterwards, he was a bit tipsy and decided to clean up the dishes the next day.
He’s quite leisurely; An Ruide knows how to enjoy life… Jenna silently marveled.
She then thought, Would An Ruide’s character prototype—Anthony—also be like this in private, without the pressure of missions?
At this moment, Jenna felt that Anthony was no longer just the ever-calm Psychiatrist.
While marveling, she didn’t let her guard down and quickly checked whether this situation was abnormal and whether the sleeping An Ruide in the room had any hidden issues.
After about seven or eight minutes, having sneaked into the corresponding bedroom twice, Jenna finally felt relieved and left.
…
The next morning.
After waking up, Jenna carefully got out of bed, afraid of disturbing Lumina beside her.
Unexpectedly, Lumina was a light sleeper. She immediately opened her eyes and turned her head.
Seeing it was Jenna, she visibly relaxed and revealed a still somewhat confused smile.
“I had a nightmare. I dreamed that I was arrested by the police. They said I committed murder and arson, spread cults, and did all kinds of evil…”
At this point, Lumina suddenly froze.
Soon, she propped herself up and muttered, “Nana, I was really arrested yesterday.
“I’m innocent! I just performed magic at the hot pot restaurant, and they said I killed someone!”
Seeing this, Jenna placed her knee on the edge of the bed, bent her back, and gave Lumina a warm hug.
“It’s okay, you’re out now.
“Later, there will be top lawyers to help you. The innocent will be cleared.” f
Franca, who had slept on the carpet last night and only came in when she heard the commotion, almost couldn’t help laughing at Jenna’s words.
The innocent will be cleared?
There was nothing wrong with this sentence, but we really did kill Zaratulstra—we’re as guilty as can be!
She held back her laughter and joined in comforting Lumina.
After a while, Lumina calmed down. She looked at Jian Na and Luo Fu, furtively glanced left and right, and said in a lowered voice, “I didn’t mention any of you at the police station.”
She had a “Aren’t I great and clever?” expression on her face.
“Great job!” Franca and Jenna very cooperatively praised her.
Seeing that Lumina’s mood had improved considerably, Franca took the opportunity to tell her, “Miss Huang will come to pick you up later. You’ll stay at her place for the next couple of days.”
To prevent Lumina from implicating Franca and Jenna, when Queen Mystic hired a lawyer to bail her out, she had actually provided a new residence. But because Queen Mystic had to prepare for the matter of banishing the mirrored Emperor Roselle last night and had no time to look after Lumina, Franca, worried that Lumina might wander off, still took the risk of bringing her back and holding out for one night.
Now, Queen Mystic finally had time.
And by the afternoon, Lumian would return to the dream city.
“Mm-hmm.” Lumina nodded obediently.
After Lumina was picked up by Queen Mystic, Jenna left for work at Hall Film Company. Anthony, who had returned to the dream, took on the responsibility of looking after Ludwig, and Franca finally had some free time. She took a taxi to the Tech Building, preparing to go through the resignation process.
For her, the process wasn’t important; what was important was getting the salary for the half month she had worked!
In the Human Resources Department.
Perhaps because Miss Huang had given a heads up, Franca didn’t even have a chance to take out her materials like the family surgery notice with the official stamp from Zhenjinqiao. She quickly went through the process without anyone giving her a hard time.
Finally, she took the certificate given by the HR department and went to the Finance Department to settle her wages.
After various deductions, she received 3,500 yuan.
Not bad… The first salary from a formal job in my life, although it’s in a dream… With self-mockery, Franca left the Finance Department.
She planned to say goodbye to Luo Shan in the Administration Department and then leave the Tech Building, completely hiding in the shadows.
Just as she passed the Tech Department, not yet near the Administration Department, Franca, still wearing those old-fashioned black-framed glasses, suddenly heard a voice.
“Luo Fu.”
Franca instinctively turned around and saw Zhou Mingrui coming out of the Tech Department.
“What a coincidence, I heard you’re resigning?” Zhou Mingrui asked with concern.
Franca noticed a hint of determination in Zhou Mingrui’s eyes, as if he had made up his mind to do something.
He’s not going to ask about what happened at Mushu Hospital the night before last, is he? He’s not going to ask about my real purpose for coming to the company, is he? Franca suddenly shuddered.
Oh no, I don’t dare say anything now!
