Regarding Jiang Baimian's speculation, Genava's eyes flickered with the usual red light:
"When Buddhism mentions the World自在如来 (Shìzìzài Rúlái), it always says that this world is His dream. Many Taoist scriptures also mention Zhuang Zhou's dream of being a butterfly... Therefore, associating 'Zhuang Zhou' with dreams is, in my opinion, a relatively reasonable deduction."
This is different from the "Dawn" domain's ability to make people dream; it belongs to materializing one's own dream and influencing others.
Combining the information that "Zhuang Zhou" is the Buddhist World自在如来 (Shìzìzài Rúlái) and this place is one of the Buddhist holy sites, Jiang Baimian's speculation that the "Old Task Force's" encounters after entering Taicheng No. 1 High School are like intruding into "Zhuang Zhou's" dream is well-founded and highly probable.
Shang Jianyao's expression gradually became excited:
"'Zhuang Zhou's' dream has its own rules. Those who do not conform to the rules will be forcibly transformed and implanted with corresponding thoughts in order to have a suitable identity in the daily life of Taicheng No. 1 High School in the Old World, so that the story of the dream theater can continue to be performed.
"As for silicon-based beings like Old Ge, they are in a loophole in the dream rules, equivalent to jumping out of the Three Realms and not being in the Five Elements..."
Although the explanation is very mysterious, it seems to be the case... Jiang Baimian nodded slightly and said to Genava:
"Just in case, Old Ge, please bring Xiao Hong and Xiao Bai out as soon as possible..."
As she spoke, her expression suddenly became strange.
The honest Genava sincerely suggested:
"Go if you need to."
"..." Jiang Baimian rubbed her head, "How exactly did you bring me out?"
"That's a long story." The playful Shang Jianyao answered before Genava could, "In short, drink more water."
Jiang Baimian's eyes moved slightly, vaguely guessing what she had encountered.
She secretly gnashed her teeth:
"Old Ge, go into the school. Don't delay. Follow the plan you made before. By the way, put less diuretic medication; their physical fitness is not as good as mine."
When discussing serious matters, she was frank and did not shy away.
After Genava re-entered Taicheng No. 1 High School and walked straight towards the teaching building in front, Shang Jianyao suddenly jumped back, leaping several feet away.
"Am I such a petty person?" Jiang Baimian glared at him, "I still understand the principle of acting expediently. You watch; I'll go take care of it."
She ran towards a nearby abandoned building with small, quick steps.
"Wait!" Shang Jianyao shouted.
"What?" Jiang Baimian had a "I'll beat you to death if you don't have a good reason" expression.
Shang Jianyao explained seriously:
"According to the team's tactical code, single-person actions are not allowed in urban ruins unless there are special circumstances."
Jiang Baimian slowly exhaled:
"I was too hasty.
"Um... I'll find a place nearby, and you'll be responsible for guarding."
The subsequent events went relatively smoothly. Genava followed the predetermined plan and brought Bai Chen and Long Yuehong out of Taicheng No. 1 High School in turn, trying to wake them up.
"So, we broke into 'Zhuang Zhou's' dream." Bai Chen was deeply convinced by Jiang Baimian's speculation.
She felt that was the case.
Long Yuehong, who was next to her, remained silent.
Seeing this, Shang Jianyao waved his hand in front of his eyes:
"What are you thinking about?
"Do you still think you're that student?"
Jiang Baimian's expression became a little serious when she heard this, because if a normal person could not completely get rid of the implanted mindset, they would be confused about "whether Zhuang Zhou dreamed of the butterfly or the butterfly dreamed of Zhuang Zhou." Over time, they would definitely suffer from mental illness.
Long Yuehong shook his head and glanced at Bai Chen quietly, saying:
"I was just thinking, how great it would be if I had known Xiao Bai in high school and studied with her..."
Jiang Baimian's mouth opened slightly, and a thought flashed through her mind:
Have I really done something bad recently to suffer such punishment?
"Woof woof woof." Shang Jianyao responded with a blank expression.
"That's not necessarily a good thing. Only when you meet the right person at the right time can you have a good outcome. Meeting too early or too late may lead to tragedy." The honest Genava pointed out Long Yuehong's mistake.
Cough, Long Yuehong couldn't help but cough.
Bai Chen looked at Taicheng No. 1 High School in the distance and said:
"The problem now is how to solve the abnormality of this Buddhist holy site."
"Then we must first figure out why this place is shrouded in 'Zhuang Zhou's' dream." Long Yuehong quickly echoed.
Jiang Baimian thought and said:
"The 'Crystal Consciousness Church' said that the five major Buddhist holy sites are related to Bodhi and 世自在如来 (Shìzìzài Rúlái). Some are where They passed away, some are where They descended into the world, and some are where They preached in ancient times of the Old World.
"Which type does Taicheng No. 1 High School belong to?"
Snap, Shang Jianyao hit his left palm with his right fist:
"I understand. The reason why the abnormality here can take a substantial form and is obviously stronger than other Buddhist holy sites is that it's a three-in-one!"
"What is a three-in-one?" Long Yuehong asked in confusion.
Shang Jianyao explained triumphantly:
"This place is both where 'Zhuang Zhou' descended into the world, where He passed away, and where He preached."
"This high school is only barely related to the place where He preached." Long Yuehong thought for a while and expressed his opposition.
Shang Jianyao explained earnestly:
"Haven't you seen the news in those entertainment materials from the Old World?
"Students giving birth in the toilet, teachers spreading extreme ideas, and people committing suicide due to too much pressure. Doesn't this correspond to the place of descent, the place of preaching, and the place of passing away?
"Uh, why did you all take two steps back?"
Isn't it because you're worried that when "Zhuang Zhou" strikes you with lightning, it will affect us? Jiang Baimian cleared her throat and said:
"Maybe after 'Zhuang Zhou' descended into the world, He studied or worked as a teacher at this high school, so the dream replayed the original scene."
Clap clap clap, this time it was Genava who applauded.
At this time, Shang Jianyao added gloomily:
"There's another possibility.
"Since 'Zhuang Zhou' descended into the world and has been to many places, why only dream of this place?
"Maybe somewhere in this high school lies His corpse."
Hiss... Long Yuehong felt a burst of palpitations and was inexplicably afraid.
He swallowed and said:
"Why don't we come here later? It looks very dangerous?"
To show that he was not simply timid, he quickly added:
"We are investigating the five major Buddhist holy sites to find out the cause of the Old World's destruction and the origin of 'Heartless Disease,' not to crack abnormalities and destroy targets. We can't put the cart before the horse."
"That makes some sense." Jiang Baimian smiled, "But if we don't crack the abnormalities, how can we find out what happened in the Old World? Don't worry, we'll take it one step at a time. If we really feel that it involves the secrets of the Ruling Years and we can't cope, we'll stop immediately and come back when we have the ability in the future."
As soon as she finished speaking, Shang Jianyao rubbed his chin:
"When we were in Wubei, a certain existence tried so hard to get us to obtain the nuclear warhead. Could it be that He wanted us to blow up this place?"
The nuclear warhead doesn't need to be taken inside. Placing it at the door can destroy the entire Taicheng No. 1 High School.
"Maybe." Bai Chen nodded lightly.
The members of the "Old Task Force" fell silent.
After a few seconds, Jiang Baimian suddenly laughed:
"First, we have to get the nuclear warhead back before we talk about anything else."
Their jeep was still parked inside Taicheng No. 1 High School. Once carbon-based humans entered, they would get lost, while silicon-based humans would be affected by the "dream" and unable to find the vehicle.
Looking at the jeep parked not far behind the electric retractable gate, Jiang Baimian said, weighing her words:
"Old Ge, Xiao Hong, find a way to launch grappling hooks and suction cups inside and forcibly drag the car out with ropes."
The core of this plan is to not enter Taicheng No. 1 High School in person.
After some attempts, Genava and Long Yuehong dragged the jeep out of the school.
Everything was normal.
Jiang Baimian nodded slightly as she watched:
"It seems that as long as you follow the rules, you can do some things in this 'dream.'"
The action just now was both to "rescue" the team's jeep and to verify some of her speculations.
She then said to Genava with a serious expression:
"Old Ge, we can't go in for the time being. We'll have to trouble you next.
"You need to do two things:
"First, go to the principal's or the director of studies' office, turn on their computers, and scan and memorize all the students' and teachers' information. Since you can touch us and pat us on the back, you should theoretically be able to use computers.
"Second, if you really can't operate the computer, then switch to grinding work. Check one classroom at a time, one office at a time, and remember the appearance and name of every student, every teacher, and every school worker. Well, the latter can be found in workbooks, employee cards, documents that need to be signed, etc."
As an intelligent robot, Genava's "remembering" is equivalent to taking photos and keeping evidence.
After instructing Genava, Jiang Baimian looked around and said:
"Then, we'll compare the names we collected from the previous Buddhist holy sites to see if there are any overlaps."
This includes, but is not limited to, the names in the employee list of Tieshan City No. 2 Food Company and the names of those who participated in the academic lectures at the Holm Reproductive Therapy Center.
Once there is an overlap, it means that the corresponding one may be the Ruling Year "Zhuang Zhou," symbolizing the whole year.
ps: Asking for double monthly tickets at the beginning of the month~