boyutpedia Chapter 265 Placer Gold (1)
Chapter 265 Placer Gold (1)
“We deeply regret this story…” Himeko said with sympathy, “but things aren’t that simple, are they?”
"Hmph... Clearly, someone has inherited the name of the watchmaker and has been secretly carrying out activities to rebel against the family until now."
"Is the Watchmaker an organization?" Xing asked.
"That's one way to put it. But there should only be one person who inherited the name of the watchmaker. It's a pity that after all these years, I still don't know who that person is, or even whether it's a person or Mikhail's ghost wandering in my dreams."
Gallagher paused for a moment and secretly glanced at Kiana's reaction. Seeing that she didn't react, he simply continued his guidance.
"So do you understand now? That's why I'm willing to tell you so much... because that girl's death must be related to the watchmaker's legacy. And at the end of the fog... you and I can both get the answers we want."
As he spoke, Gallagher turned back to look at the statue of the Clockwork Boy.
"If it really is Mikhail's ghost at work, I'd quite like to meet him. Those who look down on me could circle the hotel three times, but those who are willing to give me a second glance… sigh, every one who dies is one less. I've told you everything I know, consider it a thank you for even glancing at this old dog. Hmm? I think I have something to attend to over there… excuse me, good luck. It's ironic, isn't it? What's the difference between these stowaways now being turned away by Pinocchio, and those dreamers hailed as pioneers before the Amber Era…?"
Seeing that something unexpected had happened at the film studio, he finally found an excuse to leave. Before leaving, he secretly glanced at Kiana beside him, signaling her to follow.
"Ah, the captain wants to discuss something with me. You guys discuss it first, I'll be back later." Kiana said, pretending to put down her phone, as she walked away into the distance.
But that direction… Himeko looked thoughtfully in the direction Kiana had left, before her thoughts were interrupted by March Seven.
Following the trail left by Galah, Kiana arrived at another corner, where Galah had been waiting for a long time.
"They said they were going to check on the situation, but in reality, that sheriff had no intention of taking any action whatsoever," Kiana teased.
"Miss Kiana, please don't mock me." Galakh gave a wry smile. "As you know, what I just said was nothing but fictional history, including my identity as a sheriff. If they ever find out, this old dog will really disappear."
"So, how about accepting my terms?"
"Could you elaborate?" Gallagher asked, taking a deep breath.
"To be specific, you help me get more people back into the dream world, and in return, I'll help you survive as 'Galach' and return to reality. Of course, that also includes Misha, how about that?"
"Does Miss Kiana mean I can continue to exist in the real world? That's quite a tempting offer, but there's a question: who is Misha?"
"Oh, I almost forgot you don't know about Misha's existence." Kiana slapped her forehead. "Do you remember the dream bubble Mikhail left you at the end?"
“I remember,” Gallagher nodded. “I remember it very well because it was completely empty.”
"In fact, that dream bubble was not empty. It contained Mikhail's entire life, including the meme from his most innocent childhood. However, due to some accident, the meme left the dream bubble and called itself Misha."
Furthermore, because memes have no identity in reality, and because he subconsciously identifies himself as human, he comes to the conclusion that he is a waiter at this hotel.
"So that means Misha..."
"You guessed right, Misha is Mikhail who lost his memory. And it was probably a subconscious act that led him to receive the star on the Star Train."
“This is really…” Galakh said helplessly. He never expected that even after losing his memory, Mikhail would still subconsciously treat him as a nameless guest and appear next to someone who was also a nameless guest.
It seems that he made the right choice to follow Mikhail's wishes and send the music box to the Starry Sky Train. He originally thought that after so much time, the Nameless One of our time would have lost the ability to decipher the code, but it turns out he was wrong.
Gallagher took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, finally making up his mind and saying, "Miss Kiana, I grant your request. So, what should I do?"
"What you need to do now is return to Dream Reef. My companions are there; they will tell you exactly what to do. Then, wait there for the people from the Star Train to arrive at Dream Reef. When they do, tell them the whole truth, and also give them the Dream Bubble. I believe they will understand everything after seeing the Dream Bubble."
"Ha, is this the tacit understanding between nameless people? Even now, I still find it hard to believe that Mikhail would entrust the entire future of Pinocchio to his unseen successors, and with such complete trust."
"Because he believes that his juniors are a group of people who are not driven by fame or fortune, but solely want to help others. Isn't that what he and his generation of nameless individuals were like?"
"...I didn't expect you to know even this much. I really can't let my guard down at all in front of you!"
"It's nothing, just a little trick. Since you've agreed, let's get started, but before that..."
Kiana reached her hand to Galah's chest, and a soft white light shone on her hand. Galah felt as if his fictional body had undergone some changes.
"This is…"
Gallagher clearly felt his body become fuller, no longer a void that could disappear at any moment.
"After all, we need you to assist us with our work. One of my companions is connected to IX. Given your previous physical condition, you would probably disappear prematurely if you went there."
"Is it related to IX? Could it be that Miss Huang Quan who calls herself the Sea Patrol Knight?"
"You know this as well?"
"After all, the invitation she received came from the Eternal Flame Mansion, and since she wasn't on the list, I naturally paid special attention to her. You know my identity; I'm very sensitive to the power of nothingness. The moment I came into contact with her, I understood the essence of the power within her. I just didn't expect that a self-destructor could go so far down that path, to the point of obtaining power far exceeding that of an ordinary envoy."
"Hmph! She's still 'Mei' sister, after all! Of course she's not ordinary!" Nian Gao said proudly, puffing out her chest, as if Huang Quan were some kind of family member.
"Mei? Miss Kiana, do you know her name?"
"I know that's true, but I've been meaning to say this for a while now: could you please stop addressing me as 'you'? It feels a bit strange."
"Okay, so Miss Kiana, you...you really know her name?"
"Well, let me explain this at the same time. Besides that Miss Huang Quan, there is another counterpart of her among my companions."
“From our perspective, however, Yomi is Mei-neechan’s counterpart,” Mochi said, nuzzling Kiana’s cheek.
"I see. So you guessed her name because one of your original companions was her counterpart?"
“That’s roughly right.” Kiana nodded in agreement. “So you should understand that if you see two Miss Huang Quan at Dream Reef, please don’t be too surprised.”
"I understand, but there's one last question."
"You said."
"Then how can you be sure that the people on the Starry Sky Train will definitely go to Dream Reef? You can't possibly let them all be taken there by Mianmian, can you?"
“You guessed half right,” Kiana said.
"What about the other half?"
"The other half is related to what's about to happen at the Kroc Film Park."
"Oh? How do you say this?"
"I met with Mr. Sand King, the company's representative, on Sunday not long ago and used the power of harmony on him in order to get him to reveal the cornerstone he brought."
"The Cornerstone? Isn't that an important tool that Diamond from the company's strategic investment department gave to his ten Stoneheart subordinates? It's said that holding the Cornerstone can unleash power equivalent to a Commander. Would the company really let Sand Gold bring something so important to Pinocchio so easily? Even if Sand Gold himself is one of the ten Stonehearts, it would be difficult for him to get his application approved, right?"
"Unfortunately, that's just how it is." Kiana suddenly snapped her fingers, and the surroundings instantly fell silent. "Don't worry, because what I'm about to say is quite important and I don't want anyone else to know, so I set up a barrier."
Hearing Kiana's words, Galah's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally relaxed. As the saying goes, walls have ears, and since the following content was very important, it was better to be careful.
"Let's continue with our topic. The fact is that the gold duster not only brought his own foundation stone, but also the foundation stones of the two people traveling with him, and carried out a substitution."
"Although I don't know how Sand Gold convinced the other two, the fact that he gave away something so important so easily makes it seem like even the company's dogs are more like people on the path of harmony than so-called families."
At this point, Gallagher's lips curled into a mocking smile.
"Actually, it didn't take much effort. Toppa and Emerald, who were traveling with Sand Gold, handed over their cornerstone to Sand Gold after hearing his plan. You're right about one thing, even the company is more harmonious than the current Pinocchio family," Kiana said mockingly.
"So, did he succeed?"
"Success. Taking advantage of the other party's unfamiliarity with Professor Ladio, on Sunday, when he thought he had won over Professor Ladio, he successfully retrieved his confiscated cornerstone using Toppa and Emerald Cornerstone. I'm afraid even if Sunday had planned everything meticulously, he wouldn't have known that Professor Ladio had never been on his side from beginning to end."
"I'm getting a little curious myself. How exactly did that Sand Gold manage to fool Sunday, who used the power of harmony?"
"very curious?"
"I'm very curious."
"Okay, since we still have time, I'll tell you about it."
After parting ways with Xing, Sha Jin waits for someone's return in a bar in a dreamlike place.
"Good heavens, Suleda must have had too much to drink... I didn't expect you to come back so quickly. So... did you find anything?"
Standing before the gold dust was Ladio, the Doctor of Truth.
“Just as you guessed, nobody knows the robin was murdered, not even a rumor,” Ladio said, arms crossed. “The TV is still broadcasting her ceremony rehearsal—probably a stand-in. Everyone’s dreaming.”
"Of course, who would have thought that death would actually come to the beautiful dream constructed by the family, and the victim was the leading lady of the Harmonious Music Ceremony... To be honest, I didn't believe it before, and even tested it myself a few times—until I discovered that I really couldn't die. Whenever there is danger, I will be forcibly awakened by the Dream Pool, as if I had just had a nightmare. So I am convinced that there must be a bigger secret behind this matter."
"Then you should have heard of that Memoir from the Memory Realm. When I went to the Oak family to pull some strings for you, they were in a complete mess. Besides the robin, there was another one who died. I don't know the specifics, I only know he was a stowaway."
"Two murders?! I knew that the nameless customer's reaction was off; she must have stumbled upon another one... This guy is a madman... But I have to say, the murders are a great breakthrough. We can accuse the family of dereliction of duty and let the company use this as an excuse to get involved."
Then Sand Gold closed his eyes, a hint of helplessness in his voice: "But their methods are far more ruthless than I imagined; they've even prepared a robin's double… These two cases will definitely be suppressed. What should we do? Let me think… This is a rare opportunity, not to be missed. I must be extremely careful…"
"Wow, you're something else, gambler. You're out of options again so quickly?" Latio teased.
"There are many chips, but we have to choose carefully. The most straightforward one... has to be the robin. Remember, the masked fool told me to find a mute to befriend? The robin is just like the mute she was talking about. She lost her voice, which most people wouldn't notice, but it wouldn't escape our ears. It's not organs making sounds, but a harmonious resonance."
If the girl hadn't practiced singing until her voice was hoarse, there was only one possibility: something was wrong with her family, or the robin herself had met with a problem. That's why I went to great lengths to see her... but she died, right under my nose.
“A complete loss…and you’re on the table in the process,” Ladio said. “There were eyewitnesses at the scene, and the family will tentatively believe your alibi, but from now on…you’ll probably be spending your time under the watchful eyes of the hounds.”
"The current situation is not optimistic, Professor. I'm starting to break out in a cold sweat. Do you think there's any chance of turning things around?"
Sand Gold laughed, but his tone was nothing like that of a loser who had lost everything, as Ladio had described. Instead, it was the excited tone of a gambler about to enter the game.
“If you ask me about the probability… there is, but it’s close to zero. To put it more in Pinocchio’s local parlance, dream on,” Ladio poured cold water on the idea. “If you’re just having a bad time and want to try your luck with someone, then there just happens to be a suitable candidate… that man wants to see you again.”
"Who?"
"Sunday."
Upon hearing this name, Sand Gold's expression turned serious: "...Will it be a court hearing or a private trial?"
"If it's the former, then there's no need for me to relay the message."
“Alright…that’s right, all right. See, the four can’t speak, but the living can.” Sand Gold said confidently. “Ladio, I’m now certain there’s something wrong within the family. Just wait and see, that man’s sister is dead…he can’t sit still. Without further ado, let’s set off—lead the way! The show…is about to begin.”
Led by Ladio, Sandgold headed toward the Dawn Mansion, where a full-blown private trial awaited him—the very scene he desired.