Chapter 358

Chapter 306 – Substitution

“Draw the mark?”

In the dark dream space, the black dog morphed Gregor looked at the words that appeared in front of him and the pentagram symbol, frowning. Then he spoke.

‘Can this mark wake me up from my deep slumber?’

Gregor thought to himself. In general, he would never agree to draw an unfamiliar mystic mark on himself. James had clearly instructed him about this when he joined the team. Don’t read unfamiliar mystic books, and don’t draw unfamiliar mystic marks, because who knows what could happen. But now, faced with the current situation, there was no other choice. After all, Little Fox’s sleepwalking couldn’t last indefinitely.

‘This mysterious Akka believer was introduced by the high-ranking Giant Dragon Patunax. Lord Patunax shouldn’t have any hostility towards me, a mere Apprentice tier Hunter. So this mark should be safe.

‘But it looks a bit complicated… Miss Fox, even manipulating me to walk in my sleep is already difficult for you. Is drawing this mark possible…’

Gregor thought, while the white little fox next to him, after seeing the text and pattern in front of her, spoke directly.

“So as long as I draw this thing on this black dog, it’ll work? That’s fine~”

“Hmm… Miss Fox, I think this mark is a bit complex. You even had trouble making my body stand and walk properly. Drawing this…” Looking at the little fox’s enthusiastic manner, Gregor said with a hint of worry, while the little fox responded by wagging her tail.

“Oh, you don’t understand. Making someone walk in their sleep isn’t easy. You might think walking is simple, but it involves the coordination of the whole body. There are countless muscles involved in maintaining balance. It’s actually very difficult.

“I am just a Black Tier Dreamer, mainly able to enter others’ dreams to obtain sensations, steal memories. My ability to make someone sleepwalk is just a bonus. Without reaching White Chalk, it’s hard for me to coordinate my whole body to stand and walk. But if it’s just drawing something, I can still manage. Just watch.”

The little fox said this, then began her operation. Under the control of the little fox’s sleepwalking, Gregor, who was originally sitting in the carriage, suddenly raised his hands, his right hand mechanically extending forward to pat the table in front of him. After some disturbance, he finally grabbed the pen on the table, which Gregor had previously used for note-taking.

The little fox made Gregor’s body grip the pen with all five fingers, then lifted his hand, extended the other hand, palm facing the line of sight, and fixed it. Then, she mechanically started writing on the palm of her left hand with the pen held in her right hand.

With the entire hand gripping the pen, only the arm muscles needed to move, even the fingers didn’t need to move. This way, the little fox successfully began controlling Gregor’s sleepwalking to draw, with minimal manipulation. Seeing this, Gregor couldn’t help but be impressed.

“So it can be done like this. Impressive, Miss Fox.”

Looking at the scene displayed on the screen ahead, Gregor understood. This way, he could indeed draw with less movement from other parts of his body.

Finally, the little fox, holding the pen, successfully drew the mark that appeared in the dream space onto Gregor’s left palm. Although it was crooked, it was overall clear and correct.

After the little fox finished drawing the mark, new text appeared in the space.

“Very good, Miss Fox, Mr. Hunter. I can feel that the mark has taken effect. Now, please Miss Fox, release the sleepwalking state.”

Looking at the new text that appeared in the space, the black dog morphed Gregor and the little fox exchanged glances. Then, the little fox stepped back two steps, releasing her control over Gregor’s sleepwalking in the real world. When the sleepwalking ended, the body sitting on the sofa in the carriage suddenly collapsed, sinking into the sofa. With his eyes closed, the screen inside the dream cockpit went dark.

“Is this… enough?”

In the dream space, the black dog morphed Gregor looked at the pitch-black scenery before him, feeling uneasy and muttering. At this moment, he was pondering the function of the mysterious mark drawn on his hand. Could it directly awaken him, or…

While the morphed Gregor was thinking, the entire dream space suddenly trembled slightly, and the originally closed view screen suddenly opened again. Gregor and the little fox saw the scene inside the carriage once more. Seeing this, Gregor couldn’t help but say to the little fox.

“Miss Fox, didn’t you say you would end the sleepwalking?”

“I did! But he moved on his own! It’s not me controlling him.”

The little fox exclaimed in surprise to Gregor, causing Gregor’s eyes to widen.

“What…”

Just as Gregor and the little fox were surprised, the view screen in front of them suddenly changed. The screen rose and shifted significantly, and its perspective began to move to other parts of the carriage. Seeing this, the little fox couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.

“You stood up! Hey! Black Dog! You’re being controlled to stand up!”

Hearing the little fox’s words, Gregor was stunned, then shouted into the void of the dream.

“Lady, is it you controlling my body?”

“Yes, that’s the effect of the mark. It allows me to control your body in the real world, and the precision is much higher than sleepwalking. Look… I’m controlling your body to walk around inside the carriage.”

Responding to Gregor, new text appeared in the dream cocoon within the dream space. Seeing these words, the little fox’s mouth widened slightly.

“A mark that can remotely control someone’s body? And with such precise control… How impressive… Almost as good as a ‘Cup’ domain flesh puppet, but a flesh puppet can’t control a living person, and certainly not from such a distance.”

The little fox muttered, due to having a grandfather in the family, she had a deep understanding of the Secret World. Upon seeing the scene before her, she immediately thought of the ‘Cup’ domain’s flesh puppets.

“Your body is moving directly… How impressive. Even though I haven’t woken up completely, since I can walk, self-defense shouldn’t be a problem. Lady, please now transfer my body to a safer place in the rear carriage.”

Gregor said to the darkness in the dream space. A short while later, the text reappeared in front of Gregor. The other party seemed to have different opinions about Gregor’s suggestion.

“Mr. Hunter, I think going out now would be a bad choice.”

“What?” Looking at the text, Gregor was stunned, not understanding the other party’s meaning. Soon, other text rapidly appeared in front of him, explaining the situation.

“I’ve learned from Lord Patunax about the general situation on your side. Mr. Hunter, if I remember correctly, you were drugged in the special dining car serving first-class carriages, right?”

The text appeared in front of Gregor, and he nodded in agreement.

“Yes, besides the special dining car, I haven’t eaten anywhere else, nor have I been hypnotized face-to-face by anyone. So the problem must be there.”

“Good. I also took the train in Prit and ate food similar to what’s served in the special dining car. The food there is prepared beforehand and placed together for guests to take according to their preferences. This kind of meal service cannot be targeted for poisoning… If you really fell unconscious because of the food in the dining car, it’s possible that all the food on the dining car was problematic. To drug you, maybe the entire first-class carriage passengers are now in a coma.

“For you… those people behind the scenes went to great lengths to target you. Do you think they would easily put you back into the safer second-class carriage?”