don't open your eyes [unlimited]

In just a moment, the tavern suddenly became peaceful and ordinary, and the folk customs became simple.

The boss, wearing the iconic unilateral blindfold and a hideous scar on his face, quickly returned behind the counter.

It wasn't until the opponent stepped aside that Z1 suddenly noticed that the extremely rare and hard serpentine wood counter had cracked.

At the position originally blocked by the boss, a chainsaw was inserted upside down on the counter, with some sawdust remaining on the sharp edge.

As if he didn't see the chainsaw, the boss picked up the feather duster, turned his back to the people as if nothing had happened, and cleaned the wine cabinet while humming a little tune.

A few burly men with beards quickly sat back and built a small house out of potato griddles, donuts, and cream.

The bartender stood neatly by the table with his hands down, waiting for a few people to order.

"..." Z1 held his forehead, looked at the scalpel on the menu: "I—I can do it."

The hypnotist nodded.

In fact, he was more interested in Ling Su's sudden show just now. After obtaining the consent of the other party, he picked up the scalpel, held it in his hand, and studied it over and over again.

"That's it."

Ling Su took back the menu, and after discussing with Zhuang Die in a low voice, he raised his head and said to the bartender, "We want French fries, thick butter muffins, and vegetable mashed potatoes with smoked sausage."

Ling Su handed him the menu: "The muffins must be freshly baked and hot."

The bartender wrote down one by one, bowed to several people, and hurried back to the counter.

Z1 was a little puzzled. He watched the other party turn and leave, and then lowered his voice to remind Ling Su: "They don't seem to sell muffins..."

There is only one shop selling muffins here, which is just at the fork at the bottom of the "Y" shape, and it is also some distance away from here and the cargo terminal.

To ensure that the muffins are still hot, you must start quickly at the moment they come out of the oven, and then run back at the speed of a long-distance runner without stopping.

If the tavern sells freshly baked muffins, Z1 didn't need to get stuck for more than a dozen cycles before finally getting the rewards from the other party when he was doing the task given by the owner of the store. .

"It's okay." Zhuang Die nodded and closed his notebook, "They will sell it."

Z1 was stunned: "Huh?"

Before he could figure it out, he subconsciously glanced at the counter.

The vicious part-time pirate boss and his bartender stood under the chainsaw, arguing quickly in a low voice, then spread their hands helplessly, and looked up.

When his eyes met the curly-haired young man carrying a terrifying mysterious weapon, and met the unfathomable gaze cast by the other party, the boss froze, quickly lowered his head, and took out a few crumpled sheets from his pocket. Baba's paper money.

The bartender took the banknotes, ran out of the tavern, and disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Z1's mood is a bit complicated: "Ah..."

For some reason, he suddenly felt that compared to these people in the tavern, the two people sitting opposite seemed to be more like pirates in all aspects...

"Continue to talk." Ling Su tapped the table and reminded, "What happens after you get the task from the owner of the business?"

Z1 had almost forgotten about this matter, and he remembered it only when he mentioned it: "Oh... yes, after completing the task, you will get a few coins and four boat tickets as rewards."

"I really didn't expect that the coins are the reward, and the owner of the goods company actually sold the boat ticket at a high price."

Being sued by the owner of the shipping company for 39 minutes and 1 seconds, Z[-] has thoroughly understood the situation at that time: "He handed over the ticket to us in order to let us take it to the passenger terminal and help him sell it to those who want to board the ship. People who haven’t bought tickets yet.”

Having said this, Z1 couldn't help but get a headache again, and rubbed his temples vigorously.

This port is like a den of thieves who are not doing business properly. The part-time pirate who runs the tavern usually collects all kinds of information, and when the peak season comes, he will grab the guys to rob the lucrative merchant ships.The owner of the shipping company was a bounty hunter and a second-hand trafficker who resells the ferry tickets. The original normal price of the passenger ferry ticket was turned up several times or even ten times by him.

Z1 looks suspicious to everyone now.Maybe the aunt who bought the baked muffins is actually a hidden information dealer. Those boys selling groceries in the crowd are all training their reaction speed and eyesight, preparing to join a certain gang...

"According to the original customs clearance method, we can board the ship at the passenger terminal as long as we hold the ticket."

Z1 pressed his forehead and sighed: "After sailing for 10 minutes, we will be sent to the exit of this dream. We disembark from there, and theoretically, everything can end..."

Zhuang Die stopped writing and raised his head: "What is the exit like?"

"Another port, there seems to be a small town nearby." Z1 thought about it carefully, "But we didn't continue to explore at that time, so we don't know more about the situation."

After getting the boat ticket, the subsequent plot is like a CG after customs clearance. It is just a cutscene to send the dreamer to the exit, and there are no more waves.

While talking, a new bartender was pushed and shoved by his companions, and boldly walked over.

The tray he held in his hand was already filled with large servings of freshly french fries, hearty vegetable mashed potatoes, and a free box of licorice candies.

The new bartender was very quick, putting the trays of food on the table and setting out the clean cutlery.He stammered and explained that freshly baked muffins are not easy to buy, and that he might have to wait a little longer, and quickly left the table of horrible guests as if fleeing.

"Try it? It's got kale in it and it's got a special flavor."

Ling Su scooped up a small plate of mashed potatoes, drizzled the sauce on it and put it in front of Zhuang Die, signaling the two people on the opposite side to help themselves: "The wine is also good, the gin here is not mixed with sea water."

The hypnotist immediately rolled up his cuffs and returned Ling Su's scalpel.

He just arranged three guided drifting dream realms, which is equivalent to just leaving the novice village, and he still has a little understanding of the tasker's workflow and many terms.

Because he hadn't kept up with the thoughts of these people, the hypnotist had the least psychological pressure, and happily enjoyed the food according to Ling Su's arrangement, and even helped Z1 fill a bowl: "Do you want pepper? "

"no thank you."

Z1 shook his head subconsciously. He didn't know whether he should be envious or should he have a headache. He glanced at the hypnotist, then at Ling Su: "Is the detection of 'cocoon' wrong?"

The whole thing seemed strange, and Z1 still couldn't help caring about the business owner.

He really couldn't figure out why the other party remembered the last time they were here, and how could it easily interfere with his cognition.

During the time when he was picked up by the owner of the firm, Z1 even vaguely forgot his identity for a few seconds—if Ling Su and Zhuang Di hadn’t overturned the cargo box in time, maybe something unpredictable would have happened danger.

"There is a problem with the information given by 'Cocoon'. These people are actually consciousnesses trapped in dreams, and each one is an independent individual?"

Z1 guessed: "Like those crew members in the submarine..."

"No." Ling Su picked up a French fries and shook his head, "At least on this point, 'cocoon' is not wrong."

Z1 froze for a moment: "Why?"

Ling Suqian tapped on the table a few times, but didn't answer right away.

He has a strange habit of eating French fries, without dipping in ketchup, and slowly biting from one end to the other, eating a whole stick bit by bit.

Ling Su seriously finished the undipped French fries, then suddenly raised his head and looked at Z1: "Is your right to know A or S?"

After asking this question, Ling Su added: "My retired friend told me that there are certain things that must never be told to others."

Ling Su picked up another French fries: "If the other party really wants to know, they have to exchange the equivalent information..."

Z1: "..."

He is now more and more suspicious that these two talents are pirates and intelligence dealers.

"My right to know is A...but if you want to see the internal database of 'Cocoon', you have to use one-time permission to check."

Z1 said: "Captain Ling, if you need it, I can transfer it to you—"

He paused for a moment, looked at Zhuang Die in the direction of the second French fries in Ling Su's hand, and was silent for a few seconds: "No more is enough. Knowing too much is not good for you."

"Okay, the one-time permission is to stay in the database for an hour, right? We can't be separated for that long."

Ling Su held Zhuang Die's shoulders, slowly biting the French fries in his hand, and patiently negotiated the price with Z1.

"Each level-one tasker has five access permissions to the database every month, and it will be invalidated immediately after the expiration." Ling Su looked at Z1 and said, "If I guessed correctly, you should be the one who is invalidated every month." one type……"

"..." Z1's face burned, and he instinctively denied it: "Of course not—"

Ling Su raised his eyes and looked at him with great interest.

Z1 stammered a few words, feeling a little guilty, staring down at the bacon in the bowl of mashed potatoes in front of him.

...he's the type that gets scrapped every month.

It's not because I don't want to go to the database to learn... Z1 actually planned very well at the beginning of each month, and will definitely make good use of these five opportunities to fully understand the knowledge and details about "cocoon".

But when the plan is actually implemented, it will always be interrupted by various accidents.

Sometimes it’s because I’ve just finished a long task and I’m so tired that I don’t want to think about it anymore; sometimes it’s because I accidentally spent time in training or leisure dreams.

There are more times when the reality happens to be too hungry, the reality just needs to go out, and the reality must wash your hair immediately or your head will itch... Finally, I set the alarm clock and stuffed myself into the sleeping cabin. When I wanted to go to the database, I found that the reading slot was just full, and there were no extra empty slots.

When I suddenly realize that the month is coming to an end, and it will be too late if I don’t go, there will happen to be a lot of unexpected tasks, and it will just happen to turn to the early morning of the first day of the next month.

……

I didn't expect to be forced to reflect on myself when I was doing a task. Z1 rumpled his hair and stared blankly: "The three times in the next month will definitely not be invalidated, I promise..."

Ling Su believed him very much, nodded, and accepted the two transfers of authority from Z1: "Where there is a will, there is a way."

"I try my best..."

Z1 rubbed his face listlessly, then raised his head: "Can you tell me what's going on now?"

"It's actually very simple to judge the impact of 'cocoon'."

Zhuang Die operated the backstage, received the authority transferred by Ling Su, raised his head and said: "After your backstage is grayed out, there is still no language barrier with the people here."

Z1 was startled, frowned and thought about it carefully, his expression slightly condensed.

This is not a place they are familiar with... This is actually very obvious.

The port where several people are located, no matter the food, architectural style, people's clothing or the race they see, obviously bears traces of different cultures and times.

The reason why they can understand and communicate smoothly without barriers is actually that the neural program module has done instant translation for them.With the current technology, it is actually very easy to do this, and even many civilian holographic communication software already have this function.

At the beginning of this century, among the many industries affected by neurotechnology, translation was one of the first to bear the brunt.

There are almost no dictionaries on the market today, and only some people who are very nostalgic, like to collect, or are extremely stubborn and unwilling to change, will put such things in their study rooms.

"You mean, the fact that we can communicate smoothly with the people here is the proof that the investigation of 'Cocoon' has not been blocked."

Z1 thought about it carefully, nodded and said: "It makes sense... the dream you dealt with before, because the detection of 'cocoon' was interfered and blocked by the captain's will, there are many places that cannot be translated."

When Z1 and his teammates were replaying the mission video, they were quite surprised by the languages ​​Ling Su mastered—after all, with the rapid development of neural research, few people would deliberately learn so many languages.

"If my background is not blocked, it can also be explained that the translation program has worked without my awareness."

Z1 quickly straightened out his thinking: "But the background function has been completely blocked, but I can still understand the words of the owner of the goods store, which means that 'cocoon' has already pre-processed this dream."

"I understand this passage."

The hypnotist was eating mashed potatoes, and suddenly interrupted: "The difference between raw meat and cooked meat. 'Cocoon' is the Sinicization group. We can communicate without barriers now because 'Cocoon' has helped us complete the Sinicization of this dream."

Ling Su couldn't help but smiled: "It's very appropriate, it's almost like this."

"Since it has been Sinicized..." Z1 was almost taken away by these people, and changed his words in time, "It has been translated, which means that these people cannot be independent consciousness of free action."

Z1 looked at Ling Su: "I accept this point of view, but why can the people here interact with us to such a degree?"

He has dealt with this kind of dreamland before. The people in it are no different from the NPCs in the game. At most, they just have more branches and can deal with several different situations.

Like in this dream, from the shop owner to the pirates in the tavern, every projected image is so real that it seems to be a completely independent consciousness. This is the first time Z1 has seen it.

"This one is even simpler."

Ling Su smiled: "Although there are fixed rules for the formation of dream realms, the experience, talent, and speed of thinking of the parties are all different."

"They are still interacting with us according to a fixed track." Ling Su gestured, and his eyes fell on the people in the tavern, "It's just that there are a little more tracks to choose from."

Z1 raised his head in surprise: "Is this too much?!"

"If it is an AI with the ability to learn independently, it is still possible... But this is a dream made by the human brain."

Z1 frowned and said, "Can anyone do this?"

"That's the only question that's right for me." The hypnotist put down his fork. "The answer is yes."

"Based on observation and summary, without using any paper, pen or computer program, simulate someone's behavior logic in your mind, and deduce all the choices that the other party may make in different situations."

The hypnotist said: "This is a kind of training that we often do in this industry - if it is someone who is more familiar with me, I can probably simulate two or three at the same time. Part of the situation."

"I heard him say that the full score of this test is to randomly select five strangers, and after a week of observation and communication, predict all possible trajectories of their actions in emergencies... Only one person in his I got full marks after graduation, but my name was hidden.”

The hypnotist brought the topic back, and looked at Z1: "Some people with extraordinary talents can do this kind of thing even without training, and they can even do it better than us."

Z1 still felt a little unbelievable, and rubbed his forehead: "Like making a port out of thin air with imagination?"

"Who knows, maybe when the human brain is developed to the limit, a world can be created by imagination."

The hypnotist smiled: "These things are too far away... But if you don't believe this, you must look for evidence. I know a very powerful young man."

"Even without any training or relevant qualification certificates, he was able to simulate the reaction speed, habits, and movements of 37 people in the face of a crisis through extremely short observations, and command these people to escape smoothly..."

The hypnotist looked out the window: "For example, do you guess why we sat by the window?"

Z1 was still stunned by the example given by the other party, subconsciously said: "Why?"

"I didn't guess it either. It seems that my talent is indeed very limited." The hypnotist pointed to the outside, "But fortunately, my eyesight is not bad."

Only then did Z1 suddenly realize that the two people around him had disappeared again at some point, he thought for a while, suddenly realized a certain possibility, and got up abruptly.

——Although the store owner and the tavern are not in conflict with each other, there is a situation that may allow the two of them to join forces temporarily.

For example, among the customers of the tavern today, there are two guys who are very difficult to deal with and who are suspected of preparing to cheat.

"Captain Ling and his team members have been lured out?!"

Z1 didn't have time to look up, and quickly adjusted the backstage: "When will the fight start?"

This time he gained experience, and pre-adjusted all available buffs to the open mode in advance: "Captain Ling—forget it, his team members seem very stable, and he should be able to stabilize them first..."

"It's over." The hypnotist looked out, "His team members are using a chainsaw to shave those people's heads."

Z1 clicked the afterimage's hand and said, "Huh?"

The hypnotist poured a large spoonful of sauce, quickly finished his portion of mashed potatoes, and stretched out his hand to open the window: "Hurry up, there are hot muffins outside."

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The author has something to say:

Z1's life was installed with a camera by Team Ling.

Hypnotist: Can't understand, can't keep up, but can eat.