The Grammatical Investigator in Conan

"Dreamland?"

Qin Zhibo scanned this unfamiliar world, and as far as he could see was an endless plain, with mugwort growing in the slightly foul-smelling soil, dotted with crooked tombstones, broken ashes, and some weird fragments.

There were no celestial bodies or clouds visible in the sky that was glowing with gray-green light. This was a strange phenomenon that could not be seen anywhere on earth.

"Yes, Dreamland."

Matsumoto Ryohei continued to guide Qin Zhibo forward and explained.

"This is another dimension different from the earth. The physical laws on the earth do not apply here, but there are many similarities with the earth..."

"To put it simply, this is like a 'dream world', but everything here is real."

"Dreams are reality."

Qin Zhibo followed Matsumoto Ryohei and passed through one cave after another.

This plain is dotted with such caves, some are spacious, some are narrow, some emit a foul odor, and some have no smell at all.

"In other words, am I dreaming now?"

"otherwise."

Matsumoto Ryohei shook his head, "You did not enter this world through dreams, but entered in the real body."

"This means that once you die here, the real you is dead and cannot go back to another world..."

As Matsumoto Ryohei was talking, Qin Zhibo felt some strange movements on the back of Hondo Eyou, as if he was about to wake up.

Qin Zhibo put the person down and slapped him on the back of the neck, causing him to fall into a baby-like sleep again.

Matsumoto Ryohei: "...won't you let him wake up?"

Qin Zhibo: "No, sometimes knowing too much is not a good thing."

For the main hall Yingyou, everything here is too exciting, especially the terrifying appearance of these ghouls.

…

Next, Matsumoto Ryohei introduced to Qin Zhibo the way to enter the dreamland.

The most common way is to have a special kind of dream, the main content of which is going down the stairs.

First go down the 70 steps that symbolize "light sleep", pass through a flame cave with the consent of the gatekeeper, and then go down the 700 steps that symbolize "deep sleep" to reach the dreamland.

It is the most common way to enter the dreamland.

And if you die in a dream this way, your body will not really die. What dies is your dream self, and you will only lose the ability to dream again.

After Matsumoto Ryohei's introduction, Qin Zhibo remembered that he had had such a dream.

In his dream, he had obtained the consent of the two "gatekeepers" and was about to enter the Flame Cave when he was awakened by the sudden ringing of the phone.

The second method is to let the real body enter the dreamland.

This method requires the use of some special space gaps, such as a ghoul's lair or a tree hole in a sea of ​​trees.

This kind of space gap is often difficult to find, but it is the key to allowing the body to reach the other side of the dream.

"You and this boy probably came here after passing through the ghoul's lair. They were real bodies entering the dreamland."

Matsumoto Ryohei pointed at himself again and said: "I passed through a tree hole in the sea of ​​trees in Aokigahara, and I also entered this world with my body."

Aokigahara Sea of ​​Trees, Qin Zhibo had some impressions of this place.

The Aokigahara Sea of ​​Trees, also known as the "Suicide Forest", is located at the foot of Mount Fuji. It has been a natural cemetery since ancient times and has become a famous suicide sanctuary in modern times.

As for the reason why Matsumoto Ryohei discovered this tree hole, it goes back to the even longer past.

"I once told you that my father, Matsumoto Seicho, is an archaeologist and also loves literature and philosophy."

"A few years ago, my father suddenly disappeared, and the police investigation yielded no results. I could only investigate his whereabouts alone."

"In the study room at home, I discovered a novel my father wrote in his early years called "The Tower of Waves."

"The heroine in this book finally committed suicide in the Aokigahara Sea of ​​Trees, which reminded me that my father might be in the Aokigahara Sea of ​​Trees."

"At that time, I entered the sea of ​​trees and accidentally discovered a certain tree hole in the sea of ​​trees that could travel to this world. However, due to lack of preparation, I got lost on the way back and ran out of food and water."

"In order to survive, I had to eat the bodies of those who committed suicide to stay alive until I came out of the forest."

"I survived and opened the door to a new world... But I still didn't know that the tree hole led to the dreamland, so I kept this secret."

"It wasn't until I was in the hospital a while ago that I found that my desire for meat was getting stronger and stronger, and I also had various abnormalities in my body."

"This may be the prion you mentioned, Mr. Qin..."

"I didn't want to leave this world being hated by others, so I left the hospital and sneaked into the world in the tree hole."

"But now that I think about it, many of the people who have disappeared in Aokigahara Jukai over the years have probably entered this world."

"Now I have found it too, this is the real Gensokyo!"

Qin Zhibo could see that Matsumoto Ryohei enjoyed life here.

Just being in the company of ghouls made his image gradually move closer to that of a ghoul.

But maybe he should have ushered in such a change?

Qin Zhibo thought for a moment and then continued to ask: "What about other ways to enter this world?"

Matsumoto Ryohei paused and replied: "The last way I know so far is to have a 'Dream Maker' physique."

"With this special physique, the mind can create palaces, land, money, etc. in the dreamland. You can even go directly to the dreamland after death and gain eternal life."

"The 'dream maker' may not be aware that he is in a real world throughout his life, but he relies on his subconscious to constantly build this world."

Matsumoto Ryohei’s introduction made Qin Zhibo realize that Suzuki Ayako should be a “dream maker”.

Dreamers are born with the ability to enter the dreamland more easily than dreamers, and can create things that do not exist in the dreamland out of thin air.

That villa was a creation built by Suzuki Ayako through her subconscious mind.

If this is the case, Suzuki Ayako's body suddenly disappeared, just waking up from a dream.

But in this case, what happened to Takahashi Ryoichi?

And the dust space down there?

Qin Zhibo told Matsumoto Ryohei his doubts, and he smiled and answered them.

"The space below is called the 'Abyss', and this is the Tombs of Xin."

"Even though we are located on a plain now, this is actually the underground world of dreams, and it is also the closest place to the waking world."

"The 'abys' below is between wakefulness and dreams, similar to the flame cave between light sleep and deep sleep. The rules there are also between the waking world and the dreamland. It is a chaotic place."

"There is a race called 'demon ghosts' living in the abyss. The person you are talking about is probably a demon ghost."

"Ghosts are a low-level, degenerate race. They cannibalize and bite each other. They have no sense at all and like to live in a completely dark environment."

"But if you want to go to the waking world from here, you have to pass through the territory of those disgusting creatures..."

According to Matsumoto Ryohei's description, Qin Zhibo also guessed what Takahashi Ryoichi had experienced.

In the last bandage monster incident, Takahashi Ryoichi accidentally entered the ghoul's lair and was lost in the abyss.

And this world seems to have magical power, which can gradually assimilate the creatures that accidentally enter it into something.

This may also be accompanied by the gradual reduction of will value, and the human form will gradually be lost.

In Matsumoto Ryohei's words, ghouls also seem to hate monsters.

But in Qin Zhibo's case, both are essentially cannibalistic races. The only difference is that fifty steps and one hundred steps...

Matsumoto Ryohei seemed to see Qin Zhibo's thoughts and explained: "Although ghouls look scary, they are actually an advanced race, and their intelligence is no less than that of humans."

"They have their own language and beliefs, and they have the concept of ethnic groups."

"In fact, some ghouls are even transformed from humans..."

During the conversation, Qin Zhibo unknowingly followed Matsumoto Ryohei to the ghoul camp.

It is said to be a camp, but there are no buildings or the like, but a concentrated group of tombs.

There were about a dozen ghouls surrounding the tombs. They were squatting on the ground, holding bitten food in their hands, looking at the two fresh humans curiously.

Although Qin Zhibo had acted very calmly, his pupils still trembled unconsciously when he passed by the pile of partially eaten food scraps.

After what happened just now, his willpower level is not high now, only 55, which is a bit stronger than ordinary people.

Matsumoto Ryohei communicated with one of the elder-looking ghouls in the strange language of "Guling Guling".

After a while, Matsumoto Ryohei relayed their conversation to Qin Zhibo.

The elder will ask the ghoul to prepare a healing herb that can help Qin Zhibo treat the injury on his arm.

As for why they had to heal their injuries first instead of leaving directly, it was because they had to pass through the abyss below before they could return to the waking world, and they would not be able to run fast with their injuries.

Qin Zhibo glanced at the ghoul elder sitting on the tombstone in 1768 and asked Matsumoto Ryohei to thank it for him.

…

Soon, a medicine made by mixing mucus and mashed herbs was taken out and applied to the wound on Qin Zhibo's arm that was scratched by Takahashi Ryoichi.

This thing works very quickly, and it doesn't hurt immediately after applying it.

Qin Zhibo wanted to ask about the ingredients of this stuff, but Matsumoto Ryohei said it was best not to know.

While waiting for recovery, Qin Zhibo learned more about the Dreamland and the ghoul race from Matsumoto Ryohei.

The Dreamland is huge, and not all monsters live there. There are also human towns here.

The living conditions of human beings here are probably that of the medieval earth. Although they are relatively backward, life is richer than imagined.

At the same time, it is said that there are real gods here, collectively known as the "Dream Gods". Most advanced intelligent races have gods they worship.

For example, most of the ghouls in Dreamland worship the "King of Ghouls", and the ghouls who worship this god only eat corpses, not living people.

In fact, Qin Zhibo wants to correct this point, that is, there are real gods on earth.

It's just that in the dreamland, both humans and other races respect myths and legends more, and the existence of gods is not a secret.

On Earth, the development of science and technology has caused humans to gradually abandon the awe they should have.

When Matsumoto Ryohei entered the dreamland, he first came from a human town and later joined the ghouls.

Although Matsumoto Ryohei is a newcomer in the ghoul race, he is relatively popular among the ghouls because of his "handsome appearance", so he also has a lot of say here.

…

After resting for a while, Qin Zhibo felt that his physical strength was almost restored.

The ratio of time passing here to the outside world is 1:1, which means that it is almost midnight outside.

The system's mission is almost completed. It is impossible for me to explore the entire dreamland in one night.

However, the return journey is not absolutely safe, because we have to return to the abyss where there is no distinction between day and night.

"In addition to demons and ghosts, there is also a creature called the 'Guge Giant' in the abyss."

"The Guge giant's god worship ritual was too blasphemous, so it was sealed in the dungeon of the abyss by the dream gods. They are even more disgusting and violent than monsters."

"If you want to return to the waking world, you must climb the highest tower in the dungeon. Only there is the ghoul lair connected to the waking world."

"If you want to return safely, you can only disguise yourself as a ghoul and climb up with us."

"Because those Guge giants are afraid of ghouls, this is the best way."

Qin Zhibo frowned and looked at the faces of the ghouls around him, feeling a little embarrassed.

No matter what you do, you can't cosplay like a dog, right?

Really human-like and dog-like?

Matsumoto Ryohei added: "Actually, it doesn't have to be too troublesome. The ability of those ancient giants to distinguish is very weak. You just need to take off all your clothes and climb up with us."

"T-Take off your clothes!?"

"Well, this is the only way, because obviously ghouls don't wear clothes...but you can also keep a piece of underpants to cover your shame."

"Forehead……"

Qin Zhibo thought for a moment and realized that he really had no other choice but to take off his clothes.

He took off all his clothes except for his underpants, and then packed them up.

Without the cover of clothes, Qin Zhibo's muscle lines were exposed to the air, which immediately attracted the attention of several ghouls.

"Gugulin, bang——"

"Xin, Xin..."

Next to him, Matsumoto Ryohei smiled and translated: "They are all female ghouls. They say you are very handsome and hope you can stay."

"ah--?"

Qin Zhibo's mouth opened wide. He didn't expect these ghouls to be so direct and molest a good boy in broad daylight!

His intuition told him that he shouldn't stay here for long.

Please slip away first as a courtesy!

But just as Qin Zhibo was about to carry the unconscious Bentang Yingyou, he ran into trouble again.

Yes, what should I do, Yingyou?

You can't dress up as a ghoul and have a living person on your back, right?

There was no other way, Qin Zhibo could only take off his clothes, leaving only a pair of black pants for him.

Compared with the mature Qin Zhibo, Hondo Yingyou has delicate skin and a much weaker figure. There is also a scar on his chest from surgery.

Suddenly, Qin Zhibo felt curious, pointed at Hondo Eyou, who was almost in a barbarian body, and asked Matsumoto Ryohei.

"Ask these ghouls, do they like this kid?"

Matsumoto Ryohei nodded, turned around and started chatting.

"Gugulin, gugulin——"

"Gu! Gu!"

A few seconds later, Matsumoto Ryohei told Qin Zhibo.

"They said, too thin, don't want it."