In the dream.
After learning about their current situation from Inoue Hao, Inumaki Toge had an idea.
"Mustard Leaf."
Inumaki Toge stopped Maki, who was about to follow Inoue Hao's suggestion and try to wake up from the dream by getting injured.
Then he pulled down his collar.
"Do you have another way?"
Maki looked at Inumaki Toge.
She remembered that 'Mustard Leaf' was his way of saying something to her.
Inumaki Toge nodded.
"Then let's do it."
Maki didn't ask further, just waited for Inumaki Toge's next move.
Inumaki Toge walked to Maki's side and spoke softly.
"Wake up."
Inumaki Toge's voice wasn't loud; on one hand, they were close, so he didn't need to speak loudly.
On the other hand, it was to avoid disturbing Inoue Hao, who was not far away.
As soon as Inumaki Toge finished using Cursed Speech, his throat felt as if it had been cut by a blade.
"Cough, cough."
Inumaki Toge instantly bent over in pain, one hand reaching for his throat, the other instinctively searching for a lozenge.
However, the pocket where he usually kept lozenges was empty.
Inumaki Toge didn't dwell on the lozenges but looked up at Maki in front of him.
Under Inumaki Toge's gaze, Maki's eyes were vacant, and her body slowly dissipated.
Even though his throat hurt terribly, Inumaki Toge let out a laugh.
He knew his method had worked; Inoue Hao's conjecture was correct—they were indeed in a dream.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have suffered a backlash from using the Cursed Speech "Wake up."
And Maki wouldn't have just disappeared like that.
In reality.
Maki's consciousness was gradually returning.
The first thing Maki noticed was the incessant gunfire outside the warehouse.
Maki immediately entered combat mode.
Her previously hazy consciousness instantly cleared.
Maki instinctively reached out and gripped her Thousand Machine Umbrella.
Opening her eyes, she found herself inside the warehouse.
Inumaki Toge was right beside her.
Outside the warehouse, there was intense sounds of battle.
"Panda, huh."
Panda was still as thoughtful as ever, not only moving them both to a safer location but also placing the Thousand Machine Umbrella by her side, just as she preferred.
Maki smiled, picked up the Thousand Machine Umbrella, and pushed open the warehouse door.
What greeted her was Panda desperately fending off the Octopus People's attempts to get close.
#
Maki instantly became enraged, pressing the button at the bottom of the Thousand Machine Umbrella to draw out her katana, directly slicing the disgusting thing in half.
"You're awake, Maki."
Panda quickly brushed off the tentacles on his body.
'I really need to take a shower when I get back now; I really didn't want to get wet.'
Panda felt wronged inside, but Panda didn't say anything.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Maki rotated the umbrella's disc, transforming the Thousand Machine Umbrella into its scythe form, then began to reap the lives of the enemies in front of her.
Seeing this, Panda immediately reloaded his rifle and then opened fire on the enemies in another direction.
These weak Octopus People didn't last long under their combined attack.
"Didn't you say you wanted to be a Kung Fu Panda and become a Grandmaster? Why are you using a gun now?"
After slaying the last enemy, Maki walked towards Panda, carrying her scythe.
"If I have a gun but choose to use martial arts, how can I become a Grandmaster?"
Panda was unconcerned by Maki's teasing.
"Alright, I still need to sleep, so I'll leave the outside to you."
Maki smiled and waved her hand.
"Beauty sleep? Or maybe wait until we leave here to sleep?"
Panda looked at Maki strangely, unable to understand why Maki wanted to sleep when they hadn't even escaped the danger zone yet.
"No."
Maki immediately retorted.
"Sleeping here will cause us to be pulled into a dream by the enemy's Cursed Technique; Inumaki just woke me up with Cursed Speech.
Now I need to re-enter the dream once more to tell Inumaki the result."
After speaking, Maki walked directly into the warehouse.
"I'll leave the outside to you."
Maki waved her hand behind her without looking back.
"Oh. Leave it to me."
Panda gave a thumbs-up behind him, then continued to stay vigilant.
About ten minutes later, Maki and Inumaki Toge walked out of the warehouse together.
"How was your sleep?"
Panda asked with a smile.
"Pollock roe."
Inumaki Toge shook his head, indicating that the sleep had been very dangerous.
Then he pulled out a lozenge from his pocket.
"What now? Continue investigating or retreat first and come back during the day?"
Panda looked at Maki.
From Inumaki Toge's voice just now, he could tell that Inumaki Toge wasn't in good condition.
That's why the caring Panda suggested temporarily retreating.
"First, let's find that Assistant Supervisor named Inoue, and then continue to exorcise the Cursed Spirits."
"Inoue? The Assistant Supervisor who lost contact?"
"Yes, we saw him in the dream. He knows a lot about this Cursed Spirit. We'll meet up with him first, find the Cursed Spirit's main body, and exorcise it."
Maki nodded, then said with a solemn expression.
"This Cursed Spirit is very dangerous; we must deal with it as soon as possible."
"Understood."
Panda sensed the seriousness in Maki's tone... In a ruined area on the outskirts of the village.
Inoue Hao was struggling to evade the Octopus People's search.
Inoue Hao's mind was extremely chaotic at the moment, making him want to do something crazy to alleviate the discomfort.
But he knew that wouldn't do; if he really did that, he would become like the villagers who had turned into Octopus People.
Therefore, Inoue Hao could only continuously suppress the thoughts that popped into his mind.
He cautiously avoided the angry Octopus People outside.
The Octopus People in the village were furious.
They were swimming in a beautiful dream, feeling the greatness of the "Lord," and enjoying all the crazy and blissful things in the dream.
Just then, they discovered a stranger who had stumbled into the "Lord's" territory.
Seeing this, they enthusiastically invited this young woman to embrace the "Lord" and enjoy this blessing.
Then they all exploded.
In a physical sense.
The Octopus People, who had died in the dream and woken up startled in reality, were incredibly enraged.
They wanted to capture this despicable stranger who prevented them from enjoying the "Lord's" blessing and bring him before the "Lord" for judgment.
This was also the reason for the Octopus People's previous riot.
They scattered, wanting to capture all the outsiders in the village.
These outsiders would either join them or be destroyed.
Just then, several beams of white light shone on the location of a group of Octopus People.
The Octopus People instantly rushed towards the direction of the flashlight beams.
Da da da.
However, before they could even reach these outsiders, they all fell on their way to charge.
If their twisted crawling movements could be considered a charge.
The last thing that appeared in the Octopus People's eyes were three despicable outsiders holding firearms.
Hearing the gunshots, Inoue Hao quietly poked half his head out from the ruins.
Then he saw Maki and the others.
"You... this is how you exorcise Cursed Spirits now?"
Inoue Hao stared at the three people in front of him, dumbfounded.
"What's wrong?"
Maki asked as a matter of course.
"Um, do you still recruit people?"
Inoue Hao was tempted.
As an enthusiastic young man who loved adventure, he really couldn't resist the allure of firepower.
At this moment, he didn't want to be a window anymore; he wanted to be a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
The key was that being a Jujutsu Sorcerer not only meant getting guns but also getting a Panda.
Inoue Hao stared intently at Panda, who was carrying something on his back behind the two of them.
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