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Chapter 19 - Chapter 19: Meeting Fireworks Again

Aventurine smiled faintly, nodded in understanding, then pulled a dazzling gemstone from his pocket and offered it, saying softly, "This gemstone is a small gift for you. Please accept it."

The Pipi looked at the gemstone in their hand with surprise, a hint of delight flashing in their eyes, but they quickly regained their composure and said with a smile, "The richer someone is, the more extravagantly they play in dreams, but it's my first time seeing someone actively give money away."

"Are you also going to be a prince who distributes golden robes, melting your lead heart in the fierce flames?"

"March 7th: I've heard that story! The Happy Prince was a statue made of gold and jewels. He met a swallow and asked the swallow to distribute his jewels and gold to the poor. In the end, the swallow didn't leave and died at the prince's feet. The prince, stripped of his jewels and gold, was thrown into a furnace to be melted. After this, God asked an envoy to bring back the most precious things on earth, and the envoy brought back the prince's heart and the swallow's corpse."

"March 7th: Finally, God brought the prince and the swallow back to life."

"Sushang: That sounds like a beautiful fairy tale. It gives a feeling of good deeds being rewarded."

"Ha, you flatter me too much. How could I be a prince? I just hope these gemstones can open up conversation. Perhaps your investigative journalism career has intersected with death."

Aventurine laughed wryly, then shook his head.

"Oh, another person interested in this topic. Actually, this subject has always been an area I dreamed of trying when I first entered the industry, but it was ruthlessly stifled by the director," she sighed softly, seemingly with some regret.

"As for the reason, there was no particularly noble or grand excuse... She simply said, 'Reporting on these baseless urban legends will only make us look like some low-grade, third-rate tabloid.'"

"But thinking about it carefully, what she said isn't entirely without reason... For example, things about being haunted by nightmarish ghosts when blowing out birthday candles... If such things really came from us, it would indeed seem unprofessional and imprecise."

"Heh, that's quite bizarre... But thank you for sharing." Aventurine's lips curved slightly into a faint smile, then he turned and left.

His body felt even weaker... Aventurine gritted his teeth, forcing himself to rally his spirits, and scanned his surroundings once more. Aventurine's gaze settled on another person—a dark-skinned young man standing idly by. This young man wore a worn-out baseball cap, his eyes lost and empty, staring straight ahead as if unfocused.

"Hey, hello," Aventurine strode up to the young man, raising his right hand slightly and waving it, a faint smile on his lips as he greeted the young man.

Faced with this sudden greeting, the young man visibly froze, a look of astonishment appearing on his face, as if he couldn't believe someone would talk to him.

After a long while, he finally came to his senses as if waking from a dream, and stammered in response, "Uh... are you looking for me? Sorry, I thought you were looking at something behind me."

Aventurine smiled faintly, not minding the other person's discomposure. He pulled a handful of dazzling gemstones from his pocket, held them out to the young man, and said softly, "These gemstones are for you."

The young man's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief, and he asked in a trembling voice, "Is this... a gift for me? Are you sure there's no mistake?" As he spoke, he rubbed his eyes hard, afraid that everything he saw was just an illusion.

"A little bit of money, no big deal... Just take it," Aventurine said weakly.

"Is this real? I can actually receive a gift from someone? Not for my parents, but for me... Thank you, thank you so much!" The young man was extremely agitated, even stammering as he spoke.

Aventurine frowned, enduring the pain while trying to maintain a gentle smile, then he opened his mouth and asked, "Friend, don't get excited. I just want to ask you something."

Hearing this, the excitement on the young man's face instantly vanished without a trace, replaced by deep dejection. He sighed weakly, "...Ah, I knew it. What do you want to know? My father, or my mother?"

"Uh... neither," he shook his head. "I just wanted to ask you, have you ever heard of 'death' in dreams?"

The young man sighed helplessly and said, "Oh, you sound exactly like my father... He told me that danger is everywhere, and one shouldn't let their guard down even in dreams."

"But he's just a Zhixie after all; his way of entering dreams is completely different from us organic life forms. If I truly encountered danger, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to protect me fully in the dream... And when it comes to protecting myself, I'm far inferior to him... Haha, how utterly ridiculous, so ironic, so ironic..."

Aventurine couldn't help but shake his head repeatedly: "...Friend, be more optimistic. Gold always shines."

"Seele: He seems to get along with everyone."

"March 7th: To be precise, who wouldn't like a handsome blonde guy who gives you money upon meeting you?"

"Aventurine: Ha, handsome blonde guy, I like that title."

At this moment, Aventurine in the screen was leaning against the corner of the wall. After continuously asking multiple people, his body was reaching its limit. He couldn't help but stop and carefully ponder the information he had just gathered.

(The surlada's demons, dangers in dreams, terrifying nightmare ghosts... As expected, in this beautiful dream promised by the Family, "death" is definitely a popular topic for everyone to discuss. Although rumors are rampant, are there any clues within them that could help me...? )

(Unknowingly, the bag is almost empty. I hope the last lucky one can bring me a surprise.)

"Ugh..." Another sharp pain seemed to strike, and Aventurine half-knelt on the ground, clutching his head in agony.

"March 7th: Do you have to go through all this to join the Family? He looks like he's being tortured."

"Sunday: These are just punishments for those who didn't speak the truth during the harmony's Holy Baptism."

"March 7th: Hmph... Aventurine is right, this is clearly an extrajudicial punishment."

Just as Aventurine was clutching his head in pain, a Pipi slowly walked up to him, a look of undisguised mockery on their face, and said, "Do you remember what I told you before? You Tzigania people, you only deserve to stay quietly under that manhole cover!"

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