Chapter 232 Psychological Barrier

After everyone went back to their rooms, the atmosphere around Becky remained gloomy. Clearly, this usually lively mercenary girl wasn't as carefree as Lily. She loved to play, make noise, and research the strange things on Earth, but in the end, she was still thinking about her old home. Earth might be fresh and interesting, but for her, it was just a place to travel—a resort was always different from one's own little nest.

Perhaps normal transmigrators were all like this; the novelty of another world could only last for a while. After the initial enthusiasm faded, they would start to miss home. At least Becky was luckier than the average transmigrator: she wasn't completely unable to go home, but her future trips home were subject to strict restrictions.

Now Hao Ren just hoped that Becky could figure this out. As long as she did, there wasn't much to worry about.

The next morning, Hao Ren was, as usual, woken up by Gun with a slap of its tail. He opened his eyes and saw the black-and-white silly cat's furry, round face right in front of him. He couldn't help but think that the only one in the house who could maintain his peaceful routine was this憨货 (hān huò, silly thing). After getting dressed, he prepared cat food for Gun and made sure that Doudou was still sleeping soundly in the pot before going to the living room. Unsurprisingly, he saw Becky sitting in front of the coffee table, staring blankly. Although the TV was on, her eyes weren't focused on the program.

Normally, Becky was the earliest riser in the house besides Vivian. Now that she was troubled, it wasn't surprising that she was spacing out early in the morning.

Hao Ren went over and turned down the TV volume, sitting next to Becky. "How is it? Have you figured it out?"

"I guess..." Becky was a little listless, but at least she was better than last night. "I thought about it, and it's not like I can't go back at all, it's just that the time is shorter... According to you, in the future, I can only lie in the hibernation pod like you guys, and then stay in the Dream Realm for a certain amount of time before I have to come out?"

Hao Ren nodded. "The hibernation pod allows people to stay in the Dream Realm for a longer time, but considering the unstable connection and equipment pressure, it's recommended not to exceed fifteen days each time, with ten days being the best. Then you need to rest on Earth for a while to allow the Dream Realm connection to stabilize again. This rest period is uncertain, but usually doesn't exceed a month." This time, he told Becky everything about the hibernation pod, since he had already opened up, there was no need to hide anything.

"Most of the time I have to stay on Earth," Becky suddenly laughed. "Actually, it's nothing. When I was a mercenary, I wasn't running around all the time... It's just a little awkward psychologically, like I'm being restricted, well, slightly annoyed."

Hao Ren knew that feeling. It was basically having your itinerary forcibly arranged without your consent. Becky, a mercenary accustomed to running around, wasn't afraid of staying in a foreign land; she was just annoyed by the "forced arrangement," but that annoyance could be overcome. Seeing that Becky had figured it out herself, he breathed a sigh of relief. "It's okay, the difficulties are only temporary, we're also trying to find a solution..."

"I heard Wuyue say that you're going to find a ready-made 'rift' to send me back," Becky nodded. "I don't understand what that is, but it sounds like it's not something you can find everywhere... So, let's just leave it to fate. It's better if you find it, it's okay if you don't."

Hao Ren could tell that Becky was still not in a good mood, but after figuring things out, she should be able to adjust quickly. He stopped worrying about it and chatted with her about everyday things, the life on Earth and the customs of the Dream Realm. Soon, everyone else got up, and the big house slowly became lively. Vivian, who had flown out early to the market, also returned, carrying a large basket of fresh vegetables and two live fish. As soon as she entered the door, she nervously looked around. "Doudou isn't awake yet, is she? Doudou isn't awake yet, is she? I bought fish today..."

Hao Ren turned his head and saw the live fish in Vivian's vegetable basket, and he couldn't help but laugh. He lowered his voice and replied, "Not awake yet, hurry up and deal with it. By the way, remember to cut it into pieces."

Becky quickly got up to help, also in a low voice: "I'll help, it'll be faster with two people."

Izhaks scratched his bald head and sighed beside him, "Sigh... Is it necessary to go to such lengths for a meal..."

"Nonsense, if Doudou sees it, we can forget about having a peaceful morning!" Nangong Wuyue muttered resentfully while drooling in the direction of the kitchen, "It's really not easy... Eating fish is like being a thief, I haven't eaten fish in a month..."

Nangong Wuyue's words made Hao Ren feel sympathetic: ever since they adopted a little mermaid with a problematic worldview, "eating fish" had become a risky business. That little girl couldn't even tell her own mother apart, let alone distinguish between fish species. Basically, as long as she saw a species that looked a little like her, she would treat it as one of her own. She would treat a cooking show about making fish as a horror movie. What would happen if she saw her family eating fish? But Hao Ren and Nangong Wuyue both loved it...

Fortunately, after Vivian tried many times, she finally found a solution: Doudou doesn't recognize fish that are cut into pieces, just don't let her see the process...

As a result, eating fish at home was now like being a thief. Sometimes, when Vivian was cooking in the kitchen, Hao Ren had to keep an eye on Doudou, because that little girl liked to bounce around, and if no one was watching, who knew where she would run off to!

However, looking at Nangong Wuyue's expectant face, Hao Ren was still a little strange: "Speaking of which, you don't have a problem eating fish? Don't you feel like you're eating your own kind?"

Nangong Wuyue looked at Hao Ren like he was an idiot: "Haven't you heard of big fish eating small fish? How can a shark eating a hairtail be considered eating its own kind—and just because I can grow a fish tail doesn't mean I'm a fish, okay!"

Hao Ren suddenly blurted out an uncontrollable question: "By the way, there's something I've always wanted to ask you—after you turn into a fish tail... are there bones in your belly too?"

Nangong Wuyue was stunned, and after half a minute of愣 (lèng, being stunned), she glared at Hao Ren and shouted, "What's wrong with your brain! What are you thinking about all day long!"

Hao Ren retreated, and Nangong Wuyue muttered thoughtfully, "But your question is really to the point... Does my tail have bones after I transform..."

Izhaks finally couldn't stand the increasingly strange topic of the two逗比 (dòu bǐ, silly people): "What's the point of discussing this, you can't eat it anyway. Speaking of which, why isn't Lily up yet?"

Izhaks' reminder made Hao Ren realize why it was so quiet this morning: Lily, who always got up half an hour before mealtime, hadn't made a sound yet. He threw the TV remote aside and knocked on Lily's door. "Doggy, wake up and eat!"

Then he waited for a long time without hearing any movement in the room.

"Lily?" Hao Ren knocked on the door again. "Still not awake?"

This time there was finally a sound from the room, but it was Lily's exclamation: "Ah—"

Hao Ren was shocked and pushed the door open, only to exclaim as well: "Hey—you hairball, stop right there!"

"Landlord, don't mess around," a snowy white hairball on the bed shook and turned around, revealing Lily. "It's me..."

Hao Ren stared blankly at the husky: "What happened to you?"

Lily had a fluffy tail almost as big as her body dragging behind her. She was facing away from the door, and Hao Ren thought he saw a monster hairball at first glance. Now that Lily turned around, the feeling of a monster hairball disappeared, but the husky spirit looked like a fox spirit...

Lily was about to cry: "The bat's hair growth formula... It won't stop..."

After a lot of commotion, Lily was dragged to the living room. Vivian stared at her rampant tail for a long time before letting out a long sigh: "I should have stopped you yesterday... Didn't I tell you not to use too much?"

"What do I do now?" Lily asked, turning her head to look at her behind her with a sad face. "It finally stopped, and it's already so long."

"Actually, it looks pretty good," Hao Ren laughed嘿嘿 (hēi hēi, a chuckle). "Just think of yourself as a fox spirit."

Lily's tail looked really pretty now, fluffy like a fox's tail, but the person involved obviously didn't think so: "How can that be! It's a problem just walking!"

"Don't worry, don't worry, the effects of the medicine should be over soon," Vivian said, twisting the tip of Lily's tail. "It should stop after growing two or three more."

Lily was shocked: "There are two or three more batches?!"

Vivian thought for a while and suddenly turned to look at Hao Ren: "By the way, do you want a scarf?"

Hao Ren: "..."

(I have to go out today, so I'm updating in advance. I should be able to get back in time tonight.)