C120 – The Cross Drill

Shen Jiyue resided within Mu Sichen’s left eye; whatever Mu Sichen saw, He could see as well.

The moment He noticed that new moon, Shen Jiyue became visibly excited.

He immediately told Mu Sichen what needed to be done.

He said that the reason the butterfly was able to control the Dreamcatcher Web was because this enormous spider was once a Favored One—a Dreamcatcher Retainer.

This Dreamcatcher Retainer was originally human, perhaps someone much like He Fei—deeply valued by a god-level monster. Because he was trusted so highly, he was given a responsibility of this magnitude.

The Dreamcatcher Web was implanted into the Retainer’s brain, constantly reshaping his consciousness. Little by little, the Dreamcatcher Retainer fused with the Web itself, transforming into the perfect form to wield it.

But the Dreamcatcher Web could only help the butterfly construct a dream-realm—

it could not maintain people’s conscious minds.

Because the butterfly could only dominate dreams—

that was, the subconscious—

it couldn’t control people’s outward awareness.

To keep the townspeople of Dream-Butterfly Town from realizing they were inside a dream, it required the New Moon to lull everyone’s consciousness into slumber.

At the same time, it used the Dreamcatcher Web and the New Moon together to construct this Pillar.

This ensured that anyone who violated the town’s rules would become food for the butterfly, while the domain itself protected both the Dreamcatcher Web and the New Moon.

Without Shen Jiyue’s power, other god-level monsters couldn’t control the New Moon;

but Shen Jiyue Himself couldn’t enter the dream-realm, and even if He forced His way in, He wouldn’t have enough strength as a mere avatar to retrieve the New Moon from within the Dreamcatcher Web.

With these two god-tier artifacts, the butterfly’s Mengdie Town was impregnable—flawless.

Shen Jiyue’s suggestion was this:

Mu Sichen should pretend to be drunk, then fall from the sky into the sea of blood below.

At that moment, Mu Sichen would use Chi Lian’s cut-and-paste ability to cut the New Moon free from the Dreamcatcher Web.

Chi Lian’s power could separate the Web from the New Moon, but not control the New Moon.

In other words, she could cut, but not paste.

Once the New Moon appeared, Shen Jiyue would be able to use its power to fully manifest.

He would then leave Mu Sichen’s eye, use the New Moon’s strength to lift the burden of “guilt” from everyone, and at that moment the chains of causality would naturally break.

Meanwhile, because the spider was also a Retainer—and every Retainer had a spirit—Shen Jiyue could strike its spirit when severing the chains.

That blow would dull the spider’s mind, greatly weakening the Dreambeasts.

With their power diminished, they would no longer be able to seize people’s dreams so easily.

Mu Sichen could then attack the spider.

The Pillar lay beneath the spider’s body; everything was submerged beneath the sea.

Once the spider died, both the Dreamcatcher Web and the Pillar would belong to Mu Sichen.

Shen Jiyue explained that the only danger before obtaining the New Moon was this:

Mu Sichen couldn’t let any Dreambeast realize that he was awake.

His acting had to be perfect—he couldn’t reveal a single crack before using the crossaxe.

Mu Sichen studied the plan and disliked it immediately.

From the moment the New Moon was taken, the success of everything afterward depended entirely on Shen Jiyue.

Shen Jiyue wasn’t restricted by Dreambeasts.

If He refused to strike the spider’s spirit, refused to break the causal chains, and instead escaped with the New Moon alone—everyone here would die.

Of course, Shen Jiyue—this moon-spirit—claimed that He couldn’t leave the dream-realm on His own.

He needed Mu Sichen to destroy this domain before He could return to His own town.

So even if He claimed the New Moon, He would still help Mu Sichen.

Mu Sichen didn’t believe a single word He said.

Half-squinting, Mu Sichen accompanied He Fei in drinking, no longer looking down at the enormous web beneath their feet.

“System, do you know what abilities the ‘New Moon’ has?” Mu Sichen asked inwardly as he drank. “Don’t hide it from me. You’ve dealt with the butterfly before—I trust that you know.”

Shen Jiyue was merely residing in his left eye; He didn’t occupy Mu Sichen’s mind.

Shen Jiyue couldn’t hear his conversations with the system.

[The system was just about to remind the player: the ‘New Moon’ possesses the property of being ‘right before one’s eyes yet unnoticed.’ Once the ‘One-Eyed Moon’ obtains the New Moon, He will be able to turn invisible within a group dream.]

Mu Sichen thought silently:

“He doesn’t have a dream of His own; He’s only entering the group dream by relying on my dream. Once He obtains the New Moon, He can ignore whether we live or die and hide here.”

“And without the New Moon suppressing the Dreamcatcher Retainer, He can simply command the Dreambeasts to devour my dream.”

 

[The player is a false god; you will not be devoured by the Dreambeasts that quickly. You can use 5% of your Trust Value to create a dream-defense barrier. It can hold for five seconds.]

“Five percent for only five seconds?” Mu Sichen felt the pain just hearing it.

[Five seconds is enough to accomplish many things. Be grateful that the Dreamcatcher Web is only a Heavenly star-grade item—though divine, it has insufficient energy. Otherwise, you wouldn’t last even five seconds.]

[If the ‘Dreamweaver’ used the Dreamcatcher Web directly, 5% Trust Value would only sustain you for 0.05 seconds.]

Mu Sichen asked, “Can’t I use more Trust Value to buy more time?”

[With the player’s current level, that is the maximum you can allocate to defense. Besides, you still need Trust Value to seize the Dreamcatcher Web and the Pillar. According to system estimates:
—Seizing the Dreamcatcher Web or the New Moon requires about 40% Trust Value each.
—Seizing the Pillar requires at least 10%.
The player must reserve enough Trust Value.]

Those five seconds would barely be enough time to pray to Shen Jiyue

—to ask to become His Retainer in exchange for His help.

Yes, Shen Jiyue never intended to let Mu Sichen die.

If Mu Sichen died, the domain would remain intact. Even if Shen Jiyue obtained the New Moon, He still wouldn’t be able to leave the Repentance Zone.

He would simply hide using the “unnoticed yet present” property to avoid the morning’s sacrifice, then wander the neighborhood.

Once the butterfly returned, this avatar of His would disappear all the same, and the New Moon would be reclaimed by the butterfly—everything would have been for nothing.

What Shen Jiyue wanted was for Mu Sichen—forced by the need to save his teammates—to beg Him for help.

Once Mu Sichen was polluted by Him and became His Retainer, Shen Jiyue could control him and smoothly obtain Hope Town and the dream-realm.

Shen Jiyue was playing this game with only a weak avatar; He could afford to gamble.

If He won, He gained a Retainer and the New Moon.

If He lost, He merely discarded a feeble avatar—an insignificant loss.

Shen Jiyue could afford to gamble.

Mu Sichen could not.

 

[The player must make a decision quickly. There is one hour left before this group dream ends.]

The system urged Mu Sichen.

Shen Jiyue also continued to harass him nonstop.

[Sichen, what are you hesitating for? Isn’t this the only way?]

[Can’t you gamble on trusting me just once? Your distrust… it hurts my feelings.]

[You cannot hold both the New Moon and the Dreamcatcher Web, and I cannot rely on the New Moon alone to escape this domain. You and I need each other—we both gain. What is there left to hesitate about?]

 

Yes—if he had 100% Trust Value, he could use 5% to buy five seconds of defense, and within those five seconds, use 80% to take both the Dreamcatcher Web and the New Moon, then use the last 10% to seize the Pillar.

Then he would be able to use the New Moon to free everyone from the Causal Chain, protect everyone’s dreams using the Dreamcatcher Web, and also take control of this entire domain.

But he didn’t have enough Trust Value, and he had to choose.

“System, how much Trust Value do I have now?” Mu Sichen asked.

[65%. Hope Dependent No. 004 used the harvester to help the townspeople with their harvest and has completed the first phase of the job. Gaining the townspeople’s trust has earned the player an additional 15% Trust Value within a short time. With time, the player’s Trust Value will definitely reach 100%.]

He was just a bit short—just a little—and he would have been able to do everything.

Mu Sichen tightened his grip on the wine glass, unsure what to do.

“System, if I seize the Pillar first, can I imprison Shen Jiyue?” Mu Sichen asked.

[You can imprison Him, but you will not be able to locate His position. And once the player attempts to return to your body, you must open the domain passage, at which point the One-Eyed Moon can escape through that gap.]

[Without the New Moon, even if you seize the domain, the player, his teammates, and all residents inside the Pillar will die to the Causal Chain.]

[With the player’s power, you can delay death for at most two to three days.]

“If I still have three days, couldn’t I ignore the New Moon for now, attack the Dreamcatcher Retainer first, take the Dreamcatcher Web and the Pillar, then use the next three days to accumulate enough Trust Value and then subdue the New Moon?” Mu Sichen proposed another potential route.

 

[The New Moon was sealed by the Dreamweaver personally, using Heavenly star-grade power to forcibly suppress it for His use. Once the Dreamcatcher Web belongs to the player, the player will not have enough power left to suppress the New Moon. Its seal will unravel on its own.]

[Is the player intending to let a Heavenly star-grade artifact rampage freely inside the domain?]

[Without a controller, the New Moon will cause all negative emotions to spiral out of control. At that point, the people bound by the Causal Chain won’t even have three days left—and that includes the player.]

“So once the New Moon is freed from the Dreamcatcher Web, someone must operate it, right? That person… that divine creature… must be Shen Jiyue. And once Shen Jiyue gets the New Moon, I won’t be able to locate Him anywhere in the domain, and the lives of everyone bound to the Causal Chain will be in His hands.”

[Correct.]

“This is my domain—why can’t I find Shen Jiyue’s whereabouts? If He were in Hope Town, I’d definitely be able to detect Him,” Mu Sichen asked irritably.

[But the player does not fully control Dream Butterfly Town or the dream space. The player must make a decision soon.]

The Dreamcatcher Web, the Dreambeasts, the Dreamcatcher Retainer…

The New Moon, Shen Jiyue…

The Causal Chain, the Pillar…

Three enormous crises laid before Mu Sichen, any one of which could destroy their team.

And Mu Sichen possessed only a crossaxe, 40 universal energy points, 65% Trust Value, the “undermine” skill, the “cut-and-paste” skill, and He Fei was dreaming—unable to be awakened, so the “banish” skill could not be used.

The resources he had could only deal with two of the three crises—perhaps even only one.

If he used his limited Trust Value to seize the New Moon, then the Dreamcatcher Retainer could freely command the Dreambeasts to harvest their dreams. Mu Sichen would only be able to resist for five seconds.

At the same time, without breaking the Dreamcatcher Web’s protection, he couldn’t seize the Pillar—and by tomorrow morning, they would all die inside the domain.

If he used his Trust Value to seize the Dreamcatcher Web and the Pillar, then the New Moon would either fall into Shen Jiyue’s hands—becoming a tool for Him to manipulate everyone’s minds—or else it would run rampant inside the Pillar without a controller, plunging everyone into overwhelming negative emotions, unable to escape, eventually leading to their self-destruction.

No matter which option he chose, it was a complete, utter loss.

It seemed that only by following Shen Jiyue’s instructions and becoming His Retainer would they gain the slightest chance of survival.

But what good ending could possibly come from following Shen Jiyue?

Mu Sichen downed a large glass of wine in one gulp and quietly made his decision.

It seemed that no matter what he did, this was the only path left.

[Your expression just calmed down. Have you made up your mind? What will you choose? I’m very curious.]

Mu Sichen sent a divine message to Chi Lian and Ji Xian’an:

“You two must remember—no matter what happens next, absolutely never let anyone realize you’re awake. Five seconds. You only need to pretend in front of the Dreambeast for five seconds.”

Chi Lian knew Mu Sichen was about to act. She obediently closed her eyes and leaned in “Yang Yunyun’s” arms, pretending to be asleep.

Ji Xian’an didn’t move a muscle—with her composure, pretending for five seconds was nothing.

As for He Fei, he didn’t need to pretend—he was too busy trying to force-feed booze into Brother Poison Cola’s mouth.

Mu Sichen stood up and told He Fei: “Keep drinking. I want to go bungee jumping in Dream Nation.”

“Wow! You’re actually gonna jump? That sounds awesome! Let me make him puke first, then I’ll go with you,” He Fei said, excited.

“Sure.” Mu Sichen smiled.

He folded away his wings, stood at the edge of the meaty cloud, and fell backward like a kite with its string cut, plunging straight into the sea of blood.

The Dreambeast snapped its eyes open. Its eight purple octopus legs clamped down hard on Mu Sichen’s neck, and in a sharp, screeching voice it roared:

“You can see me, can’t you? You know this is a dream, don’t you? What are you trying to do?!”

“I’ve wanted to say this for a long time,” Mu Sichen laughed. “Your octopus legs are hideous—pathetic imitation!”

The moment he spoke, the Dreambeast opened its mouth, spitting out countless webs aimed directly at Mu Sichen’s temples.

These webs would pierce through his skull, extract his dream, and deliver it to the Dreamcatcher Web.

But the webs stopped one centimeter from Mu Sichen’s temple.

He had used 5% Trust Value in exchange for five seconds of safety.

At the same time, Mu Sichen pulled out the cross-shaped axe and told it:

“Fifty percent Trust Value. In five seconds, I want to see you tear this dream apart!”

The crossaxe trembled with excitement. With 50% Trust Value poured into it, its energy surged, and it transformed into a tornado, whipping up massive waves in the sea of blood.

The Dreamcatcher Retainer sensed this terrifying power. Its eyes opened—one of which was the size of an entire football field—almost swallowing Mu Sichen whole.

Countless webs burst from the sea, wrapping tightly around Mu Sichen’s body.

Four seconds remained.

Mu Sichen didn’t move at all.

All he hoped was to draw every bit of the Retainer’s attention, forcing it to use all its strength on him—to keep it from hurting the people above.

Thankfully, the crossaxe’s destructive aura was overwhelming. The Retainer couldn’t care about anything else—it could only spin layers of dense webs to block the water tornado’s assault.

Three seconds!

The webs held back the towering waves. Even the crossaxe’s full-force strike failed to bring down the Dreamcatcher Retainer.

Two seconds!

The webs remained unshaken, while the giant waves were already receding.

However, once the waterspout dispersed, what appeared was not a fan blade at all—but a massive drill.

Stimulated by the Dreamcatcher Web, the cross-pickaxe transformed once again!

1 second!

The drill spun violently, its terrifying force instantly piercing through the webs, piercing through the enormous body of the Dreamcatcher Retainer, and even piercing through the butterfly pillar beneath the giant spider.

Fifty percent Trust Value—converted into a full 500,000 energy points—this overwhelming power allowed the cross-axe to pierce through the Retainer in a single strike, and pierce straight through the Pillar as well!

A gigantic self-totem, large enough to cover the entire sea of blood, rose into the air. Mu Sichen poured all his consciousness into the totem and whispered,

“Purify.”

Silver light shot through the blood-red dreamscape, cleansing every Dreambeast attached to everyone in one sweep.

The Dreambeasts vanished together with “Yang Yunyun.” Before disappearing, Chi Lian heard Yang Yunyun say:

“I’m leaving. Take good care of yourself.”

Chi Lian nodded lightly. “Okay… travel safely too.”

He Fei—still trying to force-feed alcohol—jerked violently, shaking his head. The banquet table, motor-airship, white clouds, blue sky… all had vanished. Only a gigantic self-totem remained, holding everyone up so they wouldn’t fall into the sea of blood below.

Now that he occupied this space, even after cleansing the butterfly pollution, Mu Sichen could clearly see, through the Pillar’s power, the causal chains wrapped around everyone.

These chains were slowly tightening around their throats—soon enough, they would choke the life out of them.

In the sea of blood, the New Moon was breaking free of the webbing bit by bit. Without the Dreamcatcher Retainer’s seal, the New Moon would only accelerate their deaths.

“Come out,” Mu Sichen whispered.

He released the restriction of the “Eye of Truth,” freeing Shen Jiyue’s avatar.

Shen Jiyue appeared in the air, smiling.

“I thought you’d rather sacrifice your teammates’ lives than give up seizing the New Moon. As expected, I was right about you—you’re a kind child.”

Then His smile faded. His voice turned cold, merciless:

“And a naïve fool who exposes his weaknesses.”

With that, He raised His hand. A pitch-black moon rose from the sea of blood, fell into His palm, and vanished.

Shen Jiyue hovered in the air, gazing down at everyone indifferently.

His earlier warmth—his smile, his chatter, his friendliness—vanished completely. Only now did He reveal the coldness of a god-level monster before Mu Sichen.

In His eyes, Mu Sichen and the others were nothing more than ants—beneath notice.

Shen Jiyue spoke slowly:

“Choose. Become My retainer, or die beneath the causal chains. Life or death—both are divine grace.”

 

“Keep dreaming,” Mu Sichen replied.

He placed his hand on the self-totem and told the system:

“Use the last 10% Trust Value. Construct a half-domain.”

Ten percent Trust Value equaled 100,000 energy points. Back in Tongzhi Town, Mu Sichen had used 100,000 energy to connect the sanatorium and the processing plant—the two Pillars—successfully building a half-domain.

Now, the Ideal Restaurant and the group dream—the two Pillars—merged perfectly again, becoming a dual-Pillar structure within a single domain.

Shen Jiyue tilted His head slightly, unsure of what Mu Sichen intended.

Mu Sichen smiled faintly and whispered:
“Expel.”

Hearing this, Shen Jiyue finally understood. For the first time, a hint of confusion appeared on His emotionless face. He frowned:

“Mu Sichen… are you seeking death?”

“If I’m going to die anyway, I might as well gamble!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Mu Sichen vanished from the sea of blood.

Not only him—the entire group dream, every single person within it—disappeared.

That “expel” did not expel Shen Jiyue at all.

It expelled Mu Sichen and everyone else.

Mu Sichen left the entire domain to Shen Jiyue.

Even if Shen Jiyue could hide His presence, as long as Mu Sichen didn’t open the passage to Mengdie Town, He would not be able to escape the domain.

 

Mu Sichen indeed could not locate Shen Jiyue or the New Moon, but he was able to temporarily trap Shen Jiyue inside the group dream’s Pillar.

During this time, Mu Sichen sealed the Pillar, preventing the power of the New Moon from leaking out of the domain for the moment.

He intended to use this window to seize control of the Gate of Dusk and Dawn, and completely take over Mengdie Town.

Once all three Pillars were in his hands and Mengdie Town fully belonged to him, he would be able to use the entire dream space to capture the New Moon, leaving it nowhere to hide.

[Three days. Under the restraint of the causal chains, you must seize the Gate of Dusk and Dawn, and then reaccumulate 40% Trust Value to subdue the New Moon and eliminate the avatar of the One-Eyed Moon. Does the player realize how difficult this path will be?]

“Something is only hard if it can’t be done,” Mu Sichen said. “Once it can be done, it’s not hard at all. And right now, this is my only option.”

He would not watch his companions die.

Nor would he become Shen Jiyue’s retainer.

Three days—this was the only path to survival that Mu Sichen had found.

 

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