C128 — Organizing Dreams

“These are… dreams?” Mu Sichen asked uncertainly.

[After scanning, it is confirmed that these are beautiful dreams and memories. Most of them are relics left behind by the deceased.]

Mu Sichen’s mood instantly worsened.

Back in the shared dream, the system had already told him that once the Dream-Hunting Beast discovered he was conscious, it would take away his dreams. Those who lost their dreams would gradually become walking corpses.

The collected dreams would flow into the Gate of Dawn.

After verification by the system, it seemed that most of the owners of these dreams were already dead.

[There are also dreams accumulated by the Gate. Although the Dream-Building Dependent said that the “Pillar” wouldn’t absorb complete souls and would only selectively take the white cubes, that is not actually the case. The white cubes are merely emotional energy.]

“The ‘Pillar’ doesn’t just need emotional energy—it also needs soul energy. That’s an unchanging law,” Mu Sichen sighed softly.

Only the “Pillar” of Xiangping Town didn’t need it, because Qin Zu used his own power to replace soul energy.

Hope Town didn’t need it either, because Mu Sichen had dispersed his godhood. Whenever each resident prayed for their “self,” they were also contributing a small amount of power to the domain.

The scattered little cubes couldn’t speak, and the Dream-Building Dependent lacked curiosity.

Even if the “Pillar” secretly extracted a person’s black cube from the path of transformation, the Dream-Building Dependent wouldn’t know.

He hadn’t lied—he was simply one of the deceived.

Mu Sichen looked at the Dream-Building Dependent kneeling on the ground, crying.

The Dependent had been weeping in despair, but now his forehead was pressed to the ground, completely motionless.

Mu Sichen could sense it—he was dead.

No one had harmed him. He had simply lost his mental support, lost the faith he had always believed in. His mind had been too deeply contaminated by the “Dream Weaver,” and he was unwilling to accept the “self” like the other small cubes.

Although his instincts wanted him to return to wholeness, his will stood above his instincts.

The disappearance of the “Pillar” meant he had failed the mission given to him by the “Dream Weaver,” and he would perish along with the dream totem.

This was probably the fate of dependents who depended on god-level monsters.

 

A gust of sea wind blew past, and the Dream-Building Dependent’s black-and-white cube body scattered with the wind, leaving no trace behind.

“I don’t want my dependents to end up like this,” Mu Sichen said to the system, thinking of Chi Lian, Cheng Xubo, He Fei, Ji Xian’an, and the others. “If one day I can’t go on, I hope ‘Hope’ can be passed down. If possible, even if I die, preserve my power as much as you can and transfer it to a designated successor.”

[Although this is a bit pessimistic, it’s not a bad thing to be prepared. Who would you like to choose?]

“Ji Xian’an… she’s a bit impulsive, not the sharpest. Cheng Xubo and Chi Lian are older and more experienced than me, but maybe because of that, they’ve lost some drive. I’m not particularly capable myself—I often just win because I’m young enough to take risks, and I get lucky. He Fei is about my age and also dares to gamble, but…”

After thinking for a while, Mu Sichen said heavily, “I’d better just try my best to stay alive.”

The sorrow brought by the Dream-Building Dependent’s death abruptly faded.

Mu Sichen refocused on the large white cube at the bottom of the sea and said uncertainly, “My ‘Eye of Truth’ was injured. Something with that kind of power must be a god-level monster, right? Could Qin Zu’s beautiful memories be at the bottom of the sea? I thought the butterfly had already devoured them.”

[The power of the “Dream Weaver” belongs to the ocean. If it tried to devour the power of the land, wouldn’t it be seeking death? It merely takes out these beautiful memories from time to time to look at them, using others’ memories to create pleasant dreams.]

“I see…” Mu Sichen gazed at the sea, lost in thought.

After thinking for a while, he said to Ji Xian’an, “I’ll send you and the others out. Once you’re outside, meet up with He Fei and Chi Lian, and help guide these people mentally. Although they’re incomplete, their ‘selves’ have already awakened. As long as they’re given enough ‘hope,’ their emotional energy will gradually restore itself.”

In fact, it would be even easier for them to recover than the people from the Ideal Restaurant.

That was because most of their negative emotions were intact. Emotions had two sides—envy could breed jealousy, and jealousy could also awaken envy.

As long as they had a sufficiently good environment, they would gradually become whole again.

After this ordeal, Ji Xian’an’s positive energy had become especially abundant. He Fei was a cheerful joker who could make people laugh, and although Chi Lian was ordinary, she had strong empathy. Mu Sichen believed the three of them could take good care of those who came out of the Gate.

“What about you?” Ji Xian’an asked.

“I still have some things to take care of. I’ll stay here,” Mu Sichen said, glancing at the sea.

After all, Qin Zus beautiful memories were items belonging to a god-level monster. Even if they were all good things, they couldn’t be shown to ordinary people.

Mu Sichen had only taken one glance and already injured his “Eye of Truth.” If others came into contact with them, they would either die instantly or turn into perfectly rational, emotionless machines.

He needed everyone to leave before he could deal with what was beneath the sea.

Only three hours had passed out of the three days. Lin Wei and the group of old experts wouldn’t be able to squeeze out much trust value even if they exhausted themselves. Mu Sichen would have to wait at least another fifty to sixty hours. He might as well use this time to deal with the hidden danger under the sea, and then open this domain.

“Alright,” Ji Xian’an nodded.

Then she examined herself and suddenly said, “It feels like the chains of causality on my body have been undone.”

Hearing that, Mu Sichen also focused inward. He realized that the chains of causality on his body had disappeared at some unknown point.

It was a very strange feeling—like his whole body had become lighter, as if a heavy stone pressing on his heart had vanished. His spirit felt incredibly strong, as though nothing could bind it anymore.

“Maybe it’s because this time felt like being reborn through fire?” Mu Sichen tried to describe the sensation. “Deconstructed and then reassembled—like dying once and coming back to life. All past grudges and karmic debts were completely dissolved in the process.”

“I feel the same way,” Ji Xian’an said with a relaxed smile. “When He Fei sees me like this later, he’ll definitely make a fuss, saying that a game this cool that can also detoxify is something he wants to try too.”

“You seem to understand him quite well,” Mu Sichen said.

Ji Xian’an replied, “After going through the group dream and being… what do you guys call it? Oh right—carried! After being carried by He Fei, how could I not understand him? It was my first time seeing that kind of way to break a deadlock. Following you all somehow makes danger feel interesting.”

Mu Sichen felt that after this experience, Ji Xian’an had become more willing to express her thoughts.

This was probably a way of showing her “self.”

After giving some instructions, Mu Sichen controlled his self-totem and said, “Expel.”

The Gate opened, and a group of cube people were thrown out.

Only then did Mu Sichen realize that, at some point, the Gate had changed from two sharply contrasting black-and-white doors into a Taiji diagram.

Black and white intertwined—within you there was me, within me there was you—perfectly reflecting the relationship between positive and negative emotions.

After everyone had left, Mu Sichen asked, “The power of the Gate and the Path of Transformation is quite interesting. Can I keep them?”

The rules here were indeed rather unethical, but if someone like Mu Sichen had the power to deconstruct and reconstruct, this place could become a space to resolve causal chains.

Moreover, if in the future he could trap enemies here, those without the power of “self” would be broken down and become much easier to deal with.

[The dream space already belongs to you. Once you retrieve the “New Moon,” open the domain, and send everyone back to their bodies, this space will be under your control.]

“But Mengdie Town also needs a ‘Pillar,’ right? If I take away the dream space, then it won’t have a ‘Pillar’ to protect it,” Mu Sichen said hesitantly.

[The number of “Pillars” does not depend on the size of the territory, but on the strength of the domain’s owner. The god-level monster of Tongzhi Town was at the Hidden Star level. Even if the “Eye of the Sky” devoured another Hidden Star of the sky and expanded its territory, it would still only need three “Pillars.” Any more, and it wouldn’t have the power to control them.]

[You’ve only just reached level 50. You have the level, but not the strength of a Hidden Star. Your town also has very few residents. If you create six “Pillars,” are you trying to exhaust yourself to death?]

“So I can incorporate Mengdie Town into Hope Town’s domain, and still only need the original three ‘Pillars’?” Mu Sichen asked.

[Yes. So you can freely control the dream space.]

“But…” Mu Sichen still felt it was difficult. “Are Mengdie Town and Hope Town geographically adjacent?”

[They are not.]

“Then what should I do?” Mu Sichen was stumped. “Can I ‘dig a corner’ and move a town over? Can you do that?”

The last question was directed at the “Moon-Shattering, Sprout-Chopping, Sea Splitting Crossaxe,” which was still basking in the glory of its earlier performance.

That’s right—ever since Mu Sichen seized the Gate, the “Dream-Tearing” part of the crossaxe title had disappeared. It seemed to know that the “Dream Weaver” was about to become someone else, and that dream power would now be controlled by Mu Sichen. Since it now belonged to him, there was no need to “tear” it anymore.

But it had already set its sights on the yet-to-be-born deep sea, quickly adding a new title: “Sea-Splitting.”

Mu Sichen really wanted to know—if one day they faced off against “Fate,” what would the crossaxe be called then?

“Fate-Smashing”? “Number-Crunching”?

The name of his crossaxe was getting worse and worse.

The crossaxe, as if sensing his inner complaints, suddenly flew up and started hammering wildly at Mu Sichen’s head. Only after venting its frustration did it stop, huff angrily, and return to the weapon slot.

Mu Sichen understood. The crossaxe didn’t have the ability to dig an entire town over, and in embarrassment, it had lashed out at him.

Making two towns adjacent really was quite difficult.

[What exactly is the player worried about? Isn’t this the power of the earth? The “Guardian of Humanity” also has the title “Yu Gong.” Haven’t you been thinking about the beautiful memories at the bottom of the sea? Use those memories to exchange with the earth and have it change the geographical position of Mengdie Town, incorporating it into Hope Town’s territory.]

[Xiangping Town occupies nearly half of the world’s land area. Do you think its people expanded by conquering only nearby towns? Of course not. All the towns taken by Xiangping Town were gathered together by the “Guardian of Humanity.”]

“So there’s actually a way like this.” Mu Sichen tried his best to ignore the system’s comment about him “constantly thinking about it,” and responded with a straight face.

The system claimed it had no emotions and only acted according to rules, but Mu Sichen increasingly felt that lately, it was becoming a bit like the crossaxe —slowly starting to feel “alive.”

He steadied his emotions, quickly putting aside the system’s remark about him “constantly thinking about it,” then leapt off the self-totem and jumped into the sea.

The seawater wasn’t cold—it was pleasantly warm.

And since this was a sea within a dream, Mu Sichen could breathe freely like a fish. He couldn’t even feel the pressure of the water.

He swam easily to the seabed and placed his hand on a small cube about five centimeters long.

The moment his palm touched the cube, an image appeared in his mind—a deep blue fish tail lazily basking on the beach, occasionally flipping over.

Mu Sichen quickly pulled his hand back, a little startled. “What is that?”

[There should be writing on it. The player can use the power of the sea to flip the cube without directly touching it.]

Mu Sichen gently waved his hand. A current lifted the cube and flipped it over. On it were the words: “Deep Sea Town, Fang Kuo.”

“So it’s the dream of someone from Deep Sea Town,” Mu Sichen realized. “I get it now. Given the butterfly’s nature, the ‘Pillar’ would prioritize devouring the souls of outsiders—foreign devotees. Only after exhausting them would it begin consuming the souls of locals the butterfly deemed ‘morally flawed.’”

Sure enough, people from Deep Sea Town often came to Mengdie Town to destroy the “Pillar.” With a casual flip, Mu Sichen had already found one of them.

He didn’t know why this person named Fang Kuo dreamed of a fish tail—but it was quite beautiful.

[The player can store these dreams in the inventory. In the future, if you want to go to a certain town, you can take one out and look at it to obtain information about that place. Although it’s a beautified version from a dream, it still has reference value.]

As Mu Sichen leveled up, his inventory—once limited to ten slots—had expanded to 500.

There were more than five hundred dreams here, but he could stack dreams from the same town together. Each slot could hold up to 99 identical items, so he could fit all the dreams inside.

Curious, Mu Sichen touched Fang Kuo’s dream again. This time, he saw a figure with long blue hair and a fish tail, leaping high into the sunlight before diving gracefully into the deep blue sea like a fish.

“Deep Sea Town… could it be underwater?” Mu Sichen exclaimed.

The mermaid was stunning—perfect blue tail, smooth physique, long blue hair that seemed to merge with the ocean, and a handsome face as if the creator had poured all their favor into sculpting him with exquisite care.

[It has both underwater and coastal areas.]

It seemed Deep Sea Town was completely different from Tongzhi Town and Mengdie Town—yet another unique place.

Mu Sichen lifted the cubes one by one, sorting them.

Among these dreams, the most numerous came from Deep Sea Town and Xiangping Town.

Looking at the white cubes, Mu Sichen thought of the people of Xiangping Town, his feelings growing complicated.

Each dream represented a life from Xiangping Town that had already passed.

Besides Xiangping, Deep Sea, and Mengdie Town, he also saw a few other town names, mostly related to the ocean. There were only a handful of cubes from those places—likely because after sending people once and finding Mengdie Town too difficult to conquer, their god-level monsters had given up trying.

There were also people lured here by devotees sent from Mengdie Town to other towns. Mu Sichen even spotted a few dreams from Chi Mei Town among them.

Besides that, there was one town with an especially large number—it is Origin Town.

“Will Origin Town also send people to other towns?” Mu Sichen asked.

[Yes. The earliest ‘Origin’ town was also taken by force.]

Mu Sichen thought of Zhuo Huaichu, who had originally been a player like him, and couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional. He carefully put away the dream of Origin Town.

After sorting everything, there were still quite a few people left without town names.

At first, Mu Sichen didn’t know who they were, but when he saw two names, he understood.

Liu Haobo, Su Wenyin, Manager Liu and Sister Su from He Fei’s company.

These were all lives that the Butterfly had taken by extending its hand into the real world.

“Can I take them back with me?” Mu Sichen asked.

[Players can go to the Bi An Bar and release these dreams. But their owners have already passed away, so the dreams will dissipate in the real world.]

“At least that means they’re going home,” Mu Sichen said.

He solemnly stored these dreams in his inventory.

This place could be called the Butterfly’s treasure trove, right? It collected these beautiful dreams under the sea, coming to savor them whenever it had time, living off the happiness of others.

Mu Sichen cleared away all the small cubes, but didn’t find Qin Zu’s.

But it had to be there—because his eyes had hurt, and he had seen it.

Recalling what he had seen earlier with the “Eye of Truth,” Mu Sichen remembered that his eyes seemed to sting when he looked at the seabed sand.

Qin Zu possessed the power of the earth. Even in the sea, His beautiful memories would still be connected to the ground—they were probably buried in the sand.

Following the position he had seen before, Mu Sichen found a similar spot and started digging.

After just a few digs, a patch of white was revealed.

Excited, Mu Sichen kept digging, but soon realized something was off—Qin Zu’s beautiful memory seemed… a bit too large.

[After all, it is the memory of a god-level monster. Even if the information isn’t much, the energy is extremely vast.]

The crossaxe refused to come out and work, so Mu Sichen had to use half of a mechanical tentacle to dig. Gradually, he unearthed a white cube over a hundred meters long—about the size of a sports field.

And that was only the surface—who knew how deep it went.

Mu Sichen was stunned. How was he supposed to take this out?

The system promptly reminded him: [The player has advanced to level 50. The inventory can now hold Star-tier items such as the Dreamcatcher and Shuo Yue. However, this beautiful memory is of a higher level than Star-tier and cannot be stored in the inventory. The player must find another way to retrieve it.]

“How am I supposed to take it?” Mu Sichen was dumbfounded. “Should I call Qin Zu to come get it himself?”

The system didn’t respond, but Mu Sichen felt it was probably too lazy to scold him.

Qin Zu was a god-level monster. For Him to descend upon another town, a follower’s life had to be sacrificed—and if He appeared in Mengdie Town, it would be devastating.

It seemed the only option was to merge this massive piece of beautiful memory into his own dream, then return it to Qin Zu through their connection.

But just looking at it made his eyes hurt—could he really contain such a memory? Mu Sichen felt troubled.

He could only try bending down and lightly touching a small corner.

In that instant, he saw a person’s chest. He felt as though he were sleeping in someone’s warm embrace, occasionally rolling over comfortably.

Startled, Mu Sichen immediately pulled his hand back.

What had he just seen? Qin Zu leaning against a man’s chest, sleeping? What was going on?

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