C118 – Brother Fei’s Stage

[Your friend truly has a unique personality. It’s a shame I didn’t manage to make him my thrall last time.]

Just as Mu Sichen finally let out a sigh of relief, Shen Jiyue’s handwriting appeared before his eyes again.

Instinctively, he reached up toward his left eye.

[Don’t think that just because this is a dream, you can gouge out your eye without consequences. True, you can use dream power to heal the injury—but I reside within the “Eye of Truth.” If you dig me out, you’ll lose the Eye’s power as well.]

Mu Sichen had no intention of gouging out his eye. He valued his life far too much for that. Unless it was to save himself or protect someone important, he would never harm his own body.

In other words—Shen Jiyue wasn’t worth it.

He simply found those lines of writing extremely annoying and decided to deactivate the Eye of Truth, planning to only use it when necessary.

The “Eye of Truth” could indeed help him trace causal chains and locate the Dreamcatcher, but it consumed an enormous amount of mental energy. The visions it showed were maddening, and having to endure Shen Jiyue’s constant interruptions on top of that was unbearable. It was far better to turn it off.

As expected, once he closed the Eye, the sea of blood and writhing flesh faded away, replaced by blue skies and white clouds. Even though he knew it was all an illusion, simply not seeing it lightened his mood immensely.

Mu Sichen smiled faintly and glanced toward Chi Lian and Ji Xian’an’s shoulders.

With the Eye of Truth shut, the only things he could still see were the Dream Beasts.

Chi Lian’s Dream Beast wore her face—Mu Sichen’s “Hope-bound followers” all cherished themselves deeply, which pleased him.

After all, in this world, only those who love themselves could resist the gods’ doctrine of “divinity above all.” One had to first maintain the sense of self to withstand corruption.

Of the four of them, only Ji Xian’an’s Dream Beast didn’t share his appearance.

That creature’s face resembled a statue’s—each feature sculpted according to the golden ratio. The slightly drooping eyelids gave it an air of saintly sorrow, exuding an artificial, man-made divinity.

It looked like the kind of god humanity imagined into existence.

Mu Sichen couldn’t understand why Ji Xian’an’s Dream Beast looked like that.

Even if Ji Xian’an didn’t love herself, the Dream Beast should have borne Qin Zu’s face, not that of a stranger. Perhaps it was a lover Ji Xian’an had left behind in Xiangping Town?

There was a faint resemblance between the creature’s eyebrows and Qin Zu’s, but the difference was still vast—they were clearly not the same person.

Maybe the people of Xiangping Town had simply idolized Qin Zu so much that they’d even gotten plastic surgery to look like him.

At least, thanks to He Fei, they had temporarily survived the Dream Beast crisis.

Casting a sidelong glance at the half-awake, drowsy creature on his shoulder, Mu Sichen said to He Fei,

“After being apart for so long, aren’t you going to ask your two sisters how they’ve been doing?”

As he spoke, the soft purple tentacle on his shoulder twitched, poking his cheek—almost as if it were checking whether he was truly awake.

Chi Lian glanced at Mu Sichen’s Dream Beast, her facial muscles twitching slightly. She couldn’t comprehend how anyone could like something that looked like a lump of slimy purple jelly. Her own tastes leaned more toward abs and muscle, after all.

Mu Sichen felt wronged. He liked his cute blue, bouncy, mini-octopus, it was adorable enough to put any collectible figure to shame. But when it manifested as a Dream Beast, it had downgraded itself—turned purple, no less. He really didn’t understand why the butterfly was so obsessed with that color.

He considered explaining himself to Chi Lian someday—but then recalled the disgusted look on her face when she saw his plush octopus toy.

With a sigh, he decided to just forget it.

 

In this world ruled by corruption, he was the only one who could appreciate how cute the little octopus was.

Prompted by Mu Sichen, He Fei finally said, “Oh, right. You guys don’t know—today we ran into all sorts of messy situations. This mur-der case, that mu-rder case… it was really troublesome. But it’s all okay now. Our hard work during the day wasn’t in vain. We’ve entered the Dreamland now, and here, we can escape all our worries.”

Mu Sichen: “…”

He Fei was truly someone who got corrupted far too easily. The moment Mu Sichen took his eyes off him, He Fei had already engraved the ideology of “Dreamland” deep into his mind. If someone didn’t smash open his skull with a pickaxe to knock some sense into him, he probably wouldn’t ever wake up again.

But it was also precisely because He Fei was corrupted that the three of them who remained clear-headed were able to stay safe.

Both Ji Xian’an and Chi Lian were torn between laughter and tears at He Fei’s words—especially Ji Xian’an. She never would have imagined that one day she would have to rely on a corrupted teammate for protection.

If they were in Xiangping Town, they would’ve eliminated a companion who’d fallen into depravity without hesitation, wouldn’t they?

Thinking of Xiangping Town, Ji Xian’an couldn’t help feeling a bit wistful.

This was the second time she’d seen Mu Sichen break into a “Pillar,” and she had to admit—Mu Sichen’s methods of dealing with Pillars were far more flexible.

The people of Xiangping Town were extremely rational. That rationality made them unstoppable in their monster-infested town—but in Mengdie Town, it made them fail repeatedly.

In a place where corruption seeped constantly into the mind, only someone like Mu Sichen—who dared to immerse himself directly in the pollution—could dismantle a Pillar from the inside.

Before she even realized it, Ji Xian’an had shifted from believing wholeheartedly in Qin Zu to gradually accepting Mu Sichen.

While Ji Xian’an was lost in thought, He Fei had already launched into a long-winded recounting of everything that happened during the day.

As he talked, Mu Sichen reminded him, “You won’t remember all these people. Write them down.”

So He Fei conjured a notebook and pen, narrating as he wrote. He recorded the friendly guy from 4014 who gave him poisoned cola, the man and woman fighting outside his door, the leg in the swimming pool, the female killer and her best friend, the deceased from 7015, the beautiful angel from 3016, and even Shen Jiyue, plus all the people who had hit him with basketballs, kitchen knives, flowerpots, and the community security guards.

Once he confirmed nothing was missing, He Fei nodded. “We met way too many people today. No way I could remember without writing them down. What about you guys? Do you need paper too?”

Chi Lian and Ji Xian’an didn’t know why Mu Sichen wanted them to write down everyone they’d interacted with, but they trusted his judgment. So, while recalling their day chronologically, they wrote down each person they met:

The security chief at the beginning; the old lady from 1-1-101; Ms. Zhao from 3-4-802 and cross-dressing Xiao Li; the muscular corpse in the freezer from 5-5-302; the middle-aged female witness from 5-5-301; the middle-aged male witness from 3-4-801; the violent man from 6-2-702 who beat Xiao Li; and then those they encountered later—4-4-702, 1-1-201, 2-5-601, and so on.

By the time Chi Lian finished writing, she had listed twenty people.

The Dream Beasts resting on the three of their shoulders awoke. Their eyes spun slowly, looking at the paper, then at the three of them—their puppet-like gazes filled with suspicion and scrutiny.

Ji Xian’an’s expression didn’t change. Mu Sichen simply pretended he was blind. But Chi Lian’s heart was pounding wildly, cold sweat pouring down her back—she looked like she was on the verge of losing control.

Her Dream Beast had her face but possessed eight-pack abs, two muscular arms, and six hairy spider legs.

At this moment, the two muscular arms wrapped tightly around Chi Lian’s torso. That stiff, expressionless face identical to hers leaned toward her ear and spoke in a low, sultry male voice.

—

“Why are you sweating? Is my hug too tight?”

“Why is your heart beating so fast? Are you that happy to be with me?”

“I have the abs you like the most—why won’t you turn around and look at me?”

“Your neck is so thin… I could snap it with just one squeeze.”

Those hands gently rested on Chi Lian’s neck, the fingertips pressing against her carotid artery. Countless tiny barbs sprouted from its fingers, pricking her skin with a faint sting.

Chi Lian was close to rolling her eyes back in panic.

Mu Sichen could tell this couldn’t continue. He hadn’t even finished pulling everyone in the causal chain into the dream yet, and Chi Lian’s dream was about to be taken.

“Ahhhhhhhh!!!!” Chi Lian’s Dream Beast let out a sharp scream. Excited, it whispered into her ear, “You’re awake, right? You know this is a dream, don’t you?”

The Dream Beast had always spoken in a gentle, low male voice. But the sudden shriek made Chi Lian’s sanity drop like a rock. She couldn’t take it anymore—she was seconds away from screaming and swinging her scissors wildly behind her.

But she couldn’t attack the Dream Beast. She couldn’t show any sign that she had noticed it.

The Dream Beast used every possible method to force humans to look directly at it and break through their mental defenses.

Once someone interacted with a Dream Beast—whether resisting, touching it, fearing it, or even making eye contact—their dream would be taken.

Seeing Chi Lian’s deteriorating state, Mu Sichen stopped holding back. At the exact moment the Dream Beast screamed, he spoke:

“Yang Yunyun—Chi Lian, do you want to see Yang Yunyun?”

In an instant, Chi Lian’s senses were overwhelmed by the name Yang Yunyun. All the murmuring from the Dream Beast behind her was nothing compared to the weight of those three syllables.

Mu Sichen placed a hand on He Fei’s shoulder and smiled. “This is the Dreamland. Any wish can be granted. You can meet Yang Yunyun—talk to her, say goodbye. Isn’t that right, Brother Fei?”

Mu Sichen looked at He Fei, the smile never reaching his eyes, a faint plea hidden in them.

He prayed He Fei would be reliable this time—that he could conjure a Yang Yunyun convincing enough for Chi Lian to willingly sink into her dream.

“Yang Yunyun…” He Fei, who had been jotting down names, paused. Remembering their battle in the real world, he said sincerely, “Yes… Big Sister Chi and Yunyun really haven’t had a proper farewell.”

With He Fei’s words, someone appeared behind Chi Lian. Slender arms passed through the Dream Beast’s body and gently wrapped around her.

“Xiao Lian… I’m sorry, for scaring you at the very end,” “Yang Yunyun” whispered against her ear.

The Dream Beast was still shrieking, threatening her, its horrifying voice battering her mind, spewing curses meant to shatter her. But Chi Lian no longer cared.

Someone was holding her gently.

Even though the “Yang Yunyun” behind her was just a fake conjured by He Fei’s imagination—even though her words were the most touching things He Fei’s limited imagination could produce—Chi Lian still felt protected.

She leaned her head against “Yang Yunyun’s” arm and whispered, “You didn’t scare me. My body felt awful back then. I couldn’t even get up to pour myself a glass of water. I’m grateful you came to take care of me.”

To care for her, Yang Yunyun had abandoned the option of continuing to live through a corpse, choosing instead to stay with Chi Lian in her final moments.

She hadn’t left her side for even a second.

There was something Chi Lian had never said—if not for Yang Yunyun being there, at that time, she truly felt like the world had abandoned her.

A cold corpse had warmed her as she struggled through a harsh, alien world.

There were feelings that, even when one knew they were false, one was still willing to sink into—never wanting to break the illusion.

Chi Lian leaned peacefully into “Yang Yunyun’s” embrace. The cold sweat faded. Her heartbeat steadied.

The Dream Beast roared for a while, but seeing Chi Lian fully immersed in the moment, it finally confirmed that she had no idea she was dreaming.

It quieted down, resting on her shoulder again, its eyes half-closed.

Mu Sichen let out a small breath of relief. He gripped He Fei’s shoulder tightly and praised him: “Brother Fei, you’re truly a tough guy with a tender heart!”

He had genuinely feared that He Fei might imagine a zombie Yang Yunyun dragging along her severed arm to meet Chi Lian—that would’ve spelled absolute disaster.

Who would’ve thought He Fei would produce such a gentle, touching reunion?

“Heh… heh…” He Fei chuckled awkwardly, blushing as if embarrassed.

He Fei was someone who simply couldn’t handle sincere praise.

Quickly, he jabbed at the paper filled with names, changing the subject: “We met so many people today. So many grudges and connections now.”

“Exactly,” Mu Sichen said. “Since we’re in the Dreamland, why not call everyone over for a drink—let bygones be bygones?”

“Great idea!” He Fei clapped his hands.

Mu Sichen looked at him, genuinely relieved. “We’re counting on you.”

 

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TN:

FINALLYYYY, I’M SO SORRY FOR MY ABSENCE, EXAMS ARE KILLING ME RIGHT NOW, hopefully updates will begin for all the novels