C90 — Wanting to See You

“How can I recover my spiritual strength as quickly as possible?” Mu Sichen asked.

He wanted to recover fast and take control of Dream Butterfly Town soon—he couldn’t let Qin Zhou stall for too long.

Mu Sichen already had a basic understanding of this world. He knew that even someone as powerful as Qin Zu would find it extremely difficult to navigate between two god-tier monsters in foreign territory. He didn’t know what method Qin Zu was using to exert his power in Deep Sea Town, but he knew for sure—Qin Zu must be paying a steep price.

He couldn’t just rest comfortably because Qin Zu was buying him time.

Mu Sichen glanced at Ji Xian’an, who was still rubbing his leg. She happened to be trapped in a “Pillar.” If his condition were better, he could use Ji Xian’an to locate that pillar right now.

Mu Sichen took a deep breath. After reclaiming the emotion of joy, he felt much more stable—enough to fight again.

But the system stopped him.

[Please be patient, player. Appropriate rest is necessary. The system advises against entering two “Pillars” consecutively. After all, this world is not your own. Staying too long outside a safe zone will gradually make it harder to return to the real world.]

Mu Sichen’s hard-earned determination was instantly extinguished by the system’s cold warning, and he collapsed back onto the bed in defeat.

He raised a hand, covering his eyes with the back of it, feeling deeply dejected.

“I don’t want to owe too many favors,” Mu Sichen said to the system.

 

[Qin Zhou betting on you isn’t a favor—it’s a transaction. Everything he lends you must one day be paid back. Don’t harbor too many positive feelings toward god-tier monsters, especially not the one who governs ‘Greed’.]

The system’s warning was clear.

Mu Sichen sighed lightly, though even he wasn’t sure whether it was for the debt he owed Qin Zu, the system’s words, or some other emotion he couldn’t name.

“Once I take over the Ideal Restaurant, that’ll be four ‘Pillars’. A Hidden Star ranked town only has three. What does that make me?” he asked, trying to shift the mood.

“If I conquer the three ‘Pillars’ of Dream Butterfly Town too, I’ll have six. Does that mean my town could reach Sun Covering level?”

[It doesn’t work like that. How can a sky-affiliated town and a sea-affiliated town be lumped together? Even if some god-tier monster did manage to devour both the ‘Eye of the Sky’ and the ‘Dream-Devouring Butterfly’, these two mutually exclusive forces would only cause greater instability within them. Their strength might increase, but their power would grow harder to control.]

“Then what’s my situation now?”

[Your town’s territory has expanded, the number of residents has increased, and the number of supporting ‘Pillars’ has grown. That’s it for now. Once you fully conquer Dream Butterfly Town, you can merge both towns together to form a larger Hope Town.]

Mu Sichen suspected that Hope Town’s uniqueness was closely tied to the way he’d upgraded it.

He never became a Hidden Star being himself. Instead, he handed over the town’s leadership to its citizens. That option might have triggered some kind of anomaly—turning Hope Town into a domain entirely different from the others.

With that final thought, Mu Sichen felt completely drained. His brain could no longer process anything. He could only lie there and zone out.

Just then, He Fei and Chi Lian woke up.

When Mu Sichen had returned their dreams, he’d also imbued them with his self-totem’s power. Since the pollution from the Ideal Restaurant had already been cleared, they hadn’t sunk deeper into the dream world. Instead, they experienced bright, happy dreams.

Only, due to the self’s intervention, the dreams had automatically filled in a few… unusual details.

He Fei sat up with a dramatic “Wah!”—as if he’d been frightened—but then burst into a silly giggle right after.

He ran to the resting Mu Sichen and began chattering non-stop:

“I had such a great dream! I bought a blind box and actually hit the jackpot—it was a super high-tech motor hovercraft! And that motor hovercraft had something even more amazing, can you guess what it was?”

Mu Sichen didn’t bother opening his eyes. Wasn’t that just the mechanical Aladdin hovercraft? He had already experienced it once.

He continued listening as He Fei described the wishes he made—like always winning any lottery, becoming the most handsome man in the world…

“My third wish was going to be to become the great hero who saves the world, but just after I made the second wish, the hovercraft told me the second one was already too difficult, it couldn’t do it, and it was preparing to bail. Then it rolled over my face and flew away! I was so scared I’d not only fail to become handsome but get disfigured instead—that’s when I woke up!” He Fei finally finished his story.

Chi Lian said, “Your dream was so fun. Mine was a bit more ordinary. But it was quite warm. My parents understood me and gave me their blessing. Just one weird thing: at the end of the dream, they told me they wouldn’t mind even if I married an octopus.”

Hearing the word octopus, Mu Sichen opened his eyes and stared at Chi Lian.

“Is there something on my face?” Chi Lian asked, confused by his look—like he was trying to find something hidden on her face.

 

“It’s nothing,” Mu Sichen shook his head.

Everything returned to place. He said, “We’ve been away from our bodies too long. It’s time to go back.”

The Ideal Restaurant had now become part of Mu Sichen’s domain. He could control the self-totem here and return everyone’s spiritual bodies back to the library.

Ji Xian’an finally stopped scrubbing his legs and said to Mu Sichen, “I’ll stay here. I think… I might not be able to go back.”

She was trapped in a causal chain and couldn’t escape the pull of the dream.

“But I’ve run out of mental strength—I need time to recover. Next time I return might be days later. If your spirit stays out of your body too long, your body won’t survive,” Mu Sichen said with concern.

Ji Xian’an shook her head, “My body’s fine. I was once a follower of General Qin and received transformation training at the Guardian Training Institute. I can survive without food or water for seven days. If you can supply some energy to my body, I can last thirty days.”

After saying this, Ji Xian’an squatted down again and started scrubbing the floor.

Seeing her like this, Mu Sichen realized she really couldn’t return.

He thought about ways to maintain her vital signs, and a solution naturally came to his mind—part of the power inherited through the self-totem.

“Okay. I should be able to keep your body alive,” Mu Sichen said. “But for the next few days, don’t leave the Ideal Restaurant under any circumstances. Dream Butterfly Town is too big. We only found you this time because I went to a mysterious place. If you disappear again, we may not be able to find you.”

Ji Xian’an looked troubled. “That might be difficult. There’s always a voice in my head saying I need to take that corpse out and get rid of it. I might not be able to control myself.”

“Then let’s make a pact,” Mu Sichen said.

This was a power he had acquired after ascending to pseudo-godhood.

“I, Mu Sichen, swear by the power of self: I will lead Ji Xian’an to Xiangping Town. In exchange, Ji Xian’an may not leave the Ideal Restaurant without my permission.” Mu Sichen said solemnly.

“I, Ji Xian’an, swear by the power of self: Without Mu Sichen’s permission, I will not take a single step out of the Ideal Restaurant. In exchange, Mu Sichen will take me to Xiangping Town.” Ji Xian’an responded with equal seriousness.

A small self-totem appeared over each of their hearts. The vows they had just made were displayed within the totems as written characters. These characters were then broken down stroke by stroke and reassembled into new symbols—like runes, or like chains.

These runes wrapped around them respectively, forming tattoo-like patterns that circled their chests.

Words turned into binding force, tying the two together with mutual restraint.

“Let’s test its power,” Mu Sichen said.

Supported by Chi Lian and He Fei, the four of them went downstairs together.

Ji Xian’an walked to the door of the Ideal Restaurant, wanting to step outside.

Mu Sichen said, “I do not permit you to leave the Ideal Restaurant.”

At that moment, a glowing ring appeared around Ji Xian’an’s chest, binding her tightly like a rope.

She tried to push forward, but as soon as she stepped out, the glowing ring pulled her backward, dragging her straight back into the kitchen on the first floor.

Ji Xian’an said, “Alright, I won’t go.”

Only then did the glow dim and return to her chest, once again forming a tattoo-like mark.

“Now I’m at ease,” Mu Sichen said. “While we’re gone, I’ll leave the Ideal Restaurant in your care.”

“No problem. The floor here is perfect for scrubbing,” Ji Xian’an said as she pulled out a brush from who-knows-where and started scrubbing vigorously.

“Let’s go back too,” said Mu Sichen.

Just as the three were about to leave, Mu Sichen noticed several waiters standing in the main hall on the first floor. Some of them looked familiar.

One was the waiter whose memories he had extracted. The others were people he had seen within those memories.

They all shared one thing in common—they had once been followers of Qin Zu.

Mu Sichen unconsciously changed direction and walked toward them.

Chi Lian and He Fei, still supporting him, followed suit.

“Do you all still have faith in General Qin? Do you still bear His totem?” Mu Siche asked.

Mu Sichen already knew the answer. After conquering the “Pillar,” he had purified and expelled foreign energies. If they still bore Qin Zu’s totems, they would’ve already been banished.

He knew this in his heart but still wanted to ask.

The emotional energy of these waiters had long been depleted. The joy and enthusiasm once implanted in them had been purified away, leaving them numb and blank.

Fortunately, their sense of self was gradually being restored.

One of them rolled up his sleeve and revealed a faded mark on his shoulder—it was too blurry now to make out clearly.

But Mu Sichen knew that used to be part of Qin Zu’s totem.

The others had similar blurred symbols on their shoulders, legs, and backs—none of which could be clearly identified anymore.

“Can I have those?” Mu Sichen asked. “In return, I’ll send you back to your original bodies.”

The followers of Qin Zu were invaders from Dream Butterfly Town—their true bodies weren’t in this space. Once Mu Sichen fully conquered Dream Butterfly Town, the dreamspace would dissolve, and everyone’s spiritual bodies would likely return to their real bodies. He had the power to make that promise.

The waiters still had their memories. They knew they were people from Xiangping Town and longed for peace and stability.

No one would reject the promise of returning to their body.

They all nodded at once.

With their consent, the totems flew from their bodies and gathered in Mu Sichen’s hand, imprinting into his palm.

They were still small and blurry, indistinct shapes.

But Mu Sichen cherished them, clenching his fist around the mark and saying, “Thank you.”

A self-totem appeared beneath his feet. Its light enveloped the three of them and sent their spirits back to their original bodies.

 

As soon as He Fei woke up, he jumped up and shouted, “Oh my god, I feel awful! I need to use the bathroom!”

Chi Lian’s face flushed as she also rushed off to find the restroom. After all, they had been out of their bodies for over 28 hours. Even if Cheng Xubo hadn’t dared give them water during that time and only fed them some paste-like food, it was definitely time for a bathroom break.

After taking care of their physical needs, the four of them gathered together and briefly shared what had happened while they were apart.

“It sounds like it was really dangerous on your end,” Cheng Xubo said in amazement.

Then he turned to Mu Sichen with a slightly embarrassed look and said, “That kinda ugly octopus you brought suddenly burrowed into your head—I didn’t manage to stop it in time. It didn’t harm you, did it?”

Mu Sichen shook his head. “I know about that. It didn’t hurt me—it was saving me.”

“That’s good,” Cheng Xubo let out a breath of relief.

Once they were back in their physical bodies, everyone realized just how exhausted they really were.

Separation between body and spirit was no simple matter.

The system had been right—they were in no condition to fight and needed proper rest.

Before leaving, Mu Sichen had cast a self-totem over Ji Xian’an.

This self-totem would continuously release energy to sustain her.

Cheng Xubo told Mu Sichen that while he had fed the others, Ji Xian’an hadn’t eaten anything. Yet, despite this, her physical condition was much better than the other three—she was like a machine.

With the self-totem steadily providing her with power, Ji Xian’an would be able to hold out for a long time.

Mu Sichen silently resolved that as soon as his strength recovered, he would return immediately.

After logging out of the game, Mu Sichen and He Fei reappeared in their dorm room. Time hadn’t changed—it was still 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.

Mu Sichen glanced at the gaming pod. As before, the system had given them a seven-day rest period.

As soon as he got back, He Fei shouted that he was sleepy. After helping Mu Sichen into bed, he crawled into his own and got ready to sleep.

Mu Sichen opened his hand and looked at the blurry imprint in his palm. He noticed He Fei resting his head on a knock-off plush toy and hugging another—completely living the good life, surrounded on both sides.

“He Fei, give me one of your plushies,” Mu Sichen said.

Too tired to even open his eyes, He Fei groggily tossed the plush he was hugging over to Mu Sichen, then rolled over and fell back asleep.

The two knock-off plushies were from the same manufacturer—it was impossible to tell which was No. 1 and which was No. 2.

Mu Sichen pinched one of the plush’s faces for a while, then pressed the blurry imprint from his palm against its head.

Nothing happened—the blurry mark was still there.

He tried pressing it against each of the eight tentacles, one by one, but still, no reaction.

Was this the knock-off No. 2?

Knock-off No. 1 had once been transformed—maybe it still had some residual power. Worth a try.

Mu Sichen, still not giving up, said to He Fei, “He Fei, give me the one you’re sleeping on too.”

“Xiao Mu, I just fell asleep…” He Fei groaned, half-dead with fatigue, and pulled the plush from under his head, tossing it to Mu Sichen with a silent plea for peace.

Mu Sichen took the knock-off plush and repeated the test—but still no reaction.

It seemed the current power was just too weak. Without a full imprint, there would be no baby octopus this time.

Just then, his phone lit up. A client was reaching out to hire Mu Sichen for a five-hour game companion session—generous and straightforward.

Mu Sichen replied weakly:

[I’m busy today. Not taking orders.]

The client had been hoping to play with Little Octopus, but Mu Sichen had lost him.

He set his phone to silent mode and, hugging both knock-off plushies, drifted into a deep sleep.

As he slipped into his dreams, he murmured softly—

“I want to see you.”

 

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TN:

I want the little octopus to come backkkk