Chapter 230: No Reality Can Compare to a Dream

"Alice, would you like to go to Wonderland with me?"

"Didn't I already say so? Sure."

Oh my god.

A surge of joy and sweetness welled up from the depths of the Mad Hatter's heart; of course he knew what his underlings were trying to remind him of—he wanted to remind himself that this Alice was not wearing a hat or a wig.

But what did it matter? At this very moment, he was instead immensely grateful that he had not put a wig on Alice, because a controlled doll could never have made a reply like the one just now.

She had her own thoughts, was a real person, not a marionette, and was willing to go to the fairy-tale Wonderland with him—all of this was as beautiful as a dream, and he was perfectly willing to embrace this beautiful dream, because he was originally a madman immersed in beautiful dreams.

Whether it was acting, or sincerity, or a desire for survival, or perhaps because she was a madman like him, none of it mattered. What was important was that she was indeed just like the Alice in his memory, and had accepted his invitation just as she had back then.

His previous "Alice" had not been so cooperative; he had prepared everything for her just the same—the stage, the actors, the props, exactly the same as today. But when he wanted to invite her to enter the fairy-tale world with him, she had refused.

"I will never be willing to be with a freak like you." That was her answer.

That was also the answer the Mad Hatter hated the most.

"Alice, let's go."

The Mad Hatter took the blonde woman's hand and led her into the door marked "Wonderland," just as Jervis had once led Alice Dee into the park; back then, he was a happy ordinary boy, and she was a cheerful ordinary girl.

"Jervis, you bear a very important responsibility today—"

After his father solemnly finished the first half of the sentence, seeing the slightly nervous expressions on the two children, he could no longer hold back the expression on his face and began to laugh heartily: "Your task is to have as much fun as possible."

The mother also showed a gentle smile at this moment; she took out several banknotes from her handbag and handed them to Jervis.

"Jervis, dear, we will give you some money. Whatever your guest wants, remember to treat her well."

Alice was very polite; she thanked the couple from the side: "Thank you, Mr. Jervis, Lady Teige."

"This way." The ticket seller in the red suit pointed inside and handed the yellow ticket to Jervis.

"No, your voice has no energy; no one can hear it." The Mad Hatter took the ticket and loudly scolded the ticket seller. At this moment, looking at the smiling Alice beside him, the memories in his mind seemed to come alive, overlapping infinitely with the reality before his eyes; these discordant scenes before him, which clashed with his past experiences, were now infinitely magnified, appearing so glaring.

He was not unfamiliar with this feeling; in fact, he had experienced this feeling countless times. When not on stage, his consciousness could only remain in the real world, where everything was blurry and distorted. Due to long-term consumption of those hallucinogenic drugs, his brain hormone secretion had become abnormal.

Sometimes, he could not even distinguish whether his emotions were joy or anger, but he did not care, because this hallucinatory feeling happened to help him escape from the disgusting real world.

But once on stage, that happy time would jump out of his mind like a tide, forming a sharp contrast with reality, making him exceptionally clear-headed, making him realize every difference between now and that day, making him realize that he was actually in reality.

They passed the statue of the Rabbit Mr. with the clock; the Mad Hatter saw Alice smiling at him, while that rabbit emitted an anxious sound.

"Oh, heavens, I'm late!"

"Yes, yes, that's right." He thought; at least this rabbit statue was exactly the same as the one back then.

They walked through the black-and-white checkered corridor; Alice stood behind him; before his eyes was a bottle of bubbling drink with the words "Drink Me" on the bottle, and a cake with the words "Eat Me" on it.

The scene of memory flashed back again.

"The cake is too big; make it smaller. And this door; the doorknob should be about here."

"But boss, the cake should be bigger, and the doorknob should be higher."

"Shut up, you fool! My memory of that day cannot be wrong!"

Bang!

The gunshot rang out, gang members fell to the ground, and the Mad Hatter continued to pull Alice forward.

Was the purple drink before his eyes too dark? Or was the color of the cake darker? The day in his memory should have been even more vivid, even more brilliant.

The two walked past the room where Colonel Caterpillar and the grinning Cheshire Cat were located.

Perhaps because of that gunshot just now, Colonel Caterpillar's voice was trembling slightly: "S-say, state your purpose."

"Very hardworking, but you stuttered—try again."

"State your purpose."

"Yes, that's it."

Although he said so with his mouth, looking to both sides, he felt that the Caterpillar in his memory should have been more vivid, and the Cheshire Cat's smiling face should have been more well-behaved.

Why was the Caterpillar now so dark and ugly? Why did the Cheshire Cat's smiling face look somewhat eerie and terrifying?

But this shouldn't be; he had captured everyone in the park back then; they were all employees of over ten years; why did they get the scenery and props wrong? Were these people just eating and doing nothing?

The Mad Hatter was getting angry.

They passed the Queen of Hearts.

"Smile, everyone must smile!"

They passed the lion and unicorn boxing.

"Alice! You must be happier!"

They passed the room with chimneys shaped like rabbit ears, then the ice cream truck, then the Pool of Tears.

"You are deeply captivated by this scenery, Alice; our hands will be very close, and then you will say: 'You know, Jervis, before I wasn't sure if I could have fun, but'"

The Mad Hatter looked at the Alice before him who was smiling gently at him, and the words he wanted to say suddenly stopped.

She didn't seem as beautiful as in his memory either; the Alice in his memory was gentler, more beautiful, kinder, more.

He changed the subject and started talking about something else.

"You know, Alice, I really like drinking tea," he said: "These special teas can take me back to those happy places I once visited."

"Some moments are so deep in memory, as if branded there, living in the senses, living in the mind, like a movie you can watch over and over again."

While speaking, he took out a gun.

(End of this chapter)