Chapter 332

"Nice to meet you, oh person who dives deep into dreams…"

A silver-white trash can beside Xing suddenly spoke, startling Xing.

"My name is Shatana—I wish to discuss a condition with you."

Xing: "Shatana? What's your relation to Na Ta Sha?"

"Na Ta Sha… who is she? I suppose we've never met." The trash can said solemnly: "Let's get back to the point—have you… heard of the 【King of Trash】 Tataluofu?"

He is our king and the shepherd of all refuse in the world. He stands upon the throne, supporting the humble cans, suppressing the violent ones; he is the foundation of Beiluoboge, stabilizing our lids, straightening our bodies…

The trash cans said their king, after the cold snap, had his eyes clouded, his actions growing foolish, so they raised a rebel flag, hoping the King of Trash would turn from evil to righteous. Yet they ultimately failed, even being split by malicious rumors—in short, it asks Xing to lead them to unite again and launch a counterattack against the false king on that throne.

She only needs to obtain three "Proofs of Trust," then she can form the Trash Can Alliance and become the new King of Trash.

Although Xing really wanted to retort, she still went to look for it as requested.

She saw a brave trash can blocked at the roadside entrance, puzzledly asking Xing how to get in; Xing casually said "Open Sesame," and the door opened.

Turns out this is an automatic sensor door, only it doesn't sense trash cans.

"The gate is open… the rumor is true! You are the destined savior who will defeat Tataluofu! When you raise a rebel flag against Tataluofu, I and the other trash cans will surely follow you left and right!"

Saying that, he shoved a heavy Proof of Trust into Xing's hand.

Although it's hard to explain why the trash can would trust her, in short, its trust is truly very heavy.

——

Dragon Clan.

The lights of the Love Hotel glowed dim and ambiguous; outside the window, the rain of Eastern Capital pattered. Lu Mingfei lay back on the soft sofa, staring at the noisy trash cans in the sky-screen, his lips twitching.

"What the heck is this…?" he muttered quietly.

Beside her, Hui Liyi lay on the bed, her long red hair spilling onto the white sheets, her legs swinging. She stared unblinking at the sky-screen; when she saw the trash cans bowing to Xing, she suddenly pursed her lips and smiled— the girl's smile was faint, like a ripple spreading in a cup of clear sake, fleeting, yet it left tiny silver glints in the moonlight.

She suddenly picked up the small notebook beside the bed on the sheets and earnestly wrote: "I want to play in a dream like this."

Lu Mingfei scratched his head: "That's Pinokangni, and this kind of absurd dream…" He wanted to say this dream was just like Fen ge'er improvising a nonsensical, vulgar instant-noodles-at-midnight script, but Hui Liyi's expectant gaze made him change his words: "Um, actually we can play games; there are lots of similar things in games."

Hui Liyi blinked, then wrote again: "Sakura, play with me?"

Her eyelashes trembled lightly, like a butterfly fluttering its wings in the morning light. Lu Mingfei suddenly recalled that morning at Shallow Grass Temple, she had looked at him the same way.

"Well, well…" he stammered in agreement, fumbling for his phone, "What exactly should we play? How about we go out together later to shop? Besides, let's go get Five-Ingredient Fried Rice."

Hui Liyi leaned in lightly, a faint cherry blossom scent in her hair. She drew a lopsided smiley face on the notebook and added: "With Sakura, the dream will be very fun."

Lu Mingfei suddenly felt his ears getting hot.

The rain outside the window suddenly sounded distant, and the world grew quiet… so quiet that he could only hear his own "thump-thump" heartbeat.

The trash can door in the sky curtain was still discussing the topic of rebelling against the old king, and on this damp Tokyo night, Lu Mingfei suddenly felt—perhaps the most absurd thing wasn't Pinokangni's dream, but that he would actually meet in this strange city a girl willing to keep him company while watching trash cans.

——

"Star again obtained two 'proofs of trust' from the Trash Can Prince and the solemn barrel, finally able to summon the Trash Can Legion to rebel against this 'Tatarlov'."

"Shatana marveled at Star's determination, not to be underestimated, and decided to escort her to the Pillar of Creation to witness the future of the Trash Can people."

"In the blink of an eye, the scene of Star's dream shifted to the snowy ground of the Pillar of Creation, where trash cans covered in scars littered the ground, their insides flung out, a horrible sight."

"But strangely, Star did not see the so-called Trash King."

"Star was wondering if she had been tricked, when——"

"Boom!"

"Suddenly a huge bomb flew from midair and exploded at her feet, the blast hurling her aloft in a perfect arc… then a large hand firmly caught her, and when Star looked closely, she discovered that the so-called Trash King was actually Sanbo!"

"And it was an oversized version of Sanbo!"

"Sanbo let out a disdainful 'tsk', casually tossed Star aside, then recklessly hurled bombs, bombarding the endless Trash Can Legion charging at him."

"Seeing more and more trash cans blown apart, trash flying everywhere, Star gritted her teeth, sprang from the spot, leapt up, transformed into a hulking, mountain-sized trash can, and threw a heavy punch at Sanbo."

"\"Yah——!! \""

"Just as the outcome was about to be revealed, the dream was suddenly halted by something, and Liuying's urgent voice came from midair."

"\"Wait, wait a second! This is too absurd——?! \"

——

Teyvat.

Night had fallen, and the Eightfold Hall was bathed in warm light; paper lanterns hung from the eaves swayed gently in the evening breeze, casting mottled shadows. But Yae Miko's mood was far from warm now—she was ninety percent displeased.

"\"Miss Liuying really chose a terrible time to interrupt……\""

"The image in the sky curtain froze at the moment the giant trash can formed by Star swung her fist, and the dream came to an abrupt halt."

"She turned her gaze to the two contracted authors sitting upright inside the Eightfold Hall, both summoned ahead of time by the chief priest of the Eightfold Shrine to discuss the Pinokangni dream and source material for the Eightfold Hall light novel."

"\"I plan to have the Eightfold Hall continue this story; how about you two give me an idea? \" Her gaze swept over the two authors, and they involuntarily shuddered."

"\"Uh, I think…… we could write it like this. \" The male writer with round glasses pushed up his spectacles, \"We can introduce a 'dream within a dream' setting—Star's punch didn't hit Sanbo but shattered the dream, causing everyone to fall into the second layer of the 'Trash Dream,' though the second layer can further drop into a third layer… each layer has a twist, and the final layer is a perfect world of trash can people, where Star can decide whether to stay in the dream. \""

"\"This work could be called…… *The Dream‑Stealing Barrel*! It could also tie into Pinokangni's 'dream' theme! It's sure to be a bestseller! \""