Chapter 446: with translation of chapter title

He strained to sit up, only to see Section Chief Ya already collapsed. Only Sangaku enjoyed it tirelessly.

Just as Liu was about to enter a distorted high note, exactly the skylark in the sky canopy timely raised its voice, accompanied by the chorus of several children, Qian Yu Youzhen panted heavily, drenched in sweat, as if he had finally escaped from a nightmare by sheer luck.

Before, he didn't understand the feeling of redemption in "after a long drought, sweet rain arrives"... Now, he finally understands.

"I, I..." Qian Yu Youzhen raised his hand weakly, "I want to take a leave..."

——

"Hehe, as expected of the child of harmony, the hope of all."

Gesha looked at the several tender faces beside her; these children were either lonely or incomplete, and being underage, they could not go to the family's beautiful dream. They were all fledglings born with defective wings, yet they could only obtain perfect wings in the dream; although they flew clumsily, they were still soaring by their own strength.

"As for me, an old man who lost both legs… without this dreamscape, I could not even walk up to them."

"I'm glad you've started a new life in the dream of Pinokangni..." Zhigengniao's expression grew somewhat sorrowful, she wanted to speak but stopped.

"Don't worry, Miss Zhigengniao." Gesha comforted, "Dreams have meaning, but they are not everything; I and the children understand this—no matter how long we fly in the dream, we must eventually return to reality."

"But look, Aima and Jiali are no longer inferior; Kaluo gradually learns how to face the trouble of blindness; Andi is much more lively than before, and even I have become more optimistic."

"We learn to live in the dream, then return to reality… learn to survive."

Zhigengniao nodded in approval: "If the wings are unfortunately defective, then lend your wings to each other. There's no need to cling to the illusory sky of the dream, for we have the right and the ability… to fly toward a vaster world."

——

Naruto

"Hmph… what a shallow awakening."

Inside the cave, Yuzhibo Ban coldly gazed at the girl in the sky canopy, his expression full of disdain.

"Return to reality? Then endure this world full of injustice and cruelty, filled with hatred and despair? What a joke…" The corner of Ban's mouth twisted into a sneering arc; since following the train crew's perspective to Pinokangni, he had concluded that this was not his ideal, beautiful dream.

The so-called "prosperity" is merely a facade; it is built upon the suffering and labor of countless people—this absolutely cannot be called an absolute "beautiful dream", it is merely the beautiful dream of a small minority of the wealthy.

In the dream of Infinite Tsukuyomi, no one suffers, feels hunger; people can fulfill any wish, without needing to kill each other, and there is no war. No matter how you look at it, Pinokangni is very far from that; calling it a beautiful dream… it is nothing more than a more vain "reality".

The reality he finds himself in is…… Qianshou Zhujian used his naive peace ideal to give birth to countless corpses, and true peace still needs him to bring it about.

Yuzhibo Ban crossed his arms, coldly smiling: "As long as we create a sufficiently beautiful 'world,' no one will want to return to reality."

——

"I'm glad to see you safe and sound, Miss Zhigengniao."

Everyone enthusiastically went over to greet each other; after a brief exchange, Jizi took the lead in asking: "Since you are here… can we consider that Miss Zhigengniao already fully knows the situation of Pinokangni?"

"Since returning to Pinokangni, my voice has become abnormal, gradually turning into the torment of losing my voice. I originally thought it was just an accident, but now it seems… the source is not within me. There exist things around me that are incompatible with 【Harmony】… losing my voice is also one of the signs that the beautiful dream is collapsing."

"The beautiful dream collapsing… that Mnemonic also said the same thing; turns out it's true." March 7 was somewhat surprised.

Zhigengniao said, during the time she had been away from Pinokangni, the boundaries of the Twelve Dreams kept expanding outward. Besides her elder brother, no other house heads were willing to answer; combined with the confidential letters from corporate envoys, she was convinced that Pinokangni harbored an unspeakable secret.

Finally, she arrived here through several clues in the Oak family's archives… a place of exile concealed by the family under the pretext of 【Death】.

"Now that I hear it, Miss Zhigengniao's voice seems to have recovered somewhat?"

"Although cruel, this is an indisputable fact. Here, 【Harmony】 is even more widespread than what is promoted in the beautiful dream…… I regret that a traitor has appeared in the family—he or they abandoned the original belief, using the name of Harmony to exploit human weakness, turning Pinokangni into a star of revelry sunk in the illusory beautiful dream……"

——

Cutting the Crimson Red Eye

"I know! This traitor is the Dream Master!"

The petite young emperor waved his small hand, pointing his scepter imposingly toward the sky canopy. Next to him, the obese Minister Oannes swiftly bent his fat body and squeezed out a fawning smile.

"Your Majesty's wisdom! Your Majesty, young as you are, can instantly judge the good and evil of these people in the sky canopy—truly a blessing for the empire!"

The young emperor, pleased with the minister's flattery, soon added: "If I were the Dream Master, I would surely dispatch the general to reclaim Liúmèng Jiāo—how could he allow dreams to scatter under his rule?"

"Oh dear…" the minister chuckled with a "hehe": "Your Majesty, not everyone is as wise as Your Majesty."

"Oh?" The young emperor immediately perked up, tilting his head toward the minister beneath the throne, "You're saying the Dream Master of Pinokangni is not as wise as I?"

In his heart, he still felt the Dream Master was formidable—having lost his flesh yet still firmly holding Pinokangni, commanding so many house masters—but he had never said this to anyone… after all, he is an emperor; how could he admire another nation's ruler?

Minister Oannes beamed: "Of course. Under Your Majesty's rule, there is no land that defies your management; as for those rebel armies, General Esdes will deal with them—eliminating them is merely a matter of time."

"That's right. But minister…" the young emperor wore a puzzled expression, "If you say I am wiser than the Dream Master, why does the 【Harmony】 star god not turn its gaze toward us?"

"Quite simple, because within our empire there still exist rebel armies spreading discordant notes; once they are wiped out, the star god's glance will naturally come."

Minister Oannes' face was all smiles, but the corners of his eyes drooped, casting a shadow beneath his heavy eyelids: "The urgent task is still to eradicate NightRae, that infamous band of assassins; only by cutting out this festering sore of the empire can we smoothly eliminate the rebel armies and win the star god's favor."

——

Zhigengniao frowned: "This is not aiding the weak with strength, but forcing the weak with strength. A world devoid of equality is destined to lose 【Harmony】's favor; the voices blessed by it… naturally cannot sing."

"Miss Zhigengniao, could there be another possibility—that the family's ideology has changed, with another force involved?" Walter said, "After all, from Miss Huangquan's example, unless a power of envoy level or higher intervenes… it is hard to imagine that, within 【Harmony】's domain, another force capable of influencing everyone's will could exist."