Chapter 1010

Lu Mian easily understood Franca's meaning:

The dream city itself was built on the foundation of Zhou Mingrui's memories before "transmigration," but none of those dream images that were close to Zhou Mingrui and relatively important came from before the "transmigration"; they all originated from Zhou Mingrui's experiences after "transmigration," except for Peng Deng and Zhang Yujia.

This clearly has a problem!

"We previously thought Mr. 'Fool' was a Great Being who had awakened and didn't belong to this era. Uh... he indeed doesn't belong to this era. Mr. 'Fool' is really honest..." Franca suddenly understood the true meaning of a certain sentence in Mr. 'Fool's' honorific name.

After adjusting her mindset, she continued:

"Starting from the previous cognition, it's very reasonable that there are no dream images related to the identity of 'Zhou Mingrui.' As a former Great Being, what he involved should all be Great Beings and fallen ancient gods. These were all restricted and couldn't truly get close to Zhou Mingrui. Weren't we still thinking at the time, who exactly is Peng Deng, and who does he correspond to in reality? We didn't even consider that he was really Zhou Mingrui's childhood friend.

"But if Zhou Mingrui is a 'transmigrator' like me, becoming a Great Being step by step, it's truly amazing. Surpassing gods with a mortal body, dominating the Spirit Realm..."

Speaking to this point, the wound in Franca's soul was pulled again, and wood chips were pierced into it.

She thought that even a figure like Mr. 'Fool' was so shocked, sorrowful, painful, and desperate when he knew the truth of the transmigration, and even after becoming a Great Being, he couldn't return to his hometown. And after he fell asleep, the corresponding matters even formed strong psychological shadows.

If Mr. 'Fool' is like this, let alone her, let alone them?

Lu Mian could guess what Franca was thinking right now and why she paused, because he also had similar associations, and the same emotions welled up in the depths of his heart.

After a silence, Franca collected her mood and continued:

"If Zhou Mingrui is a 'transmigrator' and was an ordinary person before, then what about his parents, relatives, classmates, friends, and netizens he got along well with?"

Lu Mian looked at the ice board covered with photos, sketches, and notes, thinking as he said:

"In the dream, Zhou Mingrui has parents, but they are not in Yangdu, living in a hometown that only exists in descriptions. Zhou Mingrui also almost never contacts them, all through Zhou Benson conveying his greetings. Moreover, the setting of the dream parents clearly comes from Klein Mo Leidi's parents.

"Similarly, the real prototypes of his older brother Zhou Benson and younger sister Zhou Shasha are Klein Mo Leidi's older brother Benson Mo Leidi and younger sister Melissa Mo Leidi.

"Among other relatives, friends, classmates, and netizens, perhaps only Peng Deng and Zhang Yujia are truly Zhou Mingrui's childhood friends."

Zhang Yujia was a junior high school classmate and high school classmate of both Zhou Mingrui and Peng Deng, and she is also currently working in Yangdu.

Her family is well-off, and she often travels. Currently, she has gone on a so-called European trip. In the memories of the Major Arcana cards, Zhang Yujia has never truly appeared. If it weren't for the fact that she often sends postcards to Zhou Mingrui and Peng Deng, and chats online from time to time, she could be treated as a background image similar to Zhou Mingrui's parents.

Franca "hmm"-ed:

"Now there are two problems:

"One is why Zhou Mingrui's true character relationships have disappeared. Did Mr. 'Fool' deliberately hide them, or did the Celestial Master do something? If it's the former, why did Mr. 'Fool' want to hide them? Is this the key point? If it's the latter, does this represent that the Celestial Master is afraid of something?

"Two is that under the premise that other characters related to Zhou Mingrui haven't appeared in the dream city, the existence of Peng Deng and Zhang Yujia is even more suspicious. Plus, we saw Peng Deng's roommate Grisha appear at the emergency center before, so I think it's necessary to tilt the current focus toward Peng Deng."

Lu Mian put himself in Mr. 'Fool's' position and thought for a while:

"If I were Mr. 'Fool,' and this dream city was a battlefield for the confrontation between my consciousness and the Celestial Master's, then my subconscious wouldn't want my true parents, relatives, classmates, and friends to be involved, even if they were just fake dream images, just my memories."

"From the logic that Zhou Mingrui's and Klein Mo Leidi's cognitions have already merged, the dream images corresponding to Benson and Melissa shouldn't have appeared either," Franca joined the brainstorming ranks.

Lu Mian revealed a smile:

"Who said they were woven by Mr. 'Fool's' subconscious?

"What if they were deliberately created by the Celestial Master?"

"The Celestial Master knows Mr. 'Fool's' experiences after 'transmigration,' but has no way to investigate his interpersonal relationships before 'transmigration'?" Franca had a new guess based on Lu Mian's counter-question. "So, the dream images corresponding to characters like Benson, Melissa, and Danitz had to appear, but some were arranged outside the dream city, and some have only a shallow relationship with Zhou Mingrui. Is this a subconscious protection of these dream images, and is it an external result of the confrontation between Mr. 'Fool's' and the Celestial Master's consciousness?"

Lu Mian nodded:

"If the Celestial Master is indeed not very clear about Mr. 'Fool's' interpersonal relationships before 'transmigration,' does that mean He hasn't eroded and polluted Mr. 'Fool's' core consciousness yet?"

"Yeah." Franca suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "I understand why Xia Tasi became Zhou Mingrui's roommate."

She stood up, walked to the area near the window, and paced back and forth a few steps:

"We previously suspected that the Elf race were former transmigrators. Now it looks like they are more like descendants of the Western Continent bloodline who survived on the North and South Continents and the Five Seas.

"To Mr. 'Fool,' these are the descendants of fellow countrymen, so the relationship is very close, and the position is very near.

"Similarly, the Intis Group where Zhou Mingrui works was opened by the 'transmigrator' Emperor Roselle, and the boss of the company next door is the successor of another 'transmigrator,' the Ancient Sun God. These dream images are all very close to Zhou Mingrui."

The more Franca spoke, the more she believed her interpretation of the symbolism in this aspect was correct.

Her thoughts turned:

"We in the 'Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society' have checked our accounts. The time we 'transmigrated' to the current world was 1352, which is seven years ago. And the data provided by the Major Arcana cards shows that Mr. 'Fool' fell asleep in 1352 too.

"Before Mr. 'Fool' entered a deep sleep and confronted the Celestial Master, did He release all of us from the 'cocoons'?"

"It should be like that," Lu Mian felt Franca's reasoning had no problems.

He also stood up and said thoughtfully:

"Leave the matter of contacting Peng Deng to Anthony; he can do more radical probing.

"If we can figure out Peng Deng's true identity and the meaning of his existence, perhaps we can find a way to weaken the Celestial Master and awaken Mr. 'Fool'."

Speaking to this point, Lu Mian paused, his eyes narrowing slightly:

"If there are no major errors in what we just discussed, then the matter of Zhou Shasha coming to Yangdu to attend college probably has a strong symbolic meaning, and not a very good symbolic meaning for Mr. 'Fool'."

Logically speaking, Zhou Shasha should be outside the dream city and not involved in this "battlefield."

Franca was shocked:

"When is Zhou Shasha arriving?"

"Wednesday," Lu Mian answered in a low voice. "It's already Monday."

Franca "hissed":

"Before Zhou Shasha arrives in Yangdu, there must be substantial progress on Peng Deng's side and An Xiaotian's side!"

Lu Mian nodded gently:

"Yeah."

The two discussed this matter for a long time.

"You should actively leave the dream in the morning, return to reality, and ask for more detailed intelligence from the Ancient Sun God and that person from the 'Aurora Order.' Since Grisha appeared at the arranged scene and Anthony was scared away from the dream by hallucinations after contacting Peng Deng, I suspect Peng Deng and his roommate are related to the Ancient Sun God, and we lack enough intelligence to accurately determine this point. Also, don't forget to let Lady 'Magician' check your physical state." Finally, Franca urged Lu Mian.

Lu Mian smiled and said:

"I only worry that the Major Arcana cards don't know enough, or that some intelligence is something we currently can't access.

"Afterward, you should move to the background and swap positions with Anthony, letting him do the probing. You shouldn't show your face."

"Good." After Franca answered, she finally left the state of focused discussion.

She discovered that the window area had already brightened at some point. Outside the glass, the morning sunlight fell, carrying a bit of golden yellow, clarifying the entire sky and rendering the green leaves of the trees.

Little birds flew by chirping, and some human voices were heard from time to time, soothing and relaxing.

It was dawn.

The sun had risen.

Daylight had arrived.

Franca stared blankly at such a morning scene, saying to herself almost silently:

"So beautiful."

The sunlight penetrated the glass and shone on her and Lu Mian, just as if a Great Being were gently soothing their souls.

…………

After Lu Mian replied to the Xinhong residential area to tell Anthony about probing Peng Deng, Franca took the elevator to the 23rd floor and entered the house she and Jenna rented.

Just as she opened the door, she saw Jenna had already woken up and was busy tidying herself up.

"So early?" Franca blurted out.

"Not early. I have to put on makeup seriously. I need to walk around the company today; maybe I'll be picked by some film crew," the dream Jenna said without turning her head.

Oh right, today is Monday; Jenna has to go to the Hall Film Company... But she is a dream image now; will there be any slip-ups... Franca couldn't help but feel a bit worried.

At this time, the dream Jenna entered the bathroom, and Luo Shan walked out of the bedroom with sleepy eyes.

Seeing Luo Fu, she greeted her:

"Nothing happened, right?"

She thought Luo Fu and Lu Mianna staying overnight at her house was to personally confirm if there were still hidden dangers.

"Everything is normal, for now," Franca said, half-comforting and half-stating the facts.

She then told Luo Shan:

"I'm going to resign."

"Ah?" Luo Shan was stunned.

Franca revealed a gentle smile:

"I have to move to the background, because if I'm kicked out of the dream now, I will truly die."

Luo Shan suddenly remembered the conversation between Luo Fu and Jenna she heard last night, some words she couldn't understand at the time, but now she finally understood.

She suddenly had a feeling that she was no longer alone, and she smiled back:

"Me too."

Without the dream, I will also disappear.

PS: Asking for double monthly tickets on the last day of September~

(End of chapter)