Chapter 905: Familiar Things (First Chapter—Requesting Base Monthly Votes)

When the platform vanished from view, Lu Mi observed the conditions inside the carriage.

The seats were made of wood, the windows narrow, the lighting insufficient; other passengers appeared to be conversing, yet no sound emerged, as if performing a silent play.

Jian Na and Anthony, experiencing something similar for the first time, also quietly scrutinized their surroundings; Ludwig, pained yet focused, ate phantom snacks; Franca's mood was low, leaning against the carriage wall, gazing out at the scenery:

Vast stretches of pastures and lush farmland rushed backward, interspersed with ancient castles and classical villages, beautiful as a painted oil canvas.

Gradually, Franca saw palaces formed of frost, houses floating above the clouds, and pairs of crystal shoes dancing on distant squares…

The scenes outside the steam train began to turn dreamlike, as if woven from countless fairy tales.

Soon, the iron-black steam train entered a fog, and the Chuangwai became invisible.

Lu Mi, Franca, and the others instinctively gripped their lucky gold coins; no one spoke, maintaining silence, fearing any unnecessary motion might prevent them from entering the Fool's dream.

Within the thick, dreamlike mist, the iron-black steam train, born from fantasy, clattered swiftly forward.

At some point, Lu Mi noticed the clattering of wheels over rail joints growing fainter, until it vanished entirely.

Suddenly, a woman's voice sounded beside their ears:

"Anyone want some?"

"Boxed meals, snacks, ice cream, drinks, specialty beef jerky…"

Franca sat bolt upright, her expression stunned and bewildered.

She rose abruptly, turned, and looked toward the entrance of the carriage, where a woman in a white shirt and purple-red long dress, wearing a small purple-red soft hat, pushed a multi-tiered metal cart toward them.

The cart held colorful items, drinks in peculiar bottles, and stacked lunch boxes.

This… Franca's gaze instinctively swept the sides of the cart and found the passengers, once mere shadows, now sharply defined—wearing clothes she often saw in her dreams, some quietly playing different-brand cellphones, others whispering to companions, occasional cries of children breaking the quiet.

This was the very scene Franca had dreamed of seeing again—but encountering it now, under these circumstances, sent a chill through her, filling her with inexplicable dread.

Is this… the Fool's dream?

"What's wrong?" Lu Mi rose, whispering.

He had noticed the carriage had changed—even the seats and backs had turned soft, as if padded with thick, dyed-blue cotton.

He also noticed the passengers' attire, speech, and manner differed markedly from their own.

But that wasn't why Franca's expression had shifted so violently.

This is a dream! Nothing here should surprise us!

Franca's lips moved several times; she glanced back at Anthony, seated in the row ahead with Ludwig, then lowered her voice to Lu Mi and Jian Na:

"It's identical to the same scene in my world…"

Lu Mi instantly understood why Franca had reacted so strongly; he deliberately spoke lightly:

"Did you forget the Celestial Lord?"

"He came from that world too. Isn't it normal for such a scene to appear in a dream he's part of?"

"Of course…," Franca offered a self-deprecating smile. "I was too excited, too frightened—I overlooked that."

Indeed, this was normal!

This too was the sleeping dream of the Celestial Lord!

Jian Na also rose, glancing left and right for several seconds:

"So we've entered the Fool's dream?"

As she spoke, she opened her right palm and found beneath the shiny lucky gold coin a train ticket, inscribed with:

"Ningbei—Yangdu"

Though Jian Na recognized only the numbers on the ticket, she understood the meaning of the strange characters; similarly, passengers on the other side of the aisle understood her Intis language, glancing curiously at them—yet upon noticing their bizarre attire, they seemed to accept it as normal and turned away.

—As the Magician had explained earlier, in the Fool's dream, language barriers and unreadable scripts are no concern; this is fundamentally communication with the Fool's subconscious, and the Fool understands all languages.

Of course, being able to intuitively comprehend unfamiliar script didn't mean deep understanding—Jian Na had previously worried about this, but the Magician assured them not to, and now Jian Na finally understood why the Magician wasn't concerned:

These characters were familiar to Franca—she could serve as the most reliable translator!

"Probably," Lu Mi cautiously tucked away the lucky gold coin, holding only the ticket.

Noticing the other passengers understood their speech, Jian Na whispered quietly to Franca:

"What are those things in their hands?"

So strange-looking…

Lu Mi immediately used the "Vessel of Fiction," anchoring it to the window, enclosing their two rows of seats within it while keeping the barrier transparent.

Franca instantly perked up, forgetting her earlier despair and shock, smiling warmly as she explained:

"That's a cellphone—a product of scientific advancement, integrating telegraph communication, theatrical performances, mirror-based messaging, and many more functions you can't imagine. I'll get you a few later and teach you how to use them properly—explaining now would be too hard!"

As she spoke, Franca's face glowed with pride:

"That's a T-shirt, that's jeans, those are sneakers…"

She had barely finished when Ludwig shouted:

"I want a boxed meal! I want snacks! I want ice cream! I want drinks! I want beef jerky!"

The boy swallowed saliva, completely forgetting that food in dreams was illusory.

"Uh, the Magician told us to follow the rules as much as possible," Franca looked to Lu Mi. "I remember the Justice's envelope had cash."

Lu Mi opened the envelope and pulled out a stack of crisp, bright red bills, then dissolved the "Vessel of Fiction."

"Two thousand each," he told his companions.

"Fine," Franca nodded, then frowned at Ludwig. "This kid will spend over a thousand a day on meals…"

And that's even if he doesn't eat anything fancy!

"There'll always be ways to earn money," Lu Mi spent two hundred yuan on five boxed meals.

Franca hesitated, then said:

"Give them all to Ludwig. Though I'd love to savor the taste of memories, we shouldn't waste money here—better options await."

After piling the five meals before Ludwig, Jian Na whispered:

"Can we now check the Fool's dream identity details?"

She noticed many passengers stealing glances at her and Franca and had already sat back down.

Lu Mi considered carefully:

"We haven't reached the station yet. Let's wait until we exit the destination station to look."

Caution first!

As he spoke, Lu Mi pulled out a mirror and dropped it into the gap between Ludwig and the seat back.

He intended to use Mirror Illusion to conceal Ludwig's absurd ability to devour five meals and still seem half-starved.

He'd noticed someone secretly aiming a cellphone—Franca's "cellphone"—at them; his spiritual instinct told him it was better to avoid drawing attention to anomalies.

"Does this train have no clattering sound?" Jian Na and Franca chatted.

Franca grinned boastfully:

"Of course—it's the latest model, and it's incredibly fast!"

She pointed to the display screen at the front of the carriage, showing real-time speed using numbers and symbols Jian Na recognized.

Thank you, Emperor Rosel!

Franca enthusiastically explained every detail confusing Lu Mi, Jian Na, and Anthony, occasionally correcting their assumptions, such as:

"Is this place more open than Trill? I see people showing arms and legs…"

"No no no—we're far more conservative than Trill. This is just freedom of dress, and it doesn't offend others in public—it's a sign of good manners and civility. Privately, Trill is even more liberal!"

"Then won't we look too strange?"

"Don't worry—just say you're going to a cosplay convention!"

"What's a cosplay convention?"

"..."

Amid such exchanges, the train finally emerged from the fog, revealing ahead a magnificent city towering with countless skyscrapers—each building rivaling mountains, their surfaces sheathed in glass walls, shimmering gold under sunlight.

Lu Mi and Jian Na instinctively held their breath, as if approaching the realm of gods.

It was a miracle upon earth, a city atop the peaks!

Franca fell silent, her lake-blue eyes fixed on the city, her expression nostalgic yet sorrowful.

The train slowed gradually, entered the city, and finally stopped beside a clean, bright, spacious platform.

The other passengers in this carriage vanished abruptly, as if the weaver could no longer sustain them; Lu Mi and Franca exchanged glances, then led Ludwig off the train, followed by Jian Na, Franca, and Anthony in their bizarre attire.

Together with the flood of passengers from other carriages, they rode self-moving escalators out of the station, guided by Franca the "guide," walking silently through the plaza beyond.

As the surrounding crowd thinned and the area grew empty, Lu Mi pulled out the brown-yellow envelope from Justice, withdrew the documents tied to the Fool's dream identity, and spread them before his companions.

Franca's eyes instantly caught the opening line, written in her native tongue:

"Zhou Mingrui."

ps: First chapter—requesting base monthly votes~

(End of chapter)