Chapter 960: Outside and Inside the Dream (Second Update, Requesting Base Monthly Tickets)

Again that Zarathustra… He went to the Dream Supplement Class just to wait for Zhou Mingrui, or does he have another goal? Lu Mi led Ludwig out of the seating area, waiting for staff to open the ride’s gate, and smiled at Anderson:

“Have you talked to him?”

Anderson shoved his hands in his pockets and chuckled:

“He said he wants to profoundly influence one person and eliminate some others.”

Does he mean Zhou Mingrui as the one to profoundly influence? And who are the others he wants to eliminate? Why did Zarathustra bring this up with Anderson? Is one of his purposes at the Dream Supplement Class to find Anderson—the mute Anderson who represents the “Fantasy Society”? Does this symbolize cooperation between the Heavenly Sovereign and the Fantasy Society’s demon god? Lu Mi walked toward the now-open entrance, speaking casually:

“Someone like Daniz?”

He wanted to know: did Zarathustra intend to eliminate dream characters like the Divine Envoy Daniz—or outsiders like himself?

Anderson gave a thumbs-up and descended the steps by the doorway:

“At the time, I couldn’t figure out why Daniz was the first target—what role could he play? Maybe just luck—he had to be the first one cut down, the lucky one.”

Under the suppression of Sequence 7, luck truly matters… From Anderson’s tone, the Divine Envoy’s death was carried out jointly by Zarathustra and the mute Anderson? Anderson’s involvement meant he himself participated, giving him the chance to sabotage subtly and influence events—hence why the Divine Envoy’s corpse was discovered early, instead of being delivered as planned to Mushi Hospital’s morgue for “resurrection”? Lu Mi nodded thoughtfully.

He believed Anderson, using the mute dream persona, had interfered with Zarathustra’s actions, causing him to achieve only the elimination of Daniz, failing to exploit the Divine Envoy’s corpse.

—Lu Mi was now uncertain whether Zarathustra was more Zarathustra or more “Loki,” so he used the dream name directly.

Damn, it was you, Anderson—no wonder you reported it immediately… This also explains why we stumbled upon the Divine Envoy’s death—it wasn’t coincidence… Lu Mi muttered inwardly, passed by Anthony without retrieving his phone, and Anderson did the same.

Taking advantage of the sparse crowd in the small plaza, he gazed at the advertisement on the mall’s giant screen and asked, strolling:

“What do you intend to do with the Colorful Painting Hotel?”

“Right when you enter, someone hands you a sum of money and a hotel still under renovation—would you refuse? Facing a sugar-coated bomb, eating the sugar and throwing back the bomb—isn’t that a normal choice?” Anderson smiled in reply.

“But often, the sugar is poisonous, or you don’t have time to throw the bomb back—can you really accept it if someone forcibly implants a child into your belly?” Lu Mi, the temporary divine child of the “Great Mother,” spoke with feeling.

Anderson paused for a second, then smiled:

“If it’s already inside, you’ll have to accept it—even if you don’t want it. If you can’t get rid of it later, you’ll just have to nurture the father-son or father-daughter bond properly.”

Lu Mi changed the subject:

“What does the hand behind those people giving you money and the hotel want to accomplish?”

Anderson glanced sideways at him and said with a smile:

“Aren’t I here looking for you?”

Lu Mi’s mind raced, and he vaguely understood Anderson’s implication:

One of the Fantasy Society’s demon god’s goals is to hinder the Heavenly Sovereign and maintain dream balance—Anderson had grasped this key point, which is why he reached out to them directly and so plainly.

Anderson turned his gaze forward again and walked toward the food hub behind the mall:

“I once saw a saying online—quite amusing.

“It went: ‘Fear your brother’s suffering, yet fear him driving a Land Rover.’”

“Interesting,” Lu Mi thought Anderson didn’t need to be this obvious—he understood perfectly.

Anderson continued:

“A hotel always has guests—from different places.”

Here, he suddenly pointed to a painted sign on a shop:

“Paintings are complex—they’re information, and also a door to the realm of fantasy. If a complete, true order could be established within the painted world, wouldn’t it become nearly a real world?”

What was he hinting at? The Fantasy Society’s demon god’s possible goal? Lu Mi lacked key information—he could only roughly grasp Anderson’s meaning, unable to discern its true significance.

Drawing from his current knowledge, he believed the Fantasy Society’s demon god also sought to claim more pathways—like the “Great Mother” and the “Tree of Desire”—and was drawn to the “Seeker of Secrets” and “Omniscient” pathways, symbols of information; the “Apprentice” pathway, representing the concept of “door,” of otherworlds, of space itself; and the “Lawyer” and “Arbiter” pathways, which could establish true order within painted worlds.

As Lu Mi pondered, Anderson pointed to a shop and laughed:

“I said the world has loopholes, didn’t I? Look there.”

Lu Mi looked over and saw a small shop named “Rune Cuisine,” primarily selling sweet iced tea and Dicy pies.

“How can Rune have cuisine? This is definitely a loophole,” Anderson said with mock amusement.

Lu Mi nodded:

“Yes.”

On this matter, the two Intisians reached an easy consensus.

Meanwhile, Ludwig shouted:

“I want to eat!”

…………

Opera District, Black Hat Street, inside an apartment.

The Witch Niseya sat before her vanity mirror, under the glow of a gas wall lamp, carefully and meticulously drawing her eyebrows and applying powder.

Suddenly, a figure materialized behind her, near the window seat.

It was the relaxed posture of Fleurca.

Fleurca watched Niseya silently, without speaking.

After discussing with the “Magician” Lady and the “Judgment” Lady why she’d been expelled from the dream and about the issue of Mushi Hospital’s deputy director, she had rested a day and came specifically to check on her subordinate before re-entering the dream, to ask about recent progress.

She wouldn’t be a boss who gave orders then vanished completely, ignoring everything, as if disappeared!

After more than ten seconds, Niseya finally sensed her presence and subtly adjusted the angle of her vanity mirror.

Seeing her superior, she quietly exhaled, turned around, and said:

“Good evening, Lady.”

“Good evening. How have you been lately?” Fleurca didn’t ask directly about the Emperor Faction.

She hadn't contacted "007" yet because "007" was currently undergoing special training and appeared likely to secure a spot to become a demi-god.

Niseya’s expression shifted several times, showing struggle and pain, yet also a resigned, “what’s the point” tone:

“I’ve become Grue’s concubine.”

Grue was one of the trusted aides of Emperor Faction leader Louis Gustav.

This progress is too fast—you’ve only recently become a Witch… Fleurca didn’t ask how Niseya felt about being a concubine; her tone remained calm:

“What did Grue say?”

Seeing her superior didn’t inquire about her emotional journey or personal experience as a concubine, Niseya’s inner turmoil, embarrassment, and resentment eased considerably.

She recalled and said:

“He said Louis has been troubled lately, very irritable—apparently because he can’t contact some important person.”

“Which important person?” Fleurca pressed.

“Grue doesn’t know who—only that there is such an important person, one Louis has great confidence in,” Niseya shook her head.

Could it be that they can no longer contact Emperor Rosell in the mirror? Fleurca suddenly had this thought.

She nodded slightly:

“Find out who that important person is, and also gain insight into the Emperor Faction’s real movements.”

With that, her figure rapidly faded and vanished from the seat.

Niseya sat quietly, watching the Lady depart, then raised her right hand and slowly traced from her cheek to her lips.

Fleurca returned directly to the luxurious villa, without reporting to the “Black Witch” that she had fully digested the “Pain” Elixir.

First, even if the Witch Cult might reward her with the “Despair” Elixir now that she hadn’t yet earned new merit, she could never actually perform the ritual—so better to delay it.

After dinner, nearing midnight, Fleurca rose and walked toward her room.

The petite “Judgment” Lady walked her to the door, warning:

“For your second return to the dream, using your previous identity, current experience suggests little difference from the first—but by the third, we’ve found even attempts that normally wouldn’t get you expelled now cause expulsion, as if simply marked by the Heavenly Sovereign.

“So you must now pay attention to subtle changes compared to last time, to determine whether you became a target from the second entry or the third. Also, avoid overly aggressive probes in the next few days—you were just expelled, you need to wait.”

“Yes, I’ll be careful,” Fleurca remembered the data mentioning this.

On the stairs, at the door, the “Judgment” Lady added:

“We can’t give you many things to bring into the dream, because we’ve used them there—they’ve been marked too.

“If you want to earn money, another way is to send someone to apply at Hall Film Company, a subsidiary of Hall Group. ‘Justice’ Miss can’t enter the dream again, but as the ‘Dream Weaver’ and a Major Arcana card, she can still exert slight influence on the dream.”

“Understood,” Fleurca replied with a smile, “Thank you.”

She entered the room, lay back on the bed, and clutched the lucky gold coin in her palm.

She’d tried yesterday: if she didn’t keep the lucky gold coin nearby, she’d just sleep normally and dream normally, occasionally flashing fragments of the dream city—like glimpses from Luo Fu’s experiences.

Fleurca closed her eyes and regulated her breathing.

ps: This is today’s regular update; another bonus update for first-place monthly tickets at 7 PM—please support with base monthly tickets~

ps2: Writing late at night, mind fuzzy—last chapter mistakenly wrote “Relic of the God War” as “Land of the God-Abandoned.” Corrected now, though essentially not much difference.

(End of Chapter)