stjorthotic Chapter 7, The Second Shared Dream
Chapter 7, The Second Shared Dream
Su Fan also tentatively determined that the cost of using the [Shared Dream Pillow] would be a three-day period of mental fatigue.
The next few days were peaceful, and Su Fan also felt the price of the [Unexpected Wealth Compass] - "consuming presence".
This cost is not immediately manifested as changes in appearance or memory loss, but rather as a more subtle and pervasive "fading".
He found himself more easily "ignored" by his colleagues. For example, during group discussions, he sometimes had to repeat himself before his words were noticed; at lunchtime, someone would occasionally "forget" to call him; and when leaving get off work, colleagues he was on good terms with would sometimes walk straight past his workstation as if they hadn't seen him, only turning back a few seconds later. At first, he thought it was just his imagination or that he was overthinking things, but as the frequency increased, a pattern began to emerge.
However, the gains are also gratifying, as the [Unexpected Wealth Compass] can bring him an average income of about three hundred yuan per day.
An extra income of around 300 yuan a day is certainly not enough for someone to instantly achieve a leap in social class, buy a luxury house, and drive a sports car. But for a single man living in the city, without the pressure of a mortgage or car loan, and whose material desires are not at their peak, this stable and "capital-free" income can allow him to live a fairly decent life.
So Su Fan resigned. Of course, the price of using the [Unexpected Wealth Compass] was that Su Fan would be ignored if he didn't actively attract attention. His social identity wasn't exactly lost, but it was quietly stripped away.
Ten days have passed since we first shared a dream.
The seven-day cooldown period for 【Shared Dream Pillow】 ended three days ago.
Over the past three days, Su Fan had hesitated many times. He just couldn't make up his mind. Now, Su Fan finally decided to continue his research.
In the stillness of the night, he calmed his mind and slowly rested his head on the [Shared Dream Pillow].
Concentration can trigger sleep.
After a slight sense of time travel, Su Fan "opened" his dream eyes.
Before me lay that familiar, breathtakingly beautiful fairyland!
The towering, cloud-piercing tree, radiating seven-colored light, still stands at the center of the world, its branches as clear as crystal.
Eighty-one floating islands of various shapes and sizes, defying the laws of physics, still float quietly in the void around the Mystic Tree, following mysterious trajectories. Some resemble blooming lotus platforms, while others look like inverted peaks.
In the distance, the Black Tortoise, entwined with a snake, floats and sinks in the sea of clouds, while the magnificent phoenix occasionally sweeps across the sky, leaving faint streaks of light. A gentle breeze carries the fragrance of spiritual herbs, and in the distance, the faint murmur of a Qilin can be heard.
Everything was exactly the same as when he left last time; nothing had changed.
"It actually... was preserved?" Su Fan's dream consciousness was surprised, followed by deeper contemplation.
So it's a persistent, independent, and stable dream space? Like... a 'fixed address in the collective unconscious'?
He began to test the sharing capabilities of the Dream Pillow, first turning his attention to the "Sea of Consciousness".
As the thought extends, the starry sky composed of countless points of sleep consciousness reappears.
Sure enough, those four familiar points of light—Jiang He, Chen Yang, Wang Jianguo, and Li Bowen—were like specially marked navigation stars in the night sky, radiating familiarity and connectability to him. This "marking" was more obvious and solid than the first time.
"The initial connection leaves an imprint, making subsequent guidance twice as effective," Su Fan confirmed. At the same time, he also sensed that there were still countless unmarked light spots in the sea of consciousness. He could choose new users, but at this moment, he needed experienced users with whom he could conduct controlled experiments in a known environment.
The five figures solidified almost simultaneously, and Su Fan, Jiang He, Chen Yang, Wang Jianguo, and Li Bowen met again in their dream.
"Ha! We're really back!" Chen Yang's face was filled with barely suppressed excitement and a smug sense of "I knew this would happen." He immediately turned to the others, "I guess we're the main characters! Our 'login point' is really stable!" His presence instantly added a touch of human warmth to the silent fairyland.
Wang Jianguo's brows furrowed slightly, and his honest face showed obvious worry.
He rubbed his large, calloused hands together, his voice lower than Chen Yang's, carrying the earnest concern of someone who had just done a job: "It's definitely this area... the scenery is still the same. But..." He looked at his hands, then glanced at the others, "I just want to ask, this time... after we get out, will we have to put everyone through this for three days like last time?"
Jiang He remained silent for a long while, as if his question had opened a crucial gap in data collection: "Master Wang's concerns are necessary. This is precisely one of the key variables we need to verify—whether 'mental fatigue' is repetitive, regular, or whether its intensity is related to our activities or length of stay here." She turned to the group, "I suggest that after this return, everyone should record their changes in condition in detail over the next three days. If we can establish a preliminary 'cost model'..."
Chen Yang's excitement was clearly unaffected. He scratched his head and said, "Uncle Wang, don't worry! Maybe last time was just a side effect of the 'newbie period.' We were protected by Bai Ze, after all. Maybe we'll get lucky this time and be able to receive enlightenment in a dream."
A hint of surprise and deeper contemplation flashed across Li Bowen's thin face, his voice carrying a sensitivity unique to the elderly: "The Bai Ze we encountered last time... doesn't seem to be here?"
Chen Yang's rambling came to an abrupt halt. He exclaimed "Huh?" and turned sharply to look at the tree beneath the wondrous tree, his eyes widening. "Eh?! Really! Where is the Great God Bai Ze? Where did he go?" He subconsciously stood on tiptoe, looking around as if the divine beast Bai Ze had merely temporarily hidden somewhere.
Su Fan knew the time had come and the experiment could begin. He decided to start experimenting with the influence of the dream world on reality.
Thoughts rippled outwards, silently altering the "script" of the dream. Almost simultaneously, five phantom images of divine beasts, each with a distinct appearance and aura, descended without warning onto the jade floating island, precisely locking onto their respective targets.
"Varied--!"
The exclamation was abruptly interrupted.
Chen Yang felt a scorching, violent current of energy sweep past him. A flash of crimson-gold light appeared before his eyes, and then the world spun around him. When his vision returned, he was transported away from Qingyu Island and found himself in a desolate, rugged Gobi Desert. A colossal beast with a dragon's head and a jackal's body, its form seemingly forged from molten gold and blood—the Yazi—was coldly staring down at him with its molten-gold eyes burning with pure battle intent. There was no kindness, no malice in that gaze, only absolute focus on "fighting" and "forging." Chen Yang's blood instantly ran cold, and his throat went dry.
Jiang He was the most alert, noticing the sudden movement in the shadow of the jade slab beneath her feet. But it was too late. Countless tiny, insect-like "silkworms" composed of twisted, dim seal script surged wildly from the shadow of each texture, instantly weaving into an overwhelming net of runes that gently and irresistibly enveloped and dragged her away.
Li Bowen, however, felt a completely different, gentle pull. On the canopy of the wondrous tree, emerald light gathered, transforming into a medicinal beast resembling a young deer, with a crystalline lingzhi mushroom atop its head, which gracefully descended upon invisible steps. Its eyes were clear and compassionate, gazing directly at him, its gaze seemingly piercing through his aged and frail body, seeing the withered life within. The beast lowered its head slightly, the lingzhi mushroom trembled, scattering a cloud of green light dust imbued with the rich fragrance of herbs and the warmth of life, gently enveloping him. Li Bowen was first taken aback, then, his body, long tormented by illness, spontaneously felt a long-lost sense of relaxation and comfort within this light dust, and he was stunned.
Wang Jianguo reacted most directly, letting out a low growl and instinctively steadying himself. However, facing the Bixi that slowly turned its head, its gaze as heavy and solemn as the earth, his resistance was futile.
The earthy yellow light, like the thickest swamp, enveloped and sucked him in. It wasn't a violent pull, but a slow yet irreversible "sinking" sensation, as if trying to integrate him into the most fundamental concept of "stability" of this world.
Bai Ze's figure finally appeared, gracefully strolling to Su Fan's side, its eyes gleaming with wisdom that spoke volumes. Su Fan nodded slightly to it, and then, almost simultaneously, the five divine beasts transformed into streaks of light, each carrying its own goal, disappearing into the clouds and floating islands surrounding the Myriad Tree in different directions. On Jade Island, a moment of emptiness and silence ensued, leaving only faint ripples of lingering energy.
Somewhere on the floating island, a hall that had never existed before quietly materialized. Su Fan's figure appeared in the center of the hall, with four enormous water mirrors floating in mid-air, their edges flowing with seemingly living silver runes.
The mirror reflected the scene scattered in all directions. He shed his disguise as a participant; now he was the master of this dream!
First Scene: The Forge of War
The desolate Gobi Desert shimmered with heat, distorting the air. Ya Zi had transformed into a cold-faced man in red armor. His physique wasn't particularly imposing, but he exuded a sharp aura that stung the skin. Without a word, without giving Chen Yang any time to prepare, he took a single step and was already upon him.
"Wait a minute—!" Chen Yang's cry was slammed back into his chest by a punch.
It's something more direct—a simplification of killing. Fists, elbows, knees, fingers—every part of the body becomes the most efficient weapon. The pain comes intensely and precisely, not to destroy him, but to "educate" his body.
At first, Chen Yang could still parry haphazardly and scream, but soon all that remained were his heavy, bellows-like breathing and the dull thuds of his bones hitting the hard ground. Every time he was knocked down, Ya Zi would "nail" him back to consciousness before he lost it; every wrong parry would result in a more tricky angle of attack, forcing his nerves to remember which muscle contractions could deflect the force and which rolling angles could avoid a fatal strike.
There were no move names, no mental techniques or incantations. There were only countless collisions, imbalances, and excruciating pain, along with the sense of distance, the point of force, and that fleeting, instinctive intuition for survival, forcibly imprinted deep into his spinal cord with the excruciating pain. Every attack from Ya Zi impacted Chen Yang's consciousness, savagely expanding his primal understanding of "combat."
Death then reappears. After countless incorrect parries, Chen Yang's muscles begin to "remember" how to contract to deflect the force; his nerves, on the verge of collapse, are forced to grasp that fleeting survival instinct concerning distance and timing.
Su Fan stared at Chen Yang's eyes in the water mirror, his gaze shifting from fear and anger to numbness, and finally, a glint of bestial rage flashing in his eyes amidst extreme pain. He murmured to himself, "Implanting a fighting instinct into your body—how much will it remember, and how much will it carry back when you wake up? Will death in a dream affect reality?!"