They All Said This Wasn't a Life Simulation Game!

Mei believed that each Fusion Warrior had the ability to break free from the dreamscape. In fact, Xi Wang and Dottore had both shown signs of "about to wake up" before. Dottore's signs appeared later, while Xi Wang's appeared at the same time as Sakura's. However, in the end, only Sakura woke up. The other two fell into nightmares, and their bodies even suffered problems.

This was why Mei had come to ask Sakura about her specific condition, but the answer she received ultimately offered no help. It seemed the Herrscher of the Eighth was intentionally targeting the Fusion Warriors, and Sakura had either been lucky or had managed to avoid the Herrscher's targeting for some other reason.

"...Let's halt the research on awakening drugs for now. The others can't withstand the Herrscher's targeting. What's the status of the exploration into the dreamscape?"

Mei rubbed her forehead wearily and spoke after organizing her thoughts.

"Observer No. 24 has been confirmed dead. Observer No. 25 is ready."

"Proceed then. We need to find the Herrscher's physical coordinates and eliminate it to officially end this Honkai... Elysia, go to the Deepest Place and find Aponia. Ask her for help. I'll get permission from above. Also, contact Mobius and tell her to prepare the Fusion Warrior surgery immediately. The requirement is to use Moyuli's genes. As for the candidate... let the higher-ups find someone!"

"Understood."

Mei made arrangements one by one, striving to resolve this Honkai as quickly as possible... The ability to make people sink into beautiful dreams and then die peacefully was far too dangerous for people now.

"Is there anything I can do to help, Doctor?" Sakura asked.

"Prepare for battle and stand by, Sakura. You need to go and eliminate the Herrscher of the Eighth immediately after we obtain its physical coordinates."

"Okay."

Sakura nodded in agreement. With her abilities, she was perfectly suited for this mission.

"..."

After everyone else had dispersed, Sakura looked back at Xi Wang, who was still trapped in the nightmare, and gently held his hand, murmuring softly.

"...Thank you, Wang."

Although her memories of the dreamscape had become blurry, she still had some impression of the last scene she saw, the last thing she realized, and the last rain that fell.

Combined with what Dr. Mei had said earlier about her and Wang showing signs of "about to wake up" at the same time, the truth of the matter... wasn't hard to guess.

To be able to fall into the same dreamscape together and accept such intimate roles within it... even if it was just a dream, Sakura was very happy.

"...Thank you."

Sakura said again, with a smile, carrying the purest joy, and then... she composed herself, suppressed that happiness deep within her heart, and got up to leave.

Whether it was for her own duty or for the person she loved... this Honkai had to end.

We will defeat the Honkai... definitely.

Sakura clenched the blade in her hand and walked forward with determination.

A dream is a wondrous place.

It is the place closest to death, and also the place closest to so-called "destiny." Therefore, people can see their deceased loved ones in their dreams, or do very strange things like precognition.

But in the end, dreams are based on the person themselves. Everything in a dream changes according to the individual's mental state, knowledge, experiences, and memories, and tends to develop in different directions based on their subconscious.

Seeing deceased friends and family in dreams is simply the person's longing for them, and based on their impression of that person, their brain fantasizes a "living friend or family member." So-called precognitive dreams are also the brain's deduction of the future based on existing information, and nothing more.

So-called beautiful dreams are when the brain, based on existing information, develops an event in a direction that the person desires, even the most ideal state. Nightmares are the opposite, extending an event in a terrible direction.

Although dreams originate from reality, because they are based on the act of "thinking," they are often not bound by the objective factors of reality. Therefore, dreams are endowed with many things that do not exist in reality, and dreams thus possess elements of fantasy, illusion, and unreality. People thus distinguish between reality and dreams.

So, when a dream is crafted to be almost indistinguishable from reality, how can one differentiate whether they are dreaming?

When your situation in the dream is countless times better than in reality, even if it's exactly your ideal life, how can you bring yourself to wake up?

"I don't understand."

In the pure white dream, she... it expressed its confusion.

"I clearly set up the dreamscape according to your most ideal situation... You are married to the one you love, and she doesn't mind the other person you harbor in your heart. Both of them pay attention to you, and are even willing to live under the same roof with you... I even made the other person in your heart your lover. What's wrong with that?"

"Even that big star is quite fond of you, and even the little girl is eager to be close to you... As long as you wish, you can even easily have a harem, and you don't have to worry about wealth."

"They are even willing to accept your 'hobby' and help you take those... 'medicines' when you forget."

It seemed very confused, flipping through the candy box in its hand, then casually tossing it backward, letting it disappear into thin air.

"Even at this point, what more are you dissatisfied with?"

But the only response it received was a blue water blade.

"No need to waste your efforts. What's in front of you is just a projection... and without the advantage of 'rain,' your threat is far less than you imagine."

It said calmly. In the dream, or rather, the mental world, it possessed overwhelming power. Reversing scenes, changing the weather, and so on were all effortless.

"You answer my question, and I'll let you leave. How about it?"

The response it received was a blue water saber.

"I'm not controlling the person you care about right now, so I shouldn't have any enmity with you. In fact, by arranging you and her into the same dreamscape, and not stopping you when you sent her away, I could even be said to have done you a favor. Wouldn't it be acceptable to answer my question a little?"

"..."

The blue attack paused slightly, and then struck even more ferociously.

"What a bother... You're unwilling to sink into the dream, nor are you willing to answer my questions. This makes things very difficult for me."

It rubbed its forehead with a hint of distress.

"Well... then I'll have to ask you to die."

With that, it raised its hand and gently pushed in Xi Wang's direction. As it moved, Xi Wang's body uncontrollably fell backward, tumbling into a gap that had appeared out of nowhere, plunging into the abyss.

Then, the surroundings returned to their original pure white state.

"...Should be dealt with now?"

Changing from its previous relaxed and steady demeanor, it cautiously stepped forward, first using its foot to tentatively test the restored pure white area, then stepping forward again to pat it with its hand, as if confirming that the area had been solidified.

"Good, good, good... as long as that guy is trapped in his own nightmare..."

As if wiping away non-existent sweat from its forehead out of lingering fear, it muttered to itself.

"Damn it, why is this guy's spirit and memory so heavy? Heavier than those old guys. I already confirmed it, only twenty-something years in total..."

When it first accessed Xi Wang's dream, it could confirm that Xi Wang's memory was only twenty-something years in total. However, when it tried to manipulate things within the dream and insert something into his memories, it discovered that this guy's spirit and memory were ridiculously "heavy." It took a lot of effort just to implant an impression of a "lover" into him.

It wasn't that difficult to pull him into the [Dream], so why did the subsequent handling become so troublesome... It couldn't get rid of him, and it couldn't kick him away.

It was like a large sack filled with books placed on the top shelf of a bookshelf. It was easy to pull it down from the shelf, but it was incredibly difficult to put it back. It wanted to lighten the load by opening the sack, only to find that it couldn't open it, and it couldn't just poke a hole in the sack either... It was truly a headache.

But luckily, it still had a way. As long as it dragged him into his most feared [Nightmare] and continuously weakened his spirit, when he was at his weakest, it could finally deal with this big trouble in one fell swoop.

Chapter 33: The [Angel] Arrives with Rain and Lilies

Drip—

The sound of liquid dripping, crisp and clear, came from beneath itself.

Drip—

The nostrils were filled with the metallic scent of blood, a strong smell that instinctively made one want to vomit, but it felt like this level was actually okay.

Drip—

Its hands were bound, raised above its head, and its neck felt the constriction of a rope. The entire body was suspended in mid-air, the gravity from the ground constantly pulling it downward. It only had a crooked, tattered stool at the tips of its toes for support, barely preventing it from suffocating from the rope.

Blood flowed from the wrists at the very top, diverging at the arms, then slowly flowing to the sides of the head, covering the ears along with the arms. It then soaked into the rope around the neck, causing it to swell and further constrict its breathing. It continued downward, flowing to the chest, weaving through one wound after another, constantly replenishing fresh blood, before finally sliding down the legs and feet, flowing along the tattered stool into the basin at the very bottom.

"..."

This was all too familiar to Xi Wang.

And next would be...

Rustle—

There was a faint sound, as if someone was approaching, followed closely by a searing pain in the wounds.

"Hmph..."

The pain of coarse salt rubbing against the wounds made Xi Wang cry out involuntarily. Its throat almost instinctively wanted to scream, but its body was so weak that it couldn't even let out a cry, only managing a soft, unintelligible hum.

Ah... Xi Wang was familiar, too familiar with this kind of thing.

The feeling of nearing unconsciousness from hunger and blood loss, and this physical pain.

"Awake? As expected, you're such a strong, good child."

It was his voice, that damned guy's voice!

"..."

With difficulty, it lifted its eyelids and looked at the figure in front of it through the blur.

In the dim light, all it could see was that nauseating robe and the hateful cross pendant.

"Don't be scared, don't be scared... it's all over now."

He gently stroked its head with one hand, while the other hand, holding coarse salt, furiously rubbed the wounds on its chest.

"I'll take care of you, don't worry."

He said this, then released his hand, took out medicine from the medical kit, and slowly applied it, then bandaged it with bandages.

"Your lips are so dry... you didn't drink water again? You're a bad child."

He said this, then took the basin from the bottom, slowly poured the dark red blood inside into a bowl, then forcefully pried open its mouth and poured the dark red blood in. The metallic taste of blood surged into its nerves again, almost overwhelming its consciousness.

But, it still held on.

"Heh heh..."

When he took the bowl away, Xi Wang even let out a few light, mocking laughs, as if saying – is that all?

"...I hope you can still be this strong later."

His body stiffened slightly, and then he casually untied the ropes binding Xi Wang.

"But I believe you will be, won't you?"

With a dull thud, Xi Wang's small body softly collapsed onto the ground, barely breathing. He paid no attention to this, because he knew that by tomorrow or the day after, Xi Wang would be able to get up on his own again, as long as he was fed some scraps – this was much easier than raising cats or dogs.

"See you tomorrow then, [Hope]... heh heh."