Chapter 379

Her gaze was unfocused, yet unintentionally, it did indeed intersect with a gaze from outside this world.

Ai Yue withdrew his gaze, as if it were just a casual glance. He leaned back on the soft sofa and smiled at the other person sitting upright opposite him, "What a grand dream, isn't it, Sunday?"

At this moment, he was sitting in a brightly lit reception room, but compared to the bustling scene inside the hotel, it was rather quiet.

It's as if the two sides don't exist in the same world.

"No matter how grand it is, it cannot compare to even a fraction of your existence."

Sitting opposite him was a silver-haired youth with a halo above his head and wings sprouting from the sides of his head. His eyes were full of fear and wariness as he looked at Ai Yue: "What do you think of my proposal?"

If someone could know the script beforehand like Ai Yue, they would understand that the young man in front of them is the mastermind behind Penacony's crisis.

At least that's how it appears on the surface.

"To be honest, this suggestion isn't very good." Ai Yue shook his head slightly. "Why don't you listen to my thoughts?"

The young man named Sunday hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "I'm all ears."

"I have no intention of leaving, nor do I intend to force my way into this fragile dream," Ai Yue smiled and continued, "In fact, I can lend you a hand."

"But even so, you still can't win—how about it? Want to bet this on a bet with me?"

Chapter 73 This time, life has been skipped.

Seeing Ai Yue's confident demeanor, Sunday fell silent for a moment.

Just as Himeko and the others had predicted, the real problem wasn't with Ai Yue, but with themselves— the Asdener Star System was now shrouded in a vast dream called "The Great One's Dream," and everyone who entered the system was already trapped in the dream, unable to escape.

But this man named Ai Yue was an exception—he was far too powerful, so powerful that even the Great One's Dream, which encompassed an entire galaxy, could not contain his consciousness.

Sunday had already sensed this the moment the Stellar Train jumped to Penacony, but he didn't believe it at the time because his confidence had swelled to an unprecedented level after gaining such power.

After trying his best, he gave up.

In fact, he was in a dilemma at the time. If Ai Yue continued to stay in the same place, the Great One's Dream would explode, causing unpredictable consequences for the people trapped in the dream. At that time, Penacony's reputation would explode, and he might even become the target of public criticism throughout the entire Star Sea.

But he couldn't banish Ai Yue from the dream...

If Ai Yue hadn't finally realized Sunday's efforts and voluntarily left the dream while going along with the other's struggles, then this conspiracy that shrouded the entire Penacony and even the Asdener Star System would have ended before it even began.

However, Ai Yue's actions also confirmed one thing for Sunday: the other party must be a morally upright and powerful person. The reason he took the initiative to leave the dream was that he was afraid that his violent destruction of the Great One's Dream would endanger the lives of the tourists in the dream.

So, believing he had found a weakness in Ai Yue, Sunday tried to use it to control him, hoping to keep their distance.

Of course, he didn't know that he was actually wrong—from the moment he entered the dream, Ai Yue had begun to penetrate and analyze this enormous dream. The reason he left was because he had completely understood the Great One's Dream, so this place was no longer of any value to him.

In other words, he now has many ways to end this farce, including but not limited to directly seizing control of the Great One's Dream, using safe and reliable means to awaken everyone in the dream, thereby causing the Great One's Dream to collapse, or directly bypassing Sunday and cutting off the Great One's Dream's power supply system, thus rendering it ineffective...

But Ai Yue did not choose to do so, because this matter should not end like this.

What kind of person is Sunday?

At least in Ai Yue's view, he was not a bad person, on the contrary. When he first saw the concept of "Seven Rest Days", Ai Yue was greatly shocked and even felt somewhat persuaded by the other party. Therefore, in his opinion, Sunday was just an idealist who used the wrong method.

For such a person, overwhelming him with force is not enough to make him submit. He might admit that his plan has failed, but he will never think that his ideas are wrong.

The only way to get him onto the right path is to defeat him with equal principles, but Ai Yue clearly cannot do that—because his current status is too high, and anything he says from that perspective carries a strong sense of oppression.

So he decided to let things take their course, because no matter what, even without his help, the Stellar Train wouldn't lose to Sunday. When Sunday was knocked to the ground by the train, he would naturally understand where he went wrong.

Of course, this was only one reason why Ai Yue intended to stand aside. Another reason was that through Great One's Dream project, he could obviously gain access to more Star Gods and more power of destiny.

Putting everything else aside, if Sunday's plan is thwarted prematurely, where will the Order Star God get his power?

Of course, the main reason is that Sunday's plan did not actually cause much harm to ordinary people. Now that I am involved, it is naturally more controllable. Therefore, both morally and logically, I should not get too involved.

After all, when there is not much threat, young people should be given more experience.

As for his response on Sunday... he had no choice.

After a seemingly thoughtful but actually blank silence, Sunday finally nodded. "Okay, I'll bet with you."

Just as Ai Yue had thought, Sunday soon realized that he had no choice but to agree. After all, he knew very well that the reason he was able to sit here and negotiate with the other party was entirely because the man in front of him had given him this opportunity.

Judging from his behavior, his previous threats were clearly meaningless. Therefore, the only way to eliminate this biggest destabilizing factor was to accept his conditions.

As for finding a powerful backer to resolve Ai Yue...

"You can call that coward out here and see if he still has the guts to respond to you." Ai Yue seemed to see through his thoughts, revealing a half-smile. "To be honest, that guy has lived too long, so much so that even though he didn't sense anything, he still made the right choice based on his intuition."

"How about this: you call him out, and I'll kill him. In exchange, I can be your protector, how about it?"

Sunday fell silent again, then he shook his head. "I can't do something like that."

"Heh, if the positions were reversed, that guy might not make the same choice as you." Ai Yue wasn't surprised by Sunday's answer; after all, he already knew the other was an idealist. "In that case, you go ahead and do your thing. I'll stay here and wait for the final result."

Faced with Ai Yue's words, Sunday did not choose to leave. Instead, he sat there and quietly watched him.

"What, are you planning to sign some kind of contract with me to guarantee that I'll follow the rules?" Ai Yue looked at his face and couldn't help but smile. "There's no need for that. I've already said that you'd lose even without my intervention. So why should I get involved?"

"No, I don't mean to question your character. I'm just wondering, what kind of being are you?" Sunday shook his head, finally asking the question that had been troubling him for so long. "Excuse me for being frank, but I have never seen anyone as... mysterious and unfathomable as you."

He hesitated for a moment, then finally replaced "inconceivable" with a more neutral word.

"With your level of knowledge, it's hard for me to explain to you." Ai Yue scratched his head, revealing a complicated expression. "Just consider me a kind passerby. After all, I'm also a member of the Stellar Train."

If such a being truly exists among the nameless beings, then Acheron would be the strongest star god in the entire cosmos!

On Sunday, suppressing the urge to complain, he finally stood up, bowed to Ai Yue, and then turned to leave.

Just as Ai Yue said, there is still a lot to do to achieve his ideals.

Then, he met his end.

When the song of the Robin came from the sky, when Penacony's first and last "dissonance" transformed into a train traveling through the starry sky and magnified in his vision... everything was no longer in doubt.

As the enormous body of the "Philosophical Fetus" gradually crumbled, Sunday's plans finally came to a complete end.

However, he still asked that question, harboring emotions he himself didn't understand.

"So, why does life... sleep?"

The young girl standing opposite, holding the watchmaker's legacy, took a step forward, making her own statement, and in doing so, the answer to countless others.

"Because one day, we will wake up from our dream."

This is hardly a brilliant answer, but as one of the "Void" envoys said, the answer to the question is not important; what matters is the will shown by the person answering the question at that moment.

That unwavering and steadfast belief, along with the words, reached Sunday's ears and became the final straw that broke him.

"The night is still... too short..."

He finally let go, letting himself fall downwards, but at the same time, a warm body rushed into his arms, just like the companionship he had felt for many years.

"Brother," the Robin's voice whispered in his ear, "It's time to wake up from this dream."

And so, the curtain fell on everything.

"Is it really all over?"

Even after leaving the Penacony Grand Theater and returning to his room, March 7th remained wary. "Could this be yet another layer of a dream?"

"No, no, where would so many nesting dolls come from?" The cat-eared girl waved her hand, signaling the other party to calm down. "If there really are more dreams, I'll tell you, don't worry."

"Thank you so much, Pardo." Himeko nodded to her. "Without you, we would have been in serious trouble this time."

"I don't think it's a big problem. Even without me, there's still Black Swan and Sister Acheron, right?" Pardofelis waved her hand casually. "To be honest, if Brother Yue hadn't told me not to slack off before he left, I would have already run to the corner to sleep!"

As a top-tier phantom thief empowered by the Power of Light, Pardofelis's elusive abilities have reached an unbelievable level. Not only can she erase her own presence at will, making it impossible for those close to her to notice her appearance or departure, but she can also freely traverse the boundaries of dreams.

Using this ability, Pardofelis traversed the skies and the depths of Penacony, becoming the most important source of information for the train crew. It was precisely because of this that the nameless travelers' exploration of Penacony was accelerated to an almost cheating degree.

Okay, strictly speaking, this is indeed a form of cheating.

"Speaking of which, what's the current situation with Brother Yue?" After relaxing, the nameless guests finally started discussing this long-abandoned topic again. "Although it seems he should be fine for now... it's too strange that he didn't show up at all during the whole process, isn't it?"

Even with the support of a catgirl like Pardofelis, the journey to Penacony was still fraught with twists and turns and difficulties. The lack of a strong backer during this process made everyone feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"After all, we promised them beforehand that we wouldn't interfere, so we should keep our word."

As Xing mentioned Ai Yue's name, that familiar voice responded at that moment. Everyone turned to look and saw that Ai Yue had appeared on the sofa at some point, greeting them, "And, in terms of the result, you did indeed dismantle this conspiracy on your own, isn't that great?"

As they were talking, Pardofelis snuggled into Ai Yue's arms, found a comfortable spot, and began to doze off—she had been so sad not to see Ai Yue for the past few days.

"Brother Yue, you're getting more and more elusive..." March 7th breathed a sigh of relief. "But what does 'tell someone in advance' mean?"

"It means exactly what it says." Ai Yue stroked Pardofelis's hair and explained his experience with a smile. "As it turns out, my judgment was very accurate. You solved the problem even faster than I expected."

"That's true, but if you were in charge Brother Yue, you could definitely solve it in no time, right?" Xing asked curiously. "Why does it have to be us who solves it?"

"Because this isn't a problem that can be perfectly solved by my intervention," Ai Yue smiled, "And the severity of this matter isn't high, making it a suitable opportunity for young people to practice, isn't it?"

"We just stopped the resurrection of a Star God!" March 7th's eyes widened upon hearing this. "Is that only considered a low level of harm?"

"It's not that easy for the Star God to be resurrected. If there's a real risk to His resurrection, then you'll be in a better position." Ai Yue's expression turned subtle upon hearing this. "Because there will definitely be someone more anxious than you."

"Thinking about it carefully, that's true," Dan Heng nodded in agreement. "The resurrection of the Order Star God is no small matter, especially since this is the territory of the Harmony Star God. If He is truly at risk of resurrection, then Xipe will certainly not stand idly by."

"I think He's already in charge," Xing said, raising his top hat in his hand. "This is the proof."

Seeing the girl start using the item, the others all looked somewhat speechless.

"You're all here... Oh, Ai Yue is back too?" Just then, Himeko, who had gone to negotiate, returned to the room. Seeing Ai Yue, she didn't show any surprise, but simply nodded. "I was just thinking that it was about time you came back."

"Why does Himeko look like she already knew?" March 7th looked surprised. "Wait, could it be that I'm the only one who was kept in the dark?"

"It's not that I knew all along, I just had a premonition." Himeko smiled, a relaxed expression on her face, and then brought up another matter, "Now that the crisis at Penacony has been resolved, it's time to share this news with our friends who helped us."

Chapter 74 Would you like a drink?

The conspiracy that shrouded the entire Asdener Star System was foiled, but the impact of this massive plan was far from over. After all, the crisis affected too many people, and the "family" would inevitably have to come up with a response that would satisfy all parties.

Those who are simply dragged into this are not difficult to deal with. The real challenge lies with those who actively participate and try to profit from it—for example, companies.

So, while the nameless passengers on the Stellar Train breathed a sigh of relief that the disaster was over, the entire upper Penacony began to feel overwhelmed with problems.

In addition, the family branch in the Montol Star System reacted quickly, arriving at the scene and rapidly taking control. In this way, the family had enough power to quell the "rumors" and minimize the impact of the crisis.

However, the so-called "impact" is basically only for ordinary people. They may believe, through the family's manipulation, that this is just an attack on the "Grand Gala of Harmony," but this explanation obviously cannot fool those forces who are actually involved in dismantling the conspiracy.

"Therefore, the family has decided to hold talks with various forces on the 'Huichangshi,' and we, as the key to resolving this incident, have been invited to participate as witnesses," Himeko concluded. "The reason for being witnesses is also my idea. After all, this meeting is likely fraught with undercurrents, and participating in it wouldn't be a good choice. What do you all think?"

"I have no objection. Staying out of it is actually the best choice at this time." Dan Heng nodded. "Even if we don't consider things from the perspective of the nameless guest, the family would never treat us unfairly."

"I don't understand all those complicated things, so this is fine," March 7th said, hugging a cushion and leaning lazily against the sofa. "Sigh, after going through so much, I feel like nothing is more important than being safe and sound..."

"Uh," Xing scratched his head, thought for a moment, and then gave a thumbs up, "Me too."

Then everyone turned to look at Ai Yue... with Pardofelis in his arms.

"Why are you looking at me?" As if sensing her gaze, Pardofelis opened her eyes. "I don't have any particular thoughts. In fact, even if I did want something, my family probably couldn't give it to me."

"Since everyone agrees, then it's settled." Himeko nodded with a smile. "However, there's still some time before the talks, so why don't we find somewhere to change our mood?"

A moment later, at the Dreamy Bar.

"It's still as messy as ever here, but that's alright." March 7th sipped her mixed drink, then exclaimed with satisfaction, "Ah, this kind of taste is hard to find in real life, isn't it?"

"It's really good, and more importantly... it's from your hand." Dan Heng also held a mixed drink, though its color was different from March 7th's. He savored it carefully while subtly observing the smug figure behind the bar. "Is it alright to do this?"

"Brother Bao," Xing patted his chest proudly, "I'm the mixing genius that Shu praises so highly. If I could stay longer, she would have handed this bar over to me. A few cocktails are no problem."

"Indeed," the bar's true owner, a blonde woman from the Celestia, slowly walked out from backstage. Her short, neat hair made her look quite dashing. "Besides, a few cocktails are nothing in the face of the great hero who saved Penacony."

"Looks like we really are famous now," Himeko, swirling her wine glass and glancing at the man beside her with a slightly teasing look. "Aren't you a little disappointed that you couldn't participate? After all, you're the kind of person who takes saving others for granted."

"It's alright, we should give the younger generation some room to grow sometimes." Ai Yue shook his head slightly, clearly not bothered. "You know, the Dream Realm is indeed a magical place; this kind of taste is really hard to find outside."

"I'm glad you like it, Brother Yue," Xing said, slightly reserved, but still unable to resist looking at the man in front of her with curiosity. "But you can actually enter the dream world? When we analyzed your situation later, we all thought you disappeared from the hotel because you couldn't get in at all."

The reason why Ai Yue disappeared from the hotel has never stopped being pondered. As their understanding of Penacony deepened and they learned that they had been in the Great One's Dream since entering the Asdener Star System, they quickly guessed the real reason for Ai Yue's disappearance.

Clearly, this seemingly vast dream realm could not truly imprison a consciousness comparable to a star god. Whether Ai Yue left voluntarily or the dream's controller was forced to release him, the result was the same.

Therefore, seeing Ai Yue appear in the dream did indeed overturn everyone's guesses.

"That's pretty much it. Staying put is fine, but then we should just speed through," Ai Yue smiled. "As for now... I haven't been idle these past few days, solving this problem will be a piece of cake."

"I see. I don't think this kind of thing could stump you, Brother Yue," Xing said, her hands still busy, quickly mixing another drink. "This one is for Pardo... It's a pity she didn't come."

"Don't be too hard on a lazy cat like her. She's really exhausted these past few days," Ai Yue said with a smile, putting down his empty wine glass. "To be honest, I haven't seen her work this hard in a long time. It seems she values you guys quite a bit."

Xing gazed at Ai Yue with a subtle look, her expression hesitant, but ultimately said nothing.

Not only her, but everyone else, except for Shu who didn't know much about Ai Yue, showed similar expressions to varying degrees. However, everyone tacitly agreed to remain silent, and the atmosphere at the scene suddenly became subtle again.

Finally, a slightly frivolous voice broke the delicate balance.