Painting within a Painting

"Linsey, are you out of your mind?"

"What merit do I, a mere Fifth Stage painter, possess to create a Hallucination Dream?"

"Or rather, if I truly possessed that ability—would we still be afraid of our current situation?"

At this moment, the city is splitting apart, the sea is surging, and the humidity in the air is rising.

For a moment, Ala Song couldn't understand Linsey's idea, and thought his companion was being delusional, or even being influenced by the chaotic World Law.

Linsey then stomped her foot on the restless ground in front of her:

"The Hallucination Dream of the City of a Thousand Sails interfere with and influence each other."

"Ala Song, think about it carefully. Opening Impression Channel here might allow us to seek refuge in other worlds, just like when we entered this place!"

"You..." Ala Song wanted to refute Linsey's idea, but after careful analysis, he said, "You know what, it's actually possible!"

Following this line of thought, the one-armed painter raised a new question:

"But for Impression Channel, at least you need to know what the scenery on the other side looks like."

"If we continue to paint the City of a Thousand Sails, we might not be able to return to reality, and instead end up in some other corner of this world."

"So, what should I draw?"

"The sea! Draw a vast ocean!"

Young Selina suddenly spoke up.

As time passed, the memories in her mind became clearer and clearer:

"I, my future self, was dragged to another world, where there is a boundless ocean!"

Drawing the sea is no problem for Ala Song, but he voiced his final question:

"What about the token that anchors the coordinates?"

Linsey lifted young Selina up:

What do you think of her?

"..."

There's absolutely nothing wrong with it.

Wala Wala himself exists in the corresponding world, using him as a coordinate is perfectly fine.

"... Give it a try."

Ala Song nodded in agreement and took out his paintbrush.

At this moment, everything in the Reflection World has fallen apart.

The City of a Thousand Sails has transformed into a series of small islands floating on the sea, like Stellaris reflected on the ocean.

The floor beneath the feet of Linsey and her two companions began to warp.

Ala Song dared not hesitate.

He held his paintbrush, drawing the seawater beside him onto the ground.

At that moment, he didn't care about any painting techniques, so he used seawater as paint and used the Essence to activate his painting skills. A plain, ordinary water pattern was imprinted on the ground by him.

"Selina!"

Young Selina extends her right hand.

Ala Song was very gentle with children.

He carefully guided Selina, pressing her small hand to the ground.

Snap—

With the input of Essence serving as coordinates, this ordinary scene of seawater instantly changed.

The surface of the painting appears to be rippling with waves.

When the sunlight shines upwards, it gives a shimmering, sparkling feeling.

Meanwhile, in Linsey's line of sight, the image instantly lit up, and the corresponding information appeared at the same time.

[Impression Channel · Hallucination Dream – An entrance to Hallucination Gate opened through a special method.]

"No problem, let's go!"

Without saying a word, Linsey jumped forward.

He put his arms around Ala Song and young Selina on his left and right, and the three of them stepped onto the unfamiliar sea together.

Almost simultaneously, the ground of the city began to shake even more violently.

It originally intended to attack Linsey, who was standing on it, but suddenly discovered that they had all disappeared.

"...?"

The fragment of the city paused for a moment, seemingly puzzled.

A few seconds later, like other fragments of the city, it drifted into the distant ocean and disappeared without a trace.

Splash—

On the other side, Linsey's head had just popped out of the water.

In an instant, the bright sunlight shone down from above, casting a golden glow on the surrounding sea.

He looked around.

The surrounding area is all blue and clear water.

Apart from the occasional sea breeze, not even a seabird could be seen.

Where is this again?

Linsey raised an eyebrow.

He exerted force with both hands, and Ala Song and Selina, both soaking wet, also emerged from the water.

"Hey, this time it's both good news and bad news."

Linsey tried to ease the tension:

"The good news is that it's not as chaotic as it was in the last world; but the bad news is that we don't know where we are now, we might be lost."

Ala Song rolled his eyes at Linsey.

The painter quickly sketched a simple wooden boat, and the three of them climbed aboard, managing to sit on it with difficulty.

"So, what should we do now?"

"This world seems safe enough. But what if it turns out like the last world in the future..."

Linsey shook her head in rejection:

No, that won't happen.

He used his Decryption Game skills to scout the environment.

The world rules and Essence here are quite stable, not nearly as exaggerated as the previous Reflection World.

Linsey stated her deduction:

"The chaos of the last Hallucination Dream was probably related to its presentation of the City of a Thousand Sails as a reflection of the world."

"A normal Hallucination Dream is a completely independent world. How could it possibly contain so many complex forces?"

"I hope so," Ala Song accepted Linsey's explanation and continued, "But since the power here isn't so chaotic, how should we create Impression Channel to get out of here?"

Linsey replied:

"The safest way, of course, is to find its original import and export channels."

"After all, this place is also a Hallucination Dream."

After exchanging opinions with Ala Song, Linsey turned her gaze to Selina, who was standing to the side.

At this point, although Selina had inherited the memories of the future, her fear of seawater was very obvious.

It went in and out of the seawater, though for a very short time.

But her little face was still deathly pale with fright:

"Selina, are you alright?"

Linsey used the power of the [Emblem of Ice and Fire] to dry and warm the other person's clothes.

Young Selina snuggled closer to Linsey and gently nuzzled against her:

"Linsey, call me Wala Wala."

Linsey's face lit up with joy:

"You've remembered everything."

The petite Wala Wala shrank her body:

"I've remembered almost everything."

"Although there is some chaos, it's just that the reaction is a bit slower."

Wala Wala stretched out her tiny palms.

With that grasp and squeeze, a slight smile involuntarily crept onto his lips:

"I really miss this body. It's from when I was very young."

"However, Linsey, when I arrived in the City of a Thousand Sails, I didn't have your help. If I hadn't run fast enough, I probably would have been working as a rather special actor in some Secret Theater."

Linsey slapped Wala Wala on the head:

"Stop talking about topics that are inappropriate for children!"

"Now that you remember, tell me, where is your original body?"

Wala Wala's eyes instantly welled up with tears, and she wrapped her little hands around Linsey's waist.

"Big brother, please don't hit me, it hurts!"

"..."

Ala Song looked at the two of them with a strange expression.

It was as if the couple were playing some novel and unheard-of game under the sun.

Linsey was completely bewildered by the Wala Wala.

He wasn't sure if it was the little girl's instinctive cry of pain, or if the real Wala Wala being affectionate.

"You... that was my fault, I apologize to you."

Wala Wala chuckled softly.

She gently patted Linsey's waist before standing up and saying:

"In the ocean of this world, there is a giant whirlpool."

"I was pulled in by a powerful force, unable to resist, and then I lost consciousness."