The Gates of the New World (Part 2, Complete)

"Lao Xia! Sister Nana's awake!" Alice slapped the table with both hands, tapped her heels on the sofa, and looked happily at Xia Libing beside her. "We did it! The boss was right!"

Tang Baona looked left and right curiously, touched the table in front of her, and then touched her own face. The texture felt quite real, but she knew very well that it was an illusion, that it was fake, that she was in her dream.

Everything had a hazy yet real feel to it; she could perceive it clearly without even looking up.

She looked down at the table in front of her, and the next moment, a steaming cup of coffee appeared. She picked it up, and as she brought it closer, her glasses were covered in steam.

She took a small sip of coffee, narrowed her eyes, exhaled a satisfied breath, and then the mist in her eyes disappeared naturally, along with the coffee in her hand.

She then looked at "Lao Xia" and "Lao Xia Mini" Alice sitting in front of her. The former remained seated quietly, his eyes fixed on her, revealing a thoughtful and observant look, just like always. The latter, however, was a little restless, bouncing around with an excited expression, as if anticipating something.

The two of them gave her a feeling different from everything around her; she could sense them and control them, but not completely.

Being able to be fully aware that I'm dreaming in a dream, and to be able to perceive various things concretely, is such a magical and novel experience.

"Were you... also in my dream?" Tang Baona asked curiously.

"No! We're real, we're alive and kicking!" Alice exclaimed, jumping up onto the sofa and spreading her arms wide.

Xia Libing pressed her head down and made her sit down again. "Stop fooling around, we're dreaming."

"We're real even in our dreams! Sister Nana, we're real people!" Alice shouted again.

Tang Baona asked blankly, "You mean... you entered my dream?" After a slight pause, she asked again, "Did Little Bell, Zhen'er, Little Apple, and Xiang Kun also come into my dream just now?"

This time, Xia Libing answered, "Apart from Xiang Kun, the other three are all prototypes from your own dream."

Tang Baona's eyes lit up, and she slightly raised her right fist, gesturing. "That Saitama and punched that big bird away... was that really Xiang Kun? He came to my dream too?"

Tang Baona accepted the idea of being able to have real sensory interactions with others in her dreams very quickly, since she was already in a dream first.

"No, that's not Xiang Kun, that's the prototype of your subconscious in your dream," Xia Libing said.

Alice asked curiously, "This time we triggered the dream by focusing on our emotions. Nana, what you were thinking about before, that's what you're more likely to dream about. Nana, do you usually think about going out and fighting monsters with everyone? Just like Little Bell!"

Tang Baona paused for a moment, a little embarrassed, and immediately changed the subject, saying, "If 'Saitama' isn't Xiang Kun, then where is Xiang Kun?"

As she spoke, she looked around. The coffee shop was still empty, and the Little Chubby Girl waitress who used to be there was nowhere to be found.

Alice spread her arms wide and shook them up and down. "The boss is everywhere!" She didn't appear in dreams often. Previously, she mostly appeared in Little Chubby Girl and Little Apple's dreams, but that required Xiang Kun and Lao Xia's cooperation. After fully integrating the "Super-Sensing Item System," she rarely had the chance to play in their dreams anymore. Now, being able to play in Tang Baona's dream and experience new dreams besides Little Chubby Girl and Little Apple, she was so excited she couldn't contain herself. If Lao Xia hadn't been there, he would have already dragged her "Sister Nana" and taken her everywhere.

Xia Libing then said, "Our presence here, your ability to wake up from the dream, and the fact that this dream is sustaining us all depend on him. His consciousness and perception are omnipresent and omniscient. He knows everything we do, say, our emotions, and our perceptions."

Tang Baona was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously said, "Inception?"

Then, as if remembering something, she looked at Alice and asked, "How did you appear? I don't mean in the dream, I mean in reality. Oh right, the times before... and today too, thank you, little sprite... uh, Alice."

Alice exclaimed cheerfully, "Sister Nana, you've thanked me so many times!"

So... you've always been by my side?

"Yes, Alice is everywhere!"

Alice's tone was slightly smug. After realizing that Alice's voice was a younger version of her own, Tang Baona felt something was off when she heard Alice speak again, and she almost wanted to laugh.

"She can manifest in the real world. The basis of this manifestation is the system established by Xiang Kun, and the foundation of that system is his 'Lucky Coin' and 'wood carvings' and the like," Xia Libing answered Tang Baona's question seriously from the side.

Tang Baona hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Why is Alice... like you when you were little, Lao Xia? Zhen'er showed me pictures of you when you were little, and Alice looks almost exactly like you."

Xia Libing said, "Because the ability of All-Encompassing Alice was developed by me based on Xiang Kun's ability system."

Tang Baona was stunned. "What do you mean? So this ability... is it Xiang Kun's ability, or yours?"

"Just like your ability to perceive the melodies of various objects and the emotions of others, your ability is 'developed' based on Xiang Kun's system. It is your ability, but in essence, it is Xiang Kun's ability," Xia Libing said.

Ah! You know I can feel... those melodies?

"It's because of Nana's ability that we were able to awaken you!" Alice seized the opportunity to interject.

Tang Baona suddenly realized that after Lao Xia and Alice appeared, the rhythmic melody had never stopped, as if it were a permanent background music.

"Who exactly is Xiang Kun?" Tang Baona couldn't help but ask.

She could tell from Alice and Lao Xia's words that whether it was their abilities or her own, whether it was the various strange phenomena in reality or the strange conversation in this dream, the root cause was Xiang Kun.

Xia Libing glanced at the little girl beside her who was already itching to act. "Alice."

"Alright!" Alice cheered.

The next moment, Tang Baona found that the ceiling of the coffee shop was gone, and they could see the sky directly. Then, the world spun around, and everything underwent complex changes, while the usual background music also changed at the same time.

The experience of having your own dreams controlled and altered by others while you are awake... is truly bizarre.

As the scene repeatedly rotates, breaks, and then coalesces, eventually returning to a realistic environment, Tang Baona finds herself sitting side-by-side with Lao Xia on a moving subway, while Alice has vanished.

Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly noticed a dejected office worker sitting diagonally in front of them in the previously empty carriage.

She couldn't see the other person's face clearly, or even their clothes, but inexplicably, the moment she saw them, she knew—it was Xiang Kun.

Then she immediately realized that this was when Xiang Kun had just lost his job—as if an instinctive awareness was telling her this.

The screen immediately shattered, then reformed, and the background music changed again.

It was a dimly lit room. She and Lao Xia were standing by the door when a naked, muscular man suddenly sat up from the bed.

This time, she saw the man's face clearly; it was the Xiang Kun she knew—the bald Xiang Kun.

She saw Xiang Kun sitting in the coffee shop, a one-yuan Coin tumbling on the back of his hand, observing the customers coming and going with an indifferent expression;

She saw Xiang Kun, dressed in a vest, shorts, and slippers, rush down from the rented house and kick a knife-wielding thug away.

She saw Xiang Kun squatting in front of a chubby, adorable little girl, taking out a Coin and saying, "This isn't an ordinary Coin; it's your bald uncle's Lucky Coin. Carrying it will bring you good luck. Moreover, it's a magic Coin; it has magical powers."

She saw Xiang Kun, Professor Li, and Little Apple sitting side by side on a park bench, and handed a Coin to the girl. "You can try this 'Object-Sensing' method. Maybe it can help you better utilize your hearing, smell, and even develop a sixth sense."

She saw Xiang Kun sitting in the room, polishing a wooden carving under a lamp. Slowly, an eight-armed, eight-eyed black figure gradually condensed behind him, growing larger and larger.

She saw Xiang Kun standing on the roof of an abandoned building, shouting to Xia Libing, who was filming below, "Lao Xia, I'm coming down!" and then he jumped down.

She saw Xiang Kun locked in a fierce and brutal battle with a giant owl by the lake.

She saw Xiang Kun sitting in front of the computer, stroking his chin as he said, "Alice, when you talk to me, don't call me by my name directly; call me 'boss'."

She saw Alice, dressed in a white princess dress and black leather shoes, standing on Xiang Kun's shoulders, gazing into the distance with him, and saying firmly, "Boss, we are invincible!"

She saw Xiang Kun standing in the center of the lightning storm, suspended in mid-air, with electric sparks dancing Xiang Kun head wide open, looking up at the sky, laughing loudly and shouting, "Happy birthday, Nana!"

After an unknown amount of time and after watching countless scenes, Tang Baona suddenly found herself back in that coffee shop, with Lao Xia still sitting in front of her, and Alice, who was much quieter now.

"That was just now..." Tang Baona murmured.

She had just seen many images and fragments, and she felt as if she understood some things, yet also had many more questions, as if she had only seen the tip of the iceberg. Each fragment was expressed by a melody, which gave her more of a subjective understanding.

Xia Libing said, "The root of all abilities lies with Xiang Kun, but who exactly Xiang Kun is, how his abilities should be described, and how to explain them are different for different people. Sister Nana, you can give a definition based on your understanding. This will help you better utilize the system established by Xiang Kun and 'develop' your own unique abilities."

"How should I develop it..." Tang Baona began, but then suddenly remembered her ability to perceive melody, and another question popped into her head, "But what can I do with that ability? Create and perform all kinds of songs? Dominate the pop music scene?"

"Sister Nana, your abilities are far greater than you imagine," Xia Libing said.

"Much more powerful!" Alice exclaimed.

"Right now Xiang Kun, or rather, all of us, the entire world, are facing a threat. Sister Nana, Xiang Kun needs your help, we need your help," Xia Libing said.

"Sister Nana, the boss needs your help, Alice needs your help, Lao Xia needs your help, Little Apple needs your help, Little Bell..."

Tang Baona groggily opened her eyes to Alice's enthusiastic voice.

Upon seeing the familiar ceiling and chandelier, Tang Baona realized that she was truly awake now.

She sat up from the sofa, glanced at the wall clock in the living room; it was four in the morning. It seemed she had fallen asleep on the sofa while thinking about Alice's problem after coming home.

She discovered that her right hand was still tightly gripping her left wrist, or more precisely, the bracelet that Xiang Kun had given her.

She recalled the dream she had just had, the scenes that revealed some of Xiang Kun's secrets, but she still couldn't understand or figure out what was going on with her abilities, Xiang Kun's abilities, and the various other manifestations and Alice's appearance.

But what Lao Xia said at the end meant that she should fill in the blanks herself? That filling in the blanks would actually help her improve her abilities?

Also, what is this "threat facing the whole world" that Lao Xia mentioned?

Why don't you explain it clearly?

Sigh, is the truth of the world really this cheesy?

In the end, Yang the Third's wildly imaginative idea turned out to be the closest to the truth?

Am I still dreaming?

Tang Baona scratched her head and gave a wry smile. She even Zhihu asking herself a question on Zhihu: What does it feel like when a female anime/manga enthusiast discovers that the world is truly so fantastical?

She couldn't help but want to call Lao Xia and ask for more details, but then she remembered what Lao Xia had said. It was obvious that he was deliberately not telling her the whole truth. Given Lao Xia's personality, continuing to press him would be useless. Even if she didn't refuse, he would definitely find a way to fool her.

Tang Baona got up and went to the balcony, looking at the buildings in the distance, feeling the night breeze, and playing with the beads in her hand.

One thing is certain: her abilities, Xiang Kun's abilities, and the various things Xiang Kun gave her— Coin, wood carvings, bracelets, and so on—are all related.

Like the wristband that Lao Xia Xiang Kun gave Lao Xia on her birthday, it should have a similar function!

I'll borrow it from Lao Xia another day to try it out; I wonder if I'll experience any new sensations.

Tang Baona couldn't sleep, so she simply began to use her ability to perceive the melody of everything, extending it from home to the outside world, and then constantly integrating melodies to discover the characteristics and commonalities in various melodies.

Was Lao Xia's statement, "Your abilities are far greater than you imagine," just polite talk, or was it true?

Besides playing and composing music, what else can this ability be used for?

Is it possible to play music directly using anything?

As soon as this thought arose, Tang Baona suddenly realized something. She immediately took the initiative to capture the source of those peculiar rhythmic fragments around her, not to trace their origins, but to weave them together.

"Alice! Help me!" Tang Baona suddenly opened her eyes and shouted into the living room.

"Okay!"

A drumbeat resounded in Tang Baona's consciousness, and through that special connection, it was played by Alice.

The next instant, the hard stone slab on the coffee table in the living room shattered into powder.