Who Awakens First from the Great Dream (Part 1)

Amidst a cluster of ancient-style buildings, a towering pavilion stands proudly, reaching into the clouds.

On the outermost city wall of the complex, a fierce battle was taking place. A general who had just fought a bloody battle and repelled the enemy's attack rushed down from the city wall, mounted his horse, and charged towards the tower in the city.

On the balcony, a woman dressed in a magnificent gown, exuding an ethereal beauty, stood beside the jade railing, looking down at the general riding towards them on horseback. Her expression was solemn—though they were far away, her vision seemed to be able to zoom in infinitely, easily seeing people and objects in the distance.

Before long, the general arrived at the top of the tower, handed the reins of his horse to the guards below, and then galloped up the tower.

Upon reaching the top floor, he slowed down, removed his helmet to reveal a gleaming bald head, and adjusted the sword at his waist—the hilt of the sword was normal, but the blade was very peculiar, lacking a scabbard and instead resembling a very long and narrow 104-key keyboard.

The general walked to a screen, clasped his hands in greeting, and said loudly, "Princess Nana! The enemy army has reached the city walls. Please use magic to repel them!"

The screen was automatically removed with a whoosh, revealing Tang Baona in a magnificent ancient-style dress behind it.

Her face was also full of sorrow. "General, I'm at my wit's end! The zither is broken, it makes no sound!! I can't play the Demon-Repelling Divine Melody!!!"

As she spoke, she helplessly pointed to a zither placed on the platform next to her—but it wasn't a guqin, but rather an old-fashioned electronic keyboard, which looked extremely out of place compared to her clothes and the surrounding environment, though it matched the keyboard on the general's waist quite well.

"Oh no? It's broken?! What do we do? Is it out of batteries?" The bald general squatted down beside the piano, anxiously checking it. "I'll take the batteries out of my keyboard for you, but... um, they won't fit, the specifications are different. Let me see, do you have a power cord?"

Princess Nana squatted down beside her and whispered, "I don't know either, there's just no sound. Hey, General Xiang, I'm a little hungry, why don't you go get me something to eat? I want some meat."

The bald general snorted, "Princess Nana, what time is it? You're still thinking about food? The enemy is already outside, they're at the city gates, do you understand...?"

"Well, there's nothing I can do! What can I do if the keyboard won't even work?" Princess Nana said, stubbornly striking the keyboard keys with her fingers a few times. Apart from the clattering sound of the keys hitting each other, no corresponding notes were played.

"If your keyboard doesn't work, you can't fight on the battlefield! It's the same thing! Either you fix my piano and I'll play, or you cook for me and fill my stomach first," Princess Nana said matter-of-factly.

The bald general sighed, looking like he was at a loss for what to do, stood up, and began to take off his armor.

The "Princess Nana" next to him chuckled and took an apron with her own image printed on it. As soon as he took off his armor, she put it on him. Then, with a snap of her fingers, a very modern kitchen appeared next to him, complete with faucets, a stainless steel sink, a gas stove, a range hood, an oven, and other modern cooking equipment.

The bald general instantly transformed into a bald chef by putting on an apron and starting to cook. "Princess Nana" rubbed her hands together and watched him cook with anticipation, her tongue occasionally licking her lips unconsciously.

Suddenly, a melodious tune began to play, followed by a somewhat familiar female voice softly humming a beautiful melody.

Princess Nana paused for a moment, tilting her head to listen. "This melody is so beautiful! Who's singing this? I want to buy her album. Hmm, the more I listen, the more familiar it sounds... It sounds like I'm singing! Wait, wait, wait, wait?"

"Sister Nana, Sister Nana..."

As she was confused, a familiar voice gently called to her.

Everything around them, from the various objects on the balcony to the bald chef cooking nearby, suddenly became blurry. In particular, the bald chef's face was completely obscured by a white mist, making his features invisible.

Am I dreaming?

A thought arose in her mind, and she immediately understood her situation and remembered what had happened before she went to sleep. She remembered that she had fallen asleep to help Xiang Kun deal with a very powerful but elusive being.

Then, she saw Lao Xia appear in front of her, and everything around her, including the bald general, disappeared.

Tang Baona's gorgeous palace dress had been replaced by her previous bear pajamas. A little embarrassed, she asked Lao Xia, "You saw all that just now?"

"No, I just arrived," Xia Libing said.

"So what should we do now?" Tang Baona clenched her fists, rubbing them together as if she were looking around for the big boss she needed to deal with. "How can we help Xiang Kun?"

Xia Libing glanced at the empty dream space around her and said, "It seems it hasn't affected your dream yet, or perhaps Xiang Kun and Alice deliberately helped you eliminate its influence first."

Tang Baona couldn't help but scratch her head. "What does this mean? Do Xiang Kun and Alice think I'm too weak and want to protect me? But... I'm clearly the oldest among us."

"It's not that I think you're weak, it's that I need you as an outside help," Xia Libing said. "You and I are both outside help."

Tang Baona asked in confusion, "Foreign aid?"

Dressed in silver armor and carrying a greatsword, Yang Zhen'er rode a white balance bike slowly down the middle of the wide road, looking around with an imposing air, as if she were a great lord inspecting her territory.

The streets were deserted; there wasn't a single car in sight.

Pedestrians could be faintly seen on both sides of the road, but they were all hiding inside the shops, gazing at her from afar with reverence.

Yang Zhen'er stood tall and proud, feeling a sense of pride and satisfaction as she looked on as if she were protecting this land, this city, and all its inhabitants.

A moment later, a chubby little girl appeared ahead, wearing a magic robe with cat ears and riding a children's bicycle with training wheels on the back. She pedaled with difficulty to get closer, tilted her little head up, and shouted loudly, "Silver Armor Fairy! I want to follow you to fight the monsters!"

Yang Zhen'er nodded in satisfaction, picked up the broadsword from her back, gently tapped the little girl's shoulder with the tip of the sword, and said, "I allow you to follow me."

So the little girl happily rode her bicycle behind her balance bike, slowly moving forward.

Then a tall girl with a high ponytail and a cute girl wearing round-framed glasses appeared. One called her "my most respected older cousin" and the other called her "my dear Zhen'er." They both joined the group.

Although they didn't have any means of transportation, they walked briskly in the group and were no slower than Yang Zhen'er, who was riding a balance bike, and the Little Chubby Girl, who was riding a children's bicycle.

Ahead, another bald warrior and a female assassin with her eyes covered by a black cloth appeared. One called her "Silver Armor Princess," and the other called her "Fairy Sister." They both joined the group.

The procession marched on, and at the end of the road, a huge black monster, more than ten meters tall, stood before them. Its body was shrouded in black mist, and it looked like a chibi version of an evil rabbit, with two large eyes emitting a terrifying red light.

Yang Zhen'er jumped off the balance bike, took off her broadsword, pointed it forward, and shouted, "Charge with me!"

She let out a howl, raised her greatsword high, and charged towards the evil rabbit.

With a casual flick of its front paw, the evil rabbit knocked Yang Zhen'er to the ground, then pinned her down by its hind paws, rendering her immobile.

"Quick! Attack it while you can! This is a great opportunity!" Yang Zhen'er shouted as she swung her greatsword to slash at the giant rabbit's foot that was stepping on her.

After shouting for a while, Yang Zhen'er realized that no one else was attacking the evil rabbit except for her. So she turned around and saw that the "little friends" who had followed her all the way were all standing still, coldly watching her, completely indifferent, and had no intention of rescuing her or attacking the evil rabbit.

"What... what are you doing? Hurry up and make your move! This is a great opportunity!" Yang Zhen'er shouted.

The other "friends" remained indifferent, watching without moving.

"Don't just stand there! Little Bell, Chef Xiang, Lao Xia, Little Apple, Nana, come save me!" Yang Zhen'er shouted hoarsely.

However, instead of moving, the "little friends" took a few steps back.

Yang Zhen'er was in despair. After being slapped hard several times by the evil rabbit's claws, she couldn't help but burst into tears, her face covered in snot and tears, blurring her vision.

It wasn't that the impact hurt; although the evil rabbit was enormous, its giant claws felt like cotton candy when they hit me, causing no real damage.

She felt utterly hopeless, experiencing a sense of loneliness and desolation, as if she had been abandoned and betrayed.

It turns out she didn't have a team; she was all alone.

Suddenly, a rhythmic drumbeat rang in my ears, its echo reverberating throughout the city.

Thump!

Knock knock!

Knock knock knock!

The suona horn sounded, and the drumbeats became more rapid.

A clear, ethereal female voice began to hum, carrying a tragic, defiant spirit, as if saying, "Though there be thousands, I will go."

For a moment, the music gave her the feeling of a One-Punch Man carrying out justice... or the background music from Water Margin. The despair and loneliness were instantly swept away, replaced by excitement and passion.

"Yang the Third, stand up!"

A familiar female voice rang in my ears, seemingly real yet unreal.

"Ya!--Ha!" Yang Zhen'er shouted, surrounded by dazzling light bands. She swung her greatsword, crackling with electricity, and soared into the sky with a stubborn and tenacious aura.

With a pitiful bleat, the evil rabbit formed from black mist dissipated and vanished. Yang Zhen'er leaped up like a god, descending from a height of over ten meters with her greatsword in hand.

His feet, clad in silver combat boots, stomped on the ground, sending pebbles flying and leaving two large footprints.

"Silver Armor Fairy! You're so amazing!" The "Little Chubby Girl" who had been standing by and watching coldly suddenly rushed over happily, wanting to hug her.

Yang Zhen'er raised her greatsword and slapped her on the buttocks, sending her flying into the air. She said disdainfully:

"You're not Little Bell! Little Bell never calls me that!"

The girl with the ponytail leaned closer. "My dearest cousin..."

"Fake!" Yang Zhen'er swung her greatsword, sending her flying into the air.

The girl with glasses stepped forward. "My dearest Zhen'er..."

"Disgusting!" Another person was slapped into the air.

After slapping all five people into the air with her greatsword, Yang Zhen'er looked around thoughtfully, then at her own hands and the weapon in them. She listened intently to the humming that still echoed through the heavens and earth, and suddenly felt something was off. Everything around her seemed... a little unreal?

"Cousin."

A familiar voice rang out, and she turned around to see Lao Xia walking towards her.

"Here we go again!" Yang Zhen'er frowned and swung her greatsword at the tall girl's buttocks.

The massive sword, which looked wider than the girl's thigh and crackled with electricity, was effortlessly blocked by her raising her hand in front of her buttocks.

"How could you possibly stop me? This is my dream!" Yang Zhen'er shouted instinctively, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she froze, muttering, "Huh? My dream? Am I dreaming?"

"Cousin, wake up." Lao Xia leaned closer, took off her helmet, cupped her cheeks in his hands, and gently rubbed them as he spoke.

This is a gesture that Yang Zhen'er often made to Xia Libing when she was a child.

"I'm awake! I'm awake!" Yang Zhen'er laughed and removed Xia Libing's hands, then hugged her tightly. "Lao Xia! I missed you so much!"

Mingming was talking to Lao Xia before going to sleep, just before her eyes closed, but having just experienced that feeling of loneliness, abandonment, and betrayal, she felt a surge of grievances when facing the "real Lao Xia," as if she had suddenly seen a relative after decades of wandering in a foreign land.

"Right! We were dreaming about helping Chef Xiang. What was in the dream? Was it that black rabbit we just saw? I took care of it all by myself, didn't I? Did I do the dirty work?" Yang Zhen'er suddenly remembered something and let go of Lao Xia to ask.

"No," Xia Libing said, "Those fake versions of me, those fake Xiang Kun, could be partial representations. Anything that doesn't belong to your dream, anything that feels out of place, could be one of them. I came here to help you find those things."

"I get it! It's a game of spot the difference!" Yang Zhen'er's eyes lit up. "Where's Nana? Where are Little Bell, Little Apple, Chef Xiang, Alice?"

"Focus your attention and hurry up," Xia Libing said.

"Alright, alright, don't worry, I, the Silver-Armored Immortal, am definitely the most powerful in my own dream!" Yang Zhen'er proudly put her helmet back on, picked up her greatsword, and swaggered ahead to lead the way, intending to take Lao Xia to sweep through her dream.

Before I knew it, the background music in the dream became soothing, and the rhythm even became a little playful and silly.

Apart from Lao Xia, whose dream progress was the fastest due to the special nature of his mission, in Xiang Kun and Alice's plan, the other people, from Yang the Third, Tang Baona, Little Apple to Little Chubby Girl, basically started their dreams at the same time.

Lao Xia is the guide, the free man, and the reinforcements who wander through various dreams, while Tang Baona's special melody is an important part of awakening dreams, providing logistical support and technical assistance.

She plays directly in her dreams, and Alice distributes and adjusts the melodies, ensuring that others are "awakened" from their dreams.

Until Yang the Third was "awakened," the entire plan went smoothly, and everything was basically within Xiang Kun and Alice's expectations.

But with the Little Chubby Girl, something unexpected happened.