Falling into the Dream Realm

Though humans boasted of being the spirit of all creation, they still could not escape nature's selection and elimination.

Nature was both gentle and cruel, having long woven an unfeeling net to weed out unqualified creations.

Ai Miye was undoubtedly special, so her chances of survival had been infinitely amplified. She had narrowly avoided nature's elimination and become a survivor of House Town.

It was precisely because she had survived that she could meet Hawkins.

This was not a coincidence, but something that was meant to be, like Halley's Comet passing Earth once every seventy-six years—seemingly accidental, yet inevitably ordained.

Ai Miye's heart ached terribly at that moment. How she wished Hawkins were a good person.

But Hawkins had ulterior motives!

Though she did not know what Hawkins wanted to say, she was already on the verge of collapse, and her whole world had turned black.

She was not worried for herself. Even if she had wrongly trusted Hawkins, death would be the worst of it. But she had let down the other children. She had been the one to decide to trust Hawkins, so she could not forgive herself.

All coincidences were, in truth, inevitable.

Why had Ai Miye encountered Hawkins?

Because Ai Miye possessed an extraordinarily special intuition, one that allowed her to evade Jabus's murderous attacks.

And why did Ai Miye possess such a miraculous ability?

Where there was cause, there was bound to be effect.

Ai Miye's ancestor had not been an ordinary person, but a powerful Curse Caster.

Although most curses were not inherited, certain abilities could be passed down to the next generation.

For example, if a Curse Caster became a werewolf because of a curse, his descendants would likely inherit some werewolf traits. They might be physically stronger, have sharper senses of smell, or even possess the ability to transform into werewolves.

This inheritance might initially carry the curse with it, but it would gradually fade and even disappear as descendants multiplied. That was why neither Hawkins nor Mark had sensed any curse aura from Ai Miye.

With Hawkins's hearing, he naturally knew about the private whispers Ai Miye had shared with Arthur. He had planned to speak openly with all the children once they had finished eating.

But he had clearly underestimated the special power within Ai Miye's bloodline. Just as he was about to explain what he wanted to discuss, Ai Miye covered her ears and let out a piercing scream.

If mental fluctuations could have been measured, then hers had reached their peak at that instant.

Black energy poured from her body and formed into a sphere, frightening the surrounding children into retreating. Arthur tried to step forward, but Mark subdued him in an instant.

Hawkins had never expected this. He had only wanted to give Ai Miye a surprise.

In the blink of an eye.

Just as Ai Miye was about to vanish completely, he decisively reached out and grabbed her arm, then felt an enormous pulling force.

In an instant, the sphere of black energy twisted and disappeared. Ai Miye and Hawkins vanished along with it.

Qiao Si immediately drew her greatsword. She glared at Arthur and the others and asked coldly, "What did you do to the captain?"

"Wait, don't panic. These children should be innocent. The captain will be fine, I guarantee it." Mark hurriedly stepped in front of Arthur, holding out both hands as he tried to calm her.

It had clearly been an accident just now, and he believed Hawkins would be all right.

Qiao Si stared at Mark, then sheathed her greatsword on her back again. "I hope your judgment is not wrong!"

"Don't worry, it definitely isn't. I've never seen anyone stronger or more terrifying than the captain. You should trust his strength!" Mark let out a breath and said with a smile.

Arthur and the others looked utterly panicked, completely at a loss.

Ai Miye had obviously erupted with astonishing power just now, something beyond anything they could imagine.

The companion they had once known so well had suddenly become a stranger in their hearts.

Darkness. Ominousness. Suffocation.

Hawkins felt as though his entire body were about to be crushed flat.

He held Ai Miye tightly, protecting her in his arms, while constantly wrapping himself in Curse Power to weaken the oppressive pressure around them.

This space was extremely strange. He could not even open his eyes, and could only use his hair to probe the surroundings. Yet before long, some force severed his hair.

There was neither a sensation of falling nor rising. It felt more like being inside an eggshell. The problem was that he knew he should be moving; the severed hair was the best proof. Thus, he did not recklessly court death.

He did not know how long had passed. Perhaps a second, perhaps a year.

Suddenly, Hawkins felt himself falling, and the strange pressure vanished as well. He immediately opened his eyes, swiftly adjusted his body, and landed lightly on the ground.

"Waaah! Let go of me! Let go of me!" Ai Miye's crying finally came through normally.

Ai Miye had actually been crying the entire time. Hawkins could feel her body trembling, but he had been unable to hear her voice.

"All right, stop crying. What exactly is going on?"

Hawkins released Ai Miye and asked as he observed their surroundings.

The space they were in was exceedingly strange and dim. It appeared to be a circular stone platform, with only a stone path to their right leading straight into deep, shadowy darkness. He did not know what lay there, but it was the only path available.

Ai Miye wiped away her tears, looked around, then lowered her head without a word.

"You don't know either?" Hawkins was keenly observant and immediately understood the meaning behind her behavior, sounding somewhat surprised.

"All right, that is not too strange, really. But we need to find a way out of here." Hawkins gave a helpless, wry smile.

Ai Miye stubbornly said, "You don't need to pretend to be a good person here. I know what you're thinking."

"What am I thinking? If you guess correctly, then I'll... Well, I don't know what you want." Hawkins asked with a smile, then realized that he did not know Ai Miye's preferences.

Ai Miye looked at Hawkins, fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Were you planning to sell us to those nobles?"

"Silly child, can't you think this through? Do you think an adult as powerful as me needs to make money by selling children?" Hawkins asked with amused disbelief.

Ai Miye could not be blamed for thinking that way.

Hawkins understood perfectly why Ai Miye thought so. First, she had received very little education, and almost all her knowledge came from life experience. Second, this world truly was cruel, and there were not many genuinely good people.

Most people here had very shallow moral values. Harming others for one's own benefit was not condemned; it was even regarded as a sign of cleverness.

In such an environment, it was perfectly normal for Ai Miye's thoughts to burrow into a dead end.

Hawkins rubbed Ai Miye's head and smiled. "All right, let's find the way back first. Otherwise, the others will probably worry."

"You really weren't planning to sell us to nobles?" Ai Miye asked again.

"Can I choose not to be a sailor?" Ai Miye believed Hawkins, but asked hesitantly.

Hawkins nodded. "Of course. Then how about becoming a cook?"

Hawkins asked curiously, "Then what do you want to do?"

"I don't know," Ai Miye answered with her head lowered.

Hawkins said helplessly, "All right, then be an apprentice for now. Once you figure out what you want to do, we can change professions."

"Why are you so good to us? If you only wanted sailors, I know..." Ai Miye had wanted to say that House Tavern had many experienced sailors, but then she remembered that everyone in House Town was already dead.

But right afterward, she began to worry again. Perhaps Hawkins could not find adults to serve as sailors, so he had recruited children like them. Once they reached the next place and found adults, he would no longer want them.

Seeing her suddenly look so troubled, Hawkins asked curiously, "My little apprentice, what is troubling you now?"

"Once you find adults, will you make us leave the ship?" Ai Miye asked worriedly.

Hawkins did not understand. "Why would I make you leave the ship?"

"Because we definitely aren't as strong as adults, and we can't do things as well as they can," Ai Miye said unwillingly.

Hawkins could not help laughing. "But I don't plan to hire adults as my sailors. They eat more, and they have particularly rotten hearts."

"Then can we stay on your ship forever?" Ai Miye asked, her eyes sparkling.

Hawkins nodded. "Of course, unless you want to leave the ship."

"That's wonderful! Arthur will definitely be overjoyed, and Tom, Jason, Stallone, Schwarzenegger—they'll definitely become good sailors," Ai Miye said happily.

Hawkins could not help laughing. "Mm, I can tell just from their names that they'll definitely be good sailors. But first, we must leave this place."

"Mm."

Ai Miye glanced fearfully around her, then nodded in response.

Unfortunately, she truly had no idea where this was. She could not even figure out why she had sent both herself and Hawkins here.

Hawkins looked toward the only path, stretched out his hand, and smiled. "Come, my little apprentice. Hold my hand and be careful not to get lost."

"I won't get lost," Ai Miye retorted, though she still obediently took Hawkins's hand.

Next, the two cautiously advanced along the only path. Hawkins had intended to extend his Curse Power to scout ahead, but discovered that here, Curse Power could not leave his body at all.

There was something strange about this place!

Though Hawkins had confidence in himself, he was now bringing along a child. For safety's sake, he summoned the Eternal Sea Chart from within his body, holding Ai Miye's hand with one hand and the Eternal Sea Chart with the other.

After walking for roughly ten minutes, they found a corpse ahead of them.

Neither Hawkins nor Ai Miye found this unusual. They merely slowed their pace and carefully approached it.

The corpse was strange. It looked as if it had only just died, yet both its clothing and the feeling it gave Hawkins were extremely ancient, as though time had stopped upon it.

Suddenly, a small red bead drifted from between the corpse's brows. Before Hawkins and Ai Miye could react, it instantly entered Ai Miye's brow. Her body immediately arched backward, and then she fell unconscious.