"Waiting for me?"
Xie De raised an eyebrow.
"Yes!" Hu Songlin looked at him earnestly and solemnly with his pale brown eyes, but his voice was timid, brimming with hope. "You still remember my name, right?"
"Hu Songlin."
Only then did Xie De remember Hu Songlin's ability to be utterly ignored. That ability was a good thing as far as Xie De was concerned, but for Hu Songlin, it seemed to be an enormous torment, one that had nearly driven him mad.
The only reason he could avoid ignoring Hu Songlin was 455's thermal imaging function. Bound to 455, he was forced to register Hu Songlin's presence, making it difficult to ignore him even if he wanted to. (Friendly reminder: 455's thermal imaging function appeared in Chapter 5.)
When Hu Songlin heard Xie De say his name, the corners of his eyes reddened. Everything about him was so muted that this touch of red stood out sharply, making him seem a little more alive and pitiful.
"Aside from the Club's internal system, this is the first time I've heard someone say my name over and over without forgetting me..."
Hu Songlin kept watching him with such earnestness that Xie De had no idea what to say and felt deeply awkward. He had been cursing the guy in his head not long ago, yet this easily moved fellow seemed to have been won over by nothing more than his name.
No, this is too awkward. Xie De couldn't help rudely cutting him off. "Enough."
Xie De turned and took two steps away, then felt he had been too harsh. He looked back and added, "I won't be the only person who remembers you."
Hu Songlin stared blankly at 39's back as he returned to where he had been standing. Beiwei had remained beside them with her arms folded, studying Hu Songlin with a curious, probing gaze.
Wei Yanchi and Yue Xiamo were looking at him too. Then Wei Yanchi suddenly said calmly, "I remember now. He's the person in the Club with absolute luck and the ability to be utterly ignored."
Yue Xiamo narrowed her eyes. "Utterly ignored?" Indeed, if not for 39, she would never have noticed his presence just now. Should she say that this was only to be expected of Mr. 39?
They weren't standing far apart to begin with. Hearing this, Hu Songlin made a face at Wei Yanchi and mouthed, "For 39's sake, I'll let you off for now."
Wei Yanchi shrugged indifferently, then spoke to Xie De in a tone that almost seemed to seek praise. "I've figured out what's going on with this instance, Mr. 39. We've actually been in a world projected by Zhang Qiuyue's subconscious all along, haven't we?"
Huh?
Before Xie De could process that, he simply nodded.
With that confirmation, Wei Yanchi smiled even more arrogantly. His high spirits and brazen confidence made a stark contrast to Hu Songlin's faint presence, dazzling in their brilliance.
He launched straight into his analysis with easy eloquence.
"At this point, we know Zhang Qiuyue is dead, yet she entered the instance as a player and never appeared after the instance's movies began. If we consider the movies we drew to be the second-layer dream, then now that we've cleared all four instances we drew, we're in the first layer of the dream."
"If we're the surviving players who haven't fallen into the lost domain, then whose dream are we in?"
"The protagonist of 'Pearl' is a young woman with dreams, but in the end, after killing her father and mother, she still returns to family life and stays on the farm forever. Could this suggest that it reflects Zhang Qiuyue's life?"
Wei Yanchi paused and casually glanced at 39, only to meet his eyes. He coughed and continued.
"Zhang Qiuyue married her husband when she was very young, then divorced him when their child was seven. She raised the child alone, and when he was in college and had a girlfriend, she unexpectedly died in a movie theater."
"'Romeo and Juliet' is a romantic tragedy, which might also reflect Zhang Qiuyue's tragic marriage."
"'The Lion King' is a children's movie about courage and love, reflecting Zhang Qiuyue's love for her son."
"And 'Inception' is the clue the instance gave us, making us constantly move between these movies. It's also a way for the instance to muddle our thinking."
"In 'Romeo and Juliet,' the last movie we cleared, characters from the other movies appeared. Why did everything get thrown together like that? My guess is that Zhang Qiuyue was actually in that movie. Or rather, Juliet was Zhang Qiuyue."
"Mr. 39 had Pearl kill Juliet, which represents Zhang Qiuyue's dreams killing her love."
"Pearl is portrayed vividly in the movie and has extremely high combat power, while Juliet can only cry and is utterly frail. This also indirectly reflects Zhang Qiuyue's fantasy of her dreams breaking through the constraints of marriage."
"In the movie, Pearl can command the lions, and we know the lions actually symbolize Zhang Qiuyue's son. Does this suggest that Zhang Qiuyue fantasized about becoming a powerful woman who could protect her son? Or about making her son admire her?"
Xie De listened in silence. He understood, and he was stunned. Wei Yanchi, you really are cut out for reading-comprehension questions.
"455, did you hear that? If we have to fight the protagonist, how are we supposed to win unless he gets nerfed?"
455 barely managed a few words. "I'm... running out... of power."
There was a buzz, followed by the Bluetooth shutdown announcement. The earpiece had run out of battery, but the phone still had one bar left and was barely running.
Uh... if I'd known, I wouldn't have talked to 455. Ahem, next time I enter an instance, I'll bring a power bank. Luckily, the protagonist has already figured everything out, so we'll clear it in no time and I can charge it when we get back.
Yue Xiamo's brow kept furrowing as she listened. "So now we need to wake Zhang Qiuyue up? But we can't find her."
"Actually, we can. We need to enter the lost domain again." Wei Yanchi looked at 39 with shining eyes. "Could you come in with me, Mr. 39? The two of us should be able to find her quickly."
"No."
Xie De refused outright, turning his gaze to Hu Songlin, who had crouched down nearby to play mushroom again. "Take him."
"Huh? Me?"
Yes, exactly, you, young man. You're blessed with god-tier luck. Finding someone should take you no time at all.
Hu Songlin smiled, feeling that being entrusted with a task was something worth celebrating, even though he still disliked Wei Yanchi a little.
Of course, Wei Yanchi didn't particularly want to go with him either.
Beiwei looked at Hu Songlin in puzzlement again.
Fiery red clouds hung in the sky. Zhang Qiuyue wore her prettiest dress, her eyes filled with happiness.
Her husband followed behind her, holding their son.
As they walked down the street, everyone envied her.
Because she had a happy marriage, a successful career, and a sweet, sensible son.
She felt she could go on living like this forever.
But soon, two uninvited guests shattered it all.
"You're only dreaming."
No, who are you? What right do you have to dismiss her life like this?
"Wake up."
No, don't. I'm not dreaming. I'm not!
"You're already dead."
Tears rolled from the corners of her eyes. Zhang Qiuyue looked at her ugly hands, covered in thick calluses, and finally understood. In the end, she cried out in anguish, "Why do you have to make me wake up?!"
Because they needed to get out.
The instance main system's cold voice rang in their ears.
"Congratulations on a perfect clear of this instance. Five players survived."
Before you continue