Inside the interrogation room.
"And then?" The field officer remained noncommittal after hearing Lin Mo's account.
His eyes stayed fixed on Lin Mo, searching for microexpressions that might betray a lie.
"Then..." Lin Mo tried to spread his hands, only to remember that he was handcuffed. Still unused to it, he said:
"Then I passed out. No, or rather, I woke up. I was back in my rented apartment."
The field officer motioned for Lin Mo to continue.
Lin Mo took a sip of water. Even now, he could hardly believe it himself. He said:
"That dream was so real!"
"And I realized there was... something in my mouth!"
"I spat it out. It was an emerald-green gemstone the size of a pigeon's egg, glowing softly."
The field officer asked:
"Was that the gemstone you brought to the military district?"
Lin Mo nodded. "Exactly!"
"It was the very one I bit off the terrace at that elf woman's home!"
"All of that told me that everything in that 'dream' might actually have been real. I might have awakened the ability to travel between worlds!"
At that, the female officer beside him let out a derisive laugh.
"You've been reading too many novels, haven't you?"
The field officer raised a hand to silence her, then looked at Lin Mo.
"And then you came to the military district?"
Unexpectedly, Lin Mo shook his head.
"No. That wasn't enough to prove anything."
"I had to verify whether it was a one-off dream or a repeatable crossing, whether it was stable."
"And why could I bring something back from that world? How did I do it? Could I only use my mouth?"
The field officer nodded.
"Good. Very methodical. But how were you going to verify it?"
Lin Mo smiled.
"I wrapped a windproof lighter in plastic wrap and put it in my mouth."
"I also held my phone in my hand and put the gemstone in my pants pocket."
"I wanted to test whether only my mouth could carry things across, or whether my hands and pockets could too."
"Then I took some sleeping pills and decided to try sleeping again."
"And sure enough, I successfully crossed over again..."
Inside the wooden house in the other world.
Something cold and hard pressed against Lin Mo's back, jolting him awake.
His eyes snapped open. He found himself lying on a wooden floor, his hands and feet tightly bound with vines.
It was still the same room in the tree house. The luminous flowers on the domed ceiling cast a gentle glow.
"Awake, are you? Despicable thief."
A cool voice, tinged with embarrassment and anger, sounded in front of him.
Lin Mo looked up.
It was the same long-legged elf girl whose legs he had mistaken for a pillow.
She had changed out of her nightclothes into an exquisite set of silvery-white leather armor.
Her moonlight-colored hair was tied high, making her look all the more dashing.
She held an ornate staff, with several elven guards carrying longbows standing behind her, their expressions hostile.
Lin Mo quickly assessed the situation. First, his hands were empty. His phone clearly hadn't come with him, and he couldn't feel the cool gemstone in his pants pocket either.
The lighter wrapped in plastic wrap was still in his mouth, though.
Had I gained the ability to send my soul or consciousness across worlds?
But I couldn't bring anything with me.
As for his mouth being able to transport objects, he had discovered that by chance because of the gemstone.
She wasn't speaking Mandarin either, but his brain could automatically understand her.
Based on what had happened before, there was no language barrier between them.
His clothes and the reason he had woken up in her bed were matters that had arisen while he was unconscious. He could only chalk them up to the wonders of crossing worlds.
"I'm asking you a question!"
"Who exactly are you? How did you sneak into the Sleeping Garden?!"
When the elf girl saw that he still wasn't speaking, a faint light appeared at the tip of her staff. The threat was unmistakable.
Seeing her look as though she would blast him to pieces if he didn't come clean, Lin Mo hurriedly spoke:
"Lishen... I jusht went to shleep, and when I opened my eyes, I wash here. Would you believe that?"
With the lighter still in his mouth, his words came out somewhat garbled.
The elf girl's tone remained icy.
"Do you think I'd believe the nonsense of a thief who slept with his head on my legs?"
"That really was an accident!" Lin Mo hastily cried:
"Beautiful elven lady, I swear I bear you no ill will and have no improper intentions!"
The elf girl snorted, clearly unmoved.
She turned to the guard beside her and ordered:
"Use the Truth-Detecting Art on him."
One guard immediately stepped forward and began chanting an ancient incantation. A gentle green light enveloped Lin Mo.
"Now, answer my question." The elf girl's tone was hostile.
"Under the Truth-Detecting Art, any lie will be exposed. Speak. Who exactly are you?"
Lin Mo's heart lurched.
They could do that?
He steadied himself and ventured:
"I... am a traveler from another world."
There was nothing wrong with that statement. It was the truth, just dressed up a little.
The elf girl frowned and looked at the guard casting the spell. The guard nodded slightly, indicating that the green light surrounding Lin Mo showed no abnormalities.
She froze.
Her emerald eyes filled with astonishment.
"Another world? How incredible. Do you have any proof?"
"And what are you holding in your mouth?"
Reassured by her reaction, Lin Mo continued:
"To show my sincerity, I'm willing to offer a gift from my world as proof of my identity."
"A gift?" Suspicion was written all over the elf girl's face.
"Sorry for the trouble, but could you please loosen my bonds so I can take it out and show you?"
The elf girl hesitated.
The light of the Truth-Detecting Art had indeed remained steady, proving that he meant those words as well.
She gave a meaningful glance.
A guard stepped forward and untied the vines binding Lin Mo's hands.
Under the curious yet wary gazes of all the elves, Lin Mo opened his mouth and spat the plastic-wrapped lighter into his palm.
The elves: "..."
Their faces wore the same disgusted, revolted look as an old man staring at something appalling on his phone on the subway.
You call that saliva-covered thing a gift?
Lin Mo smiled awkwardly.
"Don't mind the little details."
He quickly tore away the plastic wrap, revealing the lighter inside, and pressed lightly with his thumb.
"Click."
A bright purple flame instantly rose from the top of the windproof lighter.
The elven guards: "!!!"
The guard at the front jolted, immediately stepping forward to shield the elf girl behind him, his longbow half drawn.
The elf girl's pupils abruptly contracted.
That flame... had no magical fluctuations at all!
Without any incantation or expenditure of mana, just a light press could summon fire out of thin air...
What kind of wondrous creation was this?!
Seeing their stunned expressions, Lin Mo smiled.
"Beautiful elven lady, since this is our first meeting, please accept this small gift as a token of goodwill."
"Now, can we have a proper talk?"
Fendona, the elf girl, waved the guards back.
Curious, she took the lighter from Lin Mo and pressed it as he had.
With a click, a small flame sprang into being.
The strangely dressed human before her had become mysterious in her eyes.
"For now, I'll believe that you're from another world."
"You..."
Just as Fendona was about to decide what to do with Lin Mo,
"Wooo-wooo-wooo-"
A bleak, far-reaching horn call sounded outside, echoing in every direction!
The horn's call was filled with solemnity and the menace of war.
Fendona's expression changed drastically, and she whipped her head toward the window.
"It's the war horn! The Demon Clan... is attacking!"
Before you continue