Du Juan chuckled and walked towards Qingmu step by step, but strangely, the distance between Qingmu was increasing, as if she were walking backward.
Before long, a wide underground river appeared between her and Qingmu. Many iron cages hung on the cliffs along the river, half submerged in the water and half above the surface.
The cages were filled with people, most of them disheveled and filthy. Some were clinging to the iron bars, howling for help; some were glaring at the people outside with resentful eyes; some were expressionless and silent; and some were hanging upside down from the top of the cage like monkeys.
Qingmu recognized the people locked in the nearby cages, including the mad beggar who saved Yu Meiren, and the Han Laizi family.
The mad beggar clung to the iron bars at the top of the cage, his head bowed as he watched the slowly rising underground river. When Du Juan and Qingmu appeared, he merely glanced at them before lowering his head again, like a gorilla in a zoo accustomed to its visitors.
But Han Laizi screamed desperately, " Qingmu! You're Teacher Qingmu! Right? That's how you call me, isn't it? I'm Han Laizi, please help me out! I know I was wrong before, I was wrong!"
He slapped himself hard across the face. "I shouldn't have bought women! I know it's illegal! I was wrong! It's all the Medicine Granny's fault!" He slapped himself again. "I shouldn't have chased after you, and I shouldn't have hit Officer Shi! I'm not human! I was wrong! I'm willing to be punished, I'll go to jail! Please get me out of here!"
Seeing these people, Qingmu became even more puzzled about the origin of the dream he was in.
He had always suspected that this was a dream created by Duwa, but how could Duwa know Han Laizi? Han Laizi was just a nobody from Kuaziba who had bought women from the Medicine Granny; he wasn't even a lackey.
Even the most capable person couldn't create a real, unknown individual in their dream. Someone like Han Laizi, let alone Duwa, even Du Juan probably wouldn't bother to glance at, so why would she create such a character in her dream?
Besides, this wouldn't create any psychological barrier for Qingmu. If they wanted to confuse him, they should have created a Shi Dazhuang or Yu Meiren instead.
Then there's only one possibility: Han Laizi is indeed in this dream.
The people here, including Han Laizi, the Madman, and Han Bo who seemed to have died in the cave, are all real consciousnesses.
They are all in the same dream, or rather, they are having the same dream.
This is a Group Dream!
Qingmu frowned.
No matter how powerful a person is, their Mental Power is limited, and the dream space they can create is also limited. However, if the Mental Power of many people is combined, or if the dream spaces of many people are connected, then even if they are all ordinary people, they can create a very large dream space.
However, such dreams only exist in theory.
In reality, it's virtually impossible for two people to share the same dream. This is because everything in the dream world is created by self-awareness, including the rules governing that space. For two people's dreams to be connected without collapsing, it means that both individuals must construct everything within their dreams based on the same set of rules. Once there's any conflict in the rules, the dream will collapse.
Just like computer software, there must be a unified underlying architecture and use unified computer language rules. Only programs developed on this basis can be compatible with the system. Otherwise, they will not be able to run due to conflicts, or even cause the system to crash.
Although humans are inherently influenced by the collective unconscious, making it easy for them to form a group consciousness in certain environments—for example, when we go to a concert, we can easily be infected by the emotions of those around us and fall into a frenzy, even if we are not fans at all. You wave glow sticks and shout at the top of your lungs until the concert ends and the crowd disperses, only to calm down and think back on your behavior as if it were a dream.
Therefore, many celebrity management companies hire professional "fans" to prevent a lack of audience during concerts. People's emotions are contagious; once a lull occurs, it will remain so, making it very difficult to revive the atmosphere. However, once people's emotions are ignited, the scene becomes increasingly lively.
A master of mind control can easily manipulate the emotions of a crowd, thereby creating a strong sense of group consciousness. A powerful hypnotist can conduct group hypnosis in crowded places, making thousands of people make the same reactions or subconscious actions, but it is very difficult to construct Group Dream Realm on this basis.
Unless there is an extremely Mental Power person who first creates a vast dream, then continuously brings others into this dream, and guides their consciousness to expand their own dreams while adhering to the rules of their own dream space.
It's like recreating a world.
If there is one person who has brought everyone in the world into the same dream, then that person is God!
Han Laizi was clearly unaware that he was dreaming, and he kept shouting desperately, sometimes begging Qingmu to save him, sometimes begging the Medicine Granny to let him go.
His unconscious behavior is actually helping to expand and prolong this dream, and he has already accepted all the rules in this dream.
"Everyone who enters here will be locked in a cage." Du Juan's body floated in mid-air, clinging to the cliff face. "Do you know what the ending will be?"
"Will we drown?" Qingmu asked, looking at the slowly rising underground river.
He knew these people couldn't escape the cage because their subconscious had accepted the rules of the dream. Even if one of them woke up, they wouldn't have the Mental Power to break those rules and escape.
"Heh, drown? You think it's that simple?" Du Juan dismissed Qingmu's answer.
The water level in the underground river kept rising, and soon it was only ten centimeters from the top of the cage. Everyone in the cage floated up, their hands gripping the iron bars at the top, their heads tilted back, their noses above the water, struggling to breathe.
Qingmu looked at the Madman who had been hanging from the top of the cage earlier; he clearly knew the water level would rise. Han Laizi and the others were caught off guard and choked on several mouthfuls of water.
The person who acted erratically in Mangdian seems more like a normal person here.
"I understand, this is a den of madmen." Qingmu said, looking at the endless rows of cages stretching along the underground river. "Only Madman seem normal here, while normal people become like Madman once locked up inside."
"When a seemingly Madman but actually normal person is locked up here for a long time, firstly, due to the 'dark room' effect, his consciousness will slowly become insane. As he gradually accepts the rules of this space, his true self will gradually be lost, and he will no longer be able to retrieve memories that do not conform to these rules. Thus, he becomes a puppet-like, truly Madman."
"You're using these Madman to commit crimes, making them transport drugs, conduct surveillance, and even commit murder and arson. These people are not fully conscious, so they won't resist or be afraid of danger. They'll do whatever you tell them to do. And because they're mentally ill, they can easily evade police surveillance and legal punishment."
"This is truly a flawless criminal plan!"