Qingmu took two steps forward, the clattering of his footsteps making Zhao Pengcheng extremely uncomfortable. He felt as if his body was about to fall apart, but the spiritual energy enveloping him held him tightly, preventing him from moving at all.
He was powerless to resist because he had unleashed his Mental Power through that single strike. Normally, within his own dream space, this power could be retrieved, at most suffering some loss in the battle. But now, it was a case of biting off more than he could chew; not only did he fail to harm his opponent in the slightest, but his released Mental Power vanished, as if absorbed by the other party.
Zhao Pengcheng recalled a martial arts novel about a technique that allowed one to absorb the power of others. He began to wonder if such a technique truly existed among the strongest humans, and whether the internal energy described in the novel referred to the power of consciousness or the power of the spirit.
Qingmu shuffled over to Zhao Pengcheng and took the scalpel from his hand. The small scalpel was gleaming, without a trace of blood. There was no longer any Mental Power attached to it; it was just an ordinary object created by Zhao Pengcheng in his dream based on his memories.
However, Qingmu merely touched it with his finger, and the scalpel emitted a light. The light was dazzling, almost blinding. But Zhao Pengcheng had no choice but to look at it, because the light wasn't just in front of him; it was everywhere.
The light grew brighter and brighter, until it suddenly became like a dazzling white hole in Qingmu's hand. Zhao Pengcheng could no longer see Qingmu's face or anything around him; the entire dream was filled with nothing but white light.
Zhao Pengcheng knew that this wasn't real light, but the power of the spirit. This Mental Power was hundreds or thousands of times stronger than the power he had when he congealed his blood on the blade. Only then did he believe that his attack just now was truly no match for this person, not even as strong as a three-year-old child.
"Just kill me," Zhao Pengcheng said in despair.
The light dimmed slightly, revealing Qingmu's faint shadow. He said, "You're afraid of dying too, aren't you?"
"What a joke!" Zhao Pengcheng said magnanimously, "Only you Earthlings are afraid; we don't have such a thing as fear."
"But you're scared now; you're in a state of fear," Qingmu laughed.
"That's the emotion generated by this body; it secreted too much adrenaline," Zhao Pengcheng said.
"But you must admit that this is caused by your consciousness. Without a source of consciousness, it would be impossible to activate the judgment of danger in your memory," Qingmu said.
Zhao Pengcheng argued, "But ultimately, this is because humans have such a physiological response mechanism."
"Fine, I'll assume you're not afraid of death," Qingmu said. "But since you went to such lengths to secure a suspended sentence at the last minute, it means you don't want to die, right?"
Zhao Pengcheng said, "This is a life instinct."
"Instinct?" Qingmu brandished the glowing knife in his hand. "Then the will to survive must also be instinct."
Zhao Pengcheng felt a scorching current burning him. It was a kind of mental erosion, slowly consuming him, like the ancient punishment of dismemberment, where cuts were made into his body one by one but he wouldn't die; it was ten thousand times more painful than beheading.
"Who exactly are you?" Zhao Pengcheng asked painfully.
"I am Qingmu," Qingmu replied succinctly as always.
Zhao Pengcheng shook his head. "You are not human."
Qingmu smiled and asked, "Why do you say that?"
Zhao Pengcheng said, "Humans couldn't possibly have a monster like you. Your Mental Power is so powerful, it's like the legendary Lost Ancestor of our race."
Qingmu asked in astonishment, "What Lost Ancestor?"
"I can't explain it either. You know we are pure consciousness, without memories."
"Then how did you know about the existence of the ' Lost Ancestor '?"
"It's just a noun; it's a name we gave it after we parasitized Earth, based on human culture."
"At least this thing does exist, which means you have memories. Otherwise, where did this information come from?"
"I don't know, and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."
Once Qingmu was certain that Zhao Pengcheng wasn't lying this time, he relaxed a little and asked, "So who told you all this?"
"Organization." Zhao Pengcheng felt much better; although he still couldn't move, he seemed to be able to twist his neck. "This is also a noun chosen based on your common human language."
"Oh, the organization. Is it the Dream Society?" Qingmu asked.
Zhao Pengcheng stretched his neck and twisted it from side to side, as if even a sentient being could experience neck pain, and said, "Since you already know, why are you asking me?"
Is Cohen your leader?
"Have no idea."
How long have you been on Earth?
"I don't know, I only know how long I've been here."
How long have you been here?
"Based on your timeline, it's less than a year."
"Our time? So you have another time system?"
"No, no, we don't have time."
"There is no time?"
"Yes, there is no time. Time is a concept you created, applicable to life forms like yours. Since you can enter dreams, you should know that consciousness has no concept of time in dreams. Dreams are your only chance to escape the constraints of matter to some extent, and thus, the constraints of time."
"If that's the case, then by parasitizing humans, aren't you just tying your own hands and making yourself uncomfortable?"
"That's true to some extent."
"Then why do that?"
Qingmu looked at Zhao Pengcheng, waiting for his answer, but Zhao Pengcheng fell into deep thought. After a long while, he shook his head and said, "I don't know."
"How do you parasitize human bodies?"
"Don't waste your time, I won't tell."
"Haven't you already said a lot?"
"Those are all trivial matters."
"Okay, then let's talk about trivial things. Like... why choose you? Oh, I mean, why choose Zhao Pengcheng?"
Zhao Pengcheng was taken aback. "Choose me? Of course... No, I don't know, this wasn't my decision."
Qingmu nodded. "Yes, so you have a tight organization, with strict discipline regarding when to arrive, who arrives first, and who to parasitize, is that right?"
Zhao Pengcheng was about to speak when Qingmu interrupted him, "I know you're going to say you don't know or have no comment again. Fine, you don't have to tell me. Let me guess. In your dream, I'm facing both your conscious and subconscious mind simultaneously. In this situation, you can't lie to me because I can tell if you're lying. At most, you can hide what you know from me, but you can't stop me from guessing."
Qingmu paused for a moment, then laughed. "So, next, I'll do the talking, and you can answer the truth questions to see if I'm right. Of course, you can also refuse to answer. You can remain silent; that's your right."