Tafiti was eventually tied horizontally to the wooden frame, like a lamb. Her eyes were unfocused, her hair was disheveled, and her body was covered in sand.
The savages, who had just satisfied their lust with her, were adding firewood beneath her, chatting and pointing as they discussed who would eat which piece of meat after it was roasted.
Just then, fog suddenly rolled in on the island. First, it rose from the lake, steaming and swirling, instantly transforming the clear, cool lake water into a hot spring.
The steam rising from the lake wasn't thick, but as it drifted outwards, it turned into uneven patches of dense fog. The fog drifted around the island, and soon the entire island was enveloped in mist.
Qingmu and Su Huilan finally understood where the fog on the island came from. Such dreams were most likely based on real experiences, so the guess that there was a wormhole in the center of the lake and that the fog was released when the wormhole opened was very likely true.
A whooshing sound came from the lake. The savage who was about to light a fire with a flint stopped and stared nervously at the lake.
Soon, dozens of rafts and canoes appeared on the lake. Many people stood on the rafts, and the one in the lead had three feathers stuck in his hair. They saw the scene on the shore and saw Tafiti tied to the barbecue grill.
The feather-headed man let out a loud shout, the sound shaking the entire island. This was, of course, an exaggeration of a dream; such power was impossible in reality. Perhaps in Tafiti's mind, the person who came to save her was a peerless hero.
The savages on the shore stood up, raised their weapons, and stood Tushu, emitting alarm whistles that echoed from the mountains.
Before long, more savages appeared at the edge of the forest and rushed towards the beach. With reinforcements, the savages on the beach became bolder and brandished their spears defiantly at the lake.
A thick fog drifted over and stopped between the two groups of people, obscuring their view of each other. But from the dreamer's perspective, all spaces in the dream are open, with no blind spots. She can see anything her subconscious constructs. As observers of the dream, Qingmu and Su Huilan can also see everything clearly.
Tafiti heard the calls of her own people coming from the lake, and hope appeared in her eyes. She struggled desperately with her bound hands and feet, but she could not break free no matter what she did.
The burly man with the three-colored feathers led his people out of the thick fog. They were all menacing, their eyes burning with rage. The savages on the shore were not to be outdone and fought them.
Spears pierced chests, arrows pierced enemy eyes; with each enemy killed, they shouted to the sky, their cries rising and falling.
People kept emerging from the thick fog, and it seemed that both sides had a constant stream of reinforcements, with one side landing on the lake and the other rushing out from the mountains and forests.
The battle raged fiercely until the thick fog lifted, revealing corpses strewn across the ground and the lake stained crimson with blood.
The man with tricolor feathers in his hair held a long spear, roared to the sky, his roar like waves, shaking the heavens and the earth. He was the only one left on the battlefield, standing alone in the blood-red sunset.
The man rescued Tafiti from the fire, and she nestled in his arms. He lit a new fire, and the two huddled together by it. The man's eyes were filled with sorrow and tenderness, while the woman's tears fell like raindrops.
The surrounding scenery of lakes and mountains was constantly changing, and they seemed determined to stay together like this until the end of time.
Su Huilan was mesmerized, and said softly, "Even barbarians have love!"
Qingmu asked, "Isn't this one of the men that Petru just killed?"
Su Huilan gave him a resentful look. "What a blockhead!"
As the sun set and the sky darkened, more people appeared by the lake, but this time they were clearly not enemies. They lit many bonfires, sang, danced, and cheered with joy.
Tafiti was adorned with flowers, and several butterflies fluttered above her head. She looked shyly at her hero—the man with the tricolored feather in his hair—with tender affection.
At this moment, an old man with a long beard, holding a cane symbolizing power, mumbled something in front of them. He pointed his cane at the distant lake, and suddenly a rainbow bridge appeared on the lake, the lake water began to boil, and a huge pyramid rose from the lake.
At the same time, a pyramid fell from the sky, but it was upside down.
The two pyramids approached each other, and just as their apexes were about to collide, they seemed to be repelled by each other and slowly came to a stop.
People prostrated themselves in worship, devoutly lying on the ground, murmuring prayers whose meaning was unknown.
The old man with the scepter said something, and suddenly a dazzling light shone from the point where the two pyramids were joined. Within the light, a stone chamber could be vaguely seen, like a primitive human's nest. The man with the feather took Tafiti's hand and stepped onto the rainbow bridge, heading towards their love nest.
"What's going on?" Qingmu couldn't quite believe the scene his subconscious was seeing. He could never have dreamt of such a magnificent sight unless he'd seen it with his own eyes. "Could there really be two opposing pyramids on the island?"
He recalled the pyramid-shaped game lobby designed in the Dream Guide game; it was so similar—what a coincidence!
Su Huilan said, "They may not have seen it before; this could stem from their genetic memory?"
"Genetic memory?"
"A more accurate term is genetic memory, also known as population memory, which refers to certain important information passed down from the ancestors of a population to their offspring through the collective unconscious."
"I know." Qingmu understood immediately when the topic of group memory and collective unconsciousness came up. "Genetic memory can be used to explain some instinctive phenomena in life. For example, some animals, after being injured, can quickly and accurately find plants and fungi nearby that help heal their wounds, even though they haven't been injured before, haven't seen other animals use this method, and can't possibly pass on these experiences through language. We can attribute this ability to instinct, but we can't reasonably explain how this instinct arises, or how they hide this ability until it's needed to activate it. Scientists have therefore proposed the hypothesis of genetic memory, but why do you call it gene memory? These are two concepts that are not entirely equivalent."
Su Huilan explained, "The traditional view is that genetic memories are sealed deep within the brain by the subconscious. I also hoped that this was true, so I could search my brain for more information left to me by my father and the ancestors of the Awakeners' Alliance. But since my subconscious awakened, I've discovered that genetic memories aren't actually in the brain, and the subconscious can't find them either. I'm more inclined to believe that these memories are encoded and etched into human genetic information, so I call it genetic memory. Theoretically, any memory information in the human body that exists in coded form can be accessed and interpreted by consciousness, and the trans-temporal nature of dreams means we don't need to worry about the dimensions of genetic information encoding. Perhaps my level of awakening isn't high enough. I often wonder if Awakened like Master Nanke could unlock genetic information and find the origin of the spirit?"
"Spiritual origin?" Qingmu vaguely remembered Su Huilan mentioning this term before, but without giving a clear explanation. "I understand, you've been searching for this origin."
Su Huilan said, "I study philosophy. All philosophers want to know where life comes from, but in their eyes, life is just a bunch of proteins. To me, life is consciousness, it is spirit! I really want to know where our consciousness comes from, and where the power of the spirit comes from? If we can figure out these questions, I think the truth about Parasitic Consciousness invasion and the predicament of humanity will naturally be solved."