Nightmare

Zijin didn't answer the question, but instead let out a soft sigh filled with complex emotions, "Why... did you realize I was lying?"

"A person who is truly excited about the opportunity to usher in a new era," Su Ming pointed out the flaw, "Wouldn't be as listless and unable to eat as you were at breakfast. If you want to fool me, at least... you need to be more careful with the details."

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Zijin's voice suddenly rose, "I had already eaten one serving before you arrived!"

"Uh..." Su Ming hesitated for a moment, then coughed awkwardly a few times. "Well, that... was just a small trigger that made me suspicious." He adjusted his posture and looked at her seriously. "Zijin, you are actually... far more rational and restrained than you appear. I know you have the resolve to dedicate yourself to the pursuit of truth, but when matters involve the lifelines of two worlds, you will definitely take a more gradual and extremely cautious approach!"

A rare, undisguised look of surprise crossed Zijin's face. "I really am... terrible at pretending. First, Katharine could see right through me, and now... there's you too."

"... Perhaps, it's simply because we've worked together long enough?" Su Ming softened his tone, a gentleness he himself didn't fully realize, "You... haven't been particularly wary of me either."

Zijin seemed to have finally given up some kind of resistance, her shoulders slumping slightly. "Okay, I understand. Neither of us will actively build that Bridge of Planes, right?"

"That's right."

"So, I tried to act fanatical, extreme," Zijin explained, her voice regaining its calm, "In order to... create an ideological conflict with you."

"And then?" Su Ming pressed.

The girl paused for a long time, her fingertips unconsciously twisting the edge of her nightgown, as if in a final struggle. Finally, she raised her head, looked directly into Su Ming's eyes, and frankly admitted, "Then escalate the conflict, cause an argument, and then... take the opportunity to leave the team."

"You--!" Su Ming was stunned, and a feeling of anger or disappointment immediately welled up in his heart.

"Explain!" His voice became low and firm.

"There is an 'being' interfering with me." Zijin gazed into the void. "It commands me to accomplish something at all costs."

"Who?!" Su Ming instantly became alert, leaning forward slightly—what kind of being could make Zijin act so strangely, even going so far as to plot her departure?

Zijin gestured for him to calm down. Then, she raised her hands, and soft white light gathered and stretched in her palms, finally materializing into a Divine Favor Scepter of majesty, which floated in the air between the two of them.

Zijin raised her finger. "It is Him."

The gods in the Taya Plane do not have physical forms; they are more of a spiritual cognition and an image-based concept.

But the will of the plane exists, and the Divine Favor Scepter is its representation.

"The moment you entered the illusion yesterday and faced that snake... that terrifying being's cold gaze," Zijin recounted, "I clearly felt its urgent demand."

Su Ming was stunned, "Dimensional will—why is this?"

"Having wielded this scepter for so long, I've done some research." Zijin gazed at the scepter, her eyes filled with complex thoughts. "The so-called dimensional will doesn't possess a clear self-awareness or personality. It's more like a vast collection of pure, instinctive entities dedicated to protecting its own survival and stability."

This explanation does indeed connect many of the events they encountered—whether it was the scepter's recognition of the Zijin's ability to stop the plague, or the act of not indiscriminately harming living beings in battle.

"So, the Truth Cult of the Plundering Clock did something to disrupt the stability of the plane, which is why it became an entity that He hates and targets?" Su Ming immediately made the connection.

"That's roughly it." Zijin nodded in confirmation. "However, after what happened in the ruins yesterday, His reaction became unusually strong. Even—" Her gaze turned serious, "Chloe was also 'entangled' by Him."

Su Ming's brows furrowed even more. "The will of this plane, is it asking us—" he carefully chose his words, "Or rather, expecting us to do something?"

"When the Divine Favor weapon was in my mother Atiya's hands, Stacy, under her guidance, had contact with Him," Zijin recounted the events of last night while Su Ming was unconscious. "The three of us analyzed it and concluded that the will of the plane, or rather the tendency represented by the Divine Favor Scepter... is a strong desire to establish a dimensional portal!"

This is also why Zijin discussed the topic of dimensional portals with Su Ming.

"This isn't right!" Su Ming exclaimed in astonishment, "The Eden Plane is so terrifying, yet the will of the Taya Plane is still—"

He couldn't understand this suicidal demand.

Zijin shook her head. "It's related to Earth."

Su Ming's gaze fell on the girl lying at the foot of his bed with a complicated expression. "The instinct for self-preservation prompted Him... to actively seek a connection with Earth?" He repeated this unbelievable conclusion with difficulty, making sure he hadn't misheard.

"So, does He think Earth is easy to bully?"

"My first reaction was to suspect that I had been subjected to some kind of powerful mental interference, causing me to hallucinate." Zijin gestured again to the set of magical ornaments on her body that shimmered with a faint light—"Spirit Wall Crystal Barrier"—"That's why I put this on immediately." She continued to explain, "The mental fusion that took place last night... was actually intended to use the deep connection of the mental domain to probe whether I had been subjected to any abnormalities."

Su Ming is the owner of the White Bone Mark. If there is indeed an unknown entity attempting to interfere with Zijin, its power must pass through Su Ming as a hub, or at least leave a trace in Su Ming's spiritual domain.

So when Zijin broke in late at night, everything else was just an excuse. From the beginning, her purpose was not the conversation itself, but to conduct a mental examination.

"You... didn't find any anomalies at all?"

"Yes." Zijin's voice carried a hint of confusion, "There's nothing unusual. Illusion, mind control, deep suggestion... nothing at all."

Su Ming stroked his chin, lost in thought. "So, this is truly an instinctive craving from the will of the plane?"

"Yes, that's how it seems for now."

The Plundering Clock Hatred, reacting to the ouroboros in the Eden Plane, yearns to connect with the Earth Plane. What exactly happened?

Su Ming took out a piece of paper and began to reorganize the real-world data:

Population size: The total number of humans in the Taya Plane is less than 700 million, and the total number of other races is less than 200 million. Earth, on the other hand, has ten times that number.

Economic productivity: Earth's industrial system is two to three orders of magnitude ahead of the other world, and once its war machine is set in motion, its explosive power will be devastating.

Education level: Over 80% of the beings in this other world are illiterate. Earth has a vast and widespread education system, with a continuous supply of talent.

Power Projection: Technological weapons move freely throughout the Taya Plane, allowing Earth to invade other worlds with impunity. Conversely, magical power from other worlds will face the fatal bottleneck of Magic Power depletion when entering Earth's low-magic environment.

Su Ming racked his brains but couldn't think of any way the Earth could possibly lose on such an extremely tilted "scale".

"I completely fail to understand," the scholar shrugged, equally perplexed. "The power of magic, too, can be overwhelmed by the laws of physics."

****

"Can I take a closer look at the jewelry you're wearing?" Su Ming put down the papers and suddenly reached out his hand.

Zijin did as she was told, removing the azure crystal bracelet from her wrist and placing it in his palm. Su Ming, however, did not withdraw his hand, but instead kept it outstretched.

A hint of confusion flashed in the girl's eyes, but she continued to remove the other bracelet, necklace, and a pair of small earrings one by one, placing them in his hands.

Su Ming picked up the ornaments, his fingertips faintly feeling the lingering warmth of the Zijin on them. The ornaments had simple and smooth designs, with few inlays, but every inch of the surface was intricately carved with complex and mysterious runes. The translucent base material reflected a restrained and profound radiance under the light, making it exceptionally beautiful.

"It is indeed an extremely powerful mental protection item," Su Ming commented after examining it for a moment.

"How come I didn't know you were so skilled in alchemy!" Zijin glanced at him with a hint of surprise.

"Influenced by Newman, I've learned a tiny bit," Su Ming explained somewhat reluctantly. "By the way, if you ignore the demands of the plane's will," he asked another question, "Will there be any negative backlash against you and Chloe?"

"Actually, we don't really know," Zijin sighed. "No one has ever experienced anything like this before."

"So it's impossible to be sure," Su Ming said. "But it's like a tenant going against the landlord's wishes; nothing good will happen, right?"

"Yes, it could even be something extremely bad," Zijin said. "The level of the consequences is completely unpredictable."

"Anyway," she took a deep breath and stood up from the bed, "My worry is that He will cling to you just like He suddenly 'clung' to Chloe."

"So what are your plans now?" Su Ming asked.

"Let's say goodbye," Zijin replied crisply. "I originally wanted to use the excuse of differing ideologies, but since you already know—"

****

Su Ming couldn't stay angry at this moment. The moment he heard "plane gaze," he deduced Zijin's purpose step by step.

Would this scenario of "not burdening his companions and taking on risks alone" actually play out between him and Zijin?

Su Ming absolutely will not allow it!

So when he solemnly listed the strength comparison between Earth and Taya on the paper, he was actually covering up what he was really doing—his brain was working frantically, searching for a way to break the deadlock and dissuade Zijin from her idea.

He knew Zijin's stubbornness all too well, especially when it came to things she believed were right and that she should take responsibility for alone; she would be absolutely persistent to the point of obstinacy.

Fortunately, during that short period of time, a plan had already taken shape in Su Ming's mind.

[Let me show you something.] He initiated Mind Synchronization.

The instant the connection between their thoughts was established, a faint, almost transparent ripple quietly spread from his palm.

Nightmare Technique!

The purpose of this spell is to lure the target into an illusion woven from their own inner fears.

"[What?]" Zijin immediately caught the barely perceptible ripple of magical power.

But Su Ming was a step faster! He raised his hand and made a grasping motion, and a Withering Orb instantly condensed into shape, shooting with unparalleled precision towards the corner of the wall—a rat didn't even have time to scream before its flesh and blood melted away in the black light, leaving only a small White Bone.

[Sorry, Zijin.] Su Ming didn't leave her any room to think. [You and I are already in the same boat!]

"[Wait, you mean--" Zijin asked in surprise.

The next moment, she was horrified to "sense" that at the "edge" of Su Ming's vast spiritual world, a faint yet invisible pressure had already entangled him like a leech!

That feeling was exactly the same as the "dimensional gaze" she herself had experienced!