Chapter 55

Upon hearing Jiang Bai Mian's question, Shang Jian Yao and Bai Chen instinctively exchanged a glance, but they only saw the same confusion on each other's faces.

Jiang Bai Mian propped herself up with both hands, sitting even straighter.

"Do you remember the information provided by that relic hunter, Harris Brown, the bald one?"

It was clear that Jiang Bai Mian had a very good memory.

As a party involved, Shang Jian Yao instantly recalled it.

"Was it the information about abnormal human deaths north of the Moon Lu Station?"

"Yes." Jiang Bai Mian nodded solemnly. "At the time, Harris Brown said they found several bodies that had just died, with no visible fatal marks on the surface, but their expressions were either in pain, fear, or with a strange smile."

Bai Chen suddenly understood.

"Leader, do you mean those people died in a dream, no, a real dream?"

Jiang Bai Mian hummed in agreement.

"Think about it. I just poked myself in a dream, and in reality, a corresponding red swelling appeared, but upon closer inspection, there was no needle mark.

"Similarly, Shang Jian Yao slapped himself in the dream, and in reality, he got a handprint and a swollen face.

"If, I mean if, in such a dream, one was hit by a bullet in a vital spot, or inhaled a gas that caused a strange expression, or was startled at the peak of pleasure, what kind of reaction would there be in reality?"

"They would die without any visible fatal marks..." Shang Jian Yao answered in a deep voice.

The handprint on his face was likely a stress-induced phenomenon that would fade quickly, but if his heart stopped beating because of it, it would never recover.

Before he finished speaking, Shang Jian Yao suddenly stood up, returned to his sleeping bag, put on his coat, and slung the 'Berserker' assault rifle over his shoulder.

As he opened the safety of the gun, he strode out of the tent.

"What happened?" Long Yue Hong, who was on guard duty, quickly asked.

Shang Jian Yao looked up at the rock wall behind them and scanned the surroundings.

"Did you notice anything suspicious?

"Or any unusual phenomena?"

Long Yue Hong recalled and shook his head firmly.

"No.

"Even the passing beasts are few and belong to normal species."

As he spoke, Long Yue Hong, with the help of the bright moonlight, saw the red swelling and the more obvious handprint on Shang Jian Yao's right cheek.

"Uh..." He suddenly didn't know how to ask, and his eyes became slightly strange.

At this moment, Jiang Bai Mian was already dressed and armed, with Bai Chen closely following behind.

"Did you find anything?" Jiang Bai Mian asked with a slightly serious expression.

"No." Shang Jian Yao answered solemnly.

Jiang Bai Mian ignored Long Yue Hong's gaze shifting from one to another, patrolled the area, and sensed the various electrical signals around.

"There's indeed nothing abnormal." She walked back to Shang Jian Yao and Bai Chen, slightly relieved, and said, "It seems that as long as we don't fall asleep, we won't be affected."

Seeing Long Yue Hong's puzzled face, Jiang Bai Mian briefly recounted her and Shang Jian Yao's encounter.

Long Yue Hong listened as if to a story on the radio, feeling both afraid and disbelieving.

To be honest, if it weren't for the leader's testimony, based solely on Shang Jian Yao's words, he would definitely say:

"Don't joke around, this isn't funny at all!

"Go tell the Order Supervisors, see if they believe you!"

Order Supervisors were responsible for maintaining order within 'Pangu Biotech,' handling everything from fights to infringements on others.

—In the 'Inner Ecological Zone,' each floor had an 'Order Supervisor Chief,' under whom were three Order Supervisor Leaders, and each leader had several Order Supervisors.

Above them, every ten to twenty floors formed a large district, each with an 'Order Supervision Bureau.'

Above the 'Order Supervision Bureau' was the 'Order Supervision Department' under the 'Board of Directors.'

After listening to Jiang Bai Mian's description, Long Yue Hong subconsciously responded:

"Is this really true?"

After asking, he quickly closed his mouth and didn't wait for an answer.

Since Shang Jian Yao could make the mechanical monk Jing Fa shake hands and bid farewell to him, the idea of a monster causing people to die strangely in their dreams didn't seem so unbelievable.

It had to be said that after leaving the company and coming to the surface, Long Yue Hong increasingly felt that the world was much more magical than he had previously known.

"Could it be an Awakened? Or a mutated Sub-human or animal? They might also have similar abilities." Jiang Bai Mian turned her head to look at Shang Jian Yao.

"Besides my own abilities, I don't know much more about Awakeneds than you do." Shang Jian Yao turned his head and looked at Bai Chen, hoping this experienced woman in the Ashen Earth could provide an answer.

Bai Chen shook her head, indicating she had not encountered such an anomaly before:

"If it weren't for this, an experienced relic hunter like Harris Brown wouldn't have hastily withdrawn and dared not approach."

Jiang Bai Mian thought for a few seconds and looked at Shang Jian Yao:

"I'm curious, how did you escape from that dream just now?

"Um, you mentioned using the Awakened's ability, but I hope to understand some of the details. This might give me some inspiration.

"If you feel it's your secret, let Bai Chen and Long Yue Hong patrol the edge.

"As for me, well, I think I'm still trustworthy, right?"

At the end, Jiang Bai Mian couldn't find a reason and didn't want to force Shang Jian Yao to answer, so she resorted to a bit of pleading.

"It's nothing." Shang Jian Yao answered frankly, "I used the 'Reasoning Clown' ability you've seen. When I slapped myself but didn't wake up, I initially ruled out the possibility of dreaming and thought about stealing a car, driving away, and coming back to see if you had returned to normal after dawn.

"When I got up, I saw myself in the rearview mirror.

"At that moment, I thought, could I use the 'Reasoning Clown' ability to make myself more firmly believe it was a dream?

"If it was really a dream, then I would be distinguishing between reality and illusion, reinforcing my self-awareness in this aspect, and there would be a good chance of waking up directly.

"If it wasn't a dream, I also wrote a note to myself..."

At this point, Shang Jian Yao remembered the note he had written in the dream and quickly reached into his pocket to take out several sheets of paper.

Among these sheets, only one had a partial layout of the steel factory ruins marked with "toilet," while the rest were blank, with no notes.

"Sure enough..." Shang Jian Yao sighed in relief and continued, "After writing the note, I started using the 'Reasoning Clown' ability to make myself conclude that I was dreaming based on unrelated conditions. This indeed reinforced my judgment and self-awareness, helping me escape the dream."

Jiang Bai Mian listened with deep feeling:

"Really harsh, even deceiving yourself."

"..." Long Yue Hong almost laughed but managed to hold back.

"..." Shang Jian Yao didn't expect Jiang Bai Mian to give such an "evaluation" and almost forgot what he was going to say next.

He paused and said:

"I hadn't done such an experiment before. When I saw myself in the rearview mirror, I thought I could try it. Also, the 'Reasoning Clown' ability has two scenarios:

"One is to use obvious facts to make the target draw a conclusion that is almost unrelated but beneficial to me;

"The other is to use conditions of little value to make the target draw a logically incorrect but correct conclusion."

Jiang Bai Mian nodded slightly:

"Good, it seems this incident has helped you further master your ability and expand its boundaries."

Shang Jian Yao was about to say something when he suddenly looked thoughtful.

Jiang Bai Mian then turned to Bai Chen:

"What do you think?"

"Given that we're not sure the anomaly has moved away, it's best not to sleep tonight. As soon as it's light, we should drive south. With your energy levels, staying awake for half a night shouldn't be a big problem." Bai Chen gave a very cautious and prudent suggestion.

Long Yue Hong subconsciously pointed to the entrance of Black Rat Town:

"What about here?"

"What else can we do? Ensure our own safety first." Jiang Bai Mian responded without hesitation, "Besides, the dream anomaly won't just target us. Nearby relic hunters and wilderness wanderers might also be affected, and their strange deaths will temporarily turn this area into a no-go zone, a place of terror that no one will dare to approach for a while.

"Ha ha, if someone doesn't receive such information and enters without knowing anything, I don't think they have the ability to find the entrance to Black Rat Town or move the boulders blocking the cave.

"When the effects subside and the company sends people, they will signal us if they can't find us."

Long Yue Hong had no further objections, and the four of them kept watch until dawn.

Then, they took turns driving south.

By midday, Jiang Bai Mian, sitting in the passenger seat, turned to Shang Jian Yao:

"Try to sleep and see if the dream is still abnormal.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on you and wake you up if anything goes wrong."

"I can wake up on my own." Shang Jian Yao said confidently in a low voice.

"Ah?" Jiang Bai Mian tilted her head.

Her smile didn't fade but became even more evident.

Shang Jian Yao didn't say more, thought for a moment, and raised his right hand to pinch his temples.

He then closed his eyes.

...

...

Cold, dark metal walls towered high, enclosing a vast, open hall.

At the top of the hall, it was dark, with countless sparkling points of light slowly rotating, forming one galaxy after another.

In the center of the hall, starlight fell, coalescing into a large, indistinct human figure. The figure's arms were outstretched, maintaining strict symmetry, as if mimicking a balance scale.

The voice of "one price, three blessings" echoed hollowly, layer upon layer, in Shang Jian Yao's ears.

Shang Jian Yao gazed at the scene for nearly ten seconds and muttered four words:

"Grand Hall of Stars..."

He said no more, crossed the indistinct figure, and reached the back of the hall, stopping before a heavy, gray-white stone door.

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