Chapter 81

Fortunately, nightmares are not TV series; they don’t come in episodes—Hao Ren simply appeared at the same spot where he had left the dream plane last time, but the wolf pack that had attacked him was gone. This unlucky kid didn’t have to relive the tragic scenario of being killed by a bunch of wild creatures right after leaving the newbie village.

However, howls still echoed from all directions. Although they didn’t sound close, they were enough to make Hao Ren, who hadn’t seen much of the world, feel terrified. He deeply realized that this was a lawless land. Animal protection organizations and forest rangers were in another world. Here, neither the wolves nor he were protected. Frankly speaking, this was the wolves' territory, and he was just an outsider.

As the only outsider on the grassland dominated by the wolf pack, Hao Ren tightened his clothes to ward off the cold that was seeping into both his body and his heart. He took a step forward, wondering if his brain had regressed from spending too much time with Lily: Why did he have to shiver and put on pajamas when he went to bed?!

Based on his previous experience in the dream plane, the physical condition of a person in the dream plane was exactly the same as in the outside world, including the clothes they were wearing and their physical fitness. But Hao Ren had forgotten this. He and Vivian, along with Izax, had messed around in the living room, preparing a bunch of things, and the result was that he almost couldn’t sleep and enter the dream plane, and he was still in his pajamas!

Walking through the grassland, Hao Ren looked down at his feet and couldn’t help but sigh, “Damn, and I didn’t even wear shoes… If that crazy woman finds out, I don’t know what kind of ridicule I’ll get.”

A voice suddenly sounded from the side, “She’ll mock you thoroughly and post it on the local universe channel’s message board, but how many likes she’ll get is another story. She’s a notorious spammer in this universe, so much so that she has to send divine revelations to her believers multiple times—because no one reads them.”

Hao Ren was startled by the sudden voice. He looked closely and found a palm-sized metal block floating silently beside him. He was shocked, “Terminal?! How did you get in here?”

“Why can’t I come in?” the data terminal said lazily, “Didn’t the boss say I’m supposed to guide you if you can’t enter the dream plane? If I can handle the guiding, why can’t I come in?”

“But don’t you need to dream to come here…” Hao Ren looked at the device, which seemed to have become sentient, in amazement, “Has AI advanced to the point where it can dream?”

“Dreaming is an inefficient and boring system maintenance method; I don’t need that,” the data terminal said arrogantly, “Who told you that you need to dream to enter the dream plane? You just need to dream to enter, but if you have a certain level of control over your mental energy, you can access the dream plane. But you’re thinking about this too early.”

Hao Ren knew that whenever the data terminal spoke, it would find a chance to bicker with its owner. The smartest response was to treat it as if it were talking nonsense. He glanced at the vast grassland and thought it might be nice to have someone to talk to. Moreover, this terminal might have unexpected uses here, so he tentatively asked, “Can you create some clothes for me?”

The data terminal was silent for a moment, “What are you thinking?”

“This is a virtual world, right? You’re a supercomputer, and in sci-fi movies, they always say that in a virtual world, you can use data to create…”

Before Hao Ren could finish, the data terminal rudely interrupted him, “Who told you this misconception? The dream plane is a virtual world? Then why can you bring things out of here, and why can people die in the dream plane?”

Hao Ren opened his mouth, admitting that he had once again applied his assumptions to this unknown field. In fact, Raven 12345 had already told him about the “reality” of the dream plane, but at the time, Hao Ren’s understanding was limited, and he never fully grasped the issue. Now… well, he still didn’t quite understand, but he had learned to ignore it.

“No shoes at all…” Hao Ren sighed as he walked, “This is unbearable. Is there anything that can replace them?”

“Yes,” the data terminal said calmly, and when Hao Ren perked up, it continued, “A strong spirit.”

“…Ha ha.”

One human and one machine (is this combination strange?) walked under the night sky. Hao Ren didn’t want to stop, even though his condition wasn’t great. He decided to keep walking, as he had entered the dream plane to train himself. Staying in one place until he naturally woke up would make the trip meaningless. Besides, he would be forcibly ejected if he encountered a fatal threat (thanks to Raven 12345’s little pill), so he wasn’t worried about really dying. Now, he was just very curious about what kind of place this was.

He looked into the distance. The last time he left, he had seen something that looked like houses in the distance. They were still there, so it wasn’t an illusion. He decided to head for those “houses.”

One human and one machine (is this combination strange?) walked silently under the night sky. Just as Hao Ren was feeling a bit bored, the data terminal suddenly spoke, “I need to remind you of three things.”

Hao Ren responded casually, “Go on.”

“First, firmly abandon the idea that this is a ‘virtual space.’ Although the dream plane is not the real world, its impact on the real world is significant. If you die here, you will die in the real world, and you can also bring things out of here. The specific mechanism of ‘bringing out’ is for you to figure out. Of course, you should already know this.”

“Second, no matter what you see here, don’t be surprised. Just accept it and analyze the cause and effect when you return to the real world. Experiencing too much confusion here will weaken your connection to the dream plane, and ending your training prematurely is not a good thing.”

“Third, don’t you think it’s very silly to have your data terminal floating beside you? I’ve seen people walk their cats and dogs, but never a PDA! Put me in your pocket, will you!?”

Hao Ren: “…”

“Hey, wait! I’m talking to you! Put me in your pocket! I’m a mobile device, but not a self-moving one. Do you know what a mobile device means… Don’t walk away! At least tie a rope to me, will you? My levitation function is for emergencies, not for travel…”

Hao Ren ignored the data terminal, which was as neurotic as Raven 12345, and kept walking with his head down. The annoying chatter of the data terminal continued in his ear for a full half-hour. Hao Ren realized that his physical enhancement was indeed effective; he could run a long distance in the wilderness without shoes and not even be out of breath, and his soles were definitely tougher than usual. He walked for a long time, and the few small houses in the distance seemed much closer. Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, something that made his hair stand on end happened.

He clearly heard rustling sounds from the nearby grass, and a faint, unpleasant smell wafted into his nose with the night breeze. It was the scent of a wild animal.

There were wolves, and they were the special, incredibly large black wolves of the dream plane!

The wolves hadn’t come close yet, but they had clearly noticed the scent of prey. They were carefully setting up an ambush, using their usual tactics to prepare for a feast. But Hao Ren had detected the danger much earlier this time—last time, he had been completely surrounded, with ghostly eyes in the surrounding grass, but this time, he had sensed the wolves’ movements early.

Hao Ren deeply appreciated the adjustment chamber, but he silently wondered how much this improvement would help: By the time he realized it, wouldn’t he still be surrounded?!

“The terminal suggests you don’t run,” the data terminal’s voice sounded in his mind, apparently knowing that they needed to hide, “You can’t outrun the wolf pack. Even with your current enhanced level, you can only shake off a part of them and won’t break out of the encirclement.”

“Face them head-on?” Hao Ren tried to calm his heart, knowing that the wolves didn’t know he knew they were close, “I’m a bit nervous.”

“Didn’t you feel confident when you were being chased by hundreds of undead knights in the catacombs?” the data terminal snorted, “Don’t worry, I’ll pull you out when you’re about to die. For now… get ready!”