Chapter 33: One Minute
In the dream world, in front of the misty area.
Su Xiao's location was at the edge of the dream world. Strangely, aside from the couple Merlos and Marcia, the Great Sage had not dispatched any other Beast Clan members to lie in ambush here.
Su Xiao speculated that this couple had been waiting here for a long time after receiving the Great Sage's orders. Otherwise, given the Great Sage's cautious nature, he would have sent numerous Beast Clan members to besiege him here.
This seemed insignificant, but it subtly revealed a piece of intelligence: the Great Sage did not have complete mastery over the dream world. He had occupied this place, but was not its true master.
The dream world was not artificially created; it was a part of this world, an ancient and secret realm. This also meant the dream world held many secrets, such as why it reset every 24 hours.
The time in the dream world was stuck at 5:59 AM. At this moment, the clock tower's hour and minute hands would reverse, turning back two full rotations before stopping precisely at 6:00 AM.
Strictly speaking, the dream world's time did not reset every 24 hours, but every 23 hours and 59 minutes. It was forever missing one minute. This single minute meant the dream world had no tomorrow, only today.
Su Xiao had no intention of exploring this secret. Such secrets generally shared a trait: encountering seemingly unsolvable enemies or terrain, such as foes that couldn't be killed in a physical or energetic sense, but could be eliminated through some bizarre means.
Among contractors, these types of enemies were collectively called "puzzle events." When faced with such situations, there were only two choices: become a detective, conduct lengthy exploration and investigation to uncover the story's ins and outs, then resolve it.
Or, break through the world's power ceiling. What was unsolvable or immortal was merely because the person involved wasn't strong enough yet.
Su Xiao had never handled a "puzzle event." He was more adept at dealing with eerie, powerful, and mysterious enemies. "Puzzle events" took too long. There was once a guy who handled a "puzzle event" in a certain world. He stayed there for over three months. When the world settlement came, that guy jumped directly from the second rank to the third rank.
A small number of contractors on their side specialized in entering such worlds. It was said that these worlds were initially off-putting, but the more one dealt with them, the more addictive they became.
The secret of the dream world was likely that stuck one minute. To deal with it, one would need either deep dream entry or entering a dream within a dream. Su Xiao had no interest in this. The dream world he had entered was actually a special area that truly existed within this world, not an illusion.
Su Xiao had used Apollo, the Devourer, and Hades to forcefully breach this place precisely to avoid getting involved in its deep secrets. In such situations, relying on accumulated knowledge to bulldoze through was the best choice.
Su Xiao stepped forward toward the building cluster ahead. After a few steps, a prompt from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[Prompt: Analysis of the Final Green Land · Dream Layer completed.]
[This is an independent area within this world. Due to the time stagnation phenomenon, it has not been certified by Apocalypse Paradise or Holy Light Paradise.]
[Verifying...]
[Verification complete. If the "time stagnation phenomenon" of this area is resolved, this area will connect with this world and become part of it again.]
[Analyzing...]
[Analysis complete. You have triggered a hidden mission. Coordinate establishment.]
[Mission Content: Arrive at the Grand Cathedral where the Second Generation Divine Maiden · Shataye is located, and establish a spatial coordinate there.]
[Prompt: After the coordinate is established, contractors skilled in handling such events will be teleported to this world. They will "deep dive" within the dream layer, responsible for resolving the "time stagnation phenomenon" in this area.]
[Prompt: If the "time stagnation phenomenon" in this area is resolved and the Reincarnation Paradise coordinate is set, Reincarnation Paradise will use this area as a source point to conduct a world plunder, thereby forcibly certifying this world.]
[After certification is complete, this world will belong jointly to Reincarnation Paradise, Apocalypse Paradise, and Holy Light Paradise.]
[Mission Reward: World-Class Chest ×1, Honor Crystal ×3 (When enhancing equipment, if this item is placed together in the Equipment Enhancement Machine, each Honor Crystal can offset one instance of enhancement level drop or permanent weapon damage caused by enhancement failure).]
[Mission Penalty: Forced Execution.]
[Accept/Decline this mission.]
...
The information in the prompt was massive. This was characteristic of missions issued by Reincarnation Paradise. Aside from main missions and war missions, whether to accept other missions was entirely a personal choice.
The mission prompt was brief, the reward was astonishingly generous, and the penalty was severe. To gain something, one had to pay the price.
As for the brief mission prompt, that was normal. If one couldn't even handle this aspect, then when facing the ultimate enemy and danger, they would likely just be cannon fodder.
The current situation was that the dream world's time had stagnated. So, during the initial world certification, both Apocalypse Paradise and Holy Light Paradise had not certified this place. It wasn't that they couldn't; forcibly certifying the dream world would cause major problems in the Dark Star world, possibly even its collapse.
This uncertified area was an opportunity. If the time stagnation here was lifted and the time flow caught up with the outside world, the dream world would once again become part of this world.
Here came the interesting part. Assuming the dream world returned to normal and Reincarnation Paradise had set a world coordinate here, then when the dream world reintegrated with the outside, Reincarnation Paradise would also become a certifying party for the Dark Star world.
Su Xiao's mission was simply to set up the coordinate inside the Grand Cathedral. Then, a contractor skilled in handling "puzzle events" would arrive. Such contractors had a few traits: strong logical thinking, great patience, running away when they couldn't win, nearly abnormal survivability, and as for combat power, it was only passable.
In simple terms, Su Xiao was responsible for clearing the path, eliminating the Great Sage and all the Beast Clan. Once the dream world was safe, a contractor from their side would come to "deep dive" into the dream world.
For Su Xiao, this was good. If this world was locked in by Reincarnation Paradise's certification, he wouldn't need to disguise his identity anymore.
Considering the trouble of "deep diving," Su Xiao estimated that even if everything went smoothly, Reincarnation Paradise would only begin certifying this world after the Space-Time Power transaction.
By then, Su Xiao's chances of dealing with the Ancient God would be much greater. He could act freely without worrying about being recognized by acquaintances like Molei.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao chose to accept the hidden mission: Coordinate Establishment. As soon as he made the choice, he noticed that the 300 Soul Coins consumed per hour for staying in the dream world visibly decreased, eventually becoming 0 Soul Coins per hour.
This was good news. Su Xiao turned back and entered the misty area. He had Bubu Wang scout the building cluster to find the Grand Cathedral's location, to avoid accidentally blowing it up later.
After waiting in the misty area for over two hours, Bubu Wang ran back. It was injured, its dog mouth swollen in a circle.
Strangely, when Su Xiao asked how it happened, Bubu refused to say. After all, even for a goofball, getting its head caught in a door was quite embarrassing.
Through Bubu Wang's reconnaissance, Su Xiao learned the full layout of the dream world. The architecture here had a "post-Gothic style," dim and gloomy, with black iron and black-red blood.
Overall, the dream world could be divided into four parts: the front misty area where Su Xiao was, followed by the Dark Plaza, the Central Clock Tower, and finally the Grand Cathedral.
The Dark Plaza, Central Clock Tower, and Grand Cathedral were all representative landmarks, surrounded by numerous buildings. The good news was that the Grand Cathedral was at the very back, so it wouldn't be easily blown up.
Another important piece of intelligence was that the Beast Clan members in the dream world all looked similar. They had light black fur, were humanoid in form, had sharp claws, and their fur looked wet and dirty, emitting a foul stench.
These Beast Clan members were all asleep. "Eternal life" in the dream world came at a cost. If not actively awakened or ordered by the Great Sage, they would remain sleeping in various parts of the dream world.
With this intelligence, Su Xiao's plan became clearer.
...
Deep within the dream world, the Grand Cathedral.
The cathedral's doors were tightly shut, with wisps of cold mist spreading. A figure clad in armor sat in the depths of the church, asleep. Even while seated, he was tall; standing, he would be at least four meters. This was an old knight.
Though the old knight wore full-body armor, it didn't seem bulky or cumbersome. Beneath his visor, a long, gray-white beard hung down, braided into over a dozen fine braids. This clearly wasn't the old knight's own work; only a pair of dexterous hands with slender fingers could achieve this.
The old knight slept silently. Just then, the cathedral's doors opened, and a figure in a coarse linen robe, holding a wooden staff, walked in. It was the Great Sage. He glanced at the old knight before walking to the innermost part of the church, pressing the tip of his staff against the forehead of a statue.
Boo~
A ripple spread. The nearby old knight suddenly opened his eyes. A small door in the wall opened, and a very thin woman tumbled out from inside.
"Awaken from your dreams. Kill that... intruder into the dream world."
The Great Sage's words, carried by the spreading ripples, reached the ears of every Beast Clan member in the dream world. Throughout the dream world, pairs of murky eyes opened.
The Great Sage turned and walked out of the church. As soon as he exited, the two metal doors slammed shut.
Under the moonlight, roars reached the Great Sage's ears. This was the power he had accumulated over time, a force that could tear enemies apart without him needing to lift a finger.
"Daring to intrude into the dream world... Are you brave, or foolish?"