Chapter 1338: Paradise
The two of them strolled downstairs like a pair of old friends, stepping out into this foul, grotesque world of flesh.
The giant flesh clock and the display screen downstairs had both vanished. Neither of them paid it any mind, simply walking straight ahead.
This bizarre dreamworld was filled with faceless people everywhere, coming and going along the streets as if living out their own lives.
This time was different from before. No one paid any attention to the two of them. They didn't linger either, simply busying themselves with their own lives like the rest of the common herd.
They had no faces, so like the common herd, they could not see the road ahead, nor could they voice their suffering.
Looking at the bustling traffic along the street, Tianlong felt that something about this dream was strange compared to the last time.
It seemed to have… stabilized?
Though it was odd to say "stabilized" in such a twisted world, it was no longer as chaotic as before.
When he had entered here previously, his only impression of the White Sheep had been "madness."
But now?
Everyone here seemed to have found their own purpose in life. If you looked closely, you could even spot faceless delivery drivers and small-time vendors chatting and joking on the street corners.
Only… they were all completely silent. Not a single sound.
"Tianlong, do you want to hear a story?" asked Qi Xia.
"A story?"
"That's right." Qi Xia nodded. "A story about 'eternity.'"
The two of them walked along a road paved with flesh, chatting like ordinary passersby.
"No thanks." Tianlong sighed softly. "Your deceptive tricks won't work on me anymore. Best think about how you're going to survive under my hands."
"What a shame." Qi Xia smiled as well. "Maybe when I ask you again later, your answer will be different."
They said nothing more, continuing to walk for several more minutes.
"White Sheep… you're a man of taste," Tianlong muttered. "Walking this far—are you trying to pick out an auspicious burial plot for yourself?"
"I'm just afraid of breaking my own furniture," Qi Xia replied. "What about you? Any preferences for a grave?"
"Nothing in particular," Tianlong shook his head. "My only wish is that it ends up containing only your corpse."
"Reasonable. I hope mine contains only yours as well."
Tianlong clenched his fist slightly behind Qi Xia, feeling that his condition was still somewhat off. Today he had unleashed perhaps the most powerful 'Dream Entry' he had ever attempted, and his hands were still trembling.
"Tianlong, you're also a man of taste," Qi Xia said. "Not planning to 'Disintegrate' me now?"
"You said you would grant me a defeat." Tianlong laughed from behind Qi Xia. "If I ambushed you, how could you ever be truly convinced?"
"Let me put it another way," Qi Xia said. "Even you aren't sure if you can 'Disintegrate' me right now, are you?"
Tianlong remained silent.
"The reason you can 'Disintegrate' the 'Participants' is that you always saw yourself as a 'god' and them as 'ants' you could crush at will." Qi Xia shook his head. "But in this space, you see yourself as my equal. That means your 'conviction' can no longer sustain the belief needed to 'Disintegrate' the master of this realm."
"Isn't that what you wanted?" Tianlong countered. "A relatively fair duel."
"Let's hope it's fair."
Before long, Qi Xia stopped in front of a flesh amusement park.
Tianlong stopped as well. It seemed the "burial plot" had been chosen.
"How about here?" Qi Xia asked.
Tianlong swept his gaze over the scene before him. There were quite a few "green plants" inside the park.
But the leaves of those plants were all fingers or hair, swaying atop skeletons shaped into tree trunks—alive, and yet on the verge of death.
In the distance, there was a Ferris wheel made of giant eyeballs, a roller coaster constructed from elongated spinal columns, and even a drop tower built from two massive leg bones.
Though it was called an amusement park, no matter how you looked at it, it was a vision of hell.
"How terrifying a sight, White Sheep," Tianlong laughed. "This is a dream only a monster could imagine."
"Do you know why I chose this place?" Qi Xia asked.
"Why?"
"This amusement park is useless now. Let's tear it down, and I'll build a new one when I have the time."
"You'd better not be joking with me."
The two of them entered the amusement park one after the other. Qi Xia walked deeper inside without looking back, while Tianlong began to stretch his muscles and joints.
Though Qi Xia looked badly injured, Tianlong knew his own condition wasn't much better.
He was prepared to exhaust every last bit of his 'conviction' and fight to the bitter end here with Qi Xia.
Just then, a clown dressed in full costume ran over, holding a large bundle of what looked like long, balloon-like objects. Silently, he raised a hand in front of Tianlong and made gestures.
But he had no mouth, so not a single sound came out.
This was also the first person Tianlong had seen here who seemed to acknowledge him since he last entered this dream.
"What is he saying?" Tianlong asked.
"He's asking if you'd like him to make a little dog out of those long balloons," Qi Xia answered without looking back, still walking ahead.
Tianlong looked down. What the clown was holding wasn't long balloons at all—it was a bunch of intestines.
"Sorry to trouble you," Tianlong said with a smile to the clown. "Use those intestines to mold a grave for the man up ahead."
The clown paused briefly at this, then quickly turned and ran away.
"What an interesting place, White Sheep…" Tianlong said, watching the clown's retreating back. "He came running over with a bunch of intestines, and in the end, it was him who ran away in fright… Ha…"
"A clown came up to you with long balloons, and you said they were intestines," Qi Xia asked. "Tell me… from their perspective, aren't we the ones who are crazy?"
"So what are you trying to say?" Tianlong asked. "That this is actually a normal world, and you and I are the only ones seeing everything as flesh and blood?"
"Who knows?" Qi Xia replied.
"You really are crazy enough," Tianlong said. "Every punch we throw at each other here will damage your mind, drive you even more insane. So… are you ready?"
"Is that so?" Qi Xia stretched his limbs. "I told you this isn't a dream… so it doesn't matter."
The two of them slowly came to a halt, stopping in a small square in front of a carousel.
The carousel was made of bones thrust through torn and fragmented flesh, each one looking like a grotesque, writhing meat horse.
"Tianlong, I'll ask you one last time," Qi Xia said, his expression blank. "Do you want to know what 'eternity' is?"
"I don't."
"Fine." Qi Xia nodded. "Then kindly lie down soon. I need to get home for dinner."
Tianlong's face darkened. "In that case… die within the dream."
The moment the words left his mouth, Tianlong's figure shot forward like a projectile.
Without even turning his head, Qi Xia continued walking forward. In an instant, a colossal wall of flesh rose up before Tianlong, intercepting his charge.
Every amusement ride in the entire flesh theme park seemed to receive some kind of summons at that moment, springing to life as if electricity had surged through them.