Chapter 682: Within the Plan
“Knowing too much might make you wish you were dead,” Yu Nian’an said. “Ask what you should, and don’t ask what you shouldn’t.”
“Alright… alright…”
Xiao Cheng nodded, somewhat flustered. Though Yu Nian’an hadn’t directly answered, her words had essentially revealed the truth.
But what was really going on?
So many people in the “Land of Endings” could perform “Dream Entry”?!
Wasn’t “Resonance” supposed to be unique?
“You said he just waved his hand and razed the entire city to the ground…?”
Xiao Cheng turned his head in disbelief, glancing at Qi Xia, who was wolfing down food in the living room.
“So Brother Qi’s mental state didn’t just have a crack… it was a ‘total collapse’…”
“No, the problem really does lie with that crack,” Yu Nian’an said. “If it were just the city turning to nothingness, perhaps Qi Xia would still stay somewhat clear-headed. That crack is the main reason for his chaos. After all, this house is the final line of defense Qi Xia built for himself.”
“Then why didn’t you let me…” Xiao Cheng paused, then rephrased, “Why didn’t you fix it yourself? You can create anything here effortlessly. Patching that crack would be no trouble for you!”
Back when he knew he had no hope of survival, Xiao Cheng had shifted his focus to Qi Xia.
This man was incredibly strong. If he could regain his clarity, he could lead everyone through challenges and obstacles. Since death was inevitable anyway, he might as well do one last good deed before dying.
But the current situation was still somewhat strange. A “guardian” inside Qi Xia’s heart had refused to mend that crack, allowing Qi Xia to lose his sanity.
What exactly was she guarding?
“Xiao Cheng, I told you, everything is under Qi Xia’s control. No need to worry,” Yu Nian’an said with a smile. “You probably don’t know what kind of final battle this is, so it’s hard for you to understand what’s happening. It’s like a three-year-old child stumbling into a modern battlefield where stray bullets are flying everywhere. Explaining everything from scratch would be really difficult.”
Xiao Cheng slowly lowered his head. He knew Yu Nian’an was right. If Qi Xia was someone who could face off against “Tianlong,” then barging into his psychological world unprepared was practically suicide.
“I’m running myself ragged just trying to obtain ‘Resonance’ each time, but on this land, there are already people fighting a decisive battle against ‘Tianlong’…”
“Don’t lose heart,” Yu Nian’an comforted him. “There are many paths in this world, and everyone has their own. You’ve just chosen different paths—that doesn’t mean you won’t reach the destination.”
Xiao Cheng seemed to take some inspiration from those words and nodded slightly.
“If it were possible, I’d also hope you could get out alive. But is that realistic?”
Yu Nian’an wiped her hands clean, then opened a kitchen drawer, took out a small mirror, and gently handed it to Xiao Cheng.
Xiao Cheng took it, confused, then flipped it over and froze on the spot.
The mirror showed a face that wasn’t his own.
He reached out a trembling hand and lightly touched his own flat face. He could see, hear, and speak, but now he felt no facial features at all.
When had this happened…?
Was it because he had stayed too long in this dream, or did everyone who entered this space become like this?
Xiao Cheng thought for a long time, then finally wore an expression of resignation. He looked up and said, “Sister Yu, once Brother Qi wins this ‘final battle,’ we’ll all be saved, right?”
“Who is ‘we’?” Yu Nian’an raised an eyebrow, as if she didn’t understand what Xiao Cheng meant.
“I mean… all the ‘participants.’ As long as ‘Tianlong’ is defeated, we ‘participants’ who have been stuck in this cycle will all be saved, right?”
As the words fell, an unusual silence filled the room.
Xiao Cheng had imagined countless answers beforehand. He thought Yu Nian’an would either agree, deny it, or directly assert that Qi Xia couldn’t possibly defeat “Tianlong.” But none of those expected answers came.
He had considered every possibility, yet none of them included this strange reaction from Yu Nian’an.
Yu Nian’an raised her slender, fair fingers to lightly cover her lips, then let out a “pfft” of laughter.
Her smile was as if she had heard the funniest joke in a century, its arc beautiful across her brows and eyes. She laughed heartily, rock back and forth, the sound echoing endlessly in the room.
And under that laughter, Xiao Cheng felt a chill spreading through his body.
“Sister Yu…”
Watching Yu Nian’an’s gentle smile, Xiao Cheng’s pupils flickered faintly. Though she hadn’t said anything, he felt enveloped by some conspiracy. “What are you laughing at…?”
“Oh dear…”
After a dozen seconds, Yu Nian’an shook her head, still smiling. “Xiao Cheng, Xiao Cheng… you really are an interesting person…”
“Interesting…?” Xiao Cheng’s scalp felt cold, sensing that things were truly happening on a level he couldn’t touch at all. “Sister Yu, what do you mean? Isn’t Brother Qi fighting ‘Tianlong’ on behalf of the ‘participants’? If he wins…”
Yu Nian’an didn’t answer. Instead, she pointed out the window.
“Xiao Cheng, look.”
Xiao Cheng slowly turned his head, his gaze passing through the kitchen door to the living room window.
Outside, there was still a vast expanse of dark red flesh, every piece of it with clear, pulsating veins, beating now.
And above the fleshy sky, a huge pupil was peering around in all directions.
Yu Nian’an stepped forward, slowly gripping the rope. “Xiao Cheng, you once destabilized a person’s mental state by breaking a single blade of grass. But the entire city in Qi Xia’s heart was destroyed. Do you know what that means?”
Xiao Cheng said nothing, just stared blankly at that city of flesh.
Yu Nian’an gently placed the rope loop around Xiao Cheng’s neck, adjusting its angle to make him more comfortable.
“And I, following Qi Xia’s instructions, built a blood-soaked city within his heart, using my own bones and blood to reconstruct every building here,” Yu Nian’an said softly. “You yourself can ‘enter dreams.’ Can you foresee what will happen next?”
“I…”
Xiao Cheng couldn’t guess at all. After a person’s inner world is completely destroyed, and then rebuilt with flesh and blood… what would become of him?
Could he accept this city in the depths of his heart?
No… that didn’t seem quite right. Qi Xia already appeared to have fully accepted it…
This city was no different from the real world to him.
“Xiao Cheng, do you think someone like that would truly be completely broken by that crack?”
“Sister Yu… what are you two plotting…?”
“Let me ask you again… do you think someone who is so ruthless to himself would really fight ‘Tianlong’ on behalf of all the ‘participants’?”
“Knock, knock, knock.”
Suddenly, a knock came from outside the door. Both Xiao Cheng and Yu Nian’an paused.