Chapter 1610: Entering the Dream
Xu Huo needed to enter a sleep state, but of course he couldn't do so without any protection. Other players wanted to be easily woken up, but he didn't need that.
Seeing the shelter appear in the room, a player huddled in the corner said, "And here I thought you were so upright and aboveboard..."
Since the words were spoken deliberately to be heard, Xu Huo turned to look at him. "This is also to protect your safety."
The players present, including Chi Xian and Liao Xiaorong, all thought this was just an excuse because he didn't trust the others, but given his strength, no one could interfere.
However, Yi Jun reached out and leaned on the shelter's doorframe, pressing further, "You don't have a mental illness, do you?"
The others all looked at him: Looking for trouble?
Yi Jun explained, "It's not that I don't trust you. I don't know how far your mental evolution has progressed. If you lose control while asleep, the others will suffer."
"I'm only a C-level player." Xu Huo smiled, leaving the Battle Maid outside before closing the door of "Shelter No. 101."
The shelter exchanged air with the outside when the door opened, so even inside, he couldn't take off his protective suit. However, this shelter could withstand nuclear-level attacks and was a B-level item. Ordinary items probably couldn't destroy it immediately.
Of course, A-level items were another matter, which was why he left the Battle Maid outside and placed Housekeeping No. 25 inside as a human meat shield. He also took out the item "Magic Man," which only had one minute of combat time but could simulate half the strength of a real magician—pretty good.
Among his defensive items, "Goalkeeper" had the longest duration, lasting ten minutes, while most others lasted only three minutes. "Flower Bloom" would only disappear if completely destroyed or recalled, making it perfect for this situation. Paired with "Three Hundred and Sixty Defenses," if anything went wrong, it could buy him some time before he fully woke up.
In addition, "Selfless Substitute for the Deceased," "Cat's Triple Life Loan," "Lifelike Wax Figure," and "Three Seconds of Life" were all placed on his body as a safety net.
Naturally, these were just defensive measures. If someone actually broke through the shelter while he was still unconscious, no amount of items would help.
So he once again entered the spiritual realm and sat down beside the white table under the library tower.
The three other personalities representing different periods of his life all came out.
The childhood personality was still a shadow, its face and body indistinguishable. The teenage and young adult personalities sat down at the table, still calm.
Xu Huo nodded slightly to the young adult personality. "Thank you."
The young adult personality nodded back.
"I need to enter a sleep state for a while; I might not be able to wake up in time," Xu Huo said. "If I encounter danger and someone breaks through my defensive barrier, wake me up promptly."
His gaze moved across the other three personalities, finally landing on the shadow personality. He emphasized, "Remember, wake me up when my life is in danger."
The shadow personality stood silently by the table, not facing him and giving no response.
Xu Huo looked at it for two seconds before withdrawing his gaze. After refocusing on the shelter, he temporarily purchased a set of A-level protective armor, put it on, and lay down.
One minute later, Housekeeping No. 25 woke him up.
The second time he fell asleep, he could still be woken up after three minutes.
Like the other players who had fallen asleep before him, after half an hour, ordinary pain could no longer rouse him.
Once asleep, Xu Huo could no longer keep track of time. He didn't know how long had passed when his dream began.
First, his former home appeared.
Bright sunlight streamed through the window into the room. The afternoon cicadas were annoyingly loud. Standing under the glass window and looking up, he could even see dust floating in the air.
Father Xu, holding the just-awakened Xu Zhi, walked out of the bedroom, took three popsicles from the fridge, placed them on the table, and called him over, smiling as he asked what color he wanted.
Three flavors of popsicles, three colors.
This scene wasn't unfamiliar to Xu Huo. He had memories from a very young age, richer than the average child—not fragmented, but truly continuous recollections. So this common summer occurrence was nothing new.
"This time you choose first; next time, your brother chooses," Father Xu said with a smile. "And the time after that, Dad chooses."
Xu Huo casually picked a red one.
Xu Zhi's gaze lingered on the red popsicle for a moment, then he picked up the white one and said, "Next time, I want the strawberry flavor."
Xu Huo smiled, his gaze following him to the TV. As Father Xu sighed, "It's so hot," his eyes shifted to the window. After the blinding light, the scene inside the room changed.
Xu Zhi had vanished. Father Xu and Ms. Fang remained silent, one sitting at the dining table, the other on the sofa.
Neither of them glanced his way. Only the clock in the room ticked away, annoyingly persistent.
When the clock hand jumped to the next hour, Ms. Fang suddenly exploded, grabbing the water cup beside her and smashing it against the wall—the cup and the clock shattered together, fragments flying out with a clattering sound. One piece flew straight toward Xu Huo's eye.
He reached out and caught the fragment, casually tossing it to the ground.
As the fragment hit the floor, ripples spread across the ground. The entire room's scene changed, and noise erupted around him. He stood inside an underground casino, pushed by the surging crowd to a betting table. People around him laughed and argued over which number to bet on, but Xu Huo clearly saw the dealer manipulating things under the table—the mechanism installed there would soon produce the number he wanted.
Xu Huo had chips in his hand. The people around the table urged him to place his bet.
He casually tossed the chips onto a number no one else had chosen.
The roulette wheel spun. After a nerve-wracking wait, the ball landed precisely on the number Xu Huo had bet on.
The dealer looked up at him and pushed more chips back.
Xu Huo sat down at the table, staring straight at the dealer across from him.
After only a few seconds of eye contact, a flood of thugs poured in from both sides. They escorted him to a small room, where a man in a suit and tie placed chips and a knife in front of him.
"Cheating costs you an ear. That's the casino's rule."
Xu Huo remained unmoved, but when the man walked over with the knife, he reached out, grabbed him, took the knife, and sliced off the man's right ear.
The room's window was open, and outside seemed to be a bustling street. The man's screams attracted more thugs, who were now banging on the door.
Xu Huo threw the man aside, walked over, kicked the door down along with the people behind it, and stepped out over the door panel.
No one dared to stop him. After leaving the casino, a car suddenly sped past him, and a gun was thrown at his feet.