# 2031
Chapter 2015: You Can Call Me... Pangpang
Hearing the two's responses, Yerand nodded slightly.
"Alright... After experiencing hundreds of millions of dream cycles, we should take that step. When we reach the Higher-Dimensional World, we'll naturally reunite."
As they were speaking, in that gray, hazy world, a faint light suddenly appeared, then rapidly expanded across the sky. The fluctuation of creation's aura descended abruptly. Within that radiance, the three could vaguely see the outline of a universe gradually taking shape!
"Lin Qiye has fallen asleep... A new cycle is about to begin." Lingbao Tianzun's expression grew serious.
"I know how urgent your desire to see Lin Qiye is, but you must be careful to control yourselves." Yerand said with a straight face. "Although we retain our original memories, in each cycle, we must adhere to the original trajectory as much as possible. We cannot alter the worldline itself, especially in front of Lin Qiye — not a single action or word can be wrong...
"Hundreds of millions of cycles have been deeply imprinted in Azathoth's will. Once He detects any deviation, He will wake instantly."
"Don't worry, we understand." Lingbao Tianzun nodded.
The three stood before that gradually forming universe, waiting to enter it. Just then, in the dead silence of the gray layer, a crisp sound suddenly rang out!
Dinglinglingling——
All three half-step "Ascension" entities froze simultaneously.
"What sound is that? Is it coming from the universe?" Yerand asked, confused.
"That's not right..." Lingbao Tianzun's expression turned peculiar. He reached into his arms and pulled out a diamond-encrusted gold phone.
That sound that echoed through the gray layer was this phone's message notification.
"???"
Jialan spoke in astonishment, "The Fifth Universe has already been destroyed, and we're all trapped in the gray layer... Who could still send us messages?"
This phone had been Lingbao Tianzun's belonging back when he was still Baili Pangpang. Even after ascending to Heavenly Venerable, he had kept it with him. Even when the original universe was destroyed, this phone had survived the catastrophe along with Lingbao Tianzun.
But now, this phone could actually receive messages?!
The Earth was gone!
"Is it normal for this thing to receive messages now?" Yerand wasn't a modern person and didn't have much experience with phones. He asked in bewilderment.
"...Not normal."
Lingbao Tianzun seemed to have thought of something. He exchanged a glance with Jialan, and a gleam of light simultaneously appeared in both their eyes!
Theoretically, without signal towers, phones couldn't receive messages... Now that they were stuck between the higher and lower dimensional worlds, receiving messages was a fantasy... But perhaps there was one person who could accomplish this.
Lingbao Tianzun immediately opened the phone to check the message. There were only two simple lines of text:
——Be careful with the next cycle
——We're almost there
These two logically disconnected sentences left Yerand scratching his head... But Lingbao Tianzun and Jialan appeared to be lost in thought.
Before Yerand could ask anything, the expanding dream universe rapidly swelled within the gray layer, swallowing all three of their figures into it...
...
Asylum of the Gods.
Ward Six.
In the dim, silent ward, Lin Qiye lay alone on a bed. A swirling ball of dream-woven light circulated above his head.
After an unknown time, Lin Qiye's body trembled violently. Then, his expression relaxed in his sleep, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly...
"Mm."
"..."
"Auntie, the government subsidy for disabled people is meant for living expenses. Using it to buy oil is making the best use of it."
"..."
"Oh, I ran into some kind strangers on the road who helped me bring it back."
"..."
"I've thanked them, Auntie. Where's A Jin?"
"..."
"Wasn't Dr. Han supposed to come before?"
"..."
"No... I've never changed my name. My parents named me Lin Qiye before I was even born."
"..."
"No, I saw an angel." Lin Qiye paused for a moment. "An angel shrouded in golden radiance, with six white wings."
"..."
The little boy stood in the corner of the room, earnestly watching Lin Qiye on the hospital bed, like a loyal guard.
Outside the ward, the unconscious 【Chaos】 suddenly shuddered and also let out a somniloquist's murmur:
"I'm back again... Hahaha! This time I'm going to play a big one! Lord Azathoth... wait for me..."
Before 【Chaos】 could finish speaking in their unconscious state, the little boy floated directly out of the ward and slapped Him across the face with an expressionless look. A crisp sound echoed through the hospital.
The orderly 【Chaos】 and Little Qiye were both manifestations of Lin Qiye's consciousness—one representing Azathoth's personality and the other representing Lin Qiye's personality. The main body Lin Qiye couldn't attack his own consciousness manifestations, but the personalities he had split off could.
After receiving Little Qiye's slap, the orderly 【Chaos】 groaned and directly fell into unconsciousness... When Azathoth's consciousness fell into unconsciousness, the three pillars 【Chaos】 in the dream cycle would return to their original trajectory, unaffected by the orderly 【Chaos】.
In the entire ward, only Lin Qiye's sleep-talking echoed in the silence.
...
"New recruit?"
"Yes."
"What's your name?"
"Lin Qiye."
"You're... Lin Qiye?"
"Yes, is there a problem?"
"No." The instructor shook his head. "You're the first one to arrive this year. Come on in... By the way, I'm Hong Hao, your instructor."
"Nice to meet you, Instructor Hong."
Lin Qiye carried two suitcases and respectfully spoke. On that youthful face full of boyish charm, a pair of bright eyes好奇地打量着眼前这座集训营。
He followed Instructor Hong on a tour of the training camp, then headed straight toward the dormitory area.
The training camp's dormitories were double rooms—clean but spartan. Fortunately, Lin Qiye didn't care much about these things. Compared to them, he was more curious about what kind of person his roommate would be.
Soon, he arrived at the door of his assigned dormitory. Several figures were gathered there.
"Young master, I've scouted all these places for you. This one has the best environment—warm in winter, cool in summer, and the most sunlight!"
"Ah, when you think about it, this Cangnan really can't compare to our Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The economy's bad, the environment's worse, tsk... Young master, look at how these houses are built, oh my... The walls peel off just by touching them... Young master, maybe we should just go back? You don't need to suffer like this!"
A chubby little boy was surrounded by them like a treasure. He immediately rejected this proposal. The others exchanged glances and were about to walk into the room to discard all the messy furniture for him and replace everything with new items.
Lin Qiye's eyes flashed with a cold light as he watched this. He stepped forward immediately. Before he could speak, the chubby little boy kicked one of the bodyguards!
"Ddamn it to hell! This is a double room—someone's my roommate in there! You think you b*stards can touch my roommate's stuff?!"
"Still saying it's dirty? This young master's most hated s**kbirds like you who bully others! Get the hell out of here!!"
The chubby boy drove away all the bodyguards with a single shout. His gaze then turned toward Lin Qiye's direction. In those clear, youthful eyes, an imperceptible trace of complexity and guilt flickered...
He walked straight up to Lin Qiye.
"Um..."
"Hello, my name is Baili Tuming." The chubby boy took a deep breath and slowly spoke.
"I know this name is a bit awkward to say. You can just call me Tuming, or..."
"Call me Pangpang."