“Train?”
You Xue stared at Su Li, repeating the word.
“Yeah.”
Su Li nodded, then told You Xue about how he had returned to the destroyed village, escaped by train, ended up here inexplicably, and then saw her falling from the sky.
By the end, his voice carried a hint of confusion.
“So where exactly is this place?”
You Xue certainly wasn’t going to tell him honestly.
She wriggled, realizing Su Li’s arms were still holding her!
They were so close that her cheeks felt hot.
She quickly called out.
“Put me down, Su Li.”
At her words, Su Li slowly crouched and carefully set her back on the ground.
Her soft hair brushed against his arm, tickling him.
You Xue took half a step back, creating a bit of distance, then looked up at Su Li.
After a moment of hesitation, she spoke.
“I think… this might be a dream.”
“A dream?”
Su Li frowned, thinking for a moment, still puzzled.
“The scenery here is strange—maybe it really is a dream. But if it’s a dream, why does every sensation in my body feel so real?”
“You’ll believe it soon enough.”
Seeing that Su Li didn’t seem convinced, You Xue directly took out the notebook and began writing a sentence.
[Suddenly, a pushcart full of apple candy appears in front of you.]
Then, golden particles materialized out of thin air, gradually forming the shape of a cart filled with candy.
In an instant, the written words became a real existence.
Su Li’s mouth fell open.
He was stunned.
You Xue ignored his shock.
She walked straight to the cart, grabbed two candies, kept one for herself, and tossed the other to Su Li.
Then she tore open the wrapper, popped the candy into her mouth, and the fresh, sweet taste spread across her tongue.
She narrowed her eyes in satisfaction.
Su Li tore open his wrapper and took a bite.
He chewed twice and swallowed.
“…It’s real apple candy.”
He finally said.
“Then this really is a dream.”
Su Li made the conclusion, but another question immediately followed.
“But why are the two of us in the same dream?”
Su Li muttered to himself, his gaze shifting to the girl in front of him.
‘Could it be that the You Xue appearing here is just a figment of my dream?’ he wondered.
But from earlier, You Xue had been staring fixedly in one direction, completely oblivious to his gaze.
“What’s wrong?”
Su Li asked.
“It’s here.”
You Xue replied.
“It?”
Su Li followed her gaze to a pure white building in the distance.
At the bottom floor of that building, something seemed to be writhing.
When he looked more closely, he saw a dark red, shapeless mass of flesh rolling toward them, picking up speed.
“What… is that?”
“The monster chasing me. I got this notebook while it was pursuing me, and then used the notebook’s ability to escape.”
You Xue said flatly.
Her words reminded Su Li of how, before boarding the train, the monster that had destroyed the village had also chased him, and only when he got on the train did it leave.
That train that had appeared so suddenly—could it be the same type of item as You Xue’s notebook?
But now was clearly not the time to think about that connection.
His tone grew urgent.
“We need to run!”
You Xue shook her head and didn’t move.
“In a dream, running anywhere is pointless.”
Su Li’s foot, which had just taken a step, stopped.
He had escaped the destroyed village by train, but that train had vanished, and his supernatural ability wouldn’t work.
He couldn’t help but ask.
“Then what do we do?”
You Xue’s expression turned serious, speaking slowly.
“If we don’t fight, we can’t survive.”
Then she lowered her voice, deliberately putting on a pitiful look, and hung her head as she spoke.
“I only have you. I have a feeling that if we can defeat that monster, we’ll survive. And I can help you with this notebook.”
“Alright.”
Without much hesitation, Su Li stepped in front of You Xue.
His reasoning was simple: this was just a dream.
Since it was a dream, getting hurt wasn’t real, and dying wasn’t real either.
Maybe that was the only reason he had the courage to go all out.
But what he didn’t anticipate was that in a nightmare controlled by a Nightmare, if the dreamer died in the dream, they would suffer the same outcome in reality.
However, You Xue certainly didn’t intend for Su Li to die.
Even though she didn’t know why he could cross into her dream, it was an incredibly good thing.
Because Su Li’s presence reversed her certain death.
In the original story, he could use his supernatural ability in nightmares.
The reason he couldn’t now was just a lack of resolve.
Because he hadn’t yet clashed with the Nightmare that ruled his nightmares.
You Xue believed that Su Li’s obsession with protecting his childhood sweetheart would be enough to activate the hidden power within him in a moment of crisis.
Yes, it was deception, but it was a kind deception.
You Xue consoled herself.
For the sake of the perfect ending, she had once again used Su Li’s concern and obsession for his childhood sweetheart.
She didn’t regret it.
Even though she was confident that Su Li could defeat the Nightmare, You Xue had to be fully prepared to avoid any accidents.
So she quickly wrote in the notebook.
Golden particles appeared again, this time forming a small object that she could easily grasp in her hand.
It was roughly rectangular in shape, with a glowing cylindrical object embedded in the center.
The circular face had a symbol representing light, and on the sides were black and white structures resembling motorcycle handles.
You Xue threw the device to Su Li.
It arced through the air, and Su Li instinctively raised his hand to catch it.
The object was slightly heavy in his hand, just big enough to grip with one hand.
The metallic coating felt a little cool.
“What is this?”
He asked.
“You can think of it as a portable armor.”
You Xue explained.
“Put it at your waist, and it’ll automatically generate a belt. Then turning the handle on the dial will cover you in armor.”
“Okay.”
Su Li nodded, then looked toward the distance—the direction from which the monster would come.
He walked forward.
He had to protect You Xue, so he couldn’t stay in place; he needed to get a bit farther away.
“Wait.”
You Xue’s voice came from behind.
Su Li paused and immediately turned around.
He saw her clutching the hem of her clothes, speaking very seriously.
“If… I mean, if you feel you’re losing, run immediately. Don’t worry about anything else.”
“Got it.”
He turned back and continued walking forward, his pace faster than before.
Another voice came from behind.
“Oh, and before you fight, say something cool.”
“Like what?”
“Like—‘I’m the one who decides the story’s ending’ or something.”
“I understand.”
The tumorous monster was getting closer.
Su Li took a deep breath.
He really did need some words to boost his spirits, so he said,
“If this is some kind of story, I’ll change it until I reach that perfect, flawless ending.”