After having dinner with You Xue, Su Li returned to his own dormitory.
After much deliberation, Su Li finally agreed to Xi Lin’s request.
It was mainly for the Academy’s special treatment, but also because he didn’t want to see anyone die in front of him.
Besides, You Xue was also at the Academy, and he was afraid she might get hurt too.
Those people who fell into dreams and never woke up—where did they go?
Was there any chance they could be saved?
Even the Academy’s knowledgeable researchers couldn’t find the answer.
That night, Su Li only slept for a short while.
To maintain his drowsiness, he went to the Research Building alone early the next morning and headed to the laboratory at the end of the hallway.
Xi Lin and Anbian Du were already waiting there.
When he saw Su Li walk in, Anbian Du smiled slightly.
“Good kid, looks like you’ve made your decision!”
Xi Lin’s furrowed brow relaxed for a moment, then she spoke slowly.
“We’ve discussed your situation with the Acting Academy Director. He agreed to all the conditions we proposed last night, so don’t worry about us going back on our word.”
Su Li nodded, looking a bit tired.
He asked, “I have one more question.”
Xi Lin’s gaze shifted to him.
“Go ahead.”
“Can those people who were devoured by the nightmare still be saved?”
Hearing this, Xi Lin fell silent.
After a long pause, she shook her head.
“Who knows? Maybe after we kill that Dream Tapir, they’ll return to normal.”
Her voice was somewhat heavy.
“Even you don’t know?”
Xi Lin shook her head again.
“My supernatural ability can’t detect the original souls of those who’ve woken up abnormally. Maybe they’ve been hidden away, or perhaps they’ve simply been destroyed.”
Su Li looked at her.
So that meant these dreamers had encountered a sudden disaster, fallen into a long, unending nightmare, and might never wake up.
Their lives were so cheaply thrown away, leaving only the monster-controlled shells behind.
That was how this world treated life.
Anyone could slip and fall into a life-or-death crisis if they weren’t careful.
He felt the same—he could die at any moment.
So the only way to survive in this dangerous world and protect the people he cherished was to become stronger.
“I understand.”
The thoughts flashed through his mind, then Su Li said,
“So when do we start?”
He asked.
“Right now.”
The next moment, Xi Lin’s tone became serious.
“The beasts or monsters you encounter in the dream are most likely the Dream Tapir’s way of consuming dreams. If you place a marker condensed from my supernatural ability on it, we can track that Dream Tapir.”
“Because you’ll need to get close to that spirit-devouring power, so… be careful in everything.”
Then Xi Lin opened her left palm.
A unique, faint purple ability energy gathered in her palm, and then a thread formed from that purple light sank into Su Li’s mind.
Su Li instinctively raised his hand and pressed his brow.
There was no stabbing pain, no foreign sensation—only a faint coolness lingering deep in his mind.
“Done?”
Xi Lin nodded.
“That’s it. The thread connecting to you and the spiritual marker have been delivered to you. Next, just sink into the dream.”
Xi Lin walked over to a transparent pod.
Inside, a soft blanket had already been laid.
Then she said,
“What you need to do now is clear your mind, let sleep take over. The invisible thread generated by my ability will sink along with your consciousness and automatically search for the Dream Tapir’s presence.”
Without hesitation, Su Li stepped up to the transparent pod, lay down inside, and slowly closed his eyes.
He no longer actively resisted sleep.
The exhaustion accumulated from a night of light sleep instantly swept over him, wrapping around his consciousness like a tide.
The clear thoughts in his mind gradually scattered and dissolved.
The darkness before his eyes began to flow and warp.
Tiny fragments of consciousness started to form the dream world: clean streets, a sapphire sky, and scattered pedestrians all wearing blue-and-white clothing that looked like uniforms.
‘Another strange world,’ Su Li thought to himself.
This scene reminded him of when he was at the Preparatory Academy.
Although that time was short, it was far easier than the current relentless waves of crises.
Just as Su Li was deep in thought, a crisp, lively voice roused him.
“What are you standing there for? We’re going to be late!”
The voice came from beside him.
Su Li turned his head to look.
It was You Xue, also wearing the blue-and-white uniform.
The uniform made her skin look snow-white.
Her gray-white hair hung softly over her shoulders, her eyes were clear and gentle, and the pleated skirt fell to her knees.
She looked innocent and beautiful.
“You Xue?”
Su Li murmured in confusion.
The childhood sweetheart in front of him smiled and responded,
“It’s me. Good morning?”
Su Li shook his head sharply, suddenly remembering the You Xue last night who knew nothing.
So this You Xue was clearly a fake.
He had never thought his childhood sweetheart would deceive him.
“No.”
Su Li shook his head, his tone firm.
“You’re not You Xue.”
“Me?”
You Xue smiled and pointed at herself.
She knew Su Li wouldn’t doubt what his childhood sweetheart said.
That was fine—in the dream, she didn’t need him to care too much about her.
She nodded, still smiling faintly.
“I really am not You Xue.”
“Then who are you, exactly?”
Su Li asked in the silence.
“To be precise, I’m not the real You Xue.”
The girl stood in the clear sunlight, without a trace of panic.
“I am the projection formed from the fragments of consciousness you unconsciously emitted in the dream—specifically, those memories related to this person.”
You Xue pointed at herself, calmly telling a lie.
“The illusion that condensed from those fragments.”
“An illusion?”
Su Li was still a bit confused.
You Xue showed a small smile and nodded lightly.
“That’s right. I’m just an illusion. I’m not a monster or a phantom—just a pure illusion. So I won’t hurt you. We even defeated that monster together.”
You Xue looked at him earnestly.
“I’ve been helping you, haven’t I?”
“I… I understand.”
Su Li was still suspicious, but he had no reason to attack her.
The equipment he had used in the previous dream was still on him, and the You Xue in front of him still carried that somewhat special notebook.
“So what’s the situation now?”
Su Li asked, feeling that this You Xue should know the answer.
“Simple. We’re in someone else’s dream, so our appearances naturally have to follow the Dream Master’s settings.”
“Settings?”
You Xue nodded slightly.
“That’s right. Right now, our identities are students of the Preparatory Academy.”
She rested her chin on her hand and reasoned,
“Then the Dream Master is most likely a student too.”
Su Li nodded.
“Then let’s go find the nightmare in this world.”
“No.”
You Xue shook her head.
“Huh?”
“What we need to do now is go to class.”
“Why?”
You Xue lifted her gaze to the cluster of teaching buildings in the distance.
“Because the Dream Master is probably a student, and the nightmare’s goal is to kill the Dream Master. So if we just stay in the Academy and wait, we’ll catch them. There’s no need to wander around outside like headless flies.”
Su Li looked at the girl beside him.
The suspicion in his eyes hadn’t completely dissipated.
If she was an illusion formed from his own consciousness fragments, then why did she know so much that he didn’t?
He decided to ask.
“Why do you know so much?”
“Well…”
You Xue turned her head away so he couldn’t see her expression.
Actually, she was a bit flustered because she hadn’t expected Su Li to ask that question.
Finally, she could only force herself to stay calm and turned back to look at Su Li.
“Because I’ve been in many other people’s dreams. Remember the city we first saw? That was actually someone else’s dream too…”
Before Su Li could ask another question, You Xue had already walked ahead.
“Come on, let’s go to school first.”