Chapter 31: Let It Be Just a Beautiful Dream

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[Game Objectives:]
[One Star: Successfully escape the old school building of the Tenth Middle School, Completed]
[Two Stars: While escaping, uncover what actually happened at the Tenth Middle School, Completed]
[Three-Star Hidden Objective: Save those who should be saved, Completed]
[Game Rating: Three Stars]
[Countdown Reset: Current death countdown—'Fifteen Days', timing stopped]
[Ability Acquired: Nocturnal Cultivation Law (If you cannot sleep at night, why not continue to cultivate your psionic power? Nighttime cultivation efficiency +40%)]
[Reward Ability Acquired: Mental Deterrence]
[Note: I wish to prove that those who are noble in conduct and righteous in heart shall surely be able to endure hardship because of it.
—Ludwig van Beethoven]

The game was over for this time.
Su Wen saw the final prompt light up on the computer screen:
[Extraordinary Appendage (Painting) has been stored in the inventory and can be retrieved at any time]

The Dead Zone exists on the edge between reality and illusion.
Which meant.
The little girl who was saved had truly left him a gift.
He took the thin sketch from his inventory.
Outside the window.
Sunlight filtered into the room through the gaps in the late summer leaves.
It also spilled onto the drawing paper in his hand, causing it to be quietly covered in a softly swaying, gentle halo under the caress of the breeze.
It felt very warm.
This was a gift worth treasuring.
He decided to get right to it.
Su Wen looked at the certificates and testimonial letters framed in the old house.
Finally, he chose to take down his precious certificate for placing 378th in the 'Round-the-Island Cycling Race'.
After all, there had been 380 participants in total.
Excluding the two unlucky souls whose tires had burst.
He had won the 'championship'.
It was indeed quite precious.
And it was right after that 'campaign' had ended.
His old bicycle had gained an extra descriptor, becoming a 'rickety bicycle'.
Su Wen replaced the 378th-place certificate with this simple sketch.
He placed it in a spot where the sunlight could shine through the window.
Then, he leaned against the bed and fell asleep.
Three hours later.
Three-thirty in the afternoon.
The door to his home was gently knocked upon by the only young lady who would ever visit this place.
Su Wen felt he had slept very comfortably, as if his soul had been nourished.
He opened the door.
Before he could even speak.
He already had his answer.
"You didn't reply to my messages, so I came over to check on you while I was in the neighborhood."

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The young lady said in a cool, clear voice.
"I've thought of the topic: Analysis of the force model of the No. 43 Lighthouse during a storm. It fits perfectly with the fluid dynamics proposal you did earlier."
"A good idea. The problem is, there are less than two months left in the hurricane season; you might not encounter another meteorological disaster as terrifying as 'Ewiniar'."
He replied calmly:
"I'll just have to apply to the school for a wind tunnel simulation environment to conduct the model analysis."
"Don't worry about that. A large portion of the Deep Sea Ruins remains unconquered, so resources are currently being tilted in that direction."
"Come in and sit down. I just woke up and haven't tidied up, so it might be a bit messy."
Hearing this, a faint smile appeared in the young lady's eyes:
"Seeing that you didn't reply to my messages, I already knew."
"Could there not be other possibilities? For instance, a dream one doesn't want to wake up from?"
"Was it a nightmare?"
Su Wen shrugged.
After helping the young lady brush a fallen leaf from her hair.
He smiled gently:
"Never mind, let's just consider it a beautiful dream."

——————————————————————————————————————

Five days passed.
Ten o'clock at night.
After the white sand had long been smoothed by the receding tide, erasing the footprints of the day's travelers.
The quiet moonlit night arrived in silence.
Along the coastline, only the nearly invisible fine waves gently licked the beach, emitting an echo like a soft, barely audible whisper.
It was as if everything had fallen into a deep sleep.
Sunk into a peaceful dreamland.
Three enforcement officers in dark blue uniforms and upright postures pushed open the glass door of the Schlott Heavy Industries office area.
During the investigation over these past few days.
The Mental Censorship Bureau had confirmed the source of the infrastructure materials for the No. 43 Lighthouse Shelter.
The vast majority of them came from exploration machinery destroyed during the electromagnetic explosion at the former Deep Sea Ruins.
After strictly cross-referencing the database data.
Officer Zhu Yu arrived here under the cover of night.
Initially, they were blocked by the security guards at the entrance.
But once the credentials of the Mental Censorship Bureau were presented.
The entire process became quite easy.
After all, to some extent, the terror of the Mental Censorship Bureau was no less than walking down a deserted road at night and hearing eerie sounds behind you.
The middle-aged manager of the BHX sector wiped the sweat that wouldn't stop pouring from his bald head.
While immediately connecting to the Asia-Pacific regional head, Mars-William.
On the screen.
Under the soft, pale yellow lighting.
Mars-William was leaning back on a leather sofa.
In front of him sat the most famous Victorian-era 'Palm Court' double-layered carved silver serving tray.
From time to time, he would take out some exquisite food from it.

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And feed it to a cheetah he had specifically found in Africa that possessed extraordinary traits.
Ever since the Einstein-Rosen bridge warped from the Congo to the World Tree.
It had become easier for extraordinary life forms in the African rainforests to break through the first-tier sprout.
But even so.
Mars-William's actions were enough to prove just how wealthy Schlott Heavy Industries was.
"Schlott Heavy Industries has conducted illegal construction operations in violation of Border Regulation ETR-03; I will report this truthfully."
Zhu Yu said calmly:
"Perhaps the Mars exploration project and lunar engineering that Schlott has been focusing on recently will need to be re-evaluated."
"Mr. Inquisitor, I think there must be some misunderstanding between us."
Mars said with a smile.
He waved his hand.
Detailed charts of the personnel in the BHX sector appeared in the conference call.
"I had my people investigate the database, and while there was indeed a phenomenon of data allocation for recovered items, upon checking the relevant operator identities and surveillance footage afterwards, all data simply showed 'blank' during the twenty-four hours when 'Ewiniar' struck."
"You mean to say that a higher authority wiped the evidence in the shadows."
Zhu Yu sneered.
"Do you think, after reading your employee code, I would believe such an incredibly 'coincidental' testimony that is so biased in your favor?"
"I admit, there are procedural loopholes in the BHX sector's recovery station."
Mars-William sipped his coffee, then continued to smile:
"But at least the result was good, wasn't it?"
Just at this moment.
A prosecutor standing next to Zhu Yu interrupted:
"The Watchman has discovered a spread of 'Dead Zone' pollution. The medium is [Dream]. However, there was only a momentary ripple within the 'Hecate Lantern'. Since then, no changes in shallow dreams have been detected; that is why the Light Point | Karen Edge Array can only lock onto a general range."
"'Involving the Dead Zone', this matter is more important. Let's go."
He made a swift decision.
But before leaving.
Zhu Yu looked calmly at the elegant European gentleman on the other end of the video conference and left one final sentence:
"Mr. William, I only came to give a warning. This matter involves the Abyss Frontier and the Deep Sea Ruins; a higher-level administration will provide the final ruling."
At the same time.
Accompanied by the dissipation of a very small number of dream fragments.
Lin Xiqing also strayed into a dream.
At the edge of the dream.
She saw a dilapidated school sign:
[Coastal City Tenth Middle School]