"What a chaotic plot today... Lin Xian rubbed his arms, chilled by the night breeze, recalling the dream he just had.
Fat-faced cat, Ultraman mask, beautiful secret agent... It's really laughable.
"It's like filming a movie with a bunch of idiots... cough cough."
Lin Xian coughed twice, feeling a bit cold.
Only then did he realize that he forgot to close the window before going to bed last night.
The night wind in early winter was no joke.
With a clatter, the old sliding window closed, and the noise of the dice game downstairs at the night market subsided significantly. Without the invasion of the night wind, the room seemed to warm up.
Lin Xian poured himself a cup of hot water, took a sip, and looked at the full moon outside the window:
"What's hidden in that safe with my name on it?"
...
Since birth, Lin Xian had been repeating the same dream every night.
Day after day, year after year.
Regardless of Lin Xian's age, where he slept, or what he did during the day, once he entered the dream, he inevitably appeared in that strange yet familiar square.
Strange, because Lin Xian was certain he had never been to this square in reality.
Familiar, because over the past twenty years, Lin Xian had already figured out this square. He knew every child, every tree, and even every blade of grass here.
As a child, Lin Xian was afraid of this dream.
Every day was the same people, the same city, the same events.
For Lin Xian, the dream was like a prison he could never escape from.
Yesterday's playmates would become strangers today.
People who died in front of him yesterday would greet him with a smile today.
Even if he caused a huge commotion, the dream would still be as calm as ever the next day.
He was like a prisoner trapped in time.
Sentenced to an indefinite repetition of the same day.
...
He discovered early on that the world in his dream would always be destroyed at exactly 12:42 a.m., and he would wake up promptly at 12:42 a.m.
So he learned to exploit the bug—
[As long as he stayed awake past 12:42 a.m. before sleeping, he wouldn't dream!]
And it worked.
So for a long time in his childhood, Lin Xian would stay up past 12:42 a.m. before sleeping, dreaming-free nights.
But as he grew older, starting from junior high school, Lin Xian's mindset changed.
He not only accepted the repetitive "nightmare" day after day, but even learned to enjoy this "dream":
In reality, he was constantly under supervision, but in the dream, he could do whatever he wanted, without consequences!
He didn't have to follow any rules or worry about any consequences!
He could recklessly race cars and challenge anyone!
This daily repetitive dream became Lin Xian's outlet during adolescence.
Once he accepted this setting, Lin Xian felt that this dream without any responsibility and fear of death was too enjoyable!
While his classmates were still playing childish games like "Bubble Bobble" and "MapleStory," Lin Xian was already enjoying games like "Extreme Kingdom," "Hot-Blooded Rogue," and "Tail Stalk 3" in his dreams.
From then on...
Lin Xian no longer stayed up late.
The first thing he did after returning home from school was to do his homework.
After finishing his homework, he would immediately wash up and go to bed, making his parents exclaim that their prodigal son had returned!
It was from this time that Lin Xian realized that dreams wouldn't always end at 12:42 a.m.—
[If he died in the dream, he would immediately wake up in reality.]
During his high school years, the most common way Lin Xian died in his dreams was being shot by the police.
Shot in the head by a sniper, gunned down by SWAT on the spot, shot in the chaos of escape... he had experienced it all, and it had become routine.
It was precisely because of the intense escape training in his dreams for a long time that Lin Xian won the City Youth Parkour Championship for three consecutive years in high school, making his teachers praise him as both literary and martial!
Today...
This dream is still Lin Xian's daily playground, amusement park.
Although the world in the dream is always repeating the same day, fortunately, the world in the dream is vast enough. Even though Lin Xian has been playing in his dreams for more than twenty years, he still discovers something new every day.
Just like the dream he just had.
Lin Xian had robbed banks many times, but it was the first time he had entered a warehouse full of safes.
He wasn't surprised that his name was written on the safe.
After all, it was his own dream, he was the protagonist, so it was normal to have his own name.
He was just curious...
"Why isn't the password working?"
Lin Xian finished his cup of hot water.
His body felt warmer now.
He put the cup on the desk, pondering left and right...
According to his habit, most passwords were his own birthday, easy to remember and simple.
Almost all his online account passwords were 19990320. That's why he was so confident in the dream just now.
But why wasn't the password working?
An eight-digit password... he couldn't think of a second possibility.
Ding dong.
The phone on the bedside table lit up with a new message.
He opened it and saw it was from the WeChat work group—
Design Team Leader Li Juan: @everyone, we have a meeting in the third-floor conference room at nine tomorrow morning. Mr. Zhao wants to review everyone's proposals in person! No one is allowed to be late! Reply received!
Immediately after, there were several more "received!" messages.
"These people are too much."
Lin Xian sighed sincerely. It was already 1 a.m. Are these people all super Saiyans? Don't they need to sleep at night?
But complaints aside...
In his dream, he could rob banks, blow up buildings, and laugh in the face of danger.
But in reality, he still had to humbly reply at one in the morning:
Received!
"Time to sleep, I have to get up early tomorrow."
Lin Xian got back into bed, set the alarm clock, and tossed his phone onto the bedside table—
Bang! ...
Li Juan, furious, slammed the folder on the table!
"I told you guys last night! Mr. Zhao wants to review your proposals today! And look at this! What kind of nonsense are you all presenting!?"
The entire third-floor conference room fell silent...
Everyone kept their heads down.
Li Juan was furious! She took out a draft and slammed it on the table:
"What's our new brand all about!? It's about youth! It's about girls! I asked you to design the brand image, and you give me a fox wearing black stockings? And wagging its tail?"
"And you!"
Li Juan pointed at the girl next to Lin Xian, her eyes glaring like a lioness:
"Do you have any misunderstanding about our new brand? Drawing a little rabbit is acceptable, but this floral scarf and big cotton coat—are you serious? My grandmother dresses more stylishly than this rabbit of yours!"
"Mr. Zhao has said it countless times! Haven't you all heard of Kitty cat! Hello Kitty! Have you seen it? We want a brand image just like Kitty cat!"
"Humph..."
The chubby guy on Lin Xian's left muttered softly:
"They want Kitty cat but pay us peanuts..."
"What are you muttering about, Fatso!?"
"Nothing, nothing, Sister Juan! I think Hello Kitty is the best! Perfect!" Fatso quickly replied, frightened.
...
Li Juan's roar filled the entire meeting room.
Lin Xian closed his eyes, twirling his pen, still thinking about the safe in his dream yesterday.
An eight-digit password...
What could it be?
And what was hidden in the safe?
Kitty cat?
Cat?
Listening to Li Juan's rant, Lin Xian thought of the cat mask on the fat-faced cat.
That was also a cartoon cat image.
With just a few strokes, the cartoon cat's cuteness and vitality were vividly depicted.
Especially the mask covering the fat face of the cat, it had a contrasting beauty, untainted by the mud.
It had to be said, the design of that cat image was indeed very cute.
Lin Xian, lost in thought, quickly sketched out this cartoon cat on a piece of paper...
"Huh?"
The female colleague next to him leaned over:
"Lin Xian, what are you drawing?"