Even with Wang Wanrou's computational abilities, the intricacy and complexity of this so-called large nightmare completely surpassed any cognitive model she had encountered before.
It was almost… inhuman.
She had stayed by Cheng Jinyang's side for the past few days to crack this dream.
Now, having basically confirmed the direction and feasibility, it was time to begin the initial attempt.
An immense amount of information flowed before her eyes, and Wang Wanrou's expression remained unchanged as the cursor moved instantly according to her will. She inserted, modified, and deleted various parsed "codes," while Cheng Jinyang, asleep beside her, began to show an increasingly strange expression.
In the dream.
Cheng Jinyang was intimately close with Su Lili, like lovers, when he suddenly noticed something off about her body.
It was as if an old TV screen with poor signal; her body began to blur. Not only that, but the furniture in the surrounding room also began to blur gradually.
"Xiao Li, what's wrong?" he asked, confused.
"Jinyang…" Su Lili said softly, with confusion and sadness in her eyes, "I seem to…"
"…can't stay by your side anymore."
In the Longmen Grottoes.
Surrounded by the wrathful statues of Buddha, a silent figure stood with a sword, eyes closed, while a lazy figure stood beside her with her hands in pockets.
Suddenly, the person with the sword opened her eyes, her pupils turning a furious gold-red, as if the next moment hot magma would flow out.
"How… How dare she? How dare she!!!!!!"
"What's wrong, Xiao Qi?" The figure beside her immediately stood straight and asked, "Is it about Jiankang your…"
But Xiao Qi didn't answer, because flames were already shooting out from her eyes, red flames erupting like endless waves, turning the entire grotto into a sea of extreme heat in an instant.
"Hey! Calm down!" Her companion tried to approach but was forced back by the surrounding heat waves. After a moment of hesitation, she chose to turn and quickly leave the now infernal grotto.
Xiao Qi remained standing in the center of the fire, her face grim as she looked at the surrounding Buddha statues, her expression gradually turning sorrowful, and the purple-red mold on the surface quickly turned into charred marks.
"No…" she said.
Tears flowed from the corners of her eyes, but they evaporated into fine mist before reaching her nose.
"I cannot…"
Debris began to fall from above as the high temperature further eroded the surrounding structure, almost destroying the original support.
"…stop here!!!"
A massive pillar of flame broke through the grotto's roof, shooting straight into the sky, rapidly heating, charring, and igniting the surrounding air.
Plants withered, animals fled, and the wandering phantoms seemed to sense the oppression, bowing and unable to move, soon carbonized by the rising temperature.
In Wuchang, over 500 kilometers away, the flame column phenomenon was observed in the north. The researchers of the Longxiang Army quickly activated military satellites to locate the explosion point south of the Divine Capital:
"The coordinates are 34.555033N, 112.475838E, the flame column height has risen above 10,000 meters, with a central temperature estimated at 30 million degrees!"
"Is it a strategic weapon test from Jiankang?"
"We haven't detected any movement trajectories from Jiankang, and… the flame column erupted from deep underground, probably at the Longmen Grottoes. Could it be a secret military site from the previous dynasty, exploding due to lack of maintenance…"
"Don't jump to conclusions, I'll report to the Lord."
Soon, a secret exploratory team crossed the Yangtze River from Wuchang, heading north towards the fallen Divine Capital.
Meanwhile, in Jiankang, the eruption phenomenon in the northwest was noticed, and Princess Nankang and Yu Yuangui were summoned to the palace to discuss countermeasures with the Emperor overnight.
In an old house in Wujiang Town, Wang Wanrou had isolated the "Su Lili" mental model, starting a thorough analysis.
"I see." About two hours later, Miss Wang finally smiled, "A clever trap, very clever. So this is the great demon's weakness, huh."
She turned to Cheng Jinyang, a slight smile on her lips:
"Jinyang, if I weren't here, you might have died at Su Lili's hands one day in the future…"
Before she finished speaking, her consciousness was suddenly interrupted.
......
"Ah, you can reverse track me through the connection and pull me into the dream?"
In the nightmare's old house, Wang Wanrou stood up, looking at the disheartened Cheng Jinyang before her, smiling calmly and muttering to herself:
"So, besides Jinyang, Xing Yuanzhi, me, and Chu Qingqing, were also your 'food'?"
"Wanrou." Cheng Jinyang slowly stood up, dejected, "You're here."
Just now, Su Lili in his arms had suddenly disappeared. In a panic, he searched the bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom but found no trace of her.
When he returned to the living room, he saw Wang Wanrou had already entered the dream.
"Yes, although there was a little accident, I have indeed come in."
Wang Wanrou looked around calmly and said:
"Is Su Lili gone?"
"Yes…" Cheng Jinyang instinctively answered, but quickly reacted, "How did you know?"
"Since Su Lili has disappeared." Wang Wanrou didn't answer, continuing, "Then, the great demon will come soon."
"Remember, in this dream world, we only exist in consciousness form." She looked at Cheng Jinyang seriously and said sternly, "No matter what harm consciousness suffers, it will not affect our bodies in reality."
"The only thing you need to be wary of is not letting your consciousness collapse. For example, even if your arm is unharmed in reality, if it gets cut off too many times in the dream, your consciousness might believe 'I have lost my arm.' As a result, even in reality, you won't be able to sense or control your arm. Such self-deception is the most terrifying."
"I…" Cheng Jinyang hadn't responded yet when Wang Wanrou quickly summarized: "It's okay if you don't understand, just remember this: false things won't affect reality as long as you refuse to believe in them."
"This world is a false world; if you die in this world, it's a false death; the harm you suffer is false harm; even the Su Lili you love and think loves you back…"
"…is also a false Su Lili. Because the real Su Lili…"
"Is already dead," a voice suddenly said behind Wang Wanrou.
Pushing open the glass door of the balcony, Su Lili walked into the living room again.
Cheng Jinyang instinctively showed a look of joy, but that expression quickly froze on his face.
Because this "Su Lili" in front of him didn't have the gentle and kind, almost pet-like cute aura he was familiar with.
Instead, she bore a cruel, evil, and ferocious look, staring intently at Wang Wanrou beside him.
"Heh." Wang Wanrou also sneered, "Coming for me…"
Before she finished speaking, she was pinned to the living room wall by the arm of Su Lili, who had charged at high speed and pierced her body.
"…right?"