In Cheng Tingyu's mind, a description emerged—"Three people walked along the path into the forest filled with rose bushes."
Walking into the forest naturally required a certain amount of time. At first, she thought that the story's character might have walked along the path continuously, reaching a certain place
However, the stagnation of time shattered her hypothesis.
The sun, which had ceased its shifting overhead, conveyed one thing to the participants: remaining on the path, whether moving forward or eating, would have no effect on advancing the plot.
Little Jia frowned, "You mean, leave the path and explore other places?"
Compared to the previous scenario's challenge, the forest scene's challenge doesn't seem difficult. However, as participants, they will undoubtedly do everything they can to ensure their own safety.
Xiao Yi hesitated: "Walking on the small path, if we find something wrong, we can still look for a chance to turn back. If we leave, we might easily get lost."
After all, the scenery in this forest didn't look much different, and even if they could carve marks on the tree trunks along the way with a small knife, there was no way to be completely sure they could find their way back.
"…It's precisely getting lost that makes it good."
When they heard the voice of the new young man, Xiao Jia and the others realized that they had unconsciously voiced their inner confusion.
Cheng Tingyu: "Generally in novels, there are two modes of switching maps. One is where the character knows where they are going and actively heads to the new map. For example, in the previous scene, we followed the scent of flowers and found the forest.
"If the next location also requires the same method to reach, there will be enough guidance left."
However, the only path around that could be considered a guide does nothing to advance the plot.
Cheng Tingyu: "The second switching method is when, without knowing the destination, you accidentally enter a new map for some reason."
For instance, after a shipwreck, being washed ashore on a deserted island, or accidentally falling off a cliff into a certain valley, or perhaps—
"Got lost in the forest by accident, and then stumbled into some place."
Little Jia and Little Yi listened to Cheng Tingyu's train of thought, feeling a chill suddenly shoot up their spines.
The other party's idea is indeed worth a try.
However, the most terrifying aspect is that this hypothesis cannot be confirmed without ensuring one's own safety.
——If they truly got lost, they would never be able to turn back.
Xiao Yi: "Is it really okay to leave the path?"
The young man smiled and said, "It doesn't matter to me."
Xiao Yi felt that he should be reassured by the other party's response, but for some reason, he still felt a bit uneasy.
Xiao Jia: "Excuse me, can you confirm that there really is a third map in the game?"
Cheng Tingyu did not answer directly: "The place where you two found the storybook, it probably wasn't a spot suitable for enjoying the scenery, was it?"
Little Jia and Little Yi did not immediately respond, but judging from their expressions, Cheng Tingyu's guess was correct.
Cheng Tingyu: "You mentioned, 'They found the storybooks in places suitable for sightseeing.' If everyone discovered the storybooks in similar environments, the pronoun used in this sentence should be 'we.'"
"So, where exactly did each of you find the storybook at that time?"
In the past, Xiao Jia and Xiao Yi might not have been willing to reveal the whole truth.
However, at this point, they had no other choice.
Both of them had already followed Cheng Tingyu into the forest. Seeing that the blank pages in the storybook were about to be filled and the entire story was nearing its end, they had to tell the truth to prevent the other from making a wrong decision.
Unknowingly, they had already handed over the control of clearing the level to Cheng Tingyu.
Xiao Yi was silent for a moment, then confessed first: "I found the storybook in the study."
He wasn't surprised to see a book he had never seen before—when he saw "A Book of Warm Stories," Xiao Yi's bookshelf, like many others in people's homes, contained many books that had never been opened and existed merely as background.
Xiao Yi casually opened the storybook, and then found himself in an endless expanse of golden grass.
"When I came in, there were no other participants in the instance," Xiao Yi said. "I should be the first player to enter."
Cheng Tingyu suddenly said, "Xiao Yi was the first one to come in. What about Xiao Bing? Which number was she?"
Xiao Jia: "Xiao Bing, she is the second one."
Many people would arrange their entry into the instance in the order of A, B, and C. However, in reality, B was the first to enter, C was the second, and A was the third.
None of them fit the default order of the Heavenly Stems.
Xiao Jia: "My words are in..."
She hesitated for a moment, but finally told the truth: "On the way to Endless City, I was caught by scavengers, and then they used a tool [one-time search engine] to discover this storybook."
[One-time search engine] is a tool used for finding things. What Xiao Jia was searching for at that time was an "exit."
Xiao Jia did not understand why "A Warm Storybook" would have anything to do with the exit, but she was eager to escape at the time, so she took a risk.
Cheng Tingyu: "That's right, three people correspond to three different scenes. The study represents home, the scenic spot hints at the existence of the forest, and the place where you found the storybook contains a clue to the third scene."
Xiao Yi's face still bore a look of surprise. He and Xiao Jia had been trapped in the same instance for such a long time, yet they couldn't say they knew much about each other.
Although at this moment, finding the entrance to the next scene was the most important thing, he couldn't help but express his doubt: "You're actually from Endless City?"
Xiao Jia shook her head. "It's not the real Endless City, it's the corresponding city above ground." She stole a glance at Cheng Tingyu, unable to discern any change in his expression, and added a few more words. "In non-urban areas, humans themselves are a kind of resource. The settlement I stayed in before was destroyed by a replica. To survive, I must find a new urban area. Generally speaking, places close to the city are also considered part of the urban area."
Xiao Yi seemed to have thought of something and slowly said, "I have heard that Endless City is a city built within a dream..."
Xiao Jia: "Of course, the residents of the Endless City also need to trade with outsiders. The Endless City I mentioned is the closest human settlement to that dream city. Although the people there are not true residents of the Endless City, they are still under the protection of the Lord of Dreams."
While Xiao Jia was speaking, Xiao Yi couldn't help but observe Cheng Tingyu's expression out of the corner of his eye.
The other person still wore that inscrutable smile, but since she didn't deny it, it likely meant that Xiao Jia's statement was true.
Cheng Tingyu thought, as the one with the least knowledge among the three, she had to be careful with her words when speaking: "I have a blank resume from Endless City in my hand."
When the word "resume" reached her ears, disbelief and realization alternated on Xiao Jia's face. She took a deep breath and whispered, "You, ahem, you didn't use a resume? The rumor about Endless City is true?"
Cheng, unsure of the rumors, spoke honestly to Ting Yu: "I can't be certain right now."
Xiao Yi looked at the two people in front of him, everything unspoken between them, his expression barely concealing his anxiety.
He felt an unavoidable, spine-chilling sense of foreboding.
Although many people believe that since the end of the "Century of Silence," human society has been moving in a positive direction, those with a bit of understanding know that the entire world is still influenced by indescribable horrors. He needed to gather more information to avoid getting entangled in unpredictable dangers.
Xiao Yi hoped to know more information.
He wanted to inquire further with Xiao Jia, but he didn't know what kind of price he should pay—the instance had a suppressive effect on the items players carried, and his own abilities were barely residual. Xiao Yi didn't have many cards left to play.
Besides information, he had nothing else to use as currency.
Xiao Yi: "If you are willing to tell me the rumors about Endless City, then I can also tell you a secret."
When he spoke, he used 'I,' clearly assuming that Cheng Tingyu was already aware of the rumors.
The news won't earn interest if kept hidden, so since the other party requested an exchange, Xiao Jia didn't hesitate and said directly, "According to legend, the ruler of Endless City, the one known as the 'Dream Maker,' has gone mad in the pursuit of greater power."
"..."
The three of them fell into silence in an instant.
Cheng Tingyu immediately thought of the special condition he was in.
——When a mad existence pays attention to others, will it transmit its own abnormality?
The Dreammaker was an existence beyond the current level of understanding for Ting Yu. She couldn't draw any conclusions for the time being. Moreover, when she received the [Dreammaker's Gaze] at that time, her own sanity value was already severely depleted, making it difficult to judge whether the attention would affect the mental state of the one being observed.
Xiao Yi couldn't understand: "Then why did you still choose to go to 'Endless City'?"
Xiao Jia sneered, "The person who told me the news once said that the madness of great beings is gradual. Even if they become abnormal, it won't immediately cause fatal consequences, but will slowly seep into the world. If it takes them a hundred or two hundred years to go completely insane, what impact does that have on me now?"
Xiao Yi was at a loss for words. After a moment, he said, "The information I received is related to an organization called the White Tower Research Center. They once lost a very important manuscript."
Xiao Jia questioned, "…Is that all the information you have?"
Xiao Yi: "Of course, there's more to it. It's just that I can't be completely sure about the rest—it's said that the contents of that lost manuscript are related to the 'perfect form of life.'"
The message from the other party reminded Cheng Tingyu of two things.
The first was the lantern bearer who had once come to the replica in Apartment No. 6 to retrieve the dream seeds, and the second was the actor who appeared in the previous "Fiery" department store replica.
——Whether they are dream makers or playwrights, they all seem to be trying to create new intelligent beings.
The lantern bearers reside within dreams, existing neither in life nor death, while the actors in the "Immortal Golden Theater" are made of plastic and the flesh of players, and naturally, mannequins do not age.
The commonality between the two suddenly flashed through Cheng Tingyu's mind.
The other two heard this, and the young man leaning against the tree chuckled, saying leisurely, "For those who are alive, great power and eternal life are especially worthy goals to pursue."
Her words made Xiao Jia's scalp tingle faintly.