Chapter 65 How to survive the three days in the dream today...

In the three days of the dream, the experiment progress only regressed by 0.3%.

At this rate, it's unclear when the progress will be completely halted. Moreover... even though everyone tries their best to appear relaxed, you still notice the undisguised fatigue in their eyes when you go out a few weeks later.

On the first day of the dream, people were either fearful or full of fighting spirit. Most residents locked themselves in their houses, digesting the sudden truth.

In the second week of the dream, people adjusted their emotions and began to leave their rooms and go out into the streets. Street vendors came and went, and Onpharos seemed to have returned to its former tranquility.

In the third week of the dream, some people have already begun to break down emotionally. Dream, dream—an endless dream, a dream with no end in sight. Even if you have made your plan public, how easy is it to accumulate enough rebellious sentiment to attack the underlying logic?

Dreaming can be tiring, especially when you're not getting enough rest and people are filled with anxiety.

Conservative ministers—especially the nobles in the Senate—angrily denounced the Golden Children as imprisoning people in the name of redemption, arguing that there was no real danger and that the “Legus” and the scepter experiment were utter nonsense.

Crydella was too lazy to argue with them; she was already overwhelmed with maintaining the dream world every day. So she gave them a few instructions, kicked the current Kayneth out of the dream, and when the remaining Senate members realized what was happening and stumbled over to check their leader's breathing, they discovered that Kayneth was already brain dead.

Leaving the dream now is like leaving a safe house. The inhabitants of Onpharos are essentially a string of data, a string of consciousness, so the body is unimportant—their consciousness is firmly protected by the Golden Blood, and even if the Legus escaped the Black Tower's entanglement, he would still be powerless against these empty shells.

Once they are freed from the protection of this dream, their consciousness will be instantly seized by the lurking Ragus, brutally merged into the Black Tide, and become part of that group of terrifying monsters, part of [destruction].

Katniss, who had lived a life of luxury and wealth, was swallowed up in an instant. Her eyes were wide open, her face full of disbelief. She didn't even have time to leave a single last word. She was transformed into the hideous monster she used to hate the most, without any dignity whatsoever.

The Senate was terrified; their faces turned ashen, they trembled like leaves, and cold sweat poured down their backs, soaking their robes, but they paid no heed to it.

They knew that Kerudela was ruthless, but they didn't expect her to actually abandon them. Wasn't she afraid that after the battle was won, she would be severely criticized in the history books?

Krystra sneered, crossed one leg, and coldly looked at the trembling Senate members below.

"[Caesar] has been this cruel for a long time. Who gave you the courage to disobey my orders?"

Hazel stood guard beside her with her eyes lowered, her rapier half-drawn. If anyone dared to look up, before they could even catch a glimpse of the emperor's calves, only seeing her boots, they were startled by the cold glint of the sword in the sword banner and lowered their head again.

At the same time, thanks to your efforts in propaganda and the spontaneous speeches of the masses, the people's resistance has spread like wildfire and is becoming unstoppable.

Qingxu is like a wide-bellied, narrow-mouthed water glass. At first, it might seem bearable, but once the critical point is exceeded, the flow of water becomes uncontrollable and will eventually erupt.

...

[Experiment progress: 99%]

[Experiment progress: 97%]

[Experiment progress: 90%]

As the passion and indignation of the people in the dream intensified, the experiment retreated faster and faster, becoming increasingly uncontrollable.

Black Tower had to extricate itself from the struggle with Lai Gu Shi, and sent Ruan Mei and Luo Si Gu Mu to take the lead while they discussed countermeasures.

"I've been thinking about how to preserve this massive emotional sample," Black Tower frowned. "What I mean is, this emotion hasn't been systematically integrated yet. If we want to infiltrate this damned scepter experiment by adapting it into a virus, we first need to find someone who can 'adapt' it..."

She shrugged. "I originally wanted to do it myself. After all, I've already done a simulated universe experiment before, so I have experience with editing universes. But I underestimated how difficult the Omnic Bro is... This guy truly deserves to be called the first 'genius'."

“Ruan Mei’s expertise doesn’t lie in this area, and I’m afraid she and Luo Si alone would be unable to withstand it—besides, she’s also responsible for inspecting the reproductive logic of that life form. You know, this thing will be very useful in the future, and there can’t be any mistakes.”

You start to worry, "What should I do?"

My head is spinning. You've been working non-stop for so long, both helping Caesar enforce the laws and assisting the residents; you're simply overwhelmed.

Not to mention the companions. Changyeyue was the main force in building the dream, and her mental power washed over the entire Onpharos day after day. Even she, who was powerful, felt a bit strained. It had been a long time since she had appeared in front of you and March 7.

Teacher Danheng took on the role of protector. When you weren't looking for him, he would lie dozing on the edge of dreams and reality, keeping watch on any Black Tide that Black Tower and Screw Gum had failed to catch. The edge of the dream was quiet, devoid of any sign of life. Even the usually calm Danheng, who was used to the noisy atmosphere on the train, felt a little lonely at this moment.

As for Tian, ​​she's the most childlike of the three—Tibao, Tining, and herself—and the constant use of the [Gateway] power has left her exhausted. But if you look at her, she'll pretend nothing happened and be easily coaxed into a smile by a piece of candy.

Black Tower hesitated for a moment, then decided to take a desperate gamble:

"Forget it, I'll do it—at worst, I'll just fight Zandal while editing the program; it's not like I haven't faced that challenge before—"

However, the simulated universe portal behind her suddenly began to fluctuate.

"...What is that?"

You blinked hesitantly. The Black Tower also became alert, slowly approaching the simulated universe.

"Hey, who's playing tricks here?!"

[...]

A string of messages suddenly flashed across the simulated universe control console.

While you're still wondering if Polka or Zendar have come after you, the Black Tower has already summoned several mirrors to block your path... However, contrary to your expectations, a bird figure wearing overalls has appeared.

[...The Black Tower.]

Contrary to its large, beard-covered, and remarkably mature appearance, the overalls-wearing bird is rather timid. Fluffy, soft, and round, it doesn't seem aggressive at all.

A string of names appeared above its head.

[Stephen]

Black Tower didn't react for a moment, "...Stephen? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be busy lately..."

Stephen hurriedly said:

"I'm busy because I'm busy with Onphalos!"

Your and Black Tower's expressions suddenly went blank.

...What...how come another one knows about Onpharos? Didn't the Black Swan tell you that very few people in the universe know about this planet, and that it can only be observed through [memory]? Ruan Mei and Hanabi Sangbo are one thing, but Stephen too...?

Two of the four members of the simulated universe knew about Onpharos, and Black Tower immediately felt a little embarrassed. "You kid, how do you know about this godforsaken place?"

The subtitles jittered slightly, then hesitantly typed out a string of information:

[I knew about it when she came to test the simulated universe... I also knew about that game, "Raise the White Hunter Simulator," and those two Fools.]

After a long silence, the fireworks finally couldn't help but shout:

[I knew I hated geniuses! How could this brat invade the territory of fools?!]

Stephen seemed quite indignant.

[Your [pleasure] energy is very interesting, but the game design is really rudimentary... It almost malfunctioned many times, and I was the one secretly fixing it behind the scenes...]

You understand now. No wonder it felt so well-made back then, unlike something made from pure [pleasure] energy. When I found out it was Hanabi Sambo who was behind it all, I even wondered when Sambo had developed a new skill...

The fireworks quickly went out.

She was silent for a few seconds, muttering to herself, but her tone wasn't as aggressive as before.

[...Well, we're not programmers. We're better at acting than programming, so it's not bad as it is...]

Stephen ignored her insincerity and stubbornness, and just hesitated before typing:

[If it's about virus editing, I can help. I've been researching Onfaros these past few days...]

Heita was surprised, "You actually offered to help? Aren't you most afraid of things that require teamwork? You're not socially anxious anymore?"

Stephen was a little embarrassed by her blunt question.

"This time, it's different," he said awkwardly.

But in the end, it was never explained exactly what was different.

But who is Black Tower? He's an old monster who's lived for who knows how long. Seeing his stammering appearance, he guessed what was going on and gave you a meaningful look.

"I originally thought this was an adventure game," she exclaimed. "I didn't expect it to be a romance-themed game."

You scratched your head. "What?"

Hanabi chuckled a few times. Stephen's chat box displayed a string of silent ellipses, as if he were shy.

“Alright, I’ll leave this to you.” Black Tower readily agreed. “You’re good at this, so I’m relieved. I never expected we’d end up having a simulated universe experiment team building activity in Onfaros… You and Ruan Mei really are something, not telling me and Luo Si beforehand, catching us completely off guard.”

Stephen didn't like communicating with others, she knew that, so she just teased him a bit and didn't really blame him. She understood that the little guy was probably just socially awkward at the time.

Black Tower had a weight lifted from his shoulders and revealed a long-lost smile, but you didn't say anything more, feeling somewhat worried.

[What are you thinking about?]

Fireworks said a few words to you out of humanitarian concern.

You just shook your head.

After returning with Danheng on March 7th, you were immersed in the joy of reunion, but then you were disturbed by Heather's statement that "the White Calamity is everywhere." Now, taking a moment to calm down, Stephen brought up the simulator again, and the unresolved question slowly resurfaced—

Where did Xi Lian, or rather Mi Mi, go?