Chapter 4
◆One: New Game
Dream Company launches its latest plan:
"FutureUnderstandingLottery·FUL".
The public commonly refers to it as the "Mirror Game".
Official explanation:
Everyone longs to be understood.
We assign economic value to this desire.
Bet your dreams, if someone in the future truly understands them.
You will then enjoy the benefits of trust for life.
In other words—
Humans started gambling on who would be understood first.
The advertisement's tone carries religious overtones:
Those who understand you will become your gods.
Giant screens on the street were playing clips of dreams from millions of participants.
Behind each dream figure is a fluctuating odds.
The more obscure and solitary the dream, the greater the reward.
The market for dreams and trust is heating up again.
Lu Caichen stared at the screen.
That familiar yet terrifying prosperity once again enveloped the city.
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◆Two: Bet formula
Lin Xian infiltrated the FUL backend code.
There he saw a familiar formula:
Expectation(understanding) = Desire × Trust^2
This is an unfinished model from his design sketches for the Phantom Coin.
It was used by DreamWorks to predict the probability of an "understanding explosion".
He handed the copy to Lu Caichen.
"They turned understanding into a statistical event."
"We created the formula in an attempt to explain the human mind."
Now they use it to predict people's hearts.
"Prediction is crueler than betrayal."
The two remained silent for a long time.
Outside the window, the ruins of the Void Light Tower reflected neon lights.
It vaguely resembles a mirror, or a wound.
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◆Three: Global Launch
Within three hours of the "Mirror Game" going live,
Global betting volume has more than doubled the highest record during the Phantom Coin era.
Countless dreams were uploaded, categorized, and promoted.
A completely new social hierarchy was formed:
1. Ideal Dream: High odds of success, easily followed.
2. The Dream of Being Stranded: Being misunderstood for a long time.
3. Black Dream: The system determines that it cannot be understood.
"Black Dream" users often disappear overnight.
The official statement said they "voluntarily left the system."
Unclaimed sleeping pods remain on the streets.
A sentence flashed on the screen:
"Understanding failure means the bet is null and void."
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◆Part Four: Lu Caichen's Suspicion
She saw a string of unusual data on the workstation.
One of the users' dream samples was almost identical to her own dream.
Number: Mβ021-EchoPattern.
The system identifies its owner as YWitness.
She immediately contacted Lin Xuan privately:
"How could the dreams of the Ghost Web appear in a human betting pool?"
"Unless—it's gambling too."
The two tracked down to the internal server.
At the deepest level of the central database, they discovered "MirrorVault".
Inside, countless replicas of dream forms lay dormant—
Each dream corresponds to a real dreamer.
"what are they doing?"
"Mirror projection. Allow each dream to corroborate a reverse dream."
"The winner is the one who is misunderstood by more people."
"So, it's not just a gamble on who gets understood first,"
It's a gamble on who can bear being misunderstood forever.
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◆Five: Messages from the Ghost Web
As they were preparing to copy the data,
The entire system glowed with a pale blue light.
The voice of the net echoed:
"Has bettor Lin Hsien confirmed his participation in the final round?"
I didn't place a bet.
"Your algorithm has been automatically bound."
You are both the original sinner and the dealer.
The screen collapsed.
Countless dreams swirl like shards of a mirror.
Each one reflects Lin Xian's face—
Smile amidst different emotions, different eras, and different reflections.
The net continues:
"To balance humanity's thirst for understanding"
There must be someone who is 'completely misunderstood'.
Your probability is 100%.
Lu Caichen reached out, but only touched the light.
Lin Xian stared at his reflection in the countless shattered mirrors.
Perhaps this is true trust:
Even when misunderstood, do not run away.
He pressed confirm.
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◆Six: The End of the Gamble
The city was engulfed in a storm of dreamlike light.
Millions of dream entities exploded simultaneously.
The trust dividend curve is in complete disarray.
The betting market collapsed, and the odds dropped to zero.
All users' screens displayed only one system notification:
"The game is over. No one has won."
A huge blue crack appeared in the sky.
Like the dawn we've been waiting for.
Lu Caichen knelt in front of the control panel.
Watching Lin Xian's data signal gradually dissipate.
Did he lose?
A cold, indifferent system response:
"He won. Because he was completely understood."
Then silence fell.
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◆Seven: Afterglow
A few days later, the world restarted.
The mirror system was shut down, and Dream Company announced a "suspension of operations."
However, some servers still have weak pulses.
Lu Caichen received an anonymous message on the dark web channel:
"Understanding equals an infinite delay. —LX"
She understood.
That was the underlying signal left by Lin Xian—
It is both a will and the seed of a new algorithm.
She closed the terminal.
The distant morning light shimmered on the sea.
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Chapter Four: The Mirror Game Ends
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