Chapter 137: Dreamweaver |
Levi noticed that the impression Annie gave him in the dream was a bit different from her usual self. When awake, Annie wasn't incapable of speaking, but she always said very little, somewhat resembling an NPC. Simply put, if you didn't initiate a conversation with her, she wouldn't proactively talk to you. Levi remembered that the only few times Annie had actively spoken to him seemed to be because of the dissection of the Sea Monster or the duel with the train.
At that time, Levi felt that aside from being a bit quiet, there was nothing particularly strange about her.
Perhaps because it was easier to speak one's mind in a dream, Levi found that Annie not only acted mechanical, but her way of thinking was also rather hard to evaluate.
However, this was personal freedom of thought, and Levi wasn't bored enough to want to manage that. The biggest problem now was how to leave this dream world.
"I do not know much about dreams." Annie was quick to admit that she wasn't good at dealing with this sort of situation. "But generally speaking, if a person encounters a fatal threat in a dream, they might wake up in reality."
"Yes, generally speaking, that's correct."
Levi understood Annie's meaning very well. In fact, most people had probably experienced something similar—dreaming that they jumped off a cliff or stepped into thin air on a staircase, then instinctively jerking their legs and waking up from the scare the next instant.
He remembered there seemed to be scientific research claiming this was actually a sign of a person's body growing while asleep, but whether that was true was a matter of opinion.
"So, should we find a cliff to jump off?"
If it were an ordinary nightmare, Annie's method might really work. But Levi knew that the Phantom Killer possessed the ability to kill people in their dreams. Since this place was related to the Phantom Killer, dying here might very well mean dying in reality.
Moreover, up until now, the system had not triggered a mission, indicating that the problem in this dream world might be even deeper than he imagined.
After several experiments, Levi had discovered that his system wasn't like an RPG game where he could just walk down the street, click on a random question mark, and trigger a mission. On the contrary, it required him to collect a certain level of clues before a prompt would appear.
For example, if Levi bumped into a woman on the street, the system wouldn't trigger a mission. But if Levi became suspicious of this woman, followed her to a certain place, and discovered that she was actually a member of a cult—then the system's mission would be delivered right to his doorstep.
From this point of view, the triggering mechanism really fitted the professional characteristics of his profession as a detective.
On the other hand, Levi could also use this rule to conduct investigations. For instance, he was clearly entangled in a supernatural and mysterious event right now, yet the system had no reaction at all. That meant Levi was still far from the core of the event and hadn't even found a proper clue.
From a certain perspective, this could be considered a means of screening out wrong leads.
But the question was, where should he look for clues now?
Just then, a burst of light laughter echoed.
"Hehehe, you seem to be very troubled. Do you need help?"
Hearing this voice, Levi reacted instantly, turning around quickly and raising his gun to aim at the source of the sound.
Then, he saw a strangely dressed woman lying on a tree branch not far away, looking down at him with a grin.
Strictly speaking, that was not a human female. It resembled those animals in white coats that had surrounded Annie just now, except this woman was entirely in the form of a cat. She lay along the branch like a cat, her hands crossed under her head, her smoothly furred body forming a beautiful, straight curve, and her tail peeking out from behind, wagging back and forth constantly.
"Who are you?" Levi stared at the cat woman and asked in a low voice.
The latter smiled mischievously. "Me? I have many names, but right now, I should use the one you know. I am called the Cheshire Cat."
"But you are not the Cheshire Cat."
Levi immediately raised his vigilance. After all, Alice in Wonderland did not exist in this world at all. Logically speaking, the Cheshire Cat shouldn't exist here either.
The creature maintained her smile.
"True, but this is your consciousness, your thoughts. You expect some existence to answer your doubts and solve your problems. Coincidentally, such an image exists within your consciousness, so I borrowed it. You see, it's just that simple."
"Who on earth are you?"
"I am an inhabitant of this world... I really didn't expect that in this day and age, I could still meet a Dreamweaver. Truly interesting."
"Dreamweaver?"
"Yes." The Cheshire Cat wagged her tail. "For ordinary people, dreams are chaotic and uncontrollable. Just like waves on the sea, they can only immerse themselves and drift with the flow. However, there are also some uniquely gifted individuals. They are not controlled by dreams, but instead create and control dreamscapes... Even in the era when gods walked the world, Dreamweavers were very rare, let alone now..."
"Are Dreamweavers that rare?"
"Of course, wanting to control a dream is no easy task." The Cheshire Cat grinned again. "In a dream, everything exists, but to you, is its existence a matter of course? Dreamweaving is not mere fantasy. Although you all call fantasy a daydream, dreams and reality are interconnected. You must recognize it, understand it, and accept it. If you cannot do that, then you cannot create and control all of this..."
Before her words completely faded, the Cheshire Cat vanished with a flash, reappearing beside the velociraptors and staring at them curiously. The velociraptors stared back at her with full vigilance.
"So interesting, so clear, so vivid. Is there such an animal in the world outside now? It clearly left a very vivid impression in your mind."
While speaking, the Cheshire Cat cautiously reached out a hand. The leading velociraptor suddenly snapped its jaws toward her claw. She failed to dodge in time, and her claw was caught in its teeth, but the next moment, she vanished into the air like a simple sketch and reappeared back on the tree branch.
"See, how interesting. You must have seen this cute creature, it left a deep impression on you, and you believe it is your companion, so it appears here."
"Really? Mr. Levi, are they creatures that exist in reality?" Hearing this, Annie stared at the velociraptors, her eyes shining.
"Um... they did exist once." Levi didn't lie; after all, it was a fact. "But that's not important. Do you have a way for us to leave this world?"
"Of course, dreams are omnipotent. As long as you are omnipotent, then you can naturally leave this world, but the premise is that you must believe it without a shadow of a doubt."
"..."
Annie frowned. "This is illogical." She thought for a moment and shook her head. "There is no evidence to prove that we can leave this world, and how do we determine whether we have a way to leave? Without evidence to support it, isn't it just pure fantasy?"
"Because this is the dream world." The Cheshire Cat's smile grew increasingly cheerful. "This is inherently not a world that will reason and use logic with you—or rather, the dream world has its own reason and logic."
"We can discuss this issue later." Levi didn't continue to dwell on the matter; he already had a few thoughts forming deep down. "The urgent priority now is to save the others. Since you are an inhabitant of this world, do you know where my companions went?"
"Of course. No one has come to this world for a long time. Fresh flesh and souls will attract attention very quickly."
"Those animals just now were after them too?" If Levi still didn't understand the meaning behind her words by now, he would be a fool.
"Yes, except those were just relatively low-level existences in the dream world. They can only be like me, borrowing images from others' consciousness to manifest, thereby tasting the target's body and soul..."
"Then what about you?" Levi naturally wouldn't overlook the implication. "Are you also interested in my soul?"
"Of course, who wouldn't like a rare Dreamweaver? But I am different from those foolish guys. If I can build a good relationship with a Dreamweaver, it will be beneficial and harmless to me."
The Cheshire Cat licked her claw, the smile on her face never changing. It looked quite eerie.
"Then can you take me to find them?"
"Of course, please follow me."
Although this Cheshire Cat was equally untrustworthy, Levi had no other clues at the moment, so he had to follow her forward. At the same time, Levi inquired about the nature of this dream world and its inhabitants, and the Cheshire Cat answered his questions one by one.
According to the Cheshire Cat, the inhabitants of the dream world were divided by strength. The lowest level consisted of creatures like the velociraptors currently summoned by Levi—like the Cheshire Cat, they weren't actually real velociraptors, but were generated after the lifeforms of this world obtained the images in Levi's mind. This kind of low-level creature had no self-awareness and would mostly act according to the will of the dream's master, which was why Levi could control them.
The animal doctors Annie encountered were stronger; they possessed self-awareness, could autonomously project themselves into the consciousness of others, and utilized that connection to launch attacks on their prey. However, their strength was also limited. At that level, they were basically only as strong as the human subconscious perceived them to be. Since ordinary people simply couldn't imagine particularly powerful monsters, their strength, strictly speaking, was very weak.
The threat of these two kinds of dream creatures wasn't considered very high, but further up, things changed. Higher-level entities could not only manifest based on the subconscious, but could even modify a person's consciousness, inducing the dreamer to draw close to them in order to consume their soul and power.
"This world is not isolated from humans," the Cheshire Cat spoke as they walked through the dense forest. "The dream world is closely connected with the real world. Everything in this world is formed from the dreams made by the people of that world... Look."
While speaking, the Cheshire Cat leaped onto a tree branch in a few bounds, gesturing for the two to come over. Levi and Annie climbed up the branch, stood by her side, and peered forward. Then, their eyes widened in surprise.
Previously, the surroundings had been a dense jungle, so Levi and Annie hadn't noticed any abnormalities. Not until they looked past the edge of the woods did they discover the magical scene before them.
Stretched out in front of them was a pitch-black sea reflecting starlight. On the sea's surface, looking out into the distance, various kinds of islands could be seen. Some emitted a dazzling radiance, some cast a dim light, some were consumed by soaring flames, and others were beset by roaring thunder and howling hurricanes...
It was as if this world was built upon a series of floating islands in the universe.
"Every island here, every point of light, is a dream." The Cheshire Cat spread her hands. "Dreams are boundless. We wander among them, looking for interesting dreams, enjoying them, appreciating them. Of course, many of us prefer nightmares."
"Why?"
"Because it is more exciting." The Cheshire Cat licked her claw. "Happy, beautiful dreams are too rare, and the troubles of ordinary people are too boring. By contrast, nightmares are very thrilling, and it is much easier for us to feel something."
That was true. Compared to romance movies and mundane dramas, horror movies were definitely the easiest to elicit an emotional reaction from people.
"We are immortal. We will always live here. Like those you eliminated before, they merely lost the forms that carried them. In fact, they did not die. For us, in this long and boring life, finding and experiencing dreams is the only pleasure."
"But since that's the case, why do you attack people who come here?"
"Very simple, kid." The Cheshire Cat narrowed her eyes. "We like dreams, but what kind of dream is made is not up to us to decide. Even if we possess powerful strength in this world, we cannot affect people in reality, and we cannot determine what dreams they have. But people who come here are different. We can make them experience everything as we please, and utilize them to create the dreams we want."
"Ah, so that's how it is."
Levi understood. He recalled a movie he had seen before about a novelist who got into a car accident and was taken back to a secluded home by a woman to recuperate. In reality, that woman was the novelist's number one fan and was deeply invested in the book he was currently writing. However, she absolutely hated the ending the novelist had planned. So she forced him to burn the manuscript and broke both of his legs, forcing him to write the ending she wanted. Previously, when they were separated by thousands of miles, any protest she made would have been useless. But once the novelist fell into her hands, she had the final say.
Clearly, those who mistakenly entered this world were just like that unlucky novelist, and the creatures of this world were like that "number one fan." Next would be tying them up in a basement and forcing them to "create" everything the entities desired.
Truly a strange world.
Levi sighed silently.
"Next is the first difficult problem, Dreamweaver." The Cheshire Cat stared at Levi. "How are you going to leave this place?"