章節 85: Interconnected Reality
"Um... it does seem to be the case," Teemo mused, tilting his round little head in contemplation. "So, does that mean you had already realized this was all a dream at that time? Why didn't you discuss it with us?"
"Ah, indeed, by then I had nearly perceived the existence of the dream world. However, due to the scarcity of clues, I could not ascertain the veracity of my suspicion, which is why I undertook certain actions to validate my hypothesis," Xiao Mu Yu replied indifferently. "First and foremost, if this were indeed a dream, my primary concern was to confirm the authenticity of the three of you. I could not be certain whether you were also within the same dream realm as I was. Perhaps you three were merely phantoms conjured by the dream weaver, which is why I refrained from discussing it with you. If you were indeed mere illusions controlled by the dream weaver, any conversation with you would expose my lack of control."
"Regardless, the ability to draw me into a dream without my awareness is undoubtedly far superior to my own. Should the dream weaver discover that I have seen through the illusion, I cannot predict the consequences that may ensue. However, one thing is certain," Xiao Mu Yu stated coldly, "the other party will certainly not allow me to escape the dream."
"How did you determine that we are not mere phantoms?" Teemo inquired curiously. "According to your reasoning, being in a dream, your memories would be easily disrupted by the sea of consciousness, making it impossible for you to assess our authenticity. After all, no matter what flaws you identified, you could never be certain whether it was all merely a figment of your imagination... In light of this, how did you ascertain that we are not illusions?"
"..." A cold gaze swept across the campfire as Xiao Mu Yu considered Teemo's question. Riven and little Annie also wore expressions of puzzlement. Finally, Xiao Mu Yu replied coldly, "Dissimilarity... If you were all phantoms, your memories of the Ghosthorn Lone Wolf would lack any discrepancies; your perceptions of the creature would be identical."
"However, if you are not phantoms, then because the memories of the Ghosthorn Lone Wolf are woven from our individual seas of consciousness, and since we have not discussed the creature, it would be impossible for you to maintain consistency regarding certain details."
Xiao Mu Yu continued coldly, "I questioned Teemo, deliberately asking whether the Ghosthorn Lone Wolf had three tails or four, providing him with a psychological suggestion—implying that the Ghosthorn Lone Wolf has many tails. He then informed me that the Ghosthorn Lone Wolf has four tails."
"Eh?" Upon hearing this, the little girl exclaimed, "So, big brother, were you... suggesting to me whether the Ghosthorn Lone Wolf had two tails or three as well?"
"Ah, indeed, that was the nature of the psychological suggestion," Xiao Mu Yu replied with a nod of indifference. "Since two and three are close to one, my question would subconsciously convey to you—implying that the Ghosthorn Lone Wolf does not have many tails, leading your sea of consciousness to inform you that the creature possesses only one tail."
"One claims the Ghosthorn Lone Wolf has four tails, while another insists it has but one... Now I am finally convinced of my hypothesis," Xiao Mu Yu stated coldly. "This is indeed merely a dream, and for some reason, you have found yourselves in the same dream as I."
"Then... Mr. Mu Yu, is our ability to escape the dream due to... something you did?" the silver-haired woman timidly raised her hand to ask, recalling the final scene experienced in the dream, her cheeks flushing slightly. "Um... how did you manage that?"
"..." The cold gaze shifted away from the silver-haired woman's slightly blushing cheek as Xiao Mu Yu replied coldly, "It is quite simple. Since you are all real, we can be certain of one thing: if the dream's orchestrator is not the dream weaver, then it must be Riven."
"Because Riven has been to this Minotaur village, she possesses memories of it. If the dream of this village were not woven from Riven's recollections, she would have been the first to sense something amiss, as the circumstances here would differ from her memories," Xiao Mu Yu stated coldly. "However, I inquired of Riven, and she confirmed that many scenes in this village align with her memories, with no discrepancies. Therefore... we can ascertain that the dream's scenery is drawn from Riven's recollection."
"Consequently, to escape this dream, we must first determine who the orchestrator of this dream truly is," Xiao Mu Yu continued coldly. "As I mentioned earlier, since the dream's scenery is derived from Riven's memories, the orchestrator of this dream can only be either Riven or the dream weaver themselves—dreams do not manifest out of thin air; they require a vessel."
"And this vessel is the dreamer—the individual whose consciousness serves as the foundation for the dream's operation," Xiao Mu Yu stated with a chilling intonation. "I must locate this dreamer because, as a dreamer, they will also appear within the dream. It is impossible for someone to dream while remaining entirely disconnected from that dream. A dream is merely the dreamer's fantasy of their own circumstances."
"As long as we find this dreamer and disrupt their fantasy within the dream, awakening them, we can extricate ourselves from it," Xiao Mu Yu declared coldly. "Thus, if we are ensnared within the dream of the dream weaver, we must identify their true form within the dream and shatter their illusion."
"So, you slaughtered the entire Minotaur clan?" Riven suddenly grasped the situation, her beautiful eyes widening in realization.
"Ah, indeed. When one experiences a nightmare, they are easily awakened," Xiao Mu Yu replied indifferently. "If the dream weaver is among us, they are likely one of the Minotaurs in the village. Therefore, if they dream of their own demise, they will undoubtedly awaken immediately... If they are among these Minotaurs, then by eliminating them all, we can escape the dream."
"However, the outcome was quite evident," Xiao Mu Yu stated coldly. "The dream weaver was not present within the dream, for even after I had slain all the Minotaurs in the village, we still did not awaken from the dream."
"Um... so, the orchestrator of this dream is Sister Riven?" Little Annie timidly glanced at the silver-haired woman, asking shyly, "Are we all within Sister Riven's dream?"
"Ah, indeed, that is the closest approximation to the truth," Xiao Mu Yu replied coldly. "However, I cannot employ the same method to disrupt Riven's dream, for if the psychological suggestion is powerful enough, it can often influence the physical body in reality."
"There was once an experiment conducted in which a death row inmate was blindfolded and informed that their execution would involve severing their arteries, resulting in death from blood loss. In reality, they merely made a slight incision on the inmate's wrist, causing no harm. They created a false impression of significant bleeding by continuously dripping warm water on the inmate's wrist... Within hours, the inmate died, with the cause of death recorded as... excessive blood loss."
"Ah?!" The three, having never heard of such a thing, exchanged incredulous glances. "Is that really possible?"
"Indeed, this experiment was conducted by someone from my homeland, and it is widely known there," Xiao Mu Yu stated coldly, nodding. "This illustrates that when psychological suggestion reaches a certain intensity, inner thoughts can even impact the physical body in reality. Thus, I cannot employ the same method of killing Riven in the dream to shatter the illusion."
"Because this dream world is too realistic, so real that it is nearly indistinguishable from reality. If I were to kill Riven in the dream, and her mind were to truly believe she had died, her physical body in reality could very well perish at that same moment. The outcome would likely be that we three escape the dream, but simultaneously, Riven would be lost. Therefore... I must employ a different approach to stimulate her; as long as the stimulus exceeds her psychological threshold, she will naturally awaken."
"And then... you proposed to her? And even kissed her?" Finally grasping the situation, Teemo regarded the stunned silver-haired woman with a look of poignant sympathy, as if witnessing the plight of an unfortunate soul.
"Ah, indeed..." Xiao Mu Yu replied coldly, nodding. His icy gaze fell upon the silver-haired woman as he stated, "That is indeed the situation."
"..."
"..."
A peculiar silence enveloped the campfire, as the little girl clung to Xiao Mu Yu's arm, casting a glance of mixed relief and sympathy at the silver-haired woman, whose face reflected the weight of the truth.
Thank goodness, thank goodness, at least big brother doesn't truly have feelings for Sister Riven, so no one will compete with Annie for big brother's affection. But Sister Riven is truly pitiable...
It is said that all these years, no one has ever proposed to her... How tragic.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票