Chapter 12: The Mechanism of Dreams
Skyscrapers stood densely packed, shrouded in gray smoke that made one cough. Although the dream world had not developed an electronic information industry and regarded devices like mobile phones as sacred artifacts, it still featured some industries tinged with steampunk aesthetics...
Naturally, these industries could not be expected to care about environmental protection.
“Then charge... wait!” Chu Zhu had only run about a hundred meters when he abruptly stopped, flexed his wrist, and a strange expression crossed his face. “My body...”
After a brief hesitation, Chu Zhu resumed running, light and swift like the wind, slicing through the streets at an incredible speed—truly fast!
“As I thought!” Chu Zhu stopped in front of the bank without losing breath. “My physical strength surpasses even that of the real world.”
“This overwhelming sensation is somewhat similar to when I fell into that mysterious pool and my muscles swelled uncontrollably!”
If an average person in the real world rates their physical fitness as a one, then Chu Zhu in reality ranks at a two.
The body condition he had after falling into the pool in the dream yesterday could be rated as five or even higher.
And now, even after resetting, his physical strength remains at that elevated level of five or more.
“…The mechanism of the dream! Could it be that only a small portion of power can be brought back to reality?” Chu Zhu pondered deeply. He cast a long look at the bank, then turned and ran.
Chu Zhu had made up his mind; he wasn’t going to obediently attempt robbing the bank again.
Soon, he arrived at the city gate.
Since he carried no goods, exiting the city was free. Then, following the route he had memorized yesterday, he sprinted all the way...
...
“Now this physical fitness... it’s more ridiculous than a horse!” Chu Zhu gazed at the three towering peaks ahead, full of emotion. It was just noon, and the gang wearing dog-head masks should have already been arrested by the Captain’s Office...
Compared to the same time yesterday, how much faster was this? Easily two or three times!
Familiar with the terrain, he climbed the vines with absurd speed, as if walking on level ground.
“Let me see if my guess is true!” Chu Zhu fixed his eyes on the sinkhole before him and without hesitation leapt down again.
The familiar sensation of falling.
“Four, five, six...”
The familiar count of time.
This time Chu Zhu strained every nerve to perceive what lay beyond, and he seemed to sense himself crossing through a thin membrane.
“?”
---
Beautiful crystals, radiant clouds, dazzling lights.
No matter how many times he looked, Chu Zhu couldn’t help but marvel.
“So, this cloud isn’t really the radiation cloud that popped up yesterday when I was checking the AI, right?”
Strictly speaking, a radiation cloud is not an actual existent concept because radiation is invisible to the naked eye... The so-called radiation cloud theoretically consists of dust clouds formed by materials vaporized in the high temperatures after a big bang, carrying radiation.
Such clouds would naturally have devastating power... but clearly could not be so beautiful—
The cloud before him seemed more like something straight out of a science fiction novel.
As he fell, Chu Zhu stretched out his hand to swipe at a cloud. The moment his arm passed through it, he felt a sting. He carefully examined his arm and calmly watched it begin to swell.
Veins beneath his skin protruded like cobblestones, pulsating vividly. His skin quickly shifted from a glossy, pale jade-like sheen to a texture like bronze or iron.
“I should have realized this sooner!”
The changes were not limited to his arm.
However, since his physique was stronger this time, the mutation was less severe than before and progressed more slowly.
Chu Zhu sighed softly. Under his intense scrutiny—and perhaps aided by his enhanced physique and sharper vision compared to before—he caught sight of the true form of the pool before landing...
It was a pool with no visible edges and no discernible bottom!
Perhaps due to the dim lighting, it appeared pitch black throughout.
“Splash!”
A familiar sound echoed.
“Warning: gamma radiation levels exceeding safe limits...”
His mind gradually grew foggy.
Chu Zhu strained to open his mouth, to ask, “What kind of AI are you?” But at this moment, he felt as if drunk, his brain in chaos, muttering things that even he did not understand.
His consciousness slowly slipped toward eternal slumber.
“…No, I cannot die like this!”
And then...
Everything reversed!
The clear chirping of birds came through the window.
Like a drowning man suddenly surfacing, Chu Zhu suddenly propped himself up, gasping wildly, his eyes dazed. After a long moment, he regained his senses and painfully got out of bed.
---
The room was still small but neat and clean.
Voices of passersby and shouting came from outside the window...
And also...
The familiar sound of splashing water and the furious curses of the bald old man.
...
“This feeling is truly something!” Chu Zhu splashed cold water on his face, barely clearing his mind.
Compared to waking up in the real world and resetting, this direct reset was feasible but left him in a worse state overall...
He still left the house.
Obviously, because he had rested a while, the people he encountered outside this time were entirely different from before.
“My body hasn’t grown stronger this time!” Chu Zhu clenched his fists, his thoughts racing.
He had been exposed to radiation just the same; why hadn’t he grown stronger this time? Or was it that radiation only had the potential to strengthen on the first exposure?
“This is really frustrating! And this time, I didn’t even make contact with that suspected AI…”
“Where else can I get an explanation?”
Chu Zhu considered two possible directions. One was official—the Captain’s Office—since all their officers appeared to be extraordinary beings. Though it was unclear if their powers came from radiation...
Still, there was no doubt they possessed means to become stronger!
The other direction...
“Go back and cooperate with the dog-head guy to steal the key...” Chu Zhu clenched his fists. After much thought, he felt that perhaps entering by the wrong door was why he died before! It would be better to obediently get the key and find the proper entrance, though how long that would take was unknown.
But this plan was reliable—after all, it might allow him to enter that ancient ruin relatively normally and communicate with the AI that seemed intact, thus unraveling many mysteries!
Suddenly,
Chu Zhu halted, his eyes narrowing as he looked toward Yang’s Pancake Shop in the distance.
Unlike last time,
Though a crowd still gathered ahead, they did not appear to be buying pancakes.
Instead, they were surrounding two men—both dressed in white robes and small white hats!