Black Hole, Your Chance Has Come

By the time Xia Chong reached this point, the pressure in his voice had steadily mounted. He suddenly picked up the cup he had kept at arm’s length earlier and gulped down most of the water in it.

Under the circumstances, it wasn’t very appropriate to send Loop back in to refill it.

Chen Miemie waved a hand.

A stream of water shot automatically from the crystal-clear fish tank, arcing more than a meter through the air before landing precisely in the cup in Xia Chong’s hand without spilling a drop.

Such a novel sight should have shocked Xia Chong, but he didn’t react at all. He simply continued.

“From then on, I began a life of matching wits with my dreams.

“I kept trying to find certain anchors that could distinguish dreams from reality. Things like ‘books should actually contain words’ and ‘a watch’s interface should be tappable.’

“Then I broke free from one layer of dreams and thought I had woken up, only to find myself in the second layer.

“I thought I had escaped the second layer and won, only to discover I was actually in the third...

“I kept searching for flaws in my dreams, exposing the illusions by finding ‘contradictions’ and saving myself. The dreams, in turn, kept evolving, patching the flaws I had discovered last time and becoming increasingly realistic.

“Eventually, I didn’t even know which layer of dreams I was in, or whether I was still dreaming at all.

“So, shopkeeper, you and this shop are actually in my dream, aren’t you?”

“I see. A normal person would be wary upon first seeing me made of points of light, and would be astonished to see water fly out of a fish tank on its own. You didn’t react to either because you assumed this place was something produced by your dream. In a dream, even the most miraculous things can be accepted as reasonable.”

“Isn’t that what it is? It’s been a long time since I’ve had a dream with flaws this obvious. My dreams have never been so unreasonable.”

Chen Miemie shook her head.

“This shop is more miraculous than a dream. Your dream within a dream can’t follow you in here.”

Xia Chong shrugged. “I don’t really care. As far as I’m concerned, as long as this isn’t that nightmare, it’s like being given the night off. I can relax a little.”

“The nightmare—that’s what you said was troubling you at the beginning, right?”

“Yes. In my battle against the dream within a dream, I eventually surrendered.

“I stopped obsessing over finding new flaws. Instead of trying to escape, I simply gave up and stayed in the shallowest layer of the dream, rendering the countless layers behind it useless.

“Time in dreams is abstract and difficult to endure, but in reality, there’s always a time when you wake up. When that time came, I would naturally be able to leave.”

“That’s a rather pessimistic way of thinking. I’m guessing your dream wouldn’t tolerate you doing that.”

“It didn’t. That’s why I’ve recently started having the same nightmare over and over.

“The nightmare itself isn’t complicated. The setting changes every time, but the character never does.

“It’s a half-man. Or perhaps ‘it’ is more accurate. It keeps chasing me.

“It runs after me, and it isn’t difficult to shake it off. The problem is that I don’t dare relax after I do, because it could suddenly appear out of nowhere and scare me half to death.

“Then a new chase begins. It never ends.”

“What do you mean by ‘half-man’? Is it some kind of aberration?”

“I can’t make out its appearance clearly. I’ve never dared look at it closely, but I have the impression that it’s a person—someone split down the middle. It has only one eye, one hand, and one leg. It’s literally half a person.”

“Only half? Is the cut covered in blood?”

“No. There’s no cut and no blood. It isn’t frightening.”

“How can you be sure that what’s happening to you isn’t a curse or some kind of technique caused by [Mysticism]?”

“I’ve tried every method I could think of. I went to [Longevity Hall], visited great scholars, and sought out the most powerful mystics in the city. None of it worked. What they were able to confirm was that I wasn’t being affected by [Mysticism].

“A few psychiatrists did say that I was under too much stress and needed to adjust my sleep schedule. They even tried to teach me some ‘dream-within-a-dream self-rescue tricks’ that I’d outgrown a long time ago.”

“That’s enough. You’ve provided sufficient detail. You’re still rational and haven’t been driven insane or lost your mind from the torment. It seems your dreams have been relatively gentle with you.”

This was the first time Xia Chong had heard anyone describe it that way. “Gentle? You call endlessly tormenting me with nightmares gentle?”

“Of course. Think about it. If it weren’t giving you nightmares, but pleasant dreams instead, what do you think the consequences would be?”

“A pleasant dream would naturally...” A smile appeared on Xia Chong’s face, but halfway through his answer, he realized the problem himself. The smile vanished at once, and his face turned deathly pale.

Once he understood, Chen Miemie continued, “Before you became completely immersed and lost between illusion and reality, you found your way to my shop. That was your good fortune.”

“Do you mean the shopkeeper can help me solve this?”

“I’ll try, but I can’t guarantee success. This is a shop that solves its customers’ confusion. Submit a commission, and I’ll find a way to help you.”

“All right. I’ll submit it.”

“If I successfully solve your problem, you’ll need to pay two forms of compensation.”

“Hmm? One commission requires two payments?”

“Xia Chong, haven’t you realized? You need to solve two separate problems.

“One is breaking the nightmare that currently plagues you. The other is putting an end to your endless dreams within dreams.”

Xia Chong thought for a moment. “I understand. What do I need to pay?”

“What do you consider the most precious thing you possess?”

“Could the shopkeeper mean...”

“That’s the one.”

Xia Chong left the shop.

The oddities reappeared.

Everyone turned their attention to Black Hole.

“What? Why are you all staring at me?”

“Black Hole, this is your chance to shine. This incident has to do with sleeping, and you can make people stay in bed. The two of you are closely related.”

“Who says that? What does dreaming have to do with staying in bed? They’re completely unrelated, all right? I only appear after people wake up.”

Seeing Black Hole drop the ball at a crucial moment, Chen Miemie gave Loop a meaningful look.

Loop understood instantly and gave a slight nod.

Loop came over naturally to clear away the customer’s cup, while considerately speaking up for Black Hole.

“Everyone, stop crowding around Black Hole. Yes, they’re both related to sleep, and yes, solving this problem would prove that Black Hole is quite capable, but Black Hole’s abilities are limited and it doesn’t have many connections. Please understand and don’t make things difficult.”

Black Hole couldn’t stand that at all and leaped to its feet.

“Who says I don’t have any connections? I’m a great time-type oddity who’s everywhere and all-powerful. I have a friend called [Mengzha]. It’s an expert when it comes to dreams.”

“As expected of Black Hole. Can you find it?”

“Not usually. First, I have to find the [Dream Seller] and buy a dream from it. With the tool it provides, I’ll be able to contact [Mengzha].”

Everyone immediately understood.

No wonder Black Hole had stayed quiet earlier. [Mengzha] clearly wasn’t its friend—not if it needed an intermediary just to make contact.

Fortunately, no one pointed that out.

“Where can we find the [Dream Seller]?”

“We need to find a small arched bridge with water underneath it. Once you find one, leave it to me.”

“No problem.” Chen Miemie immediately pulled out her watch and tapped the name [Bridge Maiden].