Time in the dream flowed extremely fast, and two years passed in the blink of an eye.
Under Ning Busan's "training," Divinity and Rationality had completely integrated into their respective roles.
They could not even tell whether their interactions with the Ning family were merely an act or filled with genuine emotion.
It was at this moment that the comatose Leo finally woke up.
For two whole years, he had remained conscious but could only lie in his hospital bed, unable to move.
After being discharged, he aggressively made his way to the Ning residence.
As luck would have it, only Ning Busan was home.
Ning Busan brought out a white porcelain teapot, warmed it with boiling water, poured out the amber tea, and steadily handed the cup to Leo.
“It was fortunate you woke up. The accident at the apartment last time left you in a coma for two years.”
“I was planning to visit you. Why did you come all this way yourself?”
Leo's expression was somewhat gloomy. “I was in a vegetative state for two years!”
“If I hadn't sent you to the hospital in time, you wouldn't even have been a vegetable. You probably would have departed from this world.” Ning Busan paused and said with a smile, “Of course, you don't need to thank me too much. It was the least I could do.”
Leo had not expected him to be so shameless. “You haven't said a single word about how that accident in the apartment actually happened!”
Ning Busan said innocently, “You said it yourself—it was an accident. Naturally, it was just an accident.”
Leo stopped beating around the bush and asked directly, “When did you wake up?”
Ning Busan hesitated for a moment, asking in confusion, “What are you talking about?”
Leo said, “Stop pretending. You clearly—”
Bang!
The teacup filled with water in front of Leo suddenly exploded.
The confusion on Ning Busan's face did not seem faked. He asked in puzzlement, “I clearly what?”
Leo tried to continue, “You clearly—”
Bang!
This time, it was the teapot that exploded.
Leo was prepared and dodged extremely fast.
Following Ning Busan's gaze, Leo looked at the tea brewer filled with boiling water.
He decisively chose to shut his mouth.
After a long silence, Leo stiffened his neck and said, “This is unscientific!”
Ning Busan asked, “What is unscientific?”
“The teaware exploding for no reason. Do you think that's scientific?”
“It really isn't very scientific.” Ning Busan stroked his chin. After pondering for a long time, he asked sincerely, “Then how do you think we should explain it?”
Leo was at a loss for words.
Great, the ball has been kicked right back.
As long as the other party refused to admit they were awake, they could pretend to know nothing.
Ning Busan cleared the shattered teacup fragments from the table, then retrieved a bottle of red wine and two glasses from the wine cabinet.
“This is from my dad's private collection. Want a taste?”
Leo sighed. “My little ancestor, what on earth do you want to do?”
“For some reason, I had a strange dream yesterday,” Ning Busan said softly. “In the dream, the two of us were drinking and chatting happily. I didn't expect you to actually doctor my wine.”
Ning Busan smiled. “Fortunately, it was just a dream. You definitely wouldn't do something so wicked to me, right?”
Sarcastic as it was, Leo did not dare to make a sound.
“By the way, didn't you make a new game about dreams earlier? Send me the installation package,” Ning Busan said.
Leo had not expected him to still remember this. “Actually, I think... you don't need it anymore.”
Ning Busan repeated, “Send me the installation package.”
After hesitating for a moment, Leo nodded. “Fine, I'll send it to you after I get back.”
As Leo was leaving, Ning Busan went out of his way to stuff that bottle of red wine into his arms, saying with a smile, “Drink up. Don't worry.”
Leo was mocked once again.
The next day.
Ning Busan received the holographic helmet sent by Leo.
He read the game's title aloud: “Within Illusion, Beyond Reality...”
This game was probably the method Leo had designed to wake him from his dream.
Although he had long since woken up, he could still experience it.
Once the game loaded, the character and background introductions appeared.
[Player, you are a Hero from another world, bearing the heavy responsibility of saving the world. Please complete the main quest, defeat the final boss, and achieve victory in the game.]
Ning Busan's lips twitched.
The plot of this game was all too familiar; it was a complete replica of his previous experiences.
It was not until the plot progression reached ninety percent that it finally came to the highlight.
[Player, we have some unfortunate news for you. You drank the Wine of Divine Fall and have fallen into a dream woven from your own memories.]
The world was split into two completely opposite halves: on one side was the precarious, crisis-ridden real world, and on the other was the fake dream of family reunions and perfect happiness.
Ning Busan believed that if the one playing the game were his dream-immersed self, he would have definitely woken up by now.
A pop-up window appeared in front of Ning Busan.
Question: Does the player choose to leave the dream?
Options: [Yes or No]
Ning Busan stroked his chin.
He wanted to know what would happen if he chose "No."
After clicking the option, Ning Busan began to play through the storyline of the fake dream.
The character models in the game were even 1-to-1 replicas of Ning's mom and dad.
Before long, another system prompt appeared.
[Player, because a car accident took the lives of all your family members, you have become entirely alone in the dream.]
After a black screen, the pop-up window reappeared.
Question: Does the player choose to leave the dream?
Options: [Yes or Yes]
It seemed like there were two options, but in reality, there was only one choice.
Ning Busan laughed in exasperation. “I know you're in here. Get out—”
Leo appeared behind Ning Busan.
“Is this your way of waking me up?” Ning Busan said. “By using this game, you wanted to tell me that if I chose to stay in the dream, you would find a way to make me entirely alone, forcing me to wake up in the end.”
Without waiting for Leo's response, Ning Busan continued on his own, “Oh right, you could also stand on the moral high ground and condemn me. 'Ning Busan, your friends and family are waiting for you in the real world. Why are you being a cowardly weakling in a fake dream?'”
Leo did not defend himself.
If Ning Busan had been deeply trapped in the dream, this shock therapy would have been incredibly effective.
What was beyond his expectations was that Ning Busan had actually woken up ahead of time.
Ning Busan said, “I trusted you. So even when you told me yourself that you poisoned my wine, I didn't suspect that you wanted to harm me.”
“But no matter what plans you had, you shouldn't have made decisions on my behalf, and you certainly shouldn't have used me to set up a trap without consulting me first.”
For Ning Busan, his origins, his true family, and all his memories of that world were not to be violated.
That was his bottom line, his reverse scale, and the only pure land left in his heart.
“I've deeply reflected on myself, and I will absolutely never do it again.” Knowing he was in the wrong, Leo said humbly, “I know I was wrong, Louis...”
“I am Ning Busan.”
“...”
A long silence stretched between the two, neither of them speaking.
Ning Busan said, “You already guessed that those two would enter my dream. Did you plan to have me use the dream to influence them after waking me up?”
Leo nodded. “Yes.”
Ning Busan curled his lips.
It was no exaggeration to say that over the past two years, Divinity had been trained by him like a dog. The change was massive.
Of course, it was also possible that Divinity was intentionally putting on an act for him.
Tsk, I feel like I'll be heavily retaliated against once we return to the sea of consciousness.
Leo asked, “How did you wake up?”
Ning Busan said, “A fake is a fake. Even if this dream was constructed based on my memories, there will always be inconsistencies.”
“After you appeared, that feeling of inconsistency intensified. 'Dream' seemed to be a keyword for me. When you said you were making a game about dreams, I already had a faint suspicion.”
“Furthermore, those two guys popped up out of nowhere. It was abrupt and illogical, so I gradually began to wake up.”
Leo asked, “Why did you pretend not to have recovered your memories?”
Ning Busan smiled. “I had to give the guy who disturbed my peaceful dream a little punishment. Besides, teasing you guys really is quite fun.”
Leo asked with a smile, “So, can our operator return now?”
Ning Busan pressed his forehead. “I was clearly just a premium VIP player at the start. Why do I have to shoulder the heavy responsibility of being the operator now?”
He looked at Leo, narrowing his eyes. “Don't think this matter is over. I'm still angry. Once we get out, we'll settle this score slowly!”
Leo let out a low chuckle, his voice lighter than curling mist. “Alright...”
Ning Busan closed his eyes.
A fake is a fake.
It was already time to wake up from this grand dream.
The dream shattered...
Rate on N.U.
