Chapter 215 - 87: The Dream’s Mystery and Boundary

Chapter 215: Chapter 87: The Dream’s Mystery and Boundary

She looked at Yu Xian, trying to use scientific logic to explain the bizarre phenomenon:

"Your subconscious and memories didn’t just manifest as that physics book. These altered objective states, like the shattered mirror, were also written into my visual cortex as a continuous signal."

"This means the third hypothesis holds true—objective states are indeed saved and synchronized," Yu Xian nodded.

His gaze shifted slightly downward to the countdown panel in the bottom-right corner, which showed there was still some time left. Yu Xian didn’t suggest logging out right away. It was Yang Yiyi’s first time experiencing a Blueprint-constructed dream, and he figured he should let her take it all in.

Neither of them spoke. Yu Xian stared at the physics book, thinking about the earlier issue with the countdown.

"Yu Xian," Yang Yiyi, beside him, suddenly spoke up.

"Hm?" Yu Xian snapped out of his thoughts and turned to look at her.

Yang Yiyi tilted her head slightly, studying him for a moment in the faint starlight before asking with a smile:

"You’ve never dated before, have you?"

Yu Xian froze. He hadn’t expected Yang Yiyi to suddenly throw such a question out of left field.

"No," he answered honestly, shaking his head.

’Come to think of it, back in school, a lot of classmates mistakenly thought he and Xia Li were a couple.’

’But even though they grew up together, it seemed neither of them had ever really thought of the other in that way.’

Hearing his answer, Yang Yiyi chuckled softly. Her smile held a hint of knowingness, tinged with a playful amusement about the situation.

"Why the sudden question?" Yu Xian was baffled and was just about to press her for an explanation.

"It’s nothing." She raised her hand, her fingertip tapping once in midair.

"Let’s log out for now. We can let Wen Xiao come in for the final test."

The conversation was abruptly cut short. Yu Xian opened his mouth, but then thought better of it. He gave up and tapped the cat paw icon in the bottom-right of his view.

"Log out."

...

In the apartment’s living room, the sky had already darkened.

Yu Xian took off his headset and sat up on the sofa. Not far away, Yang Yiyi also opened her eyes and coiled her headset cable.

"How was it?" Wen Xiao, who had been waiting in front of the sofa, immediately looked over.

"It was a success. But..." Yu Xian said.

"The physics book didn’t appear at the expected time."

"What do you mean?" Wen Xiao asked hurriedly.

"The physics book appeared early, when there should have been ten or so seconds left before the seven-minute mark," Yu Xian said, confused.

"Is there a problem with the time calibration in the dream?"

"Let me think... Theoretically, that shouldn’t happen." Wen Xiao bit her lip, thinking. She seemed just as clueless and could only ask,

"Other than that, was everything else normal?"

"Yeah. I saw the correct textbook, and Yang Yiyi saw the shattered mirror," Yu Xian replied.

"In that case... in the audio Yang Yiyi heard, the ’Blueprint’ part must have been ineffective." Seeing the confusion in their eyes, Wen Xiao explained,

"Because when Yang Yiyi entered the dream, the scene she saw wasn’t what was designed in the audio script. The mirror in the script was supposed to be intact."

"So, am I right to understand that the ’Link’ has a higher priority than the ’Blueprint’?" Yang Yiyi asked.

"When Yu Xian said the physics book appeared at the wrong time, I was wondering, if the script specifies ’generate a physics book at the five-minute mark,’ whose five-minute mark would it follow? Xiaoxiao’s, Yu Xian’s, mine, or would it generate one for each of us at our respective five-minute marks?"

"It all makes sense now! I get it. The script runs on the first ’Host’s’ timeline," Yu Xian exclaimed in a moment of realization.

"That’s why the physics book appeared before I even hit the seven-minute mark. Wen Xiao entered the dream a little before I did, so if you count from her entry, the timing should match up perfectly."

Having figured out the issue with the time discrepancy, Yu Xian looked at Wen Xiao.

"Now, it’s your turn to do the final test."

Wen Xiao nodded. Without another word, she took a deep breath, picked up her headset, and closed her eyes. The living room fell silent once more.

Yu Xian recalled the events of the dream, making notes on his laptop as he waited for Wen Xiao to wake.

In less than five minutes, Wen Xiao slowly opened her eyes. She took off her headset, her brow slightly furrowed and her face etched with confusion.

"Why was it... a new dream?"

"New?" The other two looked at Wen Xiao.

"Yes, the mirror was intact, just like when we saw it last time." Wen Xiao pressed her lips together.

"The physics book wasn’t on the chair, either... It seems like the script was reset?"

Yu Xian and Yang Yiyi exchanged a look. This result contradicted their earlier "room number" theory.

"It seems the ’room number’ theory isn’t entirely accurate," Wen Xiao analyzed, twirling the headset cable around her finger.

"If the dream at this specific frequency were really like a fixed physical room, then the traces you two left behind should have still been there. But apparently, they’re gone. It became a completely new place."

She bit her lip, thinking.

"I’ve been thinking... could it be because the dreamscape can only be maintained as long as a ’Host’ is present?"

"Are you saying that if all the ’Hosts’ and ’Guests’ in the dream disconnect, the dreamscape is just destroyed?" Yu Xian asked.