Chapter 29 Part 1

What followed was Qin Lang’s time to shine.

Xia Xifeng and Dwarf Jim sat a short distance away, waiting for Qin Lang’s battle to conclude.

Xia Xifeng kept his eyes glued to Qin Lang’s HP bar and buff timers, allowing Qin Lang to fight with abandon.

Though Dwarf Jim dared not look directly at the God, whenever the Blood Moon’s projected divine body left behind obstacles on the ground that might cause delayed explosions, he hefted his axe to clear the area, quickly scurrying back each time. He always managed to offer some assistance.

The Sun had not fallen. A false moon god was no better than a stray dog on the roadside, let alone a divine projection within a dream.

Its HP bar steadily decreased, and It soon began pondering how to escape.

Blood Moon’s true form wasn’t even a deity adept at combat. Its inherent Authority lay in the spiritual realm. When the two mortals before It were completely immune to Its mental control and insisted on dragging a psychic-type deity off its pedestal for a melee brawl, It could only swallow its pride and attempt to flee.

But for some unknown reason, these ants seemed very familiar with It. Whenever It tried a feint to escape, the ants always saw through Its intentions, timely interrupting Its escape skills.

This only intensified Its desire to flee.

If ants could face a God directly, there must be another God behind them. Did that not imply the God behind these ants knew It like the back of their hand?

Their scheme was already nearing victory, but the closer to victory, the more cautiously they had to tread.

It had to inform Its comrades of this.

Ever since the War of the Gods nearly shattered the world and forced a reboot, the Heavenly Father had issued a decree: the native Gods of the Dream World could no longer casually project their bodies into the Mortal Realm.

Their influence on the mortal plane was all exerted through their God’s Favored and worshippers.

For Outer Gods to project into the Dream World was even more difficult than for native Gods.

Blood Moon divided Its divine consciousness among individual dreams, each separate and isolated, breaking down the whole into scattered parts as much as possible. Thus, if the projected divine body in this particular dream was killed, the other projections wouldn’t know what happened in this one.

Gods were not omniscient.

Only the Creator God could be omniscient over the world It had created—if It wished to know, It could know, but generally, It couldn’t be bothered.

Blood Moon used every method at its disposal, solely seeking escape. This intention was obvious not only to Qin Lang, who had farmed the Blood Moon until he was sick of it, but even to Xia Xifeng, whose gold and equipment demands had forced Qin Lang to farm that Blood Moon trash mob boss in the first place.

Although Xia Xifeng lacked combat skills, the crowd-control scrolls he carried were effective against the Blood Moon’s suppressed divine projection.

When Qin Lang interrupted the Blood Moon’s escape, Xia Xifeng would also take risks, throwing scrolls at the Blood Moon.

Nine out of ten throws missed; landing one occasionally was just a pleasant surprise, granting Qin Lang a few extra seconds of damage output.

Blood Moon raged, attempting to switch targets.

Xia Xifeng always kept equipment with life-saving skills ready. If Qin Lang couldn’t hold aggro, Xia Xifeng would play it safe.

Even if he couldn’t play it safe, Xia Xifeng wasn’t worried.

He couldn’t die within the dream.

A player who couldn’t die was one of the Fourth Calamity. As long as the BOSS didn’t regenerate HP, he could whittle It down, -1, -1, -1.

Against two shameless players equipped like max-level characters but posing as newbies, Blood Moon ultimately failed to escape. It dissipated in anger and frustration.

Had It descended normally, these two ants wouldn’t even be worthy of lifting a single finger against It.

But who could help that It was currently just a stowaway?

The Blood Moon’s projected divine body dissipated, and the Blood Moon that had occupied half the sky shattered accordingly, like a broken mirror.

Without the Blood Moon God’s power sustaining it, this dream, too, would vanish.

Just as in the quest Xia Xifeng had completed in the game, the dream faded, the mist receded, and the truth was laid bare.

The dead had finally died. The monsters closed their eyes and slept. Humans lay dead everywhere.

Dwarf Jim sat on the ground, raising a hand to greet Xia Xifeng as he walked towards him.

He was smiling.

“We have about ten minutes left. Let’s eat something.” Xia Xifeng started pulling things from his backpack. “What do you like to eat?”

Dwarf Jim said, “Grilled meat and ale! And pie with lots of cheese!”

Xia Xifeng laughed. “Won’t you order some fancier, more expensive dishes?”

Dwarf Jim smoothed his beard, rebraiding the loose strands into a neat plait. “What I miss is home cooking.”

“Alright.” Xia Xifeng piled the food out.

Because the System’s cooking skill took very little time, he even grilled fresh meat for Jim on the spot.

“Leo said this flavor of barbecue sauce is something he secretly learned from the Dwarves. Taste it, see if it’s authentic?” Xia Xifeng handed the mixed sauce to Dwarf Jim.

Dwarf Jim dipped a fork into the barbecue sauce and tasted it. “Authentic. That kid Leo learned quite a bit. This ale tastes just like the kind I often drink.”

Xia Xifeng nodded. “I adjusted the recipe based on Leo’s suggestions.”

Dwarf Jim laughed. “Leo is cunning, greedy. But since he’s a Halfling who even grew a beard to disguise himself as a Dwarf, we couldn’t really refuse him.”

Calling a Halfling cunning and greedy seemed unbelievable, but it was actually quite normal.

Halflings simply wouldn’t do evil when it came to major rights and wrongs; it didn’t mean their personalities were all positive.

For instance, most Halflings disliked professions like Assassin or Thief, yet there were indeed Halfling figures among the outstanding Assassins and Thieves.

Xia Xifeng agreed with Dwarf Jim. “Leo is indeed cunning.”

They ate grilled meat, drank ale, and talked about their mutual friend.

Leo actually wasn’t really Jim’s friend.

When Leo wanted to learn techniques from Jim, he took the wrong approach. He first tried to ingratiate himself with Jim’s wife and daughter, attempting the family route to win Jim’s favor.

Who knew Jim was deeply possessive and jealous? Just a few words with his wife, and Leo was immediately blacklisted by Jim. So Lana didn’t know Leo.

Not being friends made it even easier to complain about him.

Xia Xifeng laughed until he was doubled over.

If Leo had traveled with Perila on that trip, Perila probably would have been on the verge of exploding constantly.

For the sake of petty gains, Leo truly discarded all face and shame.

When he traveled, no one would believe this person was already Half-Step Legend.

Thinking back to their first meeting with Leo, facing those few wild beasts that even Qin Lang could kill at Level 1, the heartfelt desperation in those cries of “Help!” was truly moving.

Xia Xifeng: “Leo could be a great actor in the future. He’s truly good at acting.”

Jim: “Exactly, exactly.”

Qin Lang pulled a napkin to wipe his mouth. He was full.

The dream had already shattered almost completely, only the cliff where they sat still remained lit.

Jim put down his ale and sincerely thanked them. “Thank you again, my benefactors. You saved Lana.”

Xia Xifeng said, “Lana saved us too. If Lana hadn’t been so strong, withstood that immense grief, and promptly told us about the conspiracy, we would definitely have been ambushed by the monsters too.”

Jim laughed proudly. “My daughter is just that outstanding.”

After laughing, he stood up and bowed deeply to Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang.

Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang also stood, watching as Jim’s figure faded away.

They were about to return to reality.

Upon returning to reality, would Jim wake up? Would Jim’s consciousness be clear? Could he say a final farewell to Lana?

Xia Xifeng grabbed Qin Lang’s hand, his fingers trembling slightly.

Qin Lang held Xia Xifeng’s hand in return. “We’re going back.”

Xia Xifeng: “Mn.”

【Dungeon complete. Rewards will be distributed upon the player’s return to reality.】

【Well done, children.】

Xia Xifeng closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, two handsome little faces of distinct styles were right in front of him, so close they almost startled a scream out of him.

“Hahahaha! Feng was scared by us!” Leo laughed loudly.

Perila asked with concern, “Are you okay? Qin Lang woke up over ten minutes ago; you still hadn’t woken.”

Xia Xifeng rubbed his head. “Ah? Is that so? Why?”

Qin Lang handed Xia Xifeng a glass of water. “Because you were too excited last night and didn’t fall asleep for a long time. So after you came back, you just kept sleeping.”

Xia Xifeng: “…”

Perila said, “Although my assessment was also that you just fell asleep… you didn’t actually just sleep through it, right?”

Xia Xifeng tilted his head back, holding the water glass. “How should I know.”

He hadn’t slept well last night.

Leo kept laughing at Xia Xifeng and got kicked by him.

Qin Lang said, “I’ve already contacted Mr. Amuruo. He told us to rest for a day and come tomorrow. No rush. He specifically emphasized that you should organize your thoughts.”

Xia Xifeng finished the water and muttered, “Alright, alright. I’ll review the prophecy book a few more times.”

Qin Lang said, “Regarding the things we’ve already encountered, you can speak directly now. How to separate the information we’ve experienced firsthand from the foreknown information is the next knowledge you need to learn.”

Xia Xifeng was puzzled. “Why are you talking so much today?”

Qin Lang said, “I’m repeating Mr. Amuruo’s instructions.”

“Oh.” Xia Xifeng said sullenly.

His fingers traced the water glass; he wanted to speak but hesitated.

Perila said, “Are you worried about Jim?”

Xia Xifeng nodded.

Though he couldn’t bear it, Perila answered truthfully, “Jim is dead.”

Xia Xifeng said, “He was dead long ago.”

Perila forced a slight twitch of his lips. “Mn.”

Xia Xifeng set down the water glass. “It has to be faced eventually. Take me to see him.”

Perila sighed. “Alright.”

The smile on Leo’s face faded; he pursed his lips, his thoughts unknown.

Qin Lang pulled Xia Xifeng up from the bed and tossed him his jacket.

They walked towards the basement.

Jim’s body was temporarily placed there, sealed within an ice coffin.

The Dwarven Sages bustled about, trying to extract useful information from Jim’s body.

Jim, who had been so full of life moments ago, was now a skin-and-bones withered corpse.

Just like the villager corpses Xia Xifeng had seen in the game.

His dried corpse was split in two. Just like in the recording, when Jim was ambushed and killed.

Looking at that clean cut, it was hard to imagine how Jim had been “alive” just a short while ago, living in Green Sand City for so many days.

The Dwarven Sages had just finished analyzing the residual energy traces on Jim’s dried corpse’s cut.

“Extremely clean, nothing at all,” The Dwarven Great Sage came up to greet them. “As City Lord Amuruo said, it’s precisely because it’s so clean that it’s highly unnatural. It’s definitely the power of a God. Qin Lang said to wait until you woke up before telling me the reason Jim turned into a dried corpse. Can you tell me now?”

Xia Xifeng shot Qin Lang a look.

Qin Lang averted his gaze.

There wasn’t anything that absolutely required Xia Xifeng to be awake to explain. Qin Lang just simply couldn’t be bothered and shoved the troublesome task onto Xia Xifeng.

Xia Xifeng said, “We entered Jim’s dream and repelled the source controlling Jim’s spirit within it.”

“Dream Therapy” was already quite common. Although sources varied, the general treatment approach was the same: “Kill the source and the problem is solved.”

Xia Xifeng explained, and the Dwarven Great Sage immediately understood.

The Dwarven Great Sage asked, “Can you tell me what the source was?”

Xia Xifeng said, “I need to organize my thoughts and report to the Green Sand City Lord tomorrow. After reporting to the City Lord, we’ll know what information can be shared with you, Great Sage. My apologies.”

The Dwarven Great Sage shook his head. “Nothing to apologize for. You are Pioneer Knights of Green Sand City and should naturally heed the City Lord’s commands. City Lord Amuruo is just and noble; he won’t be stingy about sharing the information he knows with us.”

He turned to look at Jim. “Was Jim’s consciousness clear within the dream?”

Xia Xifeng nodded. “Very clear. He even helped us defeat the monsters in the dream.”

A sad smile appeared on the Dwarven Great Sage’s face. “Good. That’s very good.”