Chapter 57: Revived Genius
“In short, remember, before you reach Level C, you must absolutely avoid approaching the barrier of Layer Three of the Dream Realm. The consciousness spaces connected below are not just yours, but contain parts of everyone’s consciousness and even all species. This is also the source of magic power.”
Irina said solemnly, with no hint of joking in her tone, which made Sumu alert.
The issue that Irina took so seriously must be quite significant.
“Wait, does that mean you can access other people’s consciousness or even enter their dreams in Layer Three of the Dream Realm?”
“To gain magic power from others, you inherently have to touch their consciousness. As for entering someone else’s dream, that is indeed possible, but the risks are considerable.”
Irina hesitated, as if considering what could be said at this moment, and then decided to reveal some of the facts to Sumu.
“But didn’t I successfully enter Luo Jialan’s dream last time?”
“You created an additional passage from Layer Two. As long as the passage doesn’t break, you can return at any time. However, Layer Three of the Dream Realm is constantly in chaos and instability; how could such a stable passage exist?”
Sumu nodded thoughtfully, looking at the doorknob in front of her, feeling a sudden sense of confusion.
What should she do next?
Her gaze flicked to the computer beside her, its screen still glowing with a cold light, devoid of warmth, and mostly filled with heartfelt insults.
The forum is a space for discussing topics. If the circle is small, everyone can enjoy a harmonious chat, and the content is peaceful, with occasional negativity quickly dissipating.
But once the crowd increases, no matter which area they flood into, that place will quickly become chaotic, as human quality varies widely.
Although the Magical Girl Forum represents beauty and justice, its followers are broadest, and often, even without provocation, people can start arguing among themselves.
Despite never having met, netizens can decide to tear each other apart over a few words, just like true enemies.
“I still want to go out and take a look.”
“Then go ahead; I won’t stop you. But I don’t think what lies beyond this door is any better than what you have now.”
Irina’s words made Sumu hesitate repeatedly, but staying here made her feel lost. In the end, she chose to turn the doorknob, preparing to see what lay beyond.
At the moment she pushed the door open, no blinding light flooded in, but she was suddenly enveloped by a heavy shadow from behind, making everything in front of her appear very bright.
As Sumu regained clarity of her surroundings, she instinctively stepped back half a step.
But she stepped into empty space, almost stumbling backward; fortunately, she habitually used her left hand to open the door and placed her right hand on the door frame after stepping out, stabilizing herself.
Looking back, her left calf was already engulfed in the shadow that absorbed all light, its spread laying in the space she had just stepped into, causing Sumu to momentarily lose her sense of distance.
She had to fully push the door open and step into the unsettling space.
A place that could or could not be called home.
Once the door closed, the shadow was completely isolated outside, silent, but Sumu could vaguely sense some things stirring behind the door.
“Why did that area just disappear?”
“Because that’s how dreams work. As soon as you leave a certain area, the original part collapses, like those blocks that break in a maze game when you step on them. Have you ever encountered repeating scenes in the same dream?”
After thinking about it, Sumu realized that this was indeed the case, but the slight movements coming from behind the door still made her uneasy.
“But I feel like there’s something moving behind the door.”
“Of course it’s moving. The collapsed dream needs new content to fill it; this is the consciousness fragments weaving a new area. However, during this process, it’s possible some bad things could slip in, so be careful when exploring newly generated rooms~”
Upon hearing this, Sumu couldn’t help but feel a chill down her spine and wanted to immediately find a suitable place to lean against.
Relying on thin air behind her always felt unsettling.
“There’s no need to worry so much. The probability of Layer Two of the Dream Realm being invaded by nightmares or witches is negligible. I just explained the principle. Besides, you still have me, right? Whoever wants to find you, I’ll be the first to sneak into their lair. By the time you wake up, I guarantee that fellow will be crying in front of you.”
What is with that gangster-like tone?
“…Don’t worry about it. Just wander around casually for now. If you get tired, just use your handheld game console to send yourself back to the shallow dream to rest.”
Sumu’s gaze swept across the dimly lit living room, not seeing that woman sleeping on the sofa, which left her feeling a bit wistful yet relieved.
She unconsciously twisted the pink hair tips that fell in front of her eyes. Those strands, inherited from that woman, were indeed soft and pleasing to the eye, but Sumu had never really liked them.
If given the chance, she wanted to dye them black, to the most common color, so perhaps she could blend in with the group.
However, when it came time to sit in the salon chair, her words often got stuck in her throat, and she would end up saying, “Just a little shorter.”
It seemed it was best to maintain the status quo.
As long as today is sufficiently happy, there’s no need to think about tomorrow, unless there’s something worth looking forward to.
Something worth looking forward to…
Sumu propped her pillow up, casually kicked off her shoes, and leaned back against it, then pulled out her handheld game console.
It really could be taken out! Hey, it could even go online.
Once again, she entered the Magical Girl Forum, silently observing the discussions about her.
Sumu generally didn’t care much about the disparaging comments about her, nor did she restrict the spread of various rumors, except for those regarding the female demon.
Deliberately crafting a perfect image of herself was tiring, and Sumu was the type who disliked pressure and exhaustion; as long as the most dreaded things didn’t happen, it was fine to let other things slide a bit.
After all, what they said was mostly the truth.
“Irina hasn’t shown her face in a long time. To be honest, I kind of miss the time she cross-dressed.”
“Once you’ve been crossed by that female demon, you’ve learned your lesson.”
“Please, your tolerance can’t handle it. In front of me, she couldn’t even defend her own floating log.”
Huh?
Sumu focused and noticed that this user’s ID looked familiar. Subconsciously, she clicked to check it out, and suddenly recalled who this person was.
That’s right, they were the one who issued the code testing declaration to her on the day of exposure.
Sumu knew clearly that they had been thoroughly offended at that time.
So she quietly replied below:
“He’s right.”
Once Shushu’s familiar avatar appeared, a flood of comments burst forth.
“??!”
“Did Hakiya win the revival match? Looks like Mamba is really out this time. Come back, Lao Da, my faith! 😭”
Most comments were from those seeking fun, while the guy who had just made bold claims fell silent for a while.
Then, seeing that familiar prominent comment, Sumu couldn’t help but feel delighted.
“Genius Girl Irina, you finally appeared! I’ve tested your code!”
