The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 1031: 9

[Warning! You are now in unusually extreme danger.]

[Luck points acquisition rate increases to 20010 times.]

...

The system’s warning continued in his head as the danger climbed ever greater.

Gao Yang opened his eyes to infinite darkness. Neon green numbers cascaded from above—not rain, but an endless stream of pi's calculation, forever expanding into decimals.

Amid the raining numbers stood a young man. He gazed at Gao Yang quietly—another Gao Yang.

“I’ve spotted the flaw,” Gao Yang said with an impassive expression.

Just as expressionless, the other Gao Yang asked, “What is it?”

“Cat, and God of Water.”

“Why?”

“Neither exist.”

“Why?”

“Because I know the cat is dead, but the dreammaker doesn’t. And Sister Ling’s Talent wasn’t God of Water, but Frost. I remembered wrong, but the dreammaker couldn’t have. The inconsistencies led to the flaws.”

“Who is the dreammaker?”

“Qilin.”

“Why Qilin, and not someone else or an enemy behind the Gates?”

“I have proof. Eidos’ dream is so hard to break because it’s a cognitive creation of both the dreammaker and the dreamer. It’s Qilin’s sweet dream for me and my sweet dream for myself. Together, we trap me here. I have to defeat myself and the judge. That’s what makes it so challenging.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Qilin told me.”

“Why would he tell you?”

“One cannot dream of something beyond their knowledge. Do you agree?”

“Agreed.”

“Then you must also agree that the Closure Therapy, as explained by AI Bodhi, involves psychology and philosophy beyond my knowledge base.”

“Yes.”

“As a psychiatrist, Qilin would know the fields. Correct?”

“Correct.”

“So Bodhi's explanation came from Qilin's consciousness, not mine. True?”

“Perhaps.”

“That leads to the deduction that the dream is based on both mine and Qilin’s consciousness, true?”

“Perhaps.”

“If those are true, then the flaws stand.”

“What’s the connection?”

“In a dream that's solely mine, the cat's existence would depend on my perception alone. Correct?”

“Yes.”

“Then why do I perceive the cat while others in the dream deny its existence?”

“Because it’s not your own dream.”

“Exactly. The dream is both mine and Qilin's, or at least Qilin has interfered with it. In reality, only White Dew and I know the cat is dead. Qilin doesn't know. This creates an inconsistency between our consciousnesses that doesn't resolve itself. The cat simultaneously exists and doesn't exist—a clear flaw.”

“It may be.”

“Now let’s talk about God of Water. Nine Frost reported to me about the Qingyang Bridge. Sister Ling’s Talent was Frost, but I misremember it as God of Water. That's not a mistake I would make naturally. It comes from outside influence—Qilin's influence.”

“Why?”

“I believe Qilin has used God of Water to create rain through means I cannot predict. He didn't want me to notice this because it might lead to me finding the save point and breaking the dream. So he modified my memories, changing what I remember as Frost to God of Water. Once this premise is established, everything falls into place.”

“What do you mean by save point?”

“The true time and place of me getting hit by Eidos.”

“Then when? Where?”

“Northern entrance of Green Lotus Park. The moment I stepped out of the car and the rain touched me, Eidos struck. That was the real save point. Everything after was a dream.”

“What’s the basis?”

“The rain was created with God of Water, every drop containing the psychic power of Eidos. Qilin has reached level 8 with both Eidos and Puppeteer. God of Water might be his, or another subordinate of his might have acquired it, claimed and used by Lonesome Emperor. Qilin didn’t want me to realize the moment I got rained on. That's why he altered my memory of Sister Ling's Talent, making everything appear logical.”

“No, if everything that happened after you got rained on was a dream, how did you know that Qilin’s Talents were both level 8?”

“That goes back to my hypothesis: the dream is co-created by Qilin and I, especially what happened after I opened the door. Everything emerged from the interaction between my perception and Qilin's perception of reality. If a battle occurred in the real world, it would likely mirror our dream. That was the sweet dream of victory he crafted for me.”

One Gao Yang fell silent.

“Qilin created a dream within a dream. The first layer was the fight to the death at Green Lotus Park. Qilin defeated me initially and revealed on purpose that I was hit by Eidos the moment I got hit by the rain at the northern entrance of the park, but that was only part of the truth. Then, he had Dragon take the stage and kill him, letting me enjoy victory.”

The listening Gao Yang still said nothing.

“The second layer started when I opened the Gates of Closure. That was the dream within the dream. I knew very well that the whole cyberpunk world was false, yet I couldn’t wake up. Even if I did, I would still be in a dream. So I had no choice but to get lost in it.”

“Within the cyberpunk world—the dream within the dream—I dreamed twice. These were dreams stemming from deep within my consciousness, a third layer created by my true self. I attempted to save myself, but my consciousness had already fallen into Qilin's trap. The flaws were nearly impossible to detect.”

“The first time, I dreamed of the moment I opened the Gates. That was a false save point. I failed to save myself. The other time, I dreamed of the time before the battle broke out, when I hadn’t entered Qilin’s dream. There was no save point to get me out. The real save point is this, here and now.”

“I’m still at the northern entrance of the Green Lotus Park, hit by Qilin’s Eidos. If I’m lucky, I’d still be alive.”

“I’m going to wake up. Do you agree?” @@novelbin@@

The silent Gao Yang broke into a smile. “You’re lucky, Gao Yang.”

The neon numbers continued their endless cascade. The world remained cold, silent, perfect.

Ring.

Time froze. The green rain suspended mid-fall.

The smiling Gao Yang dissolved like bubbles in water, transforming into streams of green numbers. The digits swirled, coalescing into a luminescent fish.

Air fish.

Then, the fish made a green bubble.

In the next instant, the fish dispersed into flowing numbers, rejoining the digital downpour.

The rain ceased. All glowing numbers receded into darkness.

Only the green bubble remained, drifting slowly toward Gao Yang before transforming into a single digit.

9.

The calculation of pi terminated.