Seizing Dreams

In the Great Wall in the distance, its lights shone brilliantly, and its splendour radiated in all directions. The fog was still creeping up the wall, rising upward; at the other camp facing the Great Wall from far away, in the Golden Crow Wheel that was in the state of an eclipse, a solar prominence was erupting from its periphery. An endless stream of dark monsters were flying out from the black disc; they plunged into the fog and headed to the Great Wall.

“Look.” Huang Ting motioned to the other two. There was a lone island flickering in the distance that was driving the fog away.

“That’s…Loulan?” Yu Hao said, “Gege has already succeeded!”

Yu Hao didn’t expect that Fu Liqun could actually break free from Ren Chong’s control by relying on his strength alone! This was something even Huang Ting couldn’t do!

Chen Yekai, “Where’s Liqun?”

“I see him!” Yu Hao cried out, “Gege!”

A figure riding a celestial horse appeared in the sky. Chen Yekai immediately shot in that direction, and Fu Liqun noticed it. Clad in a suit of silver armour, he flew over on his celestial horse.

“I’m freezing!” Fu Liqun wailed in anguish, “Why are you guys so late?”

“You broke free from Ren Chong?” Yu Hao could hardly believe it.

Fu Liqun said, “I dreamt that a pillar was inserted into my world. Ren Chong even ran out and asked me for my totem…”

Huang Ting, “You weren’t afraid of him at all?”

Fu Liqun, “Of course not. I’m going abroad soon, why would I be afraid of him?!”

Yu Hao, “You could defeat him?”

Fu Liqun shrugged. “Don’t mention it anymore. I’m not capable at all, so I could only start fooling and brainwashing him. I successfully tricked him into the gym that went bankrupt and locked the door, let that enchantress SM him, then cut the pillar. It seemed like after that, everything returned to normal all of a sudden, and I could summon my mount too, so I thought about looking for you guys. That’s the Great Wall? What happened?”

Yu Hao, “……”

Chen Yekai, “……”

Huang Ting, “You’re really good at fooling people.”

Fu Liqun, “That’s right. I didn’t take all those lessons in that pyramid scheme organisation in vain…Where’s Young Master? Where did Xiao Ou go? What the hell happened? Can we still wake up?”

Yu Hao snapped out of his daze. “Look for Qihang first, quick!”

As his comrades returned one by one, it seemed like the powers Yu Hao had lost were gradually returning as well. Fu Liqun steered the celestial horse in front and broke through the fog; the Feathered Serpent God following closely behind, and they entered the last dream. The high-rise buildings of Ying City stood in great numbers, the fog enveloped the area at the bottom of the high-rise buildings, and Ou Qihang was standing at the rooftop.

“Qihang!” Yu Hao shouted.

Ou Qihang was kneeling at the top of the high-rise building. Ren Chong hovered in mid air, as if he was putting Ou QIhang on trial. Black flames burst out of his hands that wrapped around Ou Qihang’s body. When he heard the shout, Ou Qihang suddenly raised his head.

As soon as the four of them entered the dreamscape, the Feathered God Serpent disappeared and fell from the sky. Ou Qihang shouted fiercely, “Yu Hao!” He kept struggling and rushed to the edge of the rooftop. Huang Ting grabbed a lightning rod, swung around in the air, and lunged at Yu Hao, shouting, “Don’t jump!”

But Ou Qihang had already jumped off the high-rise building. Fu Liqun shouted angrily, “Asked you not to jump!” He pounced toward Ou Qihang, hugged his waist, smashed into the glass wall with him, and they fell into an office building together.

Glass shards flew out. In the next moment, Chen Yekai crashed in, followed by Huang Ting, and finally Yu Hao.

Ou Qihang’s head was all bloody. He got up in a daze and stared at the other four.

“Ren Chong’s coming!” Huang Ting warned.

Everyone immediately took their places and guarded Ou Qihang, facing the outside of the glass wall. Ren Chong slowly descended.

“Does he know that we’re gathering our team?” Huang Ting asked.

“That’s not easy to judge.” Yu Hao said, “His focus is on the Great Wall now, so he might not know.”

Fu Liqun said, “This guy’s controlling so many dreams, is his attention unable to keep up? Look, why does it feel like he’s a little silly?”

Chen Yekai, “……”

Once Fu Liqun said that, everyone else noticed it as well. Yu Hao said, “It should be because us humans and the original users of the Golden Crow Wheel are different in the first place ba. Distributing this much attention should be more or less a little difficult.”

Yu Hao could hardly do two things at the same time, and someone as smart as Zhou Sheng could at most multitask at two or three things at once. Ren Chong was using his will to control billions of dreamscapes, yet he wasn’t in a situation where his hands were too full?

Yet these words instantly enraged Ren Chong. Countless black flame missiles sailed forth in full strength and barraged the glass wall. For a moment, the heaven and earth shook, and the exterior wall of the grand building kept falling apart. Huang Ting decided decisively, “Run first, talk later!”

Ou Qihang said, “Not being able to use my Gundam is one thing, but why are you guys this weak too?!”

“That’s what I want to ask you!” Fu Liqun cried out, “Your pot!”

Five people ran down the safety corridor with Huang Ting supporting the rear. Ren Chong’s will launched a frenzied bombardment on the glass building, and dust kept falling from the top of the safety corridor. Ou Qihang shouted, “Where can we run to?!”

“Is your safe haven still usable?” Yu Hao asked.

“Can’t get in anymore!” Ou Qihang said.

Fog could be seen everywhere below the fifth floor;  the environment had turned cold, and the remaining energy that wasn’t a lot in the first place had all been drawn away. Yu Hao opened up his barrier to protect everyone. They looked down from the corner of the staircase; the fog of the subconscious was spreading over, while concrete and gravel were collapsing overhead.

“We have to get outside.” Huang Ting looked up and observed, “This place is about to collapse.”

Suddenly, Yu Hao was struck by a flash of inspiration. “It won’t collapse, at least not now!”

Ou Qihang stared at Yu Hao, baffled. Yu Hao saw that this building had been on the verge of collapse for a long time, yet the devastating effect of collapse never formed. When he connected it to the influence of will on dreamscapes, he suddenly figured out a certain vital node.

“Because we’re here,” Yu Hao said to the rest, “Qihang thinks that there will be a turn for the better, that there’s still hope. Before we come up with a solution, this building will protect us.”

Ou Qihang said, “But how can we defeat him?”

Yu Hao’s words inspired Chen Yekai. Chen Yekai immediately grabbed Ou Qihang’s arm and said patiently, “Listen, Xiao Ou.”

Ou Qihang and Chen Yekai looked at each other. Chen Yekai took a deep breath, then said seriously to him, “Ren Chong isn’t as invincible as you imagine him to be.”

Ou Qihang was distraught as he said, “I know. I understand the principles, but I just can’t convince myself.”

Chen Yekai said, “I remember you mentioned before that if it were possible, you wanted to participate in the research of the Golden Crow Wheel?”

Yu Hao, “!!!”

Yu Hao had never heard Ou Qihang mention this wish of his before and presumed that Ou Qihang had said it to Chen Yekai in private. Ou Qihang’s expression changed slightly. After remaining silent for a moment, he glanced at Yu Hao, “I just thought about it before. If the Golden Crow Wheel was handed to me, maybe more mysteries could be solved…”

Chen Yekai pointed at Yu Hao, signaling for Ou Qihang to talk to Yu Hao about it himself.

Yu Hao said, “Do you think that it’ll be more effective in your hands than Zhou Sheng’s?”

Ou Qihang thought about it, then answered, “Not exactly, I was wondering…if I could borrow it for a short while at an appropriate time…”

“Like Ren Chong?” Yu Hao replied.

“Of course not.” Ou Qihang laughed and answered, “I won’t use it to do evil. I just want to use it to study dreams.”

The building started shaking violently. Yu Hao suddenly said, “I’ll try to persuade Zhou Sheng to lend it to you after this all ends.”

Ou Qihang uttered in surprise, “Really?”

Yu Hao nodded. He and Chen Yekai looked at each other, then Chen Yekai said, “You must believe that we can seize it back, otherwise there will be no chance.”

Ren Chong divided himself into a dozen or so clones that surrounded the glass building. Each of them concentrated their energy, then released a black flare that connected with each other, locked firmly onto the building, then started closing in like a chain. With a loud blare, the chain twisted itself around the building and instantly shattered the skyscraper into pieces! Bricks and tiles flew out; the building was cut into two across the middle, and within the blink of an eye, the weight of the upper half crushed its foundation and started collapsing layer by layer.

Right at the next moment, a flash of light burst out from the bottom of the building — a Gundam broke through the ruins and flew straight at Ren Chong!

“That’s mine!” The Gundam roared angrily, “They’ve already promised to lend it to me! Ren Chong! Give it back!”

Gundam RX-7202 brandished its weapon and swept past. Ren Chong was struck in an instant, then turned into revolving black flames. Chen Yekai, Huang Ting, and Fu Liqun flew out at the same time, wielding their respective weapons in mid-air as they cut down all of Ren Chong’s clones.

Yu Hao spread his wings out and flew to the giant pillar. With one swing of his dagger, he had drawn an arc of light.

The aerial root connected to Qihang’s dreamscape was cut and drawn away, and another light pillar rose in the dream world.

“You promised me, Yu Hao!” The Gundam followed the Feathered Serpent God and rose in the sea of subconscious, broke through the fog, and flew to the huge tree.

“I got it!” Yu Hao was a little irritated, “You don’t need to remind me all the time.”

Yu Hao really couldn’t understand what Ou Qihang was thinking sometimes. Huang Ting said, “If Zhou Sheng really agrees to lend it to you, you have to promise me that you won’t come into my dream. I don’t want to dream of you.”

Ou Qihang said, “I won’t. Uncle Kai said that he’s willing to do the research with me.”

“You guys…” Yu Hao suddenly seemed to realise something, and he looked at Chen Yekai.

Chen Yekai answered, “Don’t worry, it has nothing to do with Ryuusei.”

Yu Hao nodded. Ou Qihang asked, “Who’s Ryuusei? Is this the collective unconscious? The whole world’s under Ren Chong’s control? How much time has passed in the real world?”

Fu Liqun said, “Everyone’s here, so we can save Young Master now ba.”

Yu Hao looked at the roots of the huge tree. They had already reached the bottom of the canopy. The pale light of the Golden Crow Wheel shone down through the leaves, and just beneath the intertwined roots of the world tree, the fog of the subconscious was already so dense that one wouldn’t even be able to see their fingers stretched out in front of them. However, right under the roots, a bottomless cave appeared with a faint light flickering in it.

“Before falling into the subconscious, he asked me to pass on a message to you. He left a signal behind for you that would guide you to where he is…”

—

Juurensha: Yaaaay, the team’s back all together!