1004 The Solution
Seeing Zhou Mingrui looking at her, waiting for an answer, Luo Shan said uncertainly, It seems like things are back to normal...
She had thought Zhou Mingrui wouldnt believe her judgment. After all, they hadnt encountered anything or seen any signs of danger, and they still didnt know if Luo Fu had been rescued. How could she say everything was back to normal?
To her surprise, Zhou Mingrui nodded thoughtfully. I think so too.
After a couple of seconds, Zhou Mingrui asked, Do we still need to look for Luo Fu?
I-Ill take another look... Luo Shan cautiously walked to the edge of the elevator lobby and peeked out.
She looked around and felt that aside from being too quiet with no one passing through, there wasnt much difference between this underground area and any other hospital basement.
Emergency Center, in a shadowy corner.
Lumian and Franca simultaneously saw Jenna, dressed in a nightgown, her eyes dazed and unsure of what to do.
Shes been kicked out of the dream... Both Lumian and Franca quickly came to the same conclusion.
At that moment, Jenna also spotted Franca and Lumian. The tension and worry in her heart suddenly eased.
Without saying much, Lumian grabbed Jennas arm with his other hand and disappeared with her into the edge of the shadows.
The three of them soon returned to Room 2303 in Dechuang Garden.
After checking the rooms condition, Lumian said to Jenna, Everythings fine now. Get some rest.
He wasnt sure how the dream Jenna would rationalize what had just happened, so he kept his explanation vague to avoid any cognitive conflict.
As for the teleportation, it was impossible to hide it any longer. After all, Zhou Mingrui had already become deeply aware of the supernatural powers at play, and there were indeed quite a few Beyonders active in the dream city.
Jenna, surprised, glanced around the familiar environment and obediently replied, Okay.
After she entered the room and lay down on the bed, Lumian closed the bedroom door for her, then turned to Franca and said,
Lets go back to Mushu Hospital now. Well talk about what happened once were there.
Franca didnt ask why and slowly nodded.
Using teleportation, Lumian took Franca to the greenery outside Mushu Hospital and turned his gaze towards the emergency center and the hospital building.
Seeing the shattered glass and the scorched parts of the walls, Lumian finally said to Franca, I think what happened today was too much of a coincidence. Zhou Mingrui came to investigate the situation at Mushu Hospital, and at the same time, you ended up in the underground area.
What exactly happened?
Hearing the word coincidence, Francas emotions wavered slightly.
She pulled herself together and recounted how she and Jenna had found themselves in the underground of Mushu Hospital after falling asleep, how they encountered Luo Shan, her suspicions, and the psychological traumas they later encountered.
At the time, the corridor started collapsing. Franca stopped speaking and fell silent again.
Lumian glanced at her but didnt press for details. Instead, he mused aloud, It really was a coincidence. If you look at the events separately, its logical that Zhou Mingrui, prompted by my warning during the day and his own initiative, chose tonight to investigate Mushu Hospital. Similarly, its plausible that the force lurking in Luo Shans room or nearby, taking advantage of her psychological traumas and the dreams nature, brought you into the hospitals underground. Both seem reasonable and could have happened naturally.
But the fact that these two things happened at the same time and influenced each other makes it obvious that something was off.
And at the same time, I received a tipoff from Lu Yongan and followed Zhou Mingrui to sneak into Mushu Hospital.
Franca instinctively said, But who could set up an arrangement for Zhou Mingrui?
They didnt need to arrange him. Arranging us was enough. Lumian, still in his Demoness of Despair state, let out a cold laugh. When Zhou Mingrui would investigate Mushu Hospital was uncertain, but once he was spotted, they could trigger the other side.
The force lurking in or near Luo Shans room must have been there for a while. Why didnt it act sooner or later? Why tonight?
Franca fell silent for a moment, as if she had finally regained her ability to think, and said, Was Lu Yongan arranged as well?
Not necessarily. Its possible they discovered my problem as a Child of God and knew something would happen tonight, so they lured me in, using your predicament to force me to become the true Child of God. After thinking for a few seconds, Lumian added, Its also likely that Lu Yongan isnt like Grimm, a dream persona influenced by the Great Mother. She has an external consciousness.
At this point, Lumian paused, his gaze cold as he muttered to himself, A guardian for women and children...
Inside Mushu Hospital, the power system of the building hadnt been affected by the lightning strike. Only the ground separating the upper and lower floors showed a very obvious charred area, and one of the elevators had stopped functioning.
Lu Yongan walked down the dimly lit corridor and reached a certain room.
A wooden sign hung outside the door, with Chinese characters written on it: Deans Office.
She knocked and entered, speaking to the person beside the shattered glass window.
She still didnt choose the Mothers help.
I see, a voice responded.
Trier, inside a luxurious villa.
Jenna observed Francas sleeping state while recounting their ordeal and Francas decisions to Madam Judgment, Madam Magician, and Madam Justice.
After she finished, Madam Magician nodded thoughtfully and said, Its still unclear what exactly we were supposed to gain from tonights events, or what the true purpose was...
Before she could finish her sentence, Madam Justice, looking at the sleeping Franca, said,
Two of Cups has left the underground area of Mushu Hospital. I can now sense her and her surroundings.
Upon hearing this, Jennas body swayed slightly, as if she had lost the strength to even keep herself upright due to a sudden sense of relief.
Her breathing became heavy, and after a few seconds, she asked, Its over?
Not entirely, Madam Magician said, taking her gaze off the sleeping Franca.
Jenna seemed to realize something and asked, with deep concern, Right, she held the ritual in the dream, cleverly advancing to Sequence 4 and becoming a Demoness of Despair. Its unknown how long it will take her to fully digest the Despair potion, and...
Jenna suddenly stopped, unable to finish her sentence.
What she had been about to say was, And our goal is to awaken Mr. Fool as soon as possible, to end this dream, but that would conflict with the conditions for Francas survival.
In front of the Tarot Clubs Major Arcana card holders, she dared not utter those words, fearing the brutal answer she might receive.
I understand your concern, but thats not really an issue. Or, to put it another way, its not as serious as you think.
Huh? Jenna was surprised, both delighted and bewildered.
Madam Justice maintained her soft smile and explained, First, Two of Cups has already made considerable progress in digesting the Despair potion. Shes completed the part about making herself despair. The next step is to find opportunities to make others despair. If she can refine her acting principles further during this process, the digestion will go even faster.
Jenna blinked, confused.
Shes already digested nearly half of the Despair potion, right after advancing?
Yes, Madam Magician agreed, her tone carrying an understanding note. Its quite similar to Lumians situation at the time. Except Lumian quickly made two boon demigods despair...
Exactly, Madam Magician continued, nodding knowingly. Given the nature of your circumstances and how things unfolded, it was almost inevitable that people would fall into a state of despair. Mr. Fools psychological traumas may also contain elements that push Franca into complete despairthings that sever her hopes and desires entirely.
Jennas eyes moved slightly, and she muttered, Quite the coincidence...
Madam Justice sighed with a smile. Yes, thats one reason. But the other reason why I said that Two of Cups dream advancement isnt too serious is because, given a little timejust a few minutesshe could return to reality without dying, though there would be other costs.
Really? Jenna was both surprised and confused.
Madam Justice chuckled lightly and explained, While were limited in what we can do, there are still many things were capable of.
For example, a Sun pathway Unshadowed can extract Beyonder characteristics, even from a Beyonder, layer by layer, from high to low. Though Two of Cups advanced in the dream, her reality also advanced, which is why she cant leave the dream before fully digesting her potion.
In other words, we could have Mr. Sun extract the Demoness of Despairs Beyonder characteristic from Two of Cups in reality, and I would stabilize her mental state during the process. Once her body in reality regresses to the level of a Demoness of Affliction, there would be no more concern about her losing control upon leaving the dream.
Of course, this solution would leave some problems behind, some quite serious ones, which is why we didnt mention it as a solution before. But compared to losing her life in the dream, these issues are manageable.
Jenna stood there, dazed.
The dream advancement affected reality, and regressing in reality would cause a similar effect in the dream?
If you cant influence the dream, then change the state of reality?
Outside Mushu Hospital, in the greenery.
Hidden in the shadows, Lumian observed the hospital building, the patients coming and going, and the emergency response personnel who had just arrived, but he didnt spot any targets of note.
After a long silence, Franca finally spoke. They might have already left. Maybe they never showed up in the first place.
Yeah, you could check some short videos. With the glass shattered and the building struck by lightning, Im sure a lot of people recorded it. Maybe well find something.
Right. Lumian took out his phone and began scrolling through local news, not missing a single video.
When he reached a video titled Oh my god, all the glass shattered, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure in the corner of the frame, near the edge of the emergency center.
That figure had messy blonde hair, blue eyes, short eyebrows, and a clear stubble on his face. He was wearing a black shirt.
Lumians gaze instantly froze.
It was Grisha.
Grisha, Peng Dengs co-renter!