After the chat ended, the old count called the housekeeper who was waiting outside the living room and ordered: "Go and prepare a sumptuous dinner and guest room for our guests."
"No, I'll leave soon."
Lu Li stopped the butler who was about to leave, stood up and left the soft sofa, and greeted the earl: "Thank you to the Emerald Dream for clarifying my doubts."
"But I have a different opinion."
Lu Li picked up the coffee cup and poured it onto the expensive blanket. He let go of his hand and let the cup fall to pieces on the low table. He picked out a sharp fragment and stabbed it into his chest.
"What you see is not real."
Afternoon, shade, grass, breeze.
The light spreads all around. The earl is smiling but not smiling, the housekeeper is dumbfounded, and the maid is expressionless.
The light finally filled Lu Li's field of vision, completely surrounding him.
…
"Lu Li... Lu Li... wake up quickly..."
Anna's call rang in my ears.
Lu Li opened his eyes.
Anna's illusive and delicate face was close at hand, and the sore neck leaning on the armrest of the sofa reminded him that he had been sleeping in this position for a long time. The noise of pedestrians on the street could be heard outside the window.
The exposed Emerald Dream did not take him away, but led him to the fifth level.
"You slept for a long time today, it's already morning. When the newsboy delivered the newspaper in the morning, I didn't dare to open the door, and I couldn't wake you up. The newspaper I stuffed under the door was stained..."
Lu Li sat up and looked around as Anna spoke in a sparrow-like voice.
This is a detective agency. The time... is before everything gets worse.
"If you hadn't been talking in your sleep, I would have thought something had happened to you... Well... why did you shout, shout my name several times...? Wait, where are you going?"
Anna was stunned as she watched Lu Li leave the sofa and walk around to the desk, swaying slightly as if walking on the deck.
Opening the drawer, Lu Li took out the dagger wrapped in a leather sheath, pointing the tip toward his chest, preparing to activate the beacon again.
"The evil spirits are gone!"
Anna rushed over in a panic, and her faint ghostly aura protected Lu Li's surroundings. At the same time, she held on to his arm to prevent the dagger from piercing his chest.
"Wake up...those are all dreams, not real...you will die if you do this!"
Lu Li paused and pressed the dagger to his chest.
What made him stop was not because of Anna's stopping... not exactly.
Bang——
The fallen floorboards created a gap in the old floor. Anna, with a trembling tone, hugged Lu Li and comforted her softly: "Be good...it was just a dream...everything has passed..."
Lu Li in Anna's arms became quiet again, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep. Only Anna's invisible eyes looked calmly towards the living room.
The Emerald Dream is consistent with the real time. Lu Li can use the lighthouse to dissolve the Emerald Dream, but when he returns to reality, he will face the eternal night.
Lu Li had no way of knowing the actual situation of the convoy, but he could imagine it must be very bad...
Leaving the Emerald Dream hastily is not a good idea.
Anna controlled the dagger and threw it into the bedroom, whispering softly: "Is that a terrible nightmare?"
"Um."
"It's okay... there's nothing to be afraid of anymore..." Anna coaxed. Her light and weightless soul was like a cloud.
Lu Li seemed to have regained his composure and sat back on the wooden chair.
But if he doesn't do anything, the Emerald Dream won't let him stay for long.
The essence of the Emerald Dream is "curiosity" and "fun". It is not some weird thing that traps people in hallucinations forever - at least that's what it said in the fourth level of dreams.
Therefore, it has an "expectation value" for Lu Li. It creates dreams and looks forward to Lu Li's performance. Lu Li responds to the dream, deciphers the dream, and responds to its expectations.
If the expectations disappear, Lu Li's ending will be to be abandoned or killed.
Uneasy Anna refused to move away, her clear eyes almost glued to him.
"What time is it now?" Lu Li asked.
Anna, who was staring at Lu Li intently, seemed to be startled and said quickly: "Well... noon."
"I mean-" Lu Li did not continue and reached for the newspaper on the edge of the desk.
Anna's eyes trembled nervously, and she saw Lu Li's palm hit the invisible wall.
"I want to get the newspaper," he said.
"I'll get it for you!"
The newspaper delivered this morning fell into Lu Li's hands.
If you want to maintain the existence of the dream, you must maintain the "expectation value" of the Emerald Dream.
Lu Li unfolded the newspaper.
The most conspicuous bold font is printed on the first page of the home page of this "Belfast Today": [It will rain soon, and the fog that fills the sky of Allen Peninsula is about to end]
The rainy season has not yet arrived.
Nothing happened, everyone I know is still alive...
The Emerald Dream no longer used the right time to convince Lu Li that "this is the real world", but instead created a wonderful trap that was hard to resist.
The most false sweetness is hundreds of times better than the cold truth.
Lu Li had read this newspaper before, and he put it down after confirming the date.
Wow——
Anna's cheek was exposed behind the newspaper, and she was very close, with concern: "You are weird...still thinking about nightmares?"
"I've always been like this."
Lu Li looked away, not looking into those clear eyes.
"But it seems... you are avoiding looking at me."
"No."
The more he avoided it, the more Anna cared about the content of the dream: "You didn't feel guilty because you hurt me in the dream..."
Lu Li lowered his eyes and did not answer.
"It's just a dream, and I'm not..." Anna, who was comforting Lu Li, suddenly felt a little embarrassed, tilted her head slightly and whispered: "Are you still with you..."
"Speaking of which, when I was a child, I would tell my mother if I had nightmares, and then I wouldn't be afraid anymore... What did you dream about?"
Before Lu Li answered, there was a knock on the wooden door of the detective agency.
Anna, who was afraid of strangers, hid in the bedroom and opened the door.
But the guest came to see her - Anna's former friend Daisy.
Anna was surprised by her friend's visit, but after some excuses, she asked Daisy to come another day. Lu Li had a nightmare, and she felt that it was her turn to take care of him.
"No, I won't do that for the time being."
Lu Li said that he needed time to think... and to delay time itself.
The longest duration of the Light Stealer was fourteen days. The total of the first four levels of dreams Lu Li experienced was less than six hours.
When he was not sure whether the sixth level dream existed, Lu Li needed to maintain his expectations of the Emerald Dream. The closer it was to the fourteenth day, the greater the possibility of avoiding eternal night after returning.
Anna reluctantly agreed to Lu Li's proposal and took Daisy to the bedroom to chat. However, she did not close the door and kept her eyes glued to Lu Li outside.
Daisy realized that she came at the wrong time and said goodbye soon after, saying that she would come to visit another day.
Shortly after she left, another customer approached the detective agency.
In other words...a member of the detective agency.
"boss!"
Sneaking into the detective agency, the thin and dark Oliver smiled in a flattering way.
