Chapter 862: Chapter 862 Du Lai’s Dream
“I tried many thods… I deliberately interrupted the teacher during class, tore up my howork and test papers, threw away my classmates’ backpacks, and I even ran to the school entrance to make a scene with the security guard, all to get them to kick out or call my parents, anything would do, I just wanted to see if I could actually leave the school—”
Chen Hui bit her lip, lowered her head, and her voice grew increasingly muffled: “But no… I was just taken to the head of discipline’s office, got a scolding, and when the bell for the fourth period rang, I was back in the classroom, at my own seat, where my desk mate nudged my arm, asking how I dared to sleep during the horoom teacher’s class… Everything had returned to the beginning.”
As Bai Youwei listened, she pondered. Chen Hui’s description was like a tight, seamless storyline that looped back on itself, forming a closed loop.
If soone inside the loop wanted to get out, they had to break the cycle, just like what Chen Hui had done: tearing up papers, arguing with security guards—essentially, doing sothing to prevent the storyline from continuing as usual.
Bai Youwei asked, “How did you finally escape the maze?”
Chen Hui closed her eyes and replied, “I jumped off the school building…”
A slight shock went through Bai Youwei.
Before she could ask anything, Du Lai’s voice ca from behind—
“I did the sa thing.”
She turned around and saw Du Lai leaning against the doorway, the oversized patient’s garnt hanging on his thin fra, devoid of his usual energy and sharpness.
“My dream took place on a luxury cruise ship.” Du Lai said, “I was the Magician on board, performing magic shows twice a day. Those were relatively peaceful tis in my life; I spent three years without ever leaving the ship, and I knew everything there. Probably for this reason, the Labyrinth No. 1 constructed my dream with that scenery.”
Bai Youwei asked, “How long did it take you after entering to start suspecting you were dreaming?”
“I started suspecting the mont I entered.” Du Lai explained indifferently, “The perforrs on the ship would sotis take that… hallucinogen. If dosed correctly, it’s legal abroad. At the ti, I was drowsy, and my performing colleague asked if I’d taken too much, but I knew all this was fake because Miaoxue wasn’t there.”
Bai Youwei looked at him, “Even knowing it was fake, finding the courage and resolve to end yourself is not easy, especially since you didn’t know at the ti whether dying there would an your real self would also die.”
Everyone has an instinct for survival; who would seek death when not driven to desperation?
“That’s why I was trapped inside for so many days…” Du Lai let out a self-mocking laugh, then continued, “I tried almost everything I could think of, but nothing worked… I even intentionally started a fire, trying to burn the ship, but I was discovered, they tied up, greeted with knives, one of which stabbed into my heart, and yet I didn’t die… The mont I opened my eyes, I was back in the crew’s rest area, with colleagues asking if I had overdosed, saying I was talking in my sleep.”
Bai Youwei was sowhat surprised: “You died in the dream?”
Du Lai nodded, “Several tis. The owners who run this kind of business all have dirty hands; there were enforcers on board specifically to deal with disobedient staff like .”
Bai Youwei thought for a mont, “So, is it correct to think—only if the player themselves seeks liberation can they escape the dream, whereas if the player is killed by soone in the dream, it has no effect, and the dream resets to the beginning?”
“If you only consider mine and Chen Hui’s situations, that is indeed correct.” Du Lai said to Bai Youwei, “Once you figure that out, Labyrinth No. 1 poses no danger. You just need to go in, tell Fu Miaoxue these facts, and then jump from a high place to escape the dream.”
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