"Let me tell you, tons of people want to spend money to come here. I'm a dark energy user—or as they say in your Puluo Province, someone with cultivation. In Chunshen City, there are quite a few circles of dark energy users. I joined several of them before I finally found the right connection to come to Dream-Tethering Tower."
The man was named Zhao Dajun, and he was very talkative. Before Li Banfeng could even ask, he took the initiative to introduce his background: "I'm a number theorist—called a calculation cultivator in your Puluo Province. In Chunshen City, I worked as a code monkey for a full ten years."
A calculation cultivator—the name alone sounded like someone good at math.
Li Banfeng said, "Working as a coder, your profession was right in line with your specialty."
"Right in line!" Zhao Dajun nodded. "Fresh out of college and starting work, I felt the code monkey profession was tailor-made for me. The future titan of the industry had to be me! And I really was cut out for that line of work. Not to brag, but at my peak income, making fifty or sixty thousand a month was child's play. I worked in Chunshen City for ten years. After subtracting living expenses and money sent back home, I saved over two million. That money was enough to buy an apartment in Chunshen City—even in a better neighborhood, paying a down payment was a breeze."
Li Banfeng nodded. "Impressive!"
Zhao Dajun sighed. "I thought I was pretty impressive too, but I just couldn't do it anymore. I'm a first-tier dark energy user, so my body is quite a bit stronger than a normal person's. But even so, leaving the house at seven in the morning and getting home at eleven at night, barely getting a few days off all year round—my body simply couldn't take it anymore.
"And that was secondary. The moment I sat in my cubicle and saw the code, I wanted to throw up. Whenever the phone rang and I heard the department manager's voice, I wanted to throw up even more.
"I didn't want to keep going. But if I bought an apartment in Chunshen City, it would definitely wipe out all my savings, and if I picked a good location, I'd still owe a hefty mortgage. How was I supposed to live?
"I didn't want to buy an apartment, so my girlfriend dumped me. If she dumped me, so be it—I could live on my own. But I couldn't bear my family berating me every single day, scolding me for being useless, unfilial, and having no prospects.
"I was tired of grinding, and I'd had enough. I wanted to live for myself for once. Later, through connections made by friends in the circle, I spent every last bit of my savings and, after many twists and turns, came to Dream-Tethering Tower. I came to the best place in the world. I'm going to spend the rest of my life living well right here!"
Li Banfeng didn't quite understand. "What's so good about this place?"
Zhao Dajun wore an expression of astonishment. "Do I even need to say? It has whatever you want here. Eating here doesn't cost a dime. As long as it isn't too outrageous, whatever you want to eat, the cafeteria cooks will make it for you at any time.
"Lodging doesn't cost money either. All year round, it's warm in winter and cool in summer, without even a single mosquito."
Li Banfeng asked, "You spent over two million just to earn free room and board?"
"More than that! We also have dreams. Everything exists in the dreams—snowy mountains, pastoral countrysides, islands, beaches... and all the pretty girls from hard drives, and when they speak, we can understand them."
"Really?" Li Banfeng was quite intrigued by this.
"Really!" Zhao Dajun nodded vigorously. "Those are my dreams. I have the final say in everything. If I believe a girl is real, she is real."
In fact, Zhao Dajun's words made a lot of sense. A real girl might not necessarily be as wonderful as the one in a dream.
"But what if you have a nightmare?"
Zhao Dajun shook his head. "In Dream-Tethering Tower, you never have nightmares, and you never suffer insomnia—unless you offend the Tower Master."
"Who is the Tower Master?"
"I don't know that. I've never seen her either. If it isn't necessary, I don't want to see her. As long as the rules here stay unchanged, I'm happy to live here in peace."
Li Banfeng said, "What if I don't want to stay here?"
"I advise you to think it over carefully." Zhao Dajun looked at Li Banfeng with great sincerity. "Of all the people who come here, not a single one wants to leave. Sleep a bit longer, have a couple more dreams, and it won't be too late to decide."
Li Banfeng said nothing.
After finishing the meal, Zhao Dajun told Li Banfeng that the cafeteria was on the second floor, the exit was on the first floor, and if he didn't want to leave, he could head back to the bedroom. He left it up to Li Banfeng to decide.
Li Banfeng had already made up his mind long ago.
He went down to the first floor and pushed open the stairwell door. By the light of a match, he could faintly make out the location of the exit.
It was a pair of large glass doors. Li Banfeng strode toward the entrance when a gust of cold wind swept past, blowing out the match.
He struck another match. As the flare ignited, a tall woman dressed in white suddenly appeared right in front of him.
The dream intruder!
The woman looked at Li Banfeng with almost no expression, only a hint of languor.
This time, Li Banfeng got a clear look at her features.
An oval face, a high nose bridge, a pair of peach blossom eyes that made it impossible to look away, lips petite and rosy, with the corners of her mouth curved slightly upward in a faint, elusive smile.
She seemed to carry an ethereal, otherworldly air.
A breathtaking beauty had appeared right before his eyes. Li Banfeng stared at the beauty for a moment, then used the match to set her clothes on fire.
Once her clothes caught fire, that ethereal aura grew even more distinct.
The beauty continued to look at Li Banfeng languidly and asked in a flat tone, "Why did you set my clothes on fire?"
Li Banfeng countered with complete sincerity, "Why did you scare me?"
Using the flames on her clothes, the beauty lit a candle in her hand and placed it into a sconce on the wall.
She gently blew out the flames on her clothing, looked at Li Banfeng, and said in an airy, ethereal voice, "Leaving already?"
Li Banfeng said, "Do I need to check out?"
The beauty smiled faintly. "If you're in such a rush to leave, why did you come in the first place?"
Li Banfeng answered honestly, "I really didn't want to come. An old man carried me over on his back. He thinks he's a train."
"He is Grandpa Train."
"You know this crazy old man?"
"Why do you think he's crazy?"
"For a train, he doesn't even burn coal. Isn't that crazy?"
The beauty nodded slightly, as if agreeing with Li Banfeng's assessment. She stepped aside lightly, clearing the path.
Li Banfeng walked forward without the slightest lingering hesitation.
As he reached the doorway, the beauty asked, "What is your name?"
Li Banfeng recalled the scenes from the dream. Some had called him Seventh Master, while others had called him Boss Ye.
This woman knew all that information.
After integrating the two slightly, Li Banfeng replied, "I'm Ye Seven."
The beauty showed no suspicion and answered earnestly, "My name is Meng Qian. Walk straight ahead once you go out. Walk until you reach where you want to go, and never look back."
"Thank you, Miss Meng."
Meng Qian nodded. "Until we meet again."
...
Li Banfeng stepped out through the main doors. Outside lay a pitch-black mountain forest, and among the lush vegetation was an inconspicuous mountain path.
Regardless of whether what Meng Qian said was true or false, leaving this place quickly was definitely the right choice.
Sprinting along the mountain path, Li Banfeng reflected on what had happened before.
*I got lost on the edge of the newland, reached a station, met a crazy old man at the station, and he brought me to this place.*
*If the station was real and the crazy old man was real, then after paying the fare, I must have fallen into a dream, entered this building in a daze, and been settled into a room to sleep.*
*In the dream, I needed to pee and looked for a latrine. If my guess is right, in reality, I was sleepwalking and genuinely went to the restroom.*
*Did I know where the restroom was?*
*The people in this building can find the restroom without even opening their eyes.*
*And it wasn't just the restroom.*
*In the dream, I dreamed of going down and up the mountain, and eating at a restaurant.*
*In reality, it was probably going down and up the stairs, and eating in the cafeteria.*
*How did I find the cafeteria?*
*It must have come from certain suggestions within the dream.*
*The owner of this building must be that woman named Meng Qian.*
*She can infiltrate the dreams of everyone in the building and control the residents' actions through their dreams.*
*If I had jumped off a cliff in the dream, the reality might have been that I climbed to the roof and leaped off.*
*In that case, would I have fallen to my death?*
*It would depend on how tall the building was, and also on what kind of reaction I made. As a journey cultivator, the odds are I wouldn't fall to my death, but that's just an example I can think of.*
*If Meng Qian wanted to kill me, she could find countless ways.* At this thought, a chill ran down Li Banfeng's spine, and he ran even faster than before.
*She didn't try to kill me, and she even let me go. What was her purpose in having me come here?*
*Could it be that she didn't know why I came either, and this was merely an accident caused by that crazy old man?*
*That crazy old man is called Grandpa Train. What was his purpose in bringing me here?*
After running in one breath for over an hour, Li Banfeng came to a halt.
By a rough estimate, he had run over three hundred li, definitely well beyond the range of that building's influence.
Up ahead, some light could be seen; he was probably about to enter proper land.
His stamina was still decent, and running a few hundred more li wouldn't be a problem.
However, he was thirsty. He had already been thirsty when he first woke up, and up until now, he hadn't had a single sip of water.
He would head back into the Portable Abode to grab a drink, and while he was at it, tell the wife about this to see if she knew anyone named Meng Qian.
Just as Li Banfeng reached out to take out the key, a sound that made his scalp tingle rang out behind him.
"Chug-chug, whoo—whoo-whoo!"
Without even thinking, Li Banfeng bolted forward.
Grandpa Train!
How had he run into him again?
Don't tell me he's going to force me onto the train again?
*He's a high-tier journey cultivator. Outrunning him won't be easy. I have to use my wits, use my head, and plan my route properly. I'm a fifth-tier journey cultivator; what's his cultivation? Seventh tier? Eighth tier? Or...*
Grandpa Train suddenly looked back and said, "The train is departing."
When had he gotten ahead of me?
"Board the train!" Grandpa Train moved astonishingly fast. Before Li Banfeng could even see his movement clearly, he found himself already on the old man's back.
"Whoo-whoo—" Grandpa Train pumped both arms and charged wildly forward.
Li Banfeng was speechless. "Old mister, where on earth are you taking me?"
"Chug-chug," Grandpa Train looked back and said. "Have you ever taken a train?"
Li Banfeng said, "Of course I have!"
"If you've taken one, why are you asking?"
"Why can't I ask?"
"Anyone who's taken a train knows: wherever the train goes, that's where you have to go!"
"His..."
His... his logic was quite sound.
"The key point is, I didn't want to get on your train!"
"You must board my train."
"Why?"
"Because you haven't woken up yet."
What did that mean?
Was this old man truly crazy, or just playing mad?
Li Banfeng frowned. "How do you know I haven't woken up?"
Blowing his steam whistle as he moved, Grandpa Train replied, "Because I haven't woken up either."
An ordinary person would have had a mental breakdown right then from the old man's logic.
But Li Banfeng didn't break down. He asked very earnestly, "How do you know you haven't woken up?"
The old man looked at Li Banfeng with utter bewilderment. "Does that even need asking? If I were awake, could I possibly think of myself as a train?"
What he said... still made a lot of sense.
*But if what he says is true, does that mean I've entered this old man's dream?*
*How could I possibly have entered his dream?*
Still maintaining his sanity, Li Banfeng continued asking, "Why would you dream of turning into a train?"
Grandpa Train fell silent for a moment and said, "Because I miss my train."
"You used to have a train?"
"I did."
"Where did your train go?"
"Sold it."
"Who did you sell it to?"
"The peddler."
Li Banfeng rubbed his forehead, mocking this crazy old man mercilessly in his heart.
A madman's dreams lacked all logic. How could a peddler possibly buy a train?
P.S. Perhaps it really was possible.
Chapter 280