Wall of the Heart

The back of his hand was burning hot. Igola had returned to his room early, wearing only a coral fleece bathrobe. To be safe, when entering the dreamscape, he had also prepared an 'Igola figurine'—except his real body was not hidden elsewhere; it was hidden right inside the figurine itself. Mixing falsehood with truth, reality with deception, outwitting the air itself was just another day in the life of a Swindler. Staring at the burning, glowing crest on the back of his hand, he deduced through his Gold-rank mind faction realm that the fuel burning within the crest was none other than his own positive emotions. This was a grand miracle: within the Sennheiser District, as long as the primary crest activated the miracle, every secondary crest would respond accordingly. This crest held no secrets whatsoever; the miracle judged purely based on the crest's pattern. In other words, if he wished, Igola could easily draw a crest on himself. From this loophole-ridden crest authentication method, one could tell that the six families of Fanmula did not actually forbid outsiders from entering family dreamscapes. One step in Annan's original plan had been to hide among another family in Fanmula; Igola had previously wondered what collateral she possessed that would allow her to lead a group of strangers into another clan. Now it seemed joining a crest family in Fanmula was about as difficult as walking into a tea cafe—just passing by might get you dragged inside by someone. The problem was, joining was easy, but getting out was hard. A tea cafe uses beauty to detain your flesh; a family uses love to dissolve your soul. Recalling Banjie's warning, Igola felt some hesitation. Having studied the mind faction, he naturally understood best that good swimmers often drown. He never relied on his mind realm to test addictive traps like sweets, murder, or gambling—yes, Igola had at most caused others' deaths, but he had never killed anyone with his own hands; gambling was merely a tool of his trade, and he never gambled for leisure in ordinary times. The more one explored the boundaries of the mind, the more abstinent a mind sorcerer became. Only the ignorant believed they could "conquer a sugar addiction," "kill without batting an eye," or that "light gambling is harmless fun." Smart people never touched things capable of destroying their sanity in the first place. Entering a family reincarnation dreamscape was no different from a fuel tanker spirit working as an attendant at a gas station. Under normal circumstances in the past, Igola would definitely have refused such an assignment. Yet. Officially, Igola was living under someone else's roof. He had not changed Annan's diapers like Banjie had, so he possessed no standing to oppose her. Personally, Igola himself wanted to place onto the second Future Board. A divine wish, the Future Board—either was enough to pique a Swindler's interest. Ever since Annan proposed the scheme to blaspheme the god, Igola had made up his mind to take part. After all, as an ambitious social engineer, it was truly hard to say no to a "big score" that conned the entire world. Beyond lofty ideals and distant horizons, Igola also had to consider the miserable reality right in front of him: they were still not out of danger. To say nothing of the Red Hats and the agency, the mother-daughter pair of Annan and Qinna was an immediate hazard right beside them. Even if only to increase his odds of survival, Igola had to prove his worth—when your value was high enough, others would wipe your backside for you. Yaxiu was the prime example. After casting "Heart Like Boulder" and "Steel Will" on himself, Igola's heart remained utterly still, without a single ripple. Even if heaven and earth collapsed before his eyes, his emotions would not waver. He did not plan to take immediate action on his first night's dream journey. Instead, he intended to run a trial first: investigate the conditions of the dreamscape as much as possible, on the premise of ensuring he would not get addicted. Sinking his consciousness deep into the burning crest imprint, Igola felt his soul rise like light smoke—an entirely opposite direction from sinking into the Void Realm. When Igola opened his eyes, he found himself in a vast expanse of white, boundless and solitary. He looked up and saw numerous bubbles floating above. Just scanning them with his gaze gave him a rough idea of what worlds lay inside: pools of wine and forests of meat overflowing with countless delicacies, arenas of Legendary Sorcerers, sea-fishing paradises for mist-veiled anglers, burial grounds of ten-thousand-man wars... These were all worlds with higher participation. When the thought of 'romance' brushed through Igola's mind, the bubbles instantly swapped out for a new batch—all bubbles seeking romance, with participant ratios ranging anywhere from one-on-one to a hundred-to-one. Igola was in no hurry to dive in; instead, he adjusted his appearance first to prevent being recognized. He had always possessed the habit of disguising himself with cosmetics and attire, so sculpting a face was second nature to him. "Image No. 78: Literary Veela Maiden." To hide himself completely, Igola even adopted an opposite-sex persona that he rarely used, and his voice shifted accordingly. Now, not even Harvey or Yaxiu could possibly recognize him. "Hello there!" A voice drifted from the white mist. Igola was slightly startled, then quickly realized that when searching for 'romance' bubbles, he had also become a 'romance' bubble to others, prompting someone to seek him out directly. Judging by the voice, though... was the other person a young girl too? As the other person's footsteps echoed from the white mist, shades of blue and green radiated outward. The sky was dyed azure, the earth turned to lush grass, and a cool breeze brushed across his face—this was the greatest charm of the family reincarnation dreamscape: every dream was an independent mini-world, its environment shifting at its master's whim. Wishing upon reality and having anything you desired was nothing more than this. Soon, Igola saw his first... romance match. She was not tall, only about a meter and a half, wearing an oversized gradient dark red trench coat, and on her face was a mask that looked rather familiar to Igola...? The moment she saw Igola, she waved with immense enthusiasm and dashed right over— *Splat.* Halfway there, her feet tangled and she tripped flat onto the grass, sprawled there without getting up. This appearance, this clumsiness, this personality... Igola fell silent for a moment, then walked over and crouched beside her. "What happened?" "Caught you!" The girl in the dark red trench coat suddenly jumped up and threw her arms around Igola, pushing him to the ground. She rubbed her cheek incessantly against the maiden face Igola had just sculpted, giggling, "Big sister, wanna date me?!" Feeling the softness of the adorable creature in his arms, Igola's face showed no reaction, maintaining the detachment and serenity customary of a literary maiden. Good thing he had prepared thoroughly! Good thing he had cast "Heart Like Boulder" and "Steel Will" on himself! This combination was enough to form an impenetrable wall of the heart immune to all toxins! Right now, his heart was not wavering in the slightest! Outwitting the air had paid off! *Quick, this is the trap of the family reincarnation dreamscape, this is Qinna's conspiracy—hurry up and punch this wretched woman away, or it'll be too late!* *Crack.* *Hiss.* Igola froze—what was that sound? It sounded like... stones cracking and steel rusting? "What's your name?" The girl in the dark red trench coat wrapped her arms around Igola's neck, her eyes sparkling like stars. "My name is Xiao Xi." "My name is... Irina." The wall of the heart could not hold.