Chapter 534: Chapter 534 Your Reward_1 Chapter 534: Chapter 534 Your Reward_1 Clearly, Song Hang’s idea wasn’t completely unreasonable.
Everyone had been wandering aimlessly through the mall because they were trapped, forced to face increasingly bizarre situations.
Now, since they still couldn’t find a way out, opting for a violent solution to see what would happen wasn’t a bad line of thought.
“We just need to find a window.”
Obviously a bit anxious, Song Hang didn’t wait for the others to voice their opinions and immediately called for everyone to head downstairs.
“Come with me, let’s go to a lower level.”
Seeing that the group was following his orders, he turned around only to find Fu Qian sitting still, lost in thought.
“What are you doing?”
Song Hang clenched his teeth slightly, his tone becoming quite unfriendly.
“Nothing, I’m just thinking about something.”
Fu Qian seemed unfazed by his displeasure, appearing calm.
“Since all of you are but illusions in my dream, why should I listen to you?”
…
The air instantly grew quiet.
Hearing Fu Qian’s words, the group couldn’t help but be stunned.
“What makes you think this is your dream?”
Song Hang, too, was taken aback for a moment and spoke in a decidedly unfriendly manner.
“Maybe you’re the illusion.”
“Indeed, I can’t rule that out.”
Fu Qian didn’t argue with him but seriously nodded his agreement.
“So, since I’m just an illusion in your dream, why should you care about my actions?”
…
“Let’s go.”
Unable to rebut effectively, Song Hang realized he couldn’t constrain Fu Qian with mere words and simply signaled the others to proceed downstairs.
Facing Fu Qian, who remained seated, Tan Ying looked back at him with some hesitation, but eventually followed the others down.
Regardless, she was still very curious about the reaction to a forceful solution.
Of course, what she didn’t know was that Fu Qian was curious too.
When he had initiated this dream, Fu Qian could confirm that his involvement was limited to this building, and the boundary was not far outside of it.
So, he was also curious about what would happen when trapped people touched the unpredictable edge of the dream–if they could reach it.
Some invisible things spread very quickly.
Whoosh!
This old-fashioned mall had few windows, and after some wandering around below, they finally found a suitable one.
One of the bodyguards, unable to wait, picked up a nearby fire extinguisher and smashed the glass open.
“Such heavy fog?”
But when he stuck his head out, he couldn’t help but exclaim.
In the darkness, a thick fog as dense as ink enveloped the mall, barely allowing any visibility.
They were on the second floor of the mall, but the ground was nowhere in sight.
“Go outside and check it out.”
Song Hang, who had also come forward, frowned at the sight.
However, the bodyguard who shattered the window seemed hesitant to follow his order.
“What’s the matter? There’s no danger at this height–”
Before Song Hang could finish his sentence, the bodyguard threw the fire extinguisher he was holding out into the mist.
The fire extinguisher disappeared instantly into the fog, and for several seconds afterward, no sound of it hitting the ground came from outside, as if it had sunk into the sea.
Truly bizarre!
All of this naturally did not escape Fu Qian’s notice, but even in his heightened awareness, he still couldn’t pinpoint where the thrown fire extinguisher had ended up.
The edge of the dream appeared to be an unpredictable chaos.
…
By now, Song Hang had also realized the implication of the bodyguard’s action, and the echo that failed to return from outside made his heart sink.
“Tie the hose around your body, it can be used as a safety rope,” Tan Ying suggested quietly at his side.
…
Song Hang nodded silently, approving her suggestion, and gestured for the other two bodyguards to retrieve the fire hoses.
However, both bodyguards looked at each other with odd expressions after breaking the window, and neither moved forward.
“Hurry up, there won’t be any danger with safety measures in place,” he urged.
Although Song Hang had a vague feeling that something was off, he still subconsciously urged on.
“It makes sense, but why aren’t you going?”
At this moment, the previously defected bodyguard number two suddenly spoke up.
“What do you mean by that?”
Song Hang was initially startled, then almost growled in a suppressed voice.
“I think what that person said makes some sense, if this is my dream…”
Bodyguard number two didn’t finish, but instead, yanked the hose and passed it over to Song Hang.
…
Song Hang didn’t take the hose but instead turned to look at the last bodyguard.
Unfortunately, the latter quickly averted his gaze and remained silent.
“You guys…”
Song Hang stood in place, his mind somewhat hazy for a moment.
The three bodyguards, as if they hadn’t heard, unanimously moved away from the window and dispersed to different locations.
Bodyguard number two even blatantly imitated Fu Qian, found a chair to sit down and stare blankly, seemingly prepared to just wait for the dream to end.
The remaining two exchanged weird glances around the room.
In an instant, everything seemed to change beyond recognition.
This…
Witnessing this scene, Tan Ying felt an unprecedented sense of disorientation. The accumulated fear and anxiety uncontrollably spilled out, filling her with a sense of powerlessness.
It wasn’t to the point of blaming the bodyguards for their lack of professionalism. Even she, who had been actively searching for a way out, had a subconscious resistance to the pitch-black fog outside.
That deep darkness appeared as though stepping out of the window would lead to a plunge into the bottomless Abyss.
Even Song Hang, after glancing this way, quickly turned away, lacking the courage to pick up the hose on the ground.
“What’s wrong?”
At that moment, unexpectedly, a voice came from nearby.
Turning around reflexively, Tan Ying found that Fu Qian had come down beside her at some point, even holding a cup that seemed to be filled with juice.
“It’s just… Suddenly I feel like there’s very little I can do.”
Tan Ying didn’t know what to say for a moment.
“Since childhood, I’ve been praised too many times, and I came to believe I was capable of anything.”
“But right now, I can only wander around in confusion, aimlessly waiting. I suddenly feel like maybe I’m not that different…”
Here.
Fu Qian handed her another cup of juice and gestured towards Song Hang, who was lost in thought.
“It’s not strange. A person is a collection of social relationships. It’s normal to feel uncomfortable suddenly being separated from them, like a monkey that’s shed its fur.”
“And it seems you’re not the only one feeling this way.”
“There’s one question. Throughout your life, you must have turned down a considerable number of suitors. Why does this one in particular bother you so much?”
Why…
Tan Ying looked over, her expression showing partial understanding.
…
“Polite, composed, young and wealthy, neither servile nor overbearing, well-versed in society’s rules–a by any standard, he is visibly outstanding.”
“Your trouble probably lies in wanting to find a reason to fight against this consensus, otherwise, it’s like standing alone in front of a tide.”
“Now I give you a reason to see what he looks like without his fur.”
…
Fu Qian pointed at Song Hang, whose gaze was drifting.
“Of course, this is inherently unfair to him because he hasn’t been trained in this respect.”
“In fact, he lacks the experience of being a ‘hairless monkey’ more than most people.”
“And under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t face a situation beyond his control in his whole life.”
“But that doesn’t matter. Once you realize that all monkeys are much the same once they’ve shed their fur, that’s enough.”
“As you wished, this is your payment.”
“…And what about you?”
After Fu Qian finished speaking, Tan Ying fell into a long silence, only after a while did she look up at Fu Qian.
“You say that everyone is pretty much the same, what about you?”
“Me? I’m different.”
Fu Qian’s gaze was serene, as if looking towards the infinite distance.
“My kind is destined for hell.”
“When it comes to grinding down bones for ashes, shifting from 1000-grit to 500-grit would already count as redemption.”