"Returning here again, it really feels wonderful~"
Standing at the entrance of Clock Studios Theme Park, Pei Guang felt a bit emotional looking at the park's gate.
Even though he had just come here with Firefly yesterday, after his previous conversation with her, he carefully thought about it and realized that "yesterday" felt like a long time ago.
As expected of the Penacony: even if only one day passes in the real world, it can give tourists an experience unimaginable in reality.
If it weren't for the current mission, he would really want to play here for a while longer.
As for how long he had actually played? Pei Guang's system didn't calculate it either; after all, time in the Dreamscape is stopped, and the system's time calculation is based on standard system time, so he could only go by feeling.
"Yeah, it was clearly just a day ago, yet it feels like so much time has passed in the dream. I really hope we have the chance to watch a movie together again."
Firefly began to look forward to the scene of them watching a movie together once more.
They had only just met back then, and she had essentially been dragged around by Pei Guang to have fun. Thinking back, although she was happy at the time, her feelings were definitely not as strong as they were now.
Pei Guang: "Alright~ I accept your quest. Once this phase of the mission is over, I'll complete your quest and take you to the movies. When that time comes, we'll go to the Luofu first, then Belobog. Although Herta Space Station doesn't have movies, the Simulated Universe there is really fun."
"Mm-hmm~ I'll listen to you." Firefly nodded with a smile.
Just as the two were farming favorability with each other, a voice interrupted their conversation.
"You've finally arrived; I've been waiting for quite a while~"
At the park entrance, Aventurine walked over while toying with a chip. Seeing only Pei Guang and Firefly, he asked curiously: "Hmm? Just the two of you?"
Pei Guang: "They'll be here in a bit. Should we wait for everyone to arrive before explaining the information regarding death to you, or what?"
Aventurine: "I originally wanted them to be witnesses, but it doesn't matter. Whether they are present or not doesn't affect the task between you and me. Please tell me all the information regarding death~"
Aventurine had already prepared the reward for Pei Guang, but the reward for this task wasn't a physical item, but a piece of intelligence.
However, the prerequisite for this intelligence to serve as a reward was that his guess was correct. Only with this as a premise could his subsequent goals be fully achieved.
Pei Guang: "It's actually very simple. Death exists. Dying in this Dreamscape will cause one to dive into a deeper Dreamscape, but dying again in the deeper Dreamscape might lead to true death. Besides that, there are other means that can cause someone to die directly in this layer of the Dreamscape."
Aventurine: "Is that so? It seems the intelligence obtained earlier was correct. The impossible thing in the Dreamscape isn't death, but slumber? Why does life slumber..."
Hearing Aventurine recite the code left by the Watchmaker, Firefly instantly became alert. However, before she could start analyzing, Pei Guang started to retort.
"Why slumber? Because they want to sleep, duh. But I also want to make a complaint! Who says one can't slumber in a dream?"
Aventurine: "Huh?"
Pei Guang took out his coffee and handed it to Aventurine: "Here, drink a cup, and you can experience slumber in the Dreamscape."
Looking at the coffee Pei Guang handed over, Aventurine fell silent.
This coffee wouldn't just cause slumber: it would send one directly to face Nihility!
Aventurine: "No need."
Pei Guang put away the coffee and analyzed as well: "If you ask me! The impossible thing in a dream isn't slumber either, but what happens after slumber, for example, dreaming."
Aventurine wanted to say something else, but Firefly asked in confusion from the side: "The impossible thing is dreaming? But we... Wait, I understand."
Firefly instantly understood the meaning of Pei Guang's words.
She looked at the entirety of Penacony and muttered to herself: "So that's it. That is indeed the impossible thing in Penacony..."
Pei Guang nodded: "It seems you understand. The Dream world makes everyone dream the same dream in the same area. Everyone's actions become part of another person's dream. It looks like everyone is dreaming, but in reality, no one is dreaming.
My coffee can forcibly put people into a sleeping state. I don't know if others dream, but when we tried it, we confirmed that those ten minutes are absolute slumber, without any dreams. From this, we can judge that falling asleep within a dream is not an impossible event.
And in Penacony, only one thing is impossible, and that is to dream a dream that belongs completely to oneself. Because this place is already a dreamscape, and we have already slumbered and are dreaming the same dream. Here, we cannot dream our own dreams. No matter how much we sleep, we cannot dream a dream that belongs to us.
Wait a minute..."
Thinking of this layer, Pei Guang started connecting what he had seen and heard in Penacony, and began chatting with Firefly using the team voice chat.
"So that's it... What makes Penacony run like this isn't the Harmony at all; it's actually the Order."
"Huh?"
Pei Guang's sudden statement left Firefly dumbfounded: "Wait a moment, why... is it Order?"
Pei Guang: "Tsk, how should I explain it? I've played mini-games recording Aeons before. In those mini-games, I obtained data regarding Aeons. I wouldn't dare say I understand them extremely well, but I still know some of the settings.
Death isn't impossible in the dream, but the Family claims one cannot die in the dream. Add to that the dissonance within Harmony, and considering the known information that Harmony has only ever assimilated Order, then the dissonance that appeared is very likely Order.
If we deduce based on this clue... what I guessed before might be right. Are we really fighting the Order Aeon or an Emanator this time? Or at the very least, an Emanator of Harmony influenced by Order? Exciting~"
Pei Guang's analysis made Firefly gasp.
She didn't quite understand the first part, but she understood the last part: fight an Emanator or even an Aeon? Pei Guang really dared to think big.
Firefly: "Let's not talk about... Aeons for now. If an Emanator appears, can we beat them?"
Pei Guang nodded as a matter of course: "We can't beat them, but isn't there a scripted kill? Look, plot-wise, we have an Emanator of Preservation and an Emanator of Nihility, plus the IPC's assistance, and I have an Emanator of the Hunt on my side.
How can we lose! I repeat: how can we lose! No, wait, I can't jinx it like that. What if a restriction appears that forcibly prevents these Emanators from fighting? I can't get cocky right now."
Pei Guang originally wanted to gloat a bit, but he suddenly remembered that while the enemy could be defeated by a scripted event, the power on his side could also be removed by the plot for various reasons.
Before facing the final boss, he couldn't get cocky yet. He had to find a way to bring more power to meet the final boss.
However, Pei Guang was also thinking, who would the final boss be? Sunday? The other Family Heads? Or... the Dreammaster?
Who cares, whoever comes, he'll just hack them down.
Now Pei Guang felt the plot was getting smoother. He started guessing based on existing intel and continued analyzing with Firefly using the team voice chat.
"I guess, why did the Watchmaker send invitations to find his Legacy? Is it because he hopes we break the Order's blockade on the Dreamscape, letting everyone in Penacony have the right to dream?
You have to know that in Penacony, there are special existences that birthed self-awareness, and people who have lived in the dream since birth. For these people... Penacony deprived them of the right to dream their own dreams. And the Watchmaker... us finding the Watchmaker's Legacy is to let everyone regain this right?
For example~ let all life in Penacony possess the right to dream their own dreams! Hiss, just thinking about this plot gets me pumped! I'm looking forward to the future plot even more now.
As for the final enemy, I guess the Watchmaker's 'Legacy' is definitely the key to facing that enemy. According to plot logic, the Watchmaker probably wouldn't think he could invite Emanators to help, so his actions should be based on a baseline."
Pei Guang got excited. Although the above content was just a guess, precisely because it was a guess, he was curious if the upcoming plot would be like this.
The only pity was that this was his first playthrough. To know if the plot matched his guess, he had to explore.
Firefly: "Let... everyone have the right to dream their own dreams..."
Pei Guang: "Just guessing~ just guessing, might not be true. But if we want to prove if the guess is true, let's head to the deepest part of Penacony to see. The secret regarding Penacony is definitely hidden there."