HISD Chapter 48 Two Dreams, One Reality
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Yi Meng recalled a slogan he had seen earlier, twitching the corner of his mouth.
Whether it was the best of times, he didn't know. But there was no disagreement that it was certainly the worst.
Creatures that once existed only in horror, sci-fi, or fantasy films—strange, gigantic, high-dimensional, supernatural—were continuously appearing in reality.
Most citizens of the Federation remained unaware of these potential threats. Sooner or later, the illusion of world peace would be completely torn apart.
In Yi Meng's eyes, that day might even come… tomorrow.
After reviewing numerous intrusion files, Yi Meng quickly adjusted his emotions.
Two things concerned him.
First, the database did not yet contain any A-class or higher intrusion files.
Was it due to insufficient permissions in the supernatural department, or were there truly no A-class or higher intrusions?
Yi Meng thought of the Chosen Ones. By intrusion classification, they could easily be ranked S or SSS.
Second, seeing his clearly Doomsday-like exoskeleton, he knew he had already been classified as an intrusive entity.
Yet many items in his file remained "temporary" or "undecided."
So why had the supernatural department and the Star Dragon Federation not decided how to handle him?
"There's only one possibility," Yi Meng muttered.
The supernatural department was currently dealing with a bigger incident, putting a decision on him on hold.
Yi Meng nodded silently, this seemed very likely.
"Wait until tomorrow. Hopefully, you'll be smart about it."
Yi Meng sat calmly on the hospital bed.
He hadn't harmed anyone and had even prevented a potential X-class event.
He hoped the Federation would handle him gently, allowing communication and cooperation for mutual benefit.
Otherwise, he would have no choice but to break ties with the Federation and leave the supernatural department.
That would also mean becoming an enemy of the real world, walking a path where everyone would oppose him, like the Doomsday AI.
"Not too bad."
Perhaps influenced by Doomsday's will, Yi Meng smiled, red light faintly flickering in his eyes.
…
Yi Meng lay back on the bed but did not enter a dream. Instead, he watched as his left arm slowly became covered with the gray-white exoskeleton.
In one day, his left arm would be fully encased in the Doomsday exoskeleton.
In less than a week, his real-world body would transform into Doomsday.
Time was short, and Yi Meng's mind worked like a supercomputer, calculating rapidly.
How could he prevent reality from spiraling out of control after being assimilated as Doomsday?
He quickly considered three methods.
First, enter the DC universe dream.
If he could fully control his Doomsday avatar in the dream, why worry about controlling it in reality?
This was the simplest and most effective method, yet also the riskiest. If he lost control in the dream, it would be catastrophic.
Second, enter the Marvel universe dream.
As an AI avatar, his enhanced consciousness helped resist Doomsday's destructive instincts.
If he could gain more AI traits, he might rationally suppress his destructive desires.
The problem: the Doomsday avatar constantly assimilated his self.
He was certain that sleeping now would lead him to the DC universe where the Doomsday avatar resided, not the Marvel universe where the AI avatar was.
Third, find something in the real world to suppress or control the destructive desire.
Many cinematic and fictional creations had already invaded reality. Perhaps there was something in his reality that could restrain him.
Dream Tifa could provide some assistance, for example.
…
Yi Meng carefully considered each method and its effectiveness.
Three methods corresponded to three different copies:
The DC dream copy, the Marvel dream copy, and the real-world copy. Each had different risks and rewards.
Time was running out.
"Don't enter a dream yet. Wait until tomorrow and see how the Federation views me."
Yi Meng decided to lie back on the hospital bed, eyes closed, pretending to sleep but actually resting.
Only a few hours remained until dawn.
…
At six in the morning, the sky was dimly brightening.
A black vehicle stopped in front of the supernatural department building.
A middle-aged detective with dark circles around his eyes got out, followed by several senior agents equally exhausted from an all-night watch.
"Sir!"
"Captain!"
A young female agent and several other on-duty agents hurried forward.
They knew the middle-aged detective had been taken by higher-ups for investigation yesterday afternoon.
"I'm fine. Just had a few night meetings…"
The detective waved it off, but fatigue and seriousness showed on his square face.
"Last night, did the high school containment subject Yi Meng show any abnormalities?"
The detective asked, staring at the young female agent.
She shivered and shook her head. "I checked him this morning. Nothing abnormal."
"Show me!"
The detective waved his hand and strode into the building without waiting for a response.
He led the agents to the top-level isolation chamber. Through one-way glass, they saw the silver-haired boy still asleep, his left arm partially encased in exoskeleton.
"What happened?"
The young female agent swallowed nervously, staring at the terrifyingly serious detective.
The detective watched the boy for a long moment before sighing. "The Guardian Dragon Maiden… something went wrong."
"What?!"
Except for a few senior agents who already knew, others were shocked as if the sky had fallen.
The young female agent covered her mouth. "Impossible… that's Dragon Maiden…"
"The fact remains."
The detective shook his head. "Yesterday afternoon, headquarters reported Dragon Maiden experienced an anomaly."
"Yesterday afternoon?"
The young agent remembered clearly—Dragon Maiden had appeared to inspect containment subjects and then suddenly disappeared.
"That's why I was asked to assist with the investigation and attend meetings," the detective said gravely.
Dragon Maiden?
Through the surveillance feed, Yi Meng, pretending to sleep, realized Dragon Maiden had indeed come yesterday.
So it hadn't been a dream.
"The final conclusion: the anomaly may have been caused by overuse of her powers," the detective said. "Regardless, all items she inspected yesterday must be transported to Kunlun in Tianlong Autonomous Prefecture for further research."
"Including him?"
The young agent instinctively looked at the high school boy in the isolation chamber.
The detective's face darkened. "Because of him, I held two additional high-level meetings yesterday."
"A lieutenant general from the Daqin Autonomous Prefecture even endorsed him."
"And the first industrial company of Tianhe City—Dream Century—announced a cross-era technology, claiming him as the genius inventor."
Lieutenant general backing, genius inventor?
"How is that possible?" the young agent was dumbfounded. "Wasn't he just a regular high school student?"
"Regular?" The detective shook his head, a strange smile. "The federal exam results were released yesterday. Take a look."
The young agent opened her phone to the top trending news and froze.
Star Dragon Federation, Year 0200 global exam results:
First, 800 points (perfect), Tianhe City Yi Meng
Second, 798 points, Tianhe City Dream Tifa
Third, 797 points, Taihe City Yagami Light
…
"Perfect score?"
Her eyes widened. No perfect scores in years, yet now their city had one—
And he was under containment.
She finally understood why the detective held extra meetings.
The lieutenant general backing, genius inventor title, and top scorer status focused all eyes on Yi Meng.
If treated as a containment subject, it could expose the invasion incidents to the world.
"What will headquarters do?" she asked with hope.
The detective sighed. "A promising talent who could contribute greatly to the Federation… but he's already corrupted by the intrusion. We have no choice."
"Contain, imprison, and transfer him to Kunlun Base."
"Such a pity."
Many agents showed regret.
They had no idea that Yi Meng himself quietly listened to all this.
"This works too."
Yi Meng remained calm, having made his final decision at this moment.
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