Bai Yuze felt as if he was in a void, and that strange yet familiar feeling assailed him once again.
"Am I having another nightmare? Or did I die suddenly?"
Bai Yuze's voice echoed around him; he was all alone in this space.
"Tsk! How troublesome! By the way, isn't this instance too difficult? Is it a bit much to throw me into high intensity right after arriving?"
This time, Bai Yuze's complaints received a response.
Clang! Clang!
"What's that noise?"
Bai Yuze tried to focus all his attention on the source of the sound.
"It seems someone is knocking on the door. Could it be that the world outside the dream is under attack?"
Bai Yuze believed something was happening outside because he had previously been aware of events outside his dreams while dreaming. For example, during Chinese New Year, he was sleeping and dreamt he was receiving red envelopes, only for someone outside to light a firecracker.
With a bang, all the red envelopes in his dream exploded, and at that moment, he realized he was dreaming and then woke up.
"Logically, I clearly realized I was in a dream, so why didn't I wake up?"
Suddenly! Bai Yuze felt the world spin, and the scene before him changed. Now, a mature and beautiful woman stood before him, holding a girl in her arms. The girl was incredibly cute, having inherited all of her mother's excellent genes.
"You... you are... Yukino?!"
Bai Yuze rubbed his eyes in disbelief. The woman before him was indeed Yukino, just Yukino with the added charm of a married woman.
Yukino smiled at Bai Yuze.
"Ze, you're back."
"Daddy! Welcome home!"
Bai Yuze was a bit stunned, feeling utterly bewildered. Where had this dream taken him? Had he slept straight to the ending?
He hadn't even finished his instance yet! The Town-Suppression Strange Objects hadn't been collected! Yamauchi Haruki was still asleep!
As if sensing Bai Yuze's change in mood, a door appeared behind him. Bai Yuze turned around, and the moment he saw the door, he knew he had found his way back.
He had just taken a step when his hand was grabbed.
"Ze, where are you going?"
"Uh... my stomach hurts, I need to go relieve myself."
"But... the restroom is over there."
Bai Yuze was speechless, and Yukino silently released his hand.
"Daddy, are you going to find those aunties? But... today is my birthday! You promised me!"
The little girl's voice was slightly tearful, and Yukino's face had completely darkened.
"Heh, are you going to find those vixen again? For your unrealistic harem fantasy, are you abandoning your home?!"
"Waaah! Daddy, don't go!"
Yukino's accusations and the little girl's cries gave Bai Yuze a headache; his brain was almost shutting down.
"In that case, go to hell and fulfill your ridiculous dreams!"
Yukino pulled out a knife from somewhere and plunged it directly into Bai Yuze's chest. The incredibly real pain stimulated every nerve cell in Bai Yuze's body.
"This... this is a bit like the 'hatchet ending' in an anime..."
At this moment, the door behind Bai Yuze erupted with a powerful suction, pulling him in. As his consciousness blurred, Bai Yuze understood Yukino's lip-reading.
[You will return here again, to embrace your destiny]
"Xiao Ze! Xiao Ze! Xiao Ze, are you alright?"
At Tuanzi's repeated calls, Bai Yuze woke up, covered in sweat.
"What happened just now?"
"You still have the nerve to ask! You scared me so much! First, you were whimpering, then you curled up, your forehead covered in sweat, and no matter how much Xiao Xue and I called you, you wouldn't wake up."
"Yukino?! Where is she now?"
Bai Yuze asked with a panicked expression, but a voice came from behind him, almost scaring him to death.
"I'm right here. Do you need me for something?"
Bai Yuze's body stiffened, Bai Yuze's body went limp, Bai Yuze fainted.
-----
"Really, Xiao Xue, why did you scare him from behind for no reason? Look how scared Xiao Ze is."
"Who knew he wasn't afraid of strange monsters, but he's afraid of someone standing behind him and talking."
Yukino's expression was a bit amused. Seeing Bai Yuze faint from her scare, she felt some guilt, but not much.
"It's not Yukinoshita's fault... it's my nightmare."
Hearing Bai Yuze defend her, Yukino pressed her face even closer to his.
"Oh? A nightmare? Yukinoshita? When did you become so polite? Did you do something to offend me in your dream?"
"No... no, I didn't..."
Bai Yuze nervously turned his head away. Having a harem in a dream and then getting chopped up by a hatchet... that's too terrifying!
"Turn your head, look into my eyes! Answer me! Look in my eyes!"
"Did you specifically add English to prevent me from understanding? Hajiyuki, you!".
Bang!
Now it was Yukino's turn to hit Bai Yuze on the head.
"Don't change the subject. Confess honestly. Leniency for confession, severity for resistance."
Seeing Yukino's confident expression, Bai Yuze couldn't help but recall the feeling of being chopped by a hatchet just now, so he bowed and apologized.
"I'm truly sorry. I did something irreparable to you in my dream, so I ask for your forgiveness in reality."
"Mm! Good! Daring to admit it. I won't hold it against you. After all, I'm just that cute, and it's unavoidable that I become the ideal dream figure for certain ape-like creatures with fantasy romances."
Yukino let out a chuckle. She had finally gained an advantage over Bai Yuze. Now, Yukinoshita Yukino was as happy as a Yukinoshita Nyan-no.
"Uh... honestly, I don't know why I had such an absurd dream. After all, in reality, Tuanzi is my ideal type, so this dream is quite perplexing. You say you want personality, you have no personality; you want a figure, you have no..."
Whoosh! Crack!
A cold light flashed, and Bai Yuze swallowed. If he hadn't dodged in time, he would have been split open by a kitchen knife.
"Heh! Mr. Ape-man, whose head is filled with only vulgar and dirty thoughts, could I please ask you to go die? You're a bit in the way alive. I imagine only insects would like a creature like you, right? It's hard to imagine how much worry your parents must have gone through for you to grow up like this."
"Uh... I don't have parents. I grew up in an orphanage."
Yukino: ...
One sentence ended the game! Bai Yuze wasn't lying. In this world, he truly had no parents, as he was a transmigator. Where would he get parents?
Yukino said nothing, merely taking Tuanzi's hand and saying,
"Let's go to the next destination."