Wu Pifu silently calculated the time he had left while eating his food.
He had awakened on the Gaia for one hundred fifty-six days, and due to the deeply ingrained experiences in the dream world, he remembered it very clearly.
However, he had not only awakened for these one hundred fifty-six days.
Before that, he had been revived in the shattered solar system.
After being revived, there was a recovery period, followed by personnel sent by the Unified Human Government to talk with him, introduce the situation, and discuss the Maintenance Contract, which added up to about twenty to thirty days.
But during that time, he was in a daze and could not remember the specifics, so he did not know exactly how many days it was.
If he calculated it more seriously, he estimated that he had only about one hundred seventy days, around one hundred eighty days of life left...
Let’s say one hundred seventy days, because such sudden madness and death definitely wouldn’t be a countdown of three hundred sixty-five days before suddenly dying; he might go mad before that.
So, to be more rigorous, he had only about one hundred seventy days of life left.
(Indeed, there were signs before, “during” the weekend, my condition was obviously much more dangerous than the other seniors, and then there was the practice of the Demon Tiger Technique.
Sometimes I would feel an indescribable great terror in the void...)
Wu Pifu's expression grew increasingly grim, but he still tried to eat as much as possible, filling his stomach first and preparing to face any sudden situations in the best state, which was an iron rule in the dream world.
(...
I still have a chance!)
While eating, Wu Pifu kept thinking of ways to save himself.
He had no energy to care whether he was still the real Wu Pifu or not.
Since he possessed all the memories of the persona Wu Pifu and had self-awareness, then he was indeed Wu Pifu himself.
With one hundred seventy days of countdown life left, if it were before appearing in the dream world, there would naturally be no hope; he would definitely be doomed.
According to both parties, whether it was during the Third War or the Fourth War, they had undoubtedly conducted countless experiments and had long proven that future beings like him were destined to die, which proved that technology could not save him.
But the dream world could!
The dream world had supernatural powers that transcended technology, such as his National Martial Arts, and this was merely the power of the baseline reality 0.9 world.
If it were a deeper level of the dream world, this power might be even more astonishing.
This time, he broke through from Ming Jin to An Jin, comprehending the true meaning of the Demon Tiger Technique.
In his consciousness, a bit of spiritual awareness was unceasing, feeling as if his spirit had been reborn.
Although there was still the issue of that void terror, it was no longer something he could not think about.
(Now the proficiency of the Demon Tiger Technique is at an extraordinary level, and the bit of spiritual awareness has grown tenfold.
After that, there are two more levels: Pinnacle and Ultimate Manifestation.
Each level up is a qualitative change for me.
This bit of spiritual awareness continues to expand, capable of suppressing many evil thoughts, demonic thoughts, and miscellaneous thoughts.
The accumulated negativity in that void should also belong to this, which means I must establish at least two Level Two Shelters within the next one hundred seventy days.)
Wu Pifu bit down on a thigh bone, crushing it as if it were tofu, and then he reached for another one.
This scene made Yamada and Xu Shilan's eyebrows twitch.
Sitting beside them, the kidnapped goods... that is, Xu Rongyu laughed heartily and said, “The foreign devils are so ignorant, they don’t recognize our Huaxia divine skills. This is a master-level figure; eating bones like they’re pancakes is nothing. It is said that Master Sun can chew fine iron like wax. Only you foreign devils, relying on external tools, would find it astonishing.”
Wu Pifu couldn’t be bothered to respond.
The other two had no idea who this so-called Master Sun was, so they naturally wouldn’t care.
Wu Pifu continued to eat while pondering.
(Furthermore, the rewards from the Level Two Shelter include a non-limit-breaking attribute enhancement, which proves that there is likely also a limit-breaking enhancement.
If I can further enhance to the highest realm of the Demon Tiger Technique, the Ultimate Manifestation, it wouldn’t be a simple qualitative change.
Perhaps even the negativity from that void could be suppressed.
Moreover, this is just the baseline reality 0.9. If it were the power of a lower baseline reality dream world, perhaps I wouldn’t even need a limit-breaking enhancement to suppress or heal.)
(The only trouble is time; I only have about one hundred seventy days left.
Perhaps in about one hundred days, I will begin to fall into madness.
Before that, I must at least establish two Level Two Shelters to push the Demon Tiger Technique to its limit.)
Having thought this through, the pressure in Wu Pifu's heart slightly eased.
He then asked Xu Rongyu while eating, “You mentioned the Red Lantern Society’s Senior Sister before; are you referring to Lin Heier?”
Xu Rongyu nodded and said, “Exactly, Master Lin Heier. Hehe, you’re quite petty; clearly a master, yet you don’t even treat me to a meal at this time.”
Wu Pifu laughed.
Although Xu Rongyu was dressed like a wealthy young master and came from a bandit background, he still had some chivalry.
Even if his life was in someone else's hands, at least he hadn’t lost face and still had some guts.
Wu Pifu smiled and said, “If you want to eat, then eat.”
Xu Rongyu chuckled, not shying away, and directly tore off a large piece of meat to eat.
At this moment, Xu Shilan suddenly smiled charmingly, her ample bosom shaking.
She laughed and said, “He’s trying to please you.”
Wu Pifu casually replied, “That also requires him to have the guts. Just based on his courage, what’s the harm in letting him eat?”
Xu Rongyu didn’t care at all.
While eating, he mumbled, “Whether it’s to please you or to have guts, my life is in your hands. Why be so stingy, right?” While speaking, he reached for a jar of wine and drank heartily.
Yamada ignored the NPCs in the dream world and put down a chicken bone, saying, “What should we do next? Go buy some buildings?”
Wu Pifu shook his head and said, “Purchasing building-type shelters is the lowest level of shelter. Of course, it cannot be generalized; it depends on the world and time. I haven’t thought about what to do next, but my demands are great, so I won’t buy a building to establish a shelter for now.”
The two didn’t mind.
It was their first time entering the dream world, and they were unfamiliar with everything here.
They only knew that there were various supernatural powers in the dream world, so it was best to listen to the experienced ones.
Xu Rongyu then said, “Are you now... working for the foreign devils?”
Wu Pifu asked while eating and drinking, “What do you mean?”
Xu Rongyu pointed at Yamada and Xu Shilan and said, “Aren’t they foreign devils? And this physique, even foreign devils are rare to see. And this woman, she’s probably from the East, right? With that appearance and figure, I suspect she’s a spy sent on some mission. Yes, that’s what they call spies. The East Asians are not good people.”
Wu Pifu also looked at Xu Shilan.
Her figure was indeed voluptuous but not fat.
It was quite rare on the Huaxia continent in this era.
He didn’t say anything, just continued to eat and drink heartily.
After a while, everyone finished eating and drinking, and the four rested for a moment before settling the bill and leaving.
At this moment, it was leisurely, and there were no signs of danger.
The four were strolling to digest their food.
Yamada stretched her waist and said, “What a good world! There are no sudden appearances of bio-beasts, no nuclear radiation dead zones everywhere. It looks so peaceful; it’s really a bit hard to adapt.”
Xu Shilan also said, “Yeah, no back alleys, no impurities, no mutual attacks from the Thirteen Singular Technology Companies, and no occasional terrorist attacks from the People’s Revolutionary Alliance or various time-space distortions. This world is truly beautiful.”
Xu Rongyu sneered from the side, “That’s natural. Our Huaxia is blessed with outstanding people and is located in the center of this world. You barbarians only live in polluted lands, which is why you come to invade us.”
Wu Pifu listened to the three of them, his mouth twitching.
This absurd conversation somehow connected logically, which was truly bizarre.
“What’s next?” Yamada naturally wouldn’t care about Xu Rongyu.
She still regarded this dream world as a virtual reality dream network and treated it as NPCs, so she directly asked Wu Pifu.
Wu Pifu looked around and said, “There’s nothing important. We can return through the mainframe in five days, and five days is the maximum limit. Before that, unless we face each other, it’s hard for the nightmares to discover us, so these five days are considered a safe period.”
Xu Shilan asked, “How did you and the seniors enter the dream world before?”
Wu Pifu recalled, “On the first day, find ways to make money, eat, and find accommodation. On the second day, start investigating various information about this world and confirm the discrepancies between this world and the real world. By the fifth day, we basically prepare to return, not planning to take risks unless there’s a rare opportunity. Only then would we establish a shelter, and in the meantime, we should try to avoid contact with places similar to urban legends or haunted locations to minimize encounters with nightmares.”
Originally, Yamada and Xu Shilan were eager to explore this world, but after hearing this, they gradually extinguished that idea.
At least until they confirmed what nightmares truly were, they were not prepared to take risks.
Xu Rongyu suddenly spoke, “I say, Master, you’re really petty. Let the two foreign devils enjoy our Huaxia’s good things. Although Xuanhua Prefecture is not as good as the capital, there are still many good places. The Xiujin Courtyard ahead can listen to music, hear stories, and enjoy tea and fruits, all sorts of entertainment. I guarantee these foreign devils have never seen such a good place.”
Listening to music is one thing; who can understand the singing? But listening to stories is nice, and one can also drink tea and eat snacks.
Wu Pifu was about to nod when suddenly, a blood-red scene flashed before his eyes.
This blood-red color passed in an instant, but Wu Pifu stood up abruptly, his entire body’s qi and blood surging wildly.
The other three immediately stopped, and although they didn’t know what had happened, they could feel Wu Pifu’s imposing aura rising in that instant.
Xu Rongyu understood that this was the state of a martial artist preparing for battle, while Yamada and Xu Shilan, though not versed in martial arts, knew this was a form of vigilance.
However, none of the three knew what was happening; everything around them was peaceful, and the passersby were all villagers and townsfolk.
Under the bright daylight, there was nothing unusual.
But at this moment, in Wu Pifu’s eyes, the scene was entirely different.
The surrounding crowd had all turned into various paper figures!
Moreover, they were the kind of paper figures used in funerary rites, red ones were red, white ones were white, with dull features.
Although they were moving, their heads and eyes were all fixed on the four of them.
Even the paper figures with their backs turned twisted their heads to look at the four.
At that moment, a woman-shaped paper figure was passing by with a girl-shaped paper figure.
Xu Rongyu even stepped aside a bit.
Wu Pifu immediately pulled Xu Rongyu, who was about to touch the paper figures, and simultaneously pulled Yamada and Xu Shilan away, keeping a distance from the two paper figures.
As soon as they touched Wu Pifu, the world in the three’s eyes simultaneously changed dramatically, and they all stiffened, standing still without daring to move.
Around them, in the city...
All life...
Was made of paper!
All were watching them!!!
(End of Chapter)