Fu Zhu's objective was crystal clear. He flew directly towards the largest dreamscape. Calderon Chadwick should be trapped within it, and he needed to find his assistant first. Otherwise, he'd be stuck building the old version of the World Devourer, which would be a waste of both materials and time.
After plunging into the massive dreamscape, Fu Zhu was greeted by a peaceful and serene scene. The streets were filled with smiling tourists, none of whom had any idea they were in a dream within a dream.
However, Fu Zhu had no time to worry about them now. He opened his minimap, zoomed it out to its maximum extent, and patiently began searching for Chadwick's marker.
After some time, he finally located Chadwick, who was hiding in a remote residence, among a dense cluster of markers. Silver Wolf was with him, evidently still protecting him as per Fu Zhu's previous request.
Once he had their location, Fu Zhu flew over. He only dispelled Observer Mode when he reached the door, then stepped forward and knocked.
A moment later, the sound of movement came from inside. A yawning Silver Wolf opened the door. Seeing Fu Zhu standing there, she asked with some surprise, "What are you doing here?"
"Where's Chadwick?"
"Inside. But his mental state is a bit unstable today. He keeps muttering that something is wrong with this world and even tried to get me to contact you, but I couldn't get through."
"Hmm?"
Silver Wolf's words surprised Fu Zhu. Could Chadwick have run into some kind of problem?
Fu Zhu quickly slipped into the room, and Silver Wolf followed, locking the door behind them.
As soon as he was inside, Fu Zhu called out, "Dr. Chadwick."
Hearing his voice, Chadwick immediately emerged from a side guest room. His eyes lit up the moment he saw Fu Zhu. He rushed over and grabbed Fu Zhu's arms. "Sir, this world is not right! It's as if it's been tampered with!"
Fu Zhu carefully examined Chadwick's status bar, confirming that there were no strange new DEBUFFS. Only then did he relax. He then realized what Chadwick's words meant and truthfully explained the current situation to him and Silver Wolf.
"Yes, your feeling is correct. That head of the Oak Family, Sunday, has reconstructed a dream called the Dream of the Great One, causing everyone in the Sweetdream to fall into a second layer of the dream."
---o---
"So it is a second dream layer? No wonder I noticed the hands on the clock jumping forward when I was doing research all night..."
After getting confirmation from Fu Zhu, a look of satisfaction spread across Chadwick's face, as if he had just solved a great puzzle. But he quickly realized something else. Since Fu Zhu had suddenly appeared here, and was clearly looking for him, it meant that the research Fu Zhu had commissioned was about to be put to use.
"Sir, your sudden visit... could it be that you intend to use the World Devourer to... change this world?"
Fu Zhu snapped his fingers. "You got it. Someone wants to trap us to die in this second dream layer, so I feel it's necessary to remind him that some people can't be trapped. Doctor, how's the research coming along?"
Although Chadwick had told him he'd already figured out the optimal design for the World Devourer before they fell into the second dream, Fu Zhu was still a bit worried that the Dream of the Great One might have hindered his research progress.
But in the next second, Chadwick confidently patted his chest, dispelling Fu Zhu's worries.
"You need not worry, sir. I have spent most of my time trying to comprehend the brand-new technology you brought. The optimal solution for the World Devourer was actually the easiest part. I have completely deciphered it!"
"That's great. Doctor, are you interested in creating a billion points of panic with me?"
Chadwick smiled like an old butler and performed a formal bow. "I would be delighted to accompany you."
Fu Zhu nodded and then turned to Silver Wolf. "And you?"
Silver Wolf thought for a moment before shaking her head. "Forget it, I'll just keep playing my game. I don't have much of a role in Penacony anyway. I'm just a background tool."
Fu Zhu was left speechless by her response. "I'm about to destroy the world, and you're still going to sit in here and play games? Besides, this Dream of the Great One is an illusion. What's the point of grinding so hard in a game here? Once the dream is shattered, your progress will just be reset, won't it?"
Hearing this, Silver Wolf, who was just about to head back to her room to play, froze in her tracks. Then, she bolted.
"You're right! I'm going to go pull all the gacha currency I've been hoarding! Since it's getting rolled back anyway, I might as well have some fun with it!"
Fu Zhu shook his head, exasperated. He wouldn't bother with Silver Wolf anymore. When the Dream of the Great One was destroyed, she wouldn't come to any harm; at worst, she'd just be jolted awake from the dream.
"Let's go, Doctor."
"Yes, sir."
Fu Zhu led Chadwick all the way to the edge of the Dream of the Great One. This dream was constructed using the Sweetdream as a blueprint, and its size was identical to the original.
---o---
"Doctor, show me what the optimal solution looks like. You direct, I'll build."
"Very well, sir."
Fu Zhu took out all the blocks he had prepared in advance and, following Chadwick's instructions, began placing them one by one. Half a system hour later, a fifty-meter-long, complex World Devourer had been constructed.
Fu Zhu had Chadwick move back a little, then immediately activated the machine. As the various pistons on the machine began to operate, a massive amount of TNT was duplicated and ejected. This was followed by a series of deafening explosions, and the ground was annihilated at an incredible speed.
In just a short while, the ground beneath the World Devourer was gone, leaving only a large hole that revealed the Sea of Memoria Substance supporting the dream.
After Fu Zhu temporarily shut down the machine, Chadwick walked over, covering his ears. He shouted, "Sir, is this sufficient? If not, I can try to make some more improvements!"
Fu Zhu did a quick mental calculation. The current efficiency was more than enough. Next, he just needed to scale up the World Devourer. As long as it was big enough, destroying the entire Dream of the Great One within one or two system hours would be no problem at all.
"This will do for now. Doctor, I'll send you to a safe place first."
He was about to destroy this entire world, and Chadwick was just a memory-construct. Fu Zhu couldn't guarantee that he would survive the destruction of the Sweetdream. He couldn't let the helper he had worked so hard to acquire just "die" here like this.
Chadwick, however, simply smiled and shook his head. "It's alright, sir. I died long ago. I am unable to leave the Sweetdream. To be able to witness the charm of redstone technology before I disappear completely... I am already very content. Sir, thank you for letting me 'live' again as a scholar."
Chadwick's sudden, final-words-like speech made Fu Zhu roll his eyes.
"Doctor, I went through all this trouble to save you, not so you could say some cool-sounding lines and then calmly walk to your death. I promised you 'freedom,' so I certainly won't let you 'die' just like that."
Hearing this, Chadwick was deeply moved, but he knew his own condition all too well. He sighed weakly.
"Sir, I appreciate your kind intentions, but I am already dead. Even if you are an Envoy of Finality, you can't possibly resurrect someone, can you?"
"An Envoy of Finality might not be able to do it..."
Fu Zhu's eyes darted around for a moment as an idea quickly formed in his mind. The corners of his mouth curled into a smile.
"But that doesn't mean Steve can't."