"..."
The moment Wende entered Himeko's dream, he was greeted by a scene comparable to a tragedy of the century. A group of "imposters," after drinking Himeko's coffee, had all reverted to their original forms without exception. Under Himeko's surprised little expression, they began to collapse to the floor, wailing in agony as the sound of corrosion echoed from their bodies...
It seemed that whether in reality or in a dream, Himeko's "coffee curse" was always in effect... And judging by the惨烈 circumstances, had the Himeko's coffee in this dream been buffed from a T1 to a T0 tier? The original hard CC had been upgraded to true damage, had it?
"What's going on? These people... aren't they everyone?"
Watching the imposters reveal their true forms, Himeko remained elegantly seated on her high stool, her index finger resting lightly on her chin as she pondered the situation.
"It seems I'm dreaming? No wonder they all suddenly developed good taste. So it was all fake..."
Himeko shook her head with great regret. She really wished everyone could savor her coffee just like they had a moment ago~ But alas, besides Jingliu, there probably wasn't a single kindred spirit for her on the entire train...
Seeing Himeko's melancholic expression, Wende shook his head helplessly. If that were really the case, the entire Express would probably suffer the same fate as that group of annihilated imposters...
Come to think of it, the one thing capable of destroying the Express had been on the train all along! Under the blessing of Himeko's coffee, even a Stellaron was just a small fry!
Just as Himeko was lamenting how hard it was to find a kindred spirit, the corner of her eye suddenly caught a familiar figure. She looked up to see Wende standing to the side, shaking his head with an appreciative look, lost in thought.
"Wende? What are you doing here?"
Tilting her head, Himeko looked at Wende, who had suddenly appeared before her, with a puzzled expression.
"? Himeko, you can see me?"
Wende looked at Himeko with some surprise, his face a mask of disbelief.
"What are you talking about? Of course I can see you."
Seeing the astonishment on Wende's face, Himeko couldn't help but start to ponder as well.
"Since you can see me, that's for the best."
Wende recalled the "communication techniques" he had to use on the trio, his expression like someone looking back on a bitter past.
"It's like this..."
Wende explained the situation regarding the virtual space, omitting the part about the machine's question, and told Himeko everything.
Himeko's golden eyes were filled with contemplation. From Wende's words, she could roughly determine that the moment they entered the Legendary Tower, they had all been pulled into an illusion. Furthermore, these illusions were not interconnected. Wende was using his unique power to enter their dreams and break them out.
Although it seemed Wende hadn't figured out why her dream was different, that wasn't important now. What mattered was getting out of here. March and the others who had already woken up were probably in the middle of a difficult battle. She couldn't just sit idly by in a dream!
"Wende, I'm heading out first. Do your best to rescue everyone!"
Under Wende's guidance, Himeko found the fissure. She turned around and spoke to Wende with a serious expression.
"Don't worry, Sister Himeko. I will."
Wende nodded solemnly. He definitely would.
"Mm."
Looking at the earnest Wende, Himeko nodded with reassurance before reaching out and touching the fissure.
---o---
"..."
Looking at the familiar empty space, Wende couldn't help but sigh in relief. He hadn't expected Himeko's rescue to go so smoothly. Now, he just needed to break Tingyun and Jingliu out of their dreams...
He gazed at the deeply sleeping Tingyun. The traces of erosion on her body were on par with March's at the very beginning. Seeing her brows tightly furrowed, Wende reached out his hand, wanting to smooth out that crease, and then entered Tingyun's dream.
---o---
"No... Don't, this is my body!"
The white-haired, golden-eyed Tingyun reached out toward the brown-haired, green-eyed version of herself, shouting in defiance.
Right now, she felt as if she had reverted to that weak consciousness that could only struggle to survive in the sea of her own mind. Facing the mountain-like Lord Ravager, she was utterly incapable of resisting in the slightest...
A suffocating despair once again washed over her heart. But this time, would that figure appear in her sight again?
"Give up the struggle. This beautiful body of yours is mine now. As for you... I will let you witness with your own eyes... the destruction of the Xianzhou Luofu at your own hands!"
"What? Are you looking forward to it? Hahahaha!"
"Phantylia" laughed wildly, completely dismissing the weak Tingyun before her.
"Sigh..."
A familiar sigh sounded from behind Tingyun. Wende, who was now suddenly able to reveal his form, walked slowly in front of Tingyun, just as he had before.
"Don't be afraid. I'm here."
"Wende... Benefactor..."
Tingyun stared at the broad, reassuring back before her, her hands unconsciously clenching together. This scene, this feeling... was just like before...
"I'm confident I can beat the real Phantylia now, let alone a fake like you!"
Wende brought his index and middle fingers together. Swords formed from pure Yang energy materialized from all directions, piercing toward the imposter Phantylia, who had at some point taken on the form of the Ambrosial Arbor!
"How is this possible! This is the power of a Lord Ravager! How could it be defeated so easily!!"
Wounded by the absolute Yang energy, the imposter, its true form now exposed, looked at the calm and collected Wende with disbelief. Tingyun stood quietly behind him, her eyes filled with a sense of security and happiness.
"Oh? You have consciousness?"
Wende raised his eyebrows in surprise. This imposter seemed to be of a higher grade than the ones he had encountered before.
"Hahahaha! You cannot stop us! Punklorde will eventually meet its destruction!"
The imposter didn't answer Wende's question, instead laughing maniacally before being annihilated by the dense barrage of Yang swords, not even leaving ash behind.
"Are you alright?"
Gently taking Tingyun's hand, Wende spoke to her softly.
"Benefactor... with you here, how could I not be alright...? If you hadn't come to my aid once again, I'm afraid I would have had to experience that past despair all over again in this illusion."
Recalling the past, Tingyun lowered her eyes, a look of lingering fear on her face. But upon seeing Wende again, a genuine smile gradually blossomed.
That's right. With him here, that kind of thing will never happen again... ever...