Dream Guide

Aoki didn't expect to get a real answer from Su Huilan. The question had been in his mind for so many years. In fact, he couldn't remember exactly how many years had passed, or even when he started living in Liuying Lane.

He once chatted with the neighbors in Liuying Lane. The neighbors said that when he first came to Liuying Lane, he stood under an old willow tree dressed like this, with a bird biting on the top of his head. At first, everyone thought he was filming an advertisement or photo shoot there. Because Liuying Lane is an old street, people often come to take photos, and even film crews have come to film. So the neighbors didn't take it seriously at the time. Later, they discovered that there were no photographers or cameras nearby, and they began to wonder if the man was sick.

Neighbors said that he stood under the willow tree for a day and a night, and when they saw him again later, he was living in the flowery bar.

Aoki also asked Bi Shenghua how he came to the bar. Every time he asked this question, Bishenghua would touch his forehead and ask worriedly whether he had a fever after drinking too much, and was he okay with his brain?

He didn't quite remember the dilemma of standing under the big willow tree for a day and a night.

That willow tree is very old. It is said that it was the first willow tree planted in Liuying Lane. The other willow trees were planted with paper strips cut from this tree. Every spring, the old willow tree hangs down many graceful green branches, covering its dry and crooked trunk, to announce to the world that its vitality is still strong.

Aoki has no memory, but he can't find the memory before that. At least what happened later is still very clear, but he just can't dream. But he always felt that it was not that he had no memory, but that there was something wrong with his brain. He would get a headache every time he recalled it, as if he was wearing a tight band, and he would be recited every time he recalled it.

Su Huilan looked at Qingmu who was in a daze and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Aoki said: "Nothing."

Su Huilan smiled and said nothing.

Subconscious thinking cannot be concealed. If you are an ordinary person, whatever you think is equivalent to mobilizing memory, and it will be shown in dreams. But Aoki can't even dream, so of course he can't know what he's thinking. He doesn't even need to use mental power to hide and shield his thoughts.

"Get out." Aoki said.

Su Huilan nodded: "It's time to go out."

Coming out of Su Huilan's dream, they returned to the hall again.

He found that when Su Huilan exited the dream, there were no signs or feelings of dream collapse that ordinary people would have. He didn't know if it was because she had special skills in mental control or because there was something special about this game.

The two of them stood in front of the mirror again.

Qingmu was thinking, Su Huilan went in through the mirror just now, so when she came out, did she also come out of the mirror bit by bit? He should come out first and wait, so that he could see how Su Huilan came out. But now it's too late to regret, and we can't ask people to go in again.

After standing in front of the mirror for a while, Aoki asked: "Where are the save and exit options for this game?"

He and Su Huilan are now in the coffin-like box. The box cuts off the sensory connection between their consciousness and body through some mechanism, and directly inputs the game scene into the brain. So, how do the boxes know when they want to leave the game?

If you think about it from a game perspective, there should be a mechanism that allows players to quit at any time.

Su Huilan said: "Now we are just testing the internal logic of the device and the game. The archive and exit functions are not yet ready. However, I heard that this function may not be available in the future."

"Uh... Then how do we end the game?" Aoki was speechless. Which game doesn't have an exit option?

"You can force it to shut down."

"Force it to shut down? We are in a box, our body consciousness has been cut off, and we cannot move our hands and feet. How can we force it to shut down?"

“The first-generation space box product was not perfect enough,” Su Huilan said. “So, when we came in, Professor Mei helped us set the time.”

"That means we can only wait here now?" Aoki wanted to say that this is a scheduled shutdown, not a forced shutdown.

"That's right."

"How long did the professor set for us?"

"Two minutes. Including the time to turn on and off the machine, our actual time in the dreamland will not exceed thirty seconds." Su Huilan smiled, "This is also the most fascinating part of this future game."

Aoki nodded in agreement.

The biggest problem with games now is that they consume too much time and energy from players, affecting people’s study and work. As for the game "Dream Guide", players can play it for a long time, but only a few minutes may pass in the real world. It does not delay work and study at all, and does not affect life.

When you are waiting for the elevator, when class is over, when you call a car and wait for the driver to arrive, when you are taking a shower with your wife after making love, when you are making instant noodles... you can wear the space box (if the descendant product of that thing is If it is convenient enough to use), that little time is enough for you to expand your territory and make a career in the game world.

However, Aoki couldn't help but feel a little worried.

"Can humans really be content with playing for just a few minutes?"

"Maybe." Su Huilan's answer didn't seem too confident.

Have humans ever been satisfied with anything? If you get addicted to this kind of game, it will be more terrifying than ordinary games!

Aoki always felt that the development of this space box and the "Dream Guide" had deviated from the professor's original intention.

Two minutes pass very quickly in reality, but in the world of pure consciousness, the passage of time almost does not exist. If it weren't for recalling memories, it would be necessary to stimulate brain cells. After all, brain cells are an active substance that can only be excited and active in a certain chemical environment, and chemical reactions take time. Otherwise, human consciousness will stay in a certain category. In the dream space, one second really becomes eternity.

Qingmu and Su Huilan were waiting in the hall, and the atmosphere was a bit awkward and boring.

"Actually, we can go out for a walk." Su Huilan suggested. "The lower our brain excitement, the slower time passes. There are still some scenery to enjoy in this prehistoric town."

"That's fine." Aoki readily agreed.

The two walked out of the pyramid hall and came to the streets of the town. Aoki looked back and saw that the pyramid towered into the clouds, and the pyramid hanging upside down was in the clouds, as if it was about to fall down at any time.

"Do you think the two pyramids will turn upside down?" Su Huilan asked.

Aoki was shocked: "Why?"

Su Huilan chuckled: "No reason, I just think the design is weird."

Aoki wasn't sure whether Su Huilan knew anything, but she obviously didn't want to say anything more.

They were walking in the town.

There is no one else in the town now. I wonder if there will be more players in the future and the place will be overcrowded, or if others will just be immersed in their own game world and not care about this town at all.

"What do you mean by building such a small town?" Aoki asked.

"I don't know, he must have some use."

"This is neither reality nor anyone's dream, so where is it?"

"This is a scene designed in the game. The human perception in such a world is simulated by computers, including vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch, vestibular system induction, etc., and then through the continuous action of high-frequency light pulses from the space box, Input these perceptions directly into the brain, so that our consciousness will think that we have come to this scene, and it is difficult to distinguish between true and false.”

Su Huilan smiled and said, "To put it simply, this is an illusion."

"Hallucination?" Aoki thought, "What is the difference between hallucination and dream?"

Su Huilan said: "The difference is that hallucination does not rely on the person's own memory, nor does it require mental power to support the space."

Aoki agreed with Su Huilan's statement about hallucinations and dreams, but he always felt that this prehistoric town and the pyramid hall were not that simple.

This is not a human dream. Could it be another kind of dream? For example, computer dreams.

At this moment, he thought of ghosts again.