Fantasy Clock～Dream Ruler～

[Knowing the name, it will be easier to meet again. 】

I remember it was two years ago today. It was a not-so-hot summer night. I stood among the crowd in a foreign country watching the fireworks, and suddenly a camera was placed on my shoulder behind me.

Meeting fellow villagers in a strange city will inevitably produce more intimacy. I think that's why we got to know each other like old friends. Later, at Xia Yinci's suggestion, we changed our bookings to the same flight back home, from the south to the north, chatting about those irrelevant topics.

Maybe I just wanted to prolong the night in my heart. I am afraid that after dawn, this encounter will be broken in reality like a dream.

At that time, I should have never expected that the story between us has just begun.

As time passed, it seemed as if someone was holding the red line between the two. I couldn't help but move a little closer in her direction, and then a little closer. It was also the first time in my life that I was extremely active in trying to hold on to an acquaintance. If you ask me how I feel, it's like we've known each other for a long time.

In my opinion, our meeting itself was a fated reunion.

Therefore, even though I heard that her target university is at a height that is beyond my reach, I still try my best to catch up with her.

But our relationship has not reached a balance point since then.

"You mean, you received an invitation letter from the Core Research Society?"

About seven days ago, Xia Yinci and I finally met in the summer vacation after the college entrance examination. She's been busy all summer with things I don't understand. Of course, she couldn't figure out why I worked part-time. We are not unhappy because we are both busy, after all, we have not officially confirmed the relationship.

It's just that I didn't expect that Xia Yinci, who was younger than me, would actually consider going directly to the "Core Research Institute" for an internship. In other words, I didn't expect her to have the qualifications recognized by the core research societies.

This time she is no longer going to a university that is difficult to get into, but a place that I can't catch up with no matter how hard I try.

"Haha, I knew you could do it! Congratulations."

I quietly put away the exquisite box on the coffee table. Obviously, he should be sincerely happy for her, but the words of blessing are so against his will. I raised my head with great difficulty and squeezed out a not-so-ugly smile at her.

Thoughts jump from memory to reality. In the afternoon, I went to the tuition institution as usual. In fact, I don’t know what’s the point of working now.

"At least you did something meaningful with the money you earned."

The girl pressed the shutter of the camera, and took a picture of the expression of the pen in my hand dropping to the ground. I looked at the girl with dyed blue hair in front of me, then glanced at my vague and abstract expression on her camera, grabbed it and deleted the photo.

"Don't mock me, the token of love is an outdated joke in the end." I returned the camera to her and added, "By the way, can you stop lending the camera to Chen Xue?"

"I never lent it to her."

She took the camera and put it in front of her eyes, and focused the lens on the classroom next door through the window. A familiar figure slipped to the back door with a schoolbag, and I switched to the dial interface almost reflexively, and raised the phone screen high to signal her far away. In the next second, Elus returned to her seat in despair.

"Speaking of... if I received such a gift, I would definitely cry on the spot."

Xue Xueer seemed to have said something that I was very concerned about unintentionally, but I finally shook my head left and right and couldn't help but smile wryly.

"I only know that if the other party is going to a strange country next week to usher in a new life, giving this gift at this time is just a tool to bind her in the past."

I can't imagine what it will be like to give this gift. No matter what decision she makes in the end, I will only be the one who restrains her or influences her.

"Don't be so self-righteous. If it were me, I would definitely catch up."

The door of the room was suddenly pushed open, and a boy who was about my age walked up to me without seeing anything, and threw a book of plans that had been ordered on my desk.

"You're making sarcastic remarks, Chen Zekai."

"I didn't say sarcastic words, but I said ugly words first. No matter what you decide, I will try to work under Professor Huan anyway." After saying that, Chen Zekai turned around and walked towards the door of the classroom, waving with his back to me, "You're either going to compete with me for this position, or you're going to watch me take it from someone else."

His back disappeared from my field of vision. I turned my eyes back to the table, and slowly opened the proposal book. On the first page, there was a line of text that made me feel scared for a moment——

【Experimental Project: HELLO NEW WORLD (P424243)】

【…】

[Sponsors: William Andres, Baitu Mei, Sato Kazuhiko, ...]

[The following people have objections to the project: Feng Chenghuan, Chart Andres, Watanabe Kaede, ...]

【…】

"HELLO NEW WORLD"?

His thoughts were cut off almost the moment his eyes touched that line of English, and it seemed like a world away in an instant, and he was already in a strange space in the blink of an eye. Twelve clocks are isolated above the red sky, and the phantom of death floats in the sky, and there seems to be a pair of eyes staring at me in the empty darkness.

"We won't forget the promise we made in that world, will we?"

"What...promise?"

"Will you atone for your forgotten mistakes?"

His body was as stiff as if he had been placed in icy water, unable to move.

It was as if a mirror made of ground glass had been slowly inserted between this Grim Reaper and me. I couldn't see his appearance more and more clearly, but my memory became more and more chillingly clear.

"If possible, I would like to atone for my forgotten mistakes."

It seemed that the conversation that had happened was replaying before my eyes, and I suddenly felt a violent tremor all over my body. There are cracks in the glass between us.

"Very well. The reason I pass the baton to the new world you live in is because I believe you can do it on your own."

"This time, it's no longer going to the stage surrounded by others, but to take on the important task by yourself, right?"

Intermittent laughter came from the direction of the god of death, and finally there was a third voice besides us in the space that was so silent that it was almost empty—he threw the sickle in front of him to my feet.

"Your world operates according to the outside world. Therefore, there are actually two external worlds outside of you that follow each other: the outside reality uses Xia Qianyan's dream experiment to create the inner world, and the inner world creates the so-called " New World", started the "Reality Migration Plan" independent of the outside world. It is inevitable that the three successively extended worlds will always show similarities, and everything is always prone to repeat the same mistakes."

"So...the New World is very likely to have the existence of the "Core Research Society" again, and they will start the New World Project again, right?"

Memories that were once deeply imprinted in my mind are now passing by one by one before my eyes.

"The new world will eventually create the next dream that is enslaved to reality, and the tragedies that happened will still repeat themselves. Su Luoyang, can you prevent the next tragedy?"

"But my memory has been erased by you. After returning to my reality, I will forget even the conversation I have with you now."

Now the memories can't stop flooding my mind. Now I have remembered the final battle with the dream stealer, but the god of death standing in front of me does not remember. For him, all this has not happened yet, and he will face the rest of his world next. remaining residents. But for me, it's all about the forgotten past in the new world.

"Next you are going to fight the remnants of the Dream Thieves. If you don't choose to start the world from the beginning, but let the world continue from the time you existed, then we will remember what happened in the last world History will not repeat itself.”

Letting the whole world start over was the best way he could think of at the time. But I, who have lived in this restarted world until now, would rather keep the memories of the past.

"That's much easier. But you and I both know that a world with gods is just a god's dream. Whether the gods are good or evil, the world will exist because of his will. No one should To become a god who dominates reality, you and I should never become gods. You can only become a brand new self in a brand new world, and as long as you firmly believe in what you believe, that is enough."

During the conversation, the red world has gradually faded its color. Those memories that really belong to the present me are gradually replacing the memories of the previous world.

I was never erased from memory. Su Ruoyang, who was born in this brand new world and has lived so far, has never been a reflection of the past.

"You are you, and I am only who I am right now."

It was that intermittent laughter again. I picked up the scythe on the ground and threw it towards his figure. As if all of this was expected, he grabbed the weapon that belonged to him.

"Yes. You shouldn't think of my memory. I'm just a history that once existed. It affects you in the future, but not the future itself."

As soon as the words fell, I suddenly felt that the whole world began to collapse, and the cracks had spread to all my vision. His phantom turned into a torrent of time and was about to disperse.

"Live yourself well for me, this is your task. Even though I have seen your brand new life on intertwined trajectories, you can also live out what I can't see."

Waking up from the dream, the reality was shattered everywhere.

I snapped back to my senses, tears burst into my vision, and a late summer breeze blew outside the window.

In front of you is the classroom from the previous second, but everything is like a world away.

Strange to say. I always feel that something happened in that short moment, and my heart is filled with a sense of sadness that I don't know where it came from.

"Hey, lend me a piece of paper."

I took a blank piece of paper from Xue Xueer's desk and pushed the proposal to the corner of the desk. With the pencil in his hand, he was writing words that seemed to be almost forgotten. Pursuing those dreamlike words almost scratched my head. The eraser erased several mistakes on the paper, and the pencil broke due to excessive force.

What was recorded on the paper was an unfamiliar English poem. But before I had time to read, the sudden ringing of the get out of class bell took away the tranquility, noisy tables and chairs, students talking and laughing, Xue Xueer's footsteps walking away, all kinds of voices came one after another At last, it seemed that the reality that fell asleep also woke up slowly.

[If you are unfortunately in deep confusion in the future-you are hesitant and stagnant, don't look back to find answers in the past world. Yesterday's me, today's you and me, all past regrets can't be repeated, only tomorrow's you can make up for future regrets. 】

When I realized it, I had already folded the paper in my hand and put it in my pocket. For some reason, I am not going to seek answers on this paper.

"I'm going back first." Xue Xueer's voice sounded from the door of the classroom. She grabbed the strap on her shoulder with one hand and said to me, "Don't worry too much about her affairs, there will always be a way."

"Well, there is always a way."

As I spoke, I picked up the proposal that I had just pushed to the corner of the table. The corners of her mouth curled up a bit, and without further words, she silently closed the door of the classroom.

That night, I took the initiative to dial Chen Zekai's number, and he answered my call almost instantly.

"You knew I'd call?"

"I've known you for so many years, how can I not understand you?"

I smiled, turned my head sideways and clamped the phone, and found the information I cared about from the information he gave me this afternoon.

Regardless of the specific project of the so-called "HELLO NEW WORLD", the name Feng Chenghuan is what I need to pay attention to. He has become famous in the recent academic circles. As long as he mentions this name, the first thing everyone thinks of is "Core Research Association". The two names are almost bound together because of several research breakthroughs related to virtual reality technology.

But Feng Chenghuan has objections to this project, which is especially worth savoring carefully.

"Professor Gen is recruiting new assistants at this time, is it because his former assistants are on the side of support?"

"You really think the same as me." Chen Zekai laughed heartily, and his voice was a little closer to the phone, "So you know how to compete for the position more easily?"

"His previous projects were all of a very obvious experimental nature, or in other words, they were all projects that no one dared to touch. Why would he take the lead in opposing a project now? We must first understand this problem, And to be on his side, he will naturally prioritize us."

"I know you can understand what I mean. Then I wish us a happy cooperation, and a happy competition when the time comes."