Chen Xiang woke up, slowly opening his eyes.

To be precise, he was waking up in a dream, or perhaps waking within a dream.

In that brief moment, all he saw was a lush green, accompanied by a gentle breeze, sweet floral scents, and the crackling sound of flames.

"What is this..."

Lying on a lawn, Chen Xiang's first sight was the heavy, swirling mist above him,

where he could faintly see vibrant colors, swirling chaotically—strange and mysterious...

Is this... my dream?

"Mom!"

Suddenly, a faint voice startled Chen Xiang, and he sat up straight, only to notice dark flames curling around him.

Before he could react, his attention was fully captured by the seven figures surrounding him.

To be precise, seven dwarfs.

Seven little ones, not even knee-high to him.

Each of these dwarfs had a dark hole in the ground behind them, along with two unclaimed holes, making a total of nine.

These holes were roughly the size of a palm, and from each came deep, overlapping murmurs...

Murmurs that sounded like the prayers of countless voices speaking in unison, echoing from within the holes.

Suddenly,

"Mom!"

"Dad!"

"Old man!"

"Mother!"

One after another, the little dwarfs cheered, calling out different names as they rushed toward Chen Xiang. Three calling for "Dad" clung to his left leg, while four calling for "Mom" clung to his right...

The constant calls of "Dad" and "Mom" made Chen Xiang's head throb.

"No, wait!"

He instinctively put away his spear and scroll, kicked and flailed to shake off the seven little ones, and irritably said,

"Who are you all, calling me Dad and Mom?"

Chen Xiang knew this was not a traditional dream, and while asking, he remained on guard, the dark flames around him flaring even more.

"Mom! I'm Chi!" shouted the dwarf in large wooden shoes, kicking them as he spoke.

"Dad, I'm Yu!" the dwarf in a ridiculous costume jumped around.

"Mom, I'm Dai!" the dwarf wearing empty glasses held his head high.

"I'm Sha!"

"I'm Cun!"

"Ben is here!"

"Huan is me."

Chen Xiang was left speechless.

What on earth—Chi, Yu, Dai, Sha, Cun, Ben, Huan...

He couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time:

"What kind of names are these? Who gave them to you?"

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Chi" stepped forward, tapping his wooden shoes as he replied,

"Mom, we didn't originally have these names; they were distorted into this!"

"Distorted?" Chen Xiang was puzzled. "What were you called before?"

The seven dwarfs looked at each other and said in unison,

"Forgot!"

"Dai" pushed up his empty glasses, pointing toward a nearby stone tablet:

"That big stone has confused our minds, altered the names you bestowed upon us, suppressing us with that bad sword!"

Chen Xiang turned to look at the stone tablet, which stood about as tall as him, inscribed with the four large characters:

Hahaha Valley .

What a ridiculous name?!

Chen Xiang was speechless, feeling this bizarre dream was utterly absurd. He looked again at the obviously unhinged little dwarfs:

"What's this bad sword you're talking about? Where is it?"

The dwarfs said nothing but all turned to look at Chen Xiang.

To be precise, they were looking at his head.

A bad premonition crept into his heart as he reached up to touch his head—he really felt it!

A sword was stuck in his head.

！！！

？？？

Chen Xiang's eyelids twitched violently. He tried to pull the long sword out, but just a slight tug sent a piercing pain through his skull!

He grimaced and gave up that idea, his confusion deepening about this strange dream and what in the world was going on!

In his daze,

Chen Xiang surveyed his surroundings. This so-called Hahaha Valley seemed boundless, with a wooden hut not far ahead, surrounded by weeds and some wildflowers...

Along with the swirling mist above, which continuously collided with colors, everything felt so eerie.

He looked again at the deranged little dwarfs:

"Do you know who erected that stone tablet? And who stuck the sword in my head?"

The seven dwarfs exchanged glances once more, and "Cun," who had a small horn hanging around his neck, stepped forward.

Clearing his throat, he blew the horn, then began to sing:

"A long, long time ago, the hourglass rebelled, the book abandoned the light for darkness, and the loom turned traitor..."

"A long, long time ago, nine foolish ones were led by these three bad guys; they deceived, cheated, concealed, disturbed, and slandered..."

"A long, long time ago..."

Chen Xiang's head began to throb from the literal meaning of the word.

This song made the sword tremble, jostling his brain incessantly. He quickly raised a hand to signal a stop, and "Cun" halted his singing, indignant.

With a weak voice, Chen Xiang asked:

"Enough... what are those holes behind you? Why are there sounds of prayer inside?"

The seven dwarfs exchanged glances again.

Chi coughed softly:

"Those aren't holes; they are *doors !"

Dai pushed up his glasses:

"Behind the door is an ant world!"

His expression turned serious:

"In the ant world, there are many bad eggs, but also some good ones!"

Sha blurted out:

"The good eggs bring gifts; whatever you want, they deliver!"

Cun picked up the horn again but was quickly stopped by Chen Xiang:

"Okay, no blowing or singing, I get it!"

With that, he stepped forward, moving around the dwarfs to closely examine the nine dark holes surrounding the stone tablet.

Doors?

Ant world?

Chen Xiang felt confused; the holes were small, only palm-sized, dark inside, and he could only hear overlapping murmurs...

"Oh, great Emperor Titan..."

"The supreme lord..."

Hearing these words too many times made him feel nauseous, and he pulled back his head, wanting to ask more, when Huan suddenly exclaimed,

"An ant is coming down!"

Instinctively, Chen Xiang looked up but saw nothing, asking,

"Where?"

"Right here!" Yu jumped and pointed to the sky. Chen Xiang squinted and spotted a dot, barely bigger than a pinhead, drifting down.

He reached out to catch it, but the dot moved away quickly, disappearing into one of the holes...

"What was that..."

Before Chen Xiang could finish,

"Wuu wuu wuu!!"

Cun blew the horn and jumped in front of the hole:

"The good eggs from the ant world are sending something again!"

He pulled something out of the hole where the dot had fallen; it was too small for Chen Xiang to see.

But then Huan stepped forward and blew on it, causing the tiny object to expand into a mirror, about as tall as him.

Chen Xiang was initially astonished, then curious as he picked up the pure white mirror, seeing his own reflection.

It was him, yet not entirely.

A young man surrounded by fine cracks, dust, mist, flames, and swirling winds, with a broken sword stuck in his head.

Meanwhile, faint, intermittent murmurs emerged from the small hole:

"Oh, great Emperor Titan..."

"009 is on the brink of losing control..."

"Insignificant followers cannot contain it; it must be offered to you..."

Chen Xiang was left bewildered—009? What was that?

Was it related to the mirror?

Beside him, Yu stepped forward, looking up:

"The junk from the ants, Dad, should we toss it in the junk room?"

He pointed to the wooden hut nearby.

Chen Xiang nodded, then shook his head:

"I'd rather know what this Emperor Titan really is..."

But before he could finish, he felt the world spin, and his vision darkened.

...

He woke up.

Chen Xiang shook his dizzy head, sitting up from the floor, his eyes still heavy with sleep:

"This dream is getting stranger..."

His voice trailed off as he stared blankly at the pure white mirror in his hand.

"Damn!" Chen Xiang cursed, suddenly more awake.

"As you wish," the mirror softly replied, glowing brightly.

The secret room lit up, and translucent phantoms began to emerge.

"??!"

Chen Xiang was completely alert now.