Number 2 really is Ma Zao’s friend!
Am I dreaming? Though this is indeed a dreamscape...
Ma Zao would never imagine that I could actually establish contact with a friend she lost in the future. She herself probably never even thought of trying. It’s not that she doesn’t care about her friends, but the idea itself is simply a blind spot.
It’s like the protagonists of time-travel web novels who, after being reborn in the past, rarely consider whether the original future world continues to develop and how it might unfold. If you were to ask them if they’d like to talk to people from that original future, they might be intrigued; but if no one asks, even generating such an idea is difficult. Even if they thought of it, they wouldn’t consider it a realistic problem to tackle seriously.
I deliberately said aloud, “Are you the little girl who teamed up with Ma Zao in a duo that she mentioned?”
Hearing this, Number 2 froze for a moment, then seemed to momentarily forget her sadness. With surprise and delight, she exclaimed, “Mr. Number 3, you’ve met Ma Zao? You’ve even spoken with her?”
“Yes, I’ve met her,” I replied, carefully organizing my thoughts while speaking. “Also, you’ve misunderstood something.”
“What is it?” she asked eagerly.
“I’m not someone from the post-apocalyptic era,” I said. “Like Number 1 and Number 4, I’m from the era before the apocalypse.”
She was incredulous. “How is that possible? If you’re not from my era or Ma Zao’s era, how could you have met Ma Zao?”
“Perhaps it’s hard for you to believe, but Ma Zao traveled to our era…”
I recounted everything that had happened between Ma Zao and me.
Needless to say, everything I said was heavily embellished. I couldn’t openly admit to being a villain who wanted to exploit Ma Zao to satisfy my desires. Instead, I portrayed myself as a kind-hearted person who couldn’t stand idly by while a “frail and inexperienced girl ventured alone into the darkness.”
I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but lately, it feels like I’ve been lying to everyone around me. First to Chang’an, then to Ma Zao, and now, even to this ten-year-old girl.
Looking back, the only person I’ve had even remotely genuine exchanges with recently is Zhu Shi, someone I don’t even share a deep connection with.
That said, it’s not like I’m lying out of malice right now. I truly intend to help Ma Zao. Especially after hearing others confirm the concepts of “Divine Seal” and “Apocalypse,” I’ve developed a genuine curiosity to delve into the truth about the apocalypse.
More importantly, if Ma Zao were to find out that I have fragments of the Divine Seal in my possession—or even that I can use those fragments to communicate with Number 2—maybe this time she wouldn’t leave me again. If that happens, I wouldn’t need to resort to confining her anymore.
As I recounted my story, Number 2 occasionally interjected with questions.
Her voice was innocent and childlike, and her speaking style matched that of a child her age. However, the angles of her questions were surprisingly composed. Some of them seemed to be probing, testing whether I was fabricating lies to deceive her—especially regarding my relationship with Ma Zao.
Yes, from her perspective, even if I had communicated with Ma Zao, it didn’t necessarily mean we were friends. Perhaps I was an enemy of Ma Zao’s, and she needed to determine my stance first.
The excitement and joy she initially showed upon believing I was someone from the post-apocalyptic era may have had an element of performance as well.
For a child her age, this level of sophistication is remarkable—likely a result of the early maturity brought about by living in an apocalyptic environment. If her acting skills could be paired with her childlike appearance, I might not have even noticed. Unfortunately for her, she now exists as a blurry shadow, which allows me to evaluate her words more objectively.
When I finished my recounting, she fell into a brief silence. I patiently gave her time to process the information.
Perhaps she’s feeling quite bitter inside right now. She has lost her own name and is facing the desperate reality of becoming a Demon beasts in the near future. Meanwhile, Ma Zao, her protector, has unexpectedly arrived in the peaceful world before the apocalypse.
Here, there’s no madness, no Demon beasts. One can enjoy delicious food and the many conveniences of modern society.
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Often, what breaks a person is not mere hardship, but inequality.
After a moment, Number 2 let out a deep breath, but it sounded more like a sigh of relief. “...So that’s it. Ma Zao really has gone back to the past...”
There was no resentment in her voice. Sometimes, there are truly kind-hearted people, or perhaps it’s because children lack the convoluted thoughts adults might have. Seeing this reaction from someone Ma Zao had protected, after learning of her whereabouts, made me feel inexplicably happy.
It makes sense, though. Number 2 has even forgotten her own name, yet she still remembers Ma Zao’s name so fondly. It’s a testament to the sincerity of her feelings.
At the same time, a certain detail in Number 2’s words caught me off guard.
“You said, ‘really’?” I didn’t let those words slip by. “Did you already know she would travel to the modern era?”
“Rather than ‘know,’ it’s more like I had a feeling...” She seemed to be trying to recall something seriously. “...I’m sorry. I’ve forgotten so many things. I can’t even remember my own name right now... I just remember that Ma Zao returning to the past has something to do with me, but... I really can’t recall why I have this thought.”
“If I remember correctly, you and Ma Zao were separated while fleeing the Great Demon, right?” I asked. “Ma Zao pulled you into one last spatial transfer, but something went ‘wrong’ with that transfer. The result was Ma Zao’s soul being sent to the modern world, where it ended up in the body of a soul-lost patient with the same appearance and name as hers. Are you saying that this ‘accident’ was caused by you?”
“I don’t remember... I’m not lying. I really don’t remember,” she shook her head.
“Looks like we need to help you recover your memories first... at least enough for you to remember your own name,” I mused. “If I find Ma Zao, I should be able to ask her about the name you used before, and then tell you... Would that work?”
“That would work.” She seemed to regain some desire to survive, and then made a request, “If possible, Mr. Number 3... I hope you can hurry. I can only hold on for ten more days at most.”
“Ten days… I understand.” I nodded. “But forgive me for asking—judging by your current mental state, you don’t seem like someone on the brink of turning into a monster within ten days.”
“Mm, it’s just as you imagine. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t be able to communicate like this…” She seemed puzzled by this herself but had no choice but to accept it. “Perhaps it’s thanks to this dreamscape that I can temporarily interact with others in a normal mental state. But once I return to the real world, it becomes very difficult to stay conscious.”
“I see…” I could only accept her explanation for now before asking, “By the way, isn’t ‘Number 2’ a sufficient name? I heard from Ma Zao that as long as you have a name, even a temporary code name will do. When you were with Ma Zao, you weren’t using your real name either, were you?”
“That’s right. Back then, I used the name Ma Zao gave me. And it’s precisely because I still have the code name ‘Number 2’ now that I can last these ten days.” She sounded dejected. “But this name has no connection to my past memories. The Misty Dreamscape isn’t a place I can enter every day. If there’s no one around to call me by name, I’ll still end up turning into a monster…”
This was a thorny problem. Setting aside whether I could find Ma Zao within ten days, even if I could, how could I ensure I’d re-enter the Misty Dreamscape during that time? From the way Number 1 spoke about it, this seemed like a random occurrence.
In reality, my time limit wasn’t even ten days—it was five. That’s how long I’d get to spend with Ma Zao, and how long her calamity-attracting nature would continue to affect me after she left. Once it ended, I’d revert to having no connection to the supernatural.
Number 2 seemed to notice my anxiety. She spoke softly, her childlike voice gentle. “Mr. Number 3, you don’t have to be so tense. I’m all alone now. Even if I recover my name, I won’t survive long in the apocalypse. Maybe turning into a monster will allow me to live a bit longer.”
“…It’s too early to give up. I’ll definitely find Ma Zao, and I’ll do everything I can to save you,” I said.
She simply smiled and then asked, “By the way, Mr. Number 3, what do you think of Ma Zao?”
“What do you mean by that?” I asked in return.
“Ma Zao brings disaster to those around her, which makes her feared and resented by countless people. Even her former teammates eventually cast her out of their group. She always puts on a strong front in front of me, but in truth, she cries in secret—either behind my back or when she thinks I’m asleep. I know this.” Her voice was soft. “She treats me so well, yet no one has ever treated her that kindly. Then, you appeared in her life…
“Maybe one day, you’ll also feel like you can’t stay by her side anymore. Perhaps for your own safety, or for the safety of those around you. When that day comes, I hope…”
I interrupted her. “That day will never come.”
She blinked in surprise.
“Next time, I won’t let her escape from my side again,” I said with utmost seriousness. “If she absolutely refuses to stay with me, then—even if I have to resort to some… unconventional means—I’ll make sure she stays put.
“No matter how many others curse her or call her a calamity, I will never see her that way. I swear it.
“So, don’t worry about her.”
“Is that so? That’s good…”
She seemed to smile silently.
Unknowingly, the fog around us grew thicker.
I could no longer see Number 2 before me, nor could I feel my own body. The layers of gray mist in my vision gradually turned to darkness…
And then, I woke up at home.
I had returned to the real world.
---
Upon waking, I immediately began verifying whether the Misty Dreamscape was real.
The Misty Dreamscape was undoubtedly a phenomenon born of supernatural forces. But just because it was supernatural didn’t necessarily mean everything that happened within it was real. As a fundamental starting point, I had to clarify this.
The simplest method was to test the information I obtained in the dreamscape. I tried placing the black jade I carried on me at a distance, then walking away from it. Just as Number 1 had said, the black jade indeed had a binding relationship with its owner. Once I moved a certain distance away, it automatically returned to my pocket.
The Misty Dreamscape was real. Number 2 was real. I had genuinely spoken to someone from the apocalyptic era… While this single test might not be conclusive evidence, I was emotionally convinced of its authenticity.
Two days later, a lead on Ma Zao’s whereabouts finally appeared before me.