55: Chapter 55 Cognitive Distortion

After finishing his meal, Chu Xuan felt increasingly exhausted and drowsy. He greeted his parents and his two siblings before returning to his room to sleep.

Before going to bed, Chu Xuan also plugged his phone in to charge.

He planned to make contact with the authorities within the dream.

[Future Tang Zheng] had once warned him that he couldn't let anyone else know about their communication. However, Chu Xuan wasn't sure if the authorities possessed a Mind Reading ability, so he felt it was only safe to try it in a dream.

Of course, even more importantly, he needed to re-establish contact with [Future Tang Zheng].

Back in the dormitory, when he had demanded that the real-world Tang Zheng flee first, Chu Xuan had solemnly reminded him that he would encounter an assassination attempt in the early hours of this day three years later.

This time, Tang Zheng had only lost too much blood. He had also killed many Night Demon Clones, and his physical fitness far exceeded that of an ordinary person, so he likely wouldn't die so easily.

As long as Tang Zheng kept those words in mind, once Chu Xuan entered the dream again, it was highly probable he would be able to contact [Future Tang Zheng] once more.

Many questions remained in his heart regarding the origin of the Specters and the direction of the future...

Especially the single greatest doubt lingering in his mind.

That was the final piece of advice [Future Tang Zheng] gave before his death in the dream.

Never trust anyone!

This was exactly the same sentence he had heard during his episode of sleep paralysis. Did it hold some deeper meaning?

If one truly couldn't trust anyone, then when he first woke up, if he hadn't trusted the text message sent by [Future Tang Zheng], he probably wouldn't have survived.

If he hadn't trusted Qin Qing later on, he wouldn't have been able to escape...

Amidst these many complicated thoughts, Chu Xuan's head felt groggy, and he drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

...

When Chu Xuan woke up again, his headache was gone, and his spirit felt full and refreshed.

"No sleep paralysis, and none of those strange voices..."

Chu Xuan picked up his phone from the bedside and saw it was only seven o'clock. He had only slept for over an hour, yet it felt as though he had slept for a day and a night.

He immediately opened his chat software to look for [Future Tang Zheng]'s avatar, but he couldn't find it.

There was only one "Tang Zheng" in his contacts. Checking the chat history, the most recent message was still Tang Zheng asking him to help bring food back to the dorm.

This wasn't [Future Tang Zheng]!

Chu Xuan remembered that [Future Tang Zheng] had mentioned the time difference between them was exactly three years.

If [Future Tang Zheng] still died at three o'clock this morning three years later, then naturally, it was impossible to establish contact with him again at seven o'clock.

So, [Future Tang Zheng] is still dead?!

Did the real-world Tang Zheng not remember his warning? Or...

The Precognitive Dream talent can only be used once a day!

Since he had already experienced a dream rehearsal at 2:30 AM today, did he have to wait until tomorrow to use his talent again?

Just then, a voice call came through.

It was a call from the real-world Tang Zheng!

Chu Xuan's spirits lifted, and he answered immediately.

"Hello, Chu Xuan, where are you?"

Tang Zheng's urgent voice came through the phone. His voice was loud and clear, sounding as if he was already fine.

Chu Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm at home. I just woke up from a nap. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, but the real question is how are you? Why are you at home? When did your family move to Haicheng?"

Tang Zheng's voice sounded slightly anxious.

Chu Xuan was stunned for a moment and frowned. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"My family has always been in Haicheng! We're childhood friends. If my family wasn't in Haicheng, how would we have known each other since we were little?"

"That's because *my* family moved to Haicheng!"

Tang Zheng's tone became even more frantic. "How could you possibly have the money to buy a house in Haicheng? Even if you sold all the storefronts and the house your parents left you, you'd barely be able to afford a decent apartment in Haicheng! Tell me quickly, where exactly are you?"

"I'm right here at home!"

An inexplicable irritability rose in Chu Xuan's heart. "And what do you mean by 'left' me? Tang Zheng, can you speak properly? My parents are in perfectly good health; I just ate with them, along with my sister and brother. Our family has lived in Haicheng since we were kids. If you keep spouting nonsense, I'm going to get angry with you!"

"Holy shit!!!"

Tang Zheng suddenly let out a startled cry on the other end of the phone, his voice trembling as he roared with intense emotion.

"Your parents died in a car accident over ten years ago! And where did you get a sister and brother? You're a damn only child!!!"

BOOM—!!

Like a bolt from the blue, Chu Xuan's brain roared. The scenes of false images in his mind seemed to be torn to shreds by a brute force at this very moment.

How could this be possible?

Chu Xuan stood there like a wooden statue. The phone slipped from his hand and hit the floor with a thud, disconnecting the call.

Suddenly, an excruciating pain filled his head.

The sensation of being struck by a heavy sledgehammer returned!

Chu Xuan gritted his teeth and endured it. He hurriedly got out of bed, not even bothering to put on shoes, and stumbled out of the bedroom to look outside.

The light in the living room was somewhat dim.

His father, mother, sister, and brother were still sitting around the dining table. At this moment, they turned their heads, their faces covered in smiles.

Those smiles were somewhat stiff, looking like fixed arcs forced upward, revealing deathly white teeth.

"Xiao Xuan, come and eat."

The muscles on his mother's cheeks were pulled tight by the exaggerated smile, as if braces were fixed beneath the flesh. It looked incredibly fake.

Looking at the dishes on the dining table now, they were no longer delicacies, but clearly plates of raw meat that had been eaten into a mess. There were even faint traces of blood left on the table.

What exactly did I just eat?

Standing at the door, Chu Xuan's blood ran cold and froze. His stomach suddenly cramped, and a strong wave of nausea filled his heart.

At this moment, he recalled the conversation during the meal—Transformers, fairy tales, being a Model Student, knowing how to do laundry—weren't those all things used to coax a child?

I'm a college student!

Furthermore, there was another point. The most likely reason he couldn't activate the [Precognitive Dream] talent to enter a dream after sleeping was that his spirituality value was already below 40 points! (Note 1)

Then...

When choosing the System rewards earlier, why on earth did he give up 100 spirituality value and instead choose the one-time Transcendent Skill, [Clone]?

Numerous points of dissonance clashed violently at this moment, making Chu Xuan's scalp tingle.

It was like having a bucket of cold water poured over his head; he felt chilled to the bone.

Who is interfering with me and affecting my memory?

No!

To be precise, it should be that my cognition has suffered a derangement!

Chu Xuan suddenly thought of an ability...

Heart Bewitchment!