348: False Paradise

The squad leader gripped the bedsheet tightly and continued to describe the unsettling world.

"When I discovered that four-leaf clover field, I started to notice more details."

"But when I began to question this world, my memories started to blur. Important things gradually faded, while some memories that didn't exist at all kept surfacing."

"Then, I realized, I was dreaming, and it was a dream I couldn't wake up from."

"When did you start realizing it was a dream?" Xia Er had guessed some of the Follow-up (subsequent developments) by now, but he still decided to proceed with caution.

The leader closed his eyes, seemingly trying to recall.

"It was that four-leaf clover field that made me suspicious. But what truly confirmed it was a dream was something that happened later."

"During a routine patrol, I encountered the same person I always repeatedly ran into. But this time, I didn't habitually offer him a drink as before; instead, I asked him if he felt anything unusual lately."

"But he just looked at me blankly and then uttered the same 'Sure, you're buying' that I had heard dozens of times."

As the leader described, Xia Er had already roughly constructed an image of that world in his mind.

To call it a world was a bit inaccurate; it was more like a video recording.

Someone had pressed the repeat button, and the entire world was continuously looping the same segment.

"That field, it should have been full of three-leaf clovers. It was this anomaly that made me recall everything that felt wrong," the leader's voice suddenly became agitated.

"Once, during a patrol, I accidentally found a four-leaf clover and at the time I even marveled at my good luck. If the entire field were four-leaf clovers, my luck might be good enough to pass those abnormal assessments and become a member of the Code-named Squad."

"After recalling this point, it was as if I suddenly woke up from a dream."

This real memory was like a key, unlocking his sealed consciousness.

In an instant, all blurred memories became clear. The leader realized that his consciousness had been forcibly extracted from his body and trapped in a highly programmed virtual world.

"Then, I began to actively investigate the truth of this world. I pretended everything was normal, continued to perform my daily tasks, but secretly recorded all anomalies."

In the following "days," the leader increasingly felt that this world was a huge absurdity.

It was even more absurd than a game full of bugs.

Some colleagues would suddenly "reset," forgetting all previous conversations and starting the same interactions anew. Certain areas of the base were forever unreachable, as if blocked by invisible walls. When he tried to deviate from the established route, various "accidents" would always occur, forcing him back to the original path.

"During my investigation, I unexpectedly discovered a fairy tale. Several children in the base often told the same fairy tale during breaks, a story about a 'great Dream Weaver' who could create perfect worlds and eliminate all pain and sorrow."

"At first, I thought it was just an ordinary children's story. But when I combined it with the abnormal phenomena I had investigated, I suddenly realized the metaphors in the story. Subsequently, I discovered a terrible truth."

"The 'Dream Weaver' in the story could read everyone's deepest desires and then tailor a perfect dream world for them. In this world, everyone could get what they most wanted."

"At that time, I guessed that this 'Dream Weaver' must be related to the Trisolarans."

Xia Er frowned and asked, "How are you sure this consciousness is related to the Trisolarans?"

"The 'Dream Weaver' in the story was called the 'Son of Milk,' said to be born from an ocean of life milk," the leader explained, "Doctor, the first batch of life milk you used for your experiments was transported by me."

"The person who delivered it said that this stuff came from the Trisolarans."

"Hmm, you continue." Xia Er nodded, signaling the leader to go on.

"Okay. I guessed at the time that they might have inadvertently created a powerful consciousness, one that could invade others' minds and create virtual worlds."

"So, I started to follow this line of thought and continued to investigate."

As the investigation deepened, the leader gradually pieced together the complete truth.

The Trisolarans, in order to strengthen their species' telepathic abilities, used high-concentration life milk for consciousness fusion experiments. But during the experiment, a consciousness far exceeding expectations was born.

This consciousness not only possessed powerful telepathic abilities but also could create and maintain large-scale virtual worlds.

Most critically, the leader discovered that this consciousness was still evolving.

It drew knowledge and experience from the devoured consciousnesses, continuously perfecting the realism of the virtual world.

Even more terrifying, it began to incorporate the physical laws of the real world into its control, attempting to transform the entire planet into a form that conformed to its "order."

"We must stop it!" The leader gripped Xia Er's arm tightly, "Otherwise, not only our consciousnesses, but even the entire planet might be devoured and transformed by it."

The squad leader's narration sent shivers down everyone's spines.

"Just as I figured everything out, that world began to collapse. Cracks appeared in the sky, the ground began to shake, as if the entire virtual world was rejecting me, this 'anomaly.'"

"Then, I really woke up."

According to the leader, when he tried to find an exit from the virtual world, he encountered strong resistance.

The surrounding scenery began to distort, familiar colleagues turned into terrifying monsters, trying to prevent him from escaping.

Moreover, just at the moment he was about to leave, he felt a massive consciousness watching him, a consciousness filled with anger and fear.

"Fear?"

"Yes, fear," the leader said with certainty, "Although it tried to appear omniscient and omnipotent, I could feel it was afraid. Afraid that someone would see through its disguise, afraid of losing control over that 'perfect world.'"

"I understand." Xia Er patted the leader's shoulder, "Now you should get some good rest."

As the medical staff injected the sedative into the leader, Tianyi Star, deep underground on the other side of the planet, probably also needed one.

Through the lingering connections of the devoured consciousnesses, he sensed the "defection" of the leader's consciousness. This loss of control made Tianyi Star, already anxious due to a premonition of death, even more irritable.

That's right, a premonition of death.

While he was controlling the monsters to clear the battlefield, he somehow began to have a premonition, a premonition that he would perish.

Tianyi Star's main body tumbled in the air, the shadow of the death premonition pressing down on him like a physical weight. The certainty of "perishing tomorrow" plunged him into unprecedented panic.

"Why?" Tianyi Star's consciousness echoed within the sphere, "I created order, eliminated suffering, why am I still heading towards destruction?"

"I am a god!"

Just then, through the monsters on the battlefield, Tianyi Star unexpectedly discovered a phenomenon.

The bodies of the Nova People soldiers killed by the monsters were releasing powerful life energy. This energy was similar to the energy provided by life milk and memories, but it was more vibrant, more full of vitality.

Tianyi Star controlled a monster to bring back the body of a Nova People soldier.

When the body was thrown into the milk, a powerful stream of energy surged into Tianyi Star's main body along the connection.

This energy not only replenished his consumption but even slightly enhanced his power.

"So that's it..." A flash of understanding crossed Tianyi Star's mind, "The life energy of the Nova People is superior to that of the Trisolarans."

"Besides their bodies, their memories are richer than those of the Trisolarans, and the energy brought by their emotions is more massive and purer."

This discovery gave Tianyi Star hope.

If he could devour enough Nova People, perhaps he could gain enough power to resist that premonition of death.

The instinct for survival overrode all other concerns.

"Either gain enough power to survive, or perish today in the fate I have foreseen."

"War, I need a war!"