192: At the end of the dream, three stars

Lin Mo's provocation was like a giant rock thrown into a calm lake, stirring up a violent reaction from the entire false world.

The monster before him, a grotesque amalgamation of Gu Zhixia and Gu Nianqiu, swiftly replaced its expression of bewilderment with an inorganic coldness. The entire decaying city began to violently dissolve and collapse, like a painting immersed in concentrated acid.

Skyscrapers transformed into flowing, gray data streams, the ground cracked open into bottomless, pitch-black abysses, and the leaden clouds in the sky swirled into a massive vortex emanating madness and chaos.

A mental pressure hundreds of times more powerful than before, like billions of tons of seawater, squeezed in from all directions, attempting to crush his consciousness into dust.

"Switching scenes, are we? It seems my assessment displeased you greatly."

Lin Mo stood at the center of the collapsing world, allowing the violent energy storm to buffet his tattered clothes, his mocking smile unwavering.

He could feel his consciousness being dragged, plummeting towards a deeper, darker, and more insane abyss. That place was filled with the most primal, illogical chaos, enough to assimilate and drive any rational being mad in an instant.

This was the opponent's trump card. When psychological tactics failed, they resorted directly to the most barbaric, purest mental power for violent destruction.

However, just as his consciousness was about to be completely swallowed by that chaotic vortex...

A brilliant, dark-purple lightning bolt, filled with endless fury and destructive will, tore through this collapsing illusion without warning!

That lightning, like a blade of judgment from the divine realm, with an unstoppable sharpness, forcibly cleaved a rift right through the center of that chaotic vortex!

On the other side of the rift, there was no longer mad chaos, but a dead silent, pitch-black darkness where one couldn't see their hand in front of their face.

In that darkness, a familiar figure was tightly bound to an obsidian cross by countless black chains forged from resentment and pain.

It was Gu Zhixia!

She had her eyes tightly closed, her brows furrowed, seemingly enduring immense suffering. But the unyielding, volcanic battle intent within her showed no signs of weakening; instead, it seemed to be accumulating for the next eruption. The lightning that tore through the illusion was precisely the aftershock of the law-level power unconsciously emanating from her.

"Zhi Xia!"

Lin Mo's heart trembled. He hadn't expected to "see" her in such a place, in such a way.

As if hearing his call, Gu Zhixia on the cross, her long eyelashes trembled slightly.

"Lin Mo...?" A weak voice, yet still carrying a hint of wariness, echoed in Lin Mo's mind, "You... you were also captured and brought in?"

"Looks like we both hit the jackpot," Lin Mo scoffed. He tried to move towards Gu Zhixia, but found his body was immobilized, unable to move. Although they could "see" each other, it was as if an invisible dimensional barrier separated them.

"What exactly is this hellhole?" Gu Zhixia's voice was filled with suppressed rage. "I've been reliving a nightmare... Nianqiu... she... again and again..."

She couldn't continue her words, her voice tinged with an undisguised tremor and pain.

"I know, it's fake," Lin Mo immediately interrupted her. His voice was soft but exceptionally steady, carrying a strength that could soothe hearts. "That's just the enemy's method to attack our mental weak points. We've both been dragged into a massive mental trap."

"Of course I know it's fake!" Gu Zhixia growled. "I already tore that illusion apart with my own hands! But now, I'm trapped in this pitch-black cage again! That bastard is like a fly buzzing endlessly in the dark, it's infuriating!"

From her mental fluctuations, Lin Mo sensed her anxiety and unease. She was like a fierce tiger trapped in a cage, her claws still sharp, but with no place to exert her strength.

And just then, Lin Mo felt the force dragging him intensify again. That chaotic vortex seemed unwilling to have its prey "stolen" and wanted to drag him back into the abyss.

"This guy seems to want to separate us and conquer us one by one," Lin Mo immediately concluded.

"Dream on!" Gu Zhixia snorted coldly. "I don't care what method you use, Lin Mo, find a way to get us together! Only when the two of us are together can we completely overturn this hellhole!"

Her words enlightened Lin Mo.

Yes, although they were both currently passive, their two consciousnesses had, in some way, established a faint connection. This was their only chance to turn the tables.

But how to strengthen this connection and break through that invisible barrier?

Lin Mo's brain raced at an unprecedented speed.

Mental power... laws... consciousness link... wait, consciousness link!

His link with the World Tree! Although his main connection with the World Tree was forcibly severed the moment he was dragged into the illusion, that link mode, rooted deep in his soul, was imprinted in his consciousness like an instinct.

And the essence of the World Tree was Life, connection, the most powerful network hub that incorporated everything into its own system.

What if... what if I could use my own consciousness as a node, simulate the World Tree's link mode, and bring Zhi Xia's consciousness into it as well...? This idea was bold, and yet insane.

This was tantamount to forcibly building one's own local area network within a strange, virus-ridden server.

"Zhi Xia, relax your mental defenses, but stay vigilant," Lin Mo's voice was decisive and firm. "Don't resist my consciousness; I'm going to establish a 'channel'."

"What are you going to do?" Gu Zhixia was a little confused, but in this situation, she chose to trust Lin Mo's judgment unconditionally. She was a warrior, responsible for charging into battle, while strategic planning was Lin Mo's domain.

Lin Mo took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

He no longer resisted the force dragging him; instead, he immersed his entire mind into his sea of consciousness. He began to recall, recalling the feeling of every communication with the World Tree, recalling how those complex, emerald-green energy patterns spread and grew in his mental world.

He imagined his consciousness as a seed.

A World Tree seed.

Then, he began to try to make this seed "take root and sprout."

A faint, emerald-green light, carrying the aura of Life, slowly extended from Lin Mo's core consciousness, like a fragile vine, cautiously probing towards the dark cage where Gu Zhixia was imprisoned.

This was an operation a hundred times more precise than controlling a warship. The slightest mistake and his consciousness would be contaminated and assimilated by the enemy's mental power.

Just as that wisp of emerald-green vine was about to touch Gu Zhixia's consciousness...

A cold voice, tinged with condescending amusement, abruptly echoed in both their minds simultaneously.

"Oh? Performing a 'telepathic connection' act on the stage I prepared for you? How... deeply moving."

Casper's mental projection, a handsome yet twisted figure composed of pure malice, slowly emerged in the void between Lin Mo and Gu Zhixia.

"It's just a pity that your little tricks, to me, are like two ants trying to dig a tunnel in the palm of my hand – ridiculous and futile."

He extended a finger, seemingly intending to flick it lightly and crush Lin Mo's fragile "consciousness vine."

"Are you the rat hiding in the back?" Gu Zhixia looked at him, her eyes boiling with killing intent.

"You may call me The Collector," Casper smiled, savoring his prey's rage. "And you, are my most precious treasures, soon to be collected."

However, just as Casper's finger was about to descend...

An anomaly occurred again.

In a corner of the deeper consciousness space, unnoticed by both Lin Mo and Gu Zhixia...

In the pure white world belonging to Gu Nianqiu, who had fallen into the deepest slumber earlier...

The little girl, who had been curled up under the throne, seemed to sense the presence of her older brother and sister. A crystal tear slowly rolled down her pale little face.

"Sister... Brother Mo..."

A faint, almost inaudible call, emanating from the deepest part of her soul, softly sounded.

This call had no power of laws, no powerful mentalImpact.

It was simply the purest, cleanest bond of "family."

It was this call that, like a key, unlocked some fundamental connection.

Instantly, Lin Mo's emerald-green "consciousness vine" no longer needed him to laboriously extend it.

Gu Zhixia's violent, dark-purple lightning power also no longer erupted aimlessly.

A warm, soft pink light, carrying a faint scent of food and strawberry cream, seeped out from Gu Nianqiu's consciousness world, acting like a bridge that instantly linked Lin Mo's emerald-green light and Gu Zhixia's dark-purple light together!

Green Life, purple destruction, pink creation.

Three distinct powers, at this moment, merged into one in a way that surpassed Casper's comprehension.

A stable, triangular mental domain, formed by the three-colored lights, instantly took shape!

"What?!"

Casper's smile completely froze.

He felt his control over this mental world being rapidly squeezed out and weakened by an external force he couldn't understand!

He was no longer the sole "god."

In this new domain constructed by the trio's bond, he transformed from a "game administrator" into an unwelcome "foreign virus"!

"No... impossible!"

Casper let out a roar of shock and fury. He frantically mobilized his mental power, trying to overwhelm that small but indestructible triangular domain.

However, his attacks were like a stone sinking into the sea, stirring not a single ripple.

"Now, it seems it's our turn."

Lin Mo's voice sounded again. This time, his voice was no longer alone, but overlapped with Gu Zhixia's coolness and a faint, almost imperceptible softness belonging to Gu Nianqiu.

"Don't you like collecting?" Gu Zhixia's voice carried a bone-chilling coldness. "I'd like to see if twisting off your head and making it an ornament on my spear would be a nice 'collection'!"

As her words fell, the three-colored light, a fusion of their combined powers, erupted violently!

Boom—!

The entire mental gallery shook violently!

Casper's handsome mental projection, under the impact of this light, for the first time, let out a painful roar, his figure becoming illusory and unstable.

The fierce tiger trapped in the cage had finally broken free.

And the high-and-mighty observer was about to taste what it was like to become the "prey."