146: Pan Han's Dream

Returning to the shared apartment, Pan Han felt as if a thousand years had passed.

The room was impeccably clean, the floor shined brightly, and there was no smell in the bathroom.

This cleanliness gave Pan Han an immense sense of unreality; he wondered if he had truly been to the apocalypse, if he had truly become an evolver.

"Am I dreaming?" Pan Han muttered, looking around.

He remembered that it was here, at the very beginning, that Chen Yun had dumped him, and Yan Xiaoli had helped him pay the rent.

Yan Xiaoli, seeing his tense expression, asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

Pan Han quickly waved his hand, telling her not to speak. He was afraid of being woken up; what if he woke up and it was all a grand dream, and he was still that stinky loser dumped by his first love? What would he do then!

Yan Xiaoli was at a loss for a moment, unsure what to do.

Pan Han ignored her, walked straight into his small room, closed the door, and collapsed onto the bed.

"Why am I suddenly so tired?" Pan Han murmured, then closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Yan Xiaoli leaned by the door, listening for a long time, and finding no movement inside, she pushed the door open, fearing something had happened to Pan Han.

"So he was asleep," Yan Xiaoli chuckled wryly, turned Pan Han over, covered him with a blanket, and then left.

In the dream...

Pan Han arrived in an infinitely vast, completely black space.

There was no light here; Pan Han couldn't see anything, yet he could see everything.

It was both large and small, both dark and bright; there was no time, yet time felt like it was passing quickly; his five senses were lost, yet all kinds of information were fully present in his consciousness.

Such a strange experience, impossible to describe with words.

Pan Han floated in the darkness, not knowing how long had passed—perhaps one second, perhaps a hundred million years!

He opened his mouth and said, "Let there be light!"

Suddenly, a ball of light appeared before his eyes. It grew larger and brighter.

When the light ball expanded to the size of a yoga ball, it stopped, no longer changing.

Pan Han looked at the light ball, his five senses slowly returned, and his limbs could move freely.

"Where am I?" Pan Han tried to speak.

"That's two questions," a voice came from the light ball.

"What two questions?" Pan Han didn't understand what the light ball meant.

"Who am I, and where is this?" the light ball replied.

"Then where is this?" Pan Han wanted to get closer to the light ball, so he moved forward, but he found that the distance didn't close; it was still a step away.

"This is the Matrix."

"What is the Matrix?"

"The Matrix is everything, and it is nothing."

"Then who are you?" Pan Han didn't quite understand what the Matrix was.

"I am you."

"Then who am I?"

"I don't know."

Pan Han was completely confused; this light ball was just going in circles with him.

"Then why did I come here?"

"Your question is very interesting; I really want to answer it."

"Then tell me," Pan Han felt that this light ball might be Buddha; its words were too profound.

"But I cannot answer."

"Why?"

"Because the time is not right."

"Uh! Do you find talking like this interesting?"

"When one day you know why you came here, I will naturally tell you."

"If I already know why I came, do I still need you to tell me?" Pan Han was a bit speechless; what exactly was this light ball, why was it so mysterious?

"So, why do you ask?" the light ball counter-questioned.

"Holy cow!" As the light ball asked this, a flash of lightning instantly streaked across Pan Han's mind.

For some reason, he seemed to suddenly understand the light ball's meaning.

But how to describe this understanding? He didn't know!

"Young man, you are very interesting!" At this moment, the light ball transformed into a human figure, very similar in build to Pan Han.

"Huh, you can transform," Pan Han was a bit flustered at the sight and couldn't help but take two steps back. Unfortunately, it was useless; he and the light ball figure were still a step apart.

This is truly bizarre, Pan Han mused.

"You are the first to make me transform. Interesting, interesting!" The humanoid light ball actually made a sound of surprise.

"Didn't you just say I am you? Why are we now separate?" Pan Han was surprised that its tone had changed; there must be something strange.

"It seems the opportunity has arrived." The humanoid light ball became clearer and clearer, its appearance gradually discernible.

Holy cow! Isn't that me? Pan Han gasped, his heart rate accelerating rapidly.

"Young man, calm down; I'm not used to such a fast heartbeat," the humanoid light ball said slowly.

"Possession! This is definitely possession!" A thought popped into Pan Han's mind.

"You should read fewer useless web novels!" The humanoid light ball started speaking more like a human.

"You can know what I'm thinking?"

"Nonsense, I am you!"

"Damn it! This isn't possession?"

"You'd best ask what I want to do," the humanoid light ball shrugged.

"Oh, right! What do you want to do?" Pan Han was reminded by it and thought it made sense.

"Hehe, I won't tell you!"

"You motherfucker!"

"Swearing? How boring, low-class taste!" The humanoid light ball waved its hand.

"What exactly do you want to do?"

"When you know what I want to do, I will naturally tell you!"

"Isn't that just stating the obvious? If I knew, would I still ask?" Pan Han felt he was being teased again.

"So, why do you ask?" The humanoid light ball forced a grimace, making an awkward smile.

"Holy cow! Ah!!!!!"

Pan Han suddenly felt an intense pain in his brain and couldn't help but cry out.

It felt like ten thousand steel needles were pricking his cerebral cortex.

That's right, exactly ten thousand!

Pan Han could clearly feel that it was ten thousand steel needles. Not one more, not one less!

"Ah! It hurts so much!" He could no longer stand and was writhing on the ground in pain.

"Hehehe! Interesting, interesting!" The humanoid light ball completely ignored Pan Han's suffering and laughed to itself.

"Interesting, interesting!"

"Interesting, interesting!"

...

After an unknown amount of time, Pan Han slowly opened his eyes, and a blurry face came into view.

Yan Xiaoli's voice came from beside his ear: "Pan Han, Pan Han!"

This was followed by a vigorous shaking, and Pan Han's vision, swaying with his body, gradually cleared.

"Xiaoli!" Pan Han managed to utter two words.

"Are you alright!" Yan Xiaoli asked with a worried expression.

Pan Han hadn't fully recovered yet. He moved his body, trying to reach out and touch Yan Xiaoli, but found his arm wasn't obeying him.

Yan Xiaoli saw that he wanted to move, so she quickly rubbed his arm and hand.

After about seven or eight minutes, Pan Han could move normally again.

"How long did I sleep?" Pan Han asked.

"About three hours."

"That long? I feel like only two minutes passed."

"When I saw you asleep, I went about my own business. Then I heard you scream and cry out in pain, so I rushed in. What exactly did you dream about?" Yan Xiaoli thought Pan Han had a nightmare.

"Hmm. This..." Pan Han thought back; he could remember all the details. However, he decided not to say anything. Because this dream was too real, too real.

"You're killing me with suspense! What did you dream about?" The more Pan Han hesitated, the more anxious Yan Xiaoli became.

"I dreamed that Chen Yun came with Li Long and a bunch of people to surround me. They beat me up," Pan Han made up a lie.

"Oh my, that's it! You scared me to death," Yan Xiaoli exclaimed with a laugh, giving his arm a playful slap.

"Sorry, I made you worry," Pan Han pretended to be embarrassed.

"It's fine. You're probably tired; you should rest more," Yan Xiaoli picked up an apple from the bedside and handed it to him.

"Okay, thank you!"

"Hehehe!"