Chapter 293: A Strange Encounter
Gawain left the eye-catching Crystal Plaza area but didn’t head toward the massive palace-like building at the city’s very center. That enormous palace was likely the seat of the highest authority of the Sleeper cult. Although Gawain had high-level access within this network and had successfully uncovered many vulnerabilities in the mental network, he wasn’t ready to take any reckless risks just yet. Unless absolutely necessary, he had no intention of venturing into areas requiring even higher clearance.
He followed a beautiful path strewn with fallen leaves, moving away from the crystal installation site, and stopped in a quiet garden. Only a few Sleepers were around—seemingly resting here. These cultists looked just like ordinary citizens, strolling leisurely between flowerbeds or sitting on benches chatting casually. If Gawain hadn’t known the truth behind this virtual world, even he might have been fooled by the peaceful, serene facade.
Gawain pondered the mysterious Sleeper cult, their future, the virtual reality technology they had created, and the experimental field he had secretly built within it.
This “Eternal Dream” was incredibly useful—even knowing how it was constructed, Gawain couldn’t deny its value.
Though the Sleepers had originally built this virtual world to seduce mortals, to chase their own eternal dreams, and to escape reality, when applied properly, its worth was undeniable. Gawain had quietly set up his own simulation lab here. Honestly, he hoped this lab could keep running, and maybe the entire mental network could continue to develop. But the blood-soaked methods the Sleepers used posed a huge problem.
They built the neural array at the cost of innocent lives… To be honest, although Gawain considered himself a ruthless “extractor” who never wasted any value, he couldn’t compare to these cultists. He simply couldn’t accept such methods.
So he kept trying to crack the core technology behind the Sleepers’ system, to understand the principles of this “human brain array network.” He wanted to find a way to improve it—and he was convinced such an improvement existed.
After all, none of the ancient Dream Church’s divine arts required using human brains as a casting medium. Dream magic could link human minds without needing a brain substrate. And based on how Druidic natural magic transformed into natural spells, the conversion from divine arts to spells didn’t require changes in casting materials—only the casting process changed. So the Sleepers’ current technology had to be flawed somewhere.
As Gawain mulled over stealing and improving the Sleepers’ tech to build a better mental network, he watched coldly as the cultists moved between the flower paths and shaded groves.
These guys didn’t look crazy at all in the Eternal Dream. They seemed to have created all this just to live a good life here.
As a cult, they seriously lacked dedication. Real dedicated cultists should be wearing black cloaks even when sleeping at home, using toilet paper printed with goat heads when going to the bathroom, right? How did they manage to create a utopia and get everyone so immersed in it?
Gawain couldn’t help but grumble inwardly. The longer he stayed in this dream world, the more baffled he became by the Sleepers. Outside, they could wreak havoc on kingdoms and stir up chaos, but here, each one was a polite, refined citizen. Even after all this time, Gawain hadn’t heard a single conversation about their cult beliefs. Had they all forgotten they were cultists?
Just as Gawain was lost in these thoughts, a soft, pleasant voice suddenly interrupted him from beside him:
“Uncle! Can I sit next to you?”
Gawain’s heart skipped a beat, but before his expression could change, he forced himself to stay calm. He turned and was surprised to see a little girl who looked about Ilaven or twelve years old. She wore a pretty pale white dress, had smooth light brown hair, big bright eyes, and thin lips curved into a faint smile.
A very pretty little girl, and quite polite too. But Gawain wasn’t fooled by appearances—he’d lived through the internet age in his previous life and knew this mental network supported face customization. There was no way he’d be deceived by this sweet exterior. Who knew what kind of person was behind that adorable face? Maybe someone who picked their nose, wore a black cloak to bed, and used goat-head toilet paper…
Instantly, Gawain’s mind flashed an image of a typical middle-aged cultist, and the sweet little girl before him was instantly pixelated in his mental filter. He nodded calmly at the pixelated figure. “Of course.”
“Phew—” The girl hopped onto the bench next to him, settling herself with a happy smile. “I ran around the park for so long! I’m exhausted!”
Even her tone sounded like a little girl’s… Gawain shivered.
He knew there couldn’t be any real children in this virtual world. This was the Sleepers’ mental network, and to connect, one had to be a devout Sleeper with some spellcasting ability. How could an Ilaven-year-old child project their spirit into this network? So every child “character” here was 100% custom-made.
Gawain glanced at the girl happily swinging her legs and broke out in a cold sweat. Finally, he’d found a Sleeper who fit the cultist profile in this dream world: not violent, but definitely twisted…
The girl noticed his gaze and turned curiously. “Uncle, why are you staring at me?”
She even called him “uncle”!
Had these Sleepers been so addicted to the network that they’d gone full-on pervert?
Gawain forced a smile, letting the girl’s words guide the conversation. “Where are your parents?”
“They’re not here!” The girl wiggled restlessly, unable to stay still for a second. “But Sister Selina takes care of me. She lives downtown!”
Downtown? The huge palace building?
Gawain’s heart skipped again. For a moment, he even forgot to question whether this little girl was really a middle-aged cultist in disguise. If it was the palace at the center of Dream City… that should be a place only accessible to the highest-level Sleepers!
He looked the girl over carefully again. She still looked innocent, as if she’d just said those things casually.
Could a Sleeper cultist really get this deep into their role?
Gawain frowned and asked casually, “What’s your name?”
“Patty!” the girl said cheerfully. “I’m Patty Grant.”
A name he hadn’t heard before. The surname sounded familiar, but there were many Grants, so it didn’t mean much.
“What’s your name, uncle?” Patty blinked at him, curious.
“…Celsi. No surname.” Gawain thought for a moment and made up a name on the spot. This mental network had no mature ID system, so faking a name was easy. No matter how powerful this little girl’s true self was, she couldn’t trace the real identity of this unauthorized intruder.
“Oh, what a strange name,” Patty nodded, seeming like she wanted to say more. But just then, someone called her from across the garden. The girl jumped up excitedly and waved vigorously toward the voice. “I hear you, Sister Selina!”
Gawain followed the voice and saw a young woman in a pale purple dress with a purple veil over her face standing by a flowerbed. Her gaze swept over him.
Gawain nodded politely at the woman. Patty gave him an exaggerated bow. “Uncle Celsi! I have to go now!”
“Nice to meet you. See you next time.”
Gawain said goodbye politely. He watched as Patty skipped over to the veiled woman, grabbed her hand excitedly, and chattered away—probably telling her about her day and introducing her new friend, “Uncle Celsi.” The veiled woman bent down to straighten Patty’s slightly messy dress, then turned her gaze back to Gawain.
She silently nodded and bowed slightly before leading the girl away.
Gawain watched expressionlessly until they disappeared behind a wall.
A strange feeling settled in his chest. He shook his head, stood up, and decided to leave.
He disconnected from the mental network, letting his consciousness spin and fall through the void until he fully returned to the real world.
When he opened his eyes, Amber was sitting across from him, staring at him with a serious expression, as if watching over a pile of money.
Gawain blinked. Amber suddenly realized he was awake and jumped in surprise. “Wow!”
“You too— you scared me,” Gawain said, stretching his stiff neck. “What are you doing?”
“Watching you,” Amber said matter-of-factly. “Didn’t you ask me to keep an eye on you?”
Gawain’s mouth twitched. “Uh… I didn’t mean for you to watch me like that.”
“You looked like you were asleep just now,” Amber said, leaning in curiously and circling him like she was studying a rare creature. “Did you really sleep? What did you dream about?”
Gawain sighed. “I saw a little girl, okay?”
Amber froze mid-circle, then jumped back two meters with a horrified expression. “You—you—you don’t even spare little girls?!”
Before Gawain could respond, she blurted out, “So that novel about you dating over eighty princesses is actually nonfiction?!”
“Don’t move from there!”
(End of chapter)