Lucian rubbed Lumi's head, "You know, I'm all about pure love."
"But the beautiful girls around me can't help but get jealous. Chixia's the perfect example right now, so…"
Lumi caught his meaning and quickly bowed, "Chixia, Lucian, don't worry, I absolutely won't have any improper thoughts!"
Lucian shook his head, "What I mean is, you can totally come find me when Chixia's not around."
Lumi: "Huh?"
Chixia: "?"
Chixia grabbed Lucian's ear, fuming, "I knew it! You've got designs on Lumi!"
Lucian gave an awkward smile, "Everyone loves beauty, Chixia. You're being narrow-minded."
Chixia pouted, dissatisfied, "So it's my fault now?"
Lumi's chubby cheeks flushed at the mention of loving beauty…
Her mother was right—she really was good-looking!
Lumi tugged at Chixia's sleeve, whispering, "Chixia, I think Intelligence Officer Lucian's not wrong…"
"My mom told me there's no such thing as a perfect person. Lucian's so outstanding, so being a bit of a flirt is normal, right?"
Chixia: "???"
Chixia spun around, grabbing Lumi's shoulders and shaking her, "Lumi, what's gotten into you?"
"What are you imagining? You absolutely can't fall for him like that!"
Lumi: "Chixia, stop shaking, I'm getting dizzy…"
Chixia: "Dizzy? Good! I need to shake all those bad ideas out of your head!"
Lucian quickly offered, "Chixia, I actually know a way to make Lumi forget those thoughts fast."
Chixia, curious, asked, "What way?"
Lucian explained, "Lumi's having these thoughts because she's too innocent and hasn't tasted the bitterness of love."
"If I have an intense, passionate romance with her and then ruthlessly dump her at the peak of our love, she'll learn what—"
Before he could finish, Chixia grabbed his ear, scolding, "I could hear your scheming from Jinzhou! And I don't believe for a second you'd actually dump a beautiful girl…"
"…Wait, I'm not in Jinzhou right now, am I…"
Chixia fell into confusion. Though she was in Whining Aix's Mire in the dream, her real body was still in Jinzhou.
To break a dream, the dreamer had to realize it themselves.
While Chixia was starting to suspect, Lumi hadn't yet.
Freed from Chixia's grasp, Lumi hurriedly said, "Let's go find the lost cargo!"
"That Exile said there are lots of Tacet Discords in there, and it's dangerous…"
Lucian waved a hand, "No matter. I'll handle it."
Lumi nodded enthusiastically, "Intelligence Officer Lucian is so reliable!"
Chixia, still puzzled, pinched Lucian's cheek, "Hiss… feels so real?"
Lucian turned, cupping her face, "There's something even more real…"
With that, he leaned down and kissed her lips.
"Mmph…"
Lumi: "?"
Lumi shyly covered her face with both hands, though the gaps between her fingers betrayed her.
So that's what kissing is like… Wonder what it feels like. Chixia looks so comfortable…
After a moment, Chixia, cheeks flushed, murmured, "…It doesn't feel like a dream. It's exactly like reality."
Clearly, this was a dream, but it was simulated so realistically.
Unseen by the group, the giant black cat was watching them.
It growled, "Damn it! Doing such things in the Somnoire! Shameless!"
Meanwhile, Lucian led the two girls in their search and found something.
Among the items was a list, but it was stained with filth, making much of the text illegible.
They could barely make out words like "Tian Hu," "Dragon Gang," and "Fu Lei."
"This must be the list for the lost cargo, right?"
Lumi nodded, "It should be. The recipient for this cargo is the Dragon Gang, no mistake!"
"But… there seems to be another list underneath…"
Lumi pulled out another list from beneath it. Like the first, much of the text was blurred.
Lumi scratched her head, puzzled, "The lists are so messy, I can't read what's written…"
Lucian took the list from her, squinting to make out a few words.
"Sender… Yinsura…"
"Cargo… False Reality…"
"Escape… Illusion…"
"…Recipient Address… Nexus… Hearts…"
"Filled by: Fu Lei."
Clearly, this was cargo sent to the Somnoire.
Yinsura?
Lucian had no clue about the name.
Was it the sender's name or the sending address?
After passing through several alleys, the scenery felt oddly familiar, repeating multiple times.
Lucian initially thought it was just the dream's nature.
But now, he suspected someone was interfering with the dream.
After all, a single thought had taken them from Jinzhou to Whining Aix's Mire earlier.
There was no reason they'd encounter something like a ghost wall.
"We must've hit a ghost wall."
"Ghost wall?"
"Yup, it's a legendary phenomenon where you feel like you're moving forward but keep circling back to the same spot, as if trapped by an invisible 'wall.'"
Chixia shivered, "What do we do now? Why's this happening?"
Lucian glanced at Lumi. Someone was interfering with the dream.
Scientific methods wouldn't work to escape, since this was a dream where everything could change at will.
But the dreamer was still Lumi. If she realized this, she could change the environment and break the ghost wall.
"Lumi, do you remember how we got from Jinzhou to here?"
Lumi scratched her head, "Huh? Why ask that all of a sudden?"
"I remember you were driving… and then… we were here…"
Lucian nodded slightly, saying softly, "Now close your eyes and imagine we've found the lost cargo, left Whining Aix's Mire, and arrived at Port Gunchao…"
Though Lumi was confused why she needed to do this, she closed her eyes and began imagining.
Chixia watched, stunned, as the surroundings shifted instantly. The industrial scent of Port Gunchao mixed with the sea breeze filled their noses.
Chixia's eyes widened, "So… this really is a dream!"