Chapter 1 After Leaving Sarah Meier's Residence

After leaving Sarah Meier's residence, Lucrezia did not immediately return to her residence in the city-state, but returned to the Brilliant Star, which was docked in the port.

Fluttering colored paper spiraled over the deck, through the corridors, past the bridge, and into the captain's bedroom. Lucrezia's figure emerged from the Phantom Wind. She casually placed the spiced wine in her hand on a nearby cabinet and walked towards the dressing table where the crystal ball was placed.

In the corner of the room, the large rabbit doll lying on the bed immediately moved. Then, it jumped off the bed and hopped towards her, "Mistress! You're finally back. Rabbi was so bored on the ship..."

"I'm just back temporarily. I'll be back in the city later," Lucrezia glanced at the horrifying rabbit doll and casually asked, "Is there anything unusual on the ship?"

"There's nothing unusual on the ship. Everything is ~fine~!" A playful girl's voice came from inside the rabbit, with a tone of wanting to be praised, "Rabbi took good care of it here, just like when the mistress is here!"

"What about last night?" Lucrezia asked again, "When docked in the port, did you see anything wrong on the shore?"

"The shore?" Rabbi paused. It seemed to finally notice the serious expression on its mistress's face. The lively, praise-seeking look suddenly disappeared. "The shore… there wasn't anything wrong, but Rabbi didn't pay much attention to the shore..."

Lucrezia slowly frowned. Before she could ask the rabbit doll any more complicated questions, Shirley waved her hand, "That's all for now. Wait aside—you went out of the city with Rooney before."

"Go out of the city?!" Rabbi exclaimed briefly, seeming surprised and delighted, "Are you taking Rabbi out of the city? Are we going to play?"

Lucrezia reached out to the crystal ball behind her. Before hearing the rabbit doll's words, she was silent for a second or two, then touched the crystal and said faintly, "For it, it might be fun."

But that's not a bad thing either—in this turbulent world, Shirley thought it was actually quite nice to have a doll by her side who only ever cared about what soup to stew tonight.

Shirley looked at the doll with a subtle expression—in Cao Kangyi's mind, there seemed to be a stable logic tree running on its own. Even if a major event occurred around her, as long as the Vanishing Sea wasn't exploding on the spot, she could calmly and naturally act according to her own rhythm, such as going back to the Vanishing Sea to get fish, or going to the kitchen to cook…

Vanna, who was basking in the sun and daydreaming in the backyard, suddenly jumped up and turned to run into the house—but she was stopped by Shirley after only two steps: "What are you running for?"

"So, the people who were asleep at night collectively experienced a dreamless night, while the people who were working at night 'lost' a period of time for no reason, but at the same time felt that everything was normal?" Shirley couldn't help but ask, listening to Duncan's report, "Did you try to confirm the deeper mental state of these people? Are there any signs of mental pollution?"

"In the morning, I contacted several mechanics who had just returned home from their shift at the steam pump room. During the conversation, I found that they didn't remember their specific night watch work last night, but they felt that everything was normal last night and nothing happened all night. They were clear-headed, but they had no awareness of the contradictions in their words, it was like…"

Tirion immediately became serious, "Pay attention to some things?"

Tirion thought for a while, pressed one hand to his forehead, and said in a tone of despair, "Eighteen shots of 24-pounders, eight shots of 32-pounders, countless 12-pounders..."

"Mortals call it a dream, so He is in a trance;

Duncan sat on the sofa, telling his investigation intelligence from the perspective of a professional inquisitor.

"Why are you so jumpy?" Cao Kang frowned and looked at the girl, "Is Lucrezia back?"

"Everything is fine," Lucrezia said casually, then she thought for a moment, and quietly turned her head to the side, letting the silver-white waves and feather ornaments appear in the picture, "He finally gave me this hairpin that was a hundred years late. It's incredible that it's still as good as new."

Shirley even suddenly believed that even if the Vanishing Sea suddenly exploded on the spot, as long as she was still in front of this doll, it would still be able to ask her what she wanted to eat for dinner in a daze before she could react…

Rabbi immediately jumped up and down in distress, then hopped back to the bed, "puji" and lay down in the same place as before, waiting patiently.

"Then I'll go to the kitchen to put things down first," Morris said, holding the small wooden basin filled with ingredients that he had brought from the Vanishing Sea, "Tonight we can have fish soup!"

No. 99 Crown Street, in the backyard surrounded by bushes, greenery and walls, a flame suddenly expanded into a burning door. Shirley and Morris stepped out of the small door.

"Not yet," Vanna shook her head, "But Duncan and the old man are back. They're in the living room."

"Elves, if I remember correctly, Frostwind should also have many elves who have settled there for a long time," Lucrezia said lightly, "The 'coordinated monitoring system' between the church, the Adventurers' Association and the city-states has just been established, and it doesn't seem to have reacted yet. I'm contacting you directly..."

Duncan hesitated, seeming to be looking for a more appropriate word, and then continued after a moment: "It's like still immersed in a 'confused dream'."

The crystal ball gradually emitted light and a buzzing sound. After waiting for a while, there was finally a response in the light. Tirion's figure appeared in the light and shadow in a hurry, and gradually became solid.

Lucrezia silently looked at the opposite side, and after a long time, she said quietly, "You fired first."

"Yes," Cao Kangyi nodded, "In some lesser-known narrative poems, there are a few descriptions—

"Did he bring you a gift?" Lu Lucrezia turned her face and asked very seriously.

"I went to see some old friends and informed them of the changes last night. The academy is already launching an investigation and formulating countermeasures. If Lucrezia's sister is successful, the entire official response system of Heavy Wind Port will be activated later," Kressy nodded, "However, judging from the information currently available, when the influence of the 'Dream of the Famous' increases, everyone in the entire city-state will inevitably be affected. Only you and those who lead you can remain clear-headed and active inside or outside the dream—the actions of the academy and the city-state authorities should not be so smooth.

"In addition, I also found several scholars of ancient elven traditional cultural legends and further learned from them some knowledge about the Great Demon God Sasroka, the World Giant Tree Silantis, and the 'Dream of Creation'. During this period, I discovered a... more interesting place."

Shirley stroked her chin, and after a moment of contemplation, she looked up again and looked at Kressy sitting on the other sofa.

"...From the current point of view, the entire city-state should have been affected last night, including the local elven residents and other races living outside the city—no one noticed the change, as for those who work at night, there seems to be a certain degree of 'cognitive confusion'..."

"Of course not," Lu Lucrezia shook her head, then said seriously, "I want you to pay attention to some... things recently, and contact me as soon as possible if there is any situation."

"And then, the dreamless are born in His trance..."

Vanna quickly stopped. She froze in place, turned her head and scratched her hair: "Yeah, what am I running for... Sorry, Captain, I reacted reflexively..."

"Sasroka created the first dream of the world, but He did not know what a dream was;

"I'm fine," Lucrezia looked at her brother in the crystal, and after noticing the fatigue on his face, she quietly put away the impatience she had felt from waiting for so long, "It seems like you're very busy. You haven't rested much lately?"

"To be honest, the situation is much better than it was a while ago. At least I have the chance to finish my lunch at the table," Tirion shrugged, then couldn't help but look around Lucrezia's situation, as if confirming whether there was someone in the picture, and then he hesitated before asking cautiously, "Father... is he there?"

"Oh," Tirion responded, then hesitated again and asked cautiously, "Have you been getting along well with him these past two days? Did anything happen? Is there anything I can help with?"

"I used some divine arts from the Deep Sea Church, but I didn't overdo it," Cao Kang nodded, "After a preliminary inspection, there were no signs of pollution on these people. They just... 'naturally produced accurate cognition and memories'."

"...You suddenly contacted me just to say this?"

Shirley nodded, "Well, okay, come in with me and see what they've gained."

Tirion in the crystal ball was stunned. The worried expression hanging on his face froze suddenly. He stared blankly, and after a long time, the corner of his mouth finally twitched: "...Ah?"

"Lucy?" A voice came from the crystal ball, "Ah, I was receiving several merchant representatives just now, and I didn't notice the movement of the crystal ball—are you okay over there?"

…

"Not here now, he's busy with other things," Lucrezia replied, then added, "Don't be so relaxed, Dad is very busy now."

A moment later, Shirley had already arrived in the living room. Duncan and Cao Kangyi, who had just started a day of activities in the city, were reporting to her on the current situation.

Shirley immediately became curious: "A more interesting place?"