"What kind of plot was that today? It was a mess..."

Lin Xian rubbed his arms, chilled by the night wind, recalling the dream he'd just had.

A big-faced cat,

An Ultraman mask,

A beautiful secret agent,

It was enough to make one laugh and cry.

"Felt like I was shooting a movie with a bunch of idiots... cough, cough."

Lin Xian coughed a couple of times, feeling a bit of a chill.

He then realized he'd forgotten to close the window before going to bed last night.

Early winter night winds were not to be trifled with.

*Whirr*—

After closing the old sliding window, the sounds of the night market vendors playing finger-guessing games downstairs quieted down considerably. Without the night wind's intrusion, the room seemed to warm up.

Lin Xian poured himself a glass of hot water, took a couple of sips, and looked at the full moon hanging in the sky outside the window:

"What exactly is hidden in that safe with my name on it?"

...

From birth, Lin Xian had the same dream every night.

Day after day, year after year.

No matter how old Lin Xian was, no matter where he slept, no matter what he did during the day, once he fell asleep, he would inevitably appear in that strange yet familiar square.

Strange, because Lin Xian was sure he had never been to this square in reality.

Familiar, because in these twenty-odd years, Lin Xian had thoroughly explored this square. He knew every child, every tree, even every blade of grass here.

When he was a child, Lin Xian was very afraid of this dream.

Every day was the same unchanging people, the same unchanging city, the same unchanging events.

For Lin Xian, the dream was like a cage he could never escape.

The good friends he played with yesterday would turn back into strangers today.

The people who died before his eyes yesterday would smile and greet him again today.

Even if he made a huge commotion, the dream would still be as calm as ever the next day.

He was like a prisoner trapped in time.

Sentenced to an indefinite term of repeating the same day.

...

He discovered early on that the world in the dream would always be destroyed precisely at 00:42, and he would wake up precisely at 00:42.

So he learned to exploit the bug—

[As long as I stay up until after 00:42 every day before going to sleep, I definitely won't dream!]

And indeed, that was the case.

So for a long time in his childhood, Lin Xian would stay up until after 00:42 before going to sleep, and he would have a dreamless night.

But after growing up, starting from junior high school, Lin Xian's thinking changed.

He not only accepted this constantly repeating "nightmare," but even learned how to enjoy this "sweet dream":

In reality, everything he did was controlled, but in the dream, he could do whatever he wanted, lawlessly.

No need to abide by any rules, no need to consider any consequences!

He could indulge in crazy speeding, killing gods who blocked his path!

This daily repeating dream thus became Lin Xian's outlet during adolescence.

Once he accepted this setting, Lin Xian felt that this dream, where he didn't have to bear any responsibility and wasn't afraid of death, was just too good!

While his classmates were still playing childish games like "Bubble Tang" and "Adventure Island," Lin Xian was already enjoying "Extreme Nation," "Hot-Blooded Vandal," and "Chikan 3" in his dreams.

From then on...

Lin Xian never stayed up late again.

The first thing he did when he got home from school every day was to do his homework.

After finishing his homework, he would wash up and go to bed immediately, making his parents exclaim that he had turned over a new leaf!

It was also from this time that Lin Xian discovered that the dream was not absolutely guaranteed to wake him up at 00:42—

[If you die in the dream, you will immediately wake up in reality.]

In those middle school years, the most common way for Lin Xian to die was to be shot by the police.

A sniper shot to the head, executed on the spot by SWAT, shot to death in a hail of bullets during a chase... he had experienced it all, and had even become accustomed to it.

It was precisely because of the long-term, high-intensity escape training in his dreams that Lin Xian won the City Youth Urban Parkour League Championship for three consecutive years in high school, making his teachers exclaim that he was both scholarly and martial!

To this day...

This dream is still Lin Xian's daily outlet, his amusement park.

Although the dream is always repeating the same day, fortunately the world in the dream is large enough that even though Lin Xian has been playing around in the dream for more than twenty years, he still makes new discoveries every day.

Just like in the dream just now.

Lin Xian had robbed banks many times, but that warehouse full of safes... was the first time he'd ever been inside.

He wasn't surprised that the safe had his name on it.

After all, this was his own dream, he was the protagonist, it was normal to have his own name on it.

He was just wondering...

"Why is the password wrong?"

Lin Xian finished a glass of hot water.

His body was much warmer.

He put the glass on the desk, thinking left and right, unable to figure it out...

According to his usual habit, most passwords were his birthday, easy to remember and simple.

The passwords for almost all of his online accounts were 19990320. That's why he was so confident in the dream just now.

But why was the password wrong?

An eight-digit password... he really couldn't think of a second possibility.

*Ding-dong.*

The phone on the bedside table lit up, with a new message.

He opened it and saw it was the WeChat work group—

Design Team Leader Li Juan: @All, meeting at 9 am tomorrow in the conference room on the third floor. General Manager Zhao wants to personally review everyone's proposals! No one is allowed to be late! Reply when received!

Then came several *ding-dong! ding-dong! ding-dong!* sounds.

Several "Received!" replies appeared below.

"These people are too competitive."

Lin Xian sincerely exclaimed, it's already 1 am, are these people all Super Saiyans? Don't they need to sleep at night?

But complaints aside...

In his dream, he could rob banks, blow up buildings, and joke around in the face of guns.

But in reality, he still had to reply humbly at one o'clock in the morning:

Received!

"Sleep, I have to get up early tomorrow."

Lin Xian lay back in bed, set the alarm, and threw the phone on the bedside table—

*Bang!*

...

Li Juan was furious, and slammed the folder heavily on the table!

"I told you all last night! General Manager Zhao wants to personally review your proposals today! But look at this! What the hell are you all doing!?"

The entire conference room on the third floor was silent...

Everyone lowered their heads.

Li Juan was furious! She took out a drawing and slammed it on the table:

"What is our new brand focusing on!? Youth! Girls! I asked you to design a brand image, and you gave me a fox wearing black silk stockings? And wagging its tail?"

"And you!"

Li Juan slapped another drawing on the table, glaring at the girl next to Lin Xian, her eyes hiding a lion:

"Do you have some misunderstanding about our new brand? It's okay that you drew a bunny, but are you serious about this floral scarf and padded jacket? My grandma dresses more fashionably than your bunny!"

"Our General Manager Zhao has said it countless times! He explained it very clearly, everyone! Kitty cat! You've all heard of Hello Kitty, right? You've all seen it, right? We want a brand image that's the same as Hello Kitty!"

"Humph..."

The fat boy on Lin Xian's left hummed softly:

"Wanting a Hello Kitty with the salary we get..."

"Fatty, what are you muttering!?"

"No, no, no, Sister Juan! I said Hello Kitty is the best! Perfect!" Fatty was startled.

...

Li Juan's roar filled the entire conference room.

Lin Xian closed his eyes, twirling his pen, still thinking about the safe in his dream yesterday.

An eight-digit password...

What could it be?

What's hidden in the safe?

Kitty cat?

Cat?

Listening to Li Juan's roar, Lin Xian thought of the cat mask on the big-faced cat's face.

That was also a cartoon cat image.

A few simple strokes vividly portrayed the cuteness and vitality of a cat.

Especially with the mask covering the big-faced cat's large face, there was a contrasting beauty of being untainted by mud.

It had to be said that the cat image was indeed very cute.

Simple yet exquisite, refreshing and straightforward.

Lost in thought, Lin Xian sketched the cartoon cat on the paper with a few strokes...

"Huh?"

The female colleague next to him leaned her head over:

"Lin Xian, what are you drawing?"