mijobooks Chapter 1 Sharing Dreams
Chapter 1 Sharing Dreams
Su Fan never imagined that the turning point in his life would begin with a pillow.
He never imagined that a pillow could be worth a year of his lifespan—literally, because he can see now.
The story begins three days ago with that strange premonition. A voice entered his mind:
With your lifespan, you will create wondrous things.
At first, he thought it was a hallucination caused by overworking. But the feeling became clearer day by day, eventually evolving into a specific process: concentrating his mind, selecting an item, conceiving its characteristics, and paying for its lifespan. Then the item would display its attributes.
They're insane. Absolutely insane.
But tonight, Su Fan decided to verify it. He needed an end to this. Either prove it was true, or prove he was crazy.
Su Fan sat cross-legged on the bed and placed the pillow he had used for two years in front of him.
He took a deep breath and placed his hands on the pillow.
The idea is simple: to allow people who sleep with it as a pillow to enter the same dream.
Su Fan sensed that the price was one year of his lifespan.
"Come on." He closed his eyes. "If it's true, take a year. If it's false... then I should see a psychologist."
Concentrate your mind. Conceptual feature: Shared dream.
Then wait.
Ten seconds. Twenty seconds.
Nothing happened.
Su Fan opened his eyes. The pillow was still the same pillow, the room was still the same room, everything seemed unchanged, it was just his imagination.
"Indeed, the material world possesses immense power." He smiled wryly. "I knew it—"
Before I could finish speaking, the feeling came.
It wasn't pain, nor the feeling of aging, but something more abstract: loss.
A faint, pervasive sense of emptiness seeped from the depths of my bones.
The whole process takes about ten seconds.
Ten seconds later, the change stopped.
"A year... a year really has been taken away..." Su Fan murmured.
Although there was no direct evidence, Su Fan had a feeling that he had really lost a year of his life, and at this point, Su Fan was already somewhat convinced.
But that wasn't the most shocking part. The most obvious thing was when he stared at the pillow for more than three seconds—
The words appeared.
Semi-transparent, pale blue text floats on the surface of the pillow, like item descriptions in a game:
[A Marvelous Item: The Shared Dream Pillow]
Rank: Dust Level
Feature: Shared Dreams
Consumption: One year of lifespan
rule:
1. [Shared] Up to five consciousnesses can be connected to enter the same dream.
2. [Dream Control] users possess basic control over their dreams.
3. [Sleep Aid] Those who touch the pillow and intend to fall asleep will naturally enter a deep sleep within three minutes.
cost:
1. Users will experience persistent mental fatigue.
2. After each use, the artifact needs to "cool down" for seven days.
There was no ecstasy, no fear, only a cold, almost numb sense of confirmation. The voice hadn't lied to him—he really had traded a year of his life for a pillow that allowed many people to share their dreams.
The price he paid that year... aside from that feeling of loss, he showed no outward changes. No wrinkles, no gray hair, no signs of aging.
It's like losing a huge sum of money from your bank account, but not a single penny in your wallet—you know you're poor, but life can still go on as usual for now.
So what is actually deducting from lifespan is actually deducting from the upper limit. For example, Su Fan could have lived to seventy years old, but now he can only live to sixty-nine.
Su Fan was now seven-tenths convinced, with only a sliver of doubt remaining. So he decided to make one last attempt. If the inscription on the artifact was genuine, then he would have no way to deny it.
Su Fan was having trouble sleeping, and since this pillow had a sleep-aiding effect, he decided to give it a try!
Su Fan lay on the pillow, and with almost no effort, in less than two minutes, the familiar, blurry boundary of falling asleep quickly became clear—like passing through a cool film of water.
Su Fan "opened" his eyes from the dream. He found himself standing in emptiness, with nothingness above, below, and in all directions, as if nothing existed, yet he could still perceive it.
It felt a lot like a lucid dream I'd seen online; although I was in a dream, I was very lucid.
Let there be light!
Su Fan thought to himself!
As Su Fan thought, a white crack appeared in the void, and light poured down like a waterfall, tearing through the chaos. He hovered in the center of the light.
Day and night are born from the division between light and darkness. The sky and the earth take shape through the distinction of concepts. Grass, trees, fruits, and streams, as his thoughts flow, manifest themselves one by one in this small dream world.
Su Fan felt he could cosplay as God, since God needed to speak to create the world in seven days, while he only needed a thought.
Su Fan thought, "Let there be light," and so the world came into light. He figured this must be what "dream control" was.
In a way, Su Fan is also a creator god, even though this world is just a false dream world.
Standing on the grassy field that he had initially constructed with his own mind and which felt real to his senses, Su Fan's initial shock was gradually replaced by a surging desire to explore.
The basic sense of realism has been verified, so where exactly are the boundaries of this dream? Can scenes that don't conform to reality also materialize? Su Fan began to try.
"There must be a seven-jeweled tree, supremely tall and great, its radiance self-generating, taking root in the world."
As soon as Su Fan finished thinking, the ground beneath his feet suddenly trembled, and a seedling broke through the soil.
Its growth is faster than any logical reality. It completes its transformation and sublimation in an instant.
The tree trunk is like the finest glass, crystal clear, yet inside it flows with the illusions of seven precious lights: gold, silver, glass, giant clam shell, red pearl, and agate. These lights are not static, but rather circulate endlessly within the tree trunk like living things.
Each leaf is unique in shape; some resemble a ruyi (a traditional Chinese scepter symbolizing good fortune), some a precious pearl, and some a miniature scripture scroll, all radiating a soft and pure halo. The radiance shines forth, illuminating the surrounding area for miles, making this region resemble a legendary pure land, and filling the air with a clear, tranquil, yet vibrant fragrance.
Su Fan became increasingly excited. Sure enough, fantasies that don't exist in the real world can be realized. So what if it violates the laws of physics?
"In this sub-world, there are eighty-one islands, which do not depend on the earth, do not obey gravity, and are suspended above the wondrous tree. They exist in the light and are born against the rules. Their shapes are all different, some like lotus platforms, some like mountain peaks, some like palaces, and some like star charts, arranged around the tree, layer upon layer."
Words become law!
The first floating island "grew" out from the bottom up, against the backdrop of nothingness.
It was an island shaped like a giant lotus platform, with its base composed of layers upon layers of pure light petals that looked almost tangible, each petal flowing with faint golden veins.
In the center of the lotus platform was a flat area of land that looked like it was paved with white jade. Several strange trees, also formed from light, swayed gently, scattering stardust.
Next came the second one—a steep, sword-like peak, its body a dark silver color. Its summit wasn't pointed, but rather a constantly rotating, gently swirling vortex that drew in the surrounding specks of light and then slowly released them.
The third, the fourth... eighty-one islands, none of them alike, defying all common sense about structural stability, material composition, and energy balance in the real world.
How can a world be without life? Not the simple birds, beasts, fish, and insects that imitate reality, but rare and exotic creatures with extraordinary characteristics that originate from fantasy and mythology.
The thought arose instantly, and spread like wildfire. The Black Tortoise, a creature of both tortoise and snake; the Kunpeng, a bird-and-fish hybrid; the Kui Niu, its roar like thunder; the Phoenix, adorned with five colors; the White Tiger, the master of slaughter; the pure and benevolent Nine-Colored Deer…
The host's rare and exotic beasts were born from Su Fan's thoughts, and this dream world, after Su Fan's transformation, has now become a blessed land of immortals.
However, Su Fan soon found it a bit boring. Although Su Fan was an omniscient and omnipotent god in the dream, this dream world was, after all, fake and had limitations.
For example, according to the legend, the "Auspicious Omens Chart" states: "When the Yellow Emperor toured the East Sea, a white steed appeared. It could speak and understood the essence of all things, so it warned the people and eliminated harm in time. When a wise and virtuous ruler appears, it will come."
Therefore, in theory, Bai Ze should be omniscient. However, in reality, while the Bai Ze created by Su Fan can indeed speak, it is not omniscient at all.
The strange and exotic creatures created by Su Fan are not real living beings, but rather exquisite shells that embody concepts and aesthetics, somewhat hollow. These creations lack inner spirit and are more like sophisticated automatons.
Su Fan quickly sensed this "sense of artificiality," especially when he tried to communicate with Bai Ze, which he had created.
The divine beast was pure white, resembling a Qilin, with a single horn on its head and eyes that shone with wisdom. It sat upright under a low branch of the wondrous tree, exuding a peaceful aura that calmed the mind.
Su Fan approached and asked directly, "Bai Ze, tell me, is the Riemann Hypothesis valid?"
Bai Ze raised his head, speaking clearly in a gentle voice: "This question concerns the mysteries of mathematics and the heavens, not the 'essence of all things' that I know. What I know are the forms and names of gods, ghosts, and monsters, and the principles of seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune. The profound mysteries of mathematics and the heavens are not recorded in my 'Illustrated Compendium of Monsters'."
The answer was polite, but completely irrelevant.
Su Fan frowned, then, still somewhat unwilling to give up, changed the question: "So, what should I have for breakfast tomorrow?"
Bai Ze tilted his head slightly, as if "searching," and replied after a moment: "These are trivial matters of the future, entangled with cause and effect, and changing in an instant. My 'knowledge' lies in the 'essence' that has already manifested and the inherent 'principle,' not in deducing the unpredictable future."
The answer was still pre-set and conformed to the "Legend of Bai Ze" format, avoiding any specific predictions. Su Fan was somewhat dejected. "The Riemann Hypothesis is indeed an inherent principle, even you don't know that."
Could it be that the upper limit of this world depends on Su Fan, because Su Fan doesn't know, so Bai Ze doesn't know either?
What about the fire-controlling Biwu? Su Fan's mind raced. In the distance, a Biwu with magnificent plumage and a trail of fiery tail feathers let out a clear cry, opened its mouth, and spewed out a ball of blazing flame, igniting a clump of dry grass he had specified. The flames burned real, radiating heat.
Immediately afterwards, Su Fan tried a few more commands. He could make the Black Tortoise spout water, make the White Tiger roar in a terrifying way, and make the Phoenix leave a brief trail of light... everything looked so lifelike and real.
But Su Fan had already seen through the essence of the dream. This world was essentially an extremely sophisticated "sandbox" based on his cognition and imagination, and driven by the rules of the dream.
He can set rules, shape forms, give basic interactive logic, and even make flames burn, water flow, and creatures behave in accordance with their "roles".
However, he could not endow them with true wisdom, independent of his preconceived notions.