Chapter 454 - 396: Fu Tailan: Things Unseen in the Corner of the Stage

Chapter 454: Chapter 396: Fu Tailan: Things Unseen in the Corner of the Stage

The scene of him standing in the Black Abyss Belt resurfaced in his mind, unbidden.

Back then, as Fu Tailan watched the countless particles that were once the Vulture gradually dissipate, he had reached out, just as he was doing now.

He could only grab a single handful; the remaining particles slowly drifted away before his eyes and dissipated, never again to coalesce into a Vulture that would demand to know why he had deceived it.

The very last remnant of that Vulture left in the world was now gathered and covering his left hand.

The particles wrapped around each of his long, cool fingers, guiding his fingertips as they sank deeper and deeper.

’So this is what it feels like to touch a dream...’ His fingers pushed against a dense, yielding pressure, parting the dreamscape inch by inch.

Rain thundered down upon the night, and the aftershock of gunshots still echoed in his ears. As long as Fu Tailan didn’t listen too closely, he couldn’t hear the screams coming from within the dream.

’...Then again, aren’t I in a sort of dream myself right now?’

He chuckled softly, though it was unclear who the laugh was for.

On a deserted, rain-swept street, he was slowly reaching into the depths of a dream.

No one knew what he was doing, and no one cared to find out.

A much larger story was unfolding in Blackmoor City, but Fu Tailan could only linger on its fringes, prowling the corners untouched by the stage lights.

Fu Tailan wasn’t wallowing in self-pity.

He was no longer a player in the Domination Game, which naturally meant less attention was focused on him. It was simply a fact.

But standing in the rift between the human world and the Nest, he discovered he was in his element in the gloom, like a prodigal son returning home. After all, this twilight realm, half-light and half-dark, was where Fu Tailan was most comfortable.

In these dim, unnoticed places, he had done... he had done so many things.

Fu Tailan chuckled softly again.

To this day, no one in the world had discovered what he had done.

He couldn’t help but laugh at the thought.

’I can hardly wait... I want to see the looks on their faces when they finally find out.’

Fu Tailan was in a good mood and even began to hum a song under his breath.

The ringing in his ears wouldn’t fade, so he was probably off-key, but it didn’t matter. It was still better than the intermittent screams and curses echoing from the dream.

Fu Tailan hummed the tune of a forgotten song, his eyes narrowed as he watched the dreamscape ripple beneath his fingertips, unable to escape.

"How did you do that—stop—"

It was a flickering, floating thing of countless overlapping layers, a nexus of different misty dreams interweaving and permeating one another. It had tried numerous ways to escape, sometimes using Fu Han’s voice to curse at him, other times using Zhen Zi’s voice to beg for mercy.

"Isn’t it strange," Fu Tailan said with a smile, his eyelids half-closed. "I hear them... and feel absolutely nothing."

He didn’t bother listening for a response from the dreamscape.

"Since you came for me, you should have been prepared to face me," Fu Tailan mumbled. "Now it’s my turn to talk. You listen carefully."

The dream flickered in the downpour, but it could not break free from his grasp.

"I once took part of a Vulture’s body," he said. "In other words, as long as something can be separated and taken away, even a denizen can have a piece of it taken. Heh, saying it out loud makes it sound obvious, doesn’t it?"

His fingers gently splayed, then slid down one by one, pressing into the depths of the dream. Then, they closed, grasping a piece of the dreamscape that should have been impossible to hold.

"A denizen can touch another denizen. That’s rather convenient, isn’t it?"

Fu Tailan said in a low voice, "What a strange feeling... It’s like... like cotton made of mist, yet it also seems to envelop some kind of melody. Mmm, it’s quite difficult to describe. For such an uncouth denizen, your body is surprisingly interesting. If you ask me... it’s a bit of a waste."

He tugged on the small piece of the dream, pulling it out bit by bit. From within the countless overlapping, swaying layers of the dreamscape, an endless chorus of pained cries and angry curses erupted, like waves crashing one after another against a shore they would never reach.

Fu Tailan tilted his head, listening.

"You want me to stop?"

"Yes yes yes stop right now what are you doi???ng how did you do it no??? you can’t??? no not a waste I’m fine not a waste at all"

"How did you enter the human world?" Fu Tailan suddenly asked.

The dreamscape fell silent. "Oh oh oh, so there are things you don’t know."

It was perceptive enough to know that once it failed to trap Fu Tailan and was instead captured by him, it had lost all leverage. Thus, it confessed quickly. "I am a denizen that has a Path into the human world."

"How many times have you come through?"

"The first," the dreamscape said honestly. "Because my Path is extremely specific."

"What is it?" Fu Tailan’s index finger gently stroked the small piece of the dream in a way that was both soothing and threatening.

"Only when another denizen’s Path into the human world is severed, causing it to fall back into the Nest, can I use its passage to enter."

...That was indeed extremely specific.

Not only are denizens who can enter the human world exceedingly rare, but the severing of a Path is an instantaneous event. Had the timing been off by even a fraction of a second, the dreamscape would have missed its chance.

Fu Tailan thought for a moment. "Such a specific Path... Don’t tell me you just so happened to piggyback on a denizen whose Path was severed."

The dreamscape shifted under his fingertips. After a few seconds, it said, "If you’ve already guessed, why bother asking?"

"Exactly," Fu Tailan said with a smile. "How about you do me a favor?"

"...What kind of favor?"

The dreamscape’s tone had become wary. "All I can do is create dreams and trap people in them until they’re over. If you’re thinking about getting back into the Domination Game, I can’t—"

"Ah, it’s not that."

Fu Tailan’s fingers tightened, a small punishment for its wild guessing. "Even if you had the power to make everyone hand their target Illusions over to me in their dreams, the person pulling the strings of the Domination Game would never allow it."

"Person pulling strings what person I don’t understand that’s all you talking has nothing to do with me nothing at all sigh you humans are so complicated"

"I’m going to take you to meet someone," Fu Tailan cut it off. "I’ll tell you what kind of dream to weave and what to have him do in it. Just cater to his desires and give him what he wants. It’s simple. You won’t mess it up, will you?"

"While I am willing to help you," the dreamscape said in an unctuous tone, "I still have my own tasks to complete..."

"So, what was the target you wanted me to attack?"

"Huh?"

Fu Tailan bent down and picked up the machine gun. "Using heavy weaponry like this means the target probably isn’t a person. A vehicle? Is the target inside?"

"...Huh?"

"What do you mean, ’huh’? This is what you were trying to do, wasn’t it? Let’s just call it a transaction," Fu Tailan said with a smile, raising an eyebrow. "So tell me, what’s the target?"

Although the dream had been interrupted, he fortunately hadn’t been delayed for long.

He walked to an intersection and waited. After a short while, a pair of high-beam headlights pierced the distant, dark curtain of rain.

The light pierced the night, making the dreamscape in his hand look all the more unreal.

"A tanker truck," Fu Tailan murmured, propping the machine gun on a utility box with one hand. "Why do you need to take it out?"

"That’s none of your concern," the dreamscape said. "I certainly can’t tell you that the Knight Family’s truck is carrying Original Liquid from the Nest."

’So cooperative,’ he thought.

Original Liquid flowing into the human world would surely lead to nothing good, but at that moment, Fu Tailan didn’t care about the world.

He wouldn’t need all the spare ammunition. Since he was wide awake and not in a dream, he could aim directly for the driver.

BANG. BANG. After two shots, the tanker swerved, its tires screeching as it plowed into a roadside building. With a tremendous crash, half the vehicle disappeared inside. It finally lost its balance and toppled over completely, its tank rupturing under the weight of the collapsing structure.

Beyond the flickering, dancing firelight, Fu Tailan took out his phone and made a call.

"...Yes, just send a car to pick me up."

His voice was as soft and mumbled as ever. "There was a car crash on this street. A tanker flipped and caught fire. I’m about two hundred meters away... Hmm? Is that right? First time you’ve heard of a landmark like that?"

Fu Tailan chuckled. "Believe me, there will be many things you’ll hear for the first time tonight."

The piece of the dreamscape he held was like a great ball of mist, floating in his other hand.

Trapping humans in dreams was as natural to it as a wolf eating meat or a bird taking flight. So even with an unexpected new target, it had no complaints. In fact, it seemed rather eager to begin.

When Fu Tailan opened the car door and pulled it inside, the driver jumped in surprise.

"Wh-what is that thing?"

The driver couldn’t help but twist around, staring intently at his hand. "Is... is that a dream? It’s so strange, why do I feel... But it is a dream, isn’t it? What’s going on? Am I asleep?"

Fu Tailan had never seen this driver before and didn’t know if he was a Hunter.

"You’re not asleep. Just drive," he said.

He leaned against the backrest, slid down in his seat, and propped his feet up on the passenger’s seat in front of him. His clothes were soaked through with rain, and water seeped into the leather upholstery, quickly turning the back of the car into a damp, dirty mess.

The driver glanced at him in the rearview mirror but didn’t say a word.

The car’s heater made Fu Tailan drowsy, but even as he drifted off, he didn’t forget to keep a tight grip on the dreamscape. He slipped in and out of consciousness, at one point imagining he was at sea, moving ever forward under a vast, open sky.

’See? It really is a dream,’ he thought.

When the driver stopped the car and opened the door for him, he was still groggy with sleep.

"Fu Tailan," a voice called out from outside the car.

Fu Tailan closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

After a moment, he slowly opened his eyes, still lounging in the back seat. As if boneless, he lazily turned his head.

"Carter," Fu Tailan said with a smile, his voice hoarse. "Are you happy?"