Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 1173 - 904: Seeing Shallow Dream Again

Chapter 1173: Chapter 904: Seeing Shallow Dream Again

Most regions of Italia have turned into rust-colored dunes.

Xu Cheng piloted the shuttle machine across the violet sky, with the fierce wind repeatedly striking the porthole, leaving rouge-like stains.

"Even if Seven Hills hasn’t been breached by vampires, Italia already feels like a strange place." Bubble looked down.

After the heavenly tribulation, many areas suffered from the pollution of extraterrestrial ecology, with flora and fauna from other worlds sprawling across the land. When people returned to Italia, they needed to write new encyclopedias for the native plants and animals.

"We will meet Shallow Dream," Xu Cheng said, piloting the shuttle machine on her own. "She’s smart and older, perhaps she’s already run off. Once we meet her, she’ll open her arms and treat us to a big meal."

"Is she really that capable?" Bubble wasn’t very familiar with Shallow Dream.

Xu Cheng’s knowledge of Shallow Dream was also limited. In the Shijin Mansion’s witch nursery, Shallow Dream once held Xu Cheng in her arms. That was ten years ago.

Thinking of this, Xu Cheng grinned.

"Today, she truly is an adult." Xu Cheng said.

Seven Hills indeed was controlled by vampires. When Xu Cheng approached the site, the once thriving city was now a dead silence, with an unknown number of monsters hidden within.

The Sky Patroller did not approach, nor was there a need for inspection, so it bypassed, searching for traces of human settlement throughout the vast Italia.

"There’s desert everywhere." Lianhua scanned the ground.

"This area seems uninhabited, but I’m detecting large amounts of energy readings!" Shahua suddenly exclaimed.

A monster resembling a tunnel worm soon crawled out from the hills of Italia. It seemed not to have emerged due to the Sky Patroller but merely to breathe air. A sturdy shell of armor wrapped around its muscles, a spiked long tail trailing behind, resembling an elongated giant scorpion with red eyes and fangs several meters long.

"...How can we possibly chase all these bizarre things back home?" Lianhua shouted.

"Shhh, don’t let it find us..." Shahua whimpered.

In an instant, the tunnel worm spotted the Sky Patroller gliding in the sky and roared at it.

Xu Cheng quickly increased the power, letting the Sky Patroller fly to a secluded beach in Italia, hiding behind dried reefs.

The sea was gray like bones. Xu Cheng and the others quietly climbed down, Ming Gongqiao started a campfire, heating food. Dinner was only canned peas with pork stew, while Bubble set up sleeping bags for everyone.

No words exchanged.

Without finding Shallow Dream, this mission couldn’t be completed. The Sky Patroller was already emptied, with supplies delivered or sold, leaving only one last black package in the cargo hold. It must be handed to Shallow Dream to earn the reward of up to 1 billion in funds.

Xu Cheng pouted, sitting by the campfire. The others didn’t want to disturb her and went off to rest.

The torn moon hung high in the starry sky, where Italia was once grasslands and mountains, now vast deserts, with alien flora occasionally blooming densely, forming strange colorful gardens.

One day, their homeland would inevitably become a paradise ravaged by alien life, a thought that sent chills down Xu Cheng’s spine.

Xu Cheng took a deep breath, thinking of what other witches might do, then leaned forward, staring into the flames.

Lady Farosa. She silently whispered. I plead for your power, please help me.

Xu Cheng closed her eyes.

She did not see a glimmer of starlight in the flames, and when she opened her eyes, the starlight had long disappeared, leaving only the flickering orange flames.

Ming Gongqiao held a sniper rifle on a rock guarding them. Seeing its silhouette, Xu Cheng felt reassured. She climbed back into her sleeping bag, tucked herself inside, and closed her eyes, imagining nothing had happened.

——

She returned to the dark dreamscape, back again. She counted, this was the 2,100th time she had a strange dream over six years.

Xu Cheng traversed the illusion-filled wilderness, the starry sea left behind, arriving at the edge of a cliff to gaze at the ever-transforming white giant tower.

The seamless white stone reflected peculiar brilliance, and the pillars, corridors, and windows constantly changed. They were not actual architectural structures but intersections of points and lines.

Quickly note it down. Xu Cheng thought to herself.

"So, can you remember it?" Xu Yang’s apparition stood at the edge of the cliff, gazing together at the ever-changing white giant tower.

"What exactly is it?" Xu Cheng silently stared at the tower, its exterior in eternal change, with batches of cold wind gently passing through her toes, feeling soft yet cold.

"It’s a palace or perhaps an organ," Xu Yang gazed at it intently, "Someday, we’ll have to go there."

"To do what?" Xu Cheng leaned back, supporting the ground with both hands.

"To settle something." Xu Yang said.

"Gaga." Xu Cheng looked at the constantly changing phantom shape. She wasn’t clever and didn’t know if there was any pattern, but she was patient. She could remember, having entered the dream 2,100 times, she had learned 4 million transformation patterns. She couldn’t help but laugh, "—it’s changed again, but I remember it."

"Can you recognize it at any time?" Xu Yang asked.

"I can recognize it at any time." Xu Cheng gave a definite answer.

Xu Yang’s apparition fell silent for a moment.

"You know I’m just imagined by you, right?" it said.

"I do." Xu Cheng’s gaze turned to the apparition of her father. "Because I miss dad so much."

Xu Yang’s apparition turned away, slowly dissipating in the ripples.

"A guest has arrived." it said.

Xu Cheng stood up, seeing a figure coming from the misty, dreamlike realm.

It was a girl in her twenties, with short, sleek black hair, a charming face, bright black eyes, a small nose, wearing a dark blue denim jacket, trousers, and hiking boots, carrying a small messenger bag.

"Yo!" Shallow Dream waved at Xu Cheng.

Xu Cheng was stunned.

"Gua gua...!" Xu Cheng climbed up, looking at Shallow Dream in amazement.

"Why are you here?" Shallow Dream turned her head and saw the constantly changing White Giant Tower, "What’s that? Dazzling."

"Wu wu..." Xu Cheng’s tears were about to fall, "Are you something I imagined too?"

"Nonsense." Shallow Dream replied with a smile, "Of course I’m real, Little Fool."

"I have a name." Xu Cheng quickly said, "Dad named me Xu Cheng."

"Did Xu Yang adopt you? Such a good thing, I almost forgot." Shallow Dream laughed, "The past is not like the present."

"I still want to know, how did you appear here?" Xu Cheng asked.

"Lady Farosa’s power guided me here." Shallow Dream said casually, walking over to Xu Cheng and patting her, "Did you come here to find me?"

"Yes!" Xu Cheng reached into her pocket, wanting to hand over the package to Shallow Dream, but she forgot she was in a dream and had nothing; she looked up, tired and grateful, and smiled at Shallow Dream, "Finally found you..."

Shallow Dream sat beside Xu Cheng. Xu Cheng observed her; the once stubborn-looking child rescued from the Kyoto Infinity Laboratory had now become an impressive and excellent witch.

"The connection provided by Lady Farosa is quite weak, and I also want to know what you brought me all the way to the Taixi Continent for." Shallow Dream comforted Xu Cheng, "Shall we meet tomorrow? When you’re awake, outside the base in Seven Hills City."

"You have a base outside Seven Hills City?" Xu Cheng was surprised.

"Yes!"

"We couldn’t find anyone in Seven Hills; I even thought you..." Xu Cheng felt a bit disoriented.

"Our base is here..." Shallow Dream gave Xu Cheng the coordinates, asking her to remember, "I have gathered as many survivors and troops as possible, planning a powerful counterattack to drive all the vampires out of Seven Hills City, so that the survivors in the Italia Region can use it as a stronghold to slowly reclaim the entire Italia!"

"Fight the vampires! Are you the leader now?" Xu Cheng said excitedly.

"Indeed! If left unchecked, they will eventually travel beyond the Taixi Continent, and I am the most powerful witch here." Shallow Dream said confidently.

"Mm!" Xu Cheng widened her eyes, Shallow Dream now had both leadership and charm, leaving Xu Cheng in awe.

"Keep it up, I thought I would never see aid from my hometown again, but you’ve crossed such a great distance, making it to Italia with all your efforts, I’m really touched!" Shallow Dream emotionally hugged Xu Cheng, "When the dream ends, come find me at Seven Hills, Little Fool, we will ultimately meet in reality..."

"I will find you! Shallow Dream! I definitely will!" Xu Cheng shouted.

Shallow Dream’s figure slowly dissolved into starlight. When Xu Cheng woke up, she felt her eyes moist.

She opened her eyes, sand stuck to the sleeping bag, the first golden ray of sunrise lit up the sky, while others still slept soundly.

"Let’s go to Seven Hills again." Xu Cheng announced to the others during breakfast.

"Why? We looked at Seven Hills from afar, the place has nothing." Lianhua was puzzled. She believed most of Xu Cheng’s judgments, but she always said strange things, forcing Lianhua to counter them.

"We didn’t check closely; maybe there are survivors." Ming Gongqiao said.

"No," Xu Cheng shook her head, "I dreamt that everyone is gathering south of Seven Hills, preparing to take back the city."

"What?" Lianhua was shocked, "Do you know what you’re saying?"

"Maybe it’s true." Bubble was full of confidence in Xu Cheng.

"Let’s go!" Xu Cheng had established her authority and didn’t need to say it again; she tied her blue cloak confidently, feeling dashing.

She took a picture of the rising sun over the gray sea, the sunlight played on the murky seawater, revealing a pathological spectacle. This world was colorful and diverse; they came to witness every wonder of the world.

The Sky Patroller flew towards Seven Hills again, the rust-colored desert stretching to the horizon, the shuttle machine moving swiftly through the sky.

"Half an hour of flight yielded nothing!" Lianhua said, "No signs of life."

Xu Cheng’s heart slowed for a moment; wait, what if her dream was just an illusion? But the Shallow Dream in the dream was so real, if the Shallow Dream ten years later is still alive, she must be like that.

Am I just a Little Fool all along...

"Seven Hills looks intact, no movement, no smoke, no radio signals, nothing at all. Even if there are survivors of the vampire invasion, they must be hiding." Lianhua reported, then looked at Xu Cheng skeptically, "Are you sure a ’reliable dream’ brought us here? I always feel this is a trap!"

"... No, it won’t be..." Xu Cheng shook her head.

"Maybe the vampires made you dream that way, we must leave now!" Lianhua said.

"Wait! There’s a signal!" Shahua shouted, "A signal detected!"

Xu Cheng steered the shuttle machine to the coordinates from her dream; it was located in the wilderness south of Seven Hills City. The Sky Patroller gradually approached, all doubts on the shuttle machine vanished. A huge military camp stood beneath the craft.

There were people everywhere, not vampires, but humans, bustling about, transporting supplies, repairing structures.

They seemed to have endured several winters here, rows of colorful tents housed the ever-gathering survivors, permanent fortifications protected by artillery and missile sites.

It might have started as a military base, transformed through tireless construction into an important stronghold south of Seven Hills City, numerous shuttles and military helicopters parked at the airport.

Xu Cheng’s shuttle machine descended as an envoy, finally arriving. She felt incredulous, had she really made it all the way from Jialong Slope to Seven Hills?

She opened the cabin door, descended as if sleepwalking, and looked up to see a beautiful woman walking towards her, exactly as in the dream.

"Welcome to the Italia Human Resistance Alliance!" Shallow Dream said loudly, happily reaching out to Xu Cheng, "Been waiting for you a long time, Little Fool!"

"I have goods to give you." Xu Cheng said with a choked voice, her nose tingling as she spoke. She cried; why was she crying? She couldn’t say.