A Core Ship From The Start-Chapter 403 - 311 Illusionary Dream _1
Chapter 403: Chapter 311: Illusionary Dream _1 Chapter 403 -311: Illusionary Dream _1 “Haah……”
Sitting in the chair, looking at the neon lights flickering outside the window, Duanmu Huai couldn’t help but sigh.
“Love, huh…..”
Murmuring to himself, Duanmu Huai took a can of beer and poured it into his mouth.
Perhaps it was because of his conversation with that strange young girl today, that Duanmu Huai unusually started reflecting again on this issue. Whether he wanted to be in love or not, Duanmu Huai truly hadn’t thought about it. Ever since his first love failed back in school, Duanmu Huai never thought about having any intimate relationships with other women. Besides, with his appearance, it was hard to attract women.
Duanmu Huai used to watch harem-style animations, but unfortunately, no matter what, he couldn’t empathize at all. The reason was simple; even the uselessly gentle male protagonists in those harem animations, or even chubby men, all had women who would fall for them willingly.
But this kind of thing… Duanmu Huai felt it wouldn’t happen to him.
That’s one reason why he chose to play as a female character. After all, he wasn’t intending to crossdress to deceive men, nor did he care to pursue any online romance, so he settled for playing this way.
Duanmu Huai didn’t think it was bad. He himself lacked interest in love, and marriage wasn’t on his agenda. To be honest, even though he had set a marriage engagement with Ann and Greiya for various reasons, Duanmu Huai didn’t know how to treat them—for instance, how to behave as a fiance? Duanmu Huai hadn’t given it any thought.
Just like his real life back then, Duanmu Huai was purely focused on the present—how to take orders, how to earn money. But as for what he would do after all this, Duanmu Huai never considered these questions. He didn’t contemplate whether he would die alone; he also didn’t think about whether he would marry and have children in the future, or whether he would still rely on this job to make a living when he was in his forties or fifties.
He was merely staring at the present, as mechanical as daily check-ins in mobile games, repeating the same day-to-day life. ‘I checked in, I got the reward, that’s enough.’ As to what use these things have and their impact on the future, Duanmu Huai wouldn’t ponder these issues.
It’s the same now. Duanmu Huai’s current goal is to become powerful enough to confront the Chaos Evil God. Everything he did was for this goal.
But beyond this, he wouldn’t concern himself with much else.
It’s like playing an FPS game. As long as the player takes care of finding the weak points and defeating the boss, there’s no need for one or two sweet and refreshing romantic interludes to liven up the game.
There’s no need, right?
“Such a hassle.”
Having finished his beer, Duanmu Huai shook his head. He didn’t know what was wrong with him today, and was caught in the spell of that kimono girl’s words, suddenly feeling sentimental like an artsy youth. Honestly, Duanmu Huai felt this didn’t suit him at all.
Well, let’s sleep.
He yawned at this thought and then climbed into bed to rest—he closed his eyes and drifted into dreamland.
When Duanmu Huai opened his eyes again, he found himself in a classroom, and in front of him was a girl.
Although she didn’t turn around, Duanmu Huai did remember her.
She was his first love—well, perhaps ‘first love’ wasn’t quite right.
Duanmu Huai wasn’t sure if he felt romantic love towards her. The reason he confessed to her was also simple. Back then, she was the tallest girl in the class. Even though she was still shorter than Duanmu Huai, she was taller than anyone else. Therefore, she was often referred to as the “Female Giant.” Her personality was a bit tomboyish, and whenever anyone called her that, she would argue and fight with them. Gradually, she too, like Duanmu Huai, became someone people respected and kept away from.
At that time, Duanmu Huai felt they had something in common, and that’s why he confessed to her.
Thinking back, the girl had a complicated expression on her face. She remained silent, lowering her head, and only gave a slight nod in the end. Duanmu Huai was quite happy then, believing that she felt the same way he did.
But later, after she transferred schools, Duanmu Huai understood that the girl hadn’t been happy or excited. She was just simply feeling pain and despair—she’d already been ostracized by her classmates because of her height, and in the end, she was singled out by him, the “terror” himself. Maybe that’s why she finally chose to leave the school and the city.
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The window revealed nothing but an exquisite kaleidoscope endlessly rotating.
At the same time, a voice resonated in Duanmu Huai’s ear.
“Do you desire love?”
“……….”
Duanmu Huai didn’t answer the question. He simply looked at this figure before him, which was both familiar and strange from his memories, his brow furrowed slightly.
“Don’t fear love, don’t fear desire.”
The voice continued to echo in Duanmu Huai’s ear.
“To love each other, to desire each other, is the instinct of all life, an imprint deep in the soul. If you resist it, ignore it, you will only be destroyed by it—Fear and avoidance is not the solution. If you want to achieve your goal, you must accept it, and… conquer it.”
“……”
Duanmu Huai remained silent, his fists clenched.
“Remember, this is just the beginning. If you can’t take this step, you will never be able to face your enemy.”
The kaleidoscope outside the window kept flickering and rotating along with the voice, giving off a dreamlike glow.
“Your meaning is……”
Duanmu Huai opened his mouth. Just then, a ridiculous thought suddenly emerged in his innermost depths.
Surely this task isn’t meant to……
“Escaping can’t solve the problem; emotions aren’t burdens, but strength.”
The voice was still whispering softly.
“Examine yourself, find the desires in your heart, unearth their presence, make them your strength… rather than your weakness.”
With the voice fading away, the dazzling kaleidoscope around him became even more spectacular and captivating. Soon, they formed foggy patterns in front of Duanmu Huai.
It was an unnerving murmur, a snow-white intertwined body, everything seemed to turn into an irresistible wave surging directly towards Duanmu Huai.
At the next moment, he jerked open his eyes.
“Mr. Duanmu.”
It was at this moment Duanmu Huai saw Honoka sitting next to him, looking at him uneasily.
“Are you alright, Mr. Duanmu?”
“I’m fine, what happened?”
Looking at Honoka, Duanmu Huai furrowed his brows and asked her what happened. After hesitating for a moment, she then spoke uneasily.
“Because, you have been in a deep sleep for two days. I couldn’t awaken you no matter how hard I tried. I thought you……”
“Two days?”
Upon hearing Honoka’s reply, Duanmu Huai was shocked and hastily sat up.
“What about the competition?”
“It hasn’t started… Mr. Duanmu, do you still plan to participate in the competition?”
“Of course.”
Duanmu Huai stood up and stretched his body. Although he didn’t know what had happened, Duanmu Huai had more or less some guesses about that dream. However, now was not the time to validate these hunches. He’d first go and participate in the competition, deal with the last opponent, and then—deal with what comes later!
