Chapter 260: Chapter 259: Someone You Shouldn’t Cross

"...So it wasn’t Honglian?" Elorie seemed to let out a sigh of relief after hearing Chen Xuan’s analysis, "That’s good."

"Good in what way?" Chen Xuan was puzzled.

"I actually wondered if the Dimensional Limit Mechanism had already colluded with the Demon and then sold me out to them. If Honglian were the one handling this, it would only prove that I had completely misjudged her, thinking she was a loyal and good team leader." Elorie expressed her thoughts truthfully, "Luckily, the reality isn’t like that."

But the collusion between the Mechanism and the Demon is beyond doubt.

Just with a few greeting messages, it’s impossible to pinpoint Elorie’s location.

Unless the other party had already prepared for positioning and turned sending messages into bait to lure her in.

In just one short hour, the Demon planned this ambush.

If it wasn’t Honglian, then who in the Mechanism could it be? This person must be in a leadership position, not only able to forge subordinates’ communication numbers but also able to detect historical changes from a comprehensive analysis and decide to sell out Elorie to the Demon immediately.

The people who fit these characteristics are few in the Mechanism.

As long as Jiang Siqi lists all the leaders of the Jiang City branch, the person must be among them.

The crucial information gained from the Angel gave Chen Xuan a full understanding of the entire event’s context.

Perhaps he could work on that.

After the lively dinner ended, it was evidently time for goodbyes.

Though dreams can go on indefinitely, being trapped in a dream cannot truly save Elorie. Chen Xuan hadn’t forgotten the purpose of this trip, and he believed the other party could still hear his encouragement even in a coma.

However, when he said it was time to leave, Elorie’s expression still made him hesitate for a moment.

She seemed to realize something, staring blankly at Chen Xuan, "Will I... see you again?"

Dreams cannot be repeated, nor can they continue.

Elorie, born from the dream, would completely disappear.

Theoretically, this goodbye was a final farewell. Even if the same dream were made again, the next Elorie would be a new illusion crafted by the Dream Maker.

"Sigh..." Liuli did not speak, simply drank alcohol endlessly.

"It’s fine... I shouldn’t have asked the Manager this question." Elorie took a deep breath, tilted her head back, and smiled at him, "You should go. I know there are important things waiting for you to resolve. But if you ever have time, don’t forget to come over and see me..."

Chen Xuan nodded, both as a promise and a commitment he made to himself, "I’ll come at least once a week from now on."

"Really?" She had an unbelieving expression on her face.

Liuli also looked at him with some surprise.

"Of course, it’s true." Chen Xuan confirmed. Dreams cannot indeed continue, but does that make such actions meaningless? If every meeting could leave some trace in memory, then when the Dream Maker creates a new dream next time, it might sense the change in Elorie’s personal memories.

In the sound of their goodbyes, the dream gradually faded away.

Chen Xuan opened his eyes, taking a long time to recover from the feeling of separation—even though he clearly knew the dream was just an illusion conjured by abilities, the sensations in the brain were very real.

"How was it?" Lin Qing asked immediately upon seeing him awaken.

"How long was I asleep?"

"Seven hours, it’s around eight in the evening now."

"That long?" He stretched, "When I said goodbye in the dream, it was about this time."

"Goodbye?" Lin Qing tilted her head.

"It’s nothing." Chen Xuan waved his hand, glossing over the topic. Saying goodbye to someone in a dream is a peculiar thing from the perspective of a third party, "We gained more than we initially expected this time. Elorie revealed a lot of information to me, including how she was attacked."

He looked at the girl with closed eyes in the glass jar, "But this isn’t the place to talk. We’ll discuss it when we return."

After notifying the dean, the two of them took a car back to the Celestial Ridge District.

Once inside the store, Chen Xuan first closed the rolling shutter door before recounting all that had happened in the dream.

"I didn’t expect the Dream Maker’s effect to be so remarkable." Lin Qing furrowed her brows after listening, "The Dimensional Limit Mechanism collaborating with the Demon... this isn’t recorded in history."

The invasion point record only mentioned that this world is close to the near-future, significantly aiding the Mechanism in its breakthroughs in prosthetic technology.

However, the newly born world didn’t popularize prosthetic technology, and special ability users like Demons were never mentioned.

"This is the result after the history was altered," Chen Xuan said, "which also gravely injured Elorie."

"Are you suggesting the cost?"

"Not really, we both understand the risk involved in this," he shook his head, "it’s just that in the future, if involving things that change the future, we need to be more cautious."

Lin Qing agreed, "What do you plan to do next?"

"Of course, it’s to fight back. Elorie’s suffering can’t be for nothing." Chen Xuan said without hesitation, "Honglian might be the breakthrough point."

"How so?"

He had already considered this matter on the way back, Honglian should be someone with a strong sense of belief and relatively high morals. Of course, in the initial stages, among the members willing to join the Dimensional Limit Mechanism, more than half were not lacking in belief and a sense of justice, but not many could stick to their principles until the end, and Honglian happened to be one of them.

She was able to gain Elorie’s recognition, and this aspect played a part. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Even when the Dimensional Limit Mechanism was at its peak, Honglian dared to break with the Mechanism at the risk of her life and thereafter led her followers to continuously oppose them. The cause of the break was the Mechanism gradually becoming corporatized, achieving its goals by any means necessary, and no longer being as cautious and reputation-conscious as it was during the concealed period.

Chen Xuan believed this contradiction didn’t arise suddenly; she must have slowly become disillusioned, unable to bear it any longer. So when she could still endure, does that mean the Mechanism was spotless? Clearly not; it was only because she didn’t know.

The current collusion between the Mechanism and the Demon was undoubtedly one of those unknown evils to her.

And this matter was particularly egregious in nature.

It’s known that the Demon caused a tragedy in Jiang City, resulting in hundreds of deaths; someone like Honglian could never accept the organization forming an alliance with such ability users.

"Makes sense." Lin Qing was thoughtful, "Through Jiang Siqi, we certainly have a chance to contact Honglian. The problem is, this information is tantamount to openly accusing the Dimensional Limit Mechanism of wrongdoing, and the greater the accusation, the more evidence it will require. Now that Elorie is unconscious, relying solely on our verbal account, her immediately rebelling against the Mechanism seems unlikely; at most, it could plant a seed of doubt in her heart."

She nodded approvingly here, "But defeating the Dimensional Limit Mechanism isn’t something that can be achieved overnight. Your strategy is already very good. Originally, she was to break with the Mechanism over thirty years later; with this seed, it could potentially expedite that by ten years or so."

Chen Xuan, however, didn’t think so, "No. If she wants evidence, we can find evidence. Planting a seed of doubt doesn’t qualify as a memorable counterattack."

"Find evidence?" Lin Qing was a bit surprised, "Where to find it?"

"Of course, from the Demon’s hands." Chen Xuan replied coldly, "Since they’ve made a deal with the Mechanism, they must have evidence of the transaction. Even if they don’t, we can get it out of them."

Lin Qing was taken aback, and then responded, "You want to go to the future Paris?"

"That’s right. Since it’s a counterattack, it must make an indelible impression on the enemy."

The Ability Store should protect its customers as much as possible; if not, it must regain ground for them afterward. Just as the first line on the first page of the Manager’s Code states: Customers are the most valuable asset.

Before this, the Demon wasn’t really the enemy, but since they chose to collaborate with the Mechanism, they’re all enemies now.

Perhaps the Demon who attacked Elorie didn’t know about the Ability Store, but so what?

They only need to know one thing.

That is, they picked a fight with someone they shouldn’t have.