Chapter 280: Train Grandpa (High Energy Chapter)

Let me tell you, plenty of people are willing to pay to be here. I'm a dark energist; in your Pro State, they'd call it having cultivation. In Chunshen City, there are many circles of dark energists. I joined several of them, and that's how I found the right connections to come to Dream Loom Tower.

The man's name was Zhao Dajun, and he was quite talkative. Without waiting for Li Banfeng to ask, he proactively introduced himself: "I'm a numerologist; in your Pro State, they call it a computational cultivator. In Chunshen City, I worked as a programmer for a full ten years."

Computational cultivators, by their very name, are skilled in mathematics.

Li Banfeng commented, "Being a programmer, that's certainly a professional match for you."

"It was a perfect fit!" Zhao Dajun nodded. "When I first graduated and started working, I thought the programmer profession suited me perfectly. I was sure I'd be a future industry giant. And I truly was cut out for this line of work; I'm not boasting, but at my peak income, earning fifty to sixty thousand a month was no big deal. I worked in Chunshen City for ten years, and after accounting for living expenses and money sent home, I saved over two million. That money was enough to buy a house in Chunshen City; even for a decent location, a down payment would have been easy."

Li Banfeng nodded, saying, "That's impressive!"

Zhao Dajun sighed, "I also thought I was pretty remarkable, but I couldn't do it anymore. I'm a first-tier dark energist; my body is much stronger than an ordinary person's. But even so, leaving at seven in the morning and getting home at eleven at night every day, with only a few days off the whole year, my body simply couldn't take it anymore.

That's not even the main thing. The moment I sat down at my workstation and saw code, I wanted to vomit. When the phone rang and I heard my department manager's voice, I wanted to vomit even more. I didn't want to work anymore. But if I bought a house in Chunshen City, I'd definitely use up all my savings. And if I picked a good location, I'd still owe a lot in mortgage payments. How would I even live?

I didn't want to buy a house, and my girlfriend broke up with me. If she broke up, she broke up; I could live alone. But I couldn't stand my family constantly scolding me, calling me useless, unfilial, and a failure. I was tired of struggling, and I'd had enough. I wanted to live for myself for once. Later, through connections from friends in my circle, I spent all my savings, bit by bit. After several twists and turns, I came to Dream Loom Tower, the best place in this world. I'm going to live out the rest of my life happily here!"

Li Banfeng didn't quite understand. "What's so good about it?" he asked.

Zhao Dajun looked astonished. "Do I even need to explain?" he said. "This place has everything you could want. Meals here are free; as long as you're not too unreasonable, the cafeteria chefs will make whatever you want, anytime. Accommodation is also free. It's warm in winter and cool in summer all year round, and there aren't even any mosquitoes."

Li Banfeng asked, "You spent over two million just to get free food and lodging?"

"More than that!" Zhao Dajun exclaimed. "We also have dreams; anything you can imagine is in them – snowy mountains, pastoral landscapes, islands, and beaches. There are even the virtual ladies from your hard drive, and when they speak, we can understand them."

"Really?" Li Banfeng asked, suddenly very interested.

"Absolutely!" Zhao Dajun nodded emphatically. "It's my dream; I'm in control of everything. If I feel the virtual ladies are real, then they are real."

What Zhao Dajun said actually made a lot of sense; real ladies might not be as wonderful as the ones in dreams.

"But what if you encounter a nightmare?"

Zhao Dajun shook his head. "At Dream Loom Tower, you never have nightmares and you never suffer from insomnia," he explained, "unless you offend the Tower Lord."

"Who is the Tower Lord?"

"I don't know that, and I've never met her," Zhao Dajun replied. "If there's no need, I don't want to meet her. As long as the rules here remain unchanged, I'm happy to live here peacefully."

Li Banfeng asked, "What if I don't want to stay here?"

"I advise you to think it over carefully," Zhao Dajun said, looking sincerely at Li Banfeng. "No one who comes here ever wants to leave. Sleep a bit longer, have a couple more dreams, and then decide; it won't be too late."

Li Banfeng remained silent.

After dinner, Zhao Dajun told Li Banfeng that the dining hall was on the second floor and the exit was on the first. If he didn't want to leave, he could just return to his bedroom, leaving him to make his own decision.

Li Banfeng had already made up his mind.

He went down to the first floor, pushed open the door to the stairwell, and by the light of a match, vaguely saw the location of the exit. It was a pair of large glass doors. Li Banfeng hurried towards the entrance, but a gust of cold wind swept in, blowing out his match.

He struck another match, and as its flame brightened, a tall woman in white suddenly appeared nearby.

The dream invader!

The woman looked at Li Banfeng with almost no expression, only a hint of languor. This time, Li Banfeng clearly saw her face. She had an oval face, a high nose bridge, a pair of captivating 'peach blossom' eyes that were hard to look away from, small, rosy lips, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly upward, hinting at a faint smile. She seemed to exude an elusive, ethereal aura.

A breathtaking beauty appeared before him. Li Banfeng stared at her for a moment, then used his match to set her clothes on fire. After her clothes caught fire, the ethereal aura became even more pronounced.

The beauty still gazed languidly at Li Banfeng and asked in a calm tone, "Why are you burning my clothes?"

Li Banfeng honestly retorted, "Why are you scaring me?"

The beauty used the flames on her body to light the candle in her hand and placed it on the sconce by the wall. She gently blew out the flames on her body, looked at Li Banfeng, and asked in an ethereal, wavering voice, "Are you leaving already?"

"Do I need to check out?" Li Banfeng replied.

The beauty smiled faintly. "If you're in such a hurry to leave, why did you come?" she asked.

Li Banfeng answered honestly, "I really didn't want to come here. I was carried here by an old man who thought he was a train."

"He is Grandfather Train."

"You know that crazy old man?"

"Why do you think he's crazy?"

"As a train, he doesn't even burn coal. Isn't that crazy?"

The beauty nodded slightly, seeming to agree with Li Banfeng's statement. She subtly shifted, clearing the path. Li Banfeng walked away without the slightest hesitation.

As he reached the door, the beauty asked, "What's your name?"

Li Banfeng recalled the scenes from his dream: someone had called him Master Seven, and someone else had called him Boss Ye. This woman knew all this information. After a quick mental integration, Li Banfeng replied, "My name is Ye Qi."

The beauty didn't seem to doubt him and replied earnestly, "My name is Meng Qian. Walk straight ahead once you leave; go to where you want to go, and whatever you do, don't look back."

"Thank you, Miss Meng."

Meng Qian nodded. "Until we meet again," she said.

Li Banfeng exited the main door. Outside was a dark mountain forest, and among the dense vegetation, there was an inconspicuous mountain path. Whether Meng Qian's words were true or false, leaving this place quickly was certainly the right choice.

Running furiously along the mountain path, Li Banfeng recalled his previous experiences. "I got lost on the edge of the New Land and stumbled upon a train station. There, I met a crazy old man who brought me to this place. If the station was real and the crazy old man was real, I must have fallen into a dream after paying the fare, then somehow ended up in this building and was placed in a room to sleep.

In the dream, I urgently needed to urinate and even found a restroom. If I'm not mistaken, in reality, I must have been sleepwalking and actually gone to the restroom. Did I know where the restroom was? People in this building can find the restroom without even opening their eyes. And it wasn't just the restroom. In my dream, I dreamt of going down and up a mountain, and also ate a meal at a restaurant. In reality, it should have been going downstairs and upstairs, and I ate a meal in the cafeteria. How did I find the cafeteria? This must have come from some suggestion within the dream.

The owner of this building must be the woman named Meng Qian. She can invade the dreams of everyone in the building and also control the residents' actions through their dreams. If I were to jump off a cliff in my dream, the reality might be that I climbed to the building's roof and jumped down. In that scenario, would I fall to my death? It would depend on how tall the building is, and also on how I would react. As a traveling cultivator, I likely wouldn't fall to my death, but this is just one example I could think of."

If Meng Qian wanted to kill me, she could find many ways. At this thought, a chill ran down Li Banfeng's spine, and he ran faster than before. She didn't try to kill me and even let me leave. What was her purpose in bringing me here? Could it be that she also didn't know why I came here? Was this just an accident caused by that crazy old man? That crazy old man is called Grandfather Train. What was his purpose in bringing me here?

After running for over an hour without stopping, Li Banfeng stopped. Roughly estimating, he must have run over three hundred li, certainly out of the building's control range. He could see some light ahead; he must be approaching the civilized lands now. His stamina was still good; running a few hundred more li wouldn't be a problem. But he was thirsty. He had been thirsty since he woke up, and hadn't had a single sip of water since then. He decided to go back to his Portable Abode for a drink and tell his wife about this, to see if she knew this Meng Qian person.

Just as Li Banfeng reached out to take out his key, a sound that made his scalp tingle echoed from behind him.

"Whoosh-whoosh, woo-woo-woo!"

Without thinking, Li Banfeng immediately took off running.

Grandfather Train! How did he encounter him again? He wouldn't force me onto his 'train' again, would he? He's a high-level traveling cultivator; outrunning him wouldn't be easy. He'd have to use his wits, think carefully, and plan his route. "I'm a fifth-level traveling cultivator, but what's his cultivation level? Seventh? Eighth? Or..."

Grandfather Train suddenly turned his head and said, "Departure time!"

When did he get ahead of me?

"All aboard!" Grandfather Train moved incredibly fast. Before Li Banfeng could even clearly see his figure, he found himself on the old man's back.

"Woo-woo," Grandfather Train swung his arms and charged forward.

Li Banfeng was speechless. "Old man, where are you taking me?"

"Whoosh-whoosh," Grandfather Train turned his head and asked, "Have you ever ridden a train?"

"Of course I have!" Li Banfeng replied.

"If you've ridden one, why are you asking?"

"Why can't I ask?"

"Anyone who's ridden a train knows, wherever the train goes, you have to go with it!"

"That's..." He... he actually makes a lot of sense. "But the point is, I didn't want to get on your train!"

"You must get on my train."

"Why?"

"Because you haven't woken up yet."

What did that mean? Was this old man truly crazy, or was he faking it?

Li Banfeng frowned. "How do you know I haven't woken up?"

Grandfather Train, still making train whistle sounds, replied, "Because I haven't woken up either."

An ordinary person would have collapsed from the old man's logic. But Li Banfeng didn't collapse; he asked very seriously, "How do you know you haven't woken up?"

The old man looked at Li Banfeng with a puzzled expression. "Do I even need to ask?" he retorted. "If I were awake, would I think I was a train?"

What he said... still made a lot of sense. But if what he said was true, did that mean I had entered the old man's dream? How could I possibly enter his dream?

Li Banfeng still managed to keep his composure and continued to ask, "Why would you dream of yourself becoming a train?"

Grandfather Train was silent for a moment, then said, "Because I miss my own train."

"You once owned a train?"

"Yes, I did."

"Where did your train go?"

"I sold it."

"To whom did you sell it?"

"A peddler."

Li Banfeng rubbed his forehead and inwardly scoffed at the crazy old man. Lunatics had no logic, even in their dreams. How could a peddler possibly buy a train?