Chapter 539: Despair District

"What you said is the same as saying nothing. I know there's a problem with those mirrors too, but can I really go and try them one by one? Even if I had a hundred lives, I'm afraid it wouldn't be enough." I spoke calmly, not appearing particularly agitated.

"We're both live show streamers. Why would I harm you?" Chen Jiuge broke into a smile. "Every mirror is a passageway. Trying them one by one definitely won't work, but I do know a place where the mirror can absolutely let us escape the Deep Dream Layer."

"Are you sure?" I didn't entirely believe Chen Jiuge. Given the information gap, I had absolutely no way to verify if he was lying.

"Of course, but I can't tell you the exact location of that mirror right now. It's time for you to share your intel." Chen Jiuge still wore that annoying smile. I couldn't see through him. If I could, I really wanted to punch him hard and smash that smiling face of his.

I didn't make a move in the end. My tone remained unchanged. "Target A once appeared at the Clock Tower."

"The Clock Tower?" Chen Jiuge clearly hadn't heard of the place. The Clock Tower itself was just my own codename for it.

"Thousands of meters away from here, there's a nineteen-story building. A large clock is built on the roof, and countless 'thoughts' are imprisoned inside. Target A, wearing a multicolored long dress and red high heels, once appeared around the large clock." I finished in one breath. At this moment, I urgently wanted to know the location of the mirror Chen Jiuge mentioned.

"A large clock? Time?" Chen Jiuge muttered to himself a couple of times. "What did she do there? The more detailed, the better. This involves a hundred points. I hope you aren't deliberately hiding anything."

"I was hiding in the dark at the time and didn't dare show my face. That woman is very strong. I felt a very dangerous aura from her." I didn't lie to him; I just used the danger as an excuse to brush him off, choosing not to tell Chen Jiuge everything that had happened.

In my mind, the mysterious woman's origins were too formidable; Chen Jiuge and I were simply no match for her.

Hearing my words, the smile on Chen Jiuge's face faded slightly. "I hope you aren't lying."

"Isn't it time to tell me the exact location of that mirror?" I knew Chen Jiuge might not tell the truth either, but at least I could get some valuable clues from his words.

"I said before that this dream city is divided into countless districts. That mirror is hidden in the Despair District."

"The Despair District?" I looked at Chen Jiuge. "Did you come up with that name yourself?"

He stood there without speaking for a long while, seeming to hesitate. Only after a long time did he speak up, "No. The name of this district was given by Target A."

Reaching into his pocket, Chen Jiuge slowly took out a tattered Yellow Leather Notebook and flipped to a certain page. "I'll hold it. You look."

Leaning closer, I used my Judging Eye to look. Inside the Yellow Leather Notebook were hand-drawn maps, one after another. "Is this a map of the Deep Dream Layer?"

My voice pitched up, entirely unable to hide the shock in my heart. That thick Yellow Leather Notebook had at least several dozen pages. If all of them were maps of the dream city, its value would be immeasurable!

"Don't get excited. It is indeed a map, but it's only a fragment." Chen Jiuge flipped through the Yellow Leather Notebook. Many things inside were already blurred. Rather than an atlas, it was more like a collection of jottings. "This was left in the Live Show by Target A during the early days. It's the result of her explorations. All the district names and markings inside were made by her. I spent a total of thirty points exchanging for this thing."

I didn't speak, but my mind was working. 'A total of? Can you exchange for things in the Live Show in installments? There are still a lot of secrets worth digging out of this Chen Jiuge.'

Holding the Yellow Leather Notebook, Chen Jiuge wouldn't let me touch it at all. I could tell he valued this thing highly. "The Deep Dream Layer is massive. We've explored it for many years and have only figured out one or two percent of the place, but just this information is enough for us to escape."

Spreading open the Yellow Leather Notebook, he pointed to a spot marked with a black circle. "This is our current location, the former branch of the Live Show in the Deep Dream Layer."

I looked at where his finger pointed; written next to it in small letters was—Stronghold.

"To the southwest is the Clock Tower you mentioned, the only high-rise building nearby. If you continue north and pass through nine districts, you'll see the Despair District." Chen Jiuge showed me the route. For now, I couldn't find any holes in his words.

"Why is it called the Despair District? Is that place very special?" I used my Judging Eye to secretly memorize all the routes on the map.

Chen Jiuge shook his head. "I'm not sure either. This data was left by Target A, and she gave it the name. After I entered the Deep Dream Layer from my own Dream Realm, I've been searching for the landmarks on the map. It took a lot of effort to find this abandoned stronghold."

I smiled without speaking. Chen Jiuge was fully prepared; it was impossible that he didn't know the specific situation in that district. He probably just didn't want to tell me.

The map was worth thirty points. He went through untold hardships to find this stronghold abandoned by the Underworld Live Show. This action in itself was very suspicious. As the saying went, no profit, no early rise; the value of the treasures hidden in this stronghold undoubtedly exceeded thirty points.

Whether it was the Flower of the Dream Realm or that Mirror Fragment that wouldn't reflect human figures, both could possibly be Chen Jiuge's mission objectives. Unfortunately, he was a step late. Both of these things had now fallen into my hands.

With the information exchange complete, Ye Bing and Chu Men, who were following behind, also walked over. The four of us gathered together to discuss our next step.

Chen Jiuge advocated going to the Clock Tower to ambush Target A. Chu Men and I strongly opposed it. That place was the lair of the thoughts; the slightest carelessness could lead to being besieged by countless thoughts.

In the end, the minority deferred to the majority. We decided to first head to the Despair District Chen Jiuge had mentioned to take a look, and then return to the Clock Tower to attempt an ambush on the mysterious woman after the Deep Dream Layer's night had passed.

Walking to the edge of the Lightless District, the thoughts that had been chasing Chu Men and me were long gone. The two nightmares disguised as Chu Men and me had also vanished without a trace.

Thinking of nightmares, I couldn't help but shoot a few more glances at Chen Jiuge and Ye Bing. For a brief moment, I had indeed suspected the two of them, but on second thought, the disguise of a nightmare was only carried out based on personal memories and wasn't flawless. Some special items and little habits were simply impossible to fake.

Thinking up to here, I felt slightly relieved, but I still didn't let my guard down around Chen Jiuge. This guy was very dishonest. His words were half-true and half-false; careful deduction would reveal that he had hidden a lot of important information.

For instance, how did he enter the Dream Realm? Through whose Middle Dream Layer? And what was the specific method to escape the Dream Realm, how to use the mirrors, and so on?

There were many questions, but I couldn't press for details. Pushing too hard would be bad for both of us. After all, we were still allies on the surface and still needed to rely on each other's strength to accomplish our own goals!

I estimated that this person, Chen Jiuge, had been a live show streamer even longer than I had. He understood the Deep Dream Layer extremely well. I even suspected this wasn't his first time entering the Deep Dream Layer.

After walking out of the Lightless District, many thoughts drifted out from the surroundings. Even those memory fragments hidden deep within the walls came to life. Like unjustly wronged ghosts, they would sometimes launch attacks on us.

The night of the Deep Dream Layer gradually began to reveal its sinister and dangerous side. Logically speaking, we should have been struggling to take a single step, but at this time, some of Chen Jiuge's little tricks showed their wondrous effects.

He took out two jade pendants and distributed them to Chu Men and me. After putting the items on, those surrounding memory fragments and thoughts actually ignored the two of us entirely.

"This jade pendant can dispel distracting thoughts and maintain your true nature, ensuring you won't be attacked by those monsters formed from twisted memories. However, the effective time is only thirty minutes. Let's speed up now and not linger." The pendants Chen Jiuge gave to Chu Men and me were indeed useful, but he and Ye Bing didn't wear one. From this, it could be seen that he probably had even better things on him.

We advanced the entire way, and a few accidents occurred in between. For example, when passing through a certain district, a memory-fusion monster comparable in size to a two-story building ran across the street. That was the ugliest thing I had ever seen in my life. It was a freak formed by piecing together the limbs, bodies, and faces of countless people. Even separated by a hundred meters, it could give someone a suffocating sense of oppression!