Chapter 2: The Cat

"What a mess of a storyline today..."

Lin Xian rubbed his arms, chilled by the night wind, as he recalled the dream he just had.

Big Face Cat,

an Ultraman mask,

a beautiful female secret agent,

it was truly absurd.

"It's like making a movie with a bunch of idiots... cough cough."

Lin Xian coughed twice, feeling a bit under the weather.

Only then did he realize that he forgot to close the window before going to bed last night.

The early winter night wind was no joke.

Whoosh—

After closing the old sliding window, the sounds of dice games from the night market stalls downstairs became much quieter. With the night wind gone, the room seemed to warm up.

Lin Xian poured himself a cup of hot water, took a couple of sips, and gazed at the full moon outside the window:

"What exactly is hidden inside that safe with my name on it?"

...

Since birth, Lin Xian had been having the same dream every night.

Day after day, year after year.

No matter how old Lin Xian was, no matter where he slept, no matter what he did during the day, as soon as he entered dreamland, he would always find himself in that unfamiliar yet familiar square.

Unfamiliar because Lin Xian was certain he had never been to this square in reality.

Familiar because, over more than twenty years, Lin Xian had fully explored this square. He knew every child there, every tree, even every blade of grass.

As a child, Lin Xian was terrified of this dream.

Every day it was the same people, the same city, the same events.

The dream world felt to Lin Xian like a prison he could never escape.

Yesterday's playmates became strangers again today.

People who died right before his eyes yesterday would greet him with a smile today.

No matter how much chaos he caused, the next day the dream world would still be as calm as ever.

He was like a prisoner trapped in time,

serving a life sentence of repeating the same day over and over.

...

He soon discovered that the dream world would always end at 00:42 on the dot, and he would wake up at the same time.

So he learned how to exploit a BUG—

[As long as he stayed up until after 00:42 in the morning, he would definitely not dream!]

And indeed, it was true.

So for a long time in his childhood, Lin Xian would stay up until after 00:42 before going to sleep, enjoying a night without dreams.

But as he grew older, starting in junior high, Lin Xian's attitude began to change.

He not only accepted this recurring "nightmare," he even learned to enjoy this "sweet dream":

In reality, everything he did was monitored, but in the dream, he could do whatever he wanted, lawlessly.

He didn't have to follow any rules or worry about any consequences!

He could indulge in the joy of reckless driving, fighting like a god!

This daily recurring dream thus became Lin Xian's outlet during his adolescence.

Once he accepted this setting, Lin Xian felt that this dream, where he didn't have to take any responsibility and wasn't afraid of dying, was incredibly delightful!

While his classmates were still playing childish games like Bubble Hall and Adventure Island, Lin Xian was already enjoying Ultimate Kingdom, Hot-Blooded Rogue, and Tailgating 3 in his dreams.

From then on...

Lin Xian stopped staying up late.

The first thing he did every day after coming home from school was to do his homework.

Not a second wasted after finishing homework, he would wash up and go to bed immediately, making his parents exclaim that the prodigal son had returned!

It was also around this time that Lin Xian discovered that the dream did not necessarily wake him up at 00:42—

[If he died in the dream, he would immediately wake up in reality.]

Throughout his middle school years, Lin Xian often died from being shot by the police.

A sniper's headshot, being shot dead by a SWAT team, caught in random gunfire while fleeing... he experienced it all and even became accustomed to it.

Moreover, thanks to his long-term intense evasion training in his dreams, Lin Xian won the City Youth Parkour Championship for three consecutive years in high school, earning the admiration of his teachers for his skill in both academics and athletics.

Even today...

This dream world remains Lin Xian's daily playground.

Now, at the age of 23, his thoughts and mind have matured a lot; it's been a long time since he last did anything criminal. Nowadays, he prefers to wander aimlessly in his dreams, participating in other people's stories, experiencing a multitude of lives.

Even though the dream world keeps repeating the same day, fortunately, it's large enough that despite Lin Xian playing around in it for more than twenty years, there's still something new to discover every day.

Just like in the dream he had just now.

Robbing a bank is something Lin Xian did many times in his teens, but that warehouse full of safes... It was Lin Xian's first time stepping inside.

He wasn't surprised to see his own name on the safe.

After all, it was his dream; he was the protagonist, so having his name there was quite normal.

He was just puzzled...

"Why is the password incorrect?"

Lin Xian finished drinking a cup of hot water.

His body felt much warmer now.

He set the cup on the desk, thinking left and right but couldn't figure it out...

According to his long-standing habit, most of his passwords were his birthday—easy to remember and simple.

The passwords for nearly all of his online accounts were 19990320. That's why, in the dream, he was so confident.

But why was the password wrong?

An eight-digit password... He really couldn't think of a second possibility.

Ding-dong.

The cellphone on the nightstand lit up, signaling a new message.

He opened it and saw it was from the WeChat work group—

Design team leader Li Juan: @everyone, meeting at 9 AM tomorrow in the third-floor conference room, President Zhao will review everyone's proposals personally! No one is allowed to be late! Confirm receipt!

Then there were ding-dong! ding-dong! ding-dong! several beeps.

Several "Received!" messages appeared below.

"This group is too eager," muttered Lin Xian, feeling genuinely amazed. It was already 1 AM; were these people all super Saiyans? Don't they need to sleep?

But complaints aside...

In his dreams, he could rob banks, blow up buildings, grin cheekily at the barrel of a gun.

But in reality, even at 1 AM, he had to reply meekly:

Received!

"Time to sleep, need to get up early tomorrow."

Lin Xian slipped back into bed, set the alarm clock, and tossed his cellphone onto the nightstand—

Bang!

...

Li Juan, fuming with rage, slammed a folder down on the table!

"I told you all last night! Today, President Zhao is going to review your proposals personally! And look what you've concocted! What is all this crap!?"

The whole third-floor conference room was dead silent...

Everyone was looking down.

Li Juan was so furious she could hardly contain herself! She pulled out a drawing and slammed it on the table saying:

"What are our new brand's key appeals? Youth! Youthfulness! You were tasked with designing a brand image, and you come up with a fox in black stockings? And wagging its tail too?"

"And you!"

Li Juan smacked another drawing on the table, glaring at the girl sitting next to Lin Xian, her eyes as fierce as a lion's:

"Do you have some misunderstanding about our new brand? You drew a bunny which is okay, but are you serious with this floral scarf and the big cotton-padded jacket? My grandma dresses trendier than this bunny of yours!"

"President Zhao has said it countless times already! He's been very specific, everyone! Kitty cat! You've all heard of Hello Kitty, haven't you? Seen it, right? What we're looking for is a brand image just like that of Kitty cat!"

"Hmph..."

The chubby guy sitting next to Lin Xian muttered under his breath:

"They expect Hello Kitty on this kind of salary..."

"What are you mumbling, Fatso!?"

"No no no, nothing, Elder Sister Juan! I was saying Hello Kitty is the best! Perfect!" Fatso jerked to attention in fright.

...

Li Juan's harangue filled the entire conference room.

Lin Xian, eyes closed, twirling his pen, was still pondering yesterday's dream about the safe.

The eight-digit password...

What could it be?

What was hidden inside the safe?

Kitty cat?

Cat?

Listening to Li Juan's roaring, Lin Xian was reminded of the cat mask on Big Face Cat's face.

That was also an image of a cartoon cat.

A few simple strokes, yet it perfectly captured the cuteness and vibrancy of a cat.

Especially how the mask sat on Big Face Cat's large face, it just had a sort of untarnished beauty that stood out from the mud.

Undoubtedly, that image of the kitty was indeed very cute in its design.

Simple and delicate, fresh and straightforward.

Daydreaming, Lin Xian sketched the cartoon cat on the draft paper with a few strokes...

"Eh?"

The female colleague next to him leaned over:

"Lin Xian, what are you drawing?"