O Mundo dos Sonhos está prestes a ser encerrado.

"Hiss—"

A tremor, as if the earth had been struck by the invisible palm of a giant, rippled through the land. At the horizon where the sky met the ground, a dazzling crimson light erupted. Immediately after, the Suspended River beneath their feet began to heave violently; massive waves surged toward the banks, capsizing the boats moored upon its surface.

The entire landscape of the Dream World shuddered. The black curtain of night seemed ready to collapse at any moment, and a low, persistent humming vibration resonated through the planet's crust.

The floating restaurant was not spared from the violent rocking. However, the boatman, having sensed the danger early on, had secured the vessel to the riverbed with iron chains, ensuring that no matter how hard it swayed, it would not flip.

The tables on deck slid to one side with the motion. Su Que heard the crash of several bowls of beef noodles hitting the floor, followed by the clattering sound of white porcelain bowls rolling across the deck.

Cries of alarm echoed from the river and both banks. Many silhouettes flickered and vanished into the depths of the water, while the churning current swiftly masked the gaping pits opening in the earth.

Chaos reigned between heaven and earth. Everything within sight trembled, emitting a hoarse, mournful wail.

The moment the shaking began, Su Que had grabbed onto a table for support, but she had never expected the table itself to be jolted off the boat.

Clinging to it with her entire weight, she rolled across the deck twice before a massive wave propelled them both over the high railing and plunged them into the water.

Su Que gritted her teeth. The water of the Suspended River lacked buoyancy. If even half of one's body fell in, the water would instantly submerge the head, turning a person into a corpse on the riverbed within mere heartbeats.

The river water wrapped around her lower body like a layer of cold gauze. A suffocating sensation began to permeate her chest; the water was already rising toward her neck.

Quick as a flash, she held her breath and focused, pumping energy into her mind to activate her "Water Gate" ability to save herself.

But to her horror, a hollow sensation washed over her entire body, leaving her veins feeling icy—her Water Gate ability had exhausted itself due to over-frequent use.

Su Que’s pupils constricted. The water had passed her neck and was about to cover her mouth and nose.

She gasped, swallowing a mouthful of water, but in that moment of crisis, she regained her composure and triggered her primary ability: "Human Generator."

As the switch flipped, silver sparks of electricity poured out like a floodgate. The intense current electrolyzed the water, generating hydrogen gas which, under her precise control, provided just enough lift to keep her afloat, though her body continued to sink.

At that instant, a hand reached down from the boat, firmly gripping her own hand as it desperately clawed at the surface.

Su Que looked up. The night obscured the person's features, but against the glare of the neon lights, she recognized the face of Kong.

"Get up!"

Kong’s brow was furrowed in concentration. He pulled on her hand with all his might while standing on the wildly rocking deck. He leaned half his body over the edge, yet maintained a stance as steady as a rock—a testament to some unknown discipline.

"Hiss—"

The image of the distant, flickering crimson sky and the tossing boat burned into Su Que’s retinas. She gripped Kong’s hand tightly, but his arm strength alone was not enough to haul her back on board.

Suddenly, another pair of hands grabbed her, pulling her forcefully from the water.

She looked up to see the hands of Nan Ke.

"Su Que, hurry! I’m helping him pull you up!"

Nan Ke shouted from the deck. Lacking Kong’s mysterious agility, he simply used his programming to extend his arms indefinitely until he could reach her. As a being composed entirely of code, he was quite versatile in such situations.

With their combined efforts, Su Que was quickly hauled toward the boat. Her upper body was already over the deck, and she managed to grasp the iron railing with her own hand.

Just as she tightened her grip and prepared to vault into the vessel, a hand reached out from behind Kong and Nan Ke, shoving her violently back toward the water.

Su Que lost her balance, her torso tilting toward the river, her feet slipping from the railing. The wind and spray churned violently beneath the boat; the fishy, sweet scent of the wind and the damp mist lashed her face, the cold air seeping into her clothes with icy intensity.

"Sizzle—"

A burst of electricity, coupled with a powerful magnetic force, erupted from her. Like an electric serpent, it instantly connected to the iron railing.

In the face of death, human potential is at its peak. Her red jacket, now a conductor saturated with current, clung to the iron railing as if magnetized. Simultaneously, using her palms—charged with positive and negative polarities—as anchors, she performed a backflip, successfully vaulting into the boat and landing firmly on the deck.

Seeing that Su Que was safe, Kong turned his gaze toward the owner of the hand that had pushed her.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a metal block. It hovered in the air, humming three times before transforming into a cold, gleaming pistol.

Without hesitation, he fired three shots toward the figure. Though the earth was still trembling, causing his aim to falter, the shots struck the culprit, knocking him down.

As Su Que steadied herself, she saw the person who had tried to push her fall into a pool of blood, the eerie purple light in his eyes slowly fading away.

Su Que frowned, realizing that the purple light looked familiar. It seemed...

She scanned her surroundings, searching for 009.

His ability, "Artificial Schizophrenia," allowed for direct mental control. She had seen him use it back at the Comfort Company, and the effect was exactly that—a violet glow within the eyes.

Was he the mastermind behind this?

The crimson light at the horizon faded silently. The Dream World ceased its trembling, and the land slowly returned to its former calm. The boat rocked gently on the Suspended River, scattered with overturned tables and broken porcelain.

Most of those on board had fallen into the water, while those who had managed to hold on gathered in small groups, still reeling from the shock.

Su Que swept her gaze across the deck, but the figure in the peaked cap was nowhere to be seen.

Perhaps he had fled the moment the ship began to sway, using his various blessed tools. Given that his ability favored long-range, short-term control, he had likely left a puppet behind while he made his escape.

Su Que pursed her lips. This act was likely his response, having finally realized that the item stolen from him was not a plan for the guests of the Doll Mansion, but an orchestration of her own.

It seemed this was his retaliation—and she was lucky the railing was iron, or she truly would have fallen for his trap.

However...

A thought, entirely unrelated to 009, crossed her mind.

She looked up at the sky.

The Dream World... had shown signs of collapsing three months ahead of schedule.