Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability
chapter-903

After the platform had disappeared from view, Lumian observed the conditions inside the train carriage.

The seats were made of wood, the windows were narrow, and the lighting was insufficient. The other passengers seemed to be conversing, but there was no sound, as if they were performing a silent play.

Jenna and Anthony, experiencing something like this for the first time, were also quietly examining their surroundings. Ludwig was painfully yet intently eating imaginary delicious snacks, while Franca was in low spirits, leaning against the carriage and gazing at the scenery outside.

Vast pastures and lush fields were quickly receding, interspersed with old castles and quaint villages, beautiful like an oil painting.

Gradually, Franca saw palaces formed of frost, houses flying above the clouds, and pairs of crystal shoes dancing in a distant square…

The scenery outside the steam train began to become dreamlike, as if various fairy tales were merging together.

Before long, the iron-black steam locomotive entered the fog, and nothing could be seen clearly outside the windows.

Lumian, Franca, and the others instinctively gripped their lucky coins tightly. No one spoke, maintaining silence, worried that any unnecessary movement might prevent them from entering Mr. Fool's dream.

In the thick, dream-like fog, the iron-black steam locomotive that had emerged from fantasy continued to race forward with a clanking sound.

At some point, Lumian felt the clanking of the train wheels hitting the rail joints grow fainter and fainter until it disappeared.

Suddenly, they heard a female voice: "Does anyone want anything? Boxed meals, snacks, ice cream, beverages, local specialties, beef jerky…"

Franca sat up straight, her expression both shocked and bewildered.

She abruptly stood up, turned around, and looked towards the entrance of the carriage. She saw a woman wearing a white shirt and a purple-red long dress, with a small purple-red soft hat, pushing a multi-layered metal cart towards them.

The cart had colorful items arranged on different levels, beverages in peculiar bottles, and stacked boxed meals.

Wh— Franca's gaze instinctively swept to both sides of the multi-layered cart, finding that the previously shadowy passengers had become very clear. They were wearing clothes that often appeared in her dreams, either quietly spending time on different brands of phones or conversing softly with companions, with occasional sounds of children crying.

This was a scene Franca had dreamed of seeing again, but encountering it at this moment, in this setting, made her shiver with an inexplicable fear.

Is this, is this Mr. Fool's dream?

"What's wrong?" Lumian stood up as well, asking in a low voice.

He had already noticed the changes in the carriage, even the seats and backrests had become soft, as if wrapped in thick, blue-dyed cotton.

He also noticed that the passengers' clothing, style, and way of speaking were distinctly different from his group.

But this wasn't the reason for Franca's dramatic change in expression.

This is a dream, after all. Nothing should be surprising!

Franca's lips quivered a few times. She looked back at Anthony, who was sitting in the row in front with Ludwig, then lowered her voice and said to Lumian and Jenna, "It's exactly the same as a similar scene from my world…"

Lumian immediately understood why Franca had reacted that way earlier. He deliberately said in a nonchalant tone, "Have you forgotten about the Celestial Worthy? He also comes from that world. Isn't it normal for corresponding scenes to appear in a dream He's involved in?"

"You're right…" Franca showed a self-deprecating smile. "I was too excited, too scared, and overlooked this point."

Indeed, this is very normal!

This is also the sleeping dream of that Celestial Worthy!

Jenna also stood up, looked around for a few seconds, and said, "So, does this mean we've entered Mr. Fool's dream?"

As she spoke, she opened her right palm and found that beneath the shiny lucky coin was a train ticket that read: "Ningbei—Yangdu"

Although Jenna only recognized the numbers on the ticket, it didn't prevent her from understanding the meaning of those strange characters. Similarly, the passengers sitting across the aisle understood her Intisian, turning their heads to look at them curiously. However, upon noticing their strange attire, they seemed to find it normal and turned away.

According to Madam Magician's previous explanation, in Mr. Fool's dream, there was no need to worry about language barriers or unfamiliar text. This was essentially communicating with Mr. Fool's subconscious, and Mr. Fool knew all languages.

Of course, being able to intuitively understand the meaning of unfamiliar text didn't mean one could comprehend it deeply. Jenna had been worried about this issue before, but Madam Magician had reassured them. Now, Jenna finally understood why Madam Magician wasn't concerned about this problem:

These characters were familiar to Franca, and she could serve as the most reliable translator!

"It should be," Lumian cautiously put away the lucky coin, holding only the train ticket.

After noticing that other passengers could understand their speech, Jenna asked Franca in a very low voice, "What are those things the people are holding?"

They look very strange…

Lumian immediately used the Bottle of Fiction to enclose their two rows of seats, using the window as support, but keeping the barrier transparent.

Franca suddenly became energetic, completely forgetting her previous dejection and shock. She introduced with a smile,

"Those are cell phones, products of scientific development. They integrate telegraph communication, theatrical performance, mirror messaging, and other effects. They have even more functions that you can't imagine. Later, I'll get a few and teach you how to use them in detail. It's too difficult to explain clearly now!"

As she spoke, Franca's face was full of pride. "That's a T-shirt, those are jeans, those are sneakers…"

Just as she said this, Ludwig started shouting, "I want a boxed meal, I want snacks, I want ice cream, I want beverages, I want beef jerky!"

The little boy was salivating, completely forgetting the fact that food in dreams was all imaginary.

"Uh, Madam Magician reminded us to try to obey the law," Franca looked at Lumian. "I remember there was cash in the envelope Madam Justice gave us."

Lumian opened the envelope and took out a stack of brand new, bright red banknotes, and deactivated the Bottle of Fiction.

"Two thousand per person," he told his companions.

"That's okay." Franca nodded, then looked at Ludwig with a worried expression. "This child's meal expenses for one day would probably be over a thousand…"

And that's assuming he didn't eat anything good!

"There will always be ways to make money." Lumian spent two hundred to get five boxed meals.

Franca hesitated for a moment and said, "Let's give them all to Ludwig. Although I'd love to relive the taste of familiar food, we shouldn't waste money here. There will be better choices later."

After piling all five boxed meals in front of Ludwig, Jenna asked in a low voice, "Can we look at Mr. Fool's identity information in the dream now?"

She noticed that many passengers around were sneaking glances at her and Franca, so she sat back down.

Lumian considered for a moment and said, "We haven't reached our destination yet. Let's wait a bit longer. We'll look at it after we get off at our destination station."

Caution is paramount!

As he spoke, Lumian took out a mirror and tossed it into the gap between Ludwig and the backrest.

He was using mirror illusion magic to conceal the exaggerated situation of Ludwig being able to eat five boxed meals in one go and still only be half full.

He had noticed earlier that someone was secretly pointing what Franca called a phone in their direction. His spiritual intuition told him it would be better not to let abnormal matters appear in front of the public.

"Doesn't this train make any clanking noises?" Jenna and Franca started chatting casually.

Franca said with a boastful tone, "Of course not, this is the latest train model, and it's incredibly fast!"

She pointed to the display screen at the front of the carriage, which showed the real-time speed using numbers and symbols familiar to Jenna.

Thank you, Emperor Roselle!

Franca enthusiastically explained all the details that confused Lumian, Jenna, and Anthony, occasionally correcting their misconceptions, such as:

"Is this place even more open than Trier? I see people can expose their arms and legs…"

"No, no, no, we're far behind Trier. This is just freedom of dressing, and it doesn't offend others in public places. It's a manifestation of being cultured and civilized. In private, it's not as open as Trier at all!"

"Won't our current appearance be too strange?"

"Don't worry, just say we're going to a comic convention!"

"What's a comic convention?"

"…"

During this exchange, the train finally emerged from the fog, and a magnificent city with countless towering buildings appeared ahead. Each of these buildings seemed to rival mountains in height, their surfaces covered with glass curtain walls that gleamed golden in the sunlight.

Lumian and Jenna instinctively held their breath, as if approaching the realm of gods.

It was a miracle on earth, a city on the mountain top!

Franca also stopped her explanation, her lake-blue eyes fixed on the city, her expression a mix of nostalgia and sadness.

The train gradually slowed down, entered the city, and finally stopped at a clean, bright, and spacious platform.

The other passengers in this carriage suddenly disappeared, as if the dream weaver could no longer maintain them. Lumian and Franca exchanged glances with the others, then led Ludwig off the train, followed by the "strangely dressed" Jenna, Franca, and Anthony.

Along with the numerous passengers from other carriages, they took self-operating escalators to leave the platform. Under the guidance of their "guide" Franca, they made their way out of the station to the square outside, with no one speaking along the way.

Seeing the surrounding people gradually dispersing and the area becoming more open, Lumian took out the brownish-yellow envelope given by Madam Justice. He extracted the documents related to Mr. Fool's dream identity and spread them out for his companions to see.

Franca immediately saw a name written in her native language at the top of the document: "Zhou Mingrui."