Zhou Yi immediately instructed Sun Hao to summon the Dream Demon.

After such a long period of nurturing, the Dream Demon's size had actually shrunk, and its appearance had become identical to Sun Hao.

However, it was entirely pitch black, with two horns sprouting from its head, resembling a demonified Sun Hao who had just returned from mining coal.

As soon as it met Zhou Yi's cold gaze, the Dream Demon shrank back a little.

"H-Hello."

It instinctively tried to hide behind Sun Hao.

Zhou Yi spoke, "Stand still."

"Yes."

The Dream Demon immediately stood at attention.

Next to it, Sun Hao also urged, "Father has questions for you. You must answer truthfully and not conceal anything."

"I will answer truthfully, I will not conceal anything."

The Dream Demon quickly assured.

Zhou Yi asked, "Were you really born from Sun Hao's 'Consciousness Puzzle'?"

"..."

The Dream Demon's eyes started to shift left and right as it cautiously said, "Actually, not really..."

Sun Hao was astonished, "Then where did you come from?"

"Uh."

There was a hint of confusion in the Dream Demon's eyes, "Actually, I don't know either. When I became conscious, I was already with you."

"At first, I also thought we were like two sides of the same coin, that I was a product of your abilities and consciousness. But after extensive repairs of the consciousness fragments, I realized that this was not the case."

"Later, I entered some dream realms and conversed with other Dream Demons. Only then did I figure out that we were placed inside various life forms after we were born."

"But we don't actually pose any harm to these life forms."

It explained, "We only take away some of the joy and excitement from the consciousness in the dream realms and gather some of their madness and destruction consciousness."

"This helps maintain a relative balance within life. Both extreme happiness and rage are dangerous."

"The separated consciousness fragments are then sent to the Great Holy Spirit for reuse."

"Outsiders call us Dream Demons, but within ourselves, we often refer to each other as repair workers, commonly saying that the world is broken and we patch it up."

Zhou Yi's expression turned peculiar, "How is the world broken?"

"It's like this."

The Dream Demon gestured with its hands, "As more beings gain self-awareness, the space here becomes relatively smaller for each life form, making collisions of consciousness very frequent. This type of collision is difficult to observe from the material side but has very profound effects."

"From the perspective of consciousness, an immense amount of fragments and radiation constantly emanate from each consciousness, instinctively expanding their influence. The stronger the being, the more pronounced this is."

"Perhaps only pure consciousness forms, like Concept Life, can observe this phenomenon."

"With so many self-aware beings densely living in towns and settlements, the collisions between their consciousnesses become more intense. Like humans, sometimes a single glance can spark conflict and deadly fights."

"The root is the intense collision of consciousness, causing both parties to feel threatened and tense. Most regions of their consciousness swiftly convert to destructive consciousness."

It spoke rapidly, "So we fragment some of the consciousness to reduce the conditions for the birth of destructive consciousness, making those easily angered and stressed consciousnesses unclear."

Zhou Yi took a moment to digest this information.

"Then why can't the joyful, positive parts of the consciousness be more abundant?"

"Excessive joy is more dangerous than violence."

The Dream Demon solemnly said, "Because violence is predictable and will ultimately lead to self-destruction, like a lit barrel of dynamite, it's an instant explosion. If the flame can be extinguished beforehand, it can be controlled."

"But joy creates high dependence and addiction. To maintain long-term joy, people will do anything. As the threshold continues to rise, the behaviors needed to achieve it must become more extreme."

"The most common example is making money. Earning a bit makes people understandably happy. But if this joy is uncontrolled and not diluted, people will go to any lengths to obtain more money, whether it be through killing, robbery, destruction, or exploitation—these are all means to achieve joy."

"Joy also spreads more easily than violence, quickly affecting other consciousnesses, leading to widespread deep addiction that is hard to quit."

It continued, "People who pursue ultimate joy and those who are extremely violent are equally dangerous, causing enormous damage on the consciousness side."

Zhou Yi thought of addicts and gamblers.

The destructive power of these two types might be even greater than that of simple violent criminals.

"Why do you repair this world?"

"Because it is our duty!"

The Dream Demon stated proudly, "Perhaps it's hard to believe, but we are the protectors and witnesses of this world. From the first life form budding beneath the ancient waters to the complex era of various life forms today, heroes come and go, but we have never been absent."

"Speak plainly."

"It's just... we need to collect consciousness fragments, which seem to give birth to the next generation of Dream Demons. I was likely hatched this way and then placed inside Sun Hao by an adult Dream Demon."

Zhou Yi acknowledged with a nod.

This matched the information from the Book-eating Demon.

Sun Hao couldn't help but ask, "So, is my Consciousness Puzzle ability actually your ability?"

"No, that is your talent."

Shaking its head, the Dream Demon looking like a demonized Sun Hao said, "It's just that we coincidentally match very well, so the adult Dream Demon placed me inside you, allowing me to grow faster."

"Dream Demons have two abilities. One is Dream Creation, which is creating various dream realms; the second is Nonexistence, which lets people forget our existence."

Zhou Yi was taken aback.

Nonexistence sounded very similar to Selfless.

He immediately explained this ability and elaborated further.

The Dream Demon, upon hearing this, was stunned, "It is indeed the same ability... You also have this ability? Could you be another form of Dream Demon?"

Zhou Yi frowned.

Tietie's Selfless ability was only acquired after modifications by the Heavenly People.

Dream Demons must have some connection with the Heavenly People. The source of Selfless seems to be with the Dream Demons. Just as the Heavenly People obtained the Light Imprint Skill from Mechanical Life, it seems reasonable that they borrowed the mechanism for Selfless from the Dream Demons.

This young Dream Demon, however, was completely unaware of this.

It was still at the Skywalker stage, many secrets only known to the Light Core Body stage.

Zhou Yi asked, "Is it true that Dream Demons attack healers like Sun Hao, hollowing out their consciousnesses before leaving?"

"It's true."

The Dream Demon admitted candidly.

"But it's actually a good thing. It looks like we devour healers, but we actually transform them into Dream Demons because their abilities are very close to ours. Through the continual transformation and reorganization of consciousness fragments, they become our true kin."

The Dream Demon further explained, "Becoming a Dream Demon is much better than becoming an Angel of Death."

"We don't die easily, and even after death, we can revive through our methods. Healers of the Angels of Death are our good partners! This is our secret."

Sun Hao shook his head upon hearing this, "I don't want to become a Dream Demon, I like how I am now, being with everyone."

"Dream Demons are an excellent evolution! Trust me, we've been together since birth, we're true brothers. I would never harm you!"

"The healers are all willing because even Angels of Death age, weaken, and die."

"We can break free from this cycle and avoid the big pressures Concept Life faces with the Great Holy Spirit..."

The Dream Demon relentlessly pitched.

Zhou Yi cleared his throat.

The Dream Demon immediately shut up.

"How do you communicate with each other?"

This question was crucial.

Based on past experience, Dream Demons always disappear without a trace.

"There's no way to contact them, at least I can't."

The Dream Demon admitted honestly, "Sometimes we encounter each other in dream realms, collecting our needed consciousness fragments while exchanging a few words."

"Are there colonies?"

"Only in dreams, I don't know of any others."

It was still young and hadn't penetrated the Dream Demons' core circle.

Zhou Yi brought the topic back, "Now you have two choices."

"Choice one, leave Sun Hao and never let me see you again, or you'll be deemed a threat to the company and dealt with."

"Choice two, join the company and become its first Dream Demon employee."

The Dream Demon promptly replied, "Join the company!"

"Don't you want to consider it?"

"I know this is the only choice. For the first choice, you'd definitely send a Light Core Body to eliminate me..."

It seemed quite savvy.

Zhou Yi did have that intention.

To eliminate any risk to Sun Hao, killing it was the best solution.

Zhou Yi asked, "What's your name?"

"I have no name. Dream Demons don't have names; consciousness itself identifies us uniquely, each with a different consciousness structure."

Zhou Yi thought for a moment, "Since you and Sun Hao are good brothers, you shall be called Sun Huai."

The Dream Demon couldn't help but mutter, "But Chairman, I'm not bad. I just patch up this world like a repair worker..."

Zhou Yi frowned.

This guy had many opinions.

"The company has decided. You shall be called that within the company."

"Sun Huai doesn't mean you are a bad person but that you have a sharp mind, always prepared for the worst-case scenario."

"...I see."

The Dream Demon's brow immediately unfurrowed, "Sun Huai is a great name! Thank you, Chairman!"

Zhou Yi said, "Sun Huai."

"Present."

"Now, I announce the company's appointments for you. Your tasks are twofold."

"First, continue to help Sun Hao treat those with damaged consciousnesses."

"Second, continue to interact with other Dream Demons in dreams to gather and probe information about the Heavenly People."

"Understood!"

Dream Demon Sun Huai hesitated. It looked at the black brain in the metal container.

"Chairman, I can sense that the Dream Demon within that Evil Brain is not completely dead. It is trapped inside the dream within the Evil Brain... Perhaps I can enter and get information from it."

Zhou Yi felt a surge of anticipation, "Can you make it out after entering?"

"Yes. It's shattered into fragments, so it cannot move and is stuck in the dream. The Evil Brain is now controllable; I won't be dissected."

"Can that Light Core Dream Demon attack or possess you?"

Sun Huai said, "Possess... Do you mean occupy my consciousness? Although I haven't encountered it before, it is possible. I will act accordingly and escape if needed."

For safety's sake.

Zhou Yi also sent Cat God and Big Buddha, two Light Core employees, to accompany.

Although they couldn't enter the dream, they could connect with Sun Huai through consciousness, providing it with strength and information support.

"Then depart immediately."

"Understood."

The Dream Demon transformed into a wisp of black smoke, diving into the Evil Brain's dream.

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