"Have you heard any news from your master these days?"
In the colorful world, everything was tinged with brilliant colors; whether animals or plants, everything here had been adorned with smiling faces by some unknown entity.
At this moment, the massive rift in the sky was growing larger, and the shattering of the Origin Wall had a more severe impact here than in the Main World.
The last time Su Ming came here was just to borrow a path and power, but this time, on Little Fortune Ape's suggestion, he came to investigate the information on the 'Nightmare.'
Now, he no longer needed Diana to hit him on the back of the head to enter and exit the Dream Country; the integrity of the Dream Kingdom had become increasingly poor, and the Inverted Man's magical concept could easily penetrate this fragile plane barrier to send agents here.
Of course, such an action requires a service fee, and it's not cheap at all, equivalent to five thousand fireballs; fortunately, this is a round-trip price.
At this moment, Su Ming was standing under a tree, talking to an apple with a human expression on it.
Dream Kingdom was usually safe, so Su Ming came here alone this time, but he immediately saw a scene of chaos as soon as he landed.
"Our master? Haven't seen him! Oh my, our kingdom has turned into a battleground. Look at us; how am I supposed to escape?"
This tree looked like something out of a child's drawing, not very tall, just about a head taller than Su Ming. Its large crown had only a few branches, and the apples grew directly on the robust branches.
There were only five or six fruits on a tree, and although each had human-like facial features, this number was too few.
"Uh... why would you need to escape? You're an apple; who would kill an apple?"
Su Ming touched the trunk, and it felt elastic like a sponge. The tree had a fragrant aroma, one that was both rich and reassuring.
This was a rule of the Dream Kingdom: to prevent small animals like rabbits from crashing into trees and dying, maintaining a fairytale-like atmosphere.
Here, the concept of death didn't exist at all.
The Sleep Demon was also a member of the Endless Clan, holding a status similar to the Gothic Beauty, Death. Their rules did not apply in the Dream Country.
Even there are dark fairytales, such as Abel and Cain endlessly slaughtering each other, but even if the brother was minced into pieces, he wouldn't die.
The apple with facial features looked at Su Ming with disdain: "Where did you come from? Can't you see the chaos over there? I mean those... monsters; they're killing each other? Right, death, why would there be death? How would I know what death means?"
Su Ming leaned against the trunk and poked his head out to look not far away: "The Dream Country is undergoing dimension reduction, and it will slowly descend into the Multiverse. The rules of death have already begun to take effect here, just like in the DC Universe where her rules are common knowledge. The concept of death will naturally appear in your mind, if you have a mind, that is."
"You don't have a mind! But aren't you afraid? What should I do? The battlefield of angels and monsters over there is about to shift over here. How am I supposed to escape?"
The apple shook eagerly on the branch, as if attempting to flee for its life. Facing death for the first time and understanding death, this kind of fear left it panicked and helpless.
But if it was indeed drawn by some mischievous child, the child who drew the tree clearly didn't want the apple to fall to the ground, as the stem connecting it to the branch was thicker than Su Ming's thumb, clearly not something an apple could break away from.
"Can't you be like those dignified captains who tie themselves to the helm before the ship sinks and go down with the ship?" Su Ming looked at the approaching mad angels and their kind in the distance; he was waiting for an opportunity, casually teasing the red fruit in the meantime.
"That's voluntary for those captains; I'm different! I've been forced to be bound to the tree."
"There's no difference; captains rely on their ships for a living, and without them, there's nothing left to live for." Su Ming retracted his head, leaned against the tree trunk, and adjusted himself into a comfortable position: "You rely on the tree for nutrients, shelter from wind and rain, but in times of crisis, you think of abandoning the fruit tree and escaping on your own; are you the filial son of the Dream Country?"
The apple let out a scream, and the other fruits on the tree had similar reactions: "I actually understood what you said?! We weren't supposed to understand! Here we're different; we are born as fruits and exist as fruits forever. Haven't you noticed this is actually a pine tree? Appearing on it is a mistake! Who drew us?!"
"So what if it's a pine tree? You have replaced the original pinecones; you should be grateful."
Su Ming shrugged. Of course, he knew it was a pine tree, but in this plane, nothing was impossible.
Teapots can talk, rabbits can drive cars, flowers smiling at people isn't just a metaphor, even the wind was a translucent old man puffing his cheeks to blow...
Saying this, Su Ming backhand-punched the old man next to him, sending him flying, as he kept puffing his cheeks to blow air into Su Ming's neck; wasn't it disgusting?
"Let's not discuss this anymore! Take me with you!" the apple shouted.
While the two were talking, the battlefield of angels and their kind had already approached this side, leaving the native inhabitants of the Dream Country dead or wounded, and those with legs had already run away.
"Don't worry, I almost understand what's going on here; don't panic, just sit tight."
After saying that, he raised his hands, and the Strangulation Gang revealed the middle section of his finger bones, from which rings floated from the void, illuminating his face with colorful light.
The lights attracted the attention of some enemies, and some angels flew over here; the apple on the tree closed its eyes tightly, seemingly afraid that death would be too painful.
"The Lord commands you to obey!"
"Didn't your lord teach you any new words?" Su Ming clasped his hands in a Kung Fu stance reminiscent of an Aquarius Saint: "Cationic City-Breaking Cannon!"
A thick white light burst forth from his fingers, rolling over the vast space in front of him like a temporary energy rolling pin.
When the white light faded, the angels that had densely filled the sky were gone, as well as the others they were fighting with in the distance.
The surrounding flowers, grass, trees, buildings, and roads, everything that the Dream Country originally possessed, were all intact.
Not only that, but some of the previously injured little animals were now completely healed after bathing in the white light, standing up while patting their clothes.
"Master of Dreams! What kind of power is this?" Apple opened its eyes in surprise, feeling courage and warmth when the light flashed, as if its mind had connected with the world.
Before Su Ming could respond, a multitude of recently rescued animals rushed over. The fastest was a parrot, dressed in clothing and unable to fly, but its legs carried it swiftly.
"Thank you, hero, for saving us."
"Thank you, haha..."
"We owe you our thanks, good man!"
A crowd of anthropomorphic animals gathered around, chattering their thanks, creating a cacophony that left Su Ming unable to hear anything clearly.
"Quiet down! Listen to me!" The Strangulation Gang host turned into a Big Horn before Su Ming as he loudly halted their thanks: "I am not a good man, nor a heroic figure. I saved you because I need your repayment. The rift in the sky is not yet sealed, and enemies are pouring out of it constantly. One of you animals must volunteer to stay and tell me everything I need to know!"
The animals quieted down for a moment, but soon they grew noisy again, all wanting to stay and help this human. Though only one was needed, the competition was fierce....
..........
"Young Master Bruce, you...."
In the Bat Cave, Alfred looked at Batman, who was removing a needle from his arm.
He placed a towel on a nearby table and spoke with a hint of helplessness, knowing that his master couldn't stay idle and was planning to head out on another mission.
"Alfred, I've injected the antidote, and now I feel completely fine." Bruce walked toward the storage cabinet for his uniform, with the automatic dressing system starting to suit him up.
"Recovery requires a thorough examination, not just a feeling-based judgment." Alfred stood outside the glass chamber, starting to complain once more: "Also, you can't adjust the IV drip speed to be so fast, infusing 600ml in five minutes? Even Russians couldn't handle that."
"I'm not a Russian; I'm Batman."
Alfred made an indifferent sound, then added, "You know that Master Thomas instructed you to stay put at home. Perhaps we could play some billiards?"
"He did say that." Batman emerged from the machine, starting to place gadgets one by one into his utility belt: "But I don't intend to listen to him; all children rebel against their parents."
"I thought you'd be the exception, Master."
"I'm not. He certainly proved he's my father, but since he was found by Deathstroke, I can't rule out the possibility of him being deceived by Deathstroke... I trust Thomas, but I don't trust his decisions."
"Seems like I failed to properly teach you about trust when you were small, right?" Alfred sighed, handing the Bat Grapple Gun to Bruce.
"That was supposed to be my father's job." Batman took the Grapple Gun, casually picking up a few tubes of antidote for Laughing Gas from the table: "But fortunately, I'm smart enough to doubt anyone, and that's a small blessing."
Alfred smirked: "I think he's less worried about someone tricking you out of money and more about protecting you by keeping you at home."
Batman walked toward his aircraft, skillfully mounting the seat. With the mechanical sounds, he was lifted into the cockpit: "I'm no longer the helpless child in the alley, and everything I do now is to ensure no one else feels as helpless as I was. Fortunately, you're here to help me. Are the preparations for takeoff complete?"
"As always, Master, as always." Alfred smiled: "But I don't need to remind you that you can't let Master see you in the city, right? He's taken over the Brother Eye's surveillance terminal, and any small moves I make will be detected by him."
Batman glanced at Alfred through the cockpit glass: "Actually, I do trust others. At least I trust that he and Deathstroke will handle the Laughing Bat, so now I'm planning to check out Metropolis, where Superman and the others have activated Wayne Group's atmospheric research lab."
"One of the Justice League's backup bases," Alfred nodded.
"Yes, I think with the Origin Wall shattered now, they could use my advice. Also, I believe we'd better return Star Hero to the Justice Association."
Batman pressed the thruster button, and Alfred had already opened the top passage of the Bat Cave. The pitch-black aircraft spewed blue flames and instantly disappeared into the horizon.