On my second playthrough, they were full of malice towards me.

Lena's arrangements in the Sealed City undoubtedly saved Liao Ji a lot of effort. Liao Ji, of course, had to put in his best effort and not let the succubus down.

So he didn't linger in the Southern Territory for long afterward, and immediately set off with Jiu You and the former high-ranking members of the Revolutionary Army to return to the Sealed City.

Chapter 151 Dreamlike Fantasy (Thanks to Xrsk for the patronage!)

Stepping into the Sealed City for the second time, just by looking at the brand-new streets and the state of the pedestrians, it was not hard to see that the city had recovered a lot with Lena's help. There was no trace of the disaster caused by the "blood sacrifice" at all, and instead, it was more vibrant.

When it comes to strategy and governance, these are usually the strengths of "superpowered" characters. As the pinnacle of this field, Lena should not find the governance problems of the Dragon Kingdom, which are a headache for her, difficult. The fact that Fengxian City has recovered so quickly from the disaster and is now prosperous is undoubtedly a testament to Lena's abilities!

Another one is

Liao Ji wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt like he had seen several brothels along the way.

Moreover, many of them feature a "different race" style.

Uh

Yes, that's very Lena.

However, these minor details were insignificant. What Liao Ji wanted to do now was to go to the city hall as soon as possible to see the pink-haired succubus who had brought him so much emotion and made him yearn for her.

Unfortunately, when I arrived at the city hall, I was greeted by a succubus, but not the familiar pink-haired one.

“Mr. Liao Ji, I am Caroline, the assistant secretary of the city lord. I have been temporarily assigned to take charge of the work in the Sealed City. As for you, the city lord has already given instructions. I will assist you in all your arrangements.”

Caroline adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose as she looked at the young man in front of her.

Actually, Caroline lied a little here. Lena didn't introduce Liao Ji to her. No, she should say she introduced him to her in "another" way, through learning materials about succubi in the goddess's crystal ball.

Thinking of this, Lena's personal secretary couldn't help but glance at the lower half of the young man opposite her with lightning speed, then looked at the dragon girl's horns next to her, before quickly resuming her professional secretary demeanor.

Caroline's little movement was very subtle, and Liao Ji didn't notice it at all, as his focus was still entirely on...

"Where is your city lord?"

"I'm sorry, the city lord has to leave temporarily due to urgent matters, but she left this for you before she left."

Hearing the explanation from the golden-haired succubus opposite him, Liao Ji couldn't believe he wasn't disappointed.

However, he quickly cheered up and opened the crystal ball that Lena had left him. Inside were suggestions from the succubus on how to deal with the mess in the Dragon Kingdom.

After reading it all, Liao Ji was at a loss for words.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she's his own daughter, would it?

It was like a pillow being delivered just when you're sleepy; they took care of every step in advance for you! They even specially sent a capable secretary over.

Liao Jiguang could tell from Caroline's clean and neat office secretary outfit that she must be very capable. Coupled with her neat ponytail and quiet glasses on her nose, she didn't look like a succubus at all!

You can tell a lot about a boss from his subordinates. Caroline's serious and solemn demeanor shows that as the city lord, Lena must have disciplined him properly. He really wants to turn over a new leaf and become a good succubus!

Liao Ji's current assessment of Lena is no longer that of a "little cotton-padded jacket" (a term of endearment for a daughter).

It's practically a fleece-lined, extra-thick down jacket!

Liao Ji felt the pressure on him ease considerably.

After dealing with matters concerning the Dragon Kingdom, Liao Ji decided that the third person he would visit was Lena. He could understand why Lena wasn't coming to see him and insisted on assisting him from behind the scenes. She was a tsundere, which was indeed the personality of the succubus in the original game.

Considering how much Lena has helped him, so what if she's a bit arrogant? He'll just indulge her and go find her on his own!

Then, once the contract with Lena is successfully established, and Stuttia has helped heal Jiuyou's injuries, I will have three trump cards in my hand: the strongest strategy, the strongest combat power, and... well, a little nun who can cheer me on from the sidelines.

The "Anno" and "Zero" that followed were just easy for him to come up with.

It seems that Anno's problem is more serious than Zero's, so to be on the safe side, Liao Ji plans to go to the Mechanical Alliance to find Zero as the fourth person after Lena.

Once we get rid of zero, how can we possibly lose when it's four against one?

Returning to reality from his idyllic vision of a "speedrun through the second playthrough," Liao Ji cautioned himself against being too optimistic. He needed to take things one step at a time, starting with governing the Dragon Kingdom.

Lena's suggestions and guidelines essentially set the general direction for the future of the Dragon Kingdom for Liao Ji. What he needs to do next is to continuously revise them during implementation and select the best ones to carry out.

Finally, Lena mentioned a very interesting point.

Thinking of this, Liao Ji turned his gaze to 86.

"86, do you have any suggestions for these policies?"

"I'm sorry, Master. My machine chip was damaged, so it can't reach such a high computing power. I had a chance to show my skills, but I failed to seize it," Number 86 said with great regret.

Is that so?

Seeing the mechanical maid hanging her head in disappointment because she couldn't help, Liao Ji fell into thought. Lena's last message to him was that 86 could help in this regard.

But it seems that Lena probably doesn't realize that 86 is an incomplete clone.

Um! ?

Wait!

Liao Ji's eyes lit up as if he had suddenly thought of something.

Has he forgotten about another new ability he's acquired?

Looking at the crown-like icon of "Touch of Calamity" in the skill bar, Liao Ji suddenly had a new experimental idea. Touch of Calamity can extract the essence of the Calamity-transformed. The current 86 cannot do the huge computing power, but what about those who have been "materialized" by Touch of Calamity?

Thinking of this, Liao Ji immediately pulled the maid, who hadn't yet reacted, to his side.

"Master? Number 86 was both surprised and delighted to see the master's hand on his chest. Although he was shy with so many people around, since the master didn't mind, Number 86 couldn't back down!"

Liao Ji was speechless at the fact that the maid would reveal her inner thoughts. He had even gotten used to the fact that the maid, being a robot, could have such a rich inner world.

After he briefly explained the "Touch of Turbidity," 86 nodded as if he understood.

"Yes, Master, I am very much looking forward to it." Although Number 86 was disappointed that it was not what he had imagined, he still tried his best to pretend to be very excited.

Liao Ji: "."

"Then I'll begin."

"Yes, Master," said Number 86, who was secretly pleased that she had increased her bust size by two sizes during the brief pause in conversation.

The trigger of the turbid calamity linked Liao Ji and the maid. Soon, Liao Ji's hand went down his chest and into 86's body, and waves of turbid calamity red mist began to surround the two of them.

After a flash of light, the maid's figure had vanished, replaced by a weapon in Liao Ji's hand.

A high-tech, ring-shaped headgear?

When Liao Ji looked up, the information on the panel was immediately displayed.

【Dream Terminal - V-type】

[Type: Special Item]

Rarity: Unique

[Item Effect: When equipped, it allows entry into the "Dreamscape"]

(Note: Special term "Dream" - the most popular form of entertainment in the Mechanical Alliance, presenting the experiences of others in the form of digital dreams. Type I and Type II Dream terminals only provide a viewing mode, Type III provides an editor mode, and the highest-level Type IV Dream terminal is said to be able to connect to the mother body, borrow computing power, and have the powerful ability to calculate the future and simulate the world in the dream.)

Chapter 152 Entering the Dream

After a brief glance at the introduction, Liao Ji understood that "Illusion Dream" was similar to virtual reality, allowing one to "digitize" their consciousness and upload it to the internet.

But obviously, that sounds too cold and mechanical, which is why we're using a more artistic and approachable word like "fantasy" now.

Everyone can dream, but few can control their dreams and dream the dreams they want. The Dream Terminal was created to help people achieve the goal of "controlling" their dreams.

The higher the "model" of the Dream Terminal, the stronger its control over the "dream" and the higher the realism of the constructed "dream".

It seems that the first two models of the Dream Terminal can only dream dreams that have been edited by others, but the third model can truly daydream and construct a dream of its own.

The highest level, which is the highest level in the currently publicly available information, is the fourth model of the Dream Terminal, which clearly goes beyond the scope of "entertainment".

While Liao Ji was still getting familiar with the place, a sudden exclamation rang out from the side.

"Could this be the Dream Terminal!?"

The voice belonged to Irene. Among the crowd, the girl had the strongest reaction. Irene looked at the silver-gray semicircular ring in Liao Ji's hand with an excited gaze, as if she were on a pilgrimage.

Seeing Irene's expression, Liao Ji was a little surprised and asked, "You recognize this?"

"Of course! The Dream Terminal! It's the greatest invention of the Mechanical Alliance! It can take people into a tense and exciting 'dream,' allowing them to experience all sorts of wonderful things from a first-person perspective. It's simply a lifesaver for countless lonely otaku on lonely nights!"

Have you ever used it?

When Liao Jiyi mentioned this, Yilin, who had just been talking eloquently, immediately lost her composure, and then her expression turned into inexplicable anger.

"I saved up for a long time before finally gritting my teeth and buying a Type I Dream Terminal on the black market, only to find out it was completely unusable after it arrived! I finally managed to get onto the internet and discovered that the Dream Terminal had shut down its external network two or three hundred years ago, and only people within the Mechanical Alliance could use it! The ones circulating on the market are just imitation models, what despicable profiteers!"

"So you mean that one can only enter 'Dreamscape' within the Alliance of Machines?" Liao Ji grasped the key information in Irene's words.

"Theoretically, that's how it is, but it's outrageous! It's such a great invention that benefits mankind, yet they're just keeping it to themselves. This is a regression in civilization! But I believe in 86! Just by looking at the design of this Dream Terminal, you can tell it's definitely a high-end product!"

After changing the subject, Irene began to explain to Liao Ji.

The most common and ordinary Dream Terminal usually has many wiring ports on it, and its shape is like a helmet. To use it, you have to go through a very complicated wearing process.

The Dream Terminal that Liao Ji is currently holding, provided by 86, is incredibly simple. It consists of a silver-gray semicircular ring with curved grooves at both ends to hang on the ears and secure the terminal. Apart from that, there are no extra external ports or wires, as if it can be turned on immediately just by wearing it.

"I'm sure this is at least Type II! No, no, I've seen pictures of Type II a few times, but even the enhanced version can't compare to this. This is definitely Type III, or even possibly the highest-level Type IV!!"

Irene became more and more excited as she talked, and she couldn't put the object down. It was clear from the fact that Irene had been able to repair the 86 before that the girl had a great talent and interest in mechanics.

Liao Ji didn't reveal that his terminal was actually a higher level, a "V-shaped" device that wasn't even introduced. After receiving some supplementary information about "Dream" from Irene, Liao Ji felt that was enough. All that was left was to try it out himself.

As Irene analyzed earlier, the wearing process is extremely simple, just like wearing glasses. After hanging the two ends of the silver semicircular ring on the ears respectively, the terminal immediately lights up with fluorescence, which means it is automatically activated.

After the fluorescent light, which resembles "powering on," ends, the terminal's appearance becomes blurry for a moment, allowing it to achieve optical invisibility. Liao Ji can choose to make it completely invisible, wear it through his ear, or wear it through a virtual screen.

"Awesome! So cool!" Seeing such a cool effect, Irene's eyes were practically sparkling, wishing she were the one wearing the terminal right now.

"Old Gu, cough cough! Brother Liao Ji, are you going to enter 'Dreamscape' next? Then I have to give you a proper introduction! Let me tell you, although I've never used the Dreamscape terminal, I've still watched quite a few 'Dreamscape' videos! My favorite Dreamscape creator is 'Master Kong Armor'! Especially that one she co-produced with Shanghai, 'Saving the Succubus.' I wanted to buy the Dreamscape terminal before, actually just to watch the bonus clips of 'Saving the Succubus.' That 'Dark Dreamscape' segment was amazing, perfectly showcasing a young succubus's inspiring struggle for survival in a android hell. If I could experience it from a first-person perspective, it would be absolutely... uh... cough cough!"

Realizing she had gotten a little off-topic after getting excited, Irene quickly coughed twice to bring herself back on track:

"What I mean is that Illusion has many other abilities. For example, there's a famous example in the Mechanical Alliance. It's about a scientist who was researching something called the periodic table, something very complicated. He couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried. So, feeling incredibly frustrated, he wanted to relax with Illusion. As a result, with Illusion's help, he was able to deduce that periodic table that he couldn't figure out in reality!"

After listening to Irene's introduction of the Dream and this example, which perfectly corresponded to the capabilities of the Type IV terminal, this was exactly what Liao Ji wanted to do using the Dream terminal.

Seeing that the girl was working so hard and had indeed provided some helpful information, Liao Ji promised to give it to Yilin after he finished using it, and if 86 allowed it, he would also give it to Yilin to experience the Dream.