"Wow, that's amazing! Does that mean you can do whatever you want?" Stelle suddenly thought of something and began to get excited.
"That's right! It seems you've already grasped the essence of it. I'm sure you've also had those wonderful dreams that felt unfinished even after waking up, haven't you?" Sampo said with a smile.
"An unfinished dream..." Firefly listened thoughtfully, as if recalling something.
"Haha, it seems Miss Firefly can't wait to give it a try. But don't rush, don't rush. As a demonstration, let's experience it through my dream first."
Firefly nodded. She stood quietly to the side, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"I trust you have the materials ready. Please hand them over to me."
After Doctor Edward finished speaking, Sampo inserted the materials he had just collected into the hole next to the large eyeball.
"Thank you for your donation—Read complete! Adjusting remembrance, generating dream bubble...."
As his voice faded, a faint energy fluctuation filled the room. Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on the giant eyeball, as if they could feel some wondrous change taking place.
A moment later, Doctor Edward announced, "Generation complete! Please close your eyes and press your forehead against the dream bubble."
A dream bubble radiating a faint blue light slowly emerged, floating in mid-air.
"Come on, Stelle—I wish you a pleasant time."
Stelle took the dream bubble and carefully pressed it gently against her forehead, feeling the cool touch as it made contact with her skin. Immediately after, a strong sensation of falling surged through her like a tide, as if her entire being was being drawn into a deep, boundless ocean.
When Stelle opened her eyes again, she found herself in a slightly dilapidated small clinic. A few simple sickbeds were placed sparsely in the corners of the room, exuding a sense of desolation. On the table in front of her, some items resembling sticky notes were scattered.
Stelle frowned slightly, a wave of doubt rising in her heart: "This is... a clinic in Belobog's Lower District? Why is it empty?"
"Where are the people? Where did everyone go?" Stelle shouted loudly.
Then, Sampo's voice sounded in her ear.
(This is a surprise, we'll reveal it later. But you must understand—in a dream, anything is possible.)
(Don't rush, you should first get used to the feeling of a dream within a dream.)
With a mind full of questions, Stelle slowly walked to the table and picked up one of the notes to examine it carefully. The handwriting on the note was blurry, as if it had been soaked in water, but a few words could vaguely be made out: "Become the King of garbage, even if the garbage bag is already broken."
"Such familiar advice," Stelle grumbled.
[Silver Wolf: Isn't this the beginning of a famous game from before?]
[Silver Wolf: Rather than paying homage to a classic, I feel this is more of a parody.]
[Sparkle: Don't you think it's interesting, hehe, I probably guess what happens next~ It~ will be very interesting~]
(It's perfectly normal for people to see anything in their dreams.) Sampo's voice continued.
(Don't mind these details—if you ask me, you should go outside and take a look, be careful not to be scared!)
Stelle pushed open the door and stepped out of the room. What met her eyes made her body stiffen.
Outside the clinic was indeed Belobog's Lower District, but those moving and conversing around were not humans, but garbage cans with limbs and various colors.
[Sushang: Wh-What kind of beast is this!]
[Huo Huo: Oh my! Grandpa Tail, there's a monster!]
[Sampo: Pfft, hahahaha, this is too much of a parody, I can't, hahahaha, I'm going to die laughing.]
[Silver Wolf: Hiss... Although I already expected Masked Fools wouldn't do anything serious, this scene is somewhat abstract to the extreme.]
"What's going on?" Firefly exclaimed in surprise, her voice seeming to echo in her ears.
Stelle's eyes widened, her brows furrowed, her face filled with an expression of disbelief, seemingly stunned and at a loss by the scene before her.
"Why are they all garbage cans..." Stelle frowned, looking utterly shocked for an entire year.
Just then, a garbage can next to her suddenly spoke with excitement: "You've finally arrived!" startling Stelle.
The garbage can continued, its tone mysterious and solemn: "Greetings, one who delves deep into dreams...."
"My name is Satana—I wish to discuss a condition with you."
Stelle couldn't help but ask curiously, "Satana? What's your relationship with Natasha?"
[Hook: Wow~ This garbage's name is so interesting!]
[Natasha: ...Is this also a prank from Sparkle?]
"Natasha... who is that? I presume we have never met."
"Let us return to the main topic—Have you... ever heard of Tatars, the King of garbage?" Satana in front of her said with a solemn voice:
"He is our King, and the shepherd of all refuse in the world. He stands on the throne, supporting the humble cans and suppressing the violent ones; he is the foundation of Belobog, stabilizing our lids and straightening our bodies..."
"However, when the extraterrestrial object descended upon this place with the cold wave, his eyes were blinded—he no longer listened to pleas, causing the poor cans to suffer bullying and bringing undeserved shame upon the loyal cans..."
"We could not bear the humiliation and vowed to raise the banner of heavenly fire to make the King of garbage mend his ways. But we were no match for that evil... He spread malicious rumors to divide the cans, making the garbage bags no longer able to sense each other..."
"...I implore you, restore peace to the garbage bags here and reconnect the cans once more—only then can we launch a counterattack against that false king."
"You mean, you want me to unite you?" Stelle summarized.
"It seems that's what she means." Firefly's voice sounded again.
[Silver Wolf: Speaking of which, the current situation is that we are watching Stelle, but in reality, Firefly and Sampo are also watching Stelle, and then we can also watch Firefly and Sampo. Is it a triple nesting doll?]
[Sushang: Oh... I'm already confused by what you said. Anyway, everyone's watching!]
"Then, the contract is established," Satana said.
"I haven't agreed yet!" Stelle said, feeling a bit helpless.
Sampo's voice sounded again:
(Doctor Edward said he didn't have time to make so many branches, so just accept it.)
"You only need to complete one task—help the garbage cans free themselves from their troubles and obtain three 'Proofs of Trust'."
"Once that is done, you can become the new King and lead us in the struggle against the false king. Go forth, one who delves deep into dreams... your mission calls to you."
What is all this...?
Stelle accepted the task with a speechless expression. In any case... she'd try it first.