The Queen of Scrolls never admits defeat

Moran flew in that direction, a cold wind brushing against her hair. She squinted, carefully discerning the street layout and building outlines below.

She needed to figure out where she was and how long until dawn.

Looking at the hourglass clock next to the city square, there should still be four hours until dawn.

Moran used the Book of Cards to create a clock based on the Dream World's timekeeping method, and calibrated the time using the hourglass clock.

"Canaan New District No. 1 Middle School, Federal Office in Canaan, Canaan City Dream Institute, New District Citizen Management Center..."

Following the signs on the street, Moran finally knew where she was.

It should be Canaan, the former capital of the Dreamweaver Federation.

Before the Dream World existed, Canaan City was the economic and cultural center of the entire Dream Federation, and the most prosperous city in the world.

This place used to be bustling with traffic, neon advertisements that never stopped, and so many private cars that people had to travel at certain times.

After the dream world and the real world became connected, humans became increasingly focused on development in the dream world, and the dream world also began to influence reality.

Having witnessed the vastness of the world in their dreams, humans gradually lose interest in bustling cities filled with skyscrapers.

As electric technology advanced, Canaan gradually declined.

The Dream Federation has replaced Canaan City as its new capital by building the City of Illusions around the Dream World.

There are no concrete jungles there, but rather small buildings in various dreamlike styles. The streets are not only filled with humans, but also with strange creatures materialized from dreams.

In contrast, the high-rise buildings in Canaan City appear cramped and crowded, offering no sense of living comfort.

Even the humans of Canaan City began to expand southward, establishing a new urban area there that better met the needs of humans in the Dream Era.

The high-rise buildings of the electric technology era have been completely marginalized and turned into old districts with few visitors.

The old town area is inferior to the new town area in terms of public security, living environment, and convenience of life.

The top floors of the buildings in the old town have now been largely converted into government welfare housing, where impoverished people, orphans, and people with disabilities can apply to the federal government for free housing.

The lights that Moran saw when she arrived came from these residents.

Every day after dawn and before sunset, there are public shuttle buses on fixed routes that come from the new town to the old town and make a brief stop on the rooftops of buildings in the old town.

They only stay for a few minutes, pick up people who need to go to work or run errands in the new urban area, and then leave quickly.

As for the middle and lower floors of the building, they are already in a semi-abandoned state.

Some are strongholds of underground gangs; others are hideouts for undocumented immigrants or criminals.

Moran is currently also an unregistered resident and is looking for a place to stay so she can receive help from the Dream World's missions. She read in the information that during the knowledge transfer process, there will be a period of mental confusion and disorientation, so she needs to find a safe place.

In the skies of the Dream World, various flying vehicles shuttle back and forth, including private flying cars, cargo robots, and patrolling federal air marshals... Receiving knowledge on a flying carpet is not a good choice.

In the new urban area, everything is under surveillance, you need to show your identity for everything, the rent is not cheap, and it is impossible to just pull out a room to live in.

Getting money or obtaining identity documents takes time and effort.

In contrast, the free housing in the old town would be a better fit for her.

Even though the conditions there were poor and it was chaotic, it didn't affect her.

Moran flew back over the old town, scanning the buildings below and pondering which one would be the best place to hide temporarily.

Thick layers of reinforced concrete cannot obstruct her vision of energy.

In her perception, the entire old town presented a mottled energy landscape. The power of life flickered like fireflies, the power of death spread like ink stains, and strange halos of various magical energies intertwined among them.

The old city has almost no greenery; the greatest source of life and death is people.

With these, Moran could tell where the most bustling place was and where the most deserted place was.

The southern part of the old town is close to the new town, and there are many public shuttle bus stops there. It has the strongest vitality and should be the most densely populated area in the old town.

A large number of people also means that it is easy to be disturbed.

Moran ruled out this area without hesitation.

Then there's the northern part of the old town, which is furthest from the new town and has the strongest death energy. It's clearly the most chaotic area in the old town, where gangs, fugitives, and even more dangerous things might hide.

The death energy here is so strong because at least a lot of people have died here, and Moran has also eliminated it.

To the east of the old town is a large zoo, its iron cages long since rusted. In the largest city square, the fountains have dried up, weeds grow in the cracks between the paving stones, and it is surrounded by many unfinished buildings.

Colorful remnants of magic lingered in the air.

In the real world of the Dream World, there is no natural magical energy in the air.

If a human mage from Valen were here, they wouldn't be able to use any elemental magic; only mental magic would be somewhat usable.

Moran casts spells using his own magic, not relying on the magical energy in the environment, which is why he is unrestricted.

However, her natural magic recovery was also affected, and she had to rely entirely on {energy storage cards} to restore her magic.

In this situation, humans in the Dream World can only recover their magical energy within the dream world.

Clearly, people here often practice magic brought from the dream world.

Moran didn't want to be affected by other people's magic while imparting knowledge, so this area was also excluded.

Finally, Moran's gaze fell on the western part of the old town.

The energy field here is relatively peaceful; the life force is as thin as a mist, and the death force is only a faint shadow.

She used her prophetic magic to carefully explore the area and found a forgotten residential area.

Those matchbox-like apartment buildings were crammed together so close together that you could almost shake hands through the window.

The water and electricity supply in the residential area had long been cut off, and the broken pipes hung outside the walls like withered vines.

The nearest public shuttle bus stop is three kilometers away, and even scavengers don't bother going there.

There wasn't a single living person in the entire neighborhood.

The less people were around, the safer Moran felt. A slight smile played on her lips; this was the perfect hiding place.

She chose a building that was relatively intact and carefully examined it from top to bottom.

The rusty elevator shaft resembled the throat of a monster, and the stairwell was piled high with decaying furniture wreckage.

She memorized the coordinates of every corner, every doorway, and every room, constructing a teleportation route in her mind should an accident occur.

Ultimately, she chose a windowless room on a middle floor.

The thick concrete walls blocked out all light and prevented outsiders from peeping in. (End of Chapter)