There's a big problem with dreams in this world.

Looking at the blank title bar, Lu Qing pondered for a moment before deciding on the title for the second PVP video.

[The Stranger's PVP Diary 02: Huh!? I'm actually a criminal, trying to steal artwork in front of superheroes, and the result...]

That's it.

Nodding in satisfaction, and after confirming that he hadn't made any typos, he selected the upload button.

"Hmm... That's strange. Where was it placed after the update?"

After the Dream Game was updated, the original UI was changed a lot. Lu Qing searched carefully for a while before finding the page in the entertainment section of the creation space.

Clicking into her author backend, Lu Qing uploaded the contents of her diary about this abyss dream to the page.

She did advertise this time, well, it can't really be called advertising, she just mentioned it briefly in the description below the second PVP video.

"Speaking of which, I haven't read the diary from this Abyss Dream yet..."

Picking up the diary and opening it, I found, as expected, a new volume titled "Dark Forest" had been added to the table of contents.

Turn to the corresponding page number, and as usual, first take a look at the cover.

What came into view was her mother's huge and ferocious body, her spider-like lower body covered with writhing tumors, and her sharp legs pressing the somewhat panicked Lu Qing down.

In the right corner of the cover, a little girl who looks about 80% like Lu Qing is squatting there, hugging a tattered teddy bear, her face full of tears.

The scene slowly descends to the ground, where tree roots are scattered throughout, and countless people are entangled in these roots, their bodies withered but their faces serene.

Among these people were villagers, powerful hunters, a mad doctor, and a trembling scientist.

Below them are characters formed by the intertwining and twisting of tree roots.

The Dark Forest

.........

"Ah... I have no inspiration."

Oyster slumped on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling above him.

Creating works is like this: sometimes you just come up with a great idea on a whim, but when you actually start doing it, you realize that there are just too many details to consider.

Perhaps once you start doing it, you can figure out what will happen next, but the problem is that you don't want to do it precisely because you can't figure it out now.

It may sound contradictory, but it is indeed the case.

I don't want to do it because I can't think of a way to do it. To figure out what to do next, I have to start making it. I can only get inspiration when I'm in a working state, but I can't get inspiration because I don't want to do it.

Then why don't you go and do it!

I can't think of anything to do with my inspiration!

Then you'd better hurry up and think of one!

How can I generate inspiration if I'm not in a working state?

Then why don't you go to work!

I have no inspiration, so I don't want to work!

"Ugh......."

With a sigh, Oyster slowly sat up, intending to bite the bullet and get to work on it.

He always did this: only by forcing himself to make a part could the rest be made logically.

However, just as he was about to do so, a message that caught his attention popped up in the lower right corner of his dream menu.

[The player you follow, "Stranger," has released a new work, "Stranger's PVP Diary 02: Huh!? I'm actually a criminal, trying to steal an artwork in front of superheroes, and the result..."]

"How about we watch a video first?"

Oyster's eyes darted around, and "accidentally" clicked on the video page.

Well, his fans are used to his frequent cancellations anyway, so even if he cancels today, probably no one will say anything.

He had read The Stranger's PVP Diary 01, but he didn't think it was very good.

The reason is simple: the PVP storyline is too simplistic. To feel truly exciting, you need a very strong opponent.

If the opponents aren't strong, how can the resulting PVP videos possibly be popular?

You can tell just by looking at the view count; the previous PVP video from the Outsiders didn't get a very high number of views.

I haven't watched the second episode yet, so I can't really comment on it too much. Anyway, for a top-tier blue-level Dream Summoner like me, battles between white-level players aren't really that interesting. The reason I clicked on it was just because I habitually wanted to slack off for a bit.

Thinking this, the video started playing. After watching for only two minutes and getting a general understanding of the background of this PVP, another message popped up in the lower right corner.

The player you follow, "Stranger," has released a new title, "Dark Forest."

"Another update?"

Oyster paused the PVP video for a moment, then clicked on the link to "Darkwood".

Is it new?

As the page finished loading, the cover of "Dark Forest" appeared before Oyster's eyes.

A menacing humanoid spider monster pinned the frail, silver-haired girl beneath it. Her younger sister, clutching her tattered doll in fear, tears welled in her eyes…

Behind the three was a thick fog. In a daze, Oyster seemed to see a pure white ball of light appear in front of him, emitting a soft glow.

He never expected to fall for it in the lobby, and since he hadn't dreamt for a long time, he was unwittingly seduced.

He shakily reached out to touch the white ball, but touched nothing but the air in his room.

"!!"

The oyster suddenly woke up, startled and covered in a cold sweat.

"So, just by looking at the artwork, one can feel the aura of some terrifying being?" Oyster stared at the cover in astonishment, never expecting the foreigner's drawing skills to be so terrifying.

"This is at least a purple-level painting skill, it seems the foreigners' painting skills are getting better and better..."

After adjusting her mindset, Oyster turned to the next page.

This painting technique only allows people to feel what the painter wants to feel; it will not cause any substantial harm, so feel free to look at it.

Higher drawing skills can increase the sense of immersion.

Oyster was eager to see how the foreigner would perform in this Abyss Dream, since he had never experienced the Abyss Dream before and was quite curious about just how terrifying it was.

"I'm not being lazy, I'm looking for inspiration, that's right, inspiration!" Oyster convinced himself.

------------

Chapter 434: Covered in Dust

Upon opening the cover, Oyster was immediately drawn to the illustration on the right side of the text.

The painting retains its familiar black and white style. In the scene, a foreigner is rubbing his left eye, looking tired, and greeting a mature woman in the room who also looks tired.

"Why does she look so familiar?" Oyster stared at the mature woman on the screen, feeling like he had seen her somewhere before, but he couldn't quite place where.

However, sometimes you don't need to rack your brains to recall the details; you can just use logic to reason it out and you'll know the answer.

The woman in the picture looks familiar, suggesting that you may have seen her before, but that's impossible because she's a figure from the stranger's dream.

Of all the things he's seen recently, those related to the book *The Dark Forest*...

"Hehe, so this is where it was."

With a dry laugh, Oyster flipped back to "Dark Forest." The monster on the cover, pinning the foreigner down, looked remarkably like the woman in the picture.

"What kind of development is this?"

Oyster, somewhat curious, turned to the first page and began to read the story told in "The Dark Forest" seriously from beginning to end.

Two hours later........

"........."

Oyster turned it off with a blank look on its face.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?

"call........."

He let out a long breath, rubbed his chin, and felt that the quality this time was somewhat beyond his expectations.

It truly lives up to its name, Abyss Dream. From the "loving" family at the beginning to the mysterious merchant, the deformed monsters, the Whispering Tree with its thousand hands and faces, and so on.

Each one of them individually is beyond the capabilities of an ordinary white-level player, let alone when they are combined together, making the difficulty outrageously high.

Combined with the exquisite illustrations of the foreigners, it's easy for viewers to immerse themselves in the oppressive and terrifying dark forest.

But compared to all of that, what Oyster finds most surprising is actually the performance of the Strangers in this highly challenging dream instance.

Honestly, even if someone at the blue level were to enter the Dark Forest dream, there's a risk of disaster, let alone someone at the white level who's just a stranger.

This further proves the strength and potential of the Strangers, making him, who originally only paid attention to the Strangers because he was interested in illustrations, somewhat emotional.

"Sigh, it feels like not much time has passed, so why is she already catching up with me?"

Oyster was a blue-level Dream Summoner a long time ago. Back then, he always wanted to improve his character level and stand out from the crowd.

However, after working his way up to the ranks of top blue-level players, he realized that he was still just an ordinary person.

Effort does not necessarily guarantee a reward. No matter how hard he tries, he is still just one of the ordinary people.

Younger generations have surpassed him, becoming advanced Dream Summoners in the purple or even orange ranks, while his former classmates have long since left him behind.

What's the point of continuing to risk your life to participate in the Purple Advancement Dream?

Oyster didn't know, so he gave up and chose to become a dream weaver, making a living by creating lukewarm artificial dreams.

"What's with this sudden feeling..." Shaking his head self-deprecatingly, Oyster opened the forum, preparing to post another thread to make his fans forget that he hadn't updated yet.

Life goes on, and even if he despises himself deep down, he can't make any changes... right?

The longsword, placed in the corner, was covered in dust, waiting for the day its owner would polish it again.

........

"A brand new masterpiece from the author, 'Stranger,' will let you experience the oppressive and terrifying atmosphere of a deep dream!"

Looking at the trending posts automatically recommended by the system, and then at the familiar ID of the person who posted them, Lu Qing felt a little strange.