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He glanced at his watch—it was already 6:30 PM. Even if he dozed off right now, he wouldn’t make the scene involving the “Three-Knife Thief.” Lately, his dreams had diminished in value. His exploration in the second dream had progressed to a new phase—breaking into New Donghai City.

“Looks like noon naps are in my future,” he mused.

In his previous night’s dream, CC had said she would wait in the woods behind Li Cheng’s house until evening. By using the code word “VV,” he could connect with her, and they’d commence their plan to enter New Donghai City.

“Tonight, I’m taking a well-deserved break,” Lin Xian resolved.

He stretched, switched off the lights, and exited his office.

…

The following day, around noon.

After a simple lunch at home and some television, Lin Xian felt sleepy. He checked the time: 2:30 PM. His usual time for entering dreams was 12:42 PM. To make sure he could nap today, he had stayed up late the previous night. Falling asleep took longer than usual since he wasn’t accustomed to daytime naps.

He closed the curtains, lay down, and shut his eyes.

…

…

…

A harsh summer heat beat down, the cramped, makeshift houses blocking any breeze.

Despite the sweltering heat of noon, Lin Xian opened his eyes and hurriedly moved to the shade, feeling the temperature significantly drop. He checked his watch: 2:51 PM. Falling asleep at noon took longer than expected.

“First order of business, I need to locate CC in the woods behind Li Cheng’s house.”

Lin Xian surveyed his surroundings. Li Cheng’s house was a fair distance away. Running there would take too long.

“Guess I’ll be the Good Citizen of Los Angeles today,” he muttered, heading towards Big Cat Face’s place.

Big Cat Face’s motorcycle, although old and rickety, was still a bike. In this dilapidated village, it was as esteemed as a Ferrari. Big Cat Face, the local tough guy, always left the key in the ignition, confident that no one dared steal it.

“Time to give Big Cat Face a lesson in security,” Lin Xian thought. “He’ll learn what ‘it’s hard to guard against a thief in one’s own home’ really means.”

Thud!

Exiting the alley, he collided with a man in a black hat.

“Move!” the man snapped, shoving Lin Xian against the wall before grabbing his fallen wallet and rushing away.

“Damn,” Lin Xian muttered, recognizing the man as the Three-Knife-Style Thief who had been targeting locals.

“What’s with this village?” Lin Xian pondered. The thief’s relentless devotion to his work reminded him of CC. No matter the changes in the world, her objective remained unchanged: cracking Lin Xian’s safe. This thief seemed to harbor a deep love for the village, stealing relentlessly, day and night.

“He even uses the same escape routes…” Lin Xian sighed, continuing towards Big Cat Face’s residence. He was met by several burly men.

Big Cat Face, flanked by three cronies, approached Lin Xian, breathing heavily, and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey, kid! Seen a guy in a black hat?”

“Yeah,” Lin Xian responded.

“Which way did he go?”

“That way,” Lin Xian pointed in the direction the thief had fled.

“After him!” Big Cat Face commanded. “No one steals on my turf and gets away with it!”

The group charged down the alley, leaving Lin Xian with a clear path to the motorcycle.

…

Lin Xian approached Big Cat Face’s house. Checking that the coast was clear, he climbed onto the bike, turned the key, and kicked the starter.

The engine coughed but didn’t start. He tried again, to no avail.

“Why are Big Cat Face’s vehicles always junk?” Lin Xian grumbled. His first dream involved a van with a terrible gearbox, and now this motorcycle was no better.

He remembered seeing Big Cat Face start it effortlessly every time. Maybe it needed a special touch.

“Mom! Someone’s trying to steal the bike!” a young girl’s voice yelled from a window.

“Brother! Get him!” she shouted.

Inside, there was a clatter of pots and loud voices.

Boom!

The door flew open, and a younger version of Big Cat Face barreled towards Lin Xian, only to collide with a grape trellis post, sporting a quickly swelling bump on his forehead.

“Waahhh!!!” the boy cried, sitting on the ground.

The bike finally roared to life, emitting a plume of black smoke.

“Take care, little Big Cat Face,” Lin Xian said, placing a helmet on the boy’s head. “Your uncle has to go now.”

He revved the engine and zoomed out of the yard.

…

Arriving at Li Cheng’s house on the village’s edge, Lin Xian remembered the extensive yard from previous visits with Big Cat Face.

He parked the bike, noting the nearly useless brakes, thankful for the soft dirt path that helped slow him down.

Stepping off, he entered the cool, dense woods behind the house.

“CC!” he called out.

Silence.

“CC!” he tried again.

Still nothing.

“I’m VV!”

After a moment, a figure dropped from the trees, leaves swirling. Lin Xian saw her distinctive oval face, the mole under her left eye, and her slender frame.

It was CC.

Startled, CC asked, “Are you VV?”

“No,” Lin Xian admitted truthfully.

“How do you know the name VV then?” she demanded.

“The you from tonight told me,” Lin Xian explained, recounting their upcoming interactions, including her planned disguise as Li Ning Ning, the human ladder trick, and the awaited but never arrived safe at the junkyard.

He detailed the junkyard’s traffic patterns and described fragments of her memory.

The key was that VV, the name, was a code given by her future self to build trust.

“VV is that long-haired, middle-aged man, right? He probably sounds like me. I think he might be me, but I can’t prove it yet,” Lin Xian said. “Any questions? If not, let’s plan our next move.”

CC pondered for a long while, about ten minutes. Lin Xian waited patiently; such an unbelievable situation needed careful consideration. For CC, switching from a carefully laid plan to trusting a stranger was daunting.

“So, you’re saying the safe with my name arrives at the junkyard at 12:57, but this world ends at 12:42?” CC asked, her brow furrowed.

Lin Xian nodded. “Exactly. You’ve almost got it right. Whether you believe me or not, I need to break into New Donghai City to access that safe. Waiting at the junkyard is pointless; there’s no reason for me to lie about that.”

After a moment, CC nodded slowly. “I’m not entirely convinced, but you knowing the name VV and details about the junkyard that were only released this morning is persuasive.”

She extended her hand. “Shall we team up? I need your skills to enter New Donghai City.”

CC hesitated, then shook his hand. “You’ve predicted many of my actions. I’ll trust you.”

“But the real challenge now…” CC crossed her arms, looking towards the distant, barren cityscape. “To sneak into New Donghai City using the garbage trucks, we first need to enter the junkyard.”

“Locals like Li Cheng and Big Cat Face live off stealing from the junkyard using the human ladder method. It’s clunky but effective.”

“But just the two of us…”

“How do we build a human ladder and scale the eight-meter wall of the junkyard?”