In the Woodland of the Dream World, amidst the lush grass between giant trees, behind a large stone, a White Fox hid, peeking out cautiously and trembling.
Not far from the large stone where the White Fox was hiding, a massive Dragon, about ten meters long, stood. Its majestic Dragon head was held high, its broad wings lay on the ground, and its long tail with spikes swayed gently in the air. Speckles of light floated around; the White Fox knew these light speckles belonged to the hyenas that had been chasing her earlier.
'A Dragon?! It's actually a Dragon? And it's not just an image. Grandpa never said there would be something like this in the Woodland. Is this a Dream World creature from another layer!?'
The White Fox thought nervously to herself. She had roamed the Dream World several times now and had seen various Dream World creatures and other roamers' mimicries, but almost none had exceeded the scope of creatures existing in the real world. And now, a Dragon appeared here?! What kind of joke is this!
The White Fox was very panicked. She really wanted to run right now, but when she saw that Dragon sweep its tail and kill a fleeing hyena, she didn't dare to go out.
Although the Dragon had helped her get rid of the chasing hyenas, the White Fox did think about coming out to thank Captain, but the oppressive presence of the other party was simply too strong. Unable to confirm Captain's attitude towards her, she didn't dare to go out for a while. What if Captain just swatted her away too?
Having one's mimicry destroyed is very painful!
And so, the White Fox trembled behind the stone, hoping the Dragon would leave quickly. However, after eliminating all the hyenas, the Dragon paused slightly where it stood, then slowly turned its head towards the large stone where the White Fox was hiding.
"Come out..."
Looking at the stone in front of her, Dorothy spoke, using a Dragon's voice – deep, long, and resonant, like muffled thunder. The Little Fox behind the large stone was so startled that her fur stood on end. She immediately ran out from behind the stone, crouched down, and quickly apologized to Dorothy.
"I'm very sorry, Captain! I didn't mean to hide from you! It's just... I wasn't quite ready yet...! I wanted to, wanted to adjust my mindset before coming out. I didn't expect Captain to see through me directly. Captain is truly incredibly capable!"
Listening to the Little Fox's words, Dorothy couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
'Incredibly capable? Your tail wasn't hidden properly; it was sticking out.'
Dorothy thought to herself with a chuckle, but didn't point it out. Instead, she carefully scrutinized the trembling Little Fox in front of her, then said.
"Why were they chasing you..."
Listening to the Black Dragon's voice, which sounded like rolling, muffled thunder, the Little Fox shivered, then replied timidly.
"To, to answer Captain, those guys are Dream World Hunters from the Black Dream Hunter Group. This is a hidden society that primarily operates in the Dream World. They often hunt the mimicries of other roamers in groups within the Dream World, seizing their gains there. I, I am just an ordinary roamer. I accidentally got targeted by them earlier. Thank you, Captain, for helping me out!"
Carefully, the Little Fox spoke to Dorothy. Listening to the Little Fox's words, Dorothy suddenly understood.
'Hunters from the Black Dream society? Roamer's mimicries? Those hyenas just now and this fox aren't Dream World creatures; they're real-world humans like me? They entered this Dream World in the form of mimicries?'
'So, I just wiped out a squad of mimicry users from a hidden society in the Dream World? This Dragon mimicry is simply too powerful!'
From the annotations in the dream records, Dorothy understood that combat could occur in the Dream World. The Dream World is different from the real world and has its own unique rules. Except for a few special paths, real-world abilities rarely directly affect the Dream World.
In the Dream World, a roamer's combat power is determined by two factors: the roamer's mental strength and the strength of their mimicry body. Mental strength primarily determines the duration of the mimicry, while the mimicry primarily determines the level of combat power... And Dorothy's Dragon mimicry definitely instantly killed the hyena mimicries of that group of people just now.
Even if those people's strength in the real world was greater than Dorothy's, it would still be the same...
According to the dream records, if a mimicry is destroyed in the Dream World, the real-world body will suffer severe mental trauma, requiring a long time to recover, and sometimes even leading to loss of control, but it will not cause direct death.
'It's almost like a brain-computer interface online game with an animal world theme...'
Dorothy thought to herself, musing and complaining. In front of her, the White Fox looked at the Dragon, who was silent for a moment, and couldn't help but panic again.
'Ah... This isn't good. Why isn't he talking? Could it be, could it be that he can't quite understand Dream World creatures from the real world?'
Reaching this conclusion, the Little Fox quickly explained to Dorothy again.
"Tha, that... You might not understand what I'm saying. What is called a roamer is an existence that dreams into this world. What is called mimicry is..."
Listening to the Little Fox's explanation, Dorothy glanced at her lightly, then said.
"No need to explain, I am mimicry..."
"What... Captain... you are also mimicry?!"
Hearing Dorothy's words, the Little Fox was so startled that she almost jumped up, her fur bristling.
'He, he, he... He said he's also mimicry?! Does that mean he's also an existence who dreamed in from the real world? Not a Dream World creature?'
Hearing Dorothy's words, the Little Fox was even more shocked, more astonished than when she first saw Dorothy.
Mimicry? Dragon mimicry? What does this mean? It means the other party has mastered extremely ancient and forbidden mysterious knowledge, capable of creating forbidden spells that can mimic extinct ancient creatures!
A spell capable of mimicking a Dragon in the Dream World, no matter how you think about it, its true identity can only be among the highest echelons of those powerful hidden organizations.
If the Dragon before her is truly a mimicry, then the other party's true identity in the real world must be extraordinary!
Which organization's high-level member is he? The Silent Brotherhood? The Fetal Garment Cult? The Restless Breath (not in glossary)? The White Stone Craftsmen's Guild? Or a Hidden Spec Ops from some country? Perhaps even the Shining Light Church!? Maybe he is even a great existence above the mortal world?
Influential factions and organizations flashed through the Little Fox's mind, her small brain gradually becoming a tangled mess, and many thoughts arose in her heart. But at this moment, Dorothy didn't have time to waste here with her anymore.
Her mental strength was almost insufficient to maintain the mimicry.
"Farewell, little one. Be careful next time and don't get targeted again..."
Saying this, Dorothy prepared to spread her wings and fly away. The White Fox in front of her was startled, then after a moment of hesitation, quickly said.
"Please, please wait a moment! Captain!"
Hearing the Little Fox's words, Dorothy paused slightly, then turned her head back to look at her. After that, the Little Fox began to speak uneasily.
"Thank you, Captain, for helping me out tonight. My Grandpa once said that one must always be grateful for kindness received. Although I am just a nobody, no matter how great a contribution I make, it probably won't matter to someone of your status, but I still want to offer you a small token of my gratitude..."
'Huh? The Little Fox wants to repay me?'
As soon as she heard the Little Fox's words, Dorothy immediately forced herself to maintain her gradually dissipating mental strength. To be honest, if she could, she really wanted to pet this fox in front of her, but she was afraid that using the Dragon body to pet her would directly destroy the other party's mimicry.
Looking at the Dragon in front of her, the Little Fox paused slightly, then spit out a small, ethereal blue light orb from her mouth.
"I often come to this Dream World to seek hidden secret transmissions, but secret transmissions are hard to come by. This gain tonight is my only achievement in over a month. I know that Captain may have already learned the secret transmission within it and completely look down on it, but this is still a small token of my sincerity. Please, Captain, accept it without disdain."