"Please... come back to reality with me."
The scene was deathly silent. Countless pairs of eyes watched him—a man who looked different from them based on appearance alone.
His tone was steady and powerful; his gaze was sharp but not harmful.
"I understand that to you, reality may be another cage."
"I understand that I do not have the right to strip you of your ability to dream."
"But, I hope that you can... return... to reality."
Lin slowly lowered his head, pleading with these people in a sincere tone.
"..."
Still, no one spoke.
It wasn't until a long time had passed—perhaps a full fifteen minutes—that someone finally asked him: "Do you know what we encountered in reality?"
"I know."
"Do you know that we can dream whatever we want here?"
"I know."
"Then... you still want... us... to go back?"
"Yes..."
Crack!
A small sound exploded against Lin forehead. Simultaneously, everyone saw a stone strike his temple, leaving a shallow mark before falling to the ground.
A conscious body was different from his original body; he could feel pain.
And so, while feeling that pain, Lin looked up. He saw a middle-aged man standing not far in front of him, his face contorted with rage as he maintained a throwing posture. His chest heaved heavily as he gasped for air; the stone by his hand was gone.
That person was the man Lin had seen behind the first door.
"Are you joking! How can you be so selfish!"
"..."
"You know perfectly well that we are nothing to that world! Yet you still want to drag us back to that godforsaken place! What does the survival of humanity have to do with us! Has anyone ever cared about us! Why must we be the ones to sacrifice ourselves now?!"
"I'm sorry..."
"What use is an apology! All you people ever do is apologize! Apologize!"
As wars are often ignited by the first person to fire a shot, the man's signal acted like a trigger. Another stone struck the back of Lin head.
The force of this stone wasn't heavy; it couldn't even make him stagger.
Then came the third, the fourth, the fifth...
"What hero! Do we need you to save us?!"
"You're the murderer! At least here we can live happily until we die!"
Another stone flew over, but this time it was fast and vicious. It struck precisely into Lin left eye socket. He felt a sharp pain in his left eye and took a step back, clutching his face.
Blood seeped through his fingers. The scarlet liquid dripped onto the pristine white ground, looking like red dye soaking into a bolt of white silk.
Lin lowered his hand and tried to open his eyes, but his left side was total darkness.
His left eye was blinded.
A mangled pit of flesh now marred his once-perfect face, making his appearance look terrifying in an instant.
This caused the originally frenzied crowd to suddenly sober up, and they couldn't help but shudder.
They had forgotten that Lin was fully capable of killing every single one of them. If they provoked him to rage...
But Lin did nothing. He didn't even take a step forward. Instead, he continued in his gentle tone:
"Please... come back to reality with me. If there is anything within my power, I will do my absolute best to help you."
"The Eighth Herrscher cannot possibly keep her promise. All Herrschers are born with the goal of destroying human civilization. Therefore, she will never patiently wait for you to die of natural causes."
"She is merely using you, making your consciousnesses subservient to her. If you and your consciousnesses resist her alongside me and my companions, she cannot win."
The Eighth Herrscher was currently sitting somewhere in the crowd. Listening to Lin unwavering tone, she let out a cold sneer.
Thwack!
However, no one listened to what he said.
They only saw that this man did not resist their actions.
After another stone experimentally struck Lin face, what little rationality they had left completely departed their bodies at that moment.
The mob effect took hold of everyone present the second the first person revealed a strange, twisted smile—the kind one wears when seeing a fun toy.
Thud! Thud! Crack! Thwack!
A deluge of stones rained down upon Lin head, accompanied by countless insults, cheers, and mad laughter that threatened to burst his brain.
"Hahaha! Die! Die!"
"What's so great about you!"
"Hit his eye! Hit his eye!"
Language and communication became meaningless. They had already forgotten the reason for their abuse, forgotten all relationships, and even forgotten themselves.
They threw their "one vote" at Lin with abandon, then continued to shriek at him with voices of loathing, cursing for others to aim more accurately.
Break that idiot's arms and legs!
He's just a target that won't fight back, a toy for entertainment!
That's right, this must be an intermission show prepared by that woman calling herself the Eighth Herrscher. The reasons were all made up; this man is a fake. Otherwise, why would such a powerful person stand here and take a beating without resisting at all!
"Haha! Idiot! Beg me~ If you kneel and beg me, I'll go back with you~"
Lin, his face now covered in filth and blood, slowly—very slowly—let his knees strike the ground.
He lowered his head and pleaded with them: "I beg you... come back with me. There are many people who must still be waiting for you... You aren't as... base as you think..."
"I'm asking you... please face yourselves..."
This action by Lin caused the crowd to erupt into unprecedented laughter.
"Look, he actually knelt!"
"Good boy~ Good boy~ But what a pity... I was lying! Hahahahaha! You're way too stupid!"
"Don't stop! Pelt him harder!"
"Didn't you say you'd do things for us? That's easy then—just die right now!"
The only responses to Lin, aside from mockery, were more stones.
No matter how much punishment he could take, as more and more stones struck his body, swelling, lacerations, and bleeding began to appear in succession. His body started to quiver and jerk under the impact like a rag doll.
They had never killed anyone.
Even now, they didn't think they were killing a person.
They were right—everyone thought so. Therefore, the person who opposed them wasn't "them," and thus, wasn't "human."
Crack!
Lin right eye fell into darkness.
His eyes were like two hollow pits, leaving only blood to stream out of them continuously.
Lin could see nothing.
And so, they laughed happily.
Now, he was just like them.