They had a very simple meal in the compartment filled with puppet remains—this was because Su Jingqiu and her daughter didn't need to eat, and Gu Zhan had brought very limited supplies. When he expressed a need for food, he only offered them boiled potatoes that hadn’t yet been planted.
After finishing the bland potatoes, Gu Zhan fell into thought; perhaps he should utilize the space inside his watch... at the very least, he needed to prepare some food.
He hadn’t considered using the space before—partly because he wasn’t accustomed to such external powers and had no interest in them. After all, others cleared their dungeons for points or to escape this place.
But for him, it was simply out of interest; having too many redundant powers would strip away most of the fun of the dungeon.
Moreover, the difficulty of the dungeon didn’t warrant any excessive preparations on his part.
Of course, once they entered the dungeon, there was no telling what unexpected events might occur. To ensure his survival for the next dungeon, he was generally cautious.
Not long after they finished eating, the vehicle came to a stop.
Before the doors opened, Yu Yezhou instructed them to put their blindfolds back on and cautioned, “There are surely many finished or unfinished puppets in the factory. We shouldn’t make any noise; let’s try not to act.”
“Okay,” Xu Yu responded.
As soon as the words left her mouth, footsteps sounded outside, and the three of them immediately ceased their conversation.
In the next moment, the compartment door opened.
Light poured in from outside, but all three of them had their eyes covered... Gu Zhan used a little trick to peek out from beneath his blindfold.
Standing at the door were two puppets.
After a brief inspection, they intended to unload the puppets from the vehicle.
Once the puppets were loaded onto the truck, they lost their vitality, carelessly stacked together, their limbs tangled. With a single pull, they slid toward the back of the compartment.
The three living people among this pile of puppets stood out starkly.
To avoid drawing attention and letting the puppets notice their anomaly, they quietly supported themselves against the wall of the compartment, sliding out alongside the lifeless puppets.
Soon, they left the compartment and landed on the ground.
During the process, Gu Zhan’s blindfold slipped off, and he saw many broken puppets lying nearby.
The blindfolds on the eyes of those puppets had also come off, but the nearby active puppets showed no intention of correcting this.
It seemed they hadn’t noticed the issue with the blindfolds at all. Different puppets pushed small carts back and forth nearby.
One of the carts approached, and the nearby puppets lifted the broken ones onto it, with two or three puppets filling a single cart.
Then, the puppets pushed the carts toward the factory not far away.
Taking this opportunity, Gu Zhan looked up to survey the factory… however, the appearance of the factory far exceeded his expectations.
This factory… looked incredibly luxurious.
The towering gates, the high-domed buildings, and even the chimneys within the factory were tall and thick, resembling skyscrapers.
Inside the factory, puppets were busily working, wearing different clothing and fulfilling various roles.
There were even some animal-shaped puppets, resembling wolves and dogs, patrolling alongside the puppet workers.
The number of puppets in the truck was relatively small compared to those present, so it didn’t take long for it to be Gu Zhan and his companions’ turn.
The puppets first lifted Yu Yezhou onto a cart, tilting their heads in confusion when placing him down.
They must have wondered why a puppet felt so heavy.
Yu Yezhou, placed on the cart, was equally innocent; his blindfold had also fallen, hanging around his ears and covering one eye. He could only look at the puppets with his remaining eye, seemingly innocently.
Just as the teachers at school hadn’t noticed they were too old to be in elementary school, these puppets also saw nothing wrong. As long as Yu Yezhou didn’t move, he appeared to them as an abandoned puppet in need of repair.
They didn’t linger too long and quickly moved to lift Xu Yu.
This was Xu Yu’s first time being “lifted.” The sensation of his body leaving the ground made him feel very uncomfortable.
He wanted to move but restrained himself.
Once placed on the cart, the next person to board was Gu Zhan.
Soon, Gu Zhan also got on the cart.
Three grown men were crammed into a small open cart, making it incredibly awkward.
To maintain their disguise as puppets, they had to remain motionless, stiffly letting the puppet push them toward the factory building.
Soon, they arrived at the entrance of the factory.
The factory stood out from the neighboring buildings, resembling a castle.
The large, over-three-meter-high door opened in response, and once the puppet pushed them inside, it left the cart at the entrance and walked away on its own.
The factory doors slammed shut with a bang, and a familiar system voice echoed.
"Welcome to Dream Factory, home to the cutest friends, the kindest family, and the most passionate lovers."
"Blend in with them, become one of them."
"Remember, Happy Town is a place filled with happiness and love."
"No matter what, you must not engage in any disputes with anyone."
As the system voice finished, loud music suddenly blasted inside the factory. Fireworks rained down from above, and amidst the festive chaos, a giant puppet suddenly shot out from the top wall of the factory. It was a grinning, sharp-toothed clown cat that bounced out, waving its hat like a clockwork figure chiming the hour.
As it bounced around, it shouted to everyone, “Welcome to Dream Factory, my guests!”
"I never thought humans would set foot in Happy Town and Dream Factory!" The clown cat, seemingly carved from wood, had a heavily painted face with visible wooden grain patterns.
“This is a place filled with happiness and love. Happy Town welcomes anyone who agrees with the town’s rules, and Dream Factory accepts all those with dreams... So, my dear guests, tell me, do you agree with the town’s rules, or do you have a dream that must be fulfilled?”
They had carefully hidden their identities to sneak into the factory, but no one had expected their disguise to be seen through the moment they stepped in.
And now, they were being asked if they had dreams.
Gu Zhan was confused, and Xuyu didn’t plan to speak either. Only Yu Ye Zhou, who was always outgoing, immediately raised his hand when he heard the word “dream.”
“I have a dream!”
Gu Zhan: “...”
Both Gu Zhan and Xuyu looked at him with embarrassed expressions, clearly feeling that this companion was being a bit ridiculous.
But the clown cat didn’t find it strange at all and immediately asked, “Good, then what is your dream?”
Yu Ye Zhou: “...”
He had just blurted it out. Did he really have a dream? Could finding the missing Yang Lin count as one?
Yu Ye Zhou stammered, “I... I dream of a world of harmony, where everyone has a happy home, and world peace...”
He made up a couple of sentences but couldn’t continue, so he added, “Is that not considered a dream?”
“It is, of course, it is.” The clown cat floated down from the wooden platform, hovering in midair as it approached Yu Ye Zhou, smiling, “But Happy Town is a place where only the perfect survive. You have a dream and want to achieve it, but the question is, are you perfect enough to deserve it?”
“...”
In a world full of strange things, who could define perfection?
The perfection the clown cat referred to was probably related to the puppets being sent back for repairs.
Yu Ye Zhou braced himself, “Me? I’m definitely perfect. What could possibly be imperfect about me?”
“Hmm...” The clown cat backed away a little, studying Yu Ye Zhou carefully.
After looking him over, it turned its gaze to Gu Zhan.
When it saw Gu Zhan, it nodded in satisfaction. But when it looked at Xuyu, it shook its head regretfully.
Yu Ye Zhou clenched his fist.
What? Gu Zhan is the only perfect one, and Xuyu and I are not?
When he caught sight of Gu Zhan’s indifferent, calm face... well, perhaps it was true.
Ahem.
But the clown cat continued, “Perfection or imperfection is not for me to decide. I can’t tell. So, my dear guests, if you can pass the perfection test, proving yourselves as perfect, you can stay in the factory, and Happy Town will grant your wishes.”
“Speaking of which...” The clown cat suddenly retreated, returning to the high wooden platform, “A few days ago, the factory also welcomed a guest who wasn’t quite perfect.”
A guest who wasn’t perfect!
Everyone’s expressions changed; it must be referring to Yang Lin.
Yu Ye Zhou couldn’t contain his emotions and immediately asked, “Where is she now?”
The clown cat looked down at them from above.
It seemed to have full control over the situation, and telling them this information was just a game.
It was clearly enjoying itself.
“An imperfect person? Naturally, we try to make them perfect.”
The clown cat smiled meaningfully, “Don’t be impatient. If you turn out to be as imperfect as her, you’ll see her soon enough. But if you’re perfect, then there are far better things here. Why be hung up on something imperfect?”
Yu Ye Zhou clenched his fists as the clown cat referred to Yang Lin as an “imperfect thing.” Whether “imperfect” or “thing,” both perfectly conveyed its attitude toward her.
Yang Lin’s current situation was undoubtedly grim.
What would happen to something imperfect? Correction? Modification?
Or repairs, replacing the imperfect parts with perfect ones?
As Yu Ye Zhou worried about Yang Lin’s situation, Gu Zhan spoke up, “How do we prove whether we’re perfect or imperfect?”
The clown cat replied, “That’s easy. Starting tomorrow, I’ll arrange six tests over three days. The six tests will measure love, courage, wisdom, physical strength, creativity, and charisma. If you pass all the tests, you’ll prove you’re perfect.”
Gu Zhan ignored the trap in its words and asked directly, “And what happens if we don’t pass?”
The clown cat made a regretful expression: "Sorry, guests, Happy Town doesn't allow anything imperfect to appear, but the Dream Factory is tolerant... as long as you replace your imperfect parts, you can become perfect again."