As the night rain gently drizzled, the sound of its pitter-patter echoed against the awning, producing a hollow, mechanical rhythm.

Yvette slowly opened her eyes, her vision immediately filled by a massive holographic projection—a half-naked virtual beauty sensuously licking her lips, the holographic particles swirling at her waist, forming flickering advertisements: “Tired of the coldness of reality? Craving a hotter touch? Seventh Paradise, featuring the latest spiritual synchronization technology, making every caress feel real enough to tremble! Blackwater Zone Coordinates 47.9, you’re invited to experience it!”

Yvette’s pupils constricted momentarily as she stared at the ad, then shifted her gaze to survey her surroundings.

She was in a rain-soaked alley that stretched out before her into the darkness. Towering building facades covered in matte alloy panels were etched with magic circuits, glowing with streams of eerie blue, indigo, and crimson neon lights that outlined the structure.

At the corner, the base of a wall was piled high with discarded gear-like magitek parts, dust-covered pipe interfaces, old flexible screens, and the stench of living trash. An exposed metal-jointed prosthetic hand was humorously propped atop the rubbish heap, like a mechanical creature about to claw its way out of the filth.

“What is this… the Blackwater Zone before the apocalypse?” Yvette murmured softly, her long fingers brushing her damp silver hair away from her shoulder.

Just as she pondered what to do next, a familiar yet bewildered voice rang out behind her: “Teacher, where are we? How did we suddenly get here?”

Yvette whirled around and saw Rosalyn, clad in her adventurous attire, standing behind her.

The rain had drenched her clothes, causing her blonde hair to stick to her cheeks, yet her eyes sparkled with curiosity like a fawn that had wandered into the future, taking in this bizarre new world.

“How did you get in here?” Yvette asked in surprise.

“I saw you asleep on the ground, so I thought I’d put something under you, but as soon as I touched you, I started feeling sleepy…”

Ah, so it requires contact with me to enter the dream; this further solidifies the unique connection between the Dream Mist and me… Yvette mused.

As the rain intensified, the two moved toward the alley’s entrance, where occasional passersby began to appear. In contrast to the modern, fashionable attire of these pedestrians, Yvette’s white dress stood out starkly, inevitably drawing attention.

“What do you feel when you look at these pedestrians?” Yvette asked suddenly as they walked.

“Ah?” Rosalyn paused, considering her response, “They seem very curious about us, but also a little… ill-intentioned.”

“No… I meant, when you look at them, does anything seem strange about their bodies? Like, are they semi-transparent or fuzzy?”

“Not at all.”

“Got it.”

“In your eyes, do they appear transparent or blurred?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow! Does that mean you can see their true essence at a glance?”

“…Maybe.”

A few minutes later, as they exited the alley, Yvette found herself holding two ID cards.

“Teacher, this place is indeed a dream, right?” Rosalyn said, sounding a bit anxious.

Yvette nodded slightly, signaling her to relax.

Even though she hadn’t lived in the pre-apocalyptic world, through reading the remaining novels and texts, one thing she was certain of was that life here required identification.

And what if someone lacked identification?

Yvette’s answer was a setup.

To find suitable targets, they had deliberately wandered around the area a couple of times before finally encountering a trio of young men who looked up to no good.

Dressed in rebellious punk attire, they gawked at the two beautiful girls and approached with intentions to grab their clothes, eager and impatient. However, before they could even make contact, Yvette dispatched them with the same ease she used to deal with aberrations, retrieving their identification cards without issue.

Of course, this frightened Rosalyn. She had little experience with this aspect; she wasn’t quite sure of the horrific fate awaiting them when they were surrounded. All she knew was that Yvette’s killing actions were executed with such decisive skill that before she could react, the blue blades of wind had pierced through the chests of the three young men, blood flowing profusely.

In the end, it was Rosalyn who had to set their bodies ablaze to destroy the evidence, truly making them an infamous crime duo.

…

“Do we have identities now?” Perhaps because they were in a dream, or perhaps because she had grown accustomed to the gruesome scenes of battling aberrations, Rosalyn quickly adjusted, recovering from the close-up of a bloody murder scene nearly instantaneously.

“Not yet; we need to do a little more.” With that, Yvette moved to a machine at the roadside.

This was a public citizen service device capable of handling most issues in one stop. She placed her fingers on the touchpad and connected her Furnace Ring to a corresponding sensory slot. With the assistance of the magitek terminal, she began the process of hacking into the police system and modifying the ID information.

This was a significant challenge for Yvette; post-apocalyptic worlds didn’t require the knowledge of a “rune hacker.” While she had learned it, it was merely a nice-to-have skill. She had never practiced it until today when she found herself putting it into action.

“Fortunately, this area’s police system is quite lax. The Blackwater Zone, being the poorest district of Ish City, probably lacks the funding for proper maintenance?”

About ten minutes later, while she speculated, Yvette returned to Rosalyn and handed her the ID cards.

Rosalyn looked down and saw that the information on the card had changed; now there was a cute picture of a blonde girl as her identification photo, and her name read “Rosalyn Loxivia.”

In parallel, Yvette’s identification now read “Yvette Sien.”

The reason for these name changes was that the present year was 2124, just a year before the original owner’s involvement in the “Metamorphosis Project.” Yvette suspected that the pre-apocalypse version of herself might also appear in this dream, registered with an orphanage and subject to the scrutiny of Blacktower Pharmaceuticals. This minor modification would help them avoid some troublesome complications.

Rosalyn, of course, was unaware of this detail, but in the Iton Kingdom, name changes typically only happened after marriage, resulting in a slightly bashful expression on her face—although she didn’t even fully understand what marriage entailed.

After completing the modification of the ID cards, Yvette also remembered to attempt to siphon off the three unfortunate souls’ financial assets.

However, the bank’s firewall was not something a novice hacker with only theoretical knowledge could challenge. After considering her options, she decided to sell off their digital assets online, such as cryptocurrencies, gambling tokens, and various virtual game accounts.

This operation took her two or three hours, ultimately yielding a mere six thousand credit points, barely enough to cover a month’s stay at a budget hotel.

That’s so little; no wonder these three were living in the Blackwater Zone… After all that effort, Yvette felt somewhat unsatisfied.

She wanted to list these three poor guys’ real estate for sale as well, but that would easily alert their acquaintances, leading to an earlier discovery of the identity tampering.

So for now, she could only make do and plan to exchange for a new identity through gray channels once they had enough money… she quietly devised her plans.

…

When night fully descended, they finally located a budget inn. Rainwater dripped from their hair, and Rosalyn’s white dress clung wetly to her body, exposing a rare display of vulnerability in the otherwise powerful and elegant witch. Newest update provided by novel⁂fire.net

Even so, as a responsible teacher, Yvette patiently conducted a thorough check before letting Rosalyn into the bathroom, ensuring there were no hidden surveillance devices.

After Yvette finished bathing herself, she emerged to find Rosalyn standing by the window, gazing dreamily into the distance towards the Central District.

Yvette calmly approached her from behind.

The window here was not particularly clean, with a thin film of oil obscuring it, reflecting the city’s light pollution, causing the neon lights and holographic advertisements outside to appear distorted and blurry.

Despite this, Rosalyn remained captivated. For someone from a medieval background, everything she had experienced today was far beyond her comprehension. Even her first steps into the End of Days couldn’t compare to the shock of this moment.

“Teacher, is this the realm of the gods?” After a long while, Yvette heard Rosalyn awe with a dreamy tone.

“No. But if it is, it’s one of the ‘evil gods.’”

“Ah, that’s true, hehe.” Rosalyn continued to stare out the window, seemingly transfixed, as if she could gaze at it for an entire day and night without tiring.

“Would you like to go look outside?”

“Yes!”

“Let’s rest first; tomorrow I’ll take you for a stroll.”

“Alright!”

Filled with the boundless wonder of the Original Civilization, Rosalyn excitedly settled onto the bed. Unsurprisingly, she spent the entire night tossing and turning, unable to sleep.