Interstellar Dream Maker

The assessment exhibition of forging dreams with Simulacra concluded, and Lily was directly transported back to her personal space by the StarNet system.

Lily looked around and realized that she was still in the virtual world rather than reality. Her mental energy immediately withdrew from the StarNet.

Lily opened her eyes and removed her helmet. What greeted her was a rather cramped room with minimal furniture. Her back rested against a cold, silvery white wall, and beneath her was a narrow, less than comfortable bed.

Lily took a deep breath, staring at the strange helmet in her hands with an inexplicable look in her eyes.

At first, she thought she had been directly transported to the assessment site.

That was true, but it was actually the assessment site within the virtual reality of the "StarNet."

In other words, while others typically transmigrate into physical bodies in reality, Lily ended up in an online consciousness body.

She got out of bed and found a mirror to reflect her current appearance.

She had an oval face with almond-shaped eyes, a slender figure, and a pale complexion devoid of color. Her hair reached her waist, somewhat dry and yellowish. Her black eyes stared at herself with an indescribable expression.

This was her face, almost identical to Lily's appearance before transmigrating, though it could be described as a "malnourished" version of herself.

Lily slightly pursed her lips. The intense headache she had felt earlier during the Forging Dreams assessment had almost completely disappeared.

In general time-travel novels, the moment when the time traveler acquires the body often occurs after the "original owner" passes away and is given a second chance at life, or in situations such as unconsciousness or a state of confusion, where the body is in a vulnerable condition. This allows the traveler to possess the body and begin a new life.

Lily is not foolish. As a graduate student in the folk studies department who managed to enter university in modern society, she does not feel joy from traveling through time, nor does she feel excitement about arriving in a new world. At this moment, the body she inhabits is still burdened with many issues.

According to the original body's memories and common knowledge, if a person encounters an accidental death in reality, the connection to the star network consciousness would be directly severed and disappear.

When Lily traveled through time, it was clear that the original owner's consciousness had encountered an accident, but she had not yet died. The life and consciousness signals had not disappeared.

In this interstellar novel, the original owner's predetermined fate was to be eliminated in the just-concluded materialized dream casting assessment, after which she would be targeted by others, have her psychic energy extracted, and ultimately die.

The Dream Casting Live Battle takes place in the virtual star network, not in reality. Since "Lily" had her psychic energy extracted, does this mean she had already been targeted by someone in the real world?

A few days ago, when the original owner tested her S-level psychic power, the administrative region she registered under was made public. Could someone have used this information to track her down offline?

Lily slightly lowered her gaze. From her memories and what she could observe in front of her, it was clear that the original owner's life had been quite financially strained.

She had been found and raised by an elderly scavenger from the junkyard since childhood. Three years ago, the elderly man passed away, and the junkyard was taken over by a new station manager, who no longer allowed nearby scavengers to "treasure hunt." As a result, the original owner struggled to make a living.

Fortunately, the elderly man had arranged for the original owner to have proper identification early on, allowing her to connect to the star network. The original owner was able to apply for the minimum guaranteed housing and welfare benefits for minors.

She still resides in the federal government's low income housing. However, since she has just turned 18 and moved out of the minor's welfare area, the low income housing for adults is no longer free. She now has to pay a monthly maintenance fee of 500 star coins and must not damage the furniture.

Unlike the minor's welfare area, the low-income housing area she now lives in has no security, no widespread surveillance eyes, and no patrol guards. The safety and security of the area entirely depend on one's own awareness.

In the current interstellar era, an ordinary human who hasn't undergone special training can live up to 150 years. She is now 25 years old, having just reached adulthood.

In her past life, she was already an adult at the same age. Now, however, she has only just reached adulthood. She can't help but wonder if it could be considered a fortunate twist of fate essentially gaining a younger version of herself.

The original owner had just moved out of the minor protection zone, and shortly after becoming an adult, trouble struck. If this were a coincidence, she wouldn't believe it, no matter what.

Lily scanned the low-income housing. The immediate priority was clear: she needed to move to a new place.

To avoid drawing attention, traveling light was the best option. Lily quickly gathered her personal belongings from the room and packed them into her backpack, leaving only the helmet behind.

After reaching adulthood, the original owner lost the minimum living allowance. During this time, she had also been looking for a job. At this moment, Lily carrying a backpack and leaving the house didn't attract any attention.

As for the subsidized housing, she only needed to apply for a move-out request on the star network.

She stepped out and boarded a hovering train heading to the central district of Flying Bird Star. Sitting in the silver-white automated seat, Lily gazed at the portable smart brain in her left hand, deep in thought.

From leaving her home to boarding the train, Lily didn't feel like she was being watched.

In the past, she had spent a long time conducting investigations in rural areas, often alone. Out of self-protection, Lily had always been vigilant about others' scrutiny, making her especially sensitive to her surroundings.

Had no one been watching her, or was she simply being too sensitive?

Or was it that she couldn't distinguish who the other party was, or perhaps she felt like a mere prey, just waiting to be harvested?

There was too little information around her, and the sample size was limited. Lily squinted slightly as she looked at the move-out request on her portable smart brain, and for the time being, she tapped to exit.

After moving out of the subsidized housing, federal government personnel would come to inspect and verify the property. The appearance of uniformed officials would inevitably attract the attention of the surrounding residents.

The monthly maintenance fee for the house had already been paid. Lily glanced at the date it was only ten days left. She decided to wait until the very last day to deal with it.

Sitting on the hovering train, Lily looked out at the street view. Flying Bird Star was a well-known presence in the entire Hick Star District. As its name suggested, the planet was closely related to flying birds.

The largest industry on Flying Bird Star is waste management. A large population of black tailed flying birds is bred and raised here, capable of consuming and processing vast amounts of interstellar waste. At the same time, they produce a fertilizer known as "Flying Bird Sand," which serves as a pillar of the entire planet's financial revenue.

Of course, in addition to waste management, Flying Bird Star is also famous for "flying bird breeding and cultivation." In addition to the common varieties of flying birds, there is also a focus on the protection of endangered and rare species of flying birds

However, due to the large amount of interstellar waste from surrounding star districts being dumped on Flying Bird Star for processing, the nickname "Garbage Star" has become even more well-known than the name "Flying Bird Star

Residents of other planets believe that Flying Bird Star survives by scavenging their trash. Heh, garbage.

Residents of Flying Bird Star believe that other planets are the ones asking them to handle their garbage. Heh, garbage.

Of course, within Flying Bird Star, there are differing opinions. Many residents don't want to be associated with the notorious "Garbage Star" label and are trying various ways to emigrate

Lily skimmed through a large amount of information on various species of flying birds on her portable smart brain. With a slight movement of her finger, she thought to herself: for ordinary residents, with their low psychic abilities, it's impossible to become a Dream Caster. Most people on Flying Bird Star are involved in industries like waste management and bird breeding.

Now that she is a Dream Caster, Lily has more choices available to her.

"Flying Bird Terminal Station has arrived. Passengers disembarking at this station, please take your belongings and ensure your pets and children are properly supervised."

The hovering train was incredibly fast, and in the blink of an eye, Lily had already arrived at her destination.

"Public account Lily, the fare for this trip is 8 star coins. Your credit account balance is 536 star coins."

As Lily stepped out of the station, a new message appeared on her portable smart brain. She paused for a moment, almost stumbling.

"How much... balance did it say?"

At this moment, Lily stood by the roadside, entering her personal credit account. The glaring 536 star coins on the screen laid bare her poverty, with nothing left to hide.

"Public account Lily, the fare for this trip is 8 star coins. Your credit account balance is 536 star coins."

If she had brought it, she could have sold it for a few hundred star coins to get by.

As she looked at the smart brain in her hand, Lily noticed that her personal inbox had received a few new emails, all from the Starsea Dream Caster Committee.

"Candidate Lily, during today's Dream Casting exhibition, a star network user purchased the [Proximity Perception] service. The service was priced at 1000 star coins, and your share of 800 star coins has been credited to your credit account. Please check your balance."

Money had arrived! Lily's eyes brightened, and she quickly switched to her credit account to take a look. 1336 star coins. Her wallet instantly felt much fuller. It was definitely not a scam email after all.

One email was about the payment, but what about the others? Lily read through them one by one.

"Candidate Lily, the Starsea Dream Casting Live Battle will officially begin in 10 days, on August 24, 6588, at 8:00 AM. At the same time, the Dream Caster rankings for the entire Starsea will be launched..."

The next competition was only ten days away? Lily's gaze shifted slightly. These few emails had arrived right after she finished her previous competition, but at the time, she had been in a hurry to exit the star network and hadn't had a chance to read them.

Lily glanced at the text below the email:"The Starsea Dream Caster Rankings, Star Domain Rankings, and Star District Rankings will be launched simultaneously during the official competition. Training camps for each star domain and star district will also open at the same time. Candidates in need are advised to apply as soon as possible."

"Preparation zones and training camps?" Lily was about to switch interfaces to search for what these two places were for when her eyes paused at the trending search topics in the star network's search bar.

#Flying Bird Star Candidate Lily#

#S-Level Dream Casting#

#Unnamed Flying Bird S-Level#

#Last Three Minutes Dream Casting#

No matter which entry she casually clicked on, it was filled with disbelief and skepticism.

"Breaking News! New Dream Caster from Garbage Star, Lily, completes S-level Dream Casting in the last three minutes true or false?"

"Unnamed Flying Bird Dream Casting awarded S-level? Genius Dream Caster may have backstage help! A stunt to attract attention!"

"Candidate Lily used special intermediary tools during the Dream Casting live event this is cheating!"

Lily felt a slight chill as she read the headlines, the public's skepticism and criticism weighing heavily on her.