Chapter Twelve: Luoluo Has Always Been Here

Du Fang was extremely nervous.

Though this was not his first time undergoing the Dreamweaver assessment, he still couldn't help it.

He held tightly onto Luoluo's small hand, his palm drenched with sweat.

Luoluo looked up at her father, sensing the turbulence of his emotions.

“Daddy, relax,” she said brightly. “Luoluo is always here!”

She patted Du Fang’s waist, comforting him with the wisdom and warmth of a child who knew how to soothe her father’s nerves.

Du Fang glanced down at her, forcing a smile. Yes, he was a father now and could not show weakness in front of his precious daughter.

They stepped into the examination room.

The door closed behind them, shutting out the chaos of the world. Inside, all was silent; not a sound from the hallway penetrated the stillness.

A cold-faced man in a black suit stood by the door, watching Du Fang impassively—his job was to maintain order during the assessment.

“You are the eighteenth candidate, Du Fang?” came a voice from the center of the room.

A young woman stood there, clad in a black jacket and a professional skirt, her fair legs exposed. She looked at Du Fang with a mixture of inexperience and formality.

Holding Luoluo’s hand, Du Fang paused in surprise at the sight of this girl. “Are you new here?” he asked curiously.

He remembered that the examiner used to be a mature woman with an overwhelming presence.

The young woman, startled by his familiar tone, straightened at once. “I... I was just assigned to this post. Please take care of me!”

Du Fang felt a tinge of melancholy—had he really outlasted the examiner from before?

The girl pressed her lips together, regarding the way Du Fang held hands with Luoluo with a hint of confusion. Was this some new method for calming nerves?

“Your recommender is Ms. Chen Xi, a lower-rank Dreamweaver from the Silver Squad ‘Wildfire’,” the girl read from the instrument’s display.

Du Fang nodded.

With some awkwardness, the girl navigated the screen. “You applied for the ‘Forbidden Device Mastery Evaluation’?”

“Yes,” Du Fang replied.

“Very well, let me explain the assessment procedure,” she said earnestly.

After her explanation, she pressed a button. The floor in the center of the room parted, and a massive black orb slowly rose from below, held aloft by four metal supports.

“This is the Dream Spirit Orb. It measures your dream spirit strength. Since you don’t require a special ability test, the first step is simply to assess your dream spirit strength.

“In the second stage, you’ll be guided into a simulated dream disaster. There, you may use a forbidden device against anomalous entities. The system will rate your proficiency and determine if you qualify as a Dreamweaver.”

Her words were straightforward; Du Fang nodded in understanding. The process was much like the formal Dreamweaver exam, minus the evaluation of special abilities.

“Sir, please approach the Dream Spirit Orb,” the girl prompted, consulting her manual.

Du Fang, still holding Luoluo’s hand, walked up to the colossal black orb. An inexplicable sense of pressure radiated from it, as though it bore down directly upon the soul.

The girl came over, less than deftly extracting two metallic patches from the orb’s support. Standing on tiptoe, she affixed them to Du Fang’s temples.

Being this close, she noticed—somewhat to her embarrassment—that the candidate was quite handsome. Flushing, she hurried back to the display.

“Sir, please place your right palm on the orb,” she instructed, adjusting the settings.

Du Fang did not notice her shyness. The previous examiner, the formidable woman, had always helped him with the patches and guided his hand warmly onto the orb. This girl was clearly new and inexperienced.

Taking a deep breath, Du Fang forced the memory of the previous examiner from his mind, striving for calm.

He was no stranger to the Dream Spirit Orb—every assessment required this. If nothing else, he was a professional at touching orbs.

He slowly raised his hand and pressed it to the orb’s surface.

“Ready. Beginning assessment,” the girl announced, pressing the start button.

Heat radiated from the patches on Du Fang’s temples. A weak electric current seemed to shoot into his mind, stirring something deep within him. Inside the orb, faint points of light began to appear...

Outside the examination room.

Zhang Changlin lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply, smoke curling from his lips. Ignoring Lin Liuli, he turned instead to the anxious Chen Xi, his demeanor turning stern with the authority of a captain.

“Chen Xi, can you explain yourself?” he asked. “Why did you agree to be his recommender?”

At his words, Chen Xi recalled Luoluo’s long tongue in the moonlight... She met the captain’s expectant gaze, her eyes flickering with complicated emotion, but said nothing.

Zhang Changlin, not understanding her silence, pressed on. “Do you realize that allowing him to become a provisional Dreamweaver through forbidden device mastery might actually be harmful to him?”

By national decree, mastery of forbidden devices was a permitted path to becoming a Dreamweaver. But those without special abilities—who could only rely on forbidden devices—were considered interns within the system: provisional Dreamweavers.

Provisional Dreamweavers could earn high salaries and enjoy the benefits of full Dreamweavers, but they also had to shoulder the same responsibilities. When dream disasters struck, they were expected to fight alongside the professionals.

Yet, without special abilities, these interns rarely found good teams. In the end, most became cannon fodder. Lacking unique powers was a fatal disadvantage; their ability to manage risk was simply too low.

That was why Zhang Changlin said that Chen Xi, by recommending Du Fang, might actually be harming him.

Chen Xi bit her lip, knowing Zhang Changlin meant well.

But, Captain, she thought, you really have no idea...

Du Fang is no ordinary man.

Seeing Chen Xi’s determination, Zhang Changlin sighed.

“So be it. As a member of Wildfire, your recommendation reflects on our reputation. If he passes, bring him onto our squad. During dream disaster operations, he can play a minor role under our protection, and live a little longer.

“Many only see the glamour of being a Dreamweaver and ignore the dangers and pressure that come with it.”

He sat back down, cigarette between his lips, and waved his hand. “Since we’re the ones who brought him into this dangerous world, we must accept responsibility for him.”

Chen Xi opened her mouth, but hesitated.

On the other side, Lin Liuli sat elegantly, her long legs crossed at an angle. At Zhang Changlin’s words, the corners of her crimson lips curled ever so slightly.

Protection?

He, protected by you?

You have no idea just how terrifying that little man truly is.

...

Buzz...

As Du Fang’s palm rested on the black Dream Spirit Orb, one white point of light after another began to glow within it.

The girl bent over the instrument, watching the data come in. Judging by the rate the orb lit up, Du Fang’s dream spirit strength barely reached one energy unit.

She felt a pang of regret. With so little dream spirit, he’d be lucky to operate a forbidden device for three seconds. Such a handsome man—what a pity he lacked endurance.

At the orb, sweat broke out on Du Fang’s forehead. He grew anxious.

His dream spirit had been depleted the night before and hadn’t fully recovered. At this rate, he might not even reach the minimum strength required—one energy unit—to qualify as a Dreamweaver.

Was he going to fail again?

It was hard not to feel disheartened. After all his efforts, was his hope about to be snuffed out again?

A wave of sadness washed over him. He longed to become a Dreamweaver, earn his credentials, secure a high salary, reach the peak of his life, and give Luoluo a bigger home.

He wanted to fulfill Luoluo’s wishes.

Gritting his teeth, he pressed on.

Beside him, Luoluo, clutching her pink pig plushie, looked up at her father’s anxious face and smiled radiantly.

“Daddy, don’t worry. Luoluo doesn’t want you to be sad. Luoluo is always here,” she said earnestly.

Then, beneath the black orb, Luoluo lifted her delicate little hand, placing it gently beneath her father’s larger one on the orb.

A small hand beneath a large one—

As if a starry sky was sheltered under a broad palm.

Suddenly, the girl monitoring the instrument jerked upright, her face flooded with disbelief.

In her widened pupils, she saw the orb’s points of light multiplying—growing brighter and brighter.

Until, at last—

It was as if a blazing sun hung in the vault of heaven.

So dazzling.

So resplendent.