Chapter 164: Kidnapping and the Sister-in-Law's Ability

Du Fang returned to the hotel.

He didn't pay much mind to the events that had transpired at the Dream-Crossing Tower. However, this trip to the Dream-Crossing Tower had allowed Du Fang to cross paths with quite a few powerhouses.

There was no need to mention Night Ancestor, the absolute peak powerhouse of the Great Xia Country. As for the others, there were the captains of the Super-Star squads, including Chao from the Heavenly Sword Palace, Cao Kong, and Yan Fei.

The strength of these individuals was likewise overwhelmingly powerful.

They were at least at the high-tier national level, and those capable of leading a Super-Star squad naturally could not be underestimated.

Additionally, Du Fang had witnessed the brazen capital of the Research Bureau.

That old man named Lü Taiheng harbored the top-tier taboo artifact, Serial Taboo Artifact 005, within his body.

So, was it because he wielded Serial Taboo Artifact 005 that Lü Taiheng, the chief engineer of the Research Bureau, possessed the capital to shout and bluster at Night Ancestor?

Initially, Du Fang hadn't paid much attention to serial taboo artifacts. But today, having seen what he saw, perhaps the preciousness of serial taboo artifacts far exceeded his imagination.

Lying on the sofa, Du Fang thought quietly to himself.

As for what Night Ancestor had said to him, Du Fang pondered it seriously as well.

Asking him to go search for the Fallen God's corpse...

He had to admit, this was a remarkably bold idea, and quite insane, too.

Just how much trust must one place in the Fallen God within his body to make such a decision?

Night Ancestor had given Du Fang a choice.

Du Fang could choose to go or not to go.

If he went, he might face mortal danger; after all, unearthing a Fallen God's corpse would undoubtedly cause a massive commotion.

Du Fang had no idea what might happen.

Perhaps there would be perils beyond his imagination.

And if he didn't go, he might not encounter any danger at all, but the battle for the top scholar would surely become a failure for him—he would lose the chance to compete for the top scholar title, lose the opportunity to win the million-dollar prize, and lose the chance to claim that pair of red embroidered shoes for his bride.

Thinking it through like this, Du Fang felt that not going was simply not an option!

Perhaps tomorrow, he would still have to make that trip.

...

The little assistant arrived, humming a cheerful little tune with a face full of joy.

She had heard long ago that Du Fang had caused a sensation at the Capital Dream-Crossing Tower—not only had he become a City-Crossing Dream-Master, but he had even beaten up a researcher from the Research Bureau.

In a mere half a day, almost all the Dream-Masters at the Capital Dream-Crossing Tower had learned Du Fang's name.

Du Fang had achieved fame in an instant!

And as Du Fang's little assistant, Su Xiaoyu naturally shared in the glory.

This proved that her eye for talent was spot on.

The little assistant had ordered a lavish feast for Du Fang to celebrate his promotion to a City-Crossing Dream-Master.

At this thought, the little assistant fell into a brief trance.

Unawares, it had already been half a month since she became Du Fang's assistant...

Half a month ago, she had been the examiner in charge of Du Fang's Dream-Master assessment.

This brought a wry, bittersweet smile to the little assistant's face.

This really was... the playful trick of fate.

She simply couldn't believe that just half a month later, Du Fang had actually advanced to the City-Crossing level.

Pushing the food cart loaded with fragrant dishes, the little assistant walked slowly toward Du Fang's room.

Suddenly, the phone in her pocket rang.

The little assistant paused, a lingering smile still on her face as she pushed the cart while glancing at the caller ID.

"Eh? It's Sister Chenxi."

The smile on the little assistant's face grew even warmer.

"Hello, Sister Chenxi!"

"You called just in time. I was just about to throw a celebration for Brother Du. You'll never guess—today, Brother Du officially became a City-Crossing Dream-Master!"

The little assistant said with a giggle, while pressing the doorbell to Du Fang's room.

...

Du Fang opened the door.

What met his eyes was the little assistant, standing frozen in place.

The phone slipped from her grasp, dropping straight to the floor with a crisp clatter.

Echoing from the fallen phone was Chenxi's soft cry of alarm.

Du Fang was slightly taken aback.

Watching the little assistant standing frozen on the spot, her body involuntarily beginning to tremble slightly, a trace of confusion surfaced on his face.

"What's wrong?" Du Fang asked.

Yet, the little assistant acted as though her soul had left her body, completely failing to hear Du Fang's words.

Du Fang furrowed his brow, raised a hand to manipulate the airflow, and the phone on the floor immediately zipped up, landing in his palm.

"It's me, I'm Du Fang," Du Fang said softly into the phone.

The voice on the other end of the line paused, followed by a gentle whisper: "Oh, it's Brother Du..."

"Something happened at Xiaoyu's home. Elder Su has been kidnapped," Chenxi said.

Du Fang's eyes narrowed.

At that moment, the little assistant finally snapped back to her senses, looking thoroughly panicked and utterly lost.

"Bro... Brother Du... I'm sorry."

"I... I won't be able to stay with you through the end of the top scholar competition. I'm sorry."

The face of the little assistant, Su Xiaoyu, instantly turned deathly pale.

"I have to go back to Jiangling to save my grandfather," the little assistant said.

With that, she offered Du Fang an apologetic, pale smile, and then bolted down the hallway toward the hotel exit.

Du Fang thought for a moment, and with a movement akin to teleportation, he materialized right in front of the little assistant, blocking her path.

"Wait."

Tears welled up in the little assistant's eyes, brimming with anxiety.

"Brother Du..."

"Lift your hands," Du Fang instructed.

Biting her lip, the little assistant obediently raised her hands. Du Fang reached out and grasped her fair palms.

In his other hand appeared a pencil—the sister-in-law's pencil.

The pencil he had obtained from Elder Su's collection room.

Holding the pencil, Du Fang channeled a surging torrent of dream essence into it. After a brief thought, he wrote the character "Fang" directly onto the palm of the little assistant's fair hand.

"Don't worry. If something really goes wrong, I will help you."

"After all, you are my little assistant, Du Fang," he said with a smile.

Du Fang understood that Elder Su had countless professional mercenary Dream-Masters guarding him, and following the previous incident, security had been tightened even further; it shouldn't have been possible for him to be kidnapped.

Unless the people who kidnapped Elder Su were no ordinary kidnappers.

If that was the case, the little assistant rushing back to Jiangling wouldn't actually change much.

If he could, Du Fang wouldn't mind going back with her.

However, Du Fang had to stay in the capital to brave that dream disaster.

Not just because of the top scholar competition, but also for his bride's red embroidered shoes, and perhaps the chance to collect other parts of his bride's body during this dream disaster.

Therefore, Du Fang had inescapable reasons to stay.

Even so, Du Fang had prepared a contingency plan, hoping it would prove helpful.

Biting her lip, the little assistant bowed to Du Fang, then climbed into a luxury sedan, which sped off rapidly toward the airport.

Du Fang stood where he was, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his black trench coat, watching the departing little assistant as he let out a soft sigh.

Elder Su was an old man who had poured an excessive amount of partiality and affection into his granddaughter.

Du Fang hoped the old man would be safe.

...

Du Fang returned to the hotel and ate the meal prepared by the little assistant.

Then, he began to rest.

He entered the small wooden cabin within the dream space, reuniting with his family members to nurture their familial bonds.

The method still worked, though the growth was rather slow.

The cultivation of familial affection naturally stemmed from companionship.

Though this bit-by-bit accumulation couldn't make Du Fang's familial affection skyrocket overnight, it gave him the hope of growth.

However, the affection values between him and both Luoluo and the bride's hand were already very high, making further increases extremely difficult.

On the contrary, for the sister-in-law, because her affection value had started off extremely low, coupled with the fact that Du Fang drew pictures for her whenever he had free time—even though his soul-level artwork had never gained her approval—it had still accumulated a fair amount of affection.

Tonight,

After entering the small wooden cabin and spending time with Luoluo and the bride's hand, Du Fang began to draw for his sister-in-law.

The silent wooden cabin floated amidst the gray, misty heaven and earth like a lone duckweed in an endless ocean.

Inside the cabin, it was dead quiet, save for the scratching sound of the pencil—constructed from dream essence by Du Fang—scraping against paper and drawing board.

The wooden cabin belonged to Du Fang's domain. Within his domain, whatever Du Fang desired could be constructed using dream essence.

This was also the reason why Du Fang hadn't denied it when previously accused of constructing a domain.

"Finished!"

Du Fang completed the drawing, smiling with satisfaction.

Behind Du Fang, Luoluo dangled little Pig Qiqi by the ear, stood on her tiptoes to take a peek, and then shook her head regretfully.

Little Pig Qiqi almost snorted with laughter.

The bride's hand offered gentle comfort to Du Fang, massaging his shoulders.

Without a doubt, his artwork this time had probably bombed again.

The sister-in-law tossed her head up with haughty pride, wearing a pristine white dress as she strolled over to Du Fang's drawing.

She glanced down at the drawing paper, where a humanoid figure was barely discernible.

The corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve upward into a smile.

...

[Ding! Congratulations, your familial affection with your sister-in-law (Susu) has reached 60 points!]

[Ding! You have acquired your sister-in-law's innate ability 'Myriad Phenomenon Avatars'. Current available avatars: 10. If affection drops below 60, the avatar ability will be revoked.]

...

The moment Du Fang exited the small wooden cabin, prompts popped up across his retina.

Du Fang was stunned.

Following that, a joyful smile blossomed on his face.

Clearly, his efforts hadn't been in vain. Although every single one of his drawings had failed to win his sister-in-law's approval, his unremitting persistence and the genuine sincerity he poured into his art had finally moved her.

Thus, the familial bond between her and him had slowly increased.

Starting from a baseline of 30 points, it had now reached 60 points—a passing grade!

This was an epic breakthrough!

The increase in familial affection made Du Fang feel even more thrilled than acquiring the sister-in-law's ability!

Deep in the dead of night, nothing could mask the joy and excitement in Du Fang's heart.

He walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window.

Outside, the night view of the capital stretched out before him, neon lights blinking and the city brilliantly illuminated.

With a single thought, Du Fang began to study the ability he had squeezed out from his sister-in-law.