Chapter Four: Tender Virtue

Chen Xi's hair stood on end, and she felt that agreeing to come here with the captain had been... a little hasty. Du Fang, as someone who had survived two dream disasters in a row, though the dream-essence fluctuations around him were faint and he had not awakened any special abilities—could he really still be considered an ordinary person?

A strong urge to turn and leave welled up within Chen Xi. Du Fang and Lin Liuli were both reaching out as if groping through the air, which looked ridiculous, but Chen Xi was gripped by a sharp sense of unease.

As a professional Dream Navigator, Chen Xi had some understanding of these bizarre occurrences. Yet, most of the strangeness she had encountered appeared in dreams; it was rare for it to manifest in reality. Even those parasitized by dream demons did not display overt oddities in the real world, though their temperaments would change—they became irritable, suspicious, deranged, murderous, and so on.

But at least their behavior was within the bounds of comprehension. They even concealed themselves more effectively than normal people.

Chen Xi’s mind raced, her hand already resting on the grip of the pistol at her waist. All her anxiety and insecurity stemmed from a lack of firepower.

At that moment, she noticed Lin Liuli. Lin Liuli turned her head and winked at her. Chen Xi started, as if she suddenly understood something, and her grip on the pistol loosened slightly.

Du Fang turned toward her, his gaze falling on the motionless Chen Xi. Chen Xi tensed, but managed a crescent-moon smile at the air in front of Du Fang.

“Hi,” she said.

Du Fang smiled back. How could anyone not love my little Luoluo, as adorable as she is!

“Luoluo, see? Everyone likes you,” Du Fang said, gently ruffling Luoluo’s hair.

Luoluo, clutching her pink pig plush, beamed at Chen Xi, her mouth stretching wide into a smile. She licked her lips with her tongue, obviously delighted.

“Please have a seat, I’ll go make dinner,” Du Fang said, picking up some frozen chicken wings and a bottle of cola before heading into the kitchen.

Defrosting, blanching, scoring the meat... Hot oil into the pan, frying... When both sides of the wings were golden, he poured in the cola. Cover and simmer!

Each movement was seamless, fluid. Du Fang bustled in the kitchen, a smile even lingering on his face.

...

On the living room sofa, Chen Xi and Lin Liuli sat down together.

“You can see it?” Chen Xi glanced at Lin Liuli, lowering her voice to a whisper.

Lin Liuli shot her a look, her coldness returning as befitted an ice queen: “What do you think?”

Of course, she couldn’t see anything either.

“I’m Du Fang’s psychologist. As the sole survivor of that horrific dream disaster a month ago... his mind suffered a severe shock, and he’s experiencing... hallucinations,” Lin Liuli explained after a moment’s thought.

She used the most scientific explanation to describe Du Fang’s problem.

“He’s convinced that he saved a five-year-old girl named Luoluo during that dream disaster,” she continued, “and that he adopted her, living together ever since.”

Leaning back into the soft sofa, Lin Liuli watched Du Fang working in the kitchen as she spoke, her tone cool and clear.

Chen Xi’s eyes widened in sudden understanding. “So just now... you were acting?”

Lin Liuli cast a sidelong glance at the somewhat naive young woman. After a sip of plain water, Dr. Lin said flatly, “I prescribed medication for him, but it’s no use. This kind of psychological trauma takes time to heal. Until then, he can’t be provoked, nor can he be told the truth.”

“Step by step, let things unfold naturally. Play along, and be kind to him.”

Chen Xi understood, exhaling slowly as her tense nerves relaxed a little. Lin Liuli couldn’t see anything either—she felt relieved; it meant nothing was wrong with her.

After a pause, Lin Liuli’s long, beautiful eyes flicked over. “Since you’re a member of Captain Zhang’s team, you must be a Dream Navigator?”

Chen Xi nodded proudly. “I just passed the Dream Navigator’s assessment and got my professional license.”

These days, Dream Navigators were the most prestigious professionals of all—Chen Xi had every reason to be proud.

Lin Liuli frowned slightly, hesitated, but still spoke. “Let me remind you: do not attempt to probe him lightly.”

Chen Xi was caught off guard by this.

But after that, Lin Liuli fell silent, no longer engaging in conversation. She just cradled her cup, gazing off into the distance, occasionally breaking into a dazzlingly sweet smile toward the empty space beside her: “Good girl, Luoluo. You’re so adorable, Luoluo.”

Chen Xi: “...”

Ha, women—born actresses! She acted as if she really could see this imaginary little girl!

Still, Lin Liuli’s warning made Chen Xi curious. Not probe Du Fang? Why such advice? If Du Fang’s daughter was a figment of his imagination, what difference would it make if she probed or not? Du Fang wasn’t a Dream Navigator—he hadn’t awakened any special abilities; his dream-essence wasn’t even particularly strong. He was just an ordinary person—what harm could come from a little probing?

A Dream Navigator’s power was to enter dreams, which was fundamentally a way of peering into privacy. Ordinary people couldn’t even sense it.

“But Du Fang did survive a third-rank nightmare disaster—maybe... there really is some secret?” The more Chen Xi thought, the more curiosity itched in her heart.

Still, she suppressed the urge. As a Dream Navigator, she should never use dream-probing abilities on ordinary people lightly—professional ethics demanded as much.

As a newly licensed Dream Navigator, her principles were still very tender.

...

Jiangling University.
Outside the study hall.

Zhang Changlin dangled a cigarette from his lips, the ash burning down, drifting away like snowflakes.

He stared at the study room for a long time, a hint of confusion flickering in his eyes.

Inside, doctors in white coats were zipping the horribly mutilated students into body bags, carrying them out on stretchers. Yet, there weren’t many bodies. The remaining students had all awoken naturally, shaken and tearful, huddled together outside the study hall as they underwent questioning and dream demon screening by Dream Navigators.

“It’s broken... How could this third-rank nightmare disaster have been dispelled?” Zhang Changlin was baffled.

Of course, resolving a dream disaster was a good thing—it meant fewer casualties. Not only would many students be spared, but his team wouldn’t have to risk their lives.

But if the nightmare was resolved, there had to be a reason. Without knowing the cause, it felt awkward to accept unearned credit.

Most importantly, it made writing his report for his superiors... difficult.

Cigarette between his lips, Zhang Changlin fell into deep thought.

There had once been a special theory: that a dream disaster was not so much a dream, but a decaying, corrupted parallel world’s projection, eroded by the bizarre. All those unscientific, incomprehensible taboos—fierce ghosts, wicked spirits—were thus fused into our world through dreams.

The basis for this theory lay in the birth of Dream Navigators.

For ordinary people, a nightmare disaster was a catastrophe. But for Dream Navigators, it was a place to grow stronger. By conquering a dream disaster, they could absorb dream-essence in return.

Dream-essence was a kind of spiritual energy, like the gasoline that made a car run. It was the very source of a Dream Navigator’s ability to fight and confront the impossible beings within the dream disaster.

The denser the dream-essence, the greater the Dream Navigator’s power.

Moreover, Dream Navigators could sometimes bring back from a dream disaster certain objects saturated with dream-essence—these were called “taboo artifacts”—into reality...

“There are two reasons for a dream disaster to vanish. First, the disaster is conquered and the bizarre entities destroyed.

“Second, the taboo artifact hidden within the dream disaster is extracted.

“The first scenario doesn’t apply. My team and I hadn’t even entered the disaster before it was resolved. According to the awakened students, the bizarre entities were still present in the dream...

“So it must be the second case... The taboo artifact was taken by someone.”

Zhang Changlin’s thoughts grew clearer and clearer. He pinched the cigarette between two fingers, flicking the ash.

“But who?”

“Who could have taken the taboo artifact?”

A name came to him. He narrowed his eyes, a sly, interested grin curling his lips.

“Could it have been the student who woke up from the dream disaster all on his own, at such incredible speed...

“The one named Du Fang?”