Chapter Seventy-Four: Daddy, It Feels Like I’ve Been Shattered into Pieces

Chen Xi was stunned.

What was going on?

What was this all about?

Why were they kneeling to her?

In truth, not only was Chen Xi bewildered, even the referee in charge of her safety was taken aback.

What was with the nightmares today?

Why did they all love to kneel?

Were they getting addicted to it?

Didn’t they have any sense of dignity as nightmares?

Chen Xi wasn’t foolish. She quickly pieced things together, a flush of excitement coloring her cheeks.

Was this a brand-new way of lying low?

She’d thought she wouldn’t get to lie low at all.

She hadn’t even planned on it this time, yet it was as if Brother Du had forcibly pinned her down, pressing her to the ground and refusing to let her stand.

“Brother Du!”

In that instant, Chen Xi, like a blind child grasping at a sudden understanding, caught the essence of the matter.

It must have been that encouraging pat on her shoulder from Du Fang that the nightmares had noticed.

Did they think Du Fang was giving them a signal?

Because of Du Fang’s terrifying presence, these nightmares felt they had no choice but to swallow their humiliation and kneel before Chen Xi.

After all, the fate of those nightmares in Group A’s cage, whose remains were nowhere to be found, was still fresh in their minds.

The nightmares in the fourth and fifth cages after the group stage had also knelt. If they knelt, well… perhaps it wasn’t such a big deal after all.

These nightmares were genuinely afraid that Chen Xi was somehow connected to Du Fang, and that if they harmed her, Du Fang would exact revenge without mercy.

Even though they had already been sentenced to death by the Dreamwalker Association,

They only hoped for a more dignified end.

What they truly feared was being blown to bits, like fireworks bursting apart.

Dying like that… would be too ugly.

Chen Xi felt dizzy, as if she had just been struck by the lottery.

The referee announced that Chen Xi had passed the first cage.

Still in a haze, Chen Xi continued on toward the second cage.

The second nightmare was full of inner conflict, staring at Chen Xi, then glancing at Du Fang’s black coat fluttering in the distance.

In the end…

Tears of humiliation welled up, and the nightmare slowly knelt.

With the first nightmare having knelt, it was much easier for the second to do the same.

Chen Xi, in a daze, found it all utterly incredible. One cage after another, it was as if she were just going through the motions.

She seemed to have become, in the entire stadium,

The most dazzling, unique flower of all.

She, Chen Xi, hadn’t even activated her dream spirit,

Yet she’d made it out of the group stage.

The giant screen zoomed in on her, showing Chen Xi walking past three cages, each containing a savage nightmare who, one after another, knelt before her.

The whole audience was dumbfounded—

Who was this big shot?

Did she just naturally exude this kingly aura?

In the stands,

Zhang Changlin, cigarette dangling from his mouth, choked and couldn’t stop coughing;

Su Jiuming was shaking with laughter;

Si Nan clutched her stomach, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Watching the bewildered, lost Chen Xi—like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden—stumble her way to nearly breaking the rookie Dreamwalker Invitational record by advancing from the group stage…

Everyone was thoroughly amused.

Reality was always so full of surprises.

At least, before Chen Xi entered the competition, no one expected her to make it through the group stage.

Yet, to everyone’s astonishment,

With a look of pure confusion, Chen Xi stumbled her way to a successful group stage qualification.

It was a delightful surprise.

…

Chen Xi’s advancement was clearly unreasonable.

On the viewing platform,

President Tang Nai watched, torn between laughter and tears. With his experience, he immediately saw why Chen Xi’s path had been so smooth.

The cause of it all was Du Fang.

Naturally, Tang Nai wasn’t about to let Chen Xi so comfortably coast into the third round for the provincial champion.

Moreover, the nightmares in the fourth and fifth cages had been scared witless by Du Fang—there was no point in keeping them there.

Thus, Tang Nai called Wen Ji over, instructing him to arrange replacements for the nightmares in the fourth and fifth cages.

Chen Xi: “???”

Wasn’t this just blatantly unfair?

…

Everyone agreed—this substitution would surely put an end to Chen Xi’s lucky streak.

Having just advanced from the group stage,

Chen Xi was about to face the greatest setback of her life.

The nightmare in the fourth cage was a woman, mature as a ripe peach. Even in prison garb, her explosive figure was impossible to hide.

Standing before such a woman,

Chen Xi seemed as flat as a runway compared to a roller coaster.

The female nightmare cast a scornful glance at Chen Xi’s chest, her eyes full of disdain and ridicule, like a mother hen looking at a chick.

She hadn’t witnessed Du Fang taking down three nightmares in succession, so she had nothing to fear.

Especially as Chen Xi, before her, seemed as meek as a quail, utterly lacking in intimidation.

How could someone like this have made it out of the group stage?

The peach-like woman sneered. Human Dreamwalkers were getting weaker with every generation.

As a powerful wave of dream spirit burst forth from her,

Chen Xi broke out in a cold sweat under the pressure.

She knew the gap was vast.

If they fought head-on, she would be instantly defeated.

But Chen Xi was unwilling to give in—she’d made it this far…

Should she just surrender?

No, at least she had to make an attempt.

Chen Xi closed her eyes, gathering all the dream spirit within her.

When she opened them again, deep within her gaze, a mirror seemed to appear.

She fixed her stare on the peach-like woman.

In the mirror, the woman’s image began to take shape…

As a telekinetic Dreamwalker, Chen Xi’s talent was quite good. Her only flaw was that she was prone to fainting when faced with fear.

Her special ability was actually not bad—an above-average ranking that made her highly sought after in her day.

Chen Xi’s special ability was called [Mirror Image].

She could, like a mirror, replicate anyone she had seen.

She could even consume dream spirit to create a mirror image clone with combat capabilities.

Of course, the strength of the clone correlated to Chen Xi’s own power…

Sweat poured from her forehead as Chen Xi squeezed her eyes shut,

And the woman in the depths of her pupils vanished from the mirror.

Chen Xi wasn’t planning to copy this woman.

Under the overwhelming dream spirit pressure, like a mountain flood from the woman,

A bold idea suddenly sparked in Chen Xi’s mind.

A scene surfaced in her memory—one etched into the core of her soul.

A little girl in a princess dress, squatting on the railing of the thirteenth floor, tilting her head, grinning to reveal a mouthful of sharp teeth and a snake-like, barbed tongue…

Luo Luo!

Chen Xi’s eyes snapped open, and in the mirror of her pupils, Luo Luo’s image appeared.

She had been seeking special training from Du Fang these past days, working to overcome her fears, all for this moment—to recall Luo Luo’s form in the mirror image!

Powerful dream spirit surged between Chen Xi’s brows.

The next moment,

Before her,

A little girl in a princess dress, head cocked to the side, appeared before the female nightmare.

The girl grinned wide, displaying a mouthful of jagged fangs.

The female nightmare’s body tensed—a wave of inexplicable terror washed over her.

But the feeling came and went quickly.

“I can’t believe I was frightened by this flat-chested girl!”

The female nightmare, furious and ashamed,

Her hands suddenly transformed into blades and slashed down, slicing the little girl apart.

A shattering sound, like a mirror breaking, filled the air.

Fragments of the broken mirror scattered across the ground, turning into crystalline dream spirit that faded away.

Blood trickled from Chen Xi’s nose and mouth, her mind throbbing with pain. She staggered back several steps, breathing heavily.

Outside the cage,

The referee immediately pressed the shock button. The female nightmare convulsed, electric arcs snaking around her, and collapsed to the ground.

Clutching her bleeding mouth, Chen Xi trembled all over—

Shaking with excitement.

Though she had lost, deep in her eyes was a spark she could not hide.

She had succeeded.

She had conquered her fear.

The next time she faced Brother Du’s day-long special training, she probably wouldn’t faint anymore.

…

In the distance,

At the entrance to the court’s lounge,

Du Fang watched the battle between Chen Xi and the female nightmare, momentarily at a loss for words.

Despite so many special training sessions, this was the first time Du Fang learned of Chen Xi’s special ability.

After all, every previous session, Chen Xi had fainted so quickly he barely had time to train her.

But today, Du Fang discovered that Chen Xi’s ability… could actually replicate Luo Luo?!

He held Luo Luo’s little hand and could feel it tense slightly.

He turned to look at her,

Only to find Luo Luo tilting her head, her mouth stretched into an exaggerated grin, eyes sparkling with light.

The little pig plushie, Kiki, tucked under her arm, was trembling uncontrollably, as if suppressing laughter—almost as if it was about to burst out with pig-like squeals.

Du Fang thought Luo Luo had been frightened,

So he reached out and gently patted her head in comfort.

“Daddy, it feels like someone just cut me into pieces,”

Luo Luo said, her voice sounding quite aggrieved.

However, Du Fang’s soothing hand suddenly froze,

Because he noticed

Luo Luo’s voice

Seemed to be growing more and more excited.

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