Chapter Nine: Pinky Promise

Chen Xi's face darkened instantly.

Listen to my explanation!

She desperately wanted to hang up the call.

But her whole body was rigid, unable to summon the strength even to move a single finger.

Bathed in moonlight, she seemed to see that little girl laughing!

A row of sharp teeth, a tongue twisting like a dragon!

Blood-stained tears,

A surging, oppressive force in the realm of dreams!

The brilliance of the full moon was completely shrouded, plunging the mortal world into boundless darkness!

She—

What on earth did she want?!

Chen Xi's heart trembled.

In the next instant,

The long, serpentine tongue coiled around Luo Luo suddenly drew near, in the blink of an eye closing the gap from the thirteenth floor to just an inch from Chen Xi's face, then abruptly stopping.

Only then did the air erupt in an uncontainable, piercing sonic boom!

Dark clouds scattered,

Moonlight returned to the earth, pouring down gently.

The scene seemed frozen in time.

Chen Xi's eyes widened.

A tongue, as if emerging from the depths of the underworld,

Poised to pierce her brow.

To shatter her soul!

"This... is a... warning..."

"Auntie... you must take care..."

"Of your mouth... you know."

The childish voice, carrying an unrivaled chill, echoed in Chen Xi's ears.

Just as the words said.

This was a warning and a threat.

A warning of what?

That was for Chen Xi to figure out herself.

Perhaps, the less revealed, the safer.

Chen Xi didn't want to die; she still had her youth to live. So she knew well what to do next.

The tongue vanished,

The little girl clutching her piglet plush disappeared as well.

Everything seemed like a hallucination, or as if she'd been drawn into a dream.

But was it truly an illusion or a dream?

Chen Xi... was not convinced.

She didn't dare to gamble.

Sweat pouring down, Chen Xi looked again at the railing of the thirteenth floor—empty.

Even the lights inside the room snapped off, leaving only the cold moonlight.

What... was that thing, really?!

Pressing her lips together, Chen Xi's eyes were full of complex emotions.

There was even a hint of relief.

Du Fang had that strange little girl threaten her, and Chen Xi felt relieved.

Her greatest fear was that Du Fang would do nothing, and simply eliminate her without mercy.

"No matter what, tomorrow, I must perform well!"

Chen Xi clenched her fists.

To avoid becoming a gray profile picture beneath a funeral wreath.

To...

Survive!

She would do her best!

The boss only wanted to become a Dreamwalker... That wasn't an excessive demand, nor truly malicious.

So why not go along with it?

"Hey! Chen Xi!"

"Answer me!"

"Where are you?"

The phone in her hand kept emitting sounds that grated on her nerves.

Chen Xi raised her phone, glanced at it sideways.

Without hesitation,

She hung up.

...

...

In an old, black sedan, Zhang Changlin, cigarette dangling from his lips, stared in confusion at the phone's busy signal.

"Hung up on me?"

"I'm your squad leader!"

Zhang Changlin's face darkened.

Yet he was also worried—had something happened to Chen Xi?

"She shouldn't be in trouble. That student may have taken the forbidden artifact, but with his barely detectable dream power, he couldn't possibly threaten a lower-level Dreamwalker like Chen Xi."

Moreover, Chen Xi was a telekinetic Dreamwalker.

Zhang Changlin took a deep drag, his brows furrowed like the character for "river."

Still, as the squad leader, he couldn't help but worry about Chen Xi's safety.

He stubbed out his cigarette, turned the key, and started the engine.

Zhang Changlin was about to head to the address Du Fang had written in the files.

But before he could drive, his phone lit up with a notification.

Zhang Changlin glanced at it.

It was a message from Chen Xi.

"Off work, private time, do not disturb."

Zhang Changlin: "..."

Is this how you talk to your squad leader?!

Wow, is this the pride of the young?

Zhang Changlin felt a huge generational gap between himself and the youth.

Just asking her to observe an ordinary person, and she throws a tantrum?

He leaned back in the car seat, rolled down the window, and let the night breeze wash over him.

After a long while, he sighed in relief.

As long as she's fine.

For details, he'll ask Chen Xi at work tomorrow.

"Du Fang..."

Zhang Changlin, clad in a black trench coat, squinted and lit another cigarette.

He murmured the name.

A young man who survived a ninth-level disaster of the strange class—could he really be just an ordinary person?

"And that Lin Liuli... a psychiatric doctor?"

"How did she become Du Fang's psychiatrist..."

"Plus, her record in the Jiangling Dreamwalker Association is unnaturally clean."

"A psychiatrist in the Dreamwalker Association... how could her history be so spotless?"

Zhang Changlin flicked off some ash.

Cigarette in mouth, ignition engaged,

Handbrake off, accelerator down.

The old black sedan started rolling forward.

Along the straight asphalt,

As if patrolling the city.

Neon lights flickered on both sides, thousands of homes aglow, revelry everywhere.

This was—

The city he had to protect with his life.

...

...

The next day.

Morning, the sun was just right.

Du Fang woke in his room, stretched comfortably.

He got up to prepare breakfast for Luo Luo, who was playing with her piglet plush in the living room.

A heart-shaped fried egg and a cup of hot milk,

Simple yet nutritious.

Luo Luo ate happily.

...

Affection (Luo Luo): 70/100 (↑)

...

Watching the system panel as his bond with Luo Luo grew stronger,

Du Fang's smile grew brighter.

Though this nurturing system was a bit odd, he couldn't deny that seeing tangible affection values was strangely satisfying!

Du Fang set himself a small goal:

First, raise his affection with Luo Luo to ninety percent.

Having grown up in orphanages both in this life and the last, Du Fang found this system fascinating.

"Luo Luo, be good. Daddy will take you out to play today."

Du Fang smiled.

Luo Luo, finishing her hot milk with a milk mustache, brightened.

"Really?"

She chirped, face upturned in delight.

Du Fang's slender fingers interlaced beneath his chin.

"Of course. But first, we need to pass the exam to become a professional Dreamwalker."

"Afterward, Daddy can earn lots of money to buy a big house for Luo Luo! Then we can play hide-and-seek together."

Luo Luo danced for joy!

Getting a bigger house and playing hide-and-seek—these were among her humble wishes.

Du Fang gazed at her with pity.

He knew well how special Luo Luo was—others simply couldn't see her.

Doctor Lin and Chen Xi were only pretending, just to accommodate his illness.

Du Fang had once thought Luo Luo might be a mental projection.

But after a month together, Du Fang realized she wasn't just a figment.

There was a strange sense of blood kinship.

As if his own blood truly flowed in her veins.

And even if she was a hallucination—so what?

He was truly raising her as his daughter.

Others might not see her, but in Du Fang's eyes, Luo Luo was flesh and blood, she laughed and cried,

She was his daughter.

A living, breathing person.

That was enough.

After breakfast,

Du Fang changed into a white shirt and donned a freshly ironed black suit.

There was no dress code for the Dreamwalker exam,

But Du Fang thought a black suit and white shirt gave him a spirited look—if the examiner cared about appearance, he might even get preferential treatment.

Such was Du Fang's confidence in his looks.

In this world, appearances still mattered.

He locked the door, took Luo Luo's hand—she clutched her pink piglet plush.

At the threshold, Luo Luo cautiously extended her foot in black leather shoes, toes touching the ground first.

Anxious,

Afraid,

Hopeful,

Excited.

Du Fang could feel all her emotions, as if she were a shy child.

She could hardly believe she could step outside.

"Come on, Luo Luo, quick!"

Du Fang walked outside, crouched down, arms open, smiling.

Luo Luo looked at her shoe's tip, then at Du Fang's smiling, outstretched hands. Her lips curved into a crescent.

She really could leave the house!

For the first time since she awoke,

She stepped outside.

She dashed into Du Fang's embrace, giggling,

Her laughter dispersing the warmth beneath the white clouds.

...

...

One big, one small, they walked onto the street.

To many passersby, Du Fang's actions seemed odd—he appeared to be holding hands with thin air, talking to the air.

"Luo Luo, Daddy tells you, this is a traffic light."

"Red means go, green means stop."

"This is a shared bike; everyone can ride it."

...

All the way, Du Fang held Luo Luo's hand, explaining everything on the street.

Luo Luo was full of curiosity, her eyes bright and wide.

Once, her world was confined to a tiny space,

Dark, cramped,

Devoid of sunlight.

For endless years, she knew no light.

The house was both her prison and her curse.

She shouldn't have been able to step outside at all.

But now, she had a Daddy.

With his help, she could leave the dark, narrow room.

She wore a smile, she was happy.

She turned to look at Du Fang's earnest face as he pointed out things and explained them to her.

Luo Luo was truly happy.

"Daddy, can Luo Luo go out to play often from now on?"

Luo Luo looked up, her small face hopeful, asking cautiously.

Du Fang turned, gazing at her delicate, fairy-tale princess face.

Seeing the timid anticipation on her features, he felt a pang of sorrow.

What had she gone through,

To make her raise such a humble request so carefully?

He knelt on one knee, reached out, and gently pinched Luo Luo's cheek.

Du Fang showed a gentle smile: "Of course, wherever Luo Luo wants to go, Daddy will take you. If you don't believe me, let's pinky promise."

Luo Luo's long lashes quivered,

Her little hand was taken by Du Fang.

Big and small, two pinkies entwined in the air.

Du Fang spoke softly:

"Pinky promise, hang for a hundred years,

No breaking it."