Seizing Dreams

In the investigation office’s conference room.

“That’s it.” Yu Hao said, “I don’t know if he’ll be trapped in a dream. This plan is easy to discuss, but it’s not really that simple…”

Chen Yekai said, “Zhou Sheng wants you to get a part of his totem, to let you obtain the rights to activate the Golden Crow Wheel.”

Yu Hao nodded. Fu Liqun said, “Should have woken Zhou Sheng up immediately at that time.”

Chen Yekai answered, “With a gun pointed at my head, I couldn’t move. Do you think someone like Ren Chong wouldn’t dare do it? I considered it before, if I were to just struggle and escape regardless of everything else, if Zhou Sheng would be startled awake when a shot is fired. But it would’ve been useless even if he did wake up, since the Golden Crow Wheel would still be taken away by Ren Chong.”

Ou Qihang said, “That’s not important anymore. But I do think your assumption is promising.”

Chen Yekai said, “It’s too dangerous.”

Fu Liqun said, “Have you tried it before?”

Yu Hao, “No. Which is why I need everyone’s help.”

Ou Qihang said, “How will you transmit messages to everyone?”

“I can’t,” Yu Hao, “We can only rely on rapport.”

Chen Yekai said, “Could we design a way to transmit signals to the outside world in dreams? For example, some sort of sensory stimulation, to let us notice that you’re in a bind. It doesn’t need to be too complicated.”

Yu Hao thought for a bit, then said, “It may be possible. It’s like when we dream of running in our dreams, our legs would twitch unconsciously when we sleep at night…un, pay attention to my fingers ba.”

Fu Liqun said, “Give it a try, but it’s best to have a doctor nearby. Just in case it doesn’t work, they can wake you up at any time.”

Yu Hao said, “If I fail, would I even need to wake up?”

“Don’t say that!” Fu Liqun and Ou Qihang said in unison.

Yet Yu Hao looked at Chen Yekai and said, “If Zhou Sheng can’t be rescued, I’ll definitely shuttle around in the subconscious world until I find him. What use is there in waking up alone for me?”

Unexpectedly, Chen Yekai didn’t speak. Yu Hao said seriously, “Chen Laoshi, I know you can understand me.”

“You…” Ou Qihang said, “Yu Hao, don’t think that way.”

“The worst case scenario is Zhou Sheng’s totem getting seized, him losing his self, and getting banished to the subconscious.” Yu Hao said, “Then Ren Chong would obtain all rights over the Golden Crow Wheel, return me a Zhou Sheng in deep sleep, and he would never be able to wake up again. For me, how meaningful would it be to continue staying awake?”

No one spoke. Yu Hao said, “In any case, I’ve already thought it through. From the moment the plan begins, no one needs to come to wake me up again.”

It was dead quiet in the conference room. Xiao Jian knocked on the door from the outside, then pushed the door and came in. In the face of this silence, she didn’t seem too surprised.

“Boss asks how long more you guys need.” Xiao Jian looked at the watch on her hand, “It’s already 11 o’clock.”

Chen Yekai said, “Good luck, Yu Hao.”

“Good luck.” Fu Liqun said, “Bring Young Master back.”

Ou Qihang said, “Good luck. Don’t forget the words you used to persuade me with in the beginning, Yu Hao.”

Yu Hao nodded and laughed. “Wait for me to summon you guys.”

Several people went out. Qin Guodong’s motorcade was already on standby. Chen Yekai drove his own car. Everyone got in a car one by one. Ou Qihang was the last to get in, and when he got in the car, he handed a bottle of medicine to Yu Hao. Xiao Jian said to them from outside the driver’s seat, “Follow our car later. Yu Hao, what do you want to do?”

Chen Yekai said, “We have our plan, let’s go ba. Hopefully it goes well.”

Yu Hao grabbed a handful of sleeping pills on the car. Ou Qihang said, “Four to five pills are enough for you to sleep for a long time, don’t take too many.”

Fu Liqun twisted open a bottle of mineral water and handed it to Yu Hao. Yu Hao took nearly seven or eight pills at one go, then drank water to swallow them. Ou Qihang lay his seat flat, and Fu Liqun held Yu Hao’s hand.

“I want to retrieve the memory of a day from a long, long time ago.” Yu Hao answered, then closed his eyes and entered his dream.

“Entering deep sleep phase…the integrator is starting to work, look!”

The researcher cried in surprise.

Everyone crowded over. The optical fibre-like wires of the Golden Crow Wheel were transmitting a magnificent glow; all of its crystals were shining, and the largest crystal in the middle projected a rippling light.

“Project it with the refraction program.”

The monitor was projected onto a huge screen in the center, and a gorgeous scene presented itself on the screen: a vast sea of clouds with a golden light bursting in all directions. In Zhou Sheng’s dreamscape, on the platform in the sky, he wielded his jingubang as he faced Ren Chong, who was walking towards him.

“No sounds…”

The sea of clouds billowed. Ren Chong walked to the middle of the platform, then looked up at the Golden Crow Wheel.

“What a grand and spectacular sight, it really is a masterpiece bestowed upon mankind by heaven…” Ren Chong murmured and stared steadily at the Golden Crow Wheel. “This is the so-called ‘totem’ formed after merging with your ‘self-consciousness’ ba, Zhou Sheng. We’ve come this far; have you decided to behave yourself and hand your self-consciousness over to me? Or are you planning on struggling one last time?”

“Hei.” Zhou Sheng sneered, “How haughty, have you forgotten that we’re in my dream?”

“In theory, everyone is omnipotent as long as they can control their self-consciousness in their dreams.” Ren Chong looked around and said in a low voice, “Dreamscapes are your territory. Everything that exists changes because of your free will. But, under the power of the brain wave integrator, strong-willed individuals intervening with weak-willed individuals is the correct path to walk in.”

Zhou Sheng swung his jingubang and clearly felt that his strength was lacking. He watched Ren Chong vigilantly, a faint light emitting from his hand.

“How strong can your will be? As long as I kill you here,” Zhou Sheng smiled, “then the you in reality will never be able to wake up again. Ren Laoshi, think about it, you don’t have that capability.”

Ren Chong said, “How can one capture the tiger’s cub without entering the tiger’s lair? It’s worth it. Since you’re not willing to obediently hand your ‘control rights’ over to me, then don’t blame me for being violent.”

Zhou Sheng suddenly dragged out a line of Golden Fire and shot swiftly towards Ren Chong!

Outside the investigation office, the motorcade drove onto the street. Chen Yekai looked at Yu Hao, who was in the back seat, through his rearview mirror. Fu Liqun was always holding Yu Hao’s hand.

“He’s asleep. Don’t drive too fast.”

“It’s okay. The medicine is working. He won’t wake up so easily.” Chen Yekai answered.

Yu Hao was still lying down and entering his dream. He was covered with Fu Liqun’s jacket; one hand was left exposed outside the jacket, and it was being held by Fu Liqun.

When did our story begin? At the moment I closed the door, deep in my heart, did I still long for the door to be pushed open by him? Time kept rewinding in his mind; the lush greenery that covered the mountains and the plains when spring arrived, the heavy, pure white snow in winter, the golden leaves in autumn…from the moment they fled in the snow and met, countless thoughts flashed through Yu Hao’s mind as if he was watching a trotting horse lamp.

Their video calls when they lived in separate places; Zhou Sheng gasping for breath as he dashed through the platform to chase after the high-speed train that had already departed; their rented apartment in Ying City, the snow outside Dawn of Spring in an Empty Mountain during the Spring Festival, and the snowballs that flew around everywhere, Zhou Sheng shielding him as he stood in front and faced his furious father; the cruise ship that set sail on the river bank, the hearts that were personally handed over in class; Mt. Qing in the distance as viewed from the ferris wheel and the nervous person in front of him; even further back, everything seemed so long ago that it felt like his past life…

Standing on stage during the college’s celebration, Yu Hao looked at the audience and saw Zhou Sheng leaning over the railings at the last row while smiling at him…every day and every night in their dormitory, the chess pieces in his luggage with faded colours, the dark and gloomy Great Wall, as well as the beacon fires that abruptly flared up and dazzled the world, gingko leaves swirling in the air, and everything paused at the instant when Zhou Sheng asked him for a lighter with a cigarette in his mouth.

Yu Hao walked into his own dreamscape. Without the power of the Golden Crow Wheel, everything seems hazy, as if it was covered with a thin layer of mist. In the distance stood the capital and a mountain range, and the Great Wall even further beyond looked just like an ink painting.

“Here it is.” Yu Hao whispered.

He stood in front of the door to the small cement room and said, “Come ba.”

Yu Hao pushed open that door, but unexpectedly, someone else appeared inside—— the one who had once controlled his totem, his dark self.

At this moment, Dark Yu Hao raised his head and looked at him, seeming bewildered.

Colosseum platform, an intense flare burst out of the Golden Crow Wheel. Zhou Sheng wielded his jingubang with his right hand, while a blazing fire was ignited in his left; he pressed it down toward Ren Chong.

“GET——THE——HELL——OUT!” Zhou Sheng roared angrily.

Ren Chong raised his voice, “Do you know what your biggest mistake is?”

Ren Chong quickly dodged and rushed up to the railings– that explosive speed had appeared again! Just like how Zhao Liang would turn into afterimages, Ren Chong’s speed was even faster. He whooshed with a blow to Zhou Sheng’s waist and struck Zhou Sheng’s left hand where the golden fire was bursting from with one hand; his other hand clenched into a fist, and he brutally punched Zhou Sheng until he was sent flying!

“You’ve always only focused on the influence dreamscapes have on reality, but you seldom think about the impact of physical harm dealt to your physical body on your dreamscape’s self.”

Zhou Sheng propped himself up with his jingubang and looked at Ren Chong. His thinking dulled under the effects of the drug, such that he was unable to withstand Ren Chong’s normal speed. But at this moment, the sea of clouds gathered, transformed, and the back of Zhou Sheng’s black dragon emerged, and it quietly approached Ren Chong from behind. Zhou Sheng looked up at Ren Chong, his gaze carrying a hint of a mischievous smile.

“This is just the beginning.” Ren Chong said, “The Golden Crow Wheel here is your ‘totem’? Don’t play tricks anymore.”

Zhou Sheng suddenly roared with indignance, “You have a fucking death wish!”

The black dragon suddenly lunged out of the sea of clouds and grabbed Ren Chong! Ren Chong was caught off guard and was now held down by the black dragon. He struggled to break free. Golden flames burst out of Zhou Sheng’s hand, and he once again rushed forward!

—

Juurensha: DREAM BATTLE, GO ZS AND HAOHAO!