Dream Weaving

Nan Jin brought Gu Shen to the second basement level of a building in the city center.

This was one of the Adjudication Court's detention facilities.

The lights in the holding cells were dazzlingly bright.

Several burly men in tank tops were tightly bound, their muscles bulging.

From the moment they had been subdued until now, they had kept struggling with astonishing strength. The loud thudding of their collisions could be heard even through the walls.

Gu Shen recognized them at once... Judging by their builds, they were the "fake researchers" from last night!

He asked, "Are these the suspects we caught last night?"

"Yes, and no..." Nan Jin shook her head. "They're actually rugby players."

Rugby... players?

No wonder!

Gu Shen recalled yesterday's scene. When those men had broken through the security line, they had looked like wild beasts!

Nan Jin brought up a holographic screen.

The files on each of them appeared one by one.

She sighed. "These people are all amateur rugby players from Da Teng City. They've always been good citizens, with no criminal records... They were hypnotized by a Mental Affinity supernatural, which caused cognitive impairment..."

"A Mental Affinity supernatural?" Gu Shen frowned. "Cognitive... impairment?"

"They think they're enraged bulls."

A strange female voice drifted over.

Gu Shen perked up and looked toward the voice. There was still one supernatural from last night who had not shown herself. This had to be the "Senior Sister" Nan Jin had mentioned.

Yet, a girl in a gray hoodie and short skirt slowly emerged from the corner... She was not very tall, with an immature face, chubby baby cheeks, and looked only fifteen or sixteen.

"The one hiding behind the scenes is very clever." The baby-faced girl slowly chewed her gum. "The interrogation over there just ended. Unfortunately, the people you and Zhong Wei caught were merely hypnotized pawns."

The girl in the gray hoodie blew a huge bubble with her gum. She studied Gu Shen with interest. In the shadows behind her stood a brooding, handsome young man, who was also looking at Gu Shen with a friendly, appraising gaze.

The girl smiled. "Is this the S-Rank newcomer who was spared with the Amnesty Decree?"

"Yes." Nan Jin nodded, then formally introduced them to Gu Shen. "This is Senior Apprentice Sister Luo, and this is Senior Brother Zhong Wei."

"Is she really a senior apprentice sister...?"

Gu Shen held out a hand to indicate her height and muttered skeptically, "She clearly looks younger than me. She's so tiny... Isn't she still underage?"

Pop.

The gum bubble burst.

Her height had been slighted... Dark lines appeared across Luo Er's forehead.

The handsome Zhong Wei placed both hands on his senior apprentice sister's shoulders and smiled gently. "All right, all right. Looking like this, it's no wonder the newcomer misunderstood..."

Zhong Wei smiled at Gu Shen.

The instant their eyes met, a voice abruptly crowded into Gu Shen's mind.

It was Zhong Wei's voice—

"Many years ago, because of a certain 'supernatural incident,' Senior Apprentice Sister Luo's body became what it is now. Her skeletal age has remained fixed at fifteen forever. In truth, she has studied and cultivated under Mr. Shu the longest, and she is also the strongest. Everyone acknowledges and respects her as the undisputed eldest senior apprentice sister."

Was this another application of supernatural power?

Amid his surprise... Gu Shen realized that this handsome young man was completely unlike the fierce figure he had glimpsed last night.

When Zhong Wei had pursued that magician, he had been sharp and decisive, like a leopard—fast, precise, ruthless, and chilling.

This was a ruthless man who showed no mercy to his enemies!

Yet toward Gu Shen, the newcomer Mr. Shu had taken in, he was exceptionally gentle.

"Because of the influence of her supernatural power, Senior Apprentice Sister Luo sometimes loses control of her temper. Try to be careful in the future." Zhong Wei's mental voice was extremely serious. "...But if you do make her angry, the solution is simple."

The mental transmission ended.

"Senior Apprentice Sister, here, have some candy!"

Zhong Wei grinned as he took out a lollipop from his inner pocket.

Three seconds later.

With the lollipop in her mouth, Luo Er became obedient and tame as a little beast. Her voice was muffled, but her formerly ferocious face was full of disdain. "Who would stoop to the level of a newcomer... Besides, this kid hasn't passed the review yet. Whether he can even become a newcomer is another matter."

Whew... So the solution was that simple.

Gu Shen breathed a sigh of relief and cast Zhong Wei a faintly grateful look.

In a corner of the second basement level were two heavily guarded holding cells, built to extremely high specifications.

Last night's "magician" and "intruder" were both being held here.

"Although these two are supernaturals, they're quite weak. They haven't even received systematic training." Luo Er spoke slowly. "The Mental Affinity supernatural hiding behind the scenes should possess an ability similar to Dream Weaving. He planted several layers of dreams in these people, reversing reality and illusion before adding subconscious guidance. Even now, these two supernaturals still don't know what they did..."

"Dream Weaving?"

"Yes... A method of dragging someone's consciousness into illusion is called Dream Weaving. Usually, only Mental Affinity supernaturals can use it. As time passes, the dream will gradually collapse. The fact that they still haven't woken up shows that the gap in strength between both sides is enormous."

Seeing Gu Shen's utterly confused expression, Luo Er frowned and asked, "Nan Jin, why does he know nothing?"

"It happened too suddenly. There hasn't been time to teach him yet," Nan Jin said. "Before the Fire Disaster Case, he was an ordinary person through and through."

Actually, he still was... Gu Shen muttered inwardly.

"Time is tight. We only have fifteen days." She took a breath. "Fifteen days from now, Gu Shen will face the Adjudication Court's 'review.' If the result is unsatisfactory, the Amnesty Decree may be revoked. That means Gu Shen could face imprisonment, and all of Teacher's efforts would have been wasted."

"The Amnesty Decree has already been used. If the review result is bad, we must at least protect Gu Shen." Zhong Wei frowned. "And extracting and identifying the genetic evidence from the Fire Disaster Case will take at least twenty days under standard procedure... From the standpoint of solving the case, it's already too late."

"This operation has already alerted the enemy." Luo Er said, "After failing, the other side knows it can't stop us from collecting information from the scene. They probably won't risk Entering the Game again... As for interrogating these 'suspects' we caught last night, it's meaningless unless we catch the Mental Affinity supernatural behind it all."

Gu Shen watched the three of them speak one after another... The conversation seemed to be heading in a certain direction.

There was no time left to solve the case.

So they could only focus on the review fifteen days from now.

"Everyone, don't be so pessimistic."

Nan Jin encouraged her senior brother and senior apprentice sister. "This is the newcomer Teacher spared at the cost of using the Amnesty Decree, the future hope with an S-Rank potential assessment... Though he looks a little foolish, do we really have so little faith in him?"

"Agreed. He only looks a hundred million times foolish, that's all."

Luo Er reached out and pressed a switch. "Perfect. There's a training ground on the second basement level. Let me see just how strong this so-called S-Rank is."

The wall at the end rotated.

A heavy metal security door opened.

Then the view before them abruptly widened. It was hard to imagine that such an open space, as large as a football field, could exist beneath this building. This was a training ground specially prepared by the Adjudication Court for supernaturals. Everything in sight was gray and white, and a grim, murderous air echoed through the room.

Basic firearms, targets, and close-combat weapons such as swords and daggers were arranged on weapon racks.

"I've read the case file."

Luo Er smiled. "The scene was indeed... astonishing. Two supernaturals were slaughtered without any ability to fight back. But what is puzzling is that one was sliced into eight pieces by blades, while the other was burned to ashes by flames."

"Because supernatural powers across the world are still continuously reviving... the supernatural classification chart we created is updated and refined every year. So the Adjudication Court cannot immediately determine whether your awakened power belongs to a known supernatural category."

"But whatever the specific power may be, it cannot escape the three major classifications... Mental Affinity, which controls the mind; Natural Affinity, which commands the elements; and Assault Type, which evolves the body."

"From the scene, you clearly displayed two entirely different supernatural powers... There are only a handful of people in the entire Eastern Continent capable of that. It's truly an astounding miracle. If you awakened two affinities, then that would indeed justify an S-Rank evaluation."

"Now... let me see what you're made of."

Luo Er looked at Gu Shen. "Use your awakened power to attack me. Don't hold back."