Testing and Entering the Game

Fine rain splashed down.

Beneath the shadow of the umbrella, half of a handsome yet feminine profile slowly emerged. Unexpectedly, behind the refined man's gold-rimmed glasses were a pair of eyes as gentle as the Dark Night.

But only those who knew his identity understood just how dangerous the tenderness in those eyes was—

The moment Gu Shen saw the face of the man on the Rooftop, every hair on his body stood on end.

Han Dang!

This was an extremely dangerous man.

He had come to Da Teng City thirteen days ago... and had been secretly investigating his Fire Disaster Case all this time!

Had he spotted some flaw in the Fire Disaster Case?

He had actually pursued the matter all the way here from so far away. What a relentless madman.

The wind swept across the Rooftop, slanting the rain and swaying the flower branches.

A faint fragrance drifted through the air.

"Grandma, I really like the flowers here."

Suit Man smiled and Nodded at Gu Shen. His natural expression and bearing made it seem as though they were not strangers meeting for the first time, but old friends who had known each other for years.

He took a deep breath of the air and said, "There are air purifiers everywhere in big cities, but no matter what kind of fragrance they add, it never smells as good as real flowers. This Rooftop is too old. These flowers deserve a better roof."

Grandma smiled so broadly that the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes piled together. Delighted, she sincerely praised him, "As expected of Little Han. You have such good taste... I put quite a lot of Thoughts into raising these flowers well."

Gu Shen knew that Grandma would be very happy to hear those words.

She truly loved growing flowers and vegetables. The flowers on the Rooftop and the vegetables and fruit in the courtyard were all carefully tended by her alone, as though they were children in the orphanage.

"And this is...?"

Han Dang smiled at Gu Shen, pretending not to recognize him.

"Little Gu, this is the philanthropist I told you about, Little Han. Young and accomplished," Grandma said with a smile as she pulled the two together to introduce them. "Little Han, this is Gu Shen, one of the children who grew up in our orphanage. He's very clever—he's had a photographic memory since childhood."

Han Dang smiled and Nodded, tucked his shoulder bag beneath his arm, and gracefully extended his hand.

"Gu Shen, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please take care of me."

Han Dang was an extraordinarily powerful Mental Affinity Transcendent...

Gu Shen recalled the finger Senior Sister had used to teach him the Awakening of Insects Dream Realm.

A vague sense of foreboding rose in his heart... If he shook Han Dang's hand now and made physical contact, was it possible that he would be forcibly pulled into a dream?

But under the circumstances, he had no choice but to accept.

Gu Shen could only steel himself and reach out.

Just then.

"Meow!!!"

An orange flash shot out from the Rooftop stairwell. With a smack, it knocked over a tall vase, which toppled directly toward Han Dang.

The refined man beneath the umbrella frowned.

His instinctive reaction was to dodge... but at the critical moment, Gu Shen's outstretched Both Hands caught the vase in time. He cursed, "Hey, you stupid cat, why are you so reckless? What if you hurt our guest?"

Orange Cat crouched in the corner, licking its paws and meowing softly, looking utterly innocent.

"The ground's slippery when it rains..."

After steadying the vase, Gu Shen casually withdrew his hands and said sincerely, "Mr. Han, why don't you come inside?"

"Exactly, exactly."

Grandma had been startled by what had Just Now happened. Clutching her chest, she shot Gu Shen an approving look that said, "Impressive moves, young hero," then hurriedly said, "Little Han, why don't you come inside and chat? Gu Shen, keep him company. I'll go downstairs and make a pot of hot tea."

"..."

Han Dang fell silent for a moment, then smiled. "I'd be happy to."

Grandma gathered up her clothes and jogged downstairs.

Gu Shen let out a breath of relief and gave Orange Cat a grateful look.

He knew Chu Ling had come online. But what was he supposed to do next...?

Gu Shen led the way, feeling deeply uneasy, as though a ghost were following behind him. Han Dang put away his umbrella and followed, his footsteps light and soundless, as silent as a phantom.

The room for receiving guests was nearby. They only needed to go down two floors and walk a few more steps, yet those few steps now felt unbearably long.

"Gu Shen..."

Han Dang spoke softly. "Have you settled down in Da Teng City?"

"...Yeah."

Taking a deep breath, Gu Shen slowly emerged from his tense state. He could even hear his own heartbeat now, yet every movement he made became incomparably calm and steady.

Some people could always bring out their potential under intense pressure.

Gu Shen was exactly that kind of person.

Since Han Dang had already traced the investigation to him, he might as well respond to whatever came his way. They were both in the Adjudication Court; sooner or later, they were bound to meet... Today's confrontation might not be a bad thing.

Gu Shen had long since read through Han Dang's file countless times. He knew it by heart.

But Han Dang did not know that Gu Shen knew of his existence.

Han Dang wanted to test him, unaware that... this was also the perfect opportunity for Gu Shen to test him.

"Before you came, Grandma kept praising you. She said you were smart, outstanding, and became independent very early. You left this place at sixteen... It can't have been easy living in Da Teng City, right?" Han Dang asked unhurriedly. "Where are you working now?"

Gu Shen had read Han Dang's file. He was a gifted youth who had joined the Adjudication Court at a very young age.

According to the file, Han Dang had received little affection during his childhood as well. In that regard, his experiences were rather similar to Gu Shen's.

"A great job, my ass... What great job could someone who started scraping by at such a young age possibly have? I'm just barely making a living. I can't compare to a successful person like Mr. Han."

Gu Shen smiled and asked in return, "And where does Mr. Han work?"

Han Dang frowned.

He suspected that Gu Shen was insulting him... but he had no proof.

This Youngster probably still did not know his identity.

Running into Gu Shen during this investigation had actually been beyond Han Dang's expectations.

After arriving in Da Teng City, Han Dang had followed the clues of the Fire Disaster Case all the way here, conducting a rigorous and thorough investigation centered around Gu Shen's file... Over at the Council, his teacher's impeachment of Mr. Shu would most likely come to nothing.

But there was still room to make use of the Amnesty Decree!

After profiling him, Han Dang strongly suspected that Gu Shen was not an extraordinary at all.

He believed that the true truth behind the Fire Disaster Case was that Gu Shen had used some extraordinarily powerful "extraordinary Sealed Item," which should have been beneath that stack of unburned wooden boards.

It was rectangular and elongated, like a wooden board—or a ruler.

If that was the case, then the Assessment Team's evaluation of Gu Shen had been a grave mistake... Forget an "S"; Gu Shen was not even qualified for a "D" rank. He was nothing more than an ordinary person.

Yet Han Dang had searched through the Deep Sea database, even borrowing his teacher Zhu Wang's clearance to look for records of relevant Sealed Items, and found nothing.

He did not think his deduction was wrong. Rather, he believed that the "extraordinary Sealed Item" he was looking for had never been recorded... He then shifted the direction of his investigation toward Gu Shen's background. He had come to this orphanage to search for clues related to the Sealed Item. Perhaps it was a "family heirloom" that had accompanied Gu Shen for many years.

Unfortunately, after some investigation, that lead had also come to nothing.

Gu Shen had arrived empty-handed and left empty-handed.

There was no family heirloom, nor were there any belongings left behind by his parents.

Today, the Assessment Team had officially arrived in Da Teng City.

There were only two days left until the final assessment. He did not have much time.

But fortunately, after searching everywhere in vain, he had actually run into Gu Shen here... It seemed this kid had also heard that the Assessment Team had arrived in Da Teng City. He had come here to avoid them. Clearly, he had a guilty conscience and did not want to make contact ahead of time.

Since they had met.

Things became very simple.

"Gu Shen."

An exceedingly gentle voice echoed through the stairwell.

The moment the Eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses met Gu Shen's Eyes, a streak of pitch-black ink spread through them.

At that moment, Han Dang's voice became immensely commanding as he said, "...Enter Dream!"