"You're right in your analysis. I also suspect it has something to do with that auntie, because three people in our dorm... entered the dream."
Who could have guessed that a simple act of kindness would drag her and her friends into an endless nightmare? If she could choose again, she definitely wouldn't have gone to 83 Shopping Mall last night.
"When Brother Sheng first told me about it, I thought he'd suddenly discovered a talent for writing novels." Ben Yu, who had gone to open the door for Gu Yunting and the other girl, spoke earnestly behind them. Then, with a big smile, he ushered the two of them inside.
The pair had nearly thought they'd walked into the wrong private room. If they hadn't spotted Yuan Ling's familiar pink hair, they would've turned around and left.
Now everyone was there.
It was as if they were being watched. Just as the girls had all taken their seats, everyone's phone in the room rang almost simultaneously, with a sound that couldn't have come at a worse time.
Zheng Wuyou picked up the phone she'd left face down on the table. A wave of foreboding rose in her heart.
Though all the notification tones blended together, she still recognized Gu Yunting's among them.
The coincidence made everyone exchange glances before uneasily taking out their phones and opening the striking message on the screen.
"Congratulations! You have qualified as one of the first batch of Dream Experience Officers and earned an additional reward. All rewards will be delivered to your dream tonight. Please remember to check."
Seeing the message, Zheng Wuyou let out a huge sigh of relief. At the same time, she couldn't understand what it meant for something to be delivered to their dreams tonight.
They'd been told it would be seven days later. Surely it wouldn't suddenly catch them off guard like this.
After seeing the message, the mood, which had just started to ease, grew heavy again.
Gu Yunting and Ben Yu looked especially miserable, as if they'd eaten something foul.
"I had someone check the number this morning. Even a virtual number would have an originating IP, but this one doesn't. It's like it was created out of thin air, with no support from any technology currently available." Ben Yu handed his phone to Miao Laisheng, then slumped into his chair with a pained expression. Luckily, he'd already sent the waiter away. Otherwise, looking like this would've ruined his image.
"Wuyou, I got a text saying I've become one of the second batch of Dream Experience Officers. The dream that was supposed to happen seven days from now has been moved up to tonight..." Gu Yunting, just as unsure how she felt, handed her phone to Zheng Wuyou. The text on the screen pierced Zheng Wuyou's eyes like a needle.
If that was the case...
Zheng Wuyou understood. The so-called reward tonight was probably getting sent in to accompany the second batch of Dream Experience Officers...
What happened to the seventh day???
"Why is this thing like a stubborn plaster? It's spreading, too!" Zheng Wuyou tossed her phone and Gu Yunting's onto the table, then stared helplessly at the ceiling. The problem now was figuring out how to keep Old Gu from entering the dream.
And how Old Gu, who hadn't seen the corpse yesterday, and Ben Yu, whom they'd only just met, had been chosen as part of the second batch.
It seemed that starting a second batch meant more and more batches would follow. They'd probably been drawn into the dream because they'd witnessed what happened at the supermarket.
And the only thing Gu Yunting and Ben Yu had in common was that they'd heard the story...
"We're done for. We shouldn't have told you about it... Once you enter the dream, you're in grave danger!" Yuan Ling let her head fall limply against the back of the chair and gazed absently at the ceiling. She didn't want to see any more heartbreaking goodbyes in there.
Ben Yu, sitting beside Miao Laisheng, was just as miserable. He stared at the ceiling too, wondering whether he'd be able to handle all those bizarre stories once he went in.
"Could you two tell me about your dreams?" Miao Laisheng looked at Wushen and Yuan Ling, as if he'd thought of a way to deal with this. He paid no attention to the people beside him and waited for the two of them to speak, his gaze unwavering.
"Sure..."
Yuan Ling didn't know what this handsome guy was planning, but she didn't hold anything back. She told him everything, just as she had that morning.
She also told him Wushen's story.
Miao Laisheng clearly remembered what it had been like when he entered the dream. He hadn't expected the others' stories to be so obscure.
To avoid any mishaps tonight, Ben Yu simply booked a suite at the hotel upstairs. His extravagant gesture left Yuan Ling and the others dumbfounded.
They'd known he was rich, but not this rich. A casual swipe of his card cost as much as they spent on a month's living expenses.
They were all students. How could their spending habits be so different?
As expected, no one who worked in the arts was poor...
Back in the suite, the girls huddled on the sofa, nervously fiddling with their phones. Yuan Ling wasn't in the mood to play games tonight, even though her team kept urging her to log on.
Wushen couldn't bring herself to watch her show either. Seeing it reminded her of what had happened in the dream.
So the suite was filled with a very strange atmosphere.
It seemed lively, but was also quiet.
There wasn't a hint of life in the place.
"Let's go over this again! Once I'm in there, I can't hesitate where I am, I can't interact with the NPCs, I can't... What else can't I do?!" Ben Yu was the first to lose his patience. He paused the video he'd been replaying on his phone for who knew how many times, uncrossed his legs, and turned to Miao Laisheng across from him.
"Memorizing it won't help. You have to adapt."
Miao Laisheng didn't even look up at his question. He continued focusing on the messages his master had sent him.
That answer was worse than no answer at all... Ben Yu looked as if he'd just been doomed all over again and slumped back into his armchair.
"Old Gu, do you feel any different?"
She'd given her coffee and tea earlier. After drinking so much caffeine, Zheng Wuyou worried that Gu Yunting might get heart palpitations or something.
"..."
But she didn't get a reply. All she heard was breathing mixed in with the audio from several videos.
The breathing was steady...
Had it started?
Zheng Wuyou lowered the phone from her face and shot upright.
She saw the people beside her sitting perfectly still, as if their souls had been taken from them. The videos kept playing on their phones, but their eyes were closed.
"When did they go in?!"
She'd just taken Yuan Ling's phone off her face and set it on her lap when drowsiness suddenly hit Zheng Wuyou. Her vision went black, and she toppled over.
As she fell straight toward the sofa, she felt something soft bounce her back. Her mind cleared at once, and she opened her eyes.
But the scene before her was no longer inside the suite...
Before you continue