A Dream That Left a Deep Impression

Mi Qiao tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.

She got up, put on her clothes, and went out onto the balcony to get some fresh air, hoping to clear her head.

It's not incomprehensible that she would have a dream about Guo Tianxiang, after all, she's been thinking a lot about Guo Tianxiang's whereabouts lately.

There were three turning points in her life, each corresponding to a different person.

One was her uncle, who took her abroad after her parents passed away, taught her many things, and also led her down that gray path;

One is Guo Tianxiang, who discovered the secret behind this person and learned that "vampires" truly exist. She once thought she had found hope in fighting against "death."

One was "Mr. Liang," who pulled her out of the deep "quagmire" and led her into a completely new field, a mysterious New World. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he gave her a second chance at life.

In that dream, not only did Guo Tianxiang appear, but "Mr. Liang" was also mentioned, and she was told to "be careful of Mr. Liang," which is not normal and doesn't fit her usual mood.

She recalled the descriptions she had heard from Dr. Fang last night about the strange phenomena that had occurred at the D2 Research Center in Ironpeace Town, including the Rabbit Woodcarving and the events that had taken place in the Qinling Uninhabited Zone.

Could it be that her dream was also influenced by external factors?

But that doesn't make sense. According to Dr. Fang, the influence only applies around the Rabbit Woodcarving, and the resulting dreams would definitely include the bizarre element of rabbit meat.

The Rabbit Woodcarving is no longer here, and no strange elements like rabbit meat appeared in her dream.

So this dream should just be a normal dream she had.

Could it be that... subconsciously, she harbored suspicions about "Mr. Liang"?

After asking herself this question, Mi Qiao found that she actually felt a little hesitant.

Indeed, after being accepted by "Mr. Liang" and entering the secret department of "Shenxing Technology," she learned a lot of information, but she also had even more questions.

Some of her questions were answered through her various "internships" in the secret departments of "Shenxing Technology" and her conversations with "Mr. Liang." But this only made her more confused, because it was obvious that "Mr. Liang" could have simply told her the answers to those simple questions. Why waste time, effort, and resources making her discover them on her own?

Why exactly did "Mr. Liang" help her change her identity and integrate into "Shenxing Technology"?

Her expertise and hacking skills were utterly insignificant and useless in the face of a company like "Shenxing Technology".

What was so special about her to "Mr. Liang"?

She wasn't one of those naive young girls still fantasizing about Mary Sue novels, nor did she think her looks could make anyone fall in love at first sight.

And most importantly, she has never actually met "Mr. Liang" face-to-face. All her communication with him has been through voice calls. Judging from the information inadvertently revealed by Dr. Fang and other highly confidential personnel in "Shenxing Technology's" secret departments, it seems they haven't met "Mr. Liang. Mr. Liang" either?

Let alone meeting in person, they probably haven't even seen each other on video.

And why does "Mr. Liang" have such a unique voice?

Does he possess some special secret?

Is he also a "Blood-feeding Creature" like Guo Tianxiang?

At this moment, Mi Qiao naturally had no idea that, in the shadows beside an abandoned villa a few dozen meters away from her, a bald man was observing her expressionlessly.

Given the distance and the late hour, most people would only be able to vaguely see a woman standing on the balcony, at most recognizing that she was a short-haired woman.

However, with his Xiang Kun was able to clearly see the changes in her facial expressions even at this distance, thanks to the faint moonlight and the lights behind her.

He could tell that Mi Qiao was clearly conflicted, worried, doubtful, and confused.

He also understood why Mi Qiao had such emotions, because he himself was the instigator.

Having just guided Mi Qiao's dream through the "Black Circle Graffiti," Xiang Kun not only saw the appearance of the "researcher" who told her about the strange phenomena at the Ironpeace Town Research Center and the Qinling Uninhabited Zone in the dream, confirming that it was Fang Pingfang, Zhou Rui's "boss," whom Alice had helped him find out earlier, but also entered a "Hyper-Sensory State" in the dream, attempting to "modify" and "edit" her dream.

The last time Xiang Kun tried to modify Mi Qiao's dream, he simply stretched the screen of her laptop in the dream, which was naturally very easy.

This time, however, his attempt was far more complex.

He replaced Fang Pingfang's appearance with Guo Tianxiang's.

Xiang Kun thought that Guo Tianxiang someone he had met before, and Mi Qiao had met him as well, so it shouldn't be too difficult for him to appear in Mi Qiao's dream.

However, in practice, it was found that there were many omissions and differences in the process of converting the image in his memory into a Hyper-Sensory State marker, and then into Mi Qiao's sensory image. Fortunately, Mi Qiao himself had a deep impression of Guo Tianxiang's appearance, and the requirements for details in the dream were not so high, so he easily accepted the Guo Tianxiang "modified" by Xiang Kun Guo Tianxiang.

As for the voice, there was also a discrepancy. Xiang Kun originally wanted to use Guo Tianxiang's original voice, but the result was quite poor. Instead, it sounded somewhat similar to "Mr. Liang," which was an unintended consequence.

Making Mi Qiao see Guo Tianxiang say that in her dream was certainly not a simple prank.

Besides experimenting with editing and modifying dreams to guide changes in the dreamer's sensory information, Xiang Kun also wanted to use this to influence Mi Qiao's thinking, making her use her brain in the direction he needed.

After experiencing such a dream, Mi Qiao could have several possible reactions upon waking:

1. He thought it was just a normal dream and went back to sleep—but based on Xiang Kun's cognitive model of her, this possibility was extremely small. Even if it did happen, if it was influenced a few more times and she had similar dreams a few more times, it would inevitably attract her attention;

2. It is believed that this dream was influenced by certain objects or Guo Tianxiang, since "Shenxing Technology" knows that the Rabbit Woodcarving can trigger strange dreams. In that case, Xiang Kun could know what methods she would use to investigate and how she would mobilize the resources of "Shenxing Technology" based on her behavior after waking up. If he directly contacted "Mr. Liang," he could also find out what Mr. Liang's opinion was and whether he was aware of similar phenomena.

3. To interpret this dream as one's subconscious and thus raise some questions. Xiang Kun believes this is the most likely explanation, because in his view, Mi Qiao's greatest role for "Shenxing Technology" and that "Mr. Liang" was to find Guo Tianxiang's whereabouts.

However, based on what he had overheard of the conversation between Mi Qiao and "Mr. Liang," and the tasks that Mi Qiao was assigned to by "Shenxing Technology," it seemed that "Mr. Liang" did not intend to use Mi Qiao to find Guo Tianxiang, and was not even very concerned about whether or not Guo Tianxiang could be found.

In that case, why would "Mr. Liang" and "Shenxing Technology" risk absorbing Mi Qiao, changing her identity, and letting her learn so much about Shenxing Technology's secret departments and information?

Unless "Mr. Liang" had given her a reasonable explanation before, this question should exist not only for Xiang Kun, but also for Mi Qiao herself.

Judging from Mi Qiao's previous conversation with "Mr. Liang," she must have had a strong sense of respect, admiration, and trust for him. Xiang Kun couldn't possibly destroy this feeling entirely with just a dream or a few words. But as long as he could arouse even a little bit of doubt, suspicion, or curiosity in her, that would be enough.

As long as she begins to try to understand and investigate the secrets behind "Mr. Liang" and "Shenxing Technology," Xiang Kun, who has a "Super-Sensory Link" item and an "Emotional Injection" item by his side, can also obtain a lot of information.

It's definitely much more convenient for her to do these things than for Xiang Kun.

On a broader scale, Xiang Kun also wanted to "hitch a ride" on "Shenxing Technology" to discover more Mutated Creature, as well as the secrets, principles, and applications hidden behind these mutations.

After confirming that the dream had affected Mi Qiao, Xiang Kun quietly left the villa area, returned to his car, and drove back.

They got back to town around 4 a. m., but their room only had one key card, Xiang Kun couldn't very well go back and knock on the door to wake Zi Cheng. He could only do what he did yesterday: wait until 6 or 7 a. m., then buy breakfast and come back, saying he'd gone for a run early that morning.

Xiang Kun parked the car in a secluded spot without surveillance cameras and sensed the "Black Circle Graffiti" he had given Xia Libing the day before yesterday when he picked her up.

He was quite certain that Xia Libing had always carried that "Black Circle Graffiti" with her. Even if it was in her bag, she was still within her sphere of influence in the hotel room, and at this time, she was most likely asleep.

Unfortunately, no matter whether it was the lyrics in calligraphy before or the Black Circle Graffiti now, Xiang Kun's "Emotional Injection" items just couldn't trigger Xia Libing's dreams.

Xiang Kun sighed and shook his head: Lao Xia is really... very special!

Around 7 a. m., Xiang Kun returned to the hotel with breakfast he had bought outside and called Zi Cheng to wake him up and open the door.

Zi Cheng mumbled a few words, and just as he was getting up, the door to the room three rooms away opened first, and Xia Libing, who had obviously washed up and dressed neatly, poked half her body out to look at him.

"Good morning," Xiang Kun greeted with a smile, then held up the breakfast in his hand. "Want to come and have some of Tongshi Town's special breakfast? I'll send a WeChat to Nana and the others to see if they're up yet."

At this moment, Zicheng, still half asleep, got up and opened the door for him. Then, without saying anything, he went back to his room, snuggled back into bed, and continued sleeping.

Xia Libing pointed to her room. "Want to eat here?"

Xiang Kun understood her meaning; she didn't want to disturb Zi Cheng. So he closed the door again and went into Xia Libing's room.

"You're up so early?" Xiang Kun asked as he walked in carrying breakfast.

Xia Libing closed the door behind him. "You're used to it, are you going for a run again?"

"Yes, I'm used to it too." Xiang Kun placed the breakfast he bought on the table, unpacked it for her, and said, "Eat it while it's hot. I saw you really liked these pancakes yesterday morning, so I bought a few new flavors. Try them."

Xia Libing didn't stand on ceremony with him. She sat down at the table, took a sip of hot soy milk, and seeing Xiang Kun sit down by the bed, asked, "And you?"

"I already ate breakfast when I bought it," Xiang Kun said with a smile.

"Oh."

"How did you sleep last night?" Xiang Kun asked casually.

"Fine."

"I've found that exercising really improves my sleep quality," Xiang Kun said while sending WeChat in the group. "Before I lost my job, I often dreamed while sleeping. After I lost my job, I exercised every day, and I dreamed less often, so my sleep quality improved a lot. I sleep for very little time, but I feel very energetic."

"I remembered a very special dream I had before. I was being chased by a huge group of dinosaurs in the city, and then I had to hide everywhere..." Xiang Kun described a dream he had in detail. After finishing, he asked casually, "Lao Xia, have you ever had any particularly memorable dreams?"

Xia Libing, who was eating a pancake at the table, kept glancing back at him as she chewed, seemingly deep in thought.