Brothers Reunited

The young man looked up.

He found himself on a vast stretch of land.

The ground had become a neatly trimmed lawn of tender grass.

Across the tens of thousands of meters within sight, bizarre buildings rose here and there, brimming with futuristic technology. Their astonishing shapes defied the laws of physics in the real world.

"A twist in the dream?"

"Am I safe?"

"Where am I now?"

The young man was utterly bewildered.

He slowly turned his head.

Ten meters away stood another young man of eighteen or nineteen, looking sharp and handsome in a white suit.

"That face... looks so familiar."

"Ninth Brother???"

Qin Yiguan froze.

The young man ten meters away was the very one he had encountered while sneaking into the Central District at night to steal... borrow food!

Back then, the young man had been lying in a Nutrient Pod inside a mansion in the Central District!

Ninth Brother was looking at Qin Yiguan too, his expression puzzled. Then he slowly raised his head toward the clear, empty blue sky before lowering his gaze slightly to the young man kneeling on one knee.

Although he said nothing,

one question was written all over his face-Where... did you come from?

Qin Yiguan slowly stood up.

He smiled to himself.

I was clearly asleep in bed, and then the world turned into a "washing machine," and here I am.

So this is a dream.

It's strange, sure.

But seeing Ninth Brother makes sense. I've seen him in real life, so he became "material" for my dream.

As the saying goes, what you see by day, you dream of by night.

A humming sound suddenly came from the sky.

A cluster of white dots drew closer from the distance.

They resembled the maglev cars of the real world, but were much quieter.

A dozen or so seconds later,

aircraft in all sorts of fantastical shapes swooped in, then hovered around them.

Countless people in immaculate suits stepped out of the aircraft and gathered around, all looking either rich or influential.

"Nephew Zheng Xuan!"

"Let me take a look... incredible!"

"Nephew Zheng Xuan, your Fusion Rate reached 68% on your very first arrival!"

"Those numbers are truly staggering!"

"Ordinary people start at 1%!"

"You really are exceptionally gifted!"

"Your father's eighteen years of secluded training certainly weren't wasted!"

"I'd say the 'anomalous intruder' the Gemini Superbrain mentioned was probably our nephew Zheng Xuan!"

"Ha ha!"

"Nephew Zheng Xuan, you have a bright future ahead of you."

"Come, come, let's throw you a welcome party!"

The people in black suits quickly surrounded Ninth Brother, their faces wreathed in smiles, and showered him with flattery.

Finally, escorted by the crowd, Ninth Brother boarded a luxurious aircraft.

Just as the cabin door closed, Ninth Brother cast one last glance at Qin Yiguan from afar.

A moment later,

everything around him fell quiet.

Qin Yiguan remained where he was. Not a single person had given him a proper look.

Ninth Brother made his entrance as a genius.

This dream has quite an elaborate plot, huh?

But...

Aren't I supposed to be the main character?

"Qin..."

"Yiguan!"

"It really is you, kid!"

A startled cry suddenly came from behind him.

He turned around and saw that another aircraft had landed some distance away without him noticing.

A row of people in black suits stood beneath it.

The man at their head was about thirty, with strong, handsome features and a stunned expression.

The young man's eyes widened slightly.

Boss Meng?

His full name was Meng Jihe.

Qin Yiguan had lived in the orphanage for twelve years, and Meng Jihe had been the eldest of the orphans there.

He had always taken good care of Qin Yiguan since they were little.

But the orphanage only raised its children until they turned eighteen, after which they were sent out into society.

After Meng Jihe left at eighteen, there had been no word from him. Rumor had it that he had successfully qualified as one of the Half-Humans, entered the Metaverse, founded his own company, and become a wealthy magnate.

Although Qin Yiguan knew this was a dream,

Qin Yiguan felt inexplicably moved.

After ten years spent together day and night, they were as close as brothers.

Boss Meng's face still looked just as it had at eighteen, as though he had never aged in all those years.

He strode forward and pulled Qin Yiguan into a tight embrace.

The young man tilted his head up slightly.

This feels so real. Just like when the other kids beat me up and Boss Meng shielded me beneath him.

I'd lost all contact with him in the real world.

Meeting him in a dream... isn't bad either.

Overcome with emotion, Meng Jihe said, "Kid, you broke free of the restrictions. You made it here too."

Qin Yiguan hugged his big brother back. "Where is this... it doesn't matter."

"How could it not matter?"

"You silly kid. How are you still so clueless?"

"This."

"Is the Metaverse's Experimental Zone!"

Meng Jihe patted the young man's shoulder as he spoke.

The Experimental Zone?

The young man paused for a moment. That territory deep within the Metaverse, far, far away, where logic was supposedly all jumbled up?

He slowly smiled. "Yeah, the Experimental Zone... exactly the place in my dreams."

"Ha ha ha!"

"What nonsense are you spouting, kid?"

Meng Jihe laughed happily. "I originally came to get into Lu Zun's son's good graces. Looks like I was a step too late, but instead, I found my long-lost brother!"

"Let's go, Yiguan!"

"This place may be brutal and dangerous."

"But from now on, Boss Meng has your back."

"I wouldn't mind even if you used my skull as a stepping stone. Kid, you're going to soar!"

Looking at the high-spirited Meng Jihe, the young man smiled too.

This dream is pretty nice.

Boss Meng is still exactly the same character.

Boss Meng draped an arm around Qin Yiguan's shoulders and headed toward the aircraft. "Come on, let's go to my office building!"

Qin Yiguan gave a helpless smile.

An office building?

What a lousy dream. No imagination at all.