Light Barrier

It was drizzling on the roof, and the two men stood quietly.

In the darkest corner of the corridor was crouching an even quieter orange cat.

Two men and one cat were motionless.

Like stone statues.

…

Gu Shen vaguely remembered someone calling his name.

Then he looked up uncontrollably and met that person’s eyes.

When he woke up again, he found himself here. So dark…

All around him was a chaotic darkness where nothing could be seen. Where is this?

There was a familiar sensation. It was similar to the Jingzhe Dream, but not entirely the same.

He looked down at his palm and only saw swirling mist. His consciousness still existed, but his physical body had no entity.

“This is Han Dang’s dreamscape.” A ball of white light condensed, becoming the source of light in the darkness.

The so-called white light was not Chu Ling herself but an oil-paper lantern in her hand. She had an ancient charm, resembling an exorcist girl from a comic book. The flames of the lamp burned to illuminate the darkness in all directions and dispel the mist.

“Just a moment ago, Han Dang used the most direct method to pull you into the dream.” Chu Ling raised her lantern and illuminated the distant shadowy end.

Gu Shen saw another version of himself sitting on a narrow chair, shackled by chains, with his head hanging low. This was a dream world, where everything was created based on mental power. Clearly, Han Dang was the master of this world.

“Pulling me into a dream…” Gu Shen felt that he could no longer clench his fists. The sense of power in his body was gradually vanishing, and he was like a willow catkin that could be blown away by the wind.

“Your mental power isn’t enough to resist the Dream Induction of an expert at Han Dang’s level,” Chu Ling said. “But at the last moment, I managed to perform a mind connection on you and forcibly replaced your consciousness. So… the one sitting on the chair now isn’t you.”

She pursed her lips. “It’s me. To be precise, it’s the ‘you’ I simulated.”

Looking at the chair, Gu Shen felt a sense of oppression.

Just looking at the pitch-black space, he could feel the suffocating mental pressure.

“What would have happened if I sat on it?”

“Had you sat on it, you would have lost control of your mind,” Chu Ling whispered. “In Han Dang’s dreamscape, your soul wouldn’t have been able to hide or lie about anything. He would have obtained all the information he wanted. Because of the close protection of Luo Er and Zhong Wei, he originally didn’t have the chance to approach you. Unexpectedly, leaving Oto backfired.”

Gu Shen felt a lingering fear.

“Fortunately, I have you.” He murmured, “Will he notice anything?”

“I’m not sure. But since you haven’t even awakened your transcendental power, there’s a high chance he won’t notice,” Chu Ling said. “The stronger the person, the easier it is to be conceited. How can someone like Han Dang make a mistake if he wants to pull you into a dream?”

Gu Shen asked nervously, “So, are you enduring ‘torture’ for me now?”

“Han Dang’s True Words Domain is called the Soul Interrogation Room by many people in Changye.” Chu Ling smiled. “So calling it torture is rather fitting.”

“In a dream formed by Dream Induction… it’s possible to die. Even shallow dreams don’t mean absolute safety,” Chu Ling explained with a smile. “If the dreamer’s mind collapses, they may become out of control or even die. It depends on the thoughts of the dream master.”

At this critical moment, she was actually still smiling.

Gu Shen said worriedly, “This is too dangerous! What should we do now?”

“Hmm…” Chu Ling tilted her head slightly and looked at Gu Shen in puzzlement. “You seem very worried?”

“Of course,” Gu Shen said anxiously. “People can die in dreams, and you entered the interrogation room for me…”

“Don’t worry,” Chu Ling said calmly. “My mind is quite special. No matter how Han Dang interrogates or tortures me, it’s meaningless. I won’t feel any pain.”

Under the shimming glow of Chu Ling’s code, the two of them stood in the bug area of the dream and watched the soul interrogation unfolding in the interrogation room.

…

Han Dang straightened his tie and smoothed the wrinkles of his suit.

He looked down at the pitiful young man in the chair and snapped his fingers.

A splash of cold water appeared out of thin air and poured down, drenching the young man from head to toe.

At this moment, the mind connection was severed.

The young man in the chair instantly snapped awake. The cold water turned into a cold mist as he looked up at Han Dang, his face full of ‘panic’.

“Gu Shen, the ‘S’ whom Zhou Jiren has high hopes for,” Han Dang said softly. “I’ve always been curious about the genius whom he didn’t hesitate to use the pardon order to protect is. But seeing you today, I’m very disappointed.

“Judging from the blood stains on the roof, you should have awakened mental-type transcendental power, right?”

Han Dang squatted down, looked at Gu Shen, and said calmly, “But your mental power is too weak. You can’t resist my Dream Induction at all. You don’t even have the slightest consciousness of resisting.”

“…” The young man opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to speak.

Unfortunately, not a single word could come out.

“‘I don’t understand what you’re saying.'” Han Dang smiled. “This should be what you want to say. But no matter how hard you try, you can’t say it.

“How does it feel?”

The young man looked at Han Dang in astonishment.

The man in the suit spread his arms, and his voice suddenly became as majestic as a god’s! “My dream domain… is called True Words!”

Han Dang’s figure suddenly dispersed. His suit turned into flying sand, and his voice turned into the wind. The flying sand and wind swept through every corner of the dark dreamscape.

“Here, everything I say is true. No matter who the dreamer is, you can’t lie in the True Words Domain.”

The next moment, he suddenly appeared beside the young man and raised a hand. A pale white light lit up in the darkness, shining on Gu Shen, making him look even more like a prisoner.

“We shall meet with… our truest faces.”

Han Dang stepped back and seemed to stumble. His body instantly turned into ashes and fell into boundless darkness.

The next moment, the flying sand condensed five steps away from the young man. The man sat on a comfortable high chair without a trace of awkwardness, only elegance and composure.

He leaned on his elbows relaxedly.

The pale white light illuminated the item between the two of them.

It was a long, cold, and pitch-black table.

This place had completely transformed into an interrogation room, with walls all around slowly enclosing.

“Unfortunately for you, acting-loving kid, you met me.” Han Dang stared into the young man’s eyes expressionlessly. “I’ve seen the interrogation video of the A-009 incident. Since then, you’ve been pretending to be ignorant, haven’t you?”

The sound of gulping came from the person being interrogated.

He couldn’t speak, couldn’t deny it.

“Stop struggling. It’s useless.” Han Dang smiled. “Next, I will conduct a soul interrogation on you!”