Chapter 4: Special Affairs Group

Qin Chuan, did you encounter any spirit beasts in the Dream World last night?

In the noisy classroom, his desk mate Xiao Pang nudged Qin Chuan's elbow and lowered his voice to ask.

"Yes." Qin Chuan nodded and looked at Xiao Pang.

Compared to yesterday's excitement, Xiao Pang's expression now was rather gloomy.

You encountered one too?" Xiao Pang's eyes lit up, a hint of seeking agreement on his face. "Didn't you also get killed outright by a spirit beast?!"

No, that didn't happen." Qin Chuan shook his head, seeing Xiao Pang's expression darken again, and felt a bit amused. "Did you die in the Dream World?"

Yeah." Xiao Pang couldn't help but sigh. "Around 2 a. m., I ran into a Growth Tier Mighty Bear in the Dream World; one hit and I was done."

Do you know what's most important?" Xiao Pang's expression suddenly turned indignant. "The pain in the Dream World feels especially real; when I woke up, I felt like my bones were falling apart, and my whole body ached terribly."

That's awful." Qin Chuan patted Xiao Pang's shoulder, recalling the Shadow Leopard that had nearly torn him apart.

Qin Chuan: "..."

This was mentioned in the update notice." Qin Chuan nodded.

Having said that, Xiao Pang cracked his knuckles. "As a veteran player who's played all kinds of games, last night's events were just an accident—watch me make a comeback with a new alt!"

What 'vet'?" Xiao Pang glared. "Call me by my full title, Veteran Player!"

Qin Chuan couldn't help but feel a bit more worried.

After waking up today, yesterday's text had disappeared, but he remembered it clearly.

Don't say that—the Dream World really isn't any different from a game." Xiao Pang winked at Qin Chuan. "Besides the lifelike senses, a lot of things are exactly the same."

If it weren't for the Water Leaf Dog's help, his fate would probably be about the same as Xiao Pang's.

Pushing his worries aside, Qin Chuan continued asking, "Then did you try to enter again afterward?"

Right." Qin Chuan suddenly thought of something and hurriedly said, "After you died in the Dream World and woke up, did you check on your parents? They must have entered the Dream World too—how are their real bodies?"

Before Qin Chuan could continue questioning, Xiao Pang gave a hehe laugh and went on with his story: "After falling asleep again, I appeared in a completely different place; my player name and avatar needed to be remade, which is like creating a new account."

After the two locked eyes for a second, Xiao Pang scratched his head. "What's the one-second countdown?"

If someone in the Dream World is awakened by an external force, no one knows what would happen.

You got this." Qin Chuan's mouth twitched, then he casually asked, "So, Veteran, what's the purpose of the one-second countdown, and have you figured it out?"

Good, that makes sense.

It's just that the game interface is a bit rough." Xiao Pang couldn't help but complain. "Besides player level, contract slot, equipment bar, and countdown reminder, there's nothing else."

I actually went to check their rooms." Xiao Pang gave a hehe laugh. "They were just sleeping soundly as usual; I didn't dare wake them, fearing some mishap, so I only glanced and went back to my room."

Of course there is." Xiao Pang gave Qin Chuan a "I'm reliable" look. "Even though my whole body ached, after returning to my room I lay on the bed and listened to an hour of English listening practice, forcing myself into hypnosis!"

Like that…

Yeah…" Qin Chuan was about to speak when he felt a tug in his heart. "I probably just misread it."

He remembered it clearly: at the very last moment when the Dream World Entrance closed, the numbers after the countdown changed from 【00:00:00】 to 【00:00:01】.

The meaning of this second, Qin Chuan still hasn't fully grasped.

He had wanted to ask Xiao Pang, but Xiao Pang's cluelessness combined with his earlier words suddenly gave him a bold guess.

This extra second, Xiao Pang might not be able to see it.

All right." Xiao Pang, who's usually carefree, didn't notice Qin Chuan's oddness and quickly blurted out, "If I'm not mistaken, the core of this Dream World should be contracting spirit beasts."

The spirit beasts I've seen all have a status called 'Uncontracted,' and our panel has a contract slot—obviously they correspond.

The contract slot currently has only one opening, meaning we can contract a spirit beast." Saying this, Xiao Pang's face lit up with anticipation. "After contracting, we should be able to command the spirit beast to act as we wish and also train it to become stronger."

That'll be fun when the time comes!

After creating my second account, I saw a few Infant Tier spirit beasts, but they fled at the sight of me, making them hard to catch." Xiao Pang sighed. "Otherwise, I probably would have already contracted one by now."

Qin Chuan listened silently from the side.

He basically agreed with Xiao Pang's guess.

After seeing the spirit beast status and contract slot, he had a similar guess, but before he could act on it, he was ambushed by the Shadow Leopard.

During their conversation, the other classmates were also whispering among themselves when suddenly a cry rang out, silencing the entire class.

Class Monitor, have you already contracted a spirit beast?!

Including Qin Chuan and Xiao Pang, everyone's gaze turned to a male student sitting in the front row, who wore glasses and had a refined face now showing a smug expression.

The Class Monitor of Senior Year 3 Class 7, which Qin Chuan belongs to, is Zhang Yangwang.

Yes, I have contracted a spirit beast." Zhang Yangwang stood up, turned to face the rows of envious and curious eyes behind him, pushed his glasses up, and said, "I know you're all curious; as the first in our class to contract a spirit beast, I'm willing to share my experience."

The Class Monitor is so generous!

Thank you, Class Monitor! Long live the Class Monitor!

As expected of the Class Monitor, contracting a spirit beast is this fast!

As Zhang Yangwang's voice fell, many students immediately began to flatter him.

And their flattery made Zhang Yangwang's smug expression grow even stronger.

Cough cough!" He cleared his throat, about to speak, when the classroom door was pushed open at that moment.

Everyone, quiet down." The homeroom teacher hurried into the classroom, followed by a youth in casual clothes behind him, "Now we'll give a popular science lecture about the Dream World."

Zhang Yangwang, what are you doing standing there?

Nothing… nothing." Zhang Yangwang opened his mouth, then slowly sat down.

Seeing Zhang Yangwang's gloomy expression, Xiao Pang gave a quiet chuckle and nudged Qin Chuan, "Let that grandson show off."

Qin Chuan's lips twitched, his eyes fixed on the youth walking up to the stage.

Hello, everyone." The youth stepped onto the podium with a gentle smile.

I am Zhou Zixiu of the Special Affairs Group.

(End of chapter)