It is most difficult to awaken from one's own illusions.
Lin Muci sighed and spoke.
"What if she is unwilling to wake from her dream?"
Ling Qianhe did not find this problematic.
"As long as she feels happy, that is enough."
In that regard, there was some logic. Lin Muci and Ling Qianhe continued their journey with the young girl. Mutated animals dared not approach Ling Qianhe, and mutated plants were cleaved by his wind blades.
The young girl looked astonished.
"Brother, you are so powerful!"
Ling Qianhe looked at her and praised her.
"You are the one who is powerful. I cannot forcefully enter another person's dream."
"However, I can try to accompany you into the dream."
The young girl became even more excited.
"Can you do it, brother?"
"No one has ever been able to enter a dream with me before. If you can do it, brother..."
Excitement flickered in her eyes, yet also a hint of hesitation, for in her understanding, this was an almost impossible feat. Ling Qianhe nodded at her, replying without hesitation.
"Yes. I believe I can attempt it."
"We are nearing our destination. Prepare yourself, and let's enter the dream directly."
With Aolu's ability, it was easy to enter the dreams of anyone who was not a specialist in mental powers. However, each time before, she had felt lonely and bored, as if playing a prank.
Yet, she had not expected that someone could enter another person's dream with her! This piqued the young girl's interest, and the matter became more engaging.
When she opened her eyes.
She turned to look beside her.
The space beside her was empty.
A flicker of disappointment crossed the dark-haired little girl's eyes.
"As expected... it's not possible."
As soon as she spoke, she felt a hand patting her head, and then a voice spoke directly to her.
"Let's go."
The little girl's eyes widened abruptly, her expression one of shock!
"How could it be you?"
"Can you really enter other people's dreams with me?"
Ling Qianhe hummed, not considering it a difficult task. The young girl before him indeed possessed the ability to enter others' dreams, which, in Ling Qianhe's eyes, was equivalent to the young girl providing an anchor – a locatable coordinate.
With such an item, he could accompany her into the dream.
These matters of mental power, which others found incredibly difficult, were not much of a challenge for Ling Qianhe. He subtly raised an eyebrow as a signal.
"Let's make haste. We need to find the codebook within the dream of the chief researcher of this institute as quickly as possible."
"Useless!"
"We gave you so much funding to produce results, not to waste it so recklessly!"
"You are simply useless!"
"What you write is a pile of dog excrement! Do you even know what shame means? You might as well have been devoured by the monsters outside!"
An old man with blonde hair, dressed in a suit, was berating the man in a white research institute uniform before him!
He was the chief scientist of the institute.
The old man opposite him was the President of the United States, chosen after the great disaster.
The brown-haired man, who was being thoroughly scolded, lowered his head, his voice completely subservient as he bowed and apologized.
"I am useless... I failed to find the correct sequence..."
"I apologize, Mr. President, but I have done my best..."
"I will improve, please give me another chance. My research will yield results soon, please believe me, please believe me... I beg you, believe me..."
"Allow my family to remain in the safe zone."
His voice could even be described as abject.
The white-haired old man opposite him snorted, glancing at him with no hint of kindness.
"There are only three months left. If you cannot achieve a breakthrough by then..."
"Then you can await the complete ruin of your family! We do not harbor the useless here!"
"If not for your mentors stating that you do possess some talent, that you are the most intelligent person globally after Einstein, capable of bringing transformation to Earth, I would not have given you more time to recklessly squander resources!"
The brown-haired man, head bowed, frantically scribbled something on paper. His eyes were bloodshot, revealing the extent of his madness.
He then opened his computer, the screen flickering as countless lines of code appeared before him.
The young girl and Ling Qianhe watched him from beside him.
However, within the dream, the researcher could not see the young girl or Ling Qianhe.
Instead, the young girl sighed softly, appearing somewhat sympathetic towards the researcher before her, her tone tinged with emotion.
"He is so... pitiful."
Ling Qianhe looked at his bloodshot eyes and said.
"He desperately wanted to achieve a scientific breakthrough, but he didn't realize that the President he believed in would actually have his daughter and wife moved out of the safe zone. His daughter and wife died – he was greatly stimulated."
"The codebook was destroyed by him."
Lin Muci asked Ling Qianhe why he insisted on having the young girl Aolu help. It was because the codebook kept in the institute was not the real one. Only the memory within his mind, the codebook in that memory, was the truly authentic one.
Ling Qianhe looked at Aolu beside him. The young girl calmly observed the researcher before her. He suddenly crouched down and asked her.
"Can you temporarily take on the appearance of his daughter?"
"Temporarily... treat him as your father."
The young girl looked at Ling Qianhe with confusion, then hesitated, and whispered.
"But I have a father. If I call someone else father... my father wouldn't be happy, would he?"
Ling Qianhe smiled, then gently comforted her.
"He wouldn't."
"It's only pretending that he is your father. Besides, he is very pitiful, his daughter died, didn't she? If you can offer him some comfort, he won't be in so much pain."
"You are doing a very kind deed."
"Your father won't be angry."
The young girl pondered seriously for a moment before grudgingly nodding her assent.
"Then... alright. I'll try."
The young girl looked at the brown-haired researcher before her. She seemed to silently snap her fingers, and the scene around the brown-haired researcher changed. In a dilapidated small building, he trembled as he looked at the soldiers before him, hearing one of them speak.
"I apologize, Doctor."
"We have done our best."
"Until your research results are finally validated, we will not allow you to see your family."
"This is to prevent your research achievements from being plundered by evil external forces. Doctor, you should understand that from our perspective, we cannot let you leave."
The doctor's pupils turned even more crimson.
"I want to see my wife and daughter now."
"Don't you understand?"
"Now, immediately, at once!"
"Otherwise, I will commit suicide immediately – are you not afraid that if I die, no one will be able to complete the mission?"
"My brain is the truly priceless treasure. If I cannot see my wife and daughter and choose to commit suicide, it will be a loss to all of humanity!"
"Do you understand? A loss to all of humanity!"
The doctor's voice was almost completely hysterical, his eyes blood-red. Facing the breakdown of the doctor, the soldier still shook his head with a cold expression, shattering his last shred of hope.
"I apologize, Doctor. We cannot fulfill your request."
"Because, your wife and daughter are already dead."