Chapter 1 Drizzling Rain

Fine raindrops splattered.

From beneath the umbrella's shadow, half of a delicate and handsome face slowly emerged. Unexpectedly, beneath the refined man's gold-rimmed glasses were eyes as gentle as the night.

But only those who knew his identity understood the danger that lurked within that gentleness—

The moment Gu Shen recognized the face on the rooftop, his hair stood on end.

Han Dang!

This was an extremely dangerous fellow.

He had arrived in Dateng City thirteen days ago…and had been secretly investigating his arson case ever since!

Had he found some suspicious points in the arson case?

To chase him all the way here, he was truly a persistent madman.

The wind swept across the rooftop, slanting the rain and swaying the flower branches.

A faint fragrance permeated the air.

"Grandma, I really like the flowers here."

The man in the suit smiled and nodded at Gu Shen, his natural manner and demeanor making him seem like a longtime friend rather than a stranger meeting for the first time.

He took a deep breath of the air and said, "There are air purifiers everywhere in the city, but no matter what fragrance you add, it's not as good as real flowers. This rooftop is too old; these flowers deserve a better roof."

Grandma smiled, her wrinkles deepening at the corners of her eyes. She was overjoyed and praised sincerely, "As expected of young Master Han, you have such a good eye…I've put a lot of effort into caring for these flowers."

Gu Shen knew that Grandma would be happy to hear these words.

Because she truly loved growing flowers and vegetables. She took great care of the flowers on the rooftop and the vegetables and fruits in the yard, as if they were her own children.

"And this is…?"

Han Dang smiled at Gu Shen, feigning ignorance.

"This is Xiao Gu, the one I told you about, young Master Han, the philanthropist, so talented." Grandma smiled and introduced the two of them. "Xiao Han, this is Gu Shen, a child from our courtyard. He's very smart, with an extraordinary memory."

Han Dang smiled and nodded, tucking his briefcase under his arm and extending his hand in a gentle and refined manner.

"Gu Shen, nice to meet you. I look forward to your guidance."

Han Dang was a mental-type esper with immense power…

Gu Shen recalled the finger that Senior Sister had used to impart the Jingzhe dreamscape.

A faint, ominous premonition arose in his heart…If he shook hands with Han Dang now, making physical contact, would he be forcibly pulled into a dream?

But in the current situation, he couldn't refuse.

Gu Shen had no choice but to brace himself and extend his hand.

Just then.

"Meow!!!"

A flash of orange light darted out from the rooftop stairwell, slamming into a tall vase with a crash. The vase was falling directly towards Han Dang.

The refined man under the umbrella frowned.

Instinctively, he wanted to dodge…but at the critical moment, Gu Shen's outstretched hands caught the vase just in time. He grumbled, "Oh, you silly cat, why are you so clumsy? What if you hurt the guest?"

The orange cat shrank into the corner, licking its paws, looking utterly innocent.

"The roads are slippery on rainy days…"

Steadying the vase, Gu Shen withdrew his hand and said sincerely, "Mr. Han, why don't you come inside?"

"Yes, yes."

Grandma was startled by what had just happened and clutched her chest, giving Gu Shen an approving look that said, "Well done, young hero!" She quickly said, "Xiao Han, why don't we go inside and talk? Gu Shen, you keep him company, and I'll go downstairs and make some hot tea."

"…"

Han Dang was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "I'd be glad to."

Grandma hurried downstairs, holding up her clothes as she ran.

Gu Shen breathed a sigh of relief, casting a grateful glance at the orange cat.

He knew that Chu Ling was online. But now…what should he do?

Gu Shen led the way, feeling uneasy. He felt like he was being followed by a ghost. Han Dang followed behind with his umbrella, his footsteps light and silent, like a phantom.

The guest room was nearby. It was only a few steps down two flights of stairs, but those few steps seemed to stretch on forever.

"Gu Shen…"

Han Dang spoke softly, "Are you living in Dateng City now?"

"…Yes."

Taking a deep breath, Gu Shen slowly distanced himself from his tense state. He could even hear his own heartbeat, but every movement became incredibly calm and steady.

Some people always managed to unleash their potential under pressure.

Gu Shen was one of those people.

Since Han Dang had already found him, he might as well just respond to the situation as it came. They were both in the Tribunal, and they would have to meet sooner or later… Today's confrontation might not be a bad thing.

Gu Shen had read Han Dang's file countless times, knowing it by heart.

But Han Dang didn't know that he knew of his existence.

He wanted to probe him, but little did he know…this was also an excellent opportunity for him to probe Han Dang.

"Before you came, Grandma was always praising you, saying how smart, excellent, and independent you were, and that you left here at sixteen…It must be hard to live in Dateng City, right?" Han Dang asked slowly, "Where are you working now?"

Gu Shen had read Han Dang's file. He was a talented young man who had joined the Tribunal very early.

According to the file, Han Dang hadn't received much love in his childhood either, so his experiences were quite similar to his own.

"Working? Don't even mention it…What kind of high-paying job can someone like me get? I'm just barely making a living, nothing compared to a successful person like Mr. Han."

Gu Shen smiled and asked in return, "Where is Mr. Han working?"

Han Dang frowned.

He suspected that Gu Shen was mocking him…but he had no proof.

This kid probably didn't know his identity yet.

Meeting Gu Shen during this investigation was actually unexpected.

After arriving in Dateng City, Han Dang had been following the clues of the arson case, conducting a thorough investigation around Gu Shen's file…The Council's impeachment of Tree had mostly come to nothing.

But the special pardon still had room to be exploited!

After profiling Gu Shen, Han Dang strongly suspected that Gu Shen was not an esper at all.

He believed that the real truth of the arson case was that Gu Shen had used some incredibly powerful "sealed item," probably hidden beneath that stack of unburned wooden planks.

The shape was rectangular, like a wooden board or a ruler.

If that was the case, then the review team's assessment of Gu Shen was a serious mistake…Not to mention "S," Gu Shen didn't even qualify for "D." He was just an ordinary person.

However, Han Dang had scoured the Deep Sea database and even borrowed his teacher Zhu Wang's authority to search for records of related sealed items, but to no avail.

He didn't think his deduction was wrong. Instead, he thought that the "sealed item" he was looking for wasn't in the records…Then, he shifted his investigation to Gu Shen's background, coming to this orphanage to find clues related to the sealed item. Perhaps it was a "family heirloom" that had been with Gu Shen for many years.

Unfortunately, after some investigation, that lead also went nowhere.

Gu Shen had come empty-handed and left empty-handed.

There was no family heirloom, nor were there any parents' belongings.

Today, the review team had officially landed in Dateng City.

There were only two days left until the final review, and he didn't have much time.

But fortunately, he had stumbled upon Gu Shen here…It seemed that this kid had also heard the news of the review team landing in Dateng City and had come here to avoid them. He must have something to hide, not wanting to make contact beforehand.

Now that they had met,

Things became much simpler.

"Gu Shen."

An extremely gentle voice echoed in the stairwell.

The moment the eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses met Gu Shen's eyes, a wisp of black ink swirled.

At that moment, Han Dang's voice became extremely authoritative, saying, "...Enter the dream!"