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nInterfering with the operation of the Dream Seeds in other countries was an unforgivable felony in any country.

nHowever… some countries were most passionate about doing such a thing in the last four decades.

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nQiu Ren didn’t really care about it, though.

nWhen Lion King, produced by a dream company in America, became a great hit overseas a while ago, it brought a little influence to their Great Sage. However, it was just a small deal. It couldn’t harm the core of the Great Sage at all.

nWhy did the Gods and Supernova Pictures want to form an alliance with the Army this time?

n“Let me think. There are basically just two ways to contaminate a Dream Seed into a Nightmare Seed…”

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nQiu Ren had been a Dream Maker in this world for quite some time now.

nEven though he hadn’t learned much in the professional courses in the university, he had his own views on the research in this aspect after staying with the Lords of Nightmare day and night and having contact with lots of Level S dream consciousness.

n“The first one is to let the dream consciousness itself absorb a huge amount of negative emotions. This always happens when the screenwriters ruin the finale, which causes fans to complain. And yet, it doesn’t have a great impact on the dream consciousness itself. Only Supernova-like incidents really have an impact.”

nQiu Ren only realized that the impact of the Supernova incident was far-reaching when he returned to the university.

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nWhen Qiu Ren attended the commencement ceremony, a lot of people were talking about it. The content of their discussions was quite rational. Most of them were ridiculing that the living environment provided by Supernova Pictures was too poor.

nIf those Level S Dream Seeds came to the Celestial Empire, they would probably indulge themselves in pleasure and wouldn’t want to go back at all, let alone rebelling.

nHowever, some foreign fans, who were emotionally involved, were completely enraged like exploding pots. Every time Qiu Ren scrolled through the foreign websites, he discovered that nine out of ten comments were scolding Supernova League.

nAll these negative streams of emotions flooded to the Flash and Falcon Huntress, causing serious problems with their psychological condition. This was why they came to Qiu Ren for help.

n“The second one is through the Lords of Nightmare, who have a corrosive effect on the ordinary dream consciousness.”

nQiu Ren glanced at the shadow standing behind Mia.

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nPerhaps even Mia couldn’t see it herself. As Qiu Ren had worked with the two Lords of Nightmare for a longer time, his sensitivity to their kind also became stronger.

nQiu Ren could “see” the Lord of Nightmare standing behind Mia right now. It was wearing an outfit covered in blood and a rabbit mask. Its head tilted slightly as it stared at Qiu Ren.

nAfter noticing Qiu Ren’s gaze, it even smiled creepily and waved at him.

nQiu Ren ignored its greeting and focused on the mark on the left hand of Mia, who had just showered. It looked like thorns were twining around her arm. However, the sacred aura in her still hadn’t disappeared.

nShe probably hadn’t completely cut off her connection with the Goddess she served.

nIf that was the case, the Lord of Nightmare of Dead by Daylight would continue to corrupt the Goddess Mia believed in.

nMia also felt Qiu Ren’s gaze, so she pulled her sleeve down to cover the mark of thorns on her wrist…

n“Both are possible ways… but I’m not sure how exactly they’re going to do so.”

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nMia told Qiu Ren the reason why she came for him. “The Gods want me… to be the medium for contacting the Army. This goes against our doctrine. After advising my government… they wanted me to give up my identity as a Saintess so that I can put all my energy on the sealed Lord of Nightmare.”

nMia was a rational person. She knew that although there were conflicts between countries, the Army was a mutual enemy of human beings. Europe and America were apparently trying to harm humankind if they were going to use the power of the Army to suppress the Celestial Empire.

nSo, Mia didn’t want to become the lackey of the Gods.

nThat was why when the French government wanted her to let go of her Goddess, she could only choose to escape and ask Qiu Ren for help.

n“If the Gods and Supernova Pictures work with the Army, it’ll be no different than declaring war. This will be a war that will cost them a heavy price.”

nEven though Qiu Ren knew that the leaders of the Army all had the power of Lords of Nightmare, he couldn’t think of a reason why he would be at a disadvantage if they really went into war.

nThe most terrifying thing about the Level SS Nightmare Seed of the Army was the Shadow Beasts inside. If the Shadow Beasts were released, the world would genuinely be plunged into chaos.

n“Hm… So, their main target may be the Three Kingdoms, followed by Journey to the West.”

nMia knew how to read some Chinese characters. Especially when Journey to the West was such a famous dream world, most foreigners could recognize it.

nHowever, the one she picked up was another less popular masterpiece, the Records of the Three Kingdoms… It seemed that all the productions with the theme of the Three Kingdoms in this world were adapted based on the Records of the Three Kingdoms.

nEven though there were three Level S Dream Seeds with the theme of the Three Kingdoms, such a theme had much lower popularity overseas than Journey to the West did in this world.

nWhile Qiu Ren was still thinking about Mia’s words, he suddenly felt someone pull the corner of his clothes gently.

nIt was Wanxiang, who had been listening next to him.

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n“What’s wrong?”

nQiu Ren felt like Wanxiang knew a lot of inside stories about the production of the Dream Dungeons related to the Three Kingdoms, so she should be even more anxious than Qiu Ren right now.

n“Can we tell the Central Research Institute… about this first?” When Wanxiang made this request, Qiu Ren could hear the frustration in her tone.

nEven if she succeeded as the Dream Maker for that Level S Nightmare Seed in the Salt City Research Center, she would only inherit it. She wouldn’t have as much authority in the Central Research Institute as Qiu Ren did. Besides, it seemed that she didn’t really have a close relationship with her father.

nOut of her concerns about the condition of the Dream Seeds related to the Three Kingdoms, Wanxiang still wanted Qiu Ren to warn the Central Research Institute about this as soon as possible.

n“I’ll tell them… But Miss Mia, sending a message to the Central Research Institute will be like notifying them that you’re here. I have confidence in the confidentiality of the Central Research Institute, but I can’t guarantee that your whereabouts wouldn’t be known by the French government.”

nQiu Ren took out his phone as he reminded Mia at the same time. It wasn’t difficult for Qiu Ren to protect Mia on the level of Dream Dungeon, but nobody knew what kind of lunatic things the foreign officials would do to get back Mia.

n“The purpose of my visit this time has been achieved. Even if I’ll be sent back…”

nMia came with enough awareness. Her phone and laptop were both monitored, and even the channel of communication in the Dream Dungeon was cut off by the Gods.

nSo, with the help from her sister, Mia had put in a lot of hard work to come to the Celestial Empire to meet with Qiu Ren in person.

n“You can stay here for now. The Central Research Institute will provide you with asylum. I’ll control the erosion from the Lord of Nightmare of Dead by Daylight.” While Qiu Ren spoke, he wrote a text message to warn the Director of the Central Research Institute about the relevant news.

nAfter the warning text was sent out, both Qiu Ren and Tapir knew clearly that it would probably be impossible for Qiu Ren to have dinner at ease with Wanxiang tonight.

n“Qiu Ren… We’ve got news… from the Army.”

nTapir could also read the atmosphere in the room. It seemed that she couldn’t let Qiu Ren rest so leisurely anymore, so she told him an important thing she had temporarily put aside.

n“So soon? What’s their reply?”

nWhen Qiu Ren heard Tapir’s voice, his mind was no longer on the two girls in the room. He only wanted to know how many members of the Army the Master got for him.

n“It… seems that he wants to invite your consciousness projection… to go there.” There was a hint of worry in Tapir’s voice, but she continued after hesitating, “I can… go to have a look for you.”

n“Inside the Nightmare Dungeon of the Army? That’s not a problem. I’ve wanted to go there to investigate for a long time already. It should be safe to go using my consciousness projection.”

nWith the protection from Tapir and Lian, Qiu Ren wasn’t afraid that the Hidden Court Master would set an ambush for him. The thing was that Wanxiang had heard the conversation between Qiu Ren and Tapir.

nEven though she didn’t say anything, her gaze at Qiu Ren was already filled with determination. “I’m going with you.”

nThis made Qiu Ren rub his eyebrows as he asked Mia sitting opposite him, “I’m going to the base camp of the Army with Wanxiang. Miss Mia, I wonder if you…”

n“Please let me go with you!” Mia showed her decisive side as a Saintess again.

n“Alright.”

nQiu Ren reached his hands out to the two girls next to him. In order to enter the Nightmare Dungeon of the Army, Wanxiang and Mia both needed Qiu Ren as a medium.

nWanxiang and Mia knew what to do, so they grabbed Qiu Ren’s left and right hands, respectively.

nSince Mia had just gotten out of the shower, there was a kind of smoothness and warmth on her hand, while Wanxiang’s fingertips were a bit slender and cold.

nThe reason why Tapir arranged for him and Wanxiang to meet tonight was probably because she wanted Qiu Ren and Wanxiang to go on a date and spend a lovely evening together.

nThe venue of the date should have been in a restaurant nearby, but now, it had been changed to one of the most dangerous Nightmare Dungeons in the world.

nThis might be a dating venue that a girl could experience only if she was with Qiu Ren.

n“Get… ready.”

nUnder Tapir’s lead, Qiu Ren felt like he went through layers of black mist. When he opened his eyes again, he was in a room built with metals and was full of cutting-edge instruments.

nThe Hidden Court Master walked out of the shadow in this creepy room.

n“Who are they?” Riper seemed to be a bit dissatisfied with Qiu Ren bringing two completely irrelevant strangers here.

n“My… guards?”

nQiu Ren wore the ghost mask by default whenever he was in a Dream Dungeon. Mia and Wanxiang also had their own default images.

nMia was in a female knight costume with pale silver armor, while Wanxiang was wearing… a silk dress?

nAfter entering this Nightmare Dungeon, Wanxiang seemed to be a bit dissatisfied with her daily outfit. She spent some Creation Points to change it into the combat outfit she wore in Warzone.

n“Follow me.”

nThis Master wasn’t in the mood to ask any stupid questions, like, “Why do your guards look weaker than you?”

nBoth Wanxiang and Mia had the aura of Lords of Nightmare in them, especially the Lord of Nightmare of Dead by Daylight… That was a psycho he didn’t want to offend.

nHe led Qiu Ren and the others all the way to a secret lookout point. Qiu Ren glanced down and found that it was a square that the Army used to store their supplies.

nMeanwhile, the surroundings of the square seemed very… lively. Soldiers were watching coolies, who came from unknown worlds, move the crystals that stored negative energy.

n“That’s Mr. Baldr…”

nMia immediately recognized a God from the World of Gods on the square below at first glance. It was Baldr, the God of Light, in Norse mythology.

n“It seems that the negotiation went quite smoothly? Are they really not worried that the Army would turn against them and occupy Europe after they get enough supplies?”

nQiu Ren saw some familiar faces from Supernova Pictures down there. Suddenly, he found that someone had pulled the corner of his clothes again.

nIt was still Wanxiang. After getting Qiu Ren’s attention, she pointed in the other direction of the square with her finger.

n“Who’s that? Do you know that person?”

nQiu Ren saw that there was someone in an obvious Chinese outfit on the square, but he couldn’t find any corresponding character in the productions of their country.

nWanxiang made a soft “hm” sound, but she seemed to be hesitant to tell Qiu Ren. For this, she even squeezed the corner of Qiu Ren’s clothes tight, as if she was torn.

nQiu Ren gave her some time to consider and put his attention on the Hidden Court Master instead.

n“You brought me here to tell me you’re against the deal the Army made with the League of Gods and Supernova Pictures? May I ask why?”

nQiu Ren looked at the black crystal below. That was a source of high-purity energy. For the Army that lacked energy right now, it was a strategic material they could only get by war.

n“We never hurt our compatriots. This is our bottom line.” The Master said, “The source of those crystals is the memory and personality of our compatriots. Although they’re unwilling to join us… we can’t let the creators destroy them like this in exchange for power.”

nThe compatriots he was referring to were the Flash and Falcon Huntress and could also refer to the other dream consciousness in general.

n“Didn’t your other colleagues try to stop it?” Qiu Ren asked.

n“…There’s no turning back for us anymore.” Master Riper said the same thing as Alaina did, “This is the only solution. There’s no other way.”

nThe survival crisis was indeed enough to make many in the Army abandon their bottom line. However…

n“But this isn’t the best solution. Have you told them about my suggestion?”

nQiu Ren could feel that the few power seeds he gave to this Master were still with him.

nIt looked like his road to recommendation and promotion wasn’t so smooth, which was why he had invited Qiu Ren so that he could explain the situation.

n“…They wouldn’t listen to me. They refused to accept it even after looking at the power you created.”

nQiu Ren rarely heard the feeling of loss in his voice. This feeling of finding a way to save the Army but being rejected by his own kind was really frustrating.

n“If they refuse to listen, I can only make them obedient by more violent means.”

nQiu Ren raised his hand and let out the power seed stored in the Master’s body… that was releasing dangerous viciousness. It landed on his palm.

n“What… do you want to do?”

n“Show them how the Darkin’s Power is used,” Qiu Ren said.

n“No…” Riper lengthened his voice again to warn Qiu Ren not to do anything reckless.

nRiper had invited Qiu Ren here to discuss the countermeasures, but he didn’t want to hear his crazy ideas.

nAnd yet, considering the current situation, Qiu Ren’s method might be the only one that could make the Army understand the wonders of these powers!

nHe looked at the scarlet crystal floating on Qiu Ren’s hand and realized that there was no other way. He remained silent for a while.

n“Do you need me to be the carrier?” The Master knew that if Qiu Ren wanted to release the power in his hands, he must use a Lord of Nightmare as the carrier.

n“Hm, if you don’t like such bloody power, there’s another that suits you more. Like this one, you should like it the most.”

nQiu Ren took out another power seed he gave Riper from Riper’s body. This power seed contained the Power of Shadows.

n“I… can take it.” Riper closed his eyes and said, “Give them all to me. I must… wake them up.”

n“Alright, this may hurt a little.”

nQiu Ren started reconstructing the power composition of the Hidden Court Master, reshaping the abilities he possessed but keeping his personality and memories.

nThe Power of Shadows and the Darkin’s Power flowed in his body at the same time… Once the construction was complete, the Hidden Court Master would crush the fragile covenant that the Gods and Supernova League had with the Army.

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