Chapter 4 Special Affairs Group

"Qin Chuan, did you encounter any Spiritual Beasts in the Dream World last night?"

In the noisy classroom, Qin Chuan's desk mate, the chubby boy, nudged Qin Chuan's elbow and asked in a low voice.

"Yes." Qin Chuan nodded and looked at the chubby boy.

Compared to yesterday's excitement, the chubby boy's expression was quite gloomy now.

"Did you encounter one too?" The chubby boy's eyes lit up, his face eager for Qin Chuan's agreement, "Were you also killed by a Spiritual Beast right away?!"

"That didn't happen." Qin Chuan shook his head, seeing the chubby boy's expression dim again, Qin Chuan felt a bit amused, "Did you die in the Dream World?"

"Yes." The chubby boy couldn't help but sigh, "Around two o'clock in the morning, I encountered a Growth Rank bear in the Dream World. It hit me, and just like that, I was gone."

"Do you know what's the worst part?" The chubby boy's expression suddenly became sorrowful, "The pain in the Dream World feels so real. When I woke up, it felt like my bones were shattered, and my whole body was in agony."

"That's rough." Qin Chuan patted the chubby boy's shoulder, remembering the Shadow Leopard that almost tore him apart.

If it hadn't been for the Water Leaf Dog's help, he probably would have ended up like the chubby boy.

"By the way." Qin Chuan suddenly thought of something and quickly spoke up, "When you died in the Dream World and woke up, did you check on your parents? They must have entered the Dream World too, right? How are their bodies in the real world?"

"I actually did go to their room." The chubby boy chuckled, "They were sleeping just like usual, so soundly. I didn't dare wake them up in case something happened. I just took a peek and then went back to my room."

"Is that so..."

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

He wondered what would happen if someone was woken up by an external force while in the Dream World.

Pushing his worry aside, Qin Chuan continued to inquire, "Did you try to enter again afterward?"

"Of course." The chubby boy gave Qin Chuan a reliable look, "Although my whole body was hurting, I went back to my room and listened to English listening exercises for over an hour on my bed, forcefully hypnotizing myself!"

Qin Chuan: "..."

Well, that makes sense.

Before Qin Chuan could continue asking, the chubby boy chuckled and continued sharing, "When I fell asleep again, I appeared in a completely different place. I had to modify my Player Name and Player Appearance again, basically like creating a new account."

"They mentioned that in the update announcement." Qin Chuan nodded.

He remembered it very clearly after waking up today, even though yesterday's text had disappeared.

"You wouldn't believe it, but this Dream World really isn't much different from a game," the chubby boy winked at Qin Chuan, "Aside from the incredibly realistic senses, everything else is just the same."

"The game panel is a bit crude though." The chubby boy couldn't help but complain, "Other than Player Level, Contract Slot, equipment section, and countdown reminder, there's nothing much."

With that, the chubby boy rubbed his hands together, "As a veteran player who plays various games, everything that happened last night was just an accident. Just watch me as I make a comeback with a newly created account!"

"You go for it." Qin Chuan gave a wry smile and then casually asked, "So, veteran, have you figured out what the one-second countdown does?"

"What veteran!" The chubby boy glared, "Call me by my full title, veteran player!"

After a second of eye contact, the chubby boy scratched his head, "One-second countdown? What's that?"

"Well..." Qin Chuan stopped mid-sentence, a thought crossing his mind, "I probably saw it wrong."

He remembered clearly, just as the entrance to the Dream World was closing, the countdown timer's [00:00:00]changed to [00:00:01]

The meaning behind that one second, Qin Chuan had yet to fully understand.

He had wanted to ask the chubby boy, but combining the chubby boy's cluelessness and their previous conversation, Qin Chuan suddenly had a bold guess.

That extra second might be something the chubby boy couldn't see.

"Alright." The usually carefree chubby boy didn't mind the peculiarity Qin Chuan had nearly revealed, and soon he excitedly spoke up, "If I'm not mistaken, the core of this Dream World should be about Contracting Spiritual Beasts."

"The Spiritual Beasts I saw all had a status labeled 'Uncontracted', and our panel had a Contract Slot, clearly corresponding to each other."

"Right now, the Contract Slot has only one space, indicating that we can contract one Spiritual Beast." As he spoke, the chubby boy's face took on a wistful expression, "After contracting, we should be able to command the Spiritual Beast and make it stronger."

"It'll be fun then!"

"After creating the second account, I saw several Juvenile Stage Spiritual Beasts, but unfortunately, they all ran away too fast when they saw me; it was a bit hard to catch." The chubby boy sighed, "Otherwise, I probably would have already contracted one by now."

Qin Chuan silently listened on the side.

He essentially agreed with the chubby boy's speculation.

After seeing the Spiritual Beast Status and Contract Slot, he had a similar guess, but before he could act on it, he was attacked by the Shadow Leopard.

As the two exchanged their experiences, other classmates were also whispering among themselves when suddenly a shocked exclamation quieted the entire class.

"Class President, have you already contracted a Spiritual Beast?!"

Everyone in the classroom, including Qin Chuan and the chubby boy, turned their gazes toward a bespectacled boy seated in the front row, who now wore a proud look on his cultured face.

The class president of Qin Chuan's Senior Year Class 7, Zhang Yangwang.

"Yes, I have already contracted a Spiritual Beast." Zhang Yangwang stood up, turned around to face the rows of envious and curious eyes behind him, and pushed up his glasses, "I know everyone is curious, and as the first person in the class to contract a Spiritual Beast, I am willing to share my experience with everyone."

"Class President is so generous!"

"Thank you, Class President! Long live the Class President!"

"As expected of the Class President, he contracted a Spiritual Beast so quickly!"

As Zhang Yangwang's words fell, many classmates began to speak flatteringly.

And their flattery only made the proud look on Zhang Yangwang's face intensify.

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

"Please, everyone, quiet down." The homeroom teacher quickly entered the classroom, followed by a casually dressed young man, "Now we'll have a lecture on Dream World-related knowledge."

"Zhang Yangwang, why are you standing up?"

"Ah… nothing." Zhang Yangwang faltered with his mouth open, then slowly sat down.

Watching Zhang Yangwang's gloomy expression, the chubby boy snickered and nudged Qin Chuan, "Let that guy show off."

Qin Chuan raised an eyebrow and closely watched the young man stepping onto the stage.

"Hello, everyone." The young man had a warm smile on his face as he approached the podium.

"I am from the Special Affairs Group, Zhou Zixiu."