Chapter 388: Chapter 388: An Unexpected Ending
Liuli was no exception.
She was a mystical artifact, but that didn’t mean she was immortal. After missing the target with a sword thrust, her upper body was pinned by an ice crystal pillar, making it impossible to evade. She was torn apart by the raging blizzard on the spot, leaving behind only two legs standing in place.
Sorry, Chen Xuan thought to himself. Even though this was just a dream, he felt a twinge of guilt.
According to his plan, after he pushed Lin away, Lin would go from dying to being severely injured. He would then rescue her, pretend to care for her, and maybe even gather clues for inheriting abilities. There’s a saying that a dying person speaks kindly; being close to death, her guard would inevitably drop.
However, now she was perfectly fine, while he was about to die.
Chen Xuan realized where the problem lay: it was because Lin shouted out his name. Liuli probably became suspicious, momentarily changing from targeting to kill to intending to capture alive, so the sword missed its lethal mark. As a result, when Lin was pushed aside, the deflected sword pierced Chen Xuan, and he just happened to use the Golden Cicada Shed Its Shell technique.
The course of the dream now had completely diverged from history.
Liuli died in battle, and the victor was Lin from the Arbitration Court.
Chen Xuan sighed—even though now he could only cough out strings of blood bubbles.
Even with the Living Dead and Celestial Radiance True Skill desperately sustaining his breath, injuries this severe where the heart and lungs were destroyed were basically incurable. At most, he could drag it out for a few more minutes before losing consciousness, at which point the dream would naturally collapse.
"I can win even without your help!" Lin shouted at him.
Yes, yes, yes.
Chen Xuan weakly removed the night vision device and rolled his eyes to the sky.
"Don’t die so casually! Did you hear me? Open your eyes!"
Unexpectedly, she actually noticed his mocking expression.
Huh? Chen Xuan raised his head somewhat unexpectedly and saw a hint of anxiety appear on Lin’s face.
Furthermore, his body was moving backward?
He discovered that Lin wasn’t continuing her attack on Cyan Grass Hall, but instead was carrying him, running towards Beitian Academy’s exterior.
"Cough, cough, cough..." The jolting caused a fresh spurt of blood to rush out from his throat.
"Don’t talk, stay focused, you can still be saved!" Lin said as she ran.
Wait a second... is it possible to be saved in this situation?
Could it be—
"Even though you’re not an Ability User of the Arbitration Court, if I request, the prophet should... no, they will certainly preserve you."
Chen Xuan was initially planning to end the dream early, but hearing her say this made his ears perk up.
Preserve?
The prophet... could they be the key figure he’s searching for?
What’s their name?
Chen Xuan wanted to ask out loud, but no sound came out.
No... I can’t lose consciousness so soon!
He adjusted his perception sensitivity slightly, and the intense chest pain immediately flooded into his mind, revitalizing his entire spirit! Then, Chen Xuan pulled out a Blood Orange from his pocket and stuffed it vigorously into the hollow of his chest—originally these pills were intended as life-saving measures for Lin, but now they weren’t being wasted.
"What are you doing?" Lin stared wide-eyed at his actions. "Don’t move!"
The Blood Orange quickly dissolved within him, transforming into patches of white frost covering the injury, which although couldn’t save his life, stopped his lungs from leaking air like a broken bellows.
With the internal and external pressure difference, he finally spat out all the accumulated blood in his throat.
"I... I can’t hold on much longer..."
Chen Xuan rasped.
He’s not pretending; the rapid drop in blood pressure, brain hypoxia, and loss of stamina made him incredibly weak. Without the Living Dead supporting him, he would have perished long ago.
"I know, but even if you die, I have a way to bring you back to life. What you need to do now is shut up and use all your energy to hold on!" Lin gritted her teeth.
Soon, she brought Chen Xuan to the organization’s command vehicle.
She yanked open the door, startling the people inside.
"Miss Lin?" one of the suited men frowned. "What is this..."
Chen Xuan saw the familiar face and couldn’t help but twitch his mouth—wasn’t this Xiao Canong? It could only be said that the Dream Maker, indeed worthy of its Legendary Ability status, didn’t overlook even those parts that weren’t supposed to be originally utilized in the plan.
"Move aside!" Lin didn’t bother talking to Xiao Canong, directly pushing him aside, "Connect me to headquarters via satellite phone!"
"Is he your subordinate? Why not leave him to the logistics team?" The team leader didn’t get angry, just looked at Chen Xuan with some confusion, "Injuries like this probably won’t make it to a hospital."
"Phone!" Lin’s second command came with a warning tone, and the temperature inside the vehicle suddenly dropped by ten degrees.
Xiao Canong asked no further questions, sensibly handing over a hanging telephone in the cabin.
The telephone looked quite vintage, with number buttons embedded on its handle.
Without hesitation, Lin dialed the numbers 7583.
It appeared to be a dedicated line.
The call was quickly connected.
"Hello, I’m an agent of the Arbitration Court, number AC14, requesting prophet intervention, immediately hold the preservation ceremony." She shouted into the receiver.
Whatever reply came from the other side, Lin’s expression suddenly hardened, "There’s no such contact line? What rubbish are you talking! I’m not in the mood for jokes, let the prophet know I’m looking for her now!"
"You’ve never heard of the preservation ceremony?"
"Believe it or not, I’ll kill you!?"
When she uttered the last sentence, her face was full of murderous intent.
"Miss Lin, please calm down," Xiao Canong spoke to dissuade at this moment, "What you just said, what does it all mean? As a division head, I don’t quite understand either."
"Division head?" Lin impatiently retorted, "Which division head?"
Xiao Canong was taken aback.
Chen Xuan felt a chill in his heart, not good, this part of the scene isn’t in the plan. Future Lin wouldn’t know Xiao Canong, yet Xiao Canong would perceive her as an Arbitration Court Ability User dispatched by headquarters, if they continued talking, the dream’s falseness would be revealed.
For the dreamer, a natural dream feels like a fantastical journey, regardless of how exciting the process, upon waking, the details fade quickly, leaving only fleeting fragments upon recollection. Non-natural dreams, when the dreamer realizes they’re dreaming, leave extensive memories, remaining very vivid even after waking up.
The Dream Maker’s former owner, Su Xingwan, knew she was dreaming but couldn’t escape the nightmare, her mind tortured constantly by frightening visions in her dream, driving her towards mental collapse.
If Lin realized she was in a peculiar dream, the situation would be difficult to control.
He quickly coughed twice, drawing her attention, "Who is the prophet? I... never heard of this... title..."
"Didn’t I say not to speak?"
"I’m almost dead... can’t you satisfy... my curiosity?" Chen Xuan said weakly.
"I don’t know either." Xiao Canong followed up, "If Miss Lin can tell me the specific name, I can use my authority to help find them."
This assistance was spot-on!
Chen Xuan didn’t expect he’d one day stand on the same side as Xiao Canong.
"The prophet, of course, refers to Rodiya. It’s understandable if he’s a newcomer unaware, but how can you, as the action commander, not know about the preservation ceremony?"
Lin replied indignantly.
"Newcomer?" Xiao Canong looked at Chen Xuan in surprise, "Now newcomers can directly obtain a three-star agent badge?"
"He’s a genius, even starting in the Arbitration Court wouldn’t be surprising." Lin glared at Xiao Canong, "How did you become commander without knowing anything? What’s your name, and what’s your headquarters number?"
"Ah—cough cough—ugh—" Chen Xuan suddenly let out a scream.
He deliberately reversed his Heart Method, the chaotic breath suddenly made him spurt blood all over, situation severely deteriorating!
Xiao Canong’s answer was abruptly cut off.
Chen Xuan reached out laboriously, barely touched Lin’s cheek, using his remaining strength to squeeze out a sentence, "Thank you..."
His arm fell limply afterward.
The last thing he saw was Lin’s stiff, angry expression and Xiao Canong’s look of confused uncertainty in his eyes.
The dream, woke up.
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