"Hair Growth: Promotes rapid growth of all body hair."
"Sympathy Pains: Your current physical state is fully shared with a target."
"Silence: Completely lose your own ability to speak."
"Pikachu: The target's speech is converted into the Pokémon's."
"Taunt: Unconditionally draw all enemy fire."
"Disassembly: Freely detach body parts without dying."
"Dark Invisibility: Become invisible in the complete absence of light."
"
Cinematic Disarm: When you wield a bladed weapon, your opponent will, without fail, catch the blade with their bare hands."
"
Thousand Years of Death: A one-hit-kill poke to the butt."
"
Flesh Ball: Generate unlimited body fat upon activation."
"
Ocean's Bounty: A delayed-effect ability that randomly strikes someone's rear, launching them into the air."
"
Mind Decapitation: Bury your target in the ground, making them feel as if they've been beheaded."
"
Lightning Rod: During a thunderstorm, call down massive amounts of lightning for an indiscriminate attack on friend and foe alike…"
"
Perfectly Preserved: Upon death, your body remains in a lifelike state…"
Leo Li was an intern Dreamweaver for Dreamweavers Inc. His main job was to help clients achieve their dreams.
Unlike those "custom experience" companies on Earth that only offered temporary, spiritual satisfaction, Leo could genuinely help clients realize their dreams, no matter how outlandish.
He loved this heaven-sent career.
But every time he scrolled through the list of superpowers the company provided for its interns, he felt a profound, soul-crushing despair.
Immortality? Flight? X-ray vision? Real invisibility? Are those reserved for full-time employees? Is this how they treat us interns?!
"Seriously? This is what I get to work with?" Leo muttered, staring at the list. "I'd have better luck throwing rocks. At least that's a skill."
This was a list of pure, unadulterated garbage.
The space was a vast, dreamlike expanse of white.
Countless bubbles floated overhead, each containing a flowing, shifting scene. Most were microcosms of literary and cinematic works from Earth. Those grand, thrilling, and wondrous masterpieces had been transformed into real, tangible worlds within the bubbles.
This fantastical space was the headquarters of Dreamweavers Inc..
Right now, Leo Li sat behind a futuristic desk, ready to greet his first client.
The client was a young woman named Roxanne Tang. In her early twenties, she was in the prime of her life, the stage where a woman's radiance shines brightest.
She had a delicate, oval face with exquisite features and light makeup. A high ponytail bounced behind her head. Dressed in a simple white T-shirt adorned with a few letters and a pair of ripped jeans, she radiated youthful energy.
On a scale of one to ten, she was a solid nine.
Leo kept his gaze respectfully fixed between her eyebrows. "Miss Tang, please confirm one more time: your dream is to have Li Xunhuan's child. Is that correct?"
Even as an intern, he had to project an air of professionalism.
Even if Roxie's wish was utterly absurd, he couldn't let so much as a twitch of amusement show on his face.
If he laughed, this gig was as good as gone.
This was his first client, a crucial step toward becoming a full-time employee. He had to be careful.
Roxie, however, was too busy gawking at her surroundings to hear him.
"Ahem!" Leo cleared his throat, snapping his client out of her daze. "Miss Tang, I am the Dreamweaver assigned to help you realize your dream. Could you please confirm your wish? You want to have Li Xunhuan's child and are willing to pay two Dream Coins for this service. Correct?"
"Don't be so crude." Roxie frowned slightly as she rephrased her wish. "To be precise, my wish is to share a sweeping, epic romance with Li Xunhuan, have a child together as a symbol of our love, and in doing so, change his tragic destiny."
She eyed Leo, her bright eyes full of curiosity. "What is this place?"
The hypocrisy, Leo thought. Sweeping romance? Love? The end result is the same, isn't it?
Arguing with a client about the philosophy of love was a fool's errand. Leo maintained his smile. "This is Dreamweavers Inc. Our purpose is to help clients traverse into other worlds to ultimately fulfill their dreams."
"Traverse?" Roxie's focus instantly shifted, her breathing quickening. "I can actually do that? Like in the fantasy stories?"
Ah, a romantic who loves fantasy stories. That explains a lot.
Leo mentally cataloged his client's personality. "Miss Tang, the world we'll be entering to fulfill your dream is that of
Xiao Li Feidao. We're looking at a Ming Dynasty setting."
"I don't care if it's the Qing or Ming Dynasty, as long as it's the past, I'm in!" Roxie's eyes lit up.
"Excellent." Leo loved straightforward clients. He smiled and pulled two contracts from a drawer. "Miss Tang, please read this agreement carefully. If there are no issues, sign on the dotted line, and our contract will be official. Then, I will do everything in my power to grant your wish. If you have any objections, or if you decide to give up this rare opportunity, you can walk through that door and return to your life. Everything that happened here will be wiped from your memory."
He gestured to a freestanding door that stood nearby, a testament to the power and magic of Dreamweavers Inc..
Of course, Leo didn't want his client to leave. He looked at her intently, his tone persuasive. "Miss Tang, a fantastical experience like this might only come once in a lifetime. I hope you'll choose carefully."
Roxie picked up the contract and read it, asking, "It's real? We're really going?"
"Absolutely," Leo confirmed.
"Is it dangerous?" she asked.
"Within the scope of this agreement, I will do my utmost to ensure your safety," Leo said, steepling his fingers. "Of course, if you do something reckless—like, say, wandering off from my protection—and something happens, the company is not liable."
"Will anyone find out about this?"
"Maintaining client confidentiality is the duty and responsibility of every Dreamweaver." Leo flashed a standard, eight-toothed customer service smile.
"Then I have no more questions." Roxie grinned, signing her name with a flourish on both copies. "So, when do we leave?" she asked eagerly.
"We depart in three days. Miss Tang, you have seventy-two hours to prepare." Seeing the signature on the contract, Leo finally relaxed. He quickly stamped the documents with the company seal and handed one to her. "Miss Tang, to achieve your dream, we will be entering the world of
Duoqing Jianke Wuqing Jian. I need to go over a few key instructions, so please listen carefully."
Roxie nodded for him to continue.
"First," Leo began, "during the traversal, aside from the clothes on your back, you can bring no more than one kilogram of personal items; second, during the mission, you have the right to make suggestions, but in most cases, please cooperate with your Dreamweaver; third, I suggest you read the novel
Xiao Li Feidao. Familiarizing yourself with the story will be a great help."
"That's it?" Roxie blinked.
"Yes." Leo shrugged. "And while the company has no dress code, as your personal Dreamweaver, I should mention that the world we're heading to is set in the Ming Dynasty during winter. You'd be wise to prepare some period-appropriate winter clothing. It'll help you blend in."
"No problem. See you in three days," Roxie said with a smile. She took the contract, gave Leo one last look, and walked out the door.
After she left, the freestanding door vanished.
The entire space now belonged to Leo.
His mood soared. He flicked the crisp contract with his finger, an unconcealable excitement on his face. "Finally, a mission! First step to becoming official. I can't afford to fail."
It took him a good while to calm down. He placed the contract reverently on the desk.
The document melted into the desktop like water.
Immediately, Leo's personal information panel materialized on the transparent surface:
Name: Leo Li Position: Dreamweaver (Intern) Age: 23 Strength: 1 Spirit: 1 Constitution: 1 Vitality: 1 Overall Combat Power: 5 Equippable Skills: 2 Carry Weight (kg): 4; Current Mission: Help Roxanne Tang win the love of Li Xunhuan and conceive his child; Mission Difficulty: One Star;
Mission Status: Incomplete.
Leo had seen this panel countless times, but now it had a new addition: the mission summary.
That's right. His stats were what you'd politely call "aggressively mediocre." He was the living embodiment of the "Combat Power of 5" meme.
But he didn't care.
Before his chance encounter with Dreamweavers Inc., Leo was just a regular guy. These stats were perfectly normal.
What he cared about was getting confirmed as a full-time employee, seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to leap out from the masses and become a permanent member of Dreamweavers Inc..
He wouldn't be a weakling forever.
Intern Dreamweavers could use Dream Coins earned from completed missions to upgrade their stats, transforming them from ordinary people into superhumans.
This was the ultimate employee benefit at Dreamweavers Inc., and it was all the motivation Leo needed.
There were five intern missions in total, with one failure permitted.
That meant if Leo successfully completed four missions, he would become a full-fledged Dreamweaver and enjoy even better perks.
Of course, if he failed an intern mission, he'd suffer the same fate as a client who backed out: his memories of the company would be wiped clean, and he'd be returned to his mundane life as a normal person.
Leo had no idea how the company selected its interns, but he knew that seven had been eliminated before him. Three had died on missions, and four had been sent back to their ordinary lives.
The most successful among them had only completed three missions.
Leo suspected his predecessors' failures were almost certainly due to the god-awful "starter skills" they were given.
A mortality rate of over forty percent proved that being a Dreamweaver was a high-risk profession.
But Leo wasn't afraid.
This was a chance to change his destiny, to become more than human. The thought of being sent back to live a bland, ordinary life was unbearable. He was going to reach the pinnacle of existence, surpass Jack Ma, and kick the Hulk's ass.
Therefore, this intern mission had to be a success. Failure was not an option.
…
A man chasing a woman is like climbing a mountain, but a woman chasing a man is like piercing through gauze.
Besides, Roxie has two natural advantages when it comes to attracting men...
This should be a freebie.
…
"Okay, for the world of
Xiao Li Feidao, what skills should I equip?"
Leo gently tapped the desk, closing his stat panel and pulling up the skill list available to interns. He searched for something, anything, that could help him succeed.
Interns could only equip two skills per mission.
That's right. Not only were the skills trash, but you could only pick two.
The damn company was unbelievably harsh on its interns.
Still, it was better than nothing.
For now, Leo needed these useless abilities to complete his internship. The list of more advanced powers was hidden from him, accessible only after he became a full-time employee.
For the moment, this list of garbage was his golden ticket.
Or maybe a gold-plated one.
Considering the plot of
Duoqing Jianke, Leo chose Cinematic Disarm and Gilded Influence.
From the list, these two seemed marginally suited for the task.
Cinematic Disarm was a powerful control skill: any bladed weapon he used would be caught bare-handed by his opponent, 100% of the time. The downside was massive. While controlling the enemy, he was also locked in place, leaving him with virtually no offensive power. Still, in a wuxia world, it was an undeniable lifesaver. He had to pick it.
As for
Gilded Influence, which sounded impressive, it had nothing to do with ancient magic.
The company's Gilded Influence was, more accurately, Money Escape.
The skill description read: Gilded Influence: Money talks. There's no problem that can't be solved with enough coin. By paying a sum of money, you can compel a target to perform a task for you. The probability of success depends on the amount of money offered. Upon success, the effect is stable.
In the real world, this was another frustratingly useless skill. People without money couldn't use it, and people with money didn't need it.
Worse, the description mentioned a "probability of success." This meant if he misjudged the target's resolve or lowballed the offer, it could easily fail.
In the lawless, stab-happy world of Gu Long's wuxia, the consequences of a failed ability were unimaginable.
Gilded Influence was, in every sense of the word, a "pay-to-win" skill.