Light Fortress
Chapter 196 - 183: A Father’s Love

Chapter 196: Chapter 183: A Father’s Love

The vehicles sped by.

The sunlight was dazzling.

Shadows of cars slipped past on the asphalt road, while sudden roars and clamor swept past my ears.

Gu Shen stretched out his hand, peering at the genuine illusion through the gaps between his fingers... This was his second visit to this Dream, in the previous one, he had entered as "Zhou Yexin."

This time, though, he himself was the protagonist of the Dream.

Compared to before, there was one difference... a faint funeral march floated in the air.

The funeral march.

Was this piece of music a reminder to himself... about the deadline in reality?

This seemed different from what he had anticipated; Xiao had used Zhou Yu’s body to launch the "Dissolving Dream," which, according to the records, was like a mirror... reflecting reality within the Dream.

If one were to pull something from reality into the Dream and destroy it, that thing would also shatter in reality.

"Based on this aspect, the person targeted by the ’Dissolving Dream’... will appear in this Dream."

There was nothing here... completely empty.

The speeding vehicles, even if captured with spiritual power, would only reveal blurry phantoms... Clearly, this was not a useful clue.

As Gu Shen pondered, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure.

An adult and a child, crossing the street.

"Is this... Zhou Yu, and Zhou Yexin?"

Gu Shen furrowed his brow.

The Dream changed perspectives and was replayed once again.

But this time... Zhou Yu’s head was no longer a blurred jumble of code.

Gu Shen slowly followed them; the father and daughter appeared so real in the Dream that, knowing what would happen next, suddenly felt a tinge of heartache.

Zhou Yu from ten years ago wasn’t very tall, but his silhouette alone conveyed a sense of security and solidness.

He was holding his little girl’s hand... If he wasn’t mistaken, they were searching for "Dora."

The lost dog.

They crossed the street, then crossed the lawn.

The father and daughter walked slowly, so Gu Shen also walked slowly... The funeral march floating in the air was strangely prolonged, and a prescient sense of death descended gradually, tinting the Dream bit by bit.

The "Dream" looked vast.

But in reality... there were no other roads to take.

Invisible walls of air blocked any horizontal exploration Gu Shen attempted. As he proceeded, he didn’t see a single figure... None of those he sought, those tormented souls locked in by the "Dissolving Dream," appeared in the first half of the Dream.

Thus, Gu Shen had no choice.

He had to follow... the lead of Zhou Yu and his daughter.

He knew they would soon arrive at the final destination... and next, there would be a tremendous explosion.

"Daddy... I see Dora!"

Just as expected, the girl called out in surprise.

It was exactly the same as the previous Dream, but this time... "Dora" was no longer in the form of a stuffed rabbit.

A gentle and well-behaved Samoyed, tied within a villa’s fence, lay in the mud, its tongue hanging out...

"We found Dora."

The man spoke softly, "Xiao Xin, don’t move, stay here. Daddy will bring Dora home..."

Seeing this scene, Gu Shen took a deep breath.

He quickly stepped forward, stopping the man in his tracks.

Zhou Yu looked at him, puzzled.

He seemed somewhat surprised by the appearance of the young man before him...

"Mr. Zhou..."

Gu Shen knew it was all a dream, but in the last second, a sudden thought emerged. He wanted to prevent the tragedy from unfolding. Chi Huo led him to take a step forward.

Perhaps... all he needed to do was stop Zhou Yu from continuing on.

Gu Shen earnestly said, "Don’t go near that villa... it’s not safe there."

The man narrowed his eyes.

He slowly stretched out a hand, pulling the frightened girl behind him, then chuckled softly, "The child is here... There are some things that are not convenient to speak of. May I inquire about your esteemed surname?"

"...My surname is Gu."

Gu Shen now felt that this dream was too real, unlike a dream.

He looked towards the villa and said softly, "If it’s about retrieving that dog... it’s not worth it."

"It has a name... It’s called Dora..." The girl hid behind her father, cautiously sizing up Gu Shen with a voice that grew fainter: "It’s a member of our family..."

"Lit... Little Miss..."

Gu Shen squatted down and said softly, "You stay here and wait, I’ll bring Dora back for you... How about that?"

The girl timidly shrank back and gave a faint hum from her nose.

"Mr. Zhou. Let me do it." Gu Shen spoke earnestly.

But a hand held him back.

"...Young man, you seem somewhat familiar, as if I’ve seen you somewhere." Zhou Yu smiled, saying, "But my memory has been getting worse lately... It always feels like it’s been a long time, but in reality, it’s just been a day. This feeling, it’s as if... it’s all a dream."

Gu Shen wanted to say something, but realized a powerless fact.

This was indeed a dream.

"Perhaps you don’t quite understand the significance of ’Dora’ to her." Zhou Yu doted on the child behind him and chuckled, "As a father, how fortunate must one be to have such a sweet and kind daughter? I hope she’s always happy, even if she wants the moon in the sky, I would pluck it down for her..."

Having said that.

Zhou Yu made a patting gesture on Gu Shen’s shoulder, without making contact, as a friendly gesture.

He walked towards the villa.

Lead clouds swept in, and in an instant, the sky overhead was enveloped by a thick layer of dark clouds.

Gu Shen suddenly realized that all of this was just a dream... and the creator of the dream was none other than "Xiao".

With a peal of thunder!

The funeral march floating in this dream grew clear.

A violent explosion thundered right before his eyes, a bloody flame erupted from inside the small building, shattering glass windows, the fire consuming everything. The dog tied at the doorway, as well as the man walking toward the villa, were both engulfed in an instant—

Some things remain unchanged whether they recur for the second, the third... time.

Because this is just a dream.

Gu Shen sincerely felt a ferocious impact... The first thing he did was to turn around and embrace the girl, running towards a direction away from the explosion. The sound waves chased him like a tide, a tsunami; scorching heat nearly tore apart both his spirit and soul. And this was merely the cost of witnessing the "explosion"; the man enduring the actual explosion was standing amidst the flames.

Gu Shen lunged at nothing.

He passed right through the girl’s body, as if he had embraced a bundle of air, and crashed heavily to the ground.

Gu Shen quickly looked back, only to see the girl standing there dazed, within the sweeping tongues of fire, without tears, only a vacant look on her face... A man twisted his way through the flames, slowly approaching; standing among them, he reached out a hand.

Raised it, then lowered it.

"Xiao Xin... be good from now on..."

The voice faded away.

An unbelievable Divine Miracle happened...

A white dog, racing across the sea of flames, dashed out from behind the man.