Chapter 153  : Abduction Plan

Qi Qian explained her plan to Qiu Ren and Director Lu. In fact, the main idea of the plan was no different from Qiu Ren’s.

The only measure of combat power between two material worlds was the quantity and quality of Dream Seeds.

??

So, if they wanted to weaken the Imperial Court, they must plunder as many of the Dream Seeds of the Imperial Court as possible.

And Qi Qian’s idea was…

“You want to abduct the Dream Makers of the Imperial Court?”

Even though Qiu Ren was mentally prepared as he listened to Qi Qian’s plan, he was still a bit startled.

“Dream Makers own the Dream Seeds. I think there aren’t any unowned Level A or Level S Dream Seeds in this world. Isn’t it reasonable… for us to abduct the owners of the Dream Seeds and ask them to hand over the Dream Dungeons they control?”

Qi Qian was curious about why Qiu Ren would feel surprised at the plan she suggested.

“I’m surprised because you’re too straightforward. So, how are you planning to do it?” Qiu Ren asked.

“You don’t seem… too resistant.”

Qiu Ren felt a bit weird when he heard that.

“Let me start by saying that we are now sort of in a state of war with this so-called Imperial Court.” Qiu Ren glanced at Director Lu. He didn’t deny it either. “We just haven’t declared war on them officially, so I don’t mind weakening the enemy’s power in this way. Besides, I’ll try not to hurt the innocents when I actually do it.”

“Not hurt the innocents?” Qi Qian seemed to be telling Qiu Ren, “You’re sugarcoating it very nicely.”

“So… Do you have any ways of abducting those Dream Makers? Dream Makers who have Level A or even Level S Dream Seeds must have a high status in the Imperial Court, right? How can we abduct them at once… Wait…”

Qiu Ren had vaguely guessed as he asked the question. Qi Qian directly took out an assassination list—no, it was a list of the review team for the Dream Dungeon of the new version of “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.”

“Even though Romance of the Three Kingdoms doesn’t enjoy the same treatment that the Dynasties has, it’s still one of the most powerful Dream Dungeons of the Imperial Court. When it’s releasing a new dream story, the Dream Makers involved in the review process wouldn’t have an identity or a status like that of an ordinary person.”

Qi Qian put this heavy hitter list in front of Qiu Ren. The young Dream Makers of the Imperial Court would swallow hard if they had the chance to look at it. She then took out a piece of paper and a pen and pushed them towards him.

“If you want, I can invite more… capable Dream Makers here to participate in the review.”

“How are we going to detain them? Are you relying on me?”

Qiu Ren pointed at himself. The smile on Qi Qian’s face looked like she was saying, “If not you, then who?”

Those invited to join the review of “The Ravages of Time” were indeed big shots among the Dream Makers, but they all had a couple of Level A or Level S Dream Dungeons.

Being strengthened by the powerful dream consciousnesses, it wasn’t that easy to detain them.

If there was someone in these two material worlds who could do this, Qiu Ren would be the only one. After all, he had tamed multiple Level S Nightmare Dungeons, even a Level SS Nightmare Dungeon. He had the support of several Level SS Dream Dungeons and the entire secret society.

“Even though it’s feasible to rely on your power, we still need them to let down their guards. We’ll need some time if we want to detain and corrupt them without noticing to get the authority to access all of their Dream Seeds.”

Qi Qian pointed at the title, “The Ravages of Time,” with her finger and continued, “So, the longer they stay in these Dream Dungeons, ‘The Ravages of Time,’ ‘Blossoming Love,’ and ‘Iron Blood,’ the greater chance you have to control them. The last two depend on your luck. ‘The Ravages of Time’ is the main point.”

Qi Qian gently fixed her hair and looked up at Qiu Ren as she asked, “What do you think? Are you confident that you can keep them behind?”

“Confidence is one thing. I want to know their exact way of reviewing.”

Qiu Ren was curious about how the so-called review team would review the dungeon. A conventional review method, in which they watched the series once from the beginning to the end, was still fine.

However, those who were coming were all capable Dream Makers. Qiu Ren couldn’t rule out the possibility that these people might do crazy things like directly deconstructing the foundation of the dream, which was like dismantling the computer case to see the parts inside.

“The review focuses on whether or not the story constructed in the dungeon is exciting. In most situations, the Dream Makers will choose a character to play in the Dream Dungeon, or you can assign a character for them.”

“So, the audiences go to experience this Dream Dungeon in person?”

Qiu Ren understood what kind of review he would be facing.

The audiences of “Blossoming Love” and “Iron Blood” watched the entire production through television and live broadcasts on the Internet.

Now, they could experience the whole story from a more comprehensive perspective.

Directly entering the Dream Dungeon and playing a particular character in it gave them more of a feeling that they were playing a puzzle game.

This way of experience matched the plot structure of The Ravages of Time very well.

“I’ll complete the entire Dream Dungeon before the review starts, but before that… what about my body in reality?”

Qiu Ren took this opportunity to ask an embarrassing question.

Qiu Ren’s body in this material world had already been moved out of the production company of Blossoming Love. His body would probably be broken down by the Dream Hunting Bureau very soon.

“No, they’ll try to extract your consciousness from your body. They’ll truly be able to ‘catch you’ by then.”

This piece of information made him stop the construction work he was doing.

“Extract? Wait… You’ve already developed the technology for extracting consciousness from the body?”

Qiu Ren’s first reaction was to think about his sister. “Qiu Ling” was put inside Qiu Ling’s real body as a dream consciousness to be the spirit of the body.

If they had already mastered the method to put consciousness inside a body, it seemed very reasonable that they knew how to extract it as well.

“You didn’t know?” Qi Qian showed a slightly surprised look this time.

“I can guess it, but I was not quite confident. If I knew for sure that you had such an ability, I wouldn’t have been so… high-profile.”

Qiu Ren glanced at Asakawa Hana sitting next to him.

He could abandon his body in this material world… if truly necessary. Then, the Dream Hunting Bureau would never be able to hurt his consciousness no matter what.

And yet, if this word had already developed the way to extract consciousness, it would be a problem! Qiu Ren wasn’t sure if the protection from the Lords of Nightmare would help him here.

“So, the reason you’re not afraid of dying during an operation isn’t that you have a trump card in your hands, but… that you’re fearless?”

There weren’t any emotions in Qi Qian’s voice, but the ridicule in it was already obvious.

“So, what exactly is the extraction of consciousness about? Is this technology mature already?” Qiu Ren asked.

“It’s mature enough, but you don’t need to worry too much. With the protection from so many Lords of Nightmare, they’ll need a long time and a huge amount of resources… to capture you from the level of the dream dungeon.”

“Looks like they’re already on the move. Even though it’s a bit knotty, I can still hang on with this process of erosion.”

Qiu Ren glanced at the small cracks that had appeared on the back of his hands. This proved that someone was trying to interfere with his dream image in the real world.

Qi Qian suddenly grabbed Qiu Ren’s wrists and touched the cracks on the back of his hands with her fingertips.

“Yuan Shan Research Institute did this. I know some of their core researchers. Perhaps… I can invite them to participate in the review this time.”

After confirming the source of the cracks on the back of Qiu Ren’s hands, Qi Qian let his hands go.

She didn’t seem like she wanted to delve deeper into the topic with Qiu Ren since Asakawa Hana, who had been silent on the side, was watching her every move. Although Asakawa Hana didn’t say anything, Qi Qian could see little details like the slight movement of her eyelids.

Besides, Qi Qian didn’t want to interfere with Qiu Ren’s extremely complicated relationship. Hence, she got up and was about to leave after deciding the preliminary arrangement for the plan.

“Why do you sound like… it’s a death notice?” Qiu Ren said as he looked at Qi Qian’s back when she left.

“Just treat it as a death notice. It’s no different from that.”

Qi Qian dropped these words that would probably give Dream Makers in this world a chill down their spines and left the room.

“She’s a dangerous woman.”

Qiu Ren rubbed the cracks on the back of his hands. It was very hard for him to imagine how many people Qi Qian would kill along the way to achieving the goal of overthrowing the Imperial Court.

However, this wasn’t something Qiu Ren should feel sorry for. On the contrary, Asakawa Hana looked a bit strange after Qi Qian left.

“How did your production team react after my body was taken away by the Dream Hunting Bureau in reality?” Qiu Ren didn’t need to guess to know what she was frustrated about right now.

“They’re discussing… if they should delete the contents of the spin-off…” Asakawa Hana said.

“They want to delete it even though the popularity of the spin-off keeps rising?” Qiu Ren didn’t quite understand what the production team was thinking.

Unlike “Iron Blood,” this production team didn’t belong to a national defense construction… It was a national threat when the characters in the Iron Blood were disobedient.

Blossoming Love was purely an entertainment production, though, and it was mainly about ratings, popularity, and reputation. The spin-off had saved the declining reputation of Blossoming Love and gave it a new wave of popularity at the same time.

Unfortunately, the production team of Blossoming Love didn’t seem to think so…

“You seem to be providing for many Lords of Nightmare and dream consciousnesses?”

Asakawa Hana suddenly changed the subject. This evasive way of chatting unexpectedly matched her personality…

“I’ve indeed contracted with many Lords of Nightmare and dream consciousnesses, but I can’t say that I provide for them. It’s more like we all support each other? I give the Lords of Nightmare Dream Dungeons and they give me protection in return.”

Qiu Ren spent some time thinking about the reason why Asakawa Hana had suddenly asked this question. Seeing her slightly awkward expression, which soon became indifferent, he kind of guessed her intentions.

“Is it difficult?” Asakawa Hana’s tone sounded like she was asking, “What did you eat tonight?”

“It’s a bit difficult during the taming stage, but there’s nothing to worry about after the Nightmare Dungeon starts operating.”

Qiu Ren honestly told her about the situation of the “big family” behind him.

“…There are so many Lords of Nightmare staying together, and the personality consciousnesses are almost all women. Wouldn’t they have mutual rejection for each other, like the Lord of Nightmare called Suri?”

Asakawa Hana’s impression of the Lords of Nightmare contracted with Qiu Ren was primarily based on Tapir.

Tapir was indeed a good leader of the family. When she saw Asakawa Hana whispering to her mother and her mother encouraging Asakawa Hana to leave with Qiu Ren, Tapir still showed a gratified smile. It changed Asakawa Hana’s impression of the Lords of Nightmare a little.

However, facts proved that broad-minded Lords of Nightmare like Tapir only accounted for a minority. Most of them were like Suri, the type that would tear Qiu Ren to pieces when he dared to bring a woman she didn’t want to see back home.

“That’s just a special case. All the dream consciousnesses I contracted know each other, and they get along very well most of the time.” Qiu Ren said as he reached his hand out and asked Asakawa Hana, “What do you think? Do you want to join us?”

“If I agree, I may become your burden…”

If Asakawa Hana was really going to the other world, she would probably have to complete the job her mother gave her. She had to save her brothers and sisters, who were scattered all over that world and were stuck in a difficult situation.

“Become my burden? You can try if you really can do that… Whether it’s writing the future plot for you in person or the resources needed for the construction of the Dream Dungeon, I think I can provide you with these things until you’re satisfied.”

“…My other brothers and sisters are also scattered in your world, and they’re all Nightmare Seeds.” Asakawa Hana decided to tell Qiu Ren the truth.

“Isn’t it even better?”

Asakawa Hana looked at Qiu Ren’s anticipation. When she really pondered about it, she found that there seemed to be nothing wrong. She couldn’t find any reason to refuse at all.

The decision of the production team this time had disappointed her. Together with her mother’s encouragement, she made up her mind quickly.

“Then, when this ends, I want to go to your world and have a look,” Asakawa Hana said.