Chapter 124: Little Ji Ning

As the Union Jack atop Windsor Castle fluttered in the night wind, the bells of Westminster finally tolled.

The massive clock hand pointed to the final and initial moment representing a cycle. At the very instant the bells rang, Adonis released the constraints he had placed upon his own psychic power.

The moment the first drop of rain touched the ground, an invisible tide engulfed the entire city. The surging psychic energy caused the SCP Foundation’s detection instruments to burn out almost instantly as they hit their maximum thresholds. Whether they were oblivious ordinary citizens or supernatural organizations that had been braced for resistance, all were swallowed by the world Adonis had created.

Having shed his mortal shell, Adonis—now purely spiritual—stood at the city's highest point, quietly watching as the metropolis ground to a halt under his will.

At a hotel, a temporary lodging, Qin Mo watched helplessly as the pause button was pressed on time. Those who had been preparing a second ago were now frozen solid.

The mental defenses Professor Christina had set up for her only allowed her to enter the dream state a few seconds later than the others. In other words, by the time Qin Mo realized her teammates had fallen into their dreams, she hadn't even had time to react before being pulled into the dreamscape woven by Adonis.

"This doesn't seem to be what we agreed upon," was Qin Mo’s final thought before closing her eyes.

Falling, endlessly falling—even the light seemed twisted by an infinite abyss. Qin Mo clearly realized she was suspended in eternal darkness; it was a sensation she had experienced before.

She tried to stop her descent, but everything Professor Christina had taught her proved useless. Adonis’s psychic power was no longer merely psychic; no one knew how to define the energy form created by the fusion of an Old God’s authority and the vast light of the city. Speculations based purely on conventional psychic ability were meaningless.

Qin Mo felt lost and helpless, a sensation she hadn't felt since meeting Ji Ning. Now, she began to miss him.

"They have entered the dreamscape. According to Adonis’s description, everything in the dream is generated based on the dreamer. If there’s no danger, it’s more like a vacation in paradise. What would Ji Ning’s dream be like?" A critical question suddenly occurred to her.

What would the dream of a young man in the prime of his life—who, in certain respects, had only ever held hands or hugged his girlfriend—look like? Or rather, what kind of dream would he want?

In an instant, Qin Mo’s mind simulated a magnificent palace. Amidst pools of wine and forests of meat, a naked guy was blindfolded, chasing women who wore so little they might as well have been censored. "Come here, beauties, let's play..."

Qin Mo gritted her teeth. Her rapidly functioning brain soon discovered the source of her predicament.

The ring of authority on the ring finger of her left hand was emitting a faint blue glow. Before she had focused on it, the entire space was shrouded in darkness, but as her gaze fell upon the ring, the blue light intensified, like a candle ignited in her hand.

Subconsciously, Qin Mo extended her left hand and stepped forward. Within a few paces, it was as if a thin film had been punctured, and light tore through the long darkness.

A brilliant orb of light hovered before her, and within it, Qin Mo could clearly see a curled-up body: Adonis. The orb encased him like a womb. She could sense he was in the midst of a process—she guessed it was something akin to gestation, for in the tens of seconds she observed, the energy fluctuations unconsciously radiated by the encased Adonis were gradually intensifying.

Surrounding the orb were light particles like fireflies. No one had told Qin Mo what they represented, yet she knew they were dreams. It was a strange feeling. She stared at the ring on her left hand and hesitated, then tucked her left hand into her pocket, sensing that if those particles touched the ring, there might be unexpected consequences.

She had no desire to wander into a stranger’s dream. Who knew what kind of bizarre things were in there?

After studying the orb for a while, she closed her eyes and began to feel the fluctuations of the light particles. Guided by the ring, it still took her several hours to find the four particles that gave her a sense of familiarity. They were undoubtedly Ji Ning, Katherine, Afra, and Zhao Tianxing.

She didn't agonize over the order. She wasn't someone who prioritized romance over friendship; she simply chose the one that felt closest. Well, if it happened to be Ji Ning, then so be it.

Holding that particle in her palm, the expected entry didn't happen. Hesitating, she extended her left hand. The moment the ring touched the particle, she felt as if she had stepped into a void, and the blinding light of the ring engulfed her.

The surroundings faded, and in a flash, Qin Mo found herself in a golden field.

The wheat grew wild, like an endless ocean. As a breeze blew through the waves of grain, she saw a little boy wearing a small crown, sitting on a throne made of stacked wheat. Behind the throne was a swirling vortex. She guessed that was the entrance to Ji Ning’s dream.

The little boy eyed her with extreme caution, raising a wooden sword and shouting, "Who are you?"

Qin Mo recognized at a glance that the boy was a younger version of Ji Ning, about seven or eight years old. She recalled Professor Christina’s words: "Everyone has their own psychological defenses. In the world of dreams, these interwoven emotions manifest as people or objects. We call them 'Mind Guardians.' They hold the keys and gates to the mental world. You can reach the deepest parts of their hearts by gaining their approval or by killing them."

Though she didn't know why little Ji Ning didn't recognize her, she couldn't possibly use violence to enter the vortex.

"I’m Qin Mo. Don't you know me?" Qin Mo smiled, thinking that Ji Ning’s Mind Guardian was actually a seven-year-old child; he really was still just a boy who hadn't grown up.

"My name is Ji Ning. What are you doing here?" Little Ji Ning showed no reaction to the name. He leaped down from the golden throne, his wooden sword still gripped tightly in his hand.

"That’s a bit complicated to explain. Well, your true self has fallen into an abnormal dreamscape for some reason. I have no malice toward you; I just want to pass through the vortex behind you to wake you up."

"And how do you prove that you aren't lying?"

Qin Mo pondered for a moment and realized she truly couldn't prove it.

"What is your relationship to me?" little Ji Ning continued.

Qin Mo blinked, feeling a bit awkward. "I’m your girlfriend." It felt truly strange to say this to a seven-year-old boy.

"Proof?" little Ji Ning asked skeptically.

Qin Mo fell silent again. Aside from a finger-ring she had worn out long ago, Ji Ning had never given her any personal items. This meant she had no convincing evidence.

She felt a sudden flash of irritation. This jerk—they’d known each other for so long, and he’d never even given her a gift? Then she realized she hadn't given him one either. She felt a bit embarrassed. *Fine, once I get out of here, I’ll get him a little gift and drop some hints about the displacement reaction.*

"You're lying! You're a bad person!" Seeing her silence, little Ji Ning decided that this pretty lady must be a liar.

"I’m not, I'm really not," Qin Mo denied, waving her hands as she closed the distance.

"Bad people always say they aren't bad." Little Ji Ning brandished his wooden sword. Pretty women were the best liars—he didn't know where he had learned that, but he remembered it clearly.

Qin Mo suddenly remembered the phone in her pocket. Since this was composed of consciousness, if she believed her phone was in her pocket, it would be there.

She reached into her pocket and found it. She shook it at him. "This is my phone. There’s proof of our relationship inside."

Little Ji Ning shook his head. "That can be forged. Nothing in the mental world is impossible to construct."

Qin Mo was speechless. Then she realized, "If everything can be forged, doesn't that mean nothing can be used as evidence?"

Little Ji Ning smiled slyly. "Big sister, you’re actually quite smart."

"So you won't believe me no matter what?" Qin Mo sighed.

"Choosing to believe you are a bad person minimizes any potential harm, rather than assuming you are good." Little Ji Ning sheathed his sword, looking more like a tiny knight.

If she didn't have to, she wouldn't want to hurt little Ji Ning. But things had reached this point—she’d just have to catch him and give his bottom a spanking; maybe that would make him relent.

But before she could get close enough to grab him, he pointed his sword at her. "I smell subtle malice."

Qin Mo spread her hands and kept moving closer, blinking. "Really? Let me see where."

He didn't say anything more, just watched her warily. When she felt the distance was right, she lunged.

A moment later, little Ji Ning was riding on the shoulders of a disheveled Qin Mo. He said proudly, "This is my world. Unless your will is many times stronger than mine, you can't beat me."

"Since you look pretty good, I won't erase you. You are my slave now." He patted her head.

Qin Mo suppressed her anger, silently marking it down.

"Sister Qin Mo, I command you to play a game with me." He enthusiastically issued his first order.

Qin Mo struggled to get up from the ground. "Play what?"

"Horseback riding."

Qin Mo looked around and fell silent for a moment before asking a subtle question: "Who’s the horse?"

Little Ji Ning smiled brightly. "Certainly not me."

Time in the mental world flowed differently than in the outside world, so she wasn't worried about wasting too much time. She patiently played with him for a long time.

The moment she realized she couldn't beat him at all, she decided to change her strategy.

Since little Ji Ning was quite cute, staying here for a while didn't hurt. As long as she built up his favorability, wouldn't walking through that vortex be a breeze?

Although she couldn't kiss or hug him properly, who doesn't love a cute, delicate boy? Especially when you know he is the childhood version of your boyfriend—you naturally love him by extension. After Qin Mo’s strong protests, the little guy didn't force her, settling for a game of Gomoku instead.

There were sunrises and sunsets in the dream, though whether due to her exhaustion or an anomaly in time, the sunset came unusually late.

When night fell, he stopped asking her to play games. He returned to his throne and began to watch the stars.

Qin Mo tentatively climbed up toward the wheat throne and, seeing no reaction, sat beside him. "What are you looking at?"

"The stars."

Qin Mo said nothing, watching silently for a while. The sky was like a vast curtain, with stars scattered recklessly across it—dazzling and orderly.

After a long time, she asked, "Why do you keep looking at those stars?"

Staying quiet while watching stars was normal, but doing so with a companion was strange—especially since, based on the afternoon, he wasn't a child who liked silence.

He turned to look at her, a hint of confusion in his eyes. "I don't know. I’ve spent every night like this. Once I finish counting these stars, the sun rises, and it's a new day."

Qin Mo suddenly wanted to hug him, for the expression he wore as he spoke was called loneliness.

She remembered his words from the afternoon: "Choosing to believe you are a bad person minimizes any potential harm."

Even though little Ji Ning was omnipotent in this world, he was just a lonely child who had wrapped himself up tight.

"Which one are you counting?"

"The two thousand, eight hundred, and fifty-third."

"Do you remember which one it is? If not, how about we count them together?"

"It’s that one." He pointed.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. I remember every single star here."