"Is it really alright? We moved up a key plot point in that world."
"It’s fine. The Cleanup Department can handle the aftermath. Besides, the deviation in that world was so large that it actually branched off into its own independent sub-world. The Plot Department is actually quite happy about it."
Sitting behind the reception desk, Yun Luo, a guide with milky-blonde hair, crinkled her eyes into crescent moons. She rested her chin in her hands, tilting her head as she looked at Mu Ran with a smile. "One of the supporting characters even switched sides and joined the protagonist's party. That was interesting. How did you two pull it off?"
"Uh... honestly, we just went along with their own wild theories."
"I didn't expect to actually stumble into a major plot point... It was quite a surprise." Mu Ran stroked the tiny wisp of light floating beside him, sighing with emotion. "Good thing the System was there. Otherwise, with my limited information as a single person, I definitely wouldn't have resolved it so quickly."
The flowing blue aura circled Mu Ran once and then nuzzled the ends of his hair.
"It looks like the partners are getting along well," Yun Luo said with a faint smile. Her slender, fair fingers tapped a few times in the air, pulling up the interfaces for various sub-worlds. "So, are you ready to enter the next world?"
The interface finally settled on a cover image.
In the image, a masked young woman sat regally upon a throne. Surrounding her were various handsome and exquisite men and women, all maintaining postures of protection and respect. Mu Ran noticed that some of these people possessed non-human elements, such as animal ears, tails, and horizontal pupils.
Yun Luo blinked, her tone sweet. "It’s a game-derived world."
"However, in this world, there are many 'protagonists' like the one on the cover. Hmm... you can think of it as a single-player game that turned into a multiplayer online game after the world formed. Anyway, it’s not a big deal! After all, what we need is 'passerby' data."
"The Section Chief looked at your records from the last world and specifically chose this one. This world has a high level of acceptance for new energy systems, so we shouldn't see a repeat of the previous issues."
"Good luck, you two!"
***
The night was deep.
An ominous wind whistled through the dark woods, sounding like the low growl of a wild beast.
He Shuang trembled as she shielded a small campfire, trying to keep it from going out. Beside her, Liu Yue clutched her arm, shivering uncontrollably.
They had come to this mountain with a few friends for a picnic. They hadn't expected night to fall so quickly, and before they could pack up, everyone had been scattered by the sudden appearance of several wild boars.
How could there be wild boars in these mountains?!
Fortunately, He Shuang had found Liu Yue, who hadn't run too far. It was only then that they realized their phones were dead, and without anyone to lead them, they were completely lost.
Once darkness fell, the forest became alive with various sounds.
They were terrified. Luckily, Liu Yue still had a lighter on her. Lighting a fire not only provided warmth but could also serve as a slight deterrent to any predators lurking in the shadows.
However, this trick seemed useless against the animal currently approaching them.
Liu Yue scanned her surroundings as alertly as an owl. Suddenly, in the darkness not far away, she spotted a pair of glowing green eyes.
Startled, she squeezed He Shuang’s arm tight, her voice stammering and broken. "Sh-Shuang..."
He Shuang, whose arm was being pinched, had an even bigger reaction. Her whole body jolted. "W-What is it?"
Liu Yue pointed a trembling hand.
Under their terrified gazes, the owner of those green eyes stepped elegantly out of the darkness—it was a wolf with fur as white and smooth as snow and long, slender limbs.
...It was nearly as large as a grown man.
The two girls felt like they were about to faint.
Retaining a shred of sanity, He Shuang picked up a sparking torch and waved it around performatively. Seeing that the strangely intelligent wolf only gave her a cold glance before continuing its approach, she panicked and threw the torch directly at it.
It was easily dodged.
The white beast, having elegantly avoided the attack, did not seem provoked. It merely gazed at the two huddled girls with a deep, haunting look, then tilted its head back and let out a long, drawn-out howl.
"Awoooo—"
This sound completely broke the girls.
Liu Yue burst into sobs, and He Shuang’s limbs went weak.
The howling stopped, and the wolf began walking toward them.
A white-haired youth who had just rushed to the scene panicked. *Little White, stop!*
But an arrow was faster than his words.
As a warning, a sharp silver arrow grazed the top of the white wolf’s head, taking a few tufts of white fur with it before thudding deep into the ground right in the wolf's path.
"Whu?" The white wolf shook its head, its smooth fur rippling. Its two broad ears made a "flap-flap" sound as they swayed. Just as it was about to investigate, its master’s scolding voice echoed in its mind.
*Stop right now!! You’re scaring the civilians!!*
"Awooo—!" *I just wanted to help the ladies!*
Little did it know that this cry made the two girls think it had been provoked. They scrambled up from the ground, hands and feet flailing, desperate to run.
Seeing this, the white wolf took a few more steps forward.
"Awooo!" *I really don't have any bad intentions!*
Its master was fuming. Just as he was about to ignore his hidden status and step out to intervene, another figure moved faster, blocking the path in front of the two girls.
A tall, slender youth stood there, looking down coldly at the white wolf.
His eyes were a clear, crystalline emerald green, framed by long, raven-black lashes. His face was so exquisite it seemed unreal. His somewhat long, silver-white hair was tied back, and he held a longbow of a strange and unique design.
In the dim forest, his nearly translucent white skin seemed to glow, making him look like a creature straight out of a fairy tale or legend.
In the palm of his right hand, which was clad in a three-fingered glove, a silver-white arrow condensed. He nimbly notched it to the bowstring.
Faint, firefly-like specks of light drifted around the arrowhead.
"Awooo?!" The targeted white wolf grew tense.
"Leave?" The youth’s cold voice rang out, sounding like a question, yet also like a command.
*Little White, take this chance and get out of here!* The white wolf’s master was even more nervous than the wolf itself, hastily issuing an order through their mental link.
The white-haired youth remained hidden in the corner. No matter how hard he searched his memory, he couldn't identify this stranger. He could only use the recording device given by His Highness to capture the youth's appearance.
The white wolf was startled, but it didn't want to leave in such a pathetic, face-losing manner.
So, it tilted its head back and let out one more long howl, gave the youth a haughty, sidelong glance, and then paced elegantly back into the darkness.
Throughout the process, the youth watched it quietly, his grip on the bow never loosening.
Once the white wolf was gone, both sides breathed a sigh of relief.
One side was the white-haired youth who had been tense in the shadows for a long time.
Seeing the white wolf return and dive into his arms for comfort, the white-haired youth finally relaxed. After vigorously rubbing the wolf's head, he opened a spatial portal to return to Little Penglai.
After all, staying here too long had already disturbed the civilians... His Highness would definitely put Little White in solitary confinement once they got back. Sighing, the white-haired youth couldn't help but rub the wolf again as it whimpered pitifully.
The other side was the seemingly cold youth—Mu Ran, wearing his new shell.
This experiment was meant to see how "passerby" characters would react to help from wandering spirits.
Since it was a relatively simple experiment, the System hadn't been given the chance to choose a body. For the previous dozen or so "problems," the System had simply possessed small animals to create trouble, and Mu Ran had stepped in to resolve them.
Relying on the System’s exquisite acting (playing dead) and Mu Ran’s condensed blunt-tipped arrows, the previous passersby hadn't realized that Mu Ran was actually faking the fights.
But this time was a genuine accident.
In his haste, the arrow Mu Ran fired seemed to have quite a bit of power...
That white wolf seemed very intelligent, and Mu Ran didn't really want to hurt it, but the System reported that it couldn't possess the creature.
Fortunately, it had been scared off.
Well... this would count as an extra experiment. Now to see how the two girls would react.
Mu Ran lowered his bow and turned around. The longbow and silver arrow dissolved into specks of light and vanished.
The two girls stared at him blankly, tear tracks still wet on their faces. A mix of relief from surviving and a certain kind of awe flickered in their eyes.
They looked like two dazed guinea pigs huddling together.
Mu Ran looked at them, but after a moment, he felt uncomfortable under their intense gazes and looked away.
"It is safe," he spoke coldly. The brief sentence sounded somewhat aloof and indifferent.
But the two girls didn't feel that way at all.
"Thank you, thank you!!" He Shuang was the first to snap out of it. Her face flushed as she thanked him, feeling like today’s experience could be turned into a fantasy novel.
Liu Yue followed suit, nodding dazedly. When a stinging sensation came from her arm, she realized belatedly that she was injured.
The pain stimulated her fragile, post-crisis heart. While nodding and thanking him alongside He Shuang, Liu Yue couldn't help but start crying again.
"Injured?" The clear, cold voice of the youth sounded by her ear.
Liu Yue tried to suppress the urge to cry that always came when someone showed her concern. She pressed her lips together and shook her head silently.
She heard him let out a soft sigh.
Fragments of fine light appeared out of nowhere, gently flowing into the arm that was seeping blood. Then, a cool sensation covered the previously painful wound.
"Wow!" Hearing He Shuang’s surprised exclamation, Liu Yue realized with a delay that the wound on her arm had vanished.
She blinked her moist eyes and murmured a thank you. "Thank you..."
"Mm."
Mu Ran gave a soft hum in response, then asked the two of them, "Going down the mountain?"
He Shuang was a bit bashful. "W-We don't know the way."
Liu Yue added softly, "It’s too dark to see..."
"Follow."
After patiently listening to them, Mu Ran dropped those two words and walked straight ahead.
After a hesitant glance at each other, the two girls chose to follow.
They noticed that everywhere the youth passed, a soft green glow lit the way, which also unconsciously soothed their frayed nerves.
Before they knew it, they saw a paved road.
By now, the crescent moon hung high in the sky.
He Shuang and Liu Yue: "!!"
They were finally out!
Just as they were about to unleash a storm of gratitude upon the youth who had stopped walking, they heard him turn and ask:
"Can you contact others?"
He didn't seem to speak long sentences often; there were subtle pauses in his speech, as if he hadn't communicated with people in a long time.
"Y-Yes!" Facing the youth’s beautiful face again, He Shuang felt dizzy and even pulled out her phone to prove it.
—Only to be slapped in the face by the phone, which died halfway through booting up.
Ah... right. They were trapped on the mountain because their batteries were dead.
At this time of night, being on this road wasn't exactly safe either... plus, it was freezing.
However, they were too embarrassed to ask for anything more.
But in the next second, the youth handed them a familiar object—a silver-white smartphone.
"Use this."
Concise as always.
He Shuang took it, bewildered. Liu Yue stared at the phone in surprise.
Their trains of thought synchronized: *What?! He actually has a phone? Shouldn't a mysterious being like this be ignorant of such things!*
*And a SIM card! Does he have an ID card?*
*Wait?! Is he like a magical girl who hides his identity normally and transforms at critical moments!*
Perhaps the expressions on their faces were too vivid, because Mu Ran added an extra explanation: "Someone gave it to me."
Then he watched them quietly, waiting for them to contact their friends or family.
When they finished the call and tried to return the phone, the youth refused.
"For you," he said.
As He Shuang and Liu Yue shook their heads like rattles in refusal, he simply said coldly, "I am leaving."
He Shuang: *Eh? Leaving already?!*
She felt like she had a million questions to ask, but she also felt a sudden trepidation about touching the supernatural.
The usually gentle and timid Liu Yue suddenly became braver.
"Thank you so much for today." Liu Yue first thanked him solemnly again, then her expression shifted slightly, and she asked softly with a hint of longing, "Excuse me... are you an elf?"
Her cheeks were slightly red, her eyes filled with the dreamlike wonder of a girl witnessing a fairy tale.
"Do you live here? ...I mean, will we have a chance to see you here again?"
The youth gazed at Liu Yue quietly for a few seconds before answering, "Not an elf."
After a pause, he added in a low voice, "A wanderer."
He avoided the second question.
But his peaceful attitude gave He Shuang a bit of courage as well. She steeled herself.
"You... you're really beautiful!" She felt embarrassed the moment the words left her mouth and hurriedly added, "Uh... your voice is nice too, uh, everything is great!"
The youth’s eyes curved slightly.
He Shuang was so mesmerized by that faint smile that she almost started babbling nonsense again.
Liu Yue hurriedly explained for her friend who always lost her words in the presence of beauty. "She often can't speak clearly when she's expressing that she likes something."
He Shuang nodded like a chick pecking at grain. "Yes, yes!"
With this interruption, the bit of fear in her heart dissipated.
The image of the youth’s downcast emerald eyes when he called himself a "wanderer"—and the peace and sorrow contained within them—remained on her retinas. He Shuang suddenly wanted to say a few more things to make him smile again.
"Really, thank you so much! You... you look really good when you smile!" He Shuang struggled to organize her words, then suddenly remembered something. "Oh! Let us give you something too!"
She felt around her person for a long time before remembering that because the wild boars were so fierce, she hadn't dared to grab any of her things.
He Shuang: (QAQ)
Liu Yue also realized this. After searching for a while, she finally pulled a bracelet out of her pocket—it was even an unfinished one.
Liu Yue: (TAT)
"This seems to be the only thing we have on us..." Liu Yue held the turquoise glass bead bracelet in her palms, offering it carefully.
She felt awkward, her ears burning, not daring to look him in the face.
Her palm felt as if a cool breeze had brushed over it, gentle and light.
"Thank you."
The youth’s cold voice drifted into her ears with the wind.
Just as Liu Yue wanted to say a few more words to him, the phone in He Shuang’s hand suddenly rang.
Mu Ran also heard the sound of a vehicle approaching from far down the road.
"Leaving."
He nodded to the two girls, ignored their faces full of regret and reluctance, and turned, vanishing into specks of light.
The two stared blankly at the spot where he had disappeared until their friends and family, who had rushed over in their cars, pulled them into a flurry of concern. Only then did they snap out of it.
...To put it more accurately, they returned to the mortal world.
The encounter with the mysterious youth was a wonderful, brilliant—
"Dream of the Forest."
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 云萝 | Yun Luo | The guide/receptionist at the transition point. |
| 贺双 | He Shuang | One of the two girls rescued in the forest. |
| 刘月 | Liu Yue | One of the two girls rescued in the forest. |
| 白崽 | Little White | Nickname for the white wolf (Bai-zai). |
| 小蓬莱 | Little Penglai | A location/sect name in the game world. |
| 流浪者 | Wanderer | Mu Ran's self-identification in this world. |
| 林之梦 | Dream of the Forest | The girls' name for their encounter with Mu Ran. |
