The Last Gentleman

At the exit of Cesimani’s orchard,

Yi Chen and Jin returned to the street district via a black arched bridge. During this time, a part of Yi Chen’s thoughts was still immersed in the touch of the servant model, to the point where he unconsciously gestured with the axe in mid-air.

“William, it looks like you’ve learned quite a bit from Yuri.”

“Hmm, it’s only theoretical for now, I haven’t applied it in real combat yet.”

“You’ve been using this axe for quite some time. A weapon made using the core of a Patient is more suitable for human gentlemen. For us, after transcending our Limits, such weapons can no longer exhibit our true capabilities.

A bit too much force or injecting too much energy might just blow the axe apart.”

William, you could try to get some materials from the Old World; it would be ideal to kill an Open Source Patient and use their Physical body to forge weapons.”

“Where am I supposed to find materials now? Let’s talk about that later. The material and craftsmanship of this axe are among the best for beginners, and it’s functioning quite well for me at the moment, plus I’m already very proficient with it.

Next, we might get involved in a Nightmare event. When we’re in the Dream, these external weapons might not even be allowed to enter, so we’ll need to rely more on our own power.”

I can hardly wait; let’s hurry and meet up with that fat man Reagan!”

[Outside the Power Station]

The street corner still had a long queue; each day, many people came to apply for the qualification test at the Power Station.

As Yi Chen and Jin squeezed forward to the front of the queue, they immediately encountered cold stares, and some even looked like they wanted to curse out loud… But when they felt the Transcender aura emanating from the two, everyone promptly shut their mouths.

At the very front of the queue, two Power Station employees were seated. Yi Chen directly asked them, “Is Reagan inside?”

Ludwig Reagan

Having transcended the Limit of Man, he had been promoted to the director of the Power Station Research Institute, dramatically elevating his position. Meeting a director-level gentleman required the relevant paperwork and an appointment in advance.

As one of them attempted to ask for the paperwork, the other quickly elbowed him and gave a look that signaled him to handle the situation differently.

They glimpsed a special emblem at the junction of Jin’s shirt sleeve and wrist.

“A Cesimani Executioner… please wait while I notify them!”

Just as one was about to get up, a surge of spiritual power from within the Power Station suddenly radiated out, reaching their brains and making it impossible to reject the message conveyed.

“Have them wait a moment; I’ll be right out.”

“Ha! Please wait a moment, Director Reagan says…”

Before he could finish delivering the message, the back door was already opened.

Dressed in a deep blue coat with black edges, decorated with the Power Station’s halo circle on the back, Reagan appeared. His face sported an unmanaged stubble, and with his somewhat dark circled eyes, he indeed had the air of a director.

The conspicuous bulge on his electronic spine was still slightly vibrating, indicating that Reagan had exerted nearly all his effort to get here from the Institute in just seconds.

“Reagan? You sensed us already?” Yi Chen was also very surprised. Though he, Jin, and Reagan had all involved the Sensing trait in their Multi-attribute Breakthroughs,

the Sensing for Yi Chen and Jin was secondary,

whereas Reagan’s Sensing was core, and his Professional Characteristics had raised the human limit of Sensing to [7]. With the Extreme Breakthrough, Reagan had completely surpassed the two in terms of Sensing.

“The Power Station is where I work for long hours. When an unusual and powerful Aura like yours approaches, it immediately causes an alteration in the internal magnetic field. All I need to do is point my Sensing in the right direction to know it’s you.

Seeing as you’re both here together, it mustn’t be something trivial. Let’s talk outside. I haven’t left the building for two weeks, constantly cooped up in the lab.

They don’t allow food delivery to the Institute. It’s been ages since I’ve had the beef at the street corner.”

“Alright, I’ll treat you.”

In a thoroughly private booth,

After devouring a portion for five people of beef stew, Reagan completely slumped on the couch, specifically undoing the button at his belly, and slid a hand into his shirt, rubbing clockwise incessantly.

At this moment, Yi Chen, sitting across from Jin, placed both hands on the table.

“Reagan, have you heard about ‘Nightmare Exploration’?”

At these words,

Reagan, who had been completely relaxed, suddenly sprang upright, “You came to me about this? I’ve only overheard it mentioned in the Institute; Nightmare Exploration still seems to be in the trial phase, and I have no plans to engage in it yet.”

“What? You are going?”

“Yes, I happened to enter a nightmare a while back…”

Yi Chen elaborated in detail on his coincidental experience of entering a dream during his time working on a clothing project and laid out his plans for this incident.

Reagan touched his belly and fastened his button again.

“So, you have not yet obtained the ‘Nightmare Exploration’ qualification, and now you plan to speak with Principal Desline about it, right? Oh, William, you know my situation… I am somewhat estranged from the principal, and it’s a bit awkward for me to meet with her.

Why don’t you two go talk to her directly and let’s discuss it further once she agrees?”

“No, Reagan, you must come with me.

If I go to talk to her alone, she definitely won’t agree. If you are there, your ‘Heavenly Connection’ can help us gain more initiative in the nightmare, making it more likely for the principal to agree.”

“Why must we take this risk? It might be too reckless.”

At the moment, Reagan was quite fond of his stable life immersed in research, gradually improving while being able to spend every night with Faye. He was reluctant to engage with nightmares prematurely and disrupt this sense of stability.

Just then,

Buzz~ The lights in the room flickered.

After transitioning from dark to light, a girl in a white dress had appeared sitting next to Reagan, her semi-translucent skin showing various colored wires.

When she opened her mouth, a tongue full of holes slowly extended, emitting a sound like a radio transmission.

“Reagan, let’s go.

We’ve been staying at the power station and it’s been so boring lately, I haven’t gone on an adventure for a long time.

Since it’s an organization-approved act of entering dreams, there should be safety measures like timely awakenings. I also want to experience what this nearly real dream is like.

Let’s go play~ okay?”

Faced with his girlfriend’s request, Reagan did not give any rational thought and immediately agreed, “Okay.”

Sitting opposite, Yi Chen watched the two of them displaying affection and couldn’t help but glance at Jin next to him, only to discover that Jin was actually enjoying the scene.

[Omphalo-Centric-Academy – Principal’s Office]

Principal Desline, towering nearly a head above everyone else, hands crossed in front of her chest, looked down at the three young people who could almost represent the highest potential of Zion.

“Do you really want to join the trial program for ‘Nightmare Exploration’? If you’re sure, then I’ll ask the other registered ‘Death Soldiers’ to wait.”

“Death Soldiers?”

“Not everyone can recognize themselves in a nightmare and escape from it like you, William. Even with our supervision, we cannot guarantee the absolute safety of the dreamers, and the death rate is still frighteningly high.

Any gentleman who registers for ‘Nightmare Exploration (trial)’ will have to sign a life and death statement.

Even so, there are still many people willing to sacrifice themselves, just like you.”

The principal’s statement was clearly meant to deter the three,

however, Jin seemed even more excited, rubbing his hands together incessantly.

Yi Chen stepped forward to explain, “I have experience with nightmares, and all three of us are adept at ‘Sensing’, with Reagan’s sensing far surpassing others at his level.

Moreover, if we can experience nightmares in advance, we can lay the groundwork for handling any sudden outbreaks.

After all, no one can say for sure whether nightmares will suddenly erupt one night, becoming able to penetrate clothing and invade everyone’s minds.

At least while it appears stable, it’s best to make contact and learn as much as we can about the essence of nightmares.”

Desline nodded slightly, “Then I will supervise your entry into the dream. The location…”

Reagan interrupted at this point, “The location can be chosen as the power station. The director can arrange a suitable dream room for us, along with equipment to monitor our brainwave status. If there are any anomalies, we can try waking up through a strong electric current.”

“Not bad, I didn’t expect having you there would be quite beneficial~”

“Haha.” Reagan could only give a forced laugh, while suppressing his girlfriend internally to prevent her from suddenly exploding and talking back to the principal.

Leading the way, Desline continued, “Truth be told, if we disregard the risk factors, I highly recommend that you three undergo nightmare exploration.

Within the whole of Zion, there’s no other team like yours, all adept at sensing. Let’s go!”