Chapter 142: I Look Forward To

"What did he dream about?"

"Just some nightmare monsters. He was slaughtering them in his dream. Captain, let me tell you, this kid is a bit of a freak. He dismembered so many of those monsters. The scene was, tsk, tsk..."

Mu Lingxi pondered this. Nightmare monsters? That was normal enough. Nightmare Apostles dreamt of them more than anything else. Because they entered the Nightmare World through their sleep, they naturally resisted dozing off, making actual nightmares a common occurrence.

"Did you guide him in his dream?"

Zhuang Qing nodded naturally. "Of course I did. I implanted a lot of information about the Seven Deadly Sins and Pride into his dream. His reaction was perfectly normal. In my opinion, the theft of the Eye of Gold and Qian Zihao's murder might just be coincidences. An evil organization like the Seven Deadly Sins couldn't possibly be cultivated in a small place like Star City."

Mu Lingxi zoned out for a moment. Was my intuition wrong? Perhaps Pride had no real connection to Star City and was merely passing through?

"Captain, we've been busy all night. Want to get some midnight snacks?" Zhuang Qing leaned in with a cheeky smile.

"Get back in bed. Next, enter Murong Mengli's dream. We need to clear all these suspects first."

"Huh?" Zhuang Qing looked completely reluctant. "Captain, I just woke up. How am I supposed to fall asleep right now? How about you give me a photo..."

Click!

It was the unmistakable sound of a round being chambered.

Staring down the dark barrel, Zhuang Qing immediately threw himself onto the bed. "I suddenly feel so sleepy. Captain, I'm going to sleep now."

Mu Lingxi holstered her gun and turned to leave.

As soon as she left, Zhuang Qing dropped his cheeky, joking demeanor and instantly turned expressionless. Lying flat on his back like a robot, he slowly closed his eyes.

...

...

Three days later.

Lower District. Inside the newly established Vipers Gang Headquarters, Su Mu was quietly listening to a record titled I Look Forward To.

The record player's wooden base boasted a warm, natural grain. Its slender tonearm acted as a nimble conductor's baton, translating the vinyl's grooves into a beautiful female voice.

That voice was clean and ethereal, like a girl awakening to love, gently recounting her sweet hopes for the future and romance.

"The gentle breeze brushes the sea of flowers, sunlight spills across the skirt's hem; dreams of youth are a vibrant painting, colored with expectations for the future..."

"I look forward to a wonderful future, where dreams shine brightly in the distance. I look forward to the arrival of love, illuminating my heart like the stars..."

"I look forward to forever feeling like the first time I met you."

"I look forward to the verdant wintergreen reflecting the light of the passing years."

"I look forward to your expectations..."

"Did you hear that?! My name!" Yang Dongqing yelled excitedly from the side. "This is the song Jasmine wrote for me!"

The ethereal female voice on the record hadn't even finished, but Yang Dongqing's shout instantly shattered the beautiful expectations within the music.

"I'm telling you, this song is super popular right now! Jasmine is going to be a big star!" He was extremely happy, almost happier than if he had become a star himself.

Su Mu looked at Yang Dongqing, who was howling and jumping around like a gorilla, and suddenly felt a headache coming on. "Did you come over just to drop off this record? To show off that Jasmine wrote a song for you?"

"How could I? I'm not that bored. I mainly came here to tell you that I sense the next Nightmare World is approaching. I've been a little restless these past few days." At the mention of the Nightmare World, Yang Dongqing's excited expression cooled slightly.

Now it was Su Mu who became interested. Was it finally coming? He had been bored out of his mind for three days.

Because of the arrival of the Gold Tier powerhouse, the entire Star City had become unprecedentedly oppressive. All the surging undercurrents had completely stopped. No one wanted to cause unnecessary trouble at such a sensitive time.

This left Su Mu very bored. The summons of the Nightmare World piqued his interest.

Honestly, if possible, he didn't want to piggyback on someone else's Nightmare summons. It was mainly because he never felt the call of the Nightmare World himself. Perhaps he simply went there too often.

Every time, before any summons could reach him, he had already taken the initiative to go in on his own.

"Just rest at the Poisonous Snake Gang for the next few nights," Su Mu said. "Wait for the Nightmare World to arrive."

Yang Dongqing nodded. This was exactly why he had come. To be honest, no one wanted to face the Nightmare World alone. During Tingting's nightmare last time, if it hadn't been for Su Mu's presence, he definitely wouldn't have made it out alive.

"Got it. I'll spend the days with Jasmine and come back to the Poisonous Snake Gang at night." With that, Yang Dongqing got up and left, running off to find Jasmine.

Su Mu shook his head helplessly. How did such a perfectly good Transcendent end up with such a love brain?

...

...

Inside a conference room at the Star City Law Enforcement Bureau.

Mu Lingxi looked serious, her brows furrowed tightly as she constantly pondered the clues they currently had.

"Captain, I've invaded the dreams of all these prime suspects. None of them have any connection to the Seven Deadly Sins. What do we do next?" Zhuang Qing asked with a yawn, sporting two huge dark circles under his eyes.

Mu Lingxi didn't reply. Her frown deepened. Things were troublesome now. If they couldn't find any clues in Star City, how would she report back to the Empire? There hadn't been a heinous incident of a noble being murdered in decades. Now that one had occurred, they were completely clueless. The higher-ups in the Imperial Capital were already highly dissatisfied.

At this time, Sikong Zhen, who was sitting to the side drinking tea, suddenly spoke up. "Since conventional methods can't find any clues, we can only rely on unconventional ones."

"You mean?"

"Future Sight," Sikong Zhen stated softly.

Mu Lingxi blanked for a moment. "The Bronze Law Sequence 241, Future Sight, hasn't appeared in over a decade. Could it be that Lord Sikong knows where to find a Transcendent with Future Sight?"

Sikong Zhen slowly shook his head. "Although I don't know where a Future Sight Transcendent is, I know there are other methods that can achieve an effect similar to Future Sight. For example, divination."

"Divination?" Mu Lingxi looked thoughtful. She seemed to realize something and blurted out, "Longevity Daoist Temple, Taoist Priest Xuanqing!"

"Correct, it is exactly Taoist Priest Xuanqing."

"But Taoist Priest Xuanqing wanders the world and has no fixed residence. He only stays in one place for a single year at a time. Trying to find him now, I'm afraid..."

Sikong Zhen smiled faintly. "There's no need to go out of your way to look for him. Taoist Priest Xuanqing just so happens to be wandering through Star City right now."

A hint of joy appeared on Mu Lingxi's face. "He's right here in Star City? That's perfect. I've long heard that Taoist Priest Xuanqing is an extraordinary person, highly proficient in the art of divination, with effects comparable to Future Sight. Back when he wandered into the Imperial Capital, he was even summoned by the Royal Family. If he lends a hand, finding clues about the Seven Deadly Sins won't be difficult."

"Let's go. We're going to meet Taoist Priest Xuanqing." Sikong Zhen stood up and strode out of the conference room.