☆ Chapter 16: Why Did the Villain Steal the Female Lead's Scenes?

Luo Binghe was stunned: "My..." He took a step back, looking at the boundless and desolate world, and murmured: "My dream... is it really like this?"

The environment is created by the mind. At such a young age, he already understands so many feelings.

Shen Qingqiu said dryly, "This is not an ordinary dream. I'm afraid someone has tampered with it without your knowledge. The spiritual energy fluctuations in the dream are strong and unstable. I was unintentionally pulled into this by you."

Luo Binghe looked ashamed and said, "This disciple is useless and has implicated Master." He then pondered deeply, "Who could have tampered with my dream?"

Shen Qingqiu fully experienced the joy of being a spoiler, and directly revealed the answer: "No need to think about it. There is demonic energy churning at the edge of this dream, and the methods are so low-class, it is undoubtedly a member of the demon race."

Upon hearing this, Luo Binghe was not surprised, but his hatred for the demons was aroused again, and he said, "The demons of the demon realm are indeed vicious."

I wonder what expression Luo Binghe will have when he learns of his half-demon identity and remembers what he said...

Shen Qingqiu smiled and said, "Not necessarily malicious. Perhaps they have the opposite intention."

From Shen Qingqiu's omniscient perspective, what he was referring to was that the one who tampered with Luo Binghe's dream was Sha Hualing.

Of course, there were malicious intentions involved, but as everyone knows, the biggest factor was a secret stirring of affection.

Otherwise, why not harm others but only him? For a demon witch, the person she likes is someone she's meant to bully mercilessly ╮(￣▽￣”)╭ But this is only in the early stages. Once she's taken into Luo Binghe's harem, she'll have no choice but to submit.

Luo Binghe didn't understand what he meant by those words, but his smile was meaningful, and the end of his sentence was slightly upturned, which had a slightly frivolous feel to it, but also a certain charm that made people's hearts flutter.

“This dream is extraordinary. Ordinary nightmare spells can't trap me; I can break free with a thought. But this dream is truly exquisite. I'm afraid that if the core of the illusion is destroyed, no one will be able to get out.”

"So you mean we'll be trapped in this dream forever?" Luo Binghe said apologetically, "It's all my fault."

Shen Qingqiu said, "Now that things have come to this, there's no point in saying more. Let's act quickly and break the barrier to get out of here."

Luo Binghe nodded silently and followed behind Shen Qingqiu toward the edge of the dream.

Shen Qingqiu appeared calm on the surface, but his mind was in turmoil as he engaged in a fierce exchange with the system.

System: [System Prompt: You are now entering an important side story quest: The Nightmare's Barrier. Please ensure that you assist Luo Binghe in defeating the Nightmare's illusion during this quest. Otherwise, 1000 points of satisfaction will be deducted.]

Here we go again. It's that "satisfaction point" deduction again, and every time it's that heart-stopping number. I've worked so hard for so long and barely earned a few points, and you deduct 1000 at once? Is that really okay?! Don't be so ruthless, human... no, don't be so cruel, system!

But that's not the main point. The main point is—the plot has gone completely wrong.

The original premise of this passage is that, before being pulled into the attack range of the nightmare demon, Luo Binghe instinctively pulled the person he trusted most into the barrier in order to protect himself.

Shen Qingqiu frantically slammed his phone into the system: "Big Brother, big Brother, are you sure there's no bug? This scene is supposed to be about Luo Binghe wooing a girl. And the girl is supposed to help him resolve his inner conflicts and use love to help him overcome his inner demons. How come I've suddenly taken over that role?! What happened to the deeply affectionate and soul-stirring harem-building scene? What happened to the inseparable and devoted junior sister?!"

System: [Self-test found no bugs. System is running normally.]

There are no bugs, which means that in this storyline, you either succeed or die.

Shen Qingqiu realized the power of the butterfly effect for the first time.

In the original work, the person who was dragged into the nightmare by Luo Binghe was Ning Yingying. As the person Luo Binghe was closest to and most trusted on Qingjing Peak in the early stages, this task of clearing the level and increasing intimacy should have fallen on her.

What's going on now?

How did the title of "most trusted" and "closest person" inexplicably end up being pinned on Shen Qingqiu?

Shen Qingqiu expressed that he was flattered but did not want to wear this hat at all!

Seeing Shen Qingqiu's inscrutable expression, Luo Binghe asked with concern, "Master, what's wrong?"

Shen Qingqiu immediately regained his composure and said calmly, "It's nothing. I was thinking that the demons that manipulate dreams usually attack the most vulnerable parts of people's hearts, so you need to be prepared."

Luo Binghe nodded, his expression resolute, and said, "This disciple will never let Master be implicated again."

This is so tough. Not only was he caught up in a dangerous plot, but if he's not mistaken, he also has to take on the responsibility for the female characters' scenes.

Shen Qingqiu had absolutely no desire to shield the protagonist from harm or follow him through thick and thin, facing terrifying inner demons and nightmares QAQ!

What kind of luck does it take to get to this point...?

He was just complaining about the gods of this world, but thinking about it, the gods are innocent too. Didn't they just shoot planes into the sky to create this world? As a wholesome harem novel writer, he certainly wouldn't want this kind of situation to appear in his stories. A perfectly good girl being replaced by a scumbag villain—how awful!

The two walked on for a while, and the clouds above and the scenery around them were like a kaleidoscope, sometimes stretched and distorted, sometimes broken into thousands of fragments, changing unpredictably. They walked in this world as if the people were painted by Leonardo da Vinci and the background was painted by Picasso. The styles were different, and the sense of incongruity was unusually strong.

Suddenly, a city appeared in the dark clouds ahead.

The two stopped, and Luo Binghe looked at Shen Qingqiu, waiting for his signal.

Shen Qingqiu pondered for a moment and said, "When soldiers come, we'll block them; when water comes, we'll dam it. Let's go in."

As Luo Binghe approached the city gate, he looked up, a slightly puzzled expression on his face.

Shen Qingqiu knew perfectly well that he felt the city looked very familiar.

Of course I'm familiar with it; this is the city where Luo Binghe wandered during his childhood.

There were no soldiers guarding the city gate; it opened slowly on its own, and Shen Qingqiu led him inside.

This dream was terrifyingly real. At times, it was as abstract as a few blobs of color, yet at other times, it was indistinguishable from reality. The city's main roads, markets, houses, and stalls were all exquisitely detailed. The lights were bright, and people were coming and going. From a distance, it seemed bustling and lively, but upon closer inspection, even though Shen Qingqiu was prepared, he still felt a chill run down his spine.

None of the "people" involved in these activities had faces.

Their faces were just blurry blobs, their features indistinct, and they made no sound. They didn't seem alive at all, yet they were still busily moving about. The entire city was deathly silent, presenting an eerie kind of prosperity.

Luo Binghe had never seen such a sight before and asked in horror, "Master, what are these?"

Shen Qingqiu felt a little uneasy, but still took on the responsibility of explaining the encyclopedia.

"This is a phantom city created using nightmares. In a dream, inanimate objects like houses and trees can be created, but living people cannot be created. At most, you can only make monsters like this, without noses, faces, or words. But to be able to create a city on such a scale, almost indistinguishable from the real thing, is probably only possible for that person."

Luo Binghe humbly inquired, "Which person?"

Shen Qingqiu: "Nightmare."

The Nightmare is the boss in this dreamlike instance.

The true form of the Dream Demon is a renowned senior figure among the demon race. His physical body was destroyed in a calamity hundreds of years ago, but his powerful primordial spirit remained intact. Since then, he has parasitized the dreams of others, surviving by absorbing spiritual power and essence.

At the same time, he is also one of the protagonist's actual mentors.

It was him who, after Luo Binghe broke the barrier, clichédly became fast friends with the protagonist at first sight, imparted all his unique skills to him, and occasionally offered suggestions or strategies, lending a helping hand or something.

Luo Binghe was inexperienced and naturally did not understand this person's background. He wanted to ask a few more questions, but his eyes inadvertently swept across the crowd and he was stunned.

Shen Qingqiu asked knowingly, "What's wrong?"

Luo Binghe said, "Master, I don't know if I saw it wrong. Just now, I think I saw a person with a face in the crowd."

Shen Qingqiu flicked his sleeves and walked in the direction he pointed, saying succinctly, "Chase."

The two followed closely behind the group whose style was completely out of place, and after wandering around the city for a long time, they finally stopped in front of a small alley.

There were five people with faces. Each one had a clear face, not a blurry mess. They looked like five teenagers, four of whom were tall and surrounded one on the ground. They were shouting and cursing, with words like "little bastard" and "son of a bitch" flying all over the box. They didn't even notice the two people following behind them.

Luo Binghe said, "They seem to be unable to see us."

He looked at Shen Qingqiu as if to ask, "Isn't it said that dream demons can't create people with facial features?"

It's time for the torture again.

Shen Qingqiu sighed inwardly and said, "The Dream Demon can't use nightmares to create people, but this person wasn't created by him. Luo Binghe, take a closer look at these people."

Luo Binghe slowly shifted his gaze to them, looked at them for a while, and suddenly his body trembled.

Shen Qingqiu said, "These are not illusions created by the dream demon; they are projections of real people who exist in your memory. The dream demon merely used a little trick to awaken these shadows that were sleeping in your heart."

Luo Binghe seemed to have stopped hearing him, raising his hand to cover his temples, as if his mind was twitching.

Shen Qingqiu knew that Luo Binghe's inner demons had already struck.

Four thuggish-looking teenagers surrounded a child who looked only four or five years old, punching and kicking him. The ragged child covered his head with his hands, curled up on the ground, silently enduring the beating. It was truly worrying; such a young child might be beaten to death!

"Hey, this blind little bastard dares to steal our jobs on our turf!"

"You're tired of living!"

"Stomp him to death. Isn't he pitiful? Isn't he hungry and starving? Even if you beat him to death, he won't have to worry about not having food!"

Luo Binghe seemed to have a splitting headache, as if he could only see that frail little figure on the ground. It was his younger self from the past, with a pair of bright, star-like eyes peeking out from his disheveled hair and blood-stained face, shooting towards him like two sharp swords.

Luo Binghe couldn't take his eyes off her.

Shen Qingqiu said in a deep voice, "Binghe, this is just an illusion."