Millet Dream

Looking at her face and the distance between them, she was exactly the same sister-in-law he had just seen simulated in the world fragment.

However, her charming face now showed none of the alluring softness of a woman from the dust and smoke. Instead, with her chin slightly raised, she radiated a sense of seriousness and pride. “Bai Zongnan, I know you’re a top-tier celebrity in the entertainment world, but after joining the system, you’ll need to let go of some parts of your past. Our Fourth Research Institute mainly focuses on low-martial mythological worlds, so we require your talents in film, television, music, variety shows, as well as directing and creative work. I hope you won’t disappoint our trust.”

“Of course, Director Li Sikai. I am honored to join the Fourth Research Institute.” Bai Zongnan nodded slowly.

At the same time, the memories of his elder brother and sister-in-law were gradually fading from his mind.

It was as though he had woken from a fleeting dream—though the events remained vivid, when he tried to recall the details, they dissipated like smoke. In the blink of an eye, he could no longer remember.

“But those sword techniques, those martial skills that could slay a demon tiger…” Bai Zongnan mused softly. “How is it that I still remember them?”

Suddenly, a thunderous applause broke out outside the door.

“It’s Bai Zongnan! It’s really our darling brother!” At the same time, a group of more than ten female researchers in white lab coats appeared, their faces flushed and eyes shining as they stared directly at Bai Zongnan inside the lab.

“It’s really him! I’ve watched him sing, dance, and rap, and even his cool moves playing basketball on variety shows! It’s really him!” Whether they were seventeen- or eighteen-year-old interns, researchers in their twenties, or experts and key staff in their thirties and forties, they all crowded in to watch, whispering about the boyish yet undeniably handsome Bai Zongnan.

“So that’s the famed youngest platinum online writer, Bai Zongnan?” Even the male researchers at the back clustered together, clicking their tongues in amazement.

After all, not just in this Sacred Domain of Kaiyang, but in all six other Sacred Domains—who didn’t admire the top star Bai Zongnan?

Since his debut at twelve, Bai Zongnan had been a leading idol. By eighteen, he was already a top actor, singer, and author of numerous viral online novels, making him the most prominent young figure across the Seven Sacred Domains.

Without exception.

From young girls to married women, he was an unrivaled sensation!

He charmed everyone, regardless of gender!

“Brother! Can I have your autograph? Can I take a picture with you?” The lively young women among the researchers waved their phones, cheeks glowing with excitement, like a crowd of frenzied fans.

In truth, that was precisely what they were. In all of Kaiyang Sacred Domain, which young woman wasn’t a fan of Bai Zongnan?

Did they know what “top traffic” meant? Normally, they couldn’t even catch a glimpse of their beloved star within the institute. Now, with him so close—and soon to be a colleague—their excitement and passion threatened to leap from their throats.

“Damn it! I went to so much trouble to get him transferred to my institute, and now you little hussies want to steal him from me?” Inwardly, Li Sikai was grinding her perfect teeth in frustration.

But as acting director and office manager of the Fourth Research Institute, there was no way she could lose her composure and rush over for an autograph.

What if she scared him? What if he misunderstood? What if she left a bad impression?

What if he didn’t like her anymore?

“Security team! Come here and restore order immediately!” Li Sikai snapped.

A bunch of little hussies trying to steal her idol?

Ridiculous! They were all shallow girls coveting his talent and beauty!

Unlike her, who appreciated his true brilliance, his talent, and his perfectly sculpted six-pack abs!

“It’s work hours! No wandering around!” Li Sikai’s beautiful eyes swept across the crowd. The force of her authority, fueled by her anger, filled the room. Watching the women quiet down like quails, she barked at the security guards hurrying over, “Get them dispersed and back to their workstations!”

“Understood!” The burly security guards looked enviously at Bai Zongnan, who was surrounded at the center, then motioned for their team to disperse the forty or fifty female staff, along with the crowd of male onlookers. “Please return to your posts! Thank you!”

As the crowd gradually dispersed, calm returned to the room.

“Data recording! Test for any residual scene traces! Establish a file for Bai Zongnan’s descent as soon as possible!” Li Sikai cast a cold glance at the male researchers still snickering outside and scolded, “Now! Immediately! At once!”

“Yes, yes!” The male researchers scurried away.

But Bai Zongnan hardly noticed any of this.

He was long accustomed to such scenes of frenzied attention.

“Sword techniques, fist techniques, movement skills, and lightness arts.” Standing still, Bai Zongnan lowered his head slightly. A cool clarity spread through his body, prompting him to murmur, “The fighting skills learned from the army and the streets, the decisiveness to kill in a single blow, the indifference to death, the respect for his elder brother, the spiteful sister-in-law, the demon tiger on the hill, the heroic drinking…”

All these memories combined, and a powerful image surfaced in his mind—a character he had once found deeply impressive: “The Tiger-Slaying Hero, Wu Song?”

He pursed his lips in surprise. “When I descended into the mythological world, the character I embodied turned out to be Wu Song?”

This genuinely astonished him.

After all, when descending from this world into the mythological realm, one would not arrive in their true form.

Instead, it was more like a dream, where reality and illusion blurred together, and one’s knowledge and abilities would shape a character fitting for that world.

“But how could all this possibly relate to Wu Song?” Bai Zongnan pondered, puzzled. Although, as advised by the Fourth Institute, he had spent two days learning some basic martial arts and sword techniques before his first descent—so he might become a battle-hardened soldier or a bodyguard in the mythological world, gaining some self-defense skills and martial experience—how could that connect him to Wu Song, the classic figure from Water Margin, the tiger-slaying hero, the second son of the Wu family?

It was truly baffling.