Chapter 29: Faith! Bestow Upon Me Strength!

"Huh?"

Hong Lei stroked his chin, letting out an exclamation of surprise. Even that "Crybaby" looked momentarily stunned.

"You're just going to switch like that, without even considering it?" the Crybaby asked, his smile strained and skeptical. "If you choose wrong, you'll be plagued by nightmares every single night, you know." He pointed a finger at Hong Lei. "If you don't believe me, ask this kid."

Hong Lei felt annoyed at being called "this kid," but he couldn't find a reason to argue. After all, considering their true ages, he wasn't entirely sure he was older than the Crybaby. He could only nod and say with a sigh, "Once those nightmares start, they last all night long. Your senior brother lost that gamble, and the way he screamed... it was miserable."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a low "Hmph" came from the corner of the room. It made sense; everyone’s nerves were fragile after emerging from a nightmare. Finally back in the safe zone and hoping for a rest, the prospect of enduring several more nights of nightmares was like working two consecutive all-nighters, finally getting home, pouring a drink, and settling into bed, only to be called back for emergency overtime.

But Wu Que seemed remarkably confident. He looked at the Crybaby and said sharply, "Why are you being so difficult? I told you, I want to switch."

"Ugh..."

The Crybaby pointed reluctantly, and the door on the far left swung open with a bang. A doll, identical to the Crybaby but several times smaller, appeared behind the door.

Wu Que had won the bet.

"Waaaaah! How did you know..." The Crybaby let go of his leg and collapsed onto the floor, sobbing.

Hong Lei also made a sound of bewilderment, unable to fathom how Wu Que had decided to switch doors and ultimately emerge victorious. Wu Que felt the extreme chill in his body slowly fading. He kicked the Crybaby aside and brushed off his sleeves.

"If I had chosen an empty door at first, it would have been the doll after switching. If I had chosen the doll first, it would have been an empty door after switching," Wu Que explained, his reverse logic cutting straight to the heart of the matter. "There were two empty doors and one doll initially, so the probability of picking an empty door first was higher, which meant the probability of the doll being behind the other door after a switch was also higher."

"If you don't switch, the probability of picking the doll is one-third. But if you do switch, the probability of getting the doll becomes two-thirds."

"Waaaaah, no, no..." The Crybaby rolled on the floor, emitting a mournful wail. But even in his crying, there was no emotional fluctuation to be heard.

He was faking it.

Whether it was draining energy from others or inflicting nightmares upon them, it didn't matter to him. He had lived for too long; existence was too dull. Only wagers with clear win-or-lose outcomes could bring him any amusement.

Seeing that his tantrum was ineffective, the Crybaby simply stopped pretending. His eyes were no longer hollow; instead, they revealed the weariness and loneliness befitting a centenarian. He looked at Wu Que and spoke slowly, "Which attribute do you want?"

Wu Que opened his attribute panel to inspect his stats.

Name: Wu Que
Dream-Mending ID: 1997
Attributes: Strength 37, Vitality 5, Immunity 2, Dexterity 24, Intelligence 10, Magic 0, Faith 35, Sanity -30.

It seemed his Sanity fluctuated with his mental state, but -30 was likely his baseline. He tried pressing the jade pendant against his chest and checked the panel again.

Name: Wu Que
Dream-Mending ID: 1997
Attributes: Strength 37, Vitality 5, Immunity 2, Dexterity 24, Intelligence 10, Magic 0, Faith 35, Sanity -25.

"..."

"Um, can I increase my Sanity?" Wu Que asked tentatively, looking down at the small ghost on the floor.

"No."

"..."

There was another matter that troubled Wu Que: what kind of attribute bonus was fueling the fire on his black blade?

"Master, is there a place in this zone to test equipment attributes?"

Hong Lei rubbed his chin and said nonchalantly, "There is, but it broke down a while ago and is currently being repaired. It should be fixed by the time you return from your next dream."

Wu Que turned back to the Crybaby. "Can I save the points for later?"

"No."

"Can I split them and add half to one and half to another?"

"No."

"..."

The Crybaby was acting as if he were retaliating for losing the bet, refusing everything.

"I'll take Faith," Wu Que decided after a moment of frustration.

After the slaughter in the mist, he had developed a bit of PTSD regarding close-quarters combat. Adding to Faith would significantly increase the power of his Ancient Dragon Lightning, and his sixth sense told him that the eternal flame on his black blade was also tied to his Faith stat.

Seeing that he had made his choice, the Crybaby didn't stall. A golden mist emerged from his mouth and flowed directly into Wu Que's body. Hearing the faint sound of chanting in his ears, Wu Que eagerly checked his attribute panel.

Name: Wu Que
Dream-Mending ID: 1997
Attributes: Strength 37, Vitality 5, Immunity 2, Dexterity 24, Intelligence 10, Magic 0, Faith 65, Sanity -25.

"Thirty full points."

While not a massive amount, thirty attribute points in the Dream Realm were things you had to trade your life to obtain.

Wu Que’s eyes darted around mischievously. He grabbed the pink rabbit-eared baby outfit from the cradle and tried to put it on the Crybaby. "Sir, this outfit suits you very well. You look truly cute and playful in it."

The Crybaby waved him off impatiently. "If you have something to say, just say it. Don't waste my time."

Wu Que stopped pretending and asked with a grin, "Can we bet one more time?"

The Crybaby raised an eyebrow and replied with a smirk, "Of course. But there's no reward this time."

"I have some business to attend to. I'm leaving."

Wu Que, who had been diligently trying to put the rabbit hood on the Crybaby, lost interest the moment he heard there was no reward and turned to leave. The Crybaby didn't mind; he reached out with his pale little hand to adjust the rabbit hood and crawled back into his crib, stumbling as he went.

In the evening, to celebrate the new addition to the 97 Dream-Mending Squad, Hong Lei waved his hand grandly and took his two disciples out for a meal.

Stir-fried pork with chili peppers, braised chicken with mushrooms and potatoes, cabbage with pork and glass noodles—simple home-cooked dishes paired with a few bottles of wine, and the three of them ate with great delight. Thanks to Hong Lei’s prior warning, Zhang Deshuai behaved himself, just eating and drinking without any strange outbursts.

Through their conversation, Wu Que learned some of the rules of the Dream-Mending Space and discovered that their current location was just a small portion of the zone, known as the Residential Area.

Every so often, the entrances to the dream worlds would open, and Dream-Menders could choose which to enter. If a Dream-Mender went three cycles without entering a dream, the space would force them in.