Second Playwright

Several research notes were stacked on a square table, with only a small lamp in the center of the piles. The warm yellow light shone upon an afro-haired researcher who was buried in thought over a piece of paper, a pencil tucked behind his ear—he seemed to have hit a bottleneck in his research.

Knock, knock.

“Zhishang! Open up.”

Uncle Shui’s voice drifted into the room. The researcher scrambled to his feet, sending several sheets of paper fluttering into the air. Once the papers had finished scattering across the floor, he opened the door.

“Come in, come in,” Zhishang said. At the same time, he spotted Xu Feng behind Uncle Shui—a rather cute little girl.

“Zhishang, she’s the one who needs a specific detection of her Dream Power. Are you free right now?” Uncle Shui glanced at the research bench; the stacks of books were so high they buried most of the original instruments.

“Ah, no problem, let me just clear things up a bit.” Zhishang turned around and began to tidy up. Realizing he had forgotten to turn on the main laboratory lights, he flicked the switch.

Click.

White light finally illuminated the laboratory again. Only now was it apparent that the setup here was similar to the detection room, just with more books and strange devices. The most eye-catching feature was the floor, which was covered in various strange symbols and simple animal sketches.

While Zhishang was clearing the table, Xu Feng quietly tugged at the corner of Uncle Shui’s jacket.

“Uncle Shui, can he really measure my exact abilities here?” Xu Feng didn’t have much confidence in this afro-haired researcher; the room looked like it was about to grow mold and turn to dust.

“Don’t worry. Don’t let Researcher Zhishang’s slovenly appearance fool you; he is the only researcher who has ever appraised the First ‘Actor.’ He’s also the hero who persuaded the First Actor to become the cornerstone of the Dream Protection Bureau. If it weren’t for Zhishang, the First Actor might have already angrily summoned a Great Tide and drowned the world.”

Uncle Shui spoke as calmly as a breeze, but Xu Feng felt a chill run down her spine.

The First Actor could summon a tide to swallow the world? That didn’t sound like a joke at all.

“Is the First Actor here at the Bureau?” Xu Feng asked, feeling a mix of fear and curiosity.

“Of course. Not only is she the symbol of the Bureau’s presence, but she also carries a heavy responsibility…” Uncle Shui’s brow furrowed slightly, and a trace of sympathy appeared in his eyes.

“Uncle Shui, what exactly is an ‘Actor’?” Xu Feng had been wanting to ask this for a while. The information on her phone didn’t explain it, and since Uncle Shui had been so serious while driving, she hadn’t dared to ask.

Uncle Shui closed his eyes in thought, then squatted down to look Xu Feng in the eye.

“You really want to know? This involves every member of the Bureau and cannot be revealed to the outside world. Do you have the resolve to keep a secret?”

In truth, everything Xu Feng knew now was just the surface dust of the truth provided by the Bureau. Only official members were qualified to know the core secrets.

Xu Feng clenched her fists. Her life was already a mess anyway, and she had no need to communicate with outsiders. She could do it.

“Yes! I can do it.” Xu Feng nodded firmly, her red eyes not blinking once, as if swearing an oath.

“That’s the spirit!” Uncle Shui gave her a thumbs-up before continuing.

” ‘Actors’ are creatures that have descended into reality from the Dream World. To a greater or lesser degree, they possess the characteristics of their original world; using magic is a common occurrence for them.”

“Magic?” Xu Feng’s eyes lit up again.

“Yes. To give you the best example, the only known Actor in our Taiyan National District is ‘Long’ (Dragon). Although she is called Dragon, she looks no different from a human—a girl about your age. She participated in the most recent rescue mission for people trapped in a Dream. The water ladder that reached down from the sky and the water dragons that slew the Dreamhusk were all part of her magical abilities.”

“So Actors are that strong…” Xu Feng remembered that day vividly. The girl’s overwhelming presence and control over the battlefield were no different from a deity’s.

“Is she… the Dragon King of the East Sea?” Xu Feng suddenly blurted out.

“Huh? Hahaha! Feng, you definitely can’t say that to her face.” Uncle Shui laughed, though he actually thought the title was quite fitting.

“Does she have a name?” Xu Feng grew more curious about the First Actor.

“She does. Her name is Haidier. She once explained its meaning—it means ‘Daughter Blessed by the Sea’.”

“Oh, no wonder she can control so many aquatic constructs.” Xu Feng nodded as if realization had dawned on her.

By the time Xu Feng and Uncle Shui finished their talk, Zhishang had finished tidying up.

“We can begin the appraisal. Uncle Shui, bring her over.”

The appraisal process was faster than the previous test. Xu Feng only needed to wear a fixed headband that looked like something used for a hair perm. Zhishang took a token shaped like a walkie-talkie, held it like an incense stick, and circled it around her several times. After fiddling with a few buttons, the display interface on both sides of the token produced the final result.

“Is it out?” Xu Feng asked, taking off the headband.

“Hiss… this is?” Zhishang stared at the display, completely stunned.

“What is it? Let me see!” Xu Feng stood on her tiptoes and reached for the token. Sensing something was wrong, Uncle Shui also leaned in to look.

“Hmm, let me see… isn’t this just a pair of scales? It’s just a picture.” Xu Feng found that the interface showed a set of scales without any descriptive text.

“The mark of an Actor… Feng, you?” Uncle Shui looked at Xu Feng with an expression of pure disbelief.

“An Actor? I’m not!” Xu Feng waved her hands frantically in explanation.

“It is indeed the mark of an Actor. But looking at your reaction, you don’t seem like a resident of another world at all. You were bitten, right?” Zhishang was the first to calm down and begin analyzing.

“I was indeed bitten. It seemed to be a vampire. After she bit me, she disappeared,” Xu Feng recalled the details.

“Uncle Shui, matters involving Actors are quite significant. Go notify the higher-ups and prepare some items to test her abilities. The scales have many symbolic meanings—balance, order, iron law, justice, and so on. These evolved authorities possess power beyond our imagination.” Zhishang finished his analysis, and Uncle Shui told Xu Feng to wait there for a moment.

Xu Feng rubbed her forehead, feeling utterly distressed.

Being bitten and turning into a girl was one thing, but now she had this “Actor” identity added to the mix. What was she going to do?

A peaceful, daily life seemed to have become an unreachable dream for Xu Feng.