In the dream world, what kind of weather he was experiencing was no longer a question for Shen Yu and the others to ponder, as they could no longer see.
Swallowed by darkness, Shen Yu and the others once again woke up to find it was six in the evening, time to order takeout for dinner.
The awakened individuals, one by one, removed the helmets from their heads, groggily looking around to ascertain their location. Upon confirming they were still at the school, they exclaimed, "What a wondrous experience! Do you all remember what you dreamed about just now?"
"I remember quite clearly. Wang Fei was a pervert..."
"Wouldn't it be better if you didn't bring that up!"
Lu Bingming, observing the lively scene around him, approached Zheng Xiaoxiao and Zhang Hong. "Zhang Hong, explain this. My time in the dream should have been less than an hour, right?"
Zhang Hong blinked, "Yo, that's rare. This is the first time I've seen someone check their watch twice in a dream. However, your sense of time in the dream might not be accurate. Based on our data analysis, your dreams were at most half an hour. But this half hour of dream experience gave you an illusion of an hour."
"Is that so?" Lu Bingming looked outside with a hint of doubt. "Did more time pass than that?"
Zhang Hong, while recording data, replied, "Not much. According to Boss Xia's theory, only when one is daydreaming can they fully control their dreams and dream as they please. The dream just now first required everyone to enter a synchronized sleep state. Those with poorer sleep quality would take more time.
Besides that, every second you spend in the dream is actually consuming your mental energy, so after the dream ends, you need a period of sleep to replenish your spirit. Therefore, the time consumed would be longer."
Lu Bingming seemed to understand. He stroked his chin and left Zhang Hong's side. Rather than dwelling on the dream's mechanism, he was more concerned about the mysterious man in black he had dreamed about earlier, who was incredibly powerful.
After Lu Bingming left, Zheng Xiaoxiao turned to look at Zhang Hong. "Your explanation is quite interesting. You didn't say that this afternoon."
Zhang Hong's mind raced. He quickly opened his laptop, accessed a document on the desktop, and decisively modified the numbers within. Then, he turned the computer towards Zheng Xiaoxiao. "What do you think, Sister Xiaoxiao? How about this price?"
Looking at data with an entire zero removed from the previous figure, Zheng Xiaoxiao clicked her tongue. "Tsk, that's really unscrupulous. Xia Henao told me that your team, the Awakened, always has a profit margin. I never expected you to ask me for ten times the price..."
Having sold himself out, Zhang Hong reluctantly signed a long-term warranty contract, thus escaping the fate of being lectured by Zheng Xiaoxiao. Meanwhile, seeing that it was already six o'clock, Tong Ru directly announced the end of class, telling everyone to go about their business. She then went to Zheng Xiaoxiao's side to discuss how to operate the new equipment in the upcoming lessons.
Their discussion proved fruitful, as on September 1st, with the start of the new semester, the academic system promptly updated with new equipment: Dream Trainers.
Not only that, but the Six Ling University team also produced a commercial for this new device. The lead actress in the commercial was Shen Yu. Shen Yu, along with her Pokémon, engaged in a chaotic battle with several opponents. Without a word, Shen Yu controlled her Pokémon, weaving and dodging through heavy encirclement, ultimately winning the match.
Following this, Zhang Hong's voiceover sounded: "Students, do you want to have telepathic默契 with your Pokémon? Do you want to possess the ability to win with ease? The Awakened team's brand new masterpiece, endorsed by school team member Shen Buyan, the Dream Trainer..."
When this advertisement was released, the freshmen were undergoing military training on the sports field. Shen Yu's class, after finally getting a break, found themselves bombarded by the school's advertisement.
Ou Lingling, sitting beside Shen Yu, chuckled upon seeing the advertisement. "Class monitor is indeed class monitor. Very cool."
Shen Yu also saw the advertisement at this moment and couldn't help but frown. Although she had filmed this advertisement and had seen the raw footage, she never expected that the final version released would be one she had no knowledge of...
The water bottle in her hand was crushed by Shen Yu. Ou Lingling only heard her gritting her teeth and uttering a few words: "Zhang Hong, you are very capable..."
Having finished his sales, Zhang Hong, who was currently on vacation in the Linglong City laboratory, suddenly shivered all over. "Who's thinking of me? Little Yu? That's unlikely. It couldn't be Boss Xia, could it..."
As he said this, his hands moved with honesty. He took out Xia Henao's memorial portrait from the drawer in front of him...
Shen Yu's guess was correct. The second proposal for this unfortunate advertisement was indeed Zhang Hong's creation. And at this moment, filled with trepidation for the future, was another director of this film, the captain of the Six Ling University team: Lu Bingming.
...
"Captain, stop shaking, I'm going to fall apart, you know?"
Feng Bing watched Lu Bingming, who was sitting in his chair, appearing calm and collected, but gripping his arm and trembling intensely. "Didn't Little Die tell you that Shen Yu isn't that kind of person? Besides, you didn't know Zhang Hong would come up with such a promotional video."
Lu Bingming turned off the video playing on repeat on his computer. "That's what they say, but if I hadn't insisted on a publicity campaign, this situation wouldn't have arisen, right..."
Feng Bing scratched his head. "Instead of you worrying unnecessarily, why don't you go and clarify things? You should believe what Chu Xiaodie said, Shen Yu isn't that kind of person."
Whether it was Feng Bing's "chicken soup for the soul" or his pep talk, Lu Bingming, with a sense of resolve akin to "the wind howls and the river freezes," left the team's training room and headed towards Tong Ru's office.
In Tong Ru's office, Tong Ru had just finished watching Shen Yu's advertisement. "I must say, this advertisement looks quite interesting. Little Yu looks very appealing this way. If only I wasn't already with Xiaoxiao... Forward, like."
With Tong Ru's influence among the trainers, her likes would quickly spread throughout the entire Minglong Nation.
As expected, five minutes after she liked it, in the conference room of Jinghai University, their coach Deng Haiping pointed at the advertisement playing on the projector. "What do you all think?"
The captain of Jinghai University raised his hand. "Coach, I think we can also buy a few Dream Trainers to try. We shouldn't have to worry about safety. Firstly, the products from the Awakened are very reliable. Secondly, Six Ling University should have used them on a small scale already. If there were safety issues, they wouldn't have released them."
The coach squinted and nodded, then slammed the table. "Who the hell asked you about that! What level are the Awakened's equipment? Do I need you to tell me? This is a team that, with just three people, competes with Rainbow Star and the Alliance Commerce for dominance of Minglong Nation. As long as pre-orders open, we'll get some. I'm asking about Shen Buyan, this so-called ultra-offensive trainer Shen Buyan, what do you think?"
The vice-captain of Jinghai University pondered. "This is probably just a gimmick. Everyone knows that advertisements are a form of expression that involves considerable exaggeration. From this perspective, Shen Buyan's strength is not as exaggerated as it is in the advertisement."
Another vice-captain sitting opposite this vice-captain agreed. "Exactly. Although Shen Buyan performed brilliantly in the advertisement, he is, after all, just a freshman, and there's still a significant gap in strength compared to the school team."
After listening to the two vice-captains, the coach of Jinghai University nodded. "So, you mean to say this is Six Ling University's way of attracting our attention?"
"I don't think so. This Shen Buyan should be Xia Henao's girlfriend, Shen Yu. Everyone knows Xia Henao's capabilities; he was already outstanding among the younger generation in his second year of high school. Birds of a feather flock together, his girlfriend couldn't possibly have no distinguishing features."
"But Xia Henao is dead!"
"Precisely because he's dead, it's very possible that all the resources Xia Henao accumulated are now concentrated on Shen Yu. Coupled with Six Ling University's comprehensive training, she will be a considerable threat to us in next year's university Pokémon tournament."
For a time, the Jinghai University conference room was filled with heated debate between two viewpoints. And across the entire Minglong Nation, more than just Jinghai University was abuzz. All universities were drawn to the video forwarded and liked by Tong Ru. Instantly, sales of Dream Trainers on the Awakened team's official website surged.
The more sales increased, the more money flowed in, but this did not bring joy to Shen Yu, who was in Tong Ru's office, because the higher the sales, the more people would see her advertisement. She wasn't particularly fond of advertisement proposal two.
"Um, student Shen Yu, about this matter, I..."
Shen Yu took a deep breath and then smiled. "Forget it, it's already like this. What can I do?"
Hearing that Shen Yu didn't want to pursue the matter further, Lu Bingming breathed a sigh of relief, only to hear Shen Yu say, "Can I ask you for a favor?"
Lu Bingming patted his chest. "Just say it."
"When Zhang Hong comes next time, beat him up."
Lu Bingming pondered this suggestion carefully and then agreed. "Alright, I promise."
After seeing Lu Bingming off, Shen Yu and Tong Ru, still in the office, both burst into laughter. Shen Yu looked at Tong Ru. "The old ginger is still the spiciest. You easily subdued Captain Lu."
"Lu Bingming needs to be occasionally disciplined, otherwise, his tail will easily get carried away."