Mr Love: Dream Date Chap 16 We Meet Again

Chapter 16 unlocks at level 62. It currently takes about 400k experience to up one level so that means probably a week between chapters now and that’s actually a good pace for me to understand the storyline and draft the summary for each update. On the SEA server, the main story is up to chapter 21 so if I breeze through it too fast, I might end up with severe withdrawal syndromes when I get there. I saw on the Chinese server that Love and Producer actually has a season 2! They are way ahead but it gives me hope that this journey will not end quite so soon.

Anyway I thought that chapter 16 would be about Victor since the last one ended with him sending you a message from the future. However it turned out I was wrong. Spoilers ahead!

The chapter begins at the Black Swan headquarters. We see a meeting of 10 BSC leaders around a table. They were discussing the latest news of Hades’ Reset Plan which was the cause of a widespread pandemic in Loveland City and how he had decided to go on alone instead. Amongst the discussions, one of the members asked if they should be worried about Ares instead, as the delegation looked at the two empty chairs around the table.

In another chamber, we see Hades and Ares in discussion with an unidentified old man, supposedly someone of higher authority than them. As Hades spoke proudly of his experiment to create a super Evolver, he invited Ares to join him in the endeavour, that together they would be able to create the vision of the better future much faster than waiting for the Queen. Ares showed no interest in the partnership and walked off. Hades caught up to him. He threatened Ares with your safety to which Ares replied coldly that Hades wasn’t fit to be his partner and that he didn’t take too kindly to thieves.  

The start of the chapter was a little confusing considering we know almost nothing about BSC hierarchy. I can only surmise that Hades and Ares were part of the 12 that made up the executive committee. Hades appears to be an aggressive and ambitious man who looked at Ares as a rival. The mention of the creation of the super Evolver, is that with reference to Gavin? Hades mentioned that this research was something that Ares had been hiding but now had been stolen and used by Hades. That explains the hostility between the two of them. It seems like even within the BSC, not everyone shares the same views.

You awoke after a vivid dream of plunging off a cliff in the embrace of a man, with intense and clear eyes. Those eyes were foreign and yet gave off a familiar vibe. It has been ten days since Gavin left without any further contact. You only hope that he is safe and continued to wait patiently for his return. Since then a new strain of flu virus had overtaken the city which the doctors have been struggling to identify the pathogen and a cure for it. As more and more people around you fall sick, you decided to give everyone in office leave to stay home.

You also paid Dr Song at the Central Hospital a visit. She was the doctor whom you had helped during the crisis when Evol went out of control. She has since resumed work at the hospital. After exchanging notes with her on this virus, you learnt that the virus only affected young and abled persons and that Evolvers were not affected by it. It almost seemed like the virus was developed to specifically target those with normal human genes. You suspected this could be another ploy by BSC. Previously they were targeting Evolvers but now they had turned their attention to the general population. 

Before you left the hospital, you visited one of the patient infected with the virus. As you read his case file, you learnt that there were reports of the patient sleepwalking and you were immediately reminded of Perry. Touching the patient, you saw his gruesome future. You left a note for Dr Song to pay attention to this patient. As you left the hospital, you heard Victor’s familiar voice coming from a watch from your bag. Apparently since the last incident, you had managed to establish contact via this watch with Victor who was currently 10 years in the future.

You asked him how the future was like and he said it was pretty much the same, just more modern. That the future you was doing good and that the virus incident would be resolved. When you shared your thoughts about the virus with him and how you felt powerless to do anything about it,  he asked you to carve your wishes on a stone at the Central Park by the lake to help yourself feel better. He then informed you that he would still need to stay in the future to settle one more matter. In the meantime, he told you to stay safe while you told him to hurry back because you imagined he would be feeling lonely all by himself in the future. As the connection between the two of you broke, we see Victor smiling as the words you had carved on the stone appear on the rock before him. It’s quite incredulous that one can establish contact with the future just like that, there is so many things we can do with that kind of technology.

On your way home, you saw that the billboard TV had just announced a breaking news. Lucien Research Institute had discovered some kind of reagent that could be the key to finding a cure for the recent flu outbreak. He would be holding a press conference to share the findings. Though your reporter and investigator instincts tugged at you furiously to attend, you hesitated to have anything more to do with him. He had not returned to his apartment, his research center remained closed and he had not replied to any of your messages. You struggled to find a reason to hate him but couldn’t find it in your heart to do so. Since you suspected this flu virus had something to do with BSC, surely he would be involved too. Perhaps you were just trying to run away from the truth.

After much thought, you decided to trudge ahead and attend the press conference. The hall was already filled with reporters and also members of the public. As the man of the hour appeared on stage, your heart stopped when you saw him again. The usual confidence in his gait and coldness in his eyes. As his eyes scanned the room, it locked on you for a moment and you ducked into the corner to avoid his gaze, feeling silly about your actions.

The media briefing commenced not too long with Lucien updating the reporters on the stage of development of the reagent as well as addressing some of the pointed questions from reporters confidently. Then one of the members of the public requested to speak. He told Lucien that his father had recently been warded because of the flu and had told his son that if he couldn’t get well, he would volunteer to be a human test subject. He implored Lucien to not allow it. The room fell silent and you quickly tried to pull out your recorder to capture the response. However you were stunned to see that you had taken Lucien’s pen with you instead. 

Lucien paced the stage deliberately and after a moment of silence, he thanked the man’s father for his sacrifice. He added that instead of stopping human testing, he actually welcomed it as this would significantly advance medical technology. This caused an uproar among those present with stinging comments against Lucien’s point of view and his lack of respect for human life. Lucien remained composed and responded calmly that people would always die for one reason or another and to die for such a noble cause should not be seen any differently. When you realised that the commotion was getting out of control, you quickly tried to make an exit.

However, you were identified by a reporter as the producer of Miracle Finder which had hired Lucien as your program consultant. They wanted to hear your opinion about Lucien’s statements. Though you tried to fend them off, the rest of the reporters have gathered around you, preventing you from making a swift escape. You reflexively looked at Lucien, who was regarding you with a slight smirk on his face. You composed yourself and said as calmly as you could that you reserved all comments and that Miracle Finder would have a new program consultant. Before you could take a step further, Lucien called out to you and asked tauntingly if he had said anything disagreeable. I could almost feel myself cringe at being exposed like this. Lucien, you’re enjoying this aren’t you.

You froze in your steps. You’ve dreaded the moment when you would meet with Lucien again but meeting like this was totally out of your expectation. Your eyes met his, cold with a silent anger. What ensued was a battle of wits between the two of you as the media community snapped pictures of a falling out between two business partners, which apparently is more interesting than a science symposium. You asked Lucien to explain further what he meant by sacrifice. Lucien used the Trolley Experiment to illustrate his point. Regardless of the decision made, there would always be a moral dilemma.

I’ve read about this many times before and to be honest, I don’t think I will ever have a solution for this, probably just go with my guts when this happens. The Trolley Experiment is a hypothesised situation where you are placed in the controls of a speeding trolley hurtling towards five unknowing people on a track. You have a choice to pull a lever and redirect the path of the trolley where a lone person is on. Essentially a moral question of whether you would sacrifice one person to save five, or just let nature take its course.

Lucien asked you to present your views on the issue. You replied that it wasn’t fair to strip people of their right to live. No matter who they are, people are always struggling to stay alive as evidenced by those struggling to breathe their next in the hospitals or the poor orphans who are in a continuous battle to feed themselves. Lucien didn’t disagree with you. However he added that since time immemorial, populations of people have always been sacrificed in the name of political ideologies or wars hence there is no fairness in this world. It has always been about the survival of the fittest and advancement of mankind. You questioned if the sacrifice meant him giving up his life, would he do it. He replied without batting an eye, yes. You then asked what if the person is someone important to him.

As the words left your mouth, you felt foolish asking such a naïve question. You already knew his answer. Before he could reply, you thanked him for his time and wished him all the best in his research. However you stood resolute in your opinion that there was something more important than survival. With that, you strode out of the hall, paying no heed to the incessant flashing of cameras and what the news headline is going to be tomorrow.

You found a bench to sit down and collect yourself after what just happened. After finally catching your breath, you felt around in your bag and found to your frustration that Lucien’s pen was not there. You must have dropped it while in the conference hall. You deliberated leaving it there but after much thought crept back to the hall to look for it. You found it under a table. As you tried to pick it up, you heard Lucien’s familiar voice. You hurriedly got up to your feet to face him. You told him that you had come back to retrieve the pen. Lucien bent down to pick up the pen and handed it to you, warning you not to lose it again. You gave a second thought and told him that you didn’t need it anymore. It was better to be back with its original owner.

You turned to leave but Lucien blocked your exit. He wanted you to explain why he had been unceremoniously dropped from Miracle Finder as it affected his reputation. You fumbled for an answer, somewhere along lines of not wanting to trouble him further as he had more important things to research on. Lucien kept his eyes on you as he took measured steps towards you. For each step he took, you retreated backwards. As he approached you, you closed your eyes and summoned your courage. You told him boldly that he had strayed from the ideals of Miracle Finder which was justice and inclusiveness.

When you opened your eyes, you realised he was already at the door. You hurriedly asked if the recent flu outbreak had anything to do with him. He replied yes and disappointment flashed across your face. When Lucien saw your expression, he strode purposefully towards you causing you to backpedal until you hit the wall behind you. Lucien placed his hands on the wall next to your ear, blocking you from leaving. He looked fiercely into your eyes and asked whether the goodness and justice that you professed had given you the results you wanted. Whether you too would sacrifice someone important to you to achieve your goals.

In the silence that ensued, you heard the leaves fall from a broken branch, a golden flash of light and a sudden force that threatened to tip you over. Lucien grabbed you instinctively and hugged you tightly at the waist, his hands over your head to protect you. You tried to move out of his hold and put some distance between the two of you but his hold remained. You looked up at his face, seeing a brief moment of worry and concern which was quickly replaced with a stern expression. As you glanced to one side you saw the deep hole in the wall on the right. You thanked him for protecting you. Lucien replied coldly that he was just ensuring your safety. Your heart broke at the words. It had always been about his ultimate objective of keeping you alive to accomplish whatever goal he had. All those moments when Lucien had protected you were simply a cold calculated move of his.

As you pondered this, Lucien repeated his question. You replied resolutely that you would never sacrifice someone important to you to achieve your goals. You quoted a verse from the Bible, that no matter what gift, power or ability you had but did not have love, it would be futile. You also quoted something Lucien told you before that the truth of this world is only revealed in disappointment and suffering but resolved to always keep your light shining no matter how difficult it would be.

That was pretty intense. The meeting of two opponents again and the clash of ideals. Somehow I refuse to believe that Lucien doesn’t care for you. This is afterall an otome game! There must be some semblance of romance after all that darkness and angst. I can’t say for certain that I side one point of view over another. When I was younger, I used to think that it was important for justice to prevail but having grown up and gone through various experiences, I can also understand Lucien’s point that this world is not fair. As long as those in power have selfish ambitions, the people under their control would never find fairness. Perhaps it is indeed all about survival of the fittest. I like it though that your final response alluded that above survival, above justice, was love. And perhaps that was exactly what both you and Lucien were after in asking the question about sacrificing someone important to you in the name of your goals, and therein lies the bittersweet truth.

As you made your way home through the streets, you were forced to make a detour through a side alley as a traffic accident had blocked off the main roads. In the lonely alley, you heard the distinct sound of footsteps following you. Originally you thought it was just passers-by but soon the hurried footsteps closing in on your caused fear to well up within you. You tried to figure a way out and in your desperation, one name came up. You took out your phone and called Lucien. When he picked up the phone, you asked him if he was telling the truth that he would ensure your safety. He laughed. In that instant, you felt the warmth of a white light enveloping you as everything around you turned hazy. What were you thinking calling Lucien for help? Were you trying to test your faith in the look of care and concern in his eyes?

As your vision adjusted again, you found that the alley you were in had changed. You were now blocked in by a dead end that had appeared. Footsteps resounded again, hurried and approaching very quickly. This time, you had nowhere to run. Just as the footsteps caught up to you, you turned around violently, flailing your arms at your assailant but instead they were grabbed by powerful hands leaving you handicapped. You heard Lucien’s voice asking you not to squirm. You couldn’t believe your eyes. Lucien had really appeared to save you! He told you he was a man of his word.

With only the sudden appearance of an abandoned building as your only way to leave this place, Lucien held your hands and walked ahead of you. You entered a room that looked set up as an operating theatre, with all kinds of medical equipment on the table. In the middle of the room, you noticed that the white sheet over the operating theatre moved and under it was the unmistakable appearance of a zombie looking like man. He flashed a knife in his hands and lunged at you. Lucien shielded you with his arms, pulled the knife away and plunged it into the man’s heart.

With that the man disappeared. You saw that Lucien’s hand was bleeding and panicked. Lucien calmly tore a piece of cloth and wrapped it up. Then he turned to you and told you that both of you were trapped in a dream world conjured up by a dream master. Everything in the world was an illusion except both of you. However if you died in the dream world, then your subconsciousness would be lost forever. Chills went down your spine as your contemplated such an outcome.

Suddenly the door burst open. Three men with the BSC tattoo on their arms rushed in. They were surprised to see Lucien and addressed him as Ares. They had come to ‘invite’ both of you to meet with Hades. Lucien smiled coldly at them and said what made them think they would see Hades again. With that his force field enveloped the leader of the gang and lifted him from the ground. As the agent struggled, the force field crushed and killed him. The two other agents attacked, icy shards shooting out from their hands. Lucien’s eyes glinted wickedly as he conjured snow from his hands which shaped into an icicle and he threw them towards the agents impaling them. The fight was over before it began.

Lucien took your hands and ran out of the room down the corridor. As both of you ran towards the exit, Lucien suddenly clutched his heart in momentary pain. You asked what was happening to him but he said nothing. After a strained gasp, he continued pulling you down the corridor.

When you left the building, you saw that what was previously an alley had opened up into a stark wasteland. The skies above you was a swirl of ethereal lights. Lucien pointed towards a nebula in the distance and told you that was the exit. As both of you ran in that direction, you heard the thunderous charge of an army. You looked around and saw that hundreds of agents were closing in on both of you and was horrified to see that all of them shared the same emotionless face of the three agents you had met in the building.

Before long you were surrounded on all sides. Hades stepped through the crowd menacingly to face both of you taunting Lucien with his ability to ensnare him using you as his weak spot. Lucien laughed coldly. He told Hades that he had only let him see what he wanted to lure him into showing all his cards. With that Lucien conjured up icy pillars and shot them out on all sides, destroying the horde of agents around him. Hades was taken slightly by surprise but not too soon after both of you were surrounded again with another horde who appeared out of nowhere.

Hades told Ares not to be stubborn and to join him in creating the better world together or perish. He informed Lucien that when he last went to see him, the Hexagram Legion now had disciples who could wield 4-5 types of Evol. They would be more than what Lucien could handle even with his power to copy other Evol. Lucien’s body tightened but he didn’t let up. Turning an icy pillar into a razor sharp blade, he threw it towards Hades causing him to stumble backwards. In his anger, Hades summoned more soldiers forward, their number swarmed relentlessly flowing. You asked Hades what he wanted. In response he told you to calm down as he had no purpose with you. His sole target with Ares.

Before he could complete his sentence about something Ares did, Lucien’s hold on your waist tightened as he put up a force field before you. He told you to run towards the exit he told you about and cross over to the other side. Once again, your heart fell as you knew what was going to happen. You told Lucien you wouldn’t leave him behind. However his decision was final and he barked at you to leave without hesitation. He promised to look for you when all is done. In the next moment, he had teleported you to the outskirts of the wasteland. From the distance, you saw that he had put up another force field around him and the attackers as a fierce battle ensued. You tried to run back towards the battle fray but was prevented from doing so. As you couldn’t do anything else, you made your way towards the exit. The least you could do is not be a burden to Lucien.

We finally learn about Lucien’s Evol which is to replicate the Evol of other Evolvers in addition to having the ability to conjure a force field and teleportation. He was shaping up to be a lot more powerful than I had originally expected. Having shed his lab coat in this chapter, he no longer carried that academic air around him but I was still impressed by his shrewdness and ability to counter his opponent’s move. Hades mentioned something about the Hexagram Legion which sounded like another potential threat to the peace of mankind. I kind of hoped Hades had completed his sentence, what did Lucien do that he didn’t want you to know just yet?

As you made your way towards the exit, your heart was heavy. How did it come to this? Lucien and you were enemies, you shouldn’t care anymore what would happen to him. He had only promised to protect you because it suited his purposes. And yet, you couldn’t bear to leave him behind. You made one last turn around. The force field had shattered and the sounds and smells of the blood wafted towards you.

In the middle of the battleground, you saw a blood-stained Lucien and Hades, heaving from the exertion of battle. Hades retorted that the battle was pointless, that they would only end up destroying each other. He invited Ares to join him again to create this new paradise for Evolvers. Ares replied in contempt that such a world could not exist or be sustained. The new world would only be sustained through accumulation and constant evolution. He said that Hades was only deluding himself and using his creations to hide his own inaptitude.

Hades’ rage exploded and you saw that the ground around Lucien shattered as canyons appeared on all sides.  Instinctively, your body ran towards Lucien. When you threw yourself before Lucien to shield him, his face lit with a mixture of anger, disbelief, worry and joy. Hades saw the opportunity and commanded the hordes of agents to capture you. Immediately Lucien sprang into action. He grabbed you and both of you tumbled out of the grasp of the enemies. Lucien snapped angrily at you for coming back. You called out his lie about finding you as he had no intention to return. This time you were done with his lies. Even if you were enemies, you would still persist in your faith.

Hades said he would destroy the dream world in ten minutes. If Ares would not join him in creating the world of Evolvers, he would be trapped in the dream zone forever. Despite the threat from without, Lucien’s looked intently at you. He suddenly asked you if you wanted to know the answer to your question at the press conference. In that instant, a moonbeam materialised into a blade and struck your eye. You saw flashes of memories in your mind, of all the moments spent with Lucien but everything was in black and white. When you came to, Lucien whispered softly into your ears – he would never sacrifice someone important to him. You held the words dearly in your heart as Lucien picked you up and dashed towards the edge of a canyon. He pulled you into a tight embrace and plunged into the abyss. As darkness overcame you, you wondered if this was the end. 

When you next opened your eyes, you saw that you were back in the abandoned building alone. You got up hurriedly to look for Lucien. When you found him, he was sitting in pain outside the door to your room. His shirt was wet with blood from the wound in his shoulder. You dragged him into the room with you to tend to his injuries. He asked you why you had come back despite the danger. You told him you couldn’t leave him behind. He replied coldly that it was his plan all along for you to escape to guarantee your safety and not hold him back.

With that finality in his response, it wiped away all sentimentality you had attached to his actions. You apologised that your actions had thwarted his plans and that both of you were now trapped. He replied coolly that you weren’t trapped. Apparently Lucien had countered Hades’ plan by conjuring up his own dream world and had now effectively trapped Hades in his dream world. To escape from Lucien’s dream world, they would need to kill themselves and that was exactly what he did back there. He also shared that upon leaving the dream world, all memories of what took place within would be erased. Upon hearing this, you realised that Lucien had the whole thing set up from the start to the end and you felt foolish to think that he was ever in any danger and had worried yourself crazy and cried for him.

With all explanations out of the way, Lucien covered his hands over your eyes so as to take out of the place. As he did so, you asked silently if you would forget everything that had happened here as well. He nodded. As dizziness swept over you, you saw images of yourself in various expressions flashing before you again. Were this images of Lucien’s future or his memories of you? Again everything was in black and white. You started to ask Lucien a series of questions about his identity and the meaning behind all his actions, his constant pulling and pushing you away even though you were enemies. You faded into unconsciousness before you could get any reply. Lucien only whispered softly into your ear, asking you to not put yourself in danger in future especially on his account, as both of you were sucked into a black swirl.

Thankfully this encounter didn’t end with as much anguish as the previous one. One thing I can count on is that Lucien is both strong and intelligent and that set himself one notch above his adversaries and possibly even the other three main characters in the game. The question then what is his real feelings towards you. It is a shame that your memories of this event will be wiped from your mind so you would never recall the tenderness in his eyes and how he had always planned multiple steps ahead to ensure your safety.

Back in his room, Lucien took off his blood stained shirt. The wound on his shoulder was deep baring some bone but he didn’t seem bothered by it. He quickly slipped on another shirt and then took a pill out of a locked suitcase which read Dream vision fragment recovery. He laughed slightly, left the room and disappeared down the hallway.

In a separate dark chamber, the unknown old man from before dragged himself into his room. A look of fear and panic gripped him as he saw that a young man with silvery white hair was sitting upon his dais. A playful and defiant look on his face. He got off the dais and spoke with a mock respect, “I’m back. I hope you haven’t gotten too comfortable with the seat.” Then he vanished. In the boardroom where the ten leaders of BSC were gathered, they were discussing Hades sudden disappearance. Not sure what this boded for them, one of the leaders reassured them there was nothing to be worried about as they had the backing of someone.

Suddenly the doors flew open. The same young man with silvery hair walked in full of confidence. He looked around the room and before anyone could act, he spoke in a commanding voice, “I command you”. As if an invisible force was controlling them, all the attendees froze unable to move. They could only observe the young man with their eyes. The man walked towards the table and scanned the digital documents on the table. After awhile, he only replied ‘boring’. He snapped his fingers and everyone could move again. One of the BSC leaders muttered, ‘Helios?’

Though we have no idea who this young man is, judging by the voice and his powers, I suspect it is Kiro. From the trailers in the game, we know that Kiro had an alternate personality which was probably unleashed in the previous battle atop the TV station tower. What surprised me was that he is part of the BSC and based on the reaction from the other agents, someone of high authority and probably to be feared. How does this play out between Kiro and Lucien then? Are they friends or foe? By now we know that the key personnel in BSC are named after Greek gods. Hades was the god of death, Ares god of war and Helios, fittingly is the god of sun!

You were dreaming again. Someone was calling out your name and Lucien’s. You awoke and found yourself lying on your bed. The last thing you recalled was the argument with Lucien, the confrontation with him in the hall and the phone call for help. What happened after that was like a lost chunk of memory that had been ripped from your mind. You saw that you had Lucien’s pen in your pocket. Your thoughts were interrupted by a call from Dr Song. She told you that the patient you had asked her to look out for had disappeared. Before she could speak further, the call got cut off. All you could hear was static. The lights in your room started to flicker and then the bulbs burst casting you into darkness. The door to your room flung open and someone walked in. You couldn’t even see his shadow but all you could sensed was that the person was smiling.

What a way to end the chapter with another cliffhanger and new surprises. If alternate Kiro turned out to be another villain and an enemy of Lucien, I wouldn’t know where to cast my allegiance too anymore. Anyway will have to wait till next chapter to find out, probably in 5 days’ time.