18: Chapter 18: The Initial Assembly of the Clubs

In Room 307 of the Student Activity Center, the atmosphere was different from that of an ordinary club. There was no noisy playfulness; instead, the air was filled with a subtle energy fluctuation and a tacit understanding. The president, Li Mubai—a senior who looked gentle and elegant with thin-framed glasses, but whose eyes held a steadiness and insight beyond his years—warmly welcomed Zhang Hao.

“Everyone, we have a new friend!” Li Mubai clapped his hands, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. “This is Zhang Hao. It seems he’s also a veteran ‘Dream Traveler.’ Let's get to know each other; we might be partners fighting side by side in the future.”

Under the president's guidance, several core members introduced themselves one by one, showcasing their partners and abilities:

President: Li Mubai

Dream Spirit: [Star Rail] — A miniature astrolabe composed of countless fine points of light, slowly rotating as it hovered over his shoulder, exuding a peaceful and mysterious aura.

Talent: [Situational Insight C-rank] — Able to quickly grasp the overall state of complex environments and predict potential dangers and opportunities. Excels at strategic layout and team command. A support and leadership-oriented Talent.

Characteristics: Meticulous thinker, possessing great affinity and leadership; he is the cohesive core of the society.

Vice President: Lin Wan

Dream Spirit: [Qingyu] — A forest spirit with a completely emerald-green body and wings as thin as a cicada's. As she flew around, she scattered green points of light that calmed the mind.

Talent: [Nature Resonance D-rank] — Able to perform shallow communication with plants and even some natural elements to obtain information. Possesses weak healing and recovery abilities (mainly acting on mental fatigue and minor injuries).

Characteristics: Gentle yet resilient personality; she is the team's logistics support and information scout.

Combat Mainstay: Zhao Hu

Dream Spirit: [Roar] — A spirit in the form of a small but muscular striped saber-toothed tiger cub with fierce eyes, constantly exuding a faint Evil Qi.

Talent: [Combat Instinct C-rank] — Possesses extraordinary reaction speed and intuition in battle, able to keenly capture the opponent's flaws and master combat techniques extremely quickly.

Characteristics: Living up to his name, he has a straightforward and heroic personality; he is the team's primary physical damage dealer and defender.

Intelligence Expert: Chen Rui

Dream Spirit: [Thousand Faces] — A silver sphere with no fixed form that flows like mercury. It can briefly simulate various small objects (such as buttons, earrings, etc.) for infiltration and eavesdropping.

Talent: [Photographic Memory D-rank] — Possesses an almost absolute memory for text, images, scenes, and other information seen, with the ability to perform rapid retrieval. He is the team's living dictionary and database.

Characteristics: Reticent and taciturn with extremely keen observation skills. He has a low presence but always provides key information at critical moments.

Technical Support: Wang Jingjing

Dream Spirit: [Logic Core] — A light blue cube constantly shifting with 0 and 1 code, hovering above her open palm.

Talent: [Mechanical Affinity D+ rank] — Possesses extraordinary understanding and operational ability regarding mechanical creations and electronic equipment. Can quickly analyze their structural principles and perform simple repairs or modifications (works even better on technology-type items in the Dream World).

Characteristics: Wearing thick glasses, she has the typical image of an engineering girl. Obsessed with various technical problems, she is the team's technician and analyst for technology-type items.

Besides these core members, there were seven or eight other members in the society with varying Talents and spirits. Some could manipulate weak water currents, some could enhance their own speed, and some spirits could release flashes to blind enemies, forming a diverse small community of abilities.

After the introductions, Li Mubai's expression turned serious. He took a card shimmering with soft white light from his pocket; the card depicted interconnected human-shaped symbols.

“Zhang Hao, you just arrived, so you might not know yet. Our society's greatest advantage is this.” He placed the card on the table.

[dream world team card] (Bound: Dream Society)

Effect:

Members bound to this card can freely choose to team up with other members within the card to enter the Dream World for missions (both optional and mandatory missions are available), or they can still perform solo missions.

In a team state, team members are guaranteed to have the same initial faction in a mission (greatly reducing the risk of internal suspicion, especially suitable for Werewolf-style or faction-confrontation missions).

When the number of members bound to the Team Card reaches 10, a Team Upgrade Mission can be actively requested. The upgrade mission requires all members to participate and is highly difficult, but upon success, all members will receive the following rewards:

Exclusive Dream Space: A private safe zone for the team to rest, train, and store supplies.

Team Title: A unique team identifier that may come with certain special buff effects (depending on the mission evaluation).

Li Mubai looked at Zhang Hao and said seriously, “The Team Card can greatly improve survival rates and mission efficiency. Especially the faction guarantee—its value is immeasurable. We currently have nine core members confirmed and bound; you are the tenth person we have scouted and deemed very suitable. Your analytical and reasoning abilities happen to fill the gap in our team's brainpower.”

Everyone's eyes focused on Zhang Hao, waiting for his decision. Silver Star vibrated slightly in his pocket, transmitting analysis data: “Target team structure is rational, with strong complementary abilities. The leader Li Mubai's Talent is suitable for leadership. Team atmosphere evaluation: Positive. The Team Card's functions provide more benefits than risks for the Host's survival and development.”

Zhang Hao remained silent, his brain rapidly weighing the options under the [Logical Connection] Talent.

Benefits: Reliable teammates, faction guarantee, resource sharing, potential for an exclusive space, and a real-world 'organization' as a backup.

Risks: Team actions might have a larger target, making them easier to single out; the difficulty of the upgrade mission is unknown; the deeper the bond with the team, the more future individual freedom of action might be restricted.

But thinking of the pressure of facing suspicion and betrayal alone in 'Real Werewolf Kill,' thinking of the helplessness of Iron Fist's death, and thinking of the difficulty of groping in the dark alone... a trustworthy team could undoubtedly go further.

He looked up, his gaze sweeping over Li Mubai, Lin Wan, Zhao Hu, and the others, finally landing on the president's face as he showed his first sincere smile since joining the society:

“Sounds great. Then, count me in.”

He reached out and took the [dream world team card] that symbolized responsibility and bonds. The moment he touched the card, he felt a warm flow of energy surge through his body, while simultaneously establishing a subtle, invisible connection with the other nine core members present.

From this moment on, he was no longer a lone traveler struggling to survive between dreams and reality. He had companions, a sense of belonging, and a common goal.

The ten-person core team of the [Dream Society] was officially assembled here! Their first team mission, as well as that challenging upgrade mission, was about to arrive.