Like a Ray in My Night (Part 4)

609 Wordless Communication

Luo Lin stared at the spot outside blankly. Frankly, for most uses, it didn't matter at all if they were just a few steps off. But it would be different in a fight and that was what they would soon be involved in so he'd rather get this right before the time came. So not understanding where he went wrong made him worried.

He didn't move for a while, quietly staring out of the window. What did he miss? What should he do differently next time? It had seemed like they were getting less close each time they moved ahead so maybe he had misjudged the distance? Could that be it? He pondered for a moment and then turned to Shen Lei. "I want to try something."

Shen Lei simply nodded. Whatever it was, he'd leave free reign to Luo Lin. He was the one with the ability anyway so he could only support him by being there and adding a few words here and there. The one to finally make use of the ability still needed to be Luo Lin.

Luo Lin nodded and pulled Shen Lei around so they faced the other direction. Then, he opened another window, chose a spot outside, and tried to imprint it in his mind, this time taking more pains to judge the distance as accurately as possible.

After closing the window, he didn't hesitate and simply took a step outright while thinking of the place he had just seen. This way, he shouldn't even have time to get this wrong or get distracted. Opening the window again ... he found himself in the same dilemma as before though.

Pursing his lips, Luo Lin turned back to Shen Lei. "We're only moving half the distance. I thought I misjudged it before but ... I tried again and made sure to pay attention but the result is still the same. Something is wrong."

Shen Lei furrowed his brows. He hadn't seen either of the spots Luo Lin tried to travel to or where they had finally ended up since the windows had been so small so it was difficult to judge now. As for a simple explanation that didn't require further knowledge ... "It couldn't be that your ability literally halved the distance you can travel, could it?"

Luo Lin shook his head. "How could that be? We moved so far before when we were trying to move south!"

Shen Lei nodded. "That's true as well." In that case though, he had no idea what was going wrong. "Well, can you think of any other details?"

"No, there really wasn't much to it. Oh, well, I tried moving toward the tent several times before but the distance I was traveling got smaller and smaller. I tried moving a little more but that didn't really do anything. It's almost as if the distance we travel in the actual dreamscape doesn't matter at all. It's really just about our thoughts."

Shen Lei faintly raised his brows. There were several points he noticed as Luo Lin explained and he couldn't help but wonder if maybe he was onto something. "You said the distance became smaller. Could it be it was half the distance every single time? If you've already traveled half the distance, then half the distance of that ..."

Luo Lin's brows shot up. Actually ... "That might indeed be the case. Yes, if I think about it, this could really be it. I'm still not sure how. I definitely didn't misjudge the distance just now."

Shen Lei hummed and nodded slowly. "I'm afraid it might not be about you."

Luo Lin tilted his head. Was it the dreamscape?

Before he could ask, Shen Lei smiled wryly. "Your ability is bound to me, isn't it? So maybe ... just you doing this isn't enough. Maybe both of us need to try and make the move. If I don't do anything, I at most won't negatively affect what you are doing but I will half the distance. After all, with two people ... that would make sense, wouldn't it?"

Luo Lin pursed his lips. "I suppose so." He gave a hum as well and then opened a window at the side that was high up enough and wide enough for both of them to peer through. "Well, there is only one way to find out!" Looking outside, he finally motioned to a spot that could barely be seen in the distance. "Do you see that shadow there? Let's both try to move there. Just one step while thinking of landing directly in front of it."

Shen Lei nodded and tightened his grasp on Luo Lin's hand. "Do we count?"

Luo Lin laughed as he closed the window but still nodded and counted to three. Then, they both took a step.

Luo Lin sighed and then reached up, a little afraid of what he would find if he opened the window again. If this hadn't been it ... what else were they supposed to do then? He was already surprised that Shen Lei had been able to think of this possible explanation so fast. He really didn't think that he could pull out a second one though.

Shen Lei reached over and rubbed his back. "Don't worry. Whatever it is, we will figure it out." Although, truth be told, he was now worried. The dreamscape, however small it might be and however unreliable it had seemed to make travels, it had been a good place in case they needed to get to a secure spot fast. Still, the main goal had been to be able to use it in a fight to not just hide away but actively counterattack.

If they had to synchronize their thoughts and agree on the places to move though ... this would make it difficult to do so. They wouldn't have the time to discuss, after all. And even though they knew each other well, he also wasn't sure if they were at the point where they were able to wordlessly understand such complex matters. Most likely, they didn't. Not in this case, at least. Luo Lin lacked a lot of experience in fighting, after all.

He kept the thought quiet for now, not wanting to make Luo Lin worry as well. It stayed at the back of his mind though and he couldn't help but wonder if he should hope that his guess had been right or wrong.

Meanwhile, Luo Lin finally opened another window. Then ... they came face to face with a very sorry-looking bush.