An Imaginary Guide to Saving Yourself

Do you feel that something is off about the world around you?

For example, suddenly feeling nauseated and vomiting a huge clump of hair, hearing crying from beneath an empty bed, or seeing familiar family members behave strangely as they stare fixedly at you...

If you encounter any of the above or other abnormal situations, please do not panic. Stay where you are and ignore any unusual behavior from others. A dream analyst from your district will arrive within five minutes and promptly begin rescue operations.

A quick advertisement: The Anomaly Response Committee, abbreviated as ARC, is an unstaffed, non-governmental organization affiliated with the Tower. It is recruiting students with bachelor's degrees or higher in Anomaly Emergency Response, Anomaly Prevention Engineering, Applied Color Psychology, or Exorcism. Applicants must also pass the dream analyst qualification exam and hold an A-grade or higher trainee dream analyst certificate, or possess an exorcist certificate. Candidates with dream analysis experience will be given priority. No health insurance or housing fund is provided, and employees must pay social insurance themselves. Available around the clock, 24/7. No shift rotation.

What? You want to know the salary?

I'm sorry, but if you were unlucky enough to get accepted into one of those majors when you filled out your college application, it seems you'll either have to go to grad school and change majors, or spend your whole life doing under-the-table work for this fly-by-night organization. You'll be a living Lei Feng, helping people escape their nightmares, while risking your life and taking a second job just to scrape by.

So Li Mingsheng, a first-year student majoring in Anomaly Emergency Response, seemed to have landed in a super-dead-end major on par with bioengineering, environmental science, medicine, math, and civil engineering. With a bleak future ahead, all he could do was fight to save himself: compete for awards, grind away at research, keep his GPA up...

Or maybe... rack up dream analysis experience?

Su Xingzhou is an exceedingly strange person. His gender, personality, finances, health, and past are all unknown...

Those who know him keep their mouths shut, while those who don't are completely baffled by him.

But only Li Mingsheng knows that in that bizarre, absurd dream, Su Xingzhou reached out to him. Su Xingzhou said...

"I'm gay."

Li Mingsheng: ...

Is there a single normal person at this school?

Su Xingzhou x Li Mingsheng

Coming-of-age, progressive power growth, mild horror

Early: cold on the outside, warm on the inside, beautiful and tragic top x sharp-tongued but sincere, obsessive bottom

Later: Stay tuned

[Parallel universe, fictional modern setting, urban supernatural powers, entirely fictional. The worldbuilding is completely made up, and there are many shortcomings. Readers are welcome to point them out.]

Note: What does Su Xingzhou put down for gender, male or female?

Happy ending, read with confidence. Updates are slow early on while I build up a backlog.

Theme: Live life on your own terms.