"Great! We're awake! We finally have a chance to escape that nightmare!"
In the dormitory, four girls hugged each other and cried.
An orange fox sat on the desk, its tail tapping impatiently on the table. "Have you all finished marveling? If so, let's get down to business."
"I'm so sorry, Fox Immortal. We've been tormented by the Nightmare Game for too long, and now that we've finally escaped, it's understandable that we're a little overwhelmed with emotions." Li Qisi said, wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Li Qisi... have you forgotten the rules? You can't mention the name of that game in the real world!" One of the roommates looked terrified.
"With the Fox Immortal here, what's there to be afraid of!" Li Qisi had complete confidence in this so-called Fox Immortal, especially after the Fox Immortal actually managed to pull them out of the nightmare. Her trust in the Fox Immortal had reached its peak.
"I should have thought of that. If there are ghosts in this world, there must also be gods, immortals, demons, and the like. I should have gone to the temple to pray to Buddha." Li Qisi took out a bag of potato chips from her bag, intending to feed the Fox Immortal. In novels, those Ancient God and the like were all bribed by a roast chicken, and she wanted to try it too.
The little fox stopped Li Qisi with a paw. He didn't want to talk to someone whose mental state was unstable. He turned to the girl who remained calm and asked, "What is this Nightmare Game you're talking about?"
The calm girl, Tao Wan, pondered for a moment and said carefully, "The Nightmare Game is an unknown entity. It randomly selects students from this school, and these chosen people will periodically enter the dream world to participate in missions, struggling to survive in various extremely terrifying game instances."
The fox nodded and asked, "Approximately how many people from your school have been caught up in this so-called Nightmare Game?"
"I'm not quite sure," Tao Wan answered truthfully. "The Nightmare Game doesn't pull all members into the instance at once. Instead, they enter different instances in batches or groups. After completing a survival mission, they also get a 'vacation' for a period of time."
The fox pondered for a moment, "When did Nightmare Games first appear?"
Tao Wan shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure when it appeared. The four of us in this dorm were selected about a month ago. I heard from some upperclassmen that they were also brought in recently, so I guess the Nightmare Game must have just appeared recently, or at least it hasn't been causing trouble in this school for very long."
Li Qisi suddenly interjected, "I've also heard some rumors. I heard that a long time ago, people at this school often had nightmares, but back then it seemed to be just simple nightmares, without any game rules, survival dungeons, or any of that nonsense."
"What's the survival rate in Nightmare Game? What happens if you fail to clear a dungeon?" the fox continued to ask.
Before Tao Wan could speak, Li Qisi interrupted, "Those who fail to pass the level will be eliminated! Not killed outright, but rather they will die in the real world after waking up in some reasonable accident, such as slipping and falling down the stairs, or getting into a car accident."
"If we reveal the existence of the Nightmare Game to outsiders, we'll be killed, and our families might be implicated too." Li Qisi said, her eyes fixed intently on the fox. "Fox Immortal, you'll protect us from the Nightmare Game, won't you?"
The fox nodded. "Of course."
Upon hearing this, Li Qisi's expression became increasingly relaxed. Although she had already experienced the torment of several Nightmare Games, she was still essentially a naive college student who believed whatever others said.
Not only Li Qisi, but three out of the four people in this dormitory have completely trusted the Fox Immortal and regard it as their only lifeline.
Only Tao Wan outwardly trusted the Fox Immortal just like everyone else, but inwardly remained highly vigilant, perhaps due to her background.
Tao Wan was born into a patriarchal family in a remote and underdeveloped mountain village. In that place, she was almost sold by her parents to an old bachelor as a wife. She fought desperately to escape that suffocating family. For her, her parents' betrayal caused her to lose the ability to trust others. She was always wary and suspicious of everyone. For the first half of her life, she lived in constant fear and anxiety, living in nightmares. Although encountering ghosts in the Nightmare Game was terrifying, she had long been accustomed to being haunted by nightmares, which is why she appeared so calm.
Tao Wan asked the fox softly, "Have we temporarily escaped the Nightmare Game? Or will we never have to experience those terrifying things again?"
This question really hit the nail on the head, unlike the blind confidence of Li Qisi and the others. Of course, after Tao Wan's reminder, the three of them also realized what Li Qisi going on and looked at the fox with expectant eyes again.
The fox did not disappoint them. It nodded solemnly and said meaningfully, "Don't worry, you have all completely escaped the Nightmare Game and will never be bothered by this kind of thing again!"
"Yay! Y(^o^)Y~" Li Qisi was so happy she almost jumped up. She cheered and rushed out of the dormitory, eager to tell the world the good news.
The three roommates, caught off guard, failed to stop Li Qisi. Tao Wan, in particular, was so anxious she was stamping her feet. She still suspected that everything she was seeing was an illusion set up by an evil spirit to lure them out of the dormitory. The other two roommates thought Li Qisi was too talkative and couldn't keep secrets. The Fox Immortal hadn't dealt with the Nightmare Game yet; it had only guaranteed that they wouldn't be caught again. What if Li Qisi said something she shouldn't and ruined everything?
However, Tao Wan quickly realized that what she was seeing was not an illusion created by Fierce Ghost. The dormitory door had been opened by Li Qisi, and no ghost was chasing them.
But Li Qisi returned to the dormitory building with a pale face after circling around, questioning the Fox Immortal: "Why is everyone else still sleeping? I can't wake them up no matter what I do! Didn't you say you would protect us?!"
"I did protect you, didn't I?" The little fox tilted its head, seemingly puzzled as to why Li Qisi's tone was so unfriendly.
Li Qisi choked, clutching her hair with both hands, and said, "I was asking about the other students in school who were chosen by the Nightmare Game. You didn't just save a few of us and ignore the others, did you?"
The fox nodded matter-of-factly. "I haven't found the creator of the Nightmare Game yet. Once I find and deal with that creator, they'll naturally wake up."
Li Qisi's expression softened a bit, but she didn't notice the unspoken shrewdness in the eyes of her three roommates.