Fake Goods

It seemed like he had suddenly fallen asleep.

Ji Jue opened his eyes on the floor and felt pain throughout his body, as though someone had beaten him up. His whole body felt like it was about to fall apart.

He struggled to turn over and looked at the familiar ceiling, trying to sort out his thoughts and figure out what had happened. But his forehead throbbed with pain, and the dizziness made it impossible to remember anything.

Could he have been grinding too hard, to the point of collapsing from exhaustion?

That couldn't be right. Before the Level Three Engineer exam, after grinding furiously in the library for a whole week, he had still found time to squeeze in two sets of emergency lifeguard exam questions!

Was he getting old?

He wasn't even twenty yet!

Ji Jue clutched his throbbing head and slowly climbed to his feet. He tried to take a deep breath, but the air was thick with a pungent moldy smell. At some point, the window had been opened, letting in a great deal of rain that dripped onto the floor.

The sky outside was covered by heavy clouds, hiding the stars and moon.

Only from the dark alleys in the distance, where the lights could not reach, came a sudden, piercing wail, like the dying howl of a stray dog. Ji Jue shuddered and instinctively closed the window. Then he saw the large patches of mold and peeling plaster covering the wall.

He stood there, utterly stunned.

How long had he been asleep?

An inexplicable fear and unease rose in his heart. His breathing gradually quickened, and cold sweat poured down his body. When he raised his hand and looked at his wrist, there was nothing there.

His watch was gone!

Even his abilities had vanished without a trace, as though they had collapsed from Overload. His soul was empty.

Only a hair-raising scraping sound gradually drifted up from downstairs.

Ji Jue held his breath.

He cautiously pushed the door open and looked toward that expanse of writhing darkness. There was nothing in the darkness, only an iron door that swayed precariously in the wind and rain, opening and closing without end.

His heart suddenly cramped!

It was as though an invisible terror had clenched it tight, making it difficult to beat. Some faint laughter seemed to come from the darkness, but he could not hear it clearly. All he could feel was a shiver running through him.

Behind the Curtain of dreams, the Formless Tapir bared its teeth and greedily sucked in the fear that was rapidly gushing forth, moaning in contentment. Ever since obtaining the Tapir's Matrix, it had never been able to get enough of this pleasure.

The Chosen One known as Nightmare Demon never appeared before people. He had never even met his employers or enemies face-to-face.

What he loved most was transforming into a nightmare and slipping into his opponent's dreams, wantonly toying with and tormenting his target until they were gradually crushed and broken by fear, becoming a puppet and a toy.

Now, he only needed to move a finger, and the most terrifying memories and horrifying scenes in Ji Jue's heart would emerge from the dream, sending everything plunging slowly into hell.

Cold wind mixed with rain blew in through the gaping doorway.

At some point, a line of muddy footprints had already spread across the floor in front of Ji Jue and into his home, like an invisible monster hiding in darkness that could not be observed.

At that instant, a bizarre chewing sound rang out from the far end of the living room!

He staggered back a step, barely managing to stay upright. The invisible fear burst forth, already reaching its peak and taking solid form.

Too simple. Too easy. Far too effortless.

The Nightmare Demon slowly curled the corner of his mouth, merging into the image shaped by that fear. He materialized as a Black Shadow and stepped onto the stage.

The game of hunting and torment had begun!

He grinned viciously and opened his eyes, then... froze in place.

He blinked blankly and looked ahead, unable to understand why he was lying on top of the refrigerator.

And why was half a chicken leg clenched in his mouth?

There were no blades. No fangs or claws.

A gaunt, shriveled figure with a hunched back lay atop the refrigerator, staring face-to-face with its reflection in the glass. Only then did the terrified scream from behind him reach his ears, followed by a furious roar.

"My chicken leg! My refrigerator! Aaaaaaaaah!!!!"

Ji Jue's tears were nearly falling. Completely shattered by the sight before him, he forgot all reason and thought, hurling himself forward. "I'll freaking fight you to the death!"

Bang!

The Nightmare Demon did not even have time to turn around before a stick smashed into his forehead. He heard the crisp sound of his skull cracking, and the world spun around him.

"Wait..."

He instinctively turned and waved, trying to tear Ji Jue apart, but his withered arm was immediately smashed off by another swing, snapping like a stalk of wheat.

"That's not right!" His eyes widened in disbelief. "I..."

"You what?!"

Ji Jue roared. He slammed the broken half of a table leg into that eerie face and shouted, "You'd better pay for my refrigerator!"

Seeing the refrigerator door he had just repaired fall to the floor again, the last thread in Ji Jue's mind snapped completely. His eyes turned bloodshot as he attacked with fists and feet.

"That's for illegally breaking in!"

"That's for eating my chicken leg!!"

"That's for wrecking my freaking! Refrigerator!!!!"

Bang!

The table leg actually broke beneath Ji Jue's fury, but he did not stop for a moment. He continued stomping on the Nightmare Demon, casually grabbing a plate from beside him and bringing it crashing down onto his forehead.

Smack!

Shards flew everywhere. The plate that had cost two yuan and fifty cents and been used for seven or eight years was completely shattered!

Ji Jue's heart bled.

After that came the rolling pin stuck atop the cupboard. With his right hand, he grabbed the frying pan that had not yet been washed in the sink. Using both hands, he attacked from left and right.

"So you're all bullying me, huh? Why the hell are you all picking on one poor man!" Ji Jue demanded furiously. "I haven't even finished paying off my student loans! Where's my motorcycle?!

"Damn it, where did my Little Cow and Horse go?!"

When he realized that even his Little Cow and Horse had been stolen, Ji Jue felt there was no way he could recover. His eyes were red enough to drip blood, and he hammered the frying pan blindly into the other's face, so furious that he could not stop!

"Wait, I... No, you stop first... I..."

Amid the storm of punches and kicks, the Nightmare Demon instinctively shielded his head with both arms. His vision went black in waves, and he could not understand what the hell was happening.

How could someone's most terrifying nightmare be someone wrecking the refrigerator in their home? How could anyone's greatest fear be someone stealing and eating their chicken leg?

Damn it, were you insane?!

He could not help wanting to protest and demand an explanation, but it was already too late.

As the bloodstained rolling pin came swinging down once more, the dream suddenly collapsed amid the spreading pain.

On the sofa in the airport lounge, the Nightmare Demon screamed as he awoke from his dream. He opened his eyes and felt blood slowly seeping from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. He could not believe it.

He had actually been killed in a dream?

"Sir? Sir!" A hurried knock came from outside the door. "Do you need help? What happened?"

"I'm fine! Don't bother me!"

The Nightmare Demon roared out of control. Disregarding all decorum and etiquette, he directly issued a suggestion through the door, making the attendant leave and never come back.

In the silence, only his heavy breathing remained. His eyes were bloodshot, and his expression was hideous.

"Ji Jue—"

His hoarse voice squeezed through his clenched teeth. He could not swallow this humiliation he had never experienced before. "We're not done yet."

Before his surging Spiritual Substance could recover and stabilize,

the Nightmare Demon closed his eyes once more.

The nightmare came howling from afar again!

In the room, Ji Jue had just opened his eyes and had not yet figured out what was happening when he collapsed again, his snores rising.

After a long period of daze and stupor, he opened his eyes blankly and saw the afternoon sunlight.

Someone gently pushed his shoulder, so tenderly.

"Wake up, Ji Jue."

Wen Wen sat beside him and looked down at him. "Fell asleep again?"

"Ah, sorry."

Ji Jue apologized instinctively and rubbed his face. "I've been grinding pretty hard lately, I..."

He looked up, but his words abruptly stopped. He seemed confused.

Wen Wen smiled, propping up her chin as she looked at him.

"What's wrong?" She picked up the ice cream beside her and took up a spoon. "Want to try some? This place's ice cream tastes pretty good."

"Huh?" Ji Jue was puzzled.

"Come on, open your mouth."

Wen Wen scooped up some ice cream and cream and brought it to his lips. "Try it?"

"Ah... Um... I'd better not."

Ji Jue instinctively leaned back a little and smiled awkwardly. "I have high blood sugar. I can't eat this stuff. But, Wen Jie, you're being so nice to me that I'm actually a little nervous."

"Tch. Who knows what you're thinking about all day."

Wen Wen curled her lips. She took a cigarette case from her pocket and deftly held a cigarette between her lips. Just as she was about to light it, she saw Ji Jue obediently hand her the ashtray beside him.

"You kid, at least you're a Chosen One..."

She shook her head as though she was about to say something. Then she saw Ji Jue lift the ashtray in his hand and bring it toward her forehead.

Bang!!!

Amid the deafening crash, Wen Wen's head split open, blood pouring down her face, while the ashtray shattered into two pieces.

"Ji Jue, have you gone insane?!" she roared.

"Who are you?"

Ji Jue rose to his feet. He gripped the shattered ashtray in his hand and stared expressionlessly at that furious face, asking word by word, "Who are you?"

"Are you still groggy from sleep? I'm Wen Wen, I..."

"Wen Jie never smokes any brand other than White Star." Ji Jue shook his head decisively. "She won't smoke anything else, no matter how good it is."

"I just wanted a change of taste!"

"Mm, maybe. Perhaps."

Ji Jue nodded indifferently, completely unconcerned. But when he lowered his eyes to glance at her, he could not help looking disdainful. "Wen Jie would absolutely never smile so disgustingly, like some slobbering lapdog. It's unbearably greasy."

From childhood to adulthood, Ji Jue had seen that kind of smile countless times.

Every time someone smiled at him like that, they were plotting to get something from him.

But Wen Wen had never smiled like that.

Not once.

"The perfume, the smell, the tone of voice... Now that I think about it, there are too many flaws. Even this face seems a little off."

Ji Jue sighed and told the impostor before him, "I'm guessing either you don't know her very well, or you know her so well that... you don't even dare appear in front of her."

He studied that gradually twisting expression, and realization dawned on him. "I see. You don't dare look at her face, do you?"

In that instant, the broken, blood-soaked face suddenly changed, transforming into a gloomy countenance he had never seen before.

It bore the outline of some kind of beast.

It was hideous.

The Nightmare Demon hiding behind the scenes had been driven into a dead end, and the Dream-Eating Tapir revealed itself in fury.

"I was going to let you die drunk in a sweet dream. But now, it seems there's no need."

The Nightmare Demon's voice rang out as though it came from every direction. "You brought this on yourself, Ji Jue."

Boom!

The earth suddenly shook, and the sky shattered apart.

Ji Jue's brain throbbed with violent pain.

His vision turned black.

It was as though invisible hands had reached into his brain, brutally digging through his past and plucking out fragments of pain and despair, gathering them into an ocean.

And drowning him completely!