Fakes

It felt as if he had suddenly fallen asleep.

Ji Jue opened his eyes on the floor, feeling an all-over ache as if he had been beaten up; his entire body felt like it was falling apart.

He struggled to roll over and looked at the familiar ceiling, trying to clear his head from the dizziness and figure out what had happened, but his forehead throbbed with such intense pain that he couldn't recall a thing.

Could it be that he had been grinding too hard and suffered a burnout?

That didn't make sense; before his Level 3 Engineer exam, after a week of frantic studying in the library, he had still managed to squeeze in two sets of practice tests for an emergency lifeguard certification!

Was he getting old?

He wasn't even twenty yet!

Ji Jue clutched his throbbing head and slowly crawled up from the floor, trying to take a deep breath, but the air was filled with a pungent, musty odor. The window had been left open at some point, letting in a lot of rain that dripped onto the floor with a rhythmic patter.

The sky outside was covered in thick clouds, hiding the stars and the moon.

Only in the distance, within the dark alleys that the streetlights couldn't reach, did a harsh, mournful cry suddenly echo, like the dying wail of a stray dog. Ji Jue shivered and instinctively closed the window, then caught sight of the large patches of mold and peeling wallpaper on the walls.

He couldn't help but freeze on the spot.

Just how long had he been asleep?

An inexplicable fear and unease welled up in his heart, making his breathing increasingly rapid and his body drenched in cold sweat. When he raised his hand to look at his wrist, it was empty.

His watch was gone!

Even his abilities had vanished without a trace, as if they had crashed from an overload; his soul felt hollow and empty.

Only a hair-raising scratching sound began to drift in from downstairs.

Ji Jue held his breath.

He cautiously pushed the door open and looked into the dancing darkness. There was nothing there, save for an iron door swinging open and shut in the wind and rain.

His heart spasmed violently!

It felt as if it were being gripped by an invisible terror, making it hard to beat. It seemed as if a soft chuckle had drifted from the darkness, but he couldn't hear it clearly; all he felt was trembling.

Behind the curtain of the dream, the formless Tapir grinned, sucking on the fear that was gushing out, moaning in satisfaction. Ever since he had obtained the Tapir's matrix, he could never get enough of such pleasure.

The Chosen One known as Nightmare never appeared before people, nor had he ever met his employers or enemies.

What he loved most was to manifest as a nightmare, sneak into his target's dreams, and wantonly toy with and ravage them until they were gradually broken and defeated by fear, turning into puppets and toys.

Now, he only needed to flick his fingers, and the most terrifying memories and horrific scenes in Ji Jue's mind would emerge from the dream, causing everything to descend into hell.

A cold wind mixed with rain blew in from the open door.

Before Ji Jue even realized it, a trail of muddy footprints had already spread into his home, hiding in the impenetrable darkness like an invisible monster.

And in that instant, a bizarre chewing sound erupted from the end of the living room!

He stumbled back a step, barely able to stand. The formless fear surged, reaching its peak and turning into something tangible.

Too simple, too easy, too effortless.

Nightmare's lips curled slowly, merging into the image shaped by fear, manifesting as a black shadow, and stepping onto the stage.

—The game of hunting and ravaging begins!

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

He blinked blankly, looking at what was before him, unable to comprehend why he was sprawled on top of a refrigerator.

And why, in his mouth, he was still gnawing on half a chicken leg?

No sharp blades, no claws and fangs.

An emaciated, hunched, and withered figure lay on the refrigerator, staring at his own reflection in the glass. Only then did he hear the terrified scream, and even the furious roar, from behind him.

"My chicken leg! My refrigerator, aaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!"

Tears were practically streaming from Ji Jue's eyes. Completely broken by the scene before him, he forgot all reason and thought, throwing himself forward recklessly: "I'll fight you to the death, you bastard!"

Bang!

Nightmare didn't even have time to turn around before a club smashed into his forehead. He felt the crisp sound of his skull cracking, and the world started spinning.

"Wait..."

He instinctively turned his head and waved his hand, wanting to tear Ji Jue to shreds, but his withered arm was snapped clean off by the club, just like a stalk of wheat.

"This isn't right!" He widened his eyes in disbelief: "I..."

"You what, you?!"

Ji Jue roared, slamming the broken table leg directly into that bizarre face, bellowing: "You pay for my refrigerator, you son of a bitch!"

Seeing the refrigerator door he had just fixed fall to the floor again, the last string in Ji Jue's mind snapped. His eyes turned scarlet as he used both fists and feet:

"How dare you trespass!"

"How dare you eat my chicken leg!!"

"How dare you, you bastard, break! My! Refrigera! tor!!!!"

Bang!

In his fury, Ji Jue actually smashed the table leg, but he didn't stop for a second. He kept stepping on the man, grabbed a plate from nearby, and slammed it directly onto the other's forehead.

Crack!

Fragments splattered everywhere; a plate that cost two-fifty and had been used for seven or eight years was completely shattered!

Ji Jue felt like his heart was being cut by a knife.

Next came the rolling pin stuck in the cupboard. His right hand grabbed the unwashed frying pan from the sink, and he used both hands, swinging left and right.

"You're all bullying me, right? Why the hell are you all bullying a poor guy like me!" Ji Jue demanded, roaring, "I haven't even finished paying off my student loans! Where the hell is my motorcycle?!

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

Realizing that his Little Cow and Horse had also been stolen, Ji Jue felt like he would never recover. His eyes were so red they looked like they were about to bleed, and he kept smashing the frying pan onto the other man's face mindlessly, unable to stop his rage!

"Wait a second, I, no, you stop first... I..."

Amidst the storm of punches and kicks, Yan subconsciously shielded his head, feeling his vision go dark. He couldn't understand what the hell was happening.

How could someone's worst nightmare be having their home refrigerator broken? How could someone's greatest fear be having their chicken leg stolen?

Damn it, are you crazy?!

He wanted to protest and question, but it was already too late.

As the blood-stained rolling pin swung down once more, amidst the spreading pain, the dream world suddenly collapsed.

On the sofa in the airport lounge, Yan woke up from the dream with a scream. He opened his eyes and felt blood slowly seeping from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, unable to believe it.

He had actually been killed in a dream?

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

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

Yan roared in a loss of control. Ignoring his poise and manners, he issued a suggestion through the door, telling the waiter to get lost and never come back.

In the silence, only his heavy breathing remained. His eyes were bloodshot, looking utterly ferocious.

"Ji Jue—"

A hoarse voice squeezed through his teeth; he couldn't swallow this unprecedented humiliation. "We aren't done yet."

Without waiting for his surging Spiritual Substance to return to normal, Yan closed his eyes again.

The nightmare came roaring back from afar!

In the room, Ji Jue had just opened his eyes. Before he could figure out what was going on, he collapsed again, and snoring sounded.

After a long period of dizziness and lethargy, he opened his eyes blankly and saw the afternoon sun.

Someone was gently pushing his shoulder, so tenderly.

"Wake up, Ji Jue."

Wen Jie sat beside him, looking down at him. "Fell asleep again?"

"Ah, sorry."

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

He looked up, and his words stopped abruptly, as if he were dazed.

Wen Jie smiled, resting her chin on her hand, watching him.

"What's wrong?" She picked up the ice cream nearby and grabbed a spoon: "Want to try some? The flavor of this ice cream is actually quite good."

"Huh?" Ji Jue was confused.

"Come on, open your mouth."

Wen Jie scooped up the ice cream and cream, bringing it to his lips: "Try it?"

"Ah... uh... no, thanks."

Ji Jue subconsciously backed away a little and gave an awkward smile: "I have high blood sugar, I can't eat these things. But, Wen Jie, you're being so good to me, it actually makes me a bit nervous."

"Tch, don't know what you're thinking about all day long."

Wen Jie curled her lip, took a cigarette case from her pocket, and skillfully held one in the corner of her mouth. Just as she was about to light it, she saw Ji Jue obediently hand over the ashtray from the side.

"You kid, you're a Heavenly Selection..."

She shook her head as if about to say something, and then, she saw Ji Jue's hand, which had been holding the ashtray, lift up and aim at her forehead.

Bang!!!

In a loud explosion, Wen Jie's head split open and blood streamed down; the ashtray shattered into two pieces.

"Ji Jue, are you crazy?!" She roared.

"Who are you?"

Ji Jue stood up, clutching the broken ashtray, looking at that angry face without expression, asking word by word: "You, who are you?"

"Are you sleeping so hard you're confused? I'm Wen Jie, I..."

"Wen Jie never smokes any brand other than White Star," Ji Jue shook his head decisively. "She wouldn't smoke even the best ones."

"I'm just trying a different flavor!"

"Mm, perhaps, maybe."

Ji Jue nodded indifferently, not caring in the slightest, yet when he lowered his eyes to glance at her, he couldn't help but feel disdain. "But Wen Jie would never smile so disgustingly, like a sycophant—it's sickeningly greasy."

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

Every time someone smiled at him like that, it meant they were plotting something against him.

But Wen Wen had never smiled like that.

Not even once.

"The perfume, the scent, the tone—thinking about it carefully, there are too many flaws. Even this face seems a bit off."

Ji Jue sighed softly, telling the imposter before him, "I guess either you don't know her very well, or you know her too well—so well that... you wouldn't dare appear in front of her."

He scrutinized the expression before him as it gradually twisted, and suddenly understood. "So that's it, you don't dare look at her face at all, do you?"

In that instant, the blood-soaked, shattered face shifted abruptly, turning into a gloomy visage he had never seen before.

It bore the contours of some kind of beast.

It was truly hideous.

The nightmare hiding behind the scenes had been forced into a dead end, and the Dream-Eating Tapir manifested in its fury.

"I had originally intended to let you die drunk in a sweet dream, but now it seems there's no need for that."

The nightmare's voice sounded as if it were coming from all directions. "You brought this upon yourself, Ji Jue."

BOOM!

The earth shook violently, and the sky began falling apart.

Ji Jue's brain throbbed with intense pain.

Everything before his eyes turned pitch black.

It was as if an invisible hand had reached into his mind, crudely excavating his past, extracting fragments of pain and despair, and gathering them into an ocean.

It completely submerged him!