Nightmare

It felt as though someone was violently shoving him.

It felt as though someone had cornered him by the back door of the classroom, kicking him, beating him, and hurling abuse at him.

It felt as though he had been unable to pay his tuition and had been driven out of school by his teacher, wandering the streets like a dog, howling, helpless and desperate, pacing aimlessly until he recognized reality, lowered his head, and went door to door begging for work and shelter.

It felt as though he had been sent to a foster family, where he endured their cold stares.

It felt as though he had been sent to a hospital, suffering severe burns all over his body, as though he were on the verge of death.

It felt as though... all of a sudden, once again, he had returned to ten years ago!

The nightmare's backtracking never stopped. It surged forward with a crash, savagely digging up every fragment of the past until, in the end, it broke through every obstacle and effortlessly seized the core of despair!

"Found it."

The Nightmare Demon grinned hideously as he reopened the true nightmare hidden within the memories!

In that instant, the blue sky turned into a charred dome. Crimson firelight illuminated the leaden black clouds, the earth split apart, and sparks rose and fell over the scorched ground.

The wails and cries of anguish died out amid the ruins.

Roaring flames burned atop the wreckage of the train car.

Ji Jue was swallowed by his memories once more.

So calm.

It was something the Nightmare Demon found impossible to understand.

This was not a lucid dream that could be escaped merely by recognizing who one was, nor was it some illusion that could no longer cause harm once one saw through it. This was a genuine source of suffering, a vicious technique that thrust its opponent completely into the abyss.

Yet at that moment, he could see no terror or despair on Ji Jue's face.

There was only a calmness that made him faintly shudder.

It was as though he had returned home, back to his soft bed. He calmly surveyed everything around him, allowing his painful memories to swallow him whole.

He walked forward at an unhurried pace and sat down on the ruins.

"Ah... how embarrassing."

Ji Jue scratched his cheek and sighed softly. "I only said a few days ago that I might not come back. Who would've thought I'd be sent back here again?"

No one answered him. Only a distant song echoed faintly from afar, without end.

In that instant, the Formless Tapir actually lost its power and fell into the dust.

A cold wind roared past, carrying countless cries of the dead.

Snapped out of his daze and shock, the Nightmare Demon lowered his head and looked at the dirt and ash on his hands. He instinctively took a step back, then fell to the ground.

He looked around in bewilderment.

Control of the dream had been taken from him!

"What happened?!"

He instinctively rose, wanting to seize back control, but saw silver light gradually spreading across the earth. Its solemn, intricate outlines resembled electrical circuits, forming an invisible net that enclosed him within it!

Drip, drip, drip, drip...

An illusory sound rang beside his ears.

It was so crisp.

And so, stagnant time began to flow backward here, and everything sealed away reappeared once more.

Amid the scorched earth and ashes, blurry outlines and agonized bodies gradually reassembled one after another, returning from death to wail, shriek, pray, or roar in fury.

In the end, they—no, those things—all turned their heads.

They looked toward the dazed Tapir.

Their broken, charred faces had no eyes, only two pitch-black hollows resembling caverns leading to the abyss. Yet suddenly, blazing light surged from within those hollows.

It was as though mountains had been set ablaze, oceans were boiling, and the heavens and earth were crumbling apart amid the tide of Destruction.

That was, in all truth...

—a Natural Disaster!

Amid the intruder's final scream of terror, the Natural Disaster from ten years ago, the one that had destroyed everything, once again emerged from the ends of the earth.

True despair and Destruction came surging in with overwhelming force!

When the nightmare shattered, it was like a soap bubble.

When the soul was burned to nothing, it was the same.

This was the Dream Eater's final end.

"Sir? Sir?"

Late at night, outside the private lounge at the airport, the attendant knocked on the door once again and reminded him gently, "Your flight is about to depart, sir. Can you hear me? Sir?"

No one answered. Only a deathly silence remained.

When the door was pushed open, a terrified scream suddenly rang out. Chaos spread, and before long, the area inside and outside had been sealed off, with cordons stretched across it.

The police who arrived raised their cameras and photographed the scene inside.

The man on the sofa had long since stopped breathing.

His stiff expression had twisted beyond recognition, permanently preserving the terror and despair he had felt before death, never to fade.

"He probably died suddenly in his sleep."

The forensic doctor who arrived removed his gloves and delivered his conclusion. Yet before leaving, he could not help glancing back one last time at the curled-up corpse.

It was simply impossible to understand.

Why did the corpse look as though it had been burned alive?

When Ji Jue opened his eyes again, he saw sunlight shining in through the window, warm and gentle. Birds sang from the branches, spreading their wings and flying into the sky.

Amid this indescribable tranquility, he lay on the ground and slowly stretched his body, letting out a comfortable groan.

He had not slept this long in a very long time.

He was exhausted.

He had not even known when he fell asleep the previous night. He had spent the night sleeping on the floor, yet he did not feel uncomfortable or suffer back pain. Instead, it was as though his entire body had received a thorough rest.

Comfortable and peaceful.

It felt as though he had dreamed a very long dream, but it had been a complete mess and he could not remember any of it. Still, after such abundant rest, he was certain it had definitely been a good dream.

However, when he raised his hand, he could not help freezing.

On the Watch Dial's progress display, the [1] was actually half-filled with gold!

More than fifty percent?!

Before he went to sleep, it had clearly only just reached thirty percent. How had it risen so much after he opened his eyes? Could combining work and rest really be this effective?

Ji Jue scratched his head in confusion.

Surely some ferocious ghost had not truly entered his dream and bestowed power upon him?

The progress bar had risen by twenty percent after one sleep. Could such a wonderful thing really exist under heaven?

It was absurd, but he liked it. Bring on more!

He hummed a tune and swayed his waist. After washing up and getting ready, he looked outside. The sun was blazing, and the sky was clear for ten thousand miles—a perfect day to twist screws, scavenge trash, and grind out progress!

Another happy day of labor was about to begin!

However, not long after he stepped outside, he saw someone nearby. The man was unshaven and pale, looking as though he did not have long to live. When he saw Ji Jue come out, his expression was as if he had seen a ghost.

Maybe he was sick?

Ji Jue gave him a sympathetic glance, slipped his hands into his pockets, and strolled away.

Only Qi Qin remained standing where they had passed each other, rooted to the spot. He watched Ji Jue's back disappear into the distance, his eyes wide with disbelief, suspecting that he had hallucinated.

After being watched by the Nightmare Demon and tormented for so long, an opponent should have been checking into a private room at a psychiatric hospital the next day. How was he still alive and bouncing around, heading out to twist screws?

Something was wrong!

He felt that something had gone awry somewhere. He lowered his head and checked the messages on his phone: dozens of inquiries had been sent but remained unread, and there had been no reply even now!

Something was wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong... Something was very wrong!!!

What was going on?

He wished he could pin down that bastard, swing his copper-headed belt, and whip him until he spun like a top. Damn it, I've been waiting for you all night. Did it work or not? Say something already!

But no matter how he urged him, called him, sent messages, or emailed him, there was no response.

It was as though he were dead.

"You'd better actually be dead, you dogspawn." Qi Qin's eyes were bloodshot.

At this point, seeing the other party playing dead and refusing to reply, how could he still not understand?

That bastard had probably really dug up something last night, and had most likely already fled!

But if he had truly fled, that would be fine. What Qi Qin feared was that he had realized his information was a rare commodity and was preparing to find another generous employer and sell it for a Large Sum of Money!

But what the hell had he dug up?

No one knew!

And the time left to him was already running short...

"So that's how you want to play it, you bastard? Wait for death!"

Without hesitation, Qi Qin dialed a number. "Boss, something happened. The Nightmare Demon ran off!"

After he reported the details, the old man on the other end of the call also fell into stunned silence. He suppressed his rage with nowhere to vent it, and the only sound was something shattering.

"You useless piece of trash! If you want to die, just buy yourself an urn. Why drag me into it? Why are you only telling me now?!"

Qi Qin's expression twitched. He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He had never imagined that casually casting out a line would really hook such a huge fish. Now the rod was about to break, and he was about to be dragged into the sea as well!

Even stranger, after that bastard Nightmare Demon fled, they actually had no way to confirm what exactly was hooked beneath the rod. It might be insignificant marine trash, or it might be a man-eating shark that would not rest until it had drawn blood!

Whether it was "Ji Jue might actually be the Chosen Summoner who had thrown most of Haizhou into chaos these past few days," or "he had secretly been involved with that Wen woman for years, and they even had a child who had just passed its first month," they could no longer afford to dawdle.

If the Nightmare Demon sold the information and let Wen Wen catch wind of it and become vigilant, they might never get another chance.

Even if it was only a possibility, if something went wrong, would "those people" really let him off?

Don't make me laugh!

Rats like them, scavenging leftovers in the gutter, spent most of their days doing dirty work that could not see the light for those big shots. If they were useful, they would continue using them. If they were not, would they not simply replace them?

A chamber pot was sometimes just like a Pal.

If you would not do it, there were plenty of others who would!

"Take action directly."

Jiang Jin took a deep breath. "Find someone to capture that kid first! I'll contact the Chosen Ones from the Heart Pivot and dig up his entire background!"

Qi Qin hesitated. "But he spends every day at Ye Xian's workshop. What if Ye Xian finds out..."

"He's only an apprentice, not her biological son. We call her Master to show her respect. Without that respect, so what? Does she dare to make a move?!"

Jiang Jin could no longer restrain himself and roared, "Besides, can't you trick him into coming out? Is this your first day on the job? Do I have to teach you how to do it?!"

Smack!

The call ended.

Amid the piercing busy signal, Qi Qin instinctively shuddered, as though he had fallen into an icy cave.

Then a vicious look surfaced in his eyes.

He dialed another number.