Recollecting Foreshadowing
Just as the nightmare of senior year was spreading like a virus, at the New Muir military base in the Ideal Country, several military officers were examining a document.
"Is the news true?" On the screen, the Minister of Defense of the Ideal Country looked at the message sent back and asked again to confirm.
"We have verified this through multiple channels. This is a list of resource flows in the Parlin Kingdom over the past few months. Although it is only a portion, it is enough to reveal the problem." The frontline commander uploaded the documents one by one through an encrypted channel, explaining as he did so:
"After the Sea Monster crashed, we always suspected that the Power System wasn't completely destroyed. Now it seems that it was indeed recovered by Pegasus..."
"We've discussed this matter as well, but Pegasus's research capabilities and industrial base are insufficient for such research... Hmm, you mean, the technology of the Parlin Kingdom comes from Pegasus?" The Minister of Defense frowned, his face full of doubt.
Although Pegasus and Palin are neighboring countries, their relationship has never been very good due to the "tacit understanding" between the Ideal Country and Budali. Pegasus outwardly leans more towards Budali, so its technology is mostly magical technology, while Palin is more inclined towards the Ideal Country, and its technology and industrial base are more developed.
In a sense, the two sides are almost equivalent to the extensions of the tentacles of Budali and the Ideal Country. Even if Pegasus had actually found the Power System, it would have been impossible for him to cooperate with the Parlin Kingdom.
"The special relationship between the two countries led to this outcome." The frontline commander, reflecting on this, couldn't help but sigh.
"Because Palin and Pegasus have always been in a state of hostility, it is inevitable that both countries send spies to infiltrate each other. And it just so happens that there was a spy from the Parlin Kingdom in the team that recovered the Power System... But in any case, this operation was indeed successful. At least it took our intelligence department a full six months to learn of this news by accident."
"Tsk..." The Minister of Defense of the Ideal Country clicked his Hanako. Although there was no further intelligence, after so many years in the field, he immediately understood that either the spy had successfully made the secret no longer a secret, or under the strict intelligence blockade, the spy had deliberately exposed himself and reached a cooperation agreement. But no matter which one it was, the authenticity of this intelligence was probably true.
Taking a deep breath, the Minister of Defense of the Ideal Country finally spoke:
"The Gold Knight is with you, right? Have him lead a special forces team to infiltrate Palin and retrieve the item. A large-scale operation is fine."
"..." Seemingly startled by his superior's order, the frontline commander hesitated for a moment before speaking:
"Sir, Palin is ultimately our ally. Why not exert pressure through official channels? Given the completion level of their new mechs, it's impossible for them to move them silently. We can take action when they try to justify themselves, which will give us a legitimate reason..."
"Idiot!" the Defense Minister roared, his eyes blazing.
"What I care about is the machine itself? With Palin's limited technology, what high-end stuff can they produce? What's important is the Power System! Since Pegasus was able to pick it up on the battlefield, Parlin Kingdom might be able to smuggle it out secretly too! As for reputation... the Ideal Country doesn't build its empire on reputation! Once we get our hands on that thing, what will we say then?"
"Yes, I understand!" The frontline commander immediately saluted to indicate his understanding, and pressed the communicator in front of his superior:
"Call Kormir over here!"
"Pay close attention, this is important. It's been a key point in the college entrance exams for the past few years, so you all need to listen carefully so you can..."
In a classroom at the Parlin Industrial University Affiliated High School, the teacher was explaining key problems at length. Feng Xue sat behind his desk, scribbling notes, but his gaze kept drifting out the window.
"What are you looking at?" Miss Ke Family noticed Feng Xue's unusual expression and frowned. The direction Feng Xue was looking was the Parlin Military Industrial Research Institute, which he had inexplicably mentioned a few days ago. However, this enigmatic man had never told her what was so noteworthy about that place.
Moreover, he hadn't been so absent-minded these past few days, and his current attitude clearly indicated that something was about to happen.
"Nothing much, just calculating the efficiency of Ideal Country."
"Efficiency? What does that mean?"
Miss Ke Family wanted to ask more questions, but suddenly heard a deafening explosion.
Immediately afterwards, thick smoke rose from the distance, along with a dazzling burst of firelight.
The commotion was so great that even the teacher, who kept saying "even death is not as important as the college entrance examination," stopped explaining the exercises, and the students couldn't help but look out the window.
The roar grew louder and louder, followed by the piercing air raid siren. Its sound, so intense it seemed to make one's heart race, made everyone feel uneasy. The teacher finally realized the seriousness of the situation and shouted loudly before the evacuation bell in the Teaching Building could be rung:
"Quickly, everyone evacuate according to the evacuation drill! Don't panic, the explosion is still a long way off!"
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the students quickly stood up. Although it was a bit crowded at first, they soon regained order, forming lines and heading towards the emergency exit, probably because they didn't feel there was any real danger to their lives.
Thanks to the evacuation drill, the students quickly reached the spacious playground. They watched the column of smoke rising from the direction of Palin University of Technology, listened to the increasingly intense explosions, and could vaguely see black dots flashing in the sky.
"Mechs? Could it be the Heavenly Court? But this is the capital! Doesn't the Heavenly Court only attack military facilities at the Four Extremes? Are we developing some kind of super weapon?"
Upon seeing the mecha battle, students immediately exclaimed in surprise, and upon hearing this, Feng Xue couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth.
The fact that someone could say such a thing at least shows that the Heavenly Court's presence has deeply resonated with the people.
However, this doubt was quickly dispelled when a student used the zoom function of their phone camera to capture the appearance of the combat aircraft.
"It's not the Heavenly Court! It's the Silver Knight of the Ideal Country! Good heavens, isn't the Ideal Country our ally? Why would they suddenly attack the capital?"
The student group, which had just calmed down, was thrown into chaos again. Compared to the Heavenly Court, which never harmed anyone and had a clear objective, the invasion of the Ideal Country's active-duty mecha forces was truly terrifying.
The school leaders were also in a panic, constantly making phone calls, but the surrounding communication signals had been cut off. They couldn't find anyone to blame, and the principal wanted to evacuate the students directly, but was afraid that something might happen to them after they left the school.
But soon, he wouldn't have to worry anymore, because--
"Oh no, something's flying over here!"
Will the power over the nightmares of senior year be usurped by the God of Nightmares?
To put it simply, as this Weird Tale spreads, the God of Nightmares does indeed gain some benefits, but he cannot seize control of the School Hell.
The reason is simple: School Hell isn't Phantom Object, it's Weird Tale.
Don't be fooled by the fact that this thing has no agency; its essence is a world-class super Weird Tale, only it has been tamed by Feng Xue using the concept of "hell."
Weird Tale can acquire Phantom Object through legends, integrate them into their own legends, and eventually transform them into Companion Phantom. However, without corresponding powers, it is impossible to transform the same Weird Tale into something " from the Subordinate God."
Just like Feng Xue, who used her power of "Investiture of the Gods and Conferment of Immortality and bestowing immortality" and her Companion Phantom "the underworld" to "convert" the School Hell, which had elements of "hell" and "reincarnation," into Subordinate God. This was done when the School Hell was still in the Phantom Object stage.
In short, in the Weird Tale of Senior Year 3, the School Hell is like a game company, Feng Xue is the planner and general manager, the Miss Ke Family is the server operator, the God of Nightmares is the marketing and promotion, and Senior Year 3 Nightmare is the game they launched.
God of Nightmares was merely an outsourced marketing project, receiving the smallest (or even none) share of the subsequent profits. The Miss Ke Family maintained the servers, which accounted for a larger share, but the main profits went to Feng Xue and his School Hell.