Walker

"Old Huang, was that really necessary? You call that 'almost dying at Number Seven's hands'?"

In a villa on the outskirts of Xishan City, a striking woman in black half-rim glasses curled her lip, openly mocking the restless man sitting on the sofa.

"A sickly bastard on the verge of death pushed you this far? If word gets out, how are those official people supposed to keep cooperating with us?"

Huang Zhang—the man who had followed Zhou Kai—flushed bright red. "What if the intel was wrong? That kid looked perfectly healthy to me. He was even stronger than I am."

"Third Sister, how about... we remove him from the target list?"

Ding San stood tall, her face cold and stern.

Leaning against the water dispenser, she decisively shook her head. "No. Raise his priority level. Classify him as a [Walker] and continue surveillance!"

"Walker? Him? A student who just graduated?"

Several people around them cried out at once.

"He's just an ordinary college student..."

Ding San stretched lazily, her astonishing curves outlined by the motion. "Has he been to the hospital recently?"

Huang Zhang immediately answered, "No such activity was observed."

Ding San shrugged. "Oh... then maybe he really is someone formidable. Not only did he obtain proof of identity, he also activated some kind of special structure. You should know that on the first day those monsters became Walkers, which one of them didn't wake up covered in injuries, like they'd been torn apart and put back together?"

Everyone fell silent.

They simply could not imagine that a weakling who had just graduated and barely passed PE throughout all four years of college could survive such a nightmare where death lurked at every turn.

According to official records from the Red Star Republic's Bureau of Abnormal Affairs, Nightmares had appeared centuries ago, and since the year 2000, the number of infected people had risen year after year.

This year alone, more than three hundred people across the city were suspected of having died from Nightmare Syndrome.

And among those people...

Those who could find proof of identity—such as ID badges, room cards, armbands, driver's licenses, and badges—before their lives were completely eroded by the Nightmare, then activate special structures such as Bonfires, Incense Burners, Nurseries, and Shrines, establish a foothold in the Nightmare World, and become so-called [Nightmare Walkers]...

There had not been a single one.

Of course, circumstances varied from city to city.

Huang Zhang froze.

If he accepted Ding San's judgment, then Zhou Kai knocking him down so easily became perfectly understandable. There was nothing humiliating about it.

After all, anyone who survived a place like that was bound to have some skills.

But... something still felt wrong.

Some things mattered more than his own pride.

What if Number Seven wasn't one of them?

What if they forcibly dragged an innocent ordinary person into this muddy mess and exposed him to the real, brutal world beneath the surface?

That would be a little too...

In the end, Huang Zhang still shook his head. "Third Sister, all your deductions are based on the premise that he really has Nightmare Syndrome."

"What if he just happened to come across that website and clicked in out of curiosity?"

Ding San's gaze turned cold. In two quick steps, she rushed before Huang Zhang, grabbed him by the collar, and yanked him forward.

In an icy voice, she said, "Detective Huang, I suggest you take this matter seriously."

"The latest official research report... the spread of Nightmares is very likely connected to Walkers."

"If nothing else, think about your daughter."

Ding San released him and flung Huang Zhang back onto the sofa as though throwing away trash.

"If you don't want more people to die silently in their dreams like your daughter did, then take this seriously!"

"Don't forget what resolve you had when you joined Dreamless!"

Huang Zhang fell silent, his entire body seeming to lose its spine.

The young man beside him hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over. "Come on, Third Sister, we're all on the same side... There's no need to say something that harsh."

Ding San shot him a vicious glare, then looked toward the girl sitting cross-legged on the floor some distance away, surrounded by snack bags and drink bottles.

"Ye Zi, submit Number Seven's information to the Bureau of Anomalies and apply for surveillance authorization."

"If anything unusual happens, move to contain him immediately!"

The girl called Ye Zi did not even look up, merely making an "OK" gesture.

"Let me finish this round first."

The circle of adults around her immediately widened their eyes.

Ye Zi seemed to feel their gazes and curled her lip disdainfully. "We haven't gotten approval yet, but aren't we already watching him anyway? What's the rush?"

"Unfortunately, I probably can't make money by selling things from the Nightmare anytime soon."

"It's not realistic to spend experience points turning things into gold either... I'm nowhere near having enough experience points, and it would be far too conspicuous."

The excitement on Zhou Kai's face gradually faded as his thoughts swiftly cleared.

He decided to temporarily abandon the idea of profiting from trading items. For the near future, he had to keep a low profile.

The reason was none other than Dreamless.

After being followed once, Zhou Kai was certain that this mysterious organization had set its sights on him.

Naturally cautious by nature, he felt that he could not casually reveal his trump cards, much less get involved with an organization like that.

"Those people managed to dig up my IP address and home address. They can definitely tap my phone and monitor my bank account."

Looking up information and chatting online were manageable; Zhou Kai had plenty of ways to avoid detection.

But once money transactions were involved, there were far too many ways to leave a trail...

He could do it, but he needed to make long-term plans first.

"I can only put it aside for now. The most urgent task is making sure I can stay alive for a long time."

In the quiet rented room, the ticking of the clock was clearly audible.

The instant the hands crossed midnight, it meant Zhou Kai had less than forty-eight hours before he was forcibly summoned into the Nightmare again.

He had to make new progress in today's Nightmare exploration.

So before entering the Nightmare, Zhou Kai found a wad of tissue and soaked it in water.

He took several Withered Seeds from the glass jar and carefully placed them atop the damp wad of paper.

Then he silently recited, "Add points."

[You spent 1 point of general experience. Withered Seeds upgraded.]

A flash of white light passed over the seeds' surfaces. They visibly plumped up, as though awakening from slumber.

Zhou Kai placed the damp tissue wrapped around the seeds into a sealed sample bag and kept it close to his body.

"This should do it. I hope I won't need to spend additional points to make them germinate."

Sometimes, aside from improving oneself, external things were equally worth relying on.

Although his experience in the study had scared Zhou Kai badly, he still firmly believed that the words on that Letter Paper concealed important information.

The line, "Plants can ward off something," especially concerned him.

Perhaps these special plants could make those monsters unwilling to come near.

"Load Nightmare!"

At 12:09 a.m., Zhou Kai lay on his bed and slowly closed his eyes.

A layer of moisture swiftly rose over his dry clothes, even condensing into cold droplets on his skin.

His breathing remained steady, but his body temperature dropped sharply.

Cold water stains began spreading across the bedsheets beneath him once more.

[Welcome back. The fire burns brightly.]

Zhou Kai opened his eyes before the Fireplace. The bone-piercing chill from entering the Nightmare was quickly dispersed by the orange-red firelight.

The heat of the flames made his cheeks burn. Zhou Kai rested where he stood for several seconds, easing the fatigue of the day.

With a thought.

Zhou Kai's hands grew heavy as a sharp Short-handled Axe and an Oil Lamp appeared in his left and right hands at the same time.

The flashlight he had brought from Home last time was nothing but a useless piece of scrap metal in this world.

Click. Click.

Zhou Kai set down the Oil Lamp and stubbornly pressed the flashlight's switch a few more times, but it still showed no response.

"Looks like this world's physical laws really are different from reality... What a pain."

Helplessly, Zhou Kai tossed the flashlight aside and relit the Oil Lamp.

The fuel in the Oil Lamp could burn for a little over twenty minutes. It was not exactly safe, but it would do for now.

With the Oil Lamp in one hand and the axe in the other, Zhou Kai walked toward the slanted stairs leading down to the basement.

It was pitch-black there, exuding an eerie chill.

Zhou Kai had been concerned about it for a long time.