This is the Nightmare

[The erosion has deepened.]

[Your erosion progress has reached 4/9. Please avoid death.]

"Hah! Cough, cough—huff!"

Zhou Kai bolted up from the floor as if an invisible hand had been strangling him and suddenly let go, his lungs burning with a desperate thirst for air.

His vision tore itself free from a chaotic sea of blood-red, and the flames in the fireplace danced within his pupils. The light was warm, yet it could not dispel the chill that had seeped deep into his soul.

His face was deathly pale, and sweat mixed with the fine dust of fireplace soot, leaving streaks of disarray across his skin.

It had been a long time since he last died.

But Zhou Kai had no time to collapse or mourn.

The searing pain of being torn apart seemed to linger on his nerve endings, and the sensation of dying at the claws of a monster clung to him like a shadow.

"The monsters are all at the clock tower... I must seal the main gate immediately!"

Zhou Kai stumbled, practically throwing himself at the shattered door, his palms pressing heavily against the splintered wood.

"Repair! Not a single sliver of light can get in!"

A bit of experience points evaporated from his panel.

Wood shavings curled backward and fibers knit themselves together with a creaking sound, until finally, with a loud "bang," the door slammed shut, sealing perfectly.

The texture of the entire door became denser and more refined.

It seemed that one point of general experience was more than enough to fix the door; it had even performed a renovation in the process.

With the door secured, Zhou Kai turned around and hoisted the severed arm of the armored soldier, which was thicker than a normal man's waist, off the floor.

He deftly removed the amulet hanging from the iron gauntlet.

Then, without a moment's hesitation, he tossed the heavy severed limb into the fireplace.

[Burn duration: six hours and fifty minutes]

Looking at this number, Zhou Kai's taut nerves relaxed slightly, and he clicked his tongue.

"One arm burns longer than an entire Wanderer. These tin cans are practically mobile, high-quality fuel packs."

The orange flames reflected in his eyes, and the frustration and rage of being hunted to death were slowly but firmly fermenting.

All in all, the gains from this unexpected, impromptu operation far outweighed the losses.

He had lost an oil lamp and a two-handed sword that cost five experience points...

But he had slaughtered three monsters.

In exchange, he gained twenty-four experience points and a fragment of memory.

He had poured seven points into the Falcon Strike Technique without hesitation, and one point went to repairing the door.

Now, the panel displayed [General Experience: 16].

"Tonight, this ends here."

The firelight from the fireplace could stave off erosion and restore his resurrection count.

But the effect was clearly diminishing...

Perhaps after this time, refilling a life would take several days.

Then a dozen days... until eventually, it would take forever.

"The chance to resurrect is more precious than life itself. From now on, unless I'm cornered against the edge of the board, I must never play like that again!"

For the rest of the night, Zhou Kai stood guard by the fireplace, practicing with near-maniacal intensity.

Like a lone wolf hiding in its den to lick its wounds after being injured, he desperately honed his claws and fangs.

The insignificant sense of complacency in his heart had long since been crushed to dust; all that remained was the most primal, most arrogant will to survive.

And, the monstrous rage birthed from boundless terror!

"Once I grind my existing skills to the max and acquire more usable abilities..."

"I will slaughter my way through this godforsaken town!"

12:40 AM.

At Chu Siwen's home.

She snapped her eyes open, her face as white as paper. Her pajamas were thoroughly soaked with cold sweat, clinging tightly to her body.

In the living room, the members of the Dreamless organization heard the commotion and turned their gazes toward her in unison.

Chu Siwen's lips trembled, her voice laced with a sob: "Help me... please, I beg you, help me."

She had died in the dream.

Even though Huang Zhang had already branded the techniques for resisting the Nightmare into her subconscious, she remained as fragile as a soaked tissue in the face of that indescribable horror.

Another miserable death had convinced her completely of the existence of Nightmare Syndrome.

Ding San's palms were rough, yet they felt warm.

She sat down beside Chu Siwen and gently covered the girl's cold, soft face with her hand.

"This is the nightmare."

"It doesn't matter if you are a man or a woman, a good person or a bad one, rich or poor..."

"Despair will choose anyone, dragging you toward death in the agony of day after day without a single good dream."

"Even if you are lucky, capable, and make every right choice... you will merely live a little longer than the rest."

Ding San stroked Chu Siwen's face. "Sleep for a while."

"You might think that all of this is just a nightmare, and that once you wake up, everything will be gone..."

Ding San signaled to Huang Zhang with a glance.

Huang Zhang understood; he drew the four of spades from a deck of cards and gently placed it over Chu Siwen's eyes.

A strange sense of peace descended, and she quickly drifted into a deep sleep.

Only then did Ding San stand up, finishing the second half of her sentence in a tone of near-indifferent calm: "However, when the day ends once more, you will find that the nightmare is endless."

As her words fell, the air in the room grew a fraction heavier.

"Sister San."

Park Hyo-yoon's eye twitched as he looked toward Ding San.

Ding San waved a hand and tilted her head toward Ye Zi. "She failed."

"Which nightmare is this for Number Eleven?"

Ye Zi paused, as if recalling. "The third... or perhaps the fourth."

Ding San snorted with a mocking curl of her lip. "She will be dead within five days."

"Ding San!"

Huang Zhang clenched his fists, unable to listen any longer.

Just then, another member hurried into the bedroom.

He lowered his voice to offer a reminder: "There's a case. The Bureau of Anomalies wants us to head to the police station."

Ding San nodded. "Xiao Yin, you and Ye Zi stay behind."

"We're heading out."

Park Hyo-yoon looked at Chu Siwen's sleeping face, feeling a heat rise to his cheeks. He took a deep breath and gave a soft, "Mm."

With Ye Zi here, it wouldn't be just a man and a woman alone in a room; it should... be fine.

Ding San and the others quickly packed their gear and departed immediately.

Before leaving, Ding San suddenly turned back and added, "As per protocol, if the young girl has any requests when she wakes up, satisfy them if you can."

"Deduct the expenses from my account this time."

"Also, record the type of her nightmare."

Park Hyo-yoon's mouth twitched involuntarily, and he nodded firmly. "Understood, Sister San."

"I guarantee the mission will be completed!"

"Yo, isn't this the great Detective Huang who got taken down by a college student?"

"Old Huang, how's your recovery been these past two days?"

At the Xishan City Bureau of Anomalies, several administrative staff members winked and teased Huang Zhang as they greeted him.

Among them was someone who had followed Park Hyo-yoon and Huang Zhang to tail Zhou Kai that day; the incident had clearly become the bureau's newest running joke.

Huang Zhang's face flushed, and he deliberately avoided the topic.

He got straight to the point: "Enough with the small talk. Where's the case?"

Hearing this, the man pressed his walkie-talkie. "Captain Li, the Second Team is here."

Afterward, he gave Huang Zhang a slight smile. "It's the police side. You two talk."

The Bureau of Anomalies referred to themselves as the First Team, while the civilian organization "Dreamless," absorbed last year, retained its designation and was known internally as the Second Team.

A few minutes later, Huang Zhang and his group met Li Xiangqian from the police force.

He was of average height and build, his face covered in stubble, and he wore a wrinkled police uniform, looking as if he hadn't slept in days.

He seemed to know Ding San, heading straight for her the moment they met.

"The thing you told me to keep an eye on... it's surfaced again."

Upon hearing this, Ding San's fingers twitched instinctively.

"Let's go to the scene."

2:20 AM.

Li Xiangqian brought a young police officer and the few members of Dreamless to the traffic management impound lot.

He shone his flashlight, leading Ding San to the solitary yellow bus.

"Route 105 bus. It was reported for a traffic accident last night; the front bumper is bent, but we couldn't find anyone."

"I think... it must be that thing you mentioned again."

"I never expected it to appear in Xishan... this..."

Ding San frowned: "Was there only the driver on board at the time?"

Li Xiangqian said: "Two... no, one passenger. They were knocked unconscious and are still in the hospital."

Ding San's eyes narrowed: "How many were there, exactly?"

The young police officer beside Li Xiangqian grew annoyed: "What kind of attitude is that? Don't go shouting around here."

"Get lost! Show some respect when talking to Sister San!"

Li Xiangqian glared, planting a fierce kick on the young man's backside.

The youngster let out an "ouch" and didn't dare to make another sound.

Only then did Li Xiangqian say, sounding uncertain: "It's highly likely there were two passengers. One of them, for reasons unknown, ran off."

"That person... they wouldn't have anything to do with the Mirage Monster, would they?"