Day Off

Early in the morning, Zhou Kai woke naturally, feeling refreshed.

He checked his phone while washing up, clearing his messages as he went.

The first good news of the new week came from Ma Yifan.

Though it was just a message, Zhou Kai could imagine how excited he was.

"Brother Kai, I got the people together! Four of my buddies are interested!"

"We can finally get our own martial arts club going!"

Ma Yifan sent a whole string of messages, rambling on and on.

Zhou Kai replied briefly.

Then he dealt with another message—

Lu Yan: "Good morning, Xiao Kai."

As usual, her greeting had arrived right on time.

Zhou Kai's replies depended on his mood. Sometimes he sent a perfunctory sticker; other times, he left her on read.

But today, the reply that popped up on her screen made Lu Yan wonder if she was still dreaming: "Morning, Yan Zi. Have you eaten? Want to grab something together?"

Lu Yan: "???"

Lu Yan: "What happened? Did someone hack your account?"

Zhou Kai looked at the screen, shook his head, and smiled as he typed, "What could've happened?"

Lu Yan: "...This sudden burst of enthusiasm is seriously out of character, little brother."

"..."

"Out of character? What character do I have?"

After they agreed on where to meet, Zhou Kai turned off his phone screen.

Lu Yan wasn't wrong. He really was acting a little strange right now.

But, actually, it was perfectly normal.

"After all... I made it back from hell in one piece!"

He'd narrowly escaped death, survived against all odds, and enjoyed a good night's sleep.

Zhou Kai changed into a neat set of casual clothes and headed out, his steps light.

As he walked through the narrow, dim alley, even the musty, damp smell that had lingered in the corners for years—and the Twin-Tail Sprite poking its head out through a crack—seemed familiar and endearing.

When he stepped out of the alley, warm sunlight came crashing down on him, golden and dazzling.

Zhou Kai squinted. An impulse barreled around inside his chest, urging him to shout at the sky.

"Fuck, I'm alive!!"

Of course, most of the time, Zhou Kai was like a stone dropped into a deep pool when facing the outside world. No matter how wild the waves churned within him, all that showed on the surface was a tiny ripple.

Right now, the irrepressible smile on his face was already the boldest display of carefree joy he could manage.

"This kid never cracks a smile, but today he's grinning like a three-hundred-pound stomach. Did he win the lottery or something?"

Behind a food cart at the intersection, Huang Zhang held a hand-grabbed pancake and stared eagerly as Zhou Kai emerged from the alley.

When he saw Zhou Kai's unbearably smug, relaxed smile, he stopped chewing, momentarily dazed.

He suddenly thought of his daughter.

Wenwen... She used to ask him, "Dad, why don't you smile more?"

But after she left, Huang Zhang had forgotten what it felt like to laugh with genuine joy.

He tried stretching his lips into a grin. His muscles felt stiff, like frozen zombie flesh. After struggling for a while, all he managed was a ghastly, forced smile.

After trying several times, the corners of his mouth began to twitch.

So Huang Zhang could only raise his greasy fingers and massage the corners of his mouth.

He watched Zhou Kai's retreating figure and murmured, so softly only he could hear:

"Congratulations. You're still alive."

As long as Zhou Kai was still alive and hadn't been dragged into Nightmare Desolation, Huang Zhang felt a little more at ease... It was good.

With his little task done, Huang Zhang prepared to call it a day.

He glanced down at the more-than-half of his pancake still in his hand, took a deep breath, and wolfed it down in two or three bites.

The piping-hot sauce and pork tenderloin burned his mouth, making him hop in place and pant.

"Buddy, slow down! Is our pancake really that good?"

The food-stall owner stared in amazement. He'd never known his pre-made hand-grabbed pancakes could get such a reaction out of anyone.

"It's fine... Haha, I'm fine."

Huang Zhang's eyes were nearly watering from the burn. Fighting back his embarrassment, he staggered away.

Zhou Kai and Lu Yan arrived at the agreed meeting place almost at the same time.

She had done her makeup carefully that day. Her eyeliner was just right, and her peach-red bean-paste lip color made her look even more fresh-faced and lovely. She'd deliberately dressed to narrow the age gap between herself and Zhou Kai.

She had clearly put in the effort, yet she was still right on time, not a second late.

"So, what are we eating?"

As soon as Lu Yan saw Zhou Kai, she put one hand on her hip and waved her bag in front of him with the other.

"I was supposed to treat you after you passed your little test, but Little Ma got there first."

"I have to make it up to you today!"

The corner of Zhou Kai's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

When it came to being treated by others, Zhou Kai had always believed that one should never refuse a kind offer.

He gave Lu Yan her due, pretending to think it over for several seconds before saying, "Sis, let's eat at the botanical garden."

A question mark nearly materialized above Lu Yan's head. "What is there to eat in that place?"

Zhou Kai smiled mysteriously. "You'll see when we get there."

"Little Ma's club should be taking shape this afternoon, so I need to stop by. We're free this morning, so why not have breakfast and take a walk in the park?"

Eating was just an excuse. What he really wanted was to get his hands on some plant seeds while he had the chance.

The more rare and unusual, the better.

Online shopping records and delivery packaging were easy clues for an investigation to uncover.

Lu Yan's ears grew a little pink, but her hair hid it well.

She hadn't even noticed herself doing it. She only muttered a few things and then stopped objecting.

So the two of them picked a breakfast shop and filled their stomachs before heading to the botanical garden.

The garden was neatly divided into sections, with all kinds of rare flowers and plants.

Zhou Kai had never paid these flowers and plants a second glance before, but now he found himself intensely interested in them.

He studied them carefully, taking out his phone now and then to photograph a plant and look it up.

Lu Yan had come prepared with a whole list of things to talk about, but seeing how absorbed Zhou Kai was, she couldn't bring herself to interrupt. She could only follow quietly behind him like a dutiful assistant.

After more than ten minutes, she suddenly let out a soft giggle.

Zhou Kai turned around. "What is it?"

Lu Yan waved a hand. "Nothing."

Her eyes curved like two new moons as she smiled. She just thought that quietly keeping each other company, each with their own thoughts, was kind of nice.

Chu Siwen slept for a long time, and deeply. Miraculously, she didn't even dream.

But when she woke, her body wasn't full of energy as it usually was after a deep sleep.

Quite the opposite.

Weakness, pain, exhaustion, and a damp chill that seemed to seep from between her bones wrapped tightly around her.

"You're awake?"

A gentle voice rang out.

Park Hyo-yoon had a hand on Ye Zi's shoulder, keeping the young woman in front of her. One was tall, the other short; both were smiling down at Chu Siwen.

Chu Siwen's body jerked as if she'd been shocked. Then the fragmented horrors from last night and her current situation pieced themselves together in her mind.

She forced a smile more painful than crying, shut her eyes, then suddenly opened them again.

"The Nightmare... is real."

... In the end, Chu Siwen contacted her supervisor by phone and quit her job. She needed money badly, but now it didn't mean much anymore.

At least for the time being, she probably wouldn't have to worry about money.

Chu Siwen's pale face twisted into a smile more painful than crying. "What you told me is true, right?"

"That special funding for Nightmare Syndrome patients?"

Seeing her put on a brave front, Park Hyo-yoon felt an inexplicable tightness in her chest, but she still nodded firmly. "Absolutely."

"As long as you cooperate with us, you'll get a monthly allowance of ten thousand yuan. You can buy or do whatever you want."

Giving these poor patients some money so they could live comfortably in their final days... That was a tradition of the Second Team.

Chu Siwen struggled to sit up in bed. "Then I'll cooperate."

Seeing that she seemed to have some energy, Ye Zi opened her laptop and prepared to get to work.

She got straight to the point. "What was your Nightmare like?"

Chu Siwen's face crumpled instantly, her pupils trembling violently as though she had fallen back into that terrifying abyss.

After a long silence, she clutched the hem of her clothes, her voice hoarse. "Xishan City... Subway Line 1."

"I dreamed about Subway Line 1!"

Ye Zi's hand, which had been calmly taking notes, suddenly stopped.

At the words "Xishan City," her expression changed abruptly.

Since it opened, Xishan City's Subway Line 1 had operated smoothly and had never had a single accident.

And yet it had appeared in Chu Siwen's Nightmare...

Ye Zi discreetly exchanged a look with Park Hyo-yoon, then closed her laptop and walked out of the bedroom as if nothing was wrong.

She stood in the hallway for a full half minute.

Then she called Ding San. "Third Sis, she has a Reality Nightmare."

There was a brief silence on the other end. Then Ding San spoke, her voice terrifyingly calm.

"I understand."