Rest Day

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

He opened his phone and cleared his notifications while washing up.

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

Although it was just a text, Zhou Kai could easily imagine his excitement.

"Brother Kai, I've gathered the people! Four of my buddies are interested!"

"Our own martial arts club can finally get started!"

Ma Yifan sent a long, rambling string of messages.

Zhou Kai replied briefly.

Next, he began to deal with another message—

Lu Yan: "Good morning, Xiao Kai."

As usual, a very punctual morning greeting.

Zhou Kai's replies usually depended on his mood; sometimes he would send a perfunctory emoji, and other times he would simply leave her on read.

But today, the reply that popped up on the screen made Lu Yan wonder if she hadn't woken up yet: "Morning, Sister Yanzi. Have you eaten? Want to grab something together?"

Lu Yan: "???"

Lu Yan: "What happened? Did your account get hacked?"

Zhou Kai looked at the screen, shook his head, and typed with a smile on his face: "What could possibly happen?"

Lu Yan: "...This sudden enthusiasm of yours deviates severely from your persona, little brother."

"..."

"Persona? What kind of persona could I possibly have?"

After agreeing on a meeting spot, Zhou Kai turned off his phone screen.

Lu Yan wasn't wrong; he was indeed acting a bit unusual at the moment.

But in reality, it was perfectly normal.

"After all... I successfully returned from hell!"

A brush with death, surviving the aftermath, and a sound night's sleep.

Zhou Kai changed into a neat set of casual clothes and stepped out, his pace light and brisk.

He walked through the narrow, gloomy alleyway; even the smell of mildew that clung to the corners year-round, and the Twin-Tail Sprite peeking out from a crack in the wall, seemed endearing and cute.

When he stepped out of the alley, the warm sunlight crashed down on him, golden and bright.

Zhou Kai squinted, an impulse surging within his chest, wanting to roar at the sky.

"I fucking survived!!"

Of course, most of the time, when facing the outside world, Zhou Kai was like a stone thrown into a deep pool; no matter how large the waves were inside, the surface only rippled with insignificant circles.

At this moment, the uncontrollable smile on his face was already the height of unbridled indulgence.

"This kid, usually so stern and humorless, why is he grinning like a three-hundred-pound glutton today? Did he win the lottery?"

Behind a street food cart at the intersection, Huang Zhang was holding a scallion pancake, watching intently as Zhou Kai walked out of the alley.

Seeing that relaxed, almost punchable smile on Zhou Kai's face, he stopped chewing, momentarily dazed.

He suddenly thought of his daughter.

Wenwen... she used to ask: "Daddy, why don't you smile more?"

But after she was gone, Huang Zhang had forgotten what it felt like to laugh heartily.

He tried to stretch his mouth, but his muscles were as stiff as frozen zombie flesh; after tugging for a while, it was just a grimace that didn't reach his eyes.

After trying too hard, the corners of his mouth began to twitch.

In the end, Huang Zhang had to use his greasy fingers to smooth out his lips.

He stared at Zhou Kai's retreating back and said in a voice only he could hear:

"Congratulations on still being alive."

As long as Zhou Kai was still alive and hadn't been dragged into the Nightmare Desolation, Huang Zhang felt a sense of relief... it was truly good.

With the small task completed, Huang Zhang prepared to call it a day.

He looked down at the scallion pancake left in his hand, took a deep breath, and swallowed the rest in two or three gulps.

The scalding sauce and pork tenderloin burned him, making him hop on the spot, gasping and panting.

"Hey buddy, eat slowly! Is our pancake really that good?"

The snack stall owner stared, eyes wide; it was his first time seeing his pre-made scallion pancakes trigger such a massive reaction in someone.

"It's nothing... haha, it's nothing."

Huang Zhang's eyes were practically watering from the heat, and, forcing back his embarrassment, he stumbled away in a hurry.

Zhou Kai and Lu Yan arrived at the meeting spot almost simultaneously.

She had applied exquisite makeup today, her eyeliner drawn to perfection, and the peach-red bean paste lip gloss made her look even more pure and beautiful, an intentional effort to bridge the age gap between them.

It was clear she had put in the effort, yet she was still on time, down to the very second.

"Speak up, what are we eating?"

The moment Lu Yan saw Zhou Kai, she planted one hand on her hip and dangled her bag in front of him with the other.

"I was supposed to treat you for passing your minor exam, but Little Ma beat me to it."

"Today, I'm making up for that meal, no excuses!"

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

When it came to others offering to pay for meals, Zhou Kai had always subscribed to the life philosophy of never refusing a gift.

He gave Lu Yan plenty of face, pondering with feigned seriousness for a few seconds before saying, "Sis, let's go to the Botanical Garden to eat."

A physical question mark practically appeared over Lu Yan's head: "What kind of food is there in that ghost town?"

Zhou Kai offered a mysterious smile: "You'll know when we get there."

"Little Ma's club has some leads this afternoon, so I have to head over there anyway. Since I'm free this morning, wouldn't it be nice to stroll through the park after eating?"

Eating was just a cover; his real goal was to take the opportunity to get his hands on some plant seeds.

The rarer and more exotic, the better.

Online shopping records and courier packaging were clues far too easy to investigate.

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

She didn't even notice it herself; she just muttered a few words and didn't object further.

And so, the two filled their stomachs at a breakfast shop before heading straight to the Botanical Garden.

The garden was clearly zoned, filled with a vast variety of rare flowers and exotic grasses.

Zhou Kai, who had never given these plants a second glance in the past, now felt a surge of immense interest.

He studied them with extreme focus, occasionally pulling out his phone to take pictures and search for the plants.

Lu Yan had prepared a head full of topics to discuss, but seeing Zhou Kai so engrossed, she couldn't bear to disturb him and could only follow quietly behind him like a diligent assistant.

After a dozen minutes passed, she suddenly let out a "pfft" of laughter.

Zhou Kai looked back: "What's wrong?"

Lu Yan waved her hand: "Nothing."

Her eyes curved like two crescent moons; she just felt that this quiet companionship, with each of them lost in their own thoughts, was actually quite interesting.

Chu Siwen had slept for a long time, very deeply, and miraculously, she hadn't dreamt at all.

But upon waking, her body didn't feel full of vitality like it usually did after a deep sleep.

Quite the opposite.

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

"You're awake?"

A gentle voice rang out.

Park Hyo-yoon pressed his hands on Ye Zi's shoulders, letting the young girl stand in front of him; the two, one tall and one short, were smiling down at her.

Chu Siwen's body convulsed as if electrocuted, and then, the fragmented, terrifying images from last night and her current situation pieced themselves together in her mind.

She forced a smile that looked worse than crying, closed her eyes, and then snapped them open again.

"The Nightmare Syndrome... it's real."

...In the end, Chu Siwen used her phone to contact her shift manager and quit her job. Although she desperately needed money, money no longer held any meaning now.

At least for the foreseeable future, she wouldn't have to worry about money again.

A smile that looked worse than crying squeezed onto Chu Siwen's pale face: "What you said is true, right?"

"The special funding for Nightmare Syndrome patients?"

Park Hyo-yoon looked at her feigned strength, feeling an inexplicable tightness in his chest, but he still nodded firmly: "Absolutely true."

"As long as you cooperate with us... there is a monthly funding quota of ten thousand yuan. Whatever you want to buy, whatever you want to do, it's all up to you."

Giving these poor patients a sum of money so they could spend their final days in comfort... that was the tradition of their Second Team.

Chu Siwen struggled to sit up from the bed: "Then I'll cooperate fully."

Seeing that she was in decent spirits, Ye Zi opened her laptop, ready to begin work.

She got straight to the point: "What is your nightmare like?"

Chu Siwen's expression collapsed instantly, her pupils trembling violently as if she had fallen back into that terrifying abyss.

After a long silence, she gripped the hem of her shirt tightly, her voice hoarse: "Xishan City... Subway Line 1."

"I dreamt of Subway Line 1!"

Ye Zi's calm note-taking motion came to an abrupt halt.

Upon hearing the words "Xishan City," her expression shifted sharply.

Since its opening, Xishan City Subway Line 1 had operated smoothly and had never experienced a single accident.

Yet, it had appeared in Chu Siwen's Reality Nightmare...

Ye Zi gave Park Hyo-yoon a look without drawing attention, then closed her laptop and walked out of the bedroom as if nothing were wrong.

She stood in the hallway for a full half-minute.

Then, she dialed Ding San's number: "Sister San, she is a 'Reality Nightmare'."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line before Ding San's voice came through, terrifyingly calm.

"I understand."