Nightmare

"Fine, I can accept being a fish who slacks off, but what kind of nonsense is being a shit-stirring stick?" Lin Xiaoxiao glared at Ye Wan. "It's one thing for the boss to mock me, but why are you joining in?"

"I'm just telling the truth," Ye Wan replied calmly. "Let's talk business. How are you planning to test that kid?"

Lin Xiaoxiao thought for a moment, then smiled meaningfully. "First, let him have a nightmare."

Ye Wan frowned. "Know when to stop."

"Don't worry."

Just then, a commotion broke out at the back of the prisoners' meal line, and Lin Xiaoxiao looked over.

Prison No. 18 was like a massive, empty iron box. At mealtimes, twenty-one robot guards were stationed around the area, each one armed to the teeth.

They had no human emotions and handled every unexpected incident in the prison.

Twenty-one robot guards seemed a little too few compared to over three thousand inmates, but every prisoner here knew that the drones embedded high in the dome overhead and the six-barreled metal storms were the real threat.

Cold and powerful.

At lunchtime, all the prisoners arrived outside the cafeteria on time and formed columns, then collected their meals according to floor order.

Not only that, every prisoner had to stand in their designated spot.

If a newcomer failed to remember their place in the line, robot guards immediately surrounded them with a warning. If they still could not return to their position after being warned, the robot guards shocked them as punishment, then escorted them to where they belonged.

The new prisoners had first endured a welcome ceremony that morning. With their heads spinning, how could they possibly remember where they had originally been standing? So they were shocked one by one by the robot guards.

As for the old prisoners, they watched like it was a joke, waiting for the newcomers to make fools of themselves. This seemed to be the standard entertainment whenever new prisoners were brought in.

At that moment, the old prisoners suddenly sensed that something was off. Why hadn't the youth who had played chess with Li Shutong that morning been punished?

Their gazes searched through the crowd, only to discover that Qing Chen was standing calmly in his own designated position, watching everything unfold.

How strange. Every column had at least five hundred people. With so many unfamiliar faces gathered together, how had this youth found his own place?

Meanwhile, Qing Chen was observing the "newcomers" who had been imprisoned alongside him.

None of them had any injuries on their faces, but the way they walked was extremely strange, as if they were enduring pain.

It seemed the prisoners knew their limits. They did not hit faces, and they would not strike hard enough to kill.

He carried his tray forward, but a hand suddenly pulled him out of the meal line.

Qing Chen froze. He turned to see Lin Xiaoxiao tugging him along as he said, "From now on, you don't need to line up with them. Someone who can play chess with the boss—why would you need to queue?"

Qing Chen instinctively looked toward the robot guards, afraid that leaving formation would earn him an electric shock.

Yet he discovered that the robot guards completely ignored him and even urged the other prisoners to fill the space he had left behind!

Qing Chen could not understand it. Even if Li Shutong and the others had special identities, surely they could not be this special?!

Lin Xiaoxiao pulled him through the long rows of lines, got him food, and seated him across from Li Shutong to eat, all in one smooth sequence.

The prisoners on both sides silently watched the scene, every gaze tightly fixed on Qing Chen.

The once-noisy surroundings fell silent in an instant, as if everyone had even stopped breathing.

At that moment, they realized that Qing Chen was no longer the same as them.

Lin Xiaoxiao squatted on the chair beside Qing Chen and said with a grin, "Don't be surprised. Someone who can play chess with the boss naturally gets special treatment. Hurry up and eat, though the food in Prison No. 18 tastes terrible."

Qing Chen looked up at Li Shutong across from him. The man ate slowly, showing no intention of speaking with him.

Then Qing Chen looked into the crowd and saw Lu Guangyi quietly giving him a thumbs-up from within the line...

Qing Chen did not understand. That morning, Li Shutong had merely been willing to play chess with him. How had his attitude changed so drastically after only one morning?

Was it because of his identity in this world?

At 8:40 that night, Qing Chen returned to his cell at the designated time.

While everyone else lined up to return to their cells, he tried leaving the formation and moving about freely. Sure enough, the robot guards no longer paid any attention to him.

As long as he was heading toward his own cell, the robot guards would not focus on him.

The prisoners looked at him with envy as Qing Chen walked down the long corridor like a lone wolf.

The single cell was empty. After the alloy gate closed, he walked toward the sink to brush his teeth and wash his face.

But after only two steps, Qing Chen suddenly felt an intense wave of drowsiness crash over him.

The sleepiness was highly abnormal. Even if he had overworked his mind during the day, he should not have been so tired that his willpower could no longer hold up.

Something was wrong!

Before he had time to think, Qing Chen collapsed onto the floor.

In the dream, Qing Chen stood awake in the dim living room of a villa.

At first, he knew this was a dream and clearly understood that his body was still in the prison cell.

But two seconds later, he gradually forgot everything, as if he had always belonged here, and no longer remembered that this was a dream.

Firewood burned in the villa's fireplace. The room carried a distinct damp smell, its moisture being baked and evaporated by the fire before condensing on the ceiling.

A crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling, but Qing Chen could not find its switch no matter how he looked around.

The room was filled with an eerie feeling.

Qing Chen's pupils suddenly contracted.

There were bloodstains on the staircase leading to the second floor.

The sofa in the living room bore cat scratches, its leather sliced open by sharp claws again and again.

A photo frame sat on the fireplace mantel. Its glass had been smashed, and the photograph had vanished.

Blue-gray knife marks covered the walls. As the fireplace flames flickered, the marks on the wall and the tears in the sofa twisted in a bizarre manner.

A bloodstained dagger lay on the carpet.

Someone had used blood to write two striking words on the floor beside the carpet: THERE IS A GHOST.

Knock, knock, knock. Someone knocked at the door.

Qing Chen took a deep breath. Without touching anything in the room, he walked toward the door. "Who is it?"

A relaxed voice came from outside. "Police. Badge number 27149. Did you make the report? Please open the door."

Qing Chen frowned. The voice was clearly familiar, yet he could not remember where he had heard it before.

Strange. Was something wrong with his memory?

He hesitated, then opened the door. Outside stood a young police officer holding a case notebook.

The moment the officer entered, he saw bloody water flowing down from the staircase leading to the second floor. He quickly climbed the stairs, saying as he went, "Caller, stay where you are and lock the door!"

Qing Chen was somewhat puzzled. This officer's way of doing things did not seem to follow protocol. He was not even carrying a gun.

Yet for some reason, Qing Chen subconsciously followed the man's instructions.

The young officer went upstairs, while Qing Chen remained standing by the door.

Before half a minute had passed, someone knocked on the door again.

Qing Chen asked, "Who is it?"

"Police. Badge number 27149. Did you make the report? Please open the door."

Qing Chen froze. Hadn't badge number 27149 already gone upstairs? Then who was outside the door?

At that moment, someone in his subconscious suddenly asked in a gloomy voice, What would you do now? Guess—which one is real, the one inside or the one outside? Or perhaps neither is real.

The officer outside urged him, "Hello, please open the door."

Qing Chen took another deep breath and walked back into the room. He wanted to bend down and pick up the bloodstained dagger on the carpet, but it was as if a transparent barrier stood between him and the dagger.

The dagger was only one step away, yet he could never touch it.

Someone did not want him to take the knife.

Someone wanted to trap him here.

But the return countdown on his arm was still ticking, and his heart and blood were still beating and flowing.

He had come alone and unburdened to this cold mechanical world. There was no turning back now.

"Get lost," Qing Chen said coldly. His pupils contracted again, as if all his courage had turned into a sharp blade that sliced through something.

An inexplicable sound of shattering glass rang through the empty villa living room. The barrier between him and the dagger shattered.

Someone gave a soft sound of surprise.

Qing Chen picked up the knife and turned toward the staircase.

Suddenly, a voice from somewhere asked him, Why take a knife? Aren't you going to open the door for Officer?

Qing Chen replied coldly, "I'll kill the one inside first, then open it."

Lin Xiaoxiao: "???"

Only then did Qing Chen finally remember. When he broke through the barrier to take the knife, he had also broken the nightmare's blockade over his memories.

He recognized Lin Xiaoxiao's voice, and the young police officer had Lin Xiaoxiao's appearance as well.

He was inside a nightmare created for him by Lin Xiaoxiao.

This world suddenly seemed much more interesting.

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Thanks to:

Be a Penguin in the Arctic

The Principal Loves Drinking Tea

The Shy Actor

Ash Falls Dimly

The four bosses above have become Silver Grand Alliance Leaders of this book!

You bosses are magnificent! May you enjoy blessings as vast as the Eastern Sea and longevity as enduring as the Southern Mountains!