Global Nightmare

"This guy... he's still alive after all." Xiao He frowned and muttered to himself, "Where is he?"

"He said you know where he is..." Cui Man said this nonsensical sentence before hanging up the phone. Xiao He was a little confused. He leaned down and kissed Ye Wanqing, who was sleeping beside him, on the cheek. "I'll go check."

"Hmm... go early and come back early." Ye Wanqing muttered lazily and turned over.

Xiao He changed his clothes. He didn't know what Cui Man meant by that, but he decided to go out and see.

But when he got to the street, he realized what Cui Man meant: William Moriarty's face was on screens all over the world; he didn't need to look for him at all.

"Hello, Mr. Yinglong." Judging from the other person's tone and expression, he should be the "teacher." "It's been a long time. So, tell me, what are your thoughts on living without villains for the past month?"

"My thought is: if only the world could stay like this forever," Xiao He said arrogantly, arms crossed. "What? You don't even have the courage to ask me that to my face? Useless."

"Then, as you wish," the teacher replied, then stepped out from the largest advertising screen in front of her.

Another sense of unease washed over him, making Xiao He feel that something was very wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

"Tell me, Mr. Yinglong, what are your plans after all this is over?" The teacher circled around Xiao He, but Xiao He finally realized something was amiss: Why was there not a single person in the entire city?

He and his "teacher" were the only two people left in the world.

"What's it to you?" Xiao He said irritably. "If you want to fight, then fight!"

As he spoke, Xiao He rushed towards his teacher and punched him in the face. But he merely passed through the "teacher's" body, as if it were just a soul.

"I'm sorry, I died in your last virus attack," the teacher replied calmly. "There is no longer a 'William Moriarty' in this world... Enjoy this world without 'villains'."

After saying this, the "teacher's" figure disappeared.

"?" Xiao He felt something was off, as if things were too simple. But when he turned around, the street was already crowded with pedestrians, as if his conversation with his "teacher" had only taken place in the mental dimension.

Xiao He shrugged, preparing to go home to find Ye Wanqing, but when he came to his senses, Ye Wanqing was already beside him.

Xiao He felt something was strange, his mind was foggy, and he had a hard time thinking. Just when he was about to figure something out, his brain would return to a state of confusion, which made him feel particularly uncomfortable.

"Old Xiao!" Ye Wanqing said playfully, "I'm talking to you! You're spacing out again!"

"Hey, I'm here. What's wrong, honey?" Xiao He snapped out of his reverie and looked at Ye Wanqing beside him.

Ye Wanqing's hair had grown a little longer, almost reaching her shoulders, and she was wearing the apron he had bought for her, which was covered in cartoon grapes. The two cartoon patterns on her chest were stretched a bit tight.

"Go check on the children, Old Xie and the others should be here soon," Ye Wanqing instructed.

Xiao He thought for a moment and asked, "Child? What child?"

"Our daughter!" Ye Wanqing glared at him. "Are you out of your mind?! You've forgotten your daughter?!"

"Daughter..." Xiao He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. In the darkness, everything became clear: Yes, it was his daughter with Ye Wanqing. He had even thought of a name for her: Xiao Yun.

"Xiao Yun, where are you?" Xiao He called out as he entered the living room.

It was still the familiar house, only now it felt older. His wedding photo with Ye Wanqing hung on the wall, and those memories surfaced in his mind, though they were just brief and fragmented images, but very clear.

Just then, a round-faced little girl with a mushroom-shaped haircut peeked out from the room next door, smiling and glancing at him furtively.

Xiao He couldn't see her face clearly, but he knew it was her. He pretended not to see her and said with a smile, "Oh dear, where did that little rascal go? If he doesn't come out..."

Xiao He spoke, he glanced at the refrigerator behind him and said, "Let's go steal her favorite ice cream?"

"No!" the little girl scolded in her sweet, soft voice, running out from behind the door and hugging his leg. The child, only three or four years old, could only reach his knees. "Mommy! Daddy's trying to steal my ice cream!"

"Then hit him!" Ye Wanqing said with a laugh from the kitchen.

"Bad daddy!" Xiao Yun punched Xiao He's leg in a huff, but Xiao He picked her up and kissed her. "Look at this little angel! Only my Little Pufferfish could give birth to such a cute baby."

Xiao He tried to see the child's face clearly, but his mind suddenly went blank again. When he came to his senses, he found himself sitting at the table with everyone. Xie Haining poured him a glass of wine.

"Xiaoyun is growing up so fast!" Xie Haining said with a smile. "I heard she's pregnant with her second child too!"

"Yes," Ye Wanqing said with a smile, taking Xiao He's arm. "I hope it's a son this time."

"I don't really care, my two daughters are fine too..." Xiao He said with a smile.

Xie Haining said with some pride, "That's great! Now I can have a godson..."

"Ugh, you really are something!" Tong Xiaojie said irritably from the side.

"Exactly, why not just have the baby yourself if you want to?" Cui Man sneered from the side, "While you're still under thirty."

"Can you stop spoiling the fun!" Yue Feng said angrily. "I came here to drink today!"

"Congratulations, Mr. Yinglong." Han Tianyu smiled and raised his glass. "I will be the one to inherit the 'Yinglong' business from now on."

"Who do you think you are? I haven't even said anything..." Qin Weize muttered unconvinced from the side.

"None of you can beat me, right?" Zhang Ming rolled his eyes from the side.

Xiao He remained silent, simply watching the scene unfold before him with immense satisfaction: if only this moment could last forever.

But just as he was thinking this, his mind suddenly became a complete blur.

"If you want it, it's yours..." a voice echoed in his mind, whispering repeatedly, "Go, go and get it all... You deserve it all." "You want it? Take it, it's all yours..."

"What nonsense are you spouting? I already have all of this..." Xiao He frowned, thinking to himself, but then he suddenly realized: That's right, he already has everything he wanted!

"Who is it!?" Xiao He stood up alertly. At that moment, everything around him shattered, and he too entered the void.

Only then did he finally understand why he felt something was off. He had had a similar feeling a few months earlier—a sense of missing details. That time, he had used the "Nightmare" person as Trigger to activate his "Dream Controller" Superpower. He had also felt this way in the dream he controlled then: many unnoticed details were blurry.

For example, his daughter Xiao Yun's face. Whenever he wanted to see his daughter's face clearly, someone would distract him.

Moreover, this feeling of being confused and unclear about everything is a characteristic of dreams.

Having figured this out, Xiao He decisively activated his Superpower: "Dream Controller!"

All the colors around him disappeared, and he entered a black space. He clapped his hands, and the black space began to shatter. The next moment, he woke up in his bed. Opening his eyes, he saw the ceiling of the Seaside Villa, with Ye Wanqing sleeping soundly beside him.

"Who the hell is so bold as to invade my dreams..." Xiao He gritted his teeth.

But he actually had the answer in his heart, because this Superpower was exactly what his "Dream Controller" could suppress, so it was very likely that the "Trigger" that created this dream was the "Nightmare".

"But..." Xiao He muttered to himself, rubbing his forehead, "How did this guy find me and then use his abilities on me?"

Xiao He spoke, he took out his phone to check the time and realized it was already 11 a. m.! So he gently pinched Ye Wanqing's nose and urged, "Little Pufferfish, it's time to get up. If you sleep any longer, it'll be noon!"

However, Ye Wanqing simply kept her eyes closed and didn't reply, which gave Xiao He a bad feeling.

She is indeed still alive, but her consciousness is still trapped in a dream and she cannot wake up.

Xiao He went to check the other rooms and confirmed one thing: everyone else was asleep except for him.

"Could it be..." Xiao He frowned, used his Dimensional Walker to jump to other countries and took a look. He found that although not everyone was asleep, once they fell asleep, they would never wake up and would be trapped in the dream forever.

Xiao He then returned to the Seaside Villa. Leaving aside the others, he needed to wake everyone there first.

"I only changed 'Nightmare' to 'Lin Tiannan' because of my Collection habit, but I never thought that Collection habit would come in handy today..." Xiao He muttered to himself, then clenched his fist. "Dream Controller!"

Back in the dream world, Xiao He discovered the luminous being represented by Ye Wanqing beside him.

"Don't be afraid, baby, I'm coming..." Xiao He said softly, then touched Ye Wanqing's cheek.

The next moment, he entered Ye Wanqing's dream.

However, unlike his dream, Ye Wanqing's dream was extremely dark, filled with an atmosphere of despair and terror.

Xiao He quickly moved forward in the dream and found their small room in Beichang City. But Ye Wanqing was huddled alone in the corner of the room, hugging her legs and sobbing, "Old Xiao, why..."

Hearing Ye Wanqing's cries, Xiao He felt as if his heart was breaking. He rushed into the room, opened his arms to Ye Wanqing, and hugged her tightly, saying, "Little Pufferfish! I'm here! It's all a dream, don't be afraid!"

Ye Wanqing looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears, and asked, "How could you do this to me! I begged you so much, and you... I'm your wife now, and you abandoned me for that woman!"

"That's all fake, silly girl," Xiao He said softly, stroking the back of her head. Then he lifted her chin and kissed her lips. "I love you the most. Even in my dreams, you're the only woman I have. So how could I abandon you? It's just a nightmare. Think about it carefully, and you'll definitely find something wrong with this dream."

Ye Wanqing sniffed, looked at him with a wronged expression, and after a moment of stunned silence, said, "It's true... that woman's breasts aren't as big as mine, and her legs aren't as nice as mine. Why did you leave me to go with her?"

"You..." Xiao He was momentarily speechless, both amused and exasperated. "Sigh, never mind. Anyway, stop crying, okay? It was all a dream."

"Hmm..." Ye Wanqing responded, nestled in his arms, and said in a tearful voice, "You came into my dream again? Did I cry while I was sleeping?"

"No." Xiao He looked up at Ye Wanqing and said seriously, "Things are not good. Let's wake up first."

After saying this, Xiao He snapped his fingers, and the surrounding darkness dissipated, returning the two to reality.

"Don't look at me..." Ye Wanqing covered her face beside him, too ashamed to look at him, "How could you have such a stupid dream..."

"No, this isn't your fault," Xiao He replied. "I suspect that the Mutant called 'Nightmare' mutated under Moriarty's control. This nightmare is his Superpower; not just you, everyone who's asleep is trapped in a dream. Although I don't know his purpose, it's still better to stop him as soon as possible."

"What!?" Ye Wanqing said angrily, "He actually pried into other people's minds and tormented them with their biggest fears! It's outrageous! Old Xiao, you absolutely can't let this guy get away with this!"

"Don't worry." Xiao He nodded. "You wait here, I'll go and wake up the others."

As he spoke, Xiao He returned to the dream space, preparing to awaken all the points of light around him.

Upon entering the next dream world, he saw corpses scattered everywhere: Xie Haining's, Yue Feng's, Ye Wanqing's, and most notably, his own.

Cui Man knelt among the corpses, crying out in despair.

"No, it's all my fault, I'm the one who killed everyone!" Cui Man sobbed, clutching her head.

"This..." Xiao He looked at his own mangled corpse at his feet, and for a moment he was speechless.

"Sister Man!" Coming to his senses, Xiao He stepped forward and helped Cui Man up from the ground. "Wake up, Sister Man! This is a dream!"

"Darling! You're still alive!" Cui Man cupped his face in her hands and exclaimed in surprise, "That's wonderful... at least you're still alive!"

"Everyone is alive!" Xiao He explained, "It was just a nightmare! It's the Superpower of some Mutator! You remember him, right? That guy called Nightmare! He participated in the Mutant Competition and embarrassed me in front of everyone!"

"This is... a dream?" Cui Man looked at Xiao He in confusion. "Why? Then... how are you?"

"It's Superpower." Xiao He cupped her cheeks and said seriously, "I need you to wake up quickly, okay?"

"Um... um." Cui Man nodded pitifully, then wiped away her tears and stood up weakly.

"Alright, silly woman." Seeing her pitiful appearance, Xiao He was both amused and annoyed. He patted her head. "Everyone else is alive! But if you don't wake up soon, things might change!"

After waking Cui Man, Xie Haining's dream began.

Xie Haining lay motionless on the bed, connected to various tubes, seemingly in a vegetative state.

Tong Xiaojie and Xie Xinya stood guard beside him, their faces filled with worry, while they angrily scolded him, "You'd be better off dead! You're half-dead, and the money you cost to keep me alive every month is bankrupting me and our daughter! We can't even remarry! Why don't you just die already!?"

This situation ignited Xiao He's fury: he would absolutely not let that bastard "Nightmare" get away with it...

"Old Xie!" Xiao He arrived at Xie Haining's bedside. "These are all fake! It's just a nightmare! Someone used Superpower to force you into sleep! Quickly find a way to wake up! I know your consciousness is definitely inside, and your daughter and wife are being tormented by the same nightmares! We must defeat that bastard who controls the nightmares!"

Xie Haining lay on the hospital bed, his life still being sustained by a ventilator, but his fingers twitched slightly.

Xiao He laughed and said, "That's right! Don't believe everything you see. You're healthy! You can move around! This is all a dream! Your brain has been fooled!"

As Xie Haining's fingers began to twitch, he slowly opened his eyes, his eyelids still twitching, and let out a low roar, "I absolutely... must kill... this guy!"

When Xie Haining's eyes were fully open, the dream shattered completely.

The next dream was Xia Yu's dream. When Xiao He entered this dream, he saw Xia Yu wearing tattered and rustic clothes, helping to harvest in the fields, and the two withered old men and women next to her were probably her parents.

The two men, while harvesting, cursed Xia Yu in their dialect, "What's the use of a girl studying so much? She should just get married early!" "This girl is quite pretty. Tomorrow we'll send her to the city to be with a rich old man, and then get him to give her more money for her brother's wedding." "You live only for your brother, you know? Having a daughter is useless; she'll get married sooner or later! If it weren't for needing you to save up for your brother's dowry, I would have sold you to human traffickers long ago!"

While the three of them were working in the field, a chubby, fair-skinned boy of about seventeen or eighteen years old chimed in, "Sis, I've got my eye on the prettiest girl in the class next door. How about you marry her uncle, and then she can come be with me?"

But just as the old couple were rambling on, Xiao He rushed up and threw a punch. The powerful impact turned the two old men into dust, and also reduced half a field to ashes.

"Oh no, I accidentally started hitting him." Xiao He came to his senses, looked at his fist, and then turned to the chubby boy. "Since we've already hit him, let's just kill this little brat too."

"Brother Xiao?!" Xia Yu looked at Xiao He in surprise and said, "What are you doing here?"

"Xia Yu, brother's here to save you!" Xiao He slapped her brother's head off his neck, then turned and laughed, "How about that? Don't you love your Brother Xiao the most?"

"What... what's going on?" Xia Yu asked in surprise.

Xiao He patted her head. "You had a nightmare, don't be afraid. Wake up! There are still bad guys waiting for us to fight."

"Mmm..." Xia Yu nodded happily, tears welling up in her eyes.

"After you wake up, Brother Xiao will go and talk to your parents and younger brother," Xiao He said, patting her head.

"No need..." Xia Yu said with a bitter smile, glancing at her brother's corpse behind her. Xiao He smiled, "Don't worry, I wouldn't do that in real life. Trust your Brother Xiao. But now, it's time to wake up."

As Xia Yu awoke, Xiao He returned to darkness and entered the dream of the next person. Upon entering this dream, Xiao He saw Yue Feng dressed in a mascot costume, surrounded by a group of little ghosts. Judging from the surrounding environment, it seemed to be a kindergarten or nursery, and Yue Feng's job was to take care of this group of adorable children.

"Perhaps we should just let him stay here," Xiao He said to himself with a slight smile.

However, despite the love and warmth here, Yue Feng himself was completely stunned, as if his soul had died and he was just an empty shell.

After some thought, Xiao He decided to rescue him. However Xiao He suddenly noticed a detail: why was everyone else having nightmares, while his dream was a good one?

"How strange," Xiao He couldn't help but think to himself.

Thanks to his efforts, everyone in the Seaside Villa was jolted awake from their nightmares. They were all burning with rage, wanting nothing more than to settle scores with the bastard who had created them. However, they soon discovered that this "nightmare" was not so simple; it wasn't merely a matter of trapping people in a nightmare.

"An urgent message came from the United Nations ..." Cui Man said, checking her phone. "There are a large number of cases around the world where ordinary people in their slumber have turned into Mutator! This nightmare is definitely not just a simple nightmare! While I was dreaming, someone kept whispering in my ear, asking me if I wanted to change all of this!"

"Me too!" Ye Wanqing quickly chimed in, "But I ignored him because I was still angry at the time..."

"So that's how it is..." Xiao He frowned. "This dream is actually the process of turning ordinary people into Mutator. This is troublesome; we must hurry and break this Nightmare that has enveloped the entire world..."

"Then what do we do?" Xia Yu asked in a panic. "We have no idea where they are!"

"Old Xiao!" Ye Wanqing cupped Xiao He's face in her hands and said sternly, "Go make that bastard pay! Beat him to death!"

"Absolutely." Xiao He chuckled, playfully pinching Ye Wanqing's nose before clenching his fist. "Dream Controller!"

Darkness descended from all directions, and Xiao He entered the dream world.

However, he didn't use this ability often, so he didn't know how to use it to deal with Nightmare.

After thinking it over for a while, Xiao He concluded that since the person controlling the dream was from a higher dimension, they must be in a different dimension.

Therefore, Xiao He began to fly upwards. Before long, he passed through the "atmosphere." Below, on Earth, he could see a large number of densely packed points of light, which were people who were dreaming. But upon closer inspection, he could see a spider web extending from above to the Earth below. Xiao He then followed the spider web and saw that it stretched into the endless darkness above him.

"That bastard must be over there, right?!" Xiao He said through gritted teeth, then charged towards the other end of the spider web.

However, the moment Xiao He broke through the darkness, he returned to reality.

Before them stood Moriarty, wearing a gray trench coat, and a green Mutator covered in eyes.

"Found you..." Xiao He's face darkened as he turned to Moriarty beside him. "You bastard... you're still alive, huh? This time, I'll see you die with my own eyes before I stop."

"Ah... Mr. Yinglong." Judging from the tone and expression, this must be the "Teacher" personality. "I knew you would come, but I didn't expect it to be so soon. But it doesn't matter, the goal has been achieved."

"Is that so?" Xiao He sneered, then lunged at "Nightmare," who had already become Mutator, behind him.

But the "teacher" did not stop him; he simply stood there and let Xiao He grab the Nightmare's head.

Xiao He didn't waste any time. He clenched his right hand and crushed the Nightmare's head, then turned to his "teacher" behind him and sneered, "What? Is it no longer of any use to you?"

"That's right, his mission is complete. The dream has been set in motion; even if you kill him, no one will wake up." The teacher said with a slight smile, "There are only two ways to wake up: first, become Mutator; second, overcome your inner fear."

As he spoke, the teacher turned to Xiao He and smiled, "That's right, it's about making a choice between 'good' and 'evil.' So, Mr. Yinglong, do you think they would choose good or evil? Would they choose... 'me' or 'you'?"

"Actually, there's a third way," Xiao He sneered. "I'll kill you right now, then enter the dream world and wake everyone up. A perfect ending."

"That won't do, Mr. Yinglong. Not everyone deserves to be saved." The teacher sighed, thought for a moment, and then explained, "I think you've heard that people all over the world who dream are starting to wake up as Mutator, right? Do you know how I turn people into Mutator? Once you know, you might not want to save them anymore."

"..." Xiao He frowned. He was indeed very curious: how exactly are Mutator formed?

"It's actually very simple. You dig into their inner desires and amplify them. When their desires surpass everything and suppress their reason and morality, when they are willing to do anything to achieve their goal, at that moment, their desires will materialize." The teacher said with a smile, "Have you ever thought about why Mutator don't have 'Superpower'?"

When the "teacher" asked this question, Xiao He already knew the answer.

The "teacher" laughed, "That's right. They turned into hideous monsters not because anything gave them power, but because their bodies merely became one with their souls. In other words, if your soul is still human, you can't become Mutator. So, here's the question..."

As he spoke, the teacher's tone turned sinister. "Why is there such a difference between Mutant and Mutator?"

The teacher pointed to himself. "Why is it that in your eyes, a 'monster' like me can maintain a human appearance and not become Mutator?" Then, the teacher pointed to Xiao He: "Because... essentially, we are the same. We strongly desire something, but we also have unyielding bottom lines within us."

So, this is the difference between Mutator and Mutant, the bottom line... Xiao He fell into deep thought.

"Now, do you still think those humans are worth saving?" the teacher asked with a smile. "Those people became Mutator not because of nightmares, but because they were 'monsters' to begin with. I just turned them back to their natural state."

"Nonsense..." Xiao He sneered, "There may be some people in this world who are born monsters, but most people become monsters because of their environment. When someone guides them, they can become better people. It was you who threw out the bait, led them into the bottomless Abyss, catalyzed the darkness in their hearts, and then turned them into monsters!"

"As you said," the teacher smiled, "I just added a catalyst."

"And what about you?" Xiao He retorted. "Were you born a monster? The reason for multiple personalities is to protect the original body, right? The reason you appeared is to protect William. Tell me, was William born a monster?"

The teacher's facial muscles began to twitch. He gritted his teeth and said, word by word, "You are not allowed... to say in front of me that William is a monster!"

As he spoke, the teacher raised his hand, and six or seven golden orbs of light condensed around Xiao He before blasting them toward him.

"Wanqing, are you ready?" Xiao He asked, pressing his earpiece. He dodged the incoming ball of light and then charged at "Teacher," throwing a punch at her face.

The teacher waved his hand dismissively, but Xiao He felt as if he had been plunged into a quagmire.

"Time Slowdown!" Xiao He frowned and thought to himself, trying to leave this slowed-down area, but at this moment, the teacher clenched his fist at him, and a huge mouth formed by a black shadow bit down, hitting Xiao He in the abdomen.

"That's really tough..." the teacher said, frowning slightly. "No wonder Lecter and the others couldn't handle you."

Xiao He used Spatial Jump to escape the Time Slowdown, then touched his abdomen, where a smear of blood appeared on his hand.

"This bite is much better than Wade's..." Xiao He frowned.

"Of course, their abilities were given to them by me. How could I be weaker than them?" the teacher sneered. "You have no idea what kind of environment William grew up in. If it were you, you might have gone mad or given up on yourself long ago. But he still struggles, trying to be a good person. Yet the world just won't let him go, and that's why we exist."

The teacher's face was gloomy, his expression twisted with anger. "If this world won't let him go, then I'll change this world to suit him! Even if it means killing everyone else! At least, we'll still be there for him!"

At this moment, Ye Wanqing replied in his earpiece, "Old Xiao, it's fixed."

"It's pathetic that this is the only way he can stop himself from being alone..." Xiao He shook his head, but he didn't want to waste any more words. "There's no need for empty talk. Let's end this."

"This will never end, it will just keep repeating itself, because that's 'human nature.' And you can't beat me, Mr. Yinglong." The teacher said, raising his left index finger. "What do you think my Superpower is?"