I Like to Kill in My Dreams

Click.

Old Li flipped open his windproof lighter and reached for a cigarette, only to discover, after fumbling for a while, that his pack was empty.

The more agitated he felt, the more he wanted a smoke.

Spotting a convenience store ahead, Old Li eased on the brakes and pulled over. "I'm going to buy a pack," he said, sounding guilty.

Normally, Zhang Ruobing would have stopped him. But her mind was a mess, so Old Li got away with it.

As they waited in the car, Chen Feng squirmed in his seat.

When he first got in, his wet clothes had clung to his skin and left him freezing. After sitting for a while in the car with its windows shut, his skin had grown sticky and itchy.

I need to dry my clothes and take a shower, or I'll definitely catch a cold tomorrow.

Chen Feng called to Zhang Ruobing, who was staring into space. "Hey, turn on the air conditioner."

As if she'd lost her soul, Zhang Ruobing answered mechanically, "Okay."

The moment the air hit him, Chen Feng shivered. "Why'd you turn on the cold air?"

"Huh? Sorry."

Zhang Ruobing came to her senses and hurriedly adjusted the controls. "That's strange. I set it to heat."

The cold air isn't coming from the vents?

Chen Feng's face fell. He pushed open the car door and looked back. On the rain-lashed road, a manhole cover had been thrown into the air. Beyond it, one sunken footprint after another was rapidly approaching them.

This is bad!

Fear left Chen Feng's voice hoarse. "Uncle Li, get in the car! The Water Ghost followed us!"

"What?"

Old Li followed Chen Feng's pointing finger and saw that the footprints were less than ten meters away.

What a grudge. It chased us all the way here?

Old Li drew his pistol and fired at the empty space ahead of the footprints. He could have run, but his wife was at home. No matter what, he couldn't lead that thing back to her.

Bang! Bang!

As he kept firing, blood sprayed from the air. At the same time, the footprints in the puddles grew erratic.

Old Li's face lit up. "It's working!"

Zhang Ruobing jumped out of the passenger seat. "Master, I'll help you!"

Master and apprentice fired from different angles, pouring out bullets until both spare magazines were empty.

The police-issue Type 92 Pistol had a double-stack magazine that held fifteen rounds.

Seeing their ammunition run out while the footprints kept coming, Zhang Ruobing felt as if the laws of physics had stopped applying. "W-we shot it at least fifty times!"

How can it still move after fifty shots? Is that thing even made of flesh and blood?

Out of ammunition, Old Li drew his baton and shouted to his apprentice, "Go! I'll hold it off!"

Zhang Ruobing shook her head. "I'm not leaving."

"What are you two babbling about? I'm coming!"

The engine roared as Chen Feng, the veteran driver, floored the accelerator and drove the police car straight at the footprints.

Crash!

The airbag knocked Chen Feng senseless again. Unlike last time, though, he had his seat belt on, and he was in much better shape.

An invisible creature went flying too. It landed in the pooled water, leaving a human-shaped impression.

"Is it dead?"

Old Li charged over with his baton and hammered at the Water Ghost on the ground. But the baton slid lightly across its body, as though he were striking a wet bar of soap.

How does that work?

Before Old Li could figure it out, the Water Ghost rose, closed the distance, and hurled both him and his baton away.

"Master!"

Zhang Ruobing collapsed to the ground, trembling uncontrollably. Bullets, a car, a baton—none of it had worked against the Water Ghost. Despair swallowed her whole.

Can the Water Ghost not be killed?

No. That's not it.

Chen Feng got out of the car. Remembering how it had felt when he died last time, he suddenly understood why the baton couldn't land a blow. "It's oil! The monster's coated in oil. That's why the baton slid right off!"

Wait. Oil?

An audacious idea struck Chen Feng. He shouted to Old Li, "Uncle Li, where's your windproof lighter?"

Lying on the ground, Old Li gave Chen Feng a puzzled look. What did the kid want it for, a last cigarette?

Still, the kid knew his stuff. He'd recognized Old Li's high-end windproof lighter at a glance.

"Here."

"Watch this."

Click.

With his right hand, Chen Feng flipped open the lighter's lid, engraved with the words "For Dad." He cupped his left hand over it and hurried toward the footprints.

Flick! Flick!

The air around the Water Ghost was bitterly cold. Chen Feng spun the lighter's wheel several times, scraping his thumb raw and blackening it before he finally coaxed out a flame.

Good thing this is the expensive kind that resists wind and rain!

Chen Feng set the Water Ghost alight.

Water was supposed to overcome fire. This time, he was going to turn that on its head and use fire to overcome water!

WHOOM!!!

The moment the flame touched the Water Ghost, it burst into a roaring blaze!

The blinding light and searing heat left Old Li and Zhang Ruobing speechless. They could hardly describe what they were seeing: water and fire in a bizarre harmony, a human-shaped torch writhing and struggling in the downpour.

As the Water Ghost "danced," it let out a piercing, inhuman shriek like a wild animal's.

Chen Feng stepped back twice and grinned. "Can't understand you. Do you speak human?"

Not even the torrential rain could put out the flames. They burned until they had consumed the Water Ghost, leaving a pile of char.

[Ding! Water Ghost elimination mission complete]

[Mission rating: Perfect. Reward: 3 system points]

The moment Chen Feng knew the Water Ghost was dead, exhaustion, cold, and hunger washed over him. As though all his strength had been drained away, he collapsed to the ground.

It had been hard, but it was over!

Everything had worked out perfectly.

The suicidal girl who had gotten Old Li killed last time had received her comeuppance.

Good people were rewarded. Old Li had broken a few bones and would need to spend a few days in the hospital, but at least he was alive.

The Water Ghost, which had harmed countless people, was finally gone. The people at Happiness Internet Cafe would be safe tonight.

I finished two missions, earned four system points, and survived. I even escaped that monster of a Landlady at Happiness Internet Cafe.

Chen Feng lay flat across the back seat, feeling as though a bright future was beckoning to him.

Once his taut nerves relaxed, exhaustion came over him like a wave. The gentle warmth from the car's heater made him sleepier still.

I'll just have a nice little nap.

Chen Feng closed his heavy eyelids and had a dream—a steamy, thrilling one.

In it, He Ting, the Landlady, lounged on a bed and beckoned teasingly to him.

"Come play, handsome."

That's strange. Why am I dreaming about the Landlady?

Am I that pent up?

Chen Feng looked around. Something about the place felt familiar.

I've seen this somewhere before.

It was from his first time crossing over. Back then, the Landlady had taken Chen Feng in too, and he had become the attendant at Happiness Internet Cafe. That time, though, he had gone to sleep early. Once he fell asleep, he had dreamed of a scene just as enticing as this one.

Then the dream had killed him.

And now it's happening all over again.

Back in reality.

"Hey, wake up. Master wants to treat you to dinner... Ah!"

"Wh-what is this?!"

Old Li and Zhang Ruobing stared wide-eyed at Chen Feng in the back seat. All life had left him. He looked like nothing more than an empty human skin.