Chapter 22 - 19: I’ll Just Step In

Chapter 22: Chapter 19: I’ll Just Step In

Shi An thought he had fallen into the Nightmare World.

Many Dream Descenders, with just a moment of distraction or by merely opening a door, would find their surrounding world drastically changed, plunging into the Nightmare World in the blink of an eye.

"But that’s not right."

He pondered his situation. "I’m not a Dream Descender yet. In the early stage of being entangled by a Nightmare, ordinary people only fall into a Nightmare when they sleep—it’s just their spirits experiencing a fallen dream. Only after surviving the initial Nightmare and becoming a Dream Descender does a person physically sink into the Sea of Nightmares."

The good news: Shi An had not experienced a fallen dream.

The bad news?

"Since I haven’t fallen, that means... the Nightmare has broken through the barrier of reality and descended upon Baijiang University?" He inhaled sharply.

The basic files provided by Old Song had briefly mentioned this possibility. Threats to the real world came from only two sources: mad Dream Descenders or anti-social organizations, and Nightmare invasions. However, a Nightmare invasion wasn’t exactly a high-probability event.

Typically, Logistics Department personnel of the Countermeasures Bureau like him didn’t need to confront Nightmare invasions head-on. At most, they were responsible for setting up police tape on the outermost perimeters. Yet, to his surprise, he had stumbled right into one while simply walking through Baijiang University.

"Do I really have to be this unlucky?!"

"Calm down! Calm down!" Shi An took a deep breath. He had just used multiple Curse Objects and was still feeling a bit weak. Running into a Nightmare right now was incredibly unfortunate. Many Dream Descenders ended up dead simply because they bumped into a Nightmare when they weren’t in peak condition!

"Fortunately, I still have Employee Number One, Little Blood.

"I can communicate with the Safe Zone at any time and summon Little Blood into reality. Under the guise of the Yugui Stream, doing so won’t seem too out of the ordinary."

At most, it would just surprise people into thinking that he, Shi An, had been a Dream Descender all along. That wasn’t a big issue.

At this thought, Shi An calmed down. While establishing a connection with the Safe Zone, he observed his surroundings. The lighting had grown considerably dimmer. The wind carried a bone-chilling cold that made one shiver, and the leaves around him rustled, going SWISH SWISH.

However, the large trees remained lush and green, and the asphalt road was free of cracks. A single glance was enough to tell that this environment wasn’t as dangerous as the Nightmare World.

"The cause of a Nightmare invasion is unknown, but any area shrouded by the Nightmare’s gray fog is isolated from the outside world. There’s no way out. However...

"The Nightmare invasion might recede after some time, allowing reality to return to normal. Alternatively, it might be necessary to defeat the source of the Nightmare here to restore this corrupted Nightmare Area."

Even if it was the latter, this was Baijiang University after all. Shi An believed that rescue forces from the Countermeasures Bureau would arrive quickly. Besides, Professor Luo had to be an expert, right?

Outside the corrupted zone.

"What? You’re saying Professor Luo fell into a dream ten minutes ago? Damn it, of all times!"

The person in charge of Baijiang University felt incredibly powerless. But falling into a dream was simply that uncontrollable. Even the top experts among Senior Dream Descenders couldn’t dictate when they would fall into a Nightmare.

He quickly requested reinforcements from all sides.

"The Dream Exorcist squad from the Countermeasures Bureau is on their way? Good!

"Hold on for half an hour! The captain of the Third Squad will be here by then!

"Also, quickly organize a few elite Dream Descenders from the personnel still on campus to enter the Nightmare Area. Have them calm and rescue the trapped victims inside the shrouded zone. We must strive to minimize casualties and provide crucial clues to the incoming reinforcements so we can break this Nightmare faster!"

Apart from the Dream Descenders at Baijiang Headquarters, there were naturally quite a few other Dream Descenders scattered throughout the massive campus, whether operating openly or in secret. Among the personnel who had just participated in the training, there were four Dream Descenders.

However, they were paralyzed by fear.

"This is a Nightmare invading reality!

"A Nightmare that has invaded reality is far beyond what newbies like us can handle!

"Even a Senior Dream Descender at the Fusion Stage absolutely couldn’t deal with this kind of Nightmare disaster."

Seeing the billowing gray fog in the distance, the rookie Dream Descenders had no choice but to retreat. They had to wait for backup! Going in on their own would be suicide! Even the Countermeasures Bureau’s manual advised against recklessly entering a Nightmare-corrupted area.

But in another corner of the campus...

"There are still quite a few survivors inside this Nightmare Area, right?"

"You want to go in?"

By a certain lake on campus, two students from Baijiang University were gazing at an arched bridge enveloped in the gray fog.

"Of course I’m going in," the girl wearing jeans and a T-shirt said, clenching her fists tightly.

Beside her, another female college student, also a junior at Baijiang University, was shocked. "Do you have a death wish?!"

As rising stars of the Wizard’s House, they bore heavy responsibilities. They absolutely didn’t need to—and shouldn’t—take risks in a place like this. Besides, Baijiang University hadn’t even summoned them!

"Moreover, a Nightmare that invades reality might no longer follow Nightmare logic. That means the moment we step inside, we could run straight into the Nightmare boss. Without an expert to stall it, our ability to search for clues would be completely useless!"

But Li Xixue didn’t care. She had never shied away from the sharp edge of the weird and eerie.

"We won’t necessarily face the entity directly, but we’ll definitely be able to save a lot of people."

"And if we do run into it?"

She paused. "Then I’ll just stall it."

She stepped into the foggy area. Instantly, her jet-black hair turned silver-white inch by inch. A deep purple Witch’s Skirt replaced her casual clothes, a Wizard Hat materialized on her head, and her sneakers transformed into Long Boots. Gloves that she had donned at some unknown point gleamed with a vibrant crimson luster.

A Fusion Stage expert couldn’t directly contend with an eerie entity. It was true. But after conquering a Nightmare yesterday, she had already broken through to the Peak of Fusion Stage Great Perfection—only half a step away from the Control Realm.

In the distance, the other girl cursed, "God damn it!" and charged into the gray fog after her.

Back within the Nightmare Area.

From a distance, Shi An spotted a couple of lovebirds shivering in fear.

The sky was grayish-white, and gray fog permeated the woods, rendering the surroundings incredibly silent. Ordinary people might not understand what a Nightmare was, but they could certainly sense that something was wrong. They would feel uneasy and terrified. They would scatter in panic.

Shi An sighed, stepped forward, and pulled his provisional ID out of his pocket.

"Countermeasures Bureau. We’re handling a case.

"It’s fine if you don’t understand. The point is, don’t run around blindly. Either stay right where you are or stick close to me."

Perhaps because Shi An was a few years older and looked so composed, he immediately became their pillar of support. He wandered around the periphery of the fog-shrouded area. A few minutes later, he had already gathered several shivering college students trailing behind him.

Just then, another group approached from the opposite direction. There were four of them in total, led by a young man who looked relatively less panicked.

His eyes immediately lit up when he saw Shi An. "Boss!"

Shi An was momentarily bewildered. He almost thought his identity had been exposed, but upon closer inspection, the young man’s face looked somewhat familiar. He seemed to be one of the dozens of people from the class just now.

To those dozens of provisional Countermeasures Bureau personnel, Shi An was a ruthless character who hadn’t hesitated to touch Curse Object after Curse Object despite being an ordinary person. As long as he didn’t die, he was destined to become a big shot in the future.

"Hello, Boss! My name is Huangzhou, and I’m also from the Countermeasures Bureau."

After the two groups merged, Shi An stopped wandering around. He led the dozen or so people into a pavilion to hide. Located on the outskirts of the Nightmare Realm, it was relatively safer here.

As for escaping outside? It was useless. Until the Nightmare Realm dissipated, no one could flee. No matter how hard they tried to run, they would ultimately end up right back where they started.

At present, Shi An gazed out into the distance. Aside from the drifting gray fog and the gloomy lighting, there didn’t seem to be any danger around them. However, he could faintly sense an icy, sinister aura brewing in the distance.

He turned to Huangzhou and said, "You stay here and keep a close eye on them. Don’t let these students run off."

"What about you, Boss?"

"I’m going deeper inside to take a look. We have to figure out what’s going on in there."

"But..." Huangzhou hesitated, swallowing the rest of his words.

Shi An said, "How much stronger do you think an Early Stage Dream Descender is compared to ordinary people like us? Not much, right? Wisdom and courage are our greatest weapons."

He thought to himself, "And a cheat ability is my real trump card."

Shi An walked casually toward the depths of the Nightmare Area.

Huangzhou opened his mouth but ultimately failed to ask the question on his mind: What if you run into an eerie entity?

But if he had, Shi An would have said, "Then I’ll just have to make a move."