Chapter 3 - 2: Dream Descender

Chapter 3: Chapter 2: Dream Descender

Shi An watched the panicked middle-aged man flee into the shop, then glanced at the main entrance. Outside, a black tide was held firmly at bay by the white mist, unable to advance an inch. He mulled over the situation.

’Invite... Safe Zone...’

He already had a few theories.

...

A few seconds ago, when he saw the black tide nipping at the heels of the man in the black suit as it surged toward his small shop, Shi An couldn’t help but feel his eyelids twitch violently.

It wasn’t that he was calm. Rather, once he’d made the choice to "invite" someone, there was no turning back.

The shop was tiny, leaving him no room for tactical maneuvering.

However, he still had an ace up his sleeve. The difference between him and the "Nightmare" Hajilu spoke of wasn’t just that he hadn’t encountered any danger in his dreams; it was that he could enter and leave his dreams at will.

A few seconds later, the man in the black suit rushed into the shop. The tide of Shadows was blocked outside, unable to advance an inch. Shi An calmed down. His eyelids stopped twitching, and his heart stopped pounding.

He was a little surprised at his own composure.

Shi An stared out the window. The Shadow was even more terrifying than he had imagined—it was a tide composed of countless tiny black insects.

Yet, even this terrifying swarm of black insects couldn’t breach the shop’s seemingly dilapidated defenses.

The cracked glass windows didn’t even tremble, standing as firm as a city wall.

The half-open main door was an impassable chasm for the insect swarm!

’So this is a Safe Zone? Brilliant! Just brilliant!’

’I’m not sure why the shop is so run-down, but its defenses are completely at odds with its appearance.’

’The sense of security is off the charts!’

And as for the "invite"...

Shi An sized up the newcomer.

The outline of bulging muscles was visible beneath his black suit. The huge, brown-red shears he clutched were wreathed in wisps of ominous black smoke.

Shi An had a vague feeling that the shears felt somehow similar to the world outside.

He made a mental note of this.

Looking at his guest again, he saw the man’s clothes were tattered and his face was etched with fatigue. His eyes were shot through with fine red veins. Though his condition was clearly poor, he still gave Shi An a distinctly dangerous feeling.

’That makes sense. Judging by the way he sprinted that hundred meters, his physical conditioning is leagues ahead of mine. Besides, the world outside is so strange. Anyone who can survive out there must have some kind of bizarre Ability.’

Naturally, Shi An was wary of the newcomer.

But the moment the man actually stepped into the dilapidated shop, Shi An had a gut feeling—or perhaps it was a revelation from some unseen force...

’I have the power to "expel."’

’I can kick any visitor right out of the Safe Zone.’

’"Invite" and "expel" are my means of controlling this Safe Zone.’

The function of the dilapidated shop—this "dream"—was gradually becoming clear to Shi An.

...

Inside the shop, by the main entrance.

That word of welcome snapped the black-suited Cheng Ming out of his terror. He looked toward the young man behind the counter.

A silver-gray overcoat, a sun-and-moon pendant... The outfit wasn’t particularly strange. What truly astonished him was the man’s demeanor—it was far too relaxed.

People like him always walked on eggshells in the Nightmare World, the weariness in their bearing impossible to hide. But this young man was different. He was leaning casually against the counter, not in the slightest bit poised to spring into action, utterly unguarded.

He was as relaxed as if he were at home, eating a meal or getting ready for bed.

Cheng Ming quickly clasped one fist in his other hand in a gesture of respect. "Sir, may I ask where this is?"

Shi An considered for a moment before replying, "You can think of this as a safe stopover, a place to rest. At the very least, those things can’t get in."

Shi An gestured outside.

Cheng Ming looked again. Now that his breathing had calmed, he could see more clearly. The terrifying Shadow worms truly could not cross the threshold, not even by an inch.

Soon, the white mist grew thicker, shrouding the view outside the window. The tide of Shadows that had been battering the windows and door was hidden from sight.

The immediate danger had well and truly passed.

However, he gave a bitter smile. "In this Nightmare World, a place filled with strangeness and danger, where can one find true safety? I’m already grateful that you’ve allowed me to rest here for a while, Sir."

He truly meant it.

Survival wasn’t easy for people like him. In the Nightmare World, cooperation was the best option upon meeting another person, but reality was rarely so kind.

Stress, danger, suspicion... it was a good outcome if strangers met and didn’t immediately come to blows. Cooperation, rescue, shelter—those were far too rare.

Shi An picked up on the keywords. It seemed the entire Nightmare World was fraught with peril, with no safe places to be found.

’But if that’s the case, how do people like this man even survive?’

’Even a man of steel couldn’t withstand one crisis after another.’

Shi An thought for a moment, then asked, "How long have you been in the Nightmare World?"

He guessed this Nightmare World had some connection to the Nightmare Hajilu had spoken of.

’The term "Nightmare World" is the only correct piece of vocabulary I have right now, and I only just heard it from this man.’

’I know nothing about the Nightmare World, so asking like this is a bit of a gamble.’

’But it’s not a huge risk.’

’My authority over this Safe Zone is my biggest advantage.’

Cheng Ming thought for a moment. "Must be six months now... maybe more. About seven or eight months ago, I think. I had my first Nightmare. It’s similar to what most people experience: as soon as you fall asleep, you fall into a Nightmare for no reason. You either break free, or you get devoured by it."

"I was one of the lucky ones. After breaking free from a Nightmare, I got a decent Dream Curse Object. That’s why I don’t think being a Dream Descender is all that tragic. Risk and reward always go hand in hand. At least I don’t have to haul bricks at a construction site anymore, and my income is way higher than it used to be."