Chapter 59 - 56: Traveling Through the Cross-Domain Realm

Chapter 59: Chapter 56: Traveling Through the Cross-Domain Realm

"One mutated Flaming Torch. Its firelight can intimidate some of the weaker, eerie monsters.

"Three bottles of ’I’m Fired Up’ special drink. Remember, this red bottle is the potent version. It’s much stronger, but the side effects are also more severe.

"One bottle of Purifying Water. Although some of its efficacy will dissipate, it can still save your life at a crucial moment.

"And this Witchcraft Flying Eye. I’ll be controlling it from the rear."

Before departure, Hair Ghost was armed to the teeth. He hesitated, words failing him before he finally couldn’t help but speak, "Manager, that’s enough! This is too much!"

As someone who started as a grassroots Dream Descender, he had never been equipped with such a wealthy loadout! In fact, it wasn’t just wealthy—he felt it was practically a waste! Especially that bottle of Purifying Water. There was truly no need to bring it out with him, but he couldn’t win an argument against the Manager.

He could only put on a solemn expression and say, "Manager, I will definitely complete the mission. I stake my life on it!"

Shi An fell speechless. "Coming back alive is what I want to see," he said, waving his hand.

Hair Ghost gathered his equipment, pushed open the door, and stepped back into the Nightmare World.

***

Hair Ghost had been in a Fallen Dream for several days now. Just as he had expected, he was already a Lost Person. However, because he had been staying within the Safe Zone, in the eyes of the Nightmare, it was as if his tracks had been erased. He was a person with no identity and no origins. The Nightmare from Hair Ghost’s initial Fallen Dream had also disappeared the very next day, severing its connection to the Safe Zone.

Shi An thought, "Still, Hair Ghost remains a pure Dream Descender."

Hair Ghost was currently carrying that Shadow Witch’s Flying Eye. Shi An could see that the moment Hair Ghost stepped out of the Safe Zone, it was as if he were plunging into a sea of dreams. No, not "as if." He had literally plummeted from the boat straight into the Nightmare World.

He fell into a Nightmare that was completely different from the ones experienced by the previous two teams of Dream Descenders. This Nightmare had no existing connection to the Safe Zone. However, Shi An had anticipated this situation. Hair Ghost held a Member Card, and as long as the Member Card was activated, it would link the current Nightmare World to the Safe Zone, providing a guided path to the connection point.

Hair Ghost didn’t activate the Member Card. He remembered the Manager’s instructions: he was to attempt to traverse the Nightmare Area and draw a map. Only after that would he proceed to conquer the Nightmare.

He carried ample supplies on him, and with the assistance of the Witchcraft Flying Eye, theoretically surviving in this Nightmare World for over ten hours wouldn’t be a problem.

The black, eyeball-like construct took flight, and the landscape of this Nightmare Area clearly fell into Shi An’s view.

It was a street—a Nightmare street. The streetlamps lining both sides flickered, intermittently lighting up and going dark. This might very well be some kind of code, holding the key to conquering the Nightmare. However, that had nothing to do with Shi An. He wasn’t here to conquer the Nightmare.

The images recorded by the Witchcraft Flying Eye reflected vividly in Shi An’s eyes. He controlled the eyeball, navigating it through the dead silent street.

Suddenly, a shadow beneath one of the streetlamps trembled. Perhaps a hunting logic had been triggered, as a monster abruptly lunged out from the shadow. But in the very next moment, it froze in place, eyes wide open, its mindless head filled with question marks as it wondered where its target had gone.

The Gloom Shadow eyeball continued its rapid flight. It was as fast as lightning, its speed even marginally faster than when Blood Hand Seal transformed into a rainbow streak. The eyeball also possessed a massive field of vision, covering a full 360 degrees with zero blind spots. As it flew past, image after image was projected into Shi An’s mind: streets, streetlamps, alleys, gaps between buildings...

Finding the gap leading to other Nightmares was neither hard nor easy; there were always relatively peculiar spots that gave it away. If a Dream Descender had to explore cautiously and avoid numerous dangers, they would naturally find it difficult to spot. But if one barreled through recklessly like Shi An was doing right now, especially considering this was the relatively simple Nightmare Black Street...

In just a short ten minutes, Shi An discovered the gap in this small-scale Nightmare. It was located inside a certain alleyway.

On the side of the alley, two buildings stood packed tightly together, leaving only a narrow gap about fifteen to twenty centimeters wide. It was incredibly dim inside. Such places were usually dead ends, but Shi An noticed that deep within the crevice between the buildings, a thick gray fog was drifting.

Gray fog was precisely the symbol of a boundary.

Shi An controlled the Flying Eye to delve deeper into the gap, confirming this fact.

"Go, Fa."

"Understood!"

Hair Ghost turned sideways and inched his way in, step by step. This was quite a dangerous maneuver. If it turned out to be a dead end, a Dream Descender would not only waste time in vain but would also likely have nowhere to run when encountering danger. However, the Witchcraft Flying Eye had already confirmed the path and scouted the surroundings in advance. This cross-domain traversal was thus extremely safe.

Soon, Hair Ghost passed through the vast expanse of gray fog. Shi An also navigated the eyeball to follow him across the area.

The next moment, the gray fog dissipated. The building gap they had just squeezed through was gone, replaced by a ghastly white wall stained with patches of coagulated blood.

In front of him, it remained dim. It was an indoor environment. Medical records were scattered everywhere, and desks were in disarray but completely devoid of people. IV drips hung in the corridor, the needles dangling and swaying in midair as if they had just been pulled out.

Eerie and bone-chilling, this was the Nightmare Hospital. Among the many Nightmares, this belonged to the more dangerous category.

However, what Shi An cared more about was the mechanics of it. "So, traversing across Nightmare Areas is a one-way ticket. If you want to return to the previous Nightmare, the entrance and exit aren’t in the same area," he murmured.

Hair Ghost also just realized this point. However, he wasn’t too surprised. He figured the Manager must definitely be aware of it, and he just needed to follow the Manager’s commands.

Shi An was already controlling the Flying Eye to continue exploring, while Hair Ghost followed closely behind, searching the surroundings and recording some of the unique terrain features.

***

Meanwhile, in a certain Nightmare Area separated by over a dozen Nightmares...

WHOOSH!

Old Cai plummeted into this place. Plunging in alongside him were two other Dream Descenders. All three of them held special black briefcases.

They quickly navigated through this Nightmare, appearing completely familiar with the route. Soon, they arrived at a special area where numerous torches were erected.

It was a camp being built by the Countermeasures Bureau!

Several Dream Descenders, similarly dressed in black trench coats, came forward to greet them.

"You’ve worked hard," Old Cai said. "Next, my team and I will take over your shift."

He shook hands with the team leader opposite him. Following that, the three Dream Descenders from the opposing team took out a certain item from their persons and placed it down. Not long after, their figures began to fade, disappearing from the Nightmare World.

Old Cai turned to the two members of his own team and said, "Next, we’ll need to hold our ground here for two days. No problems, right?"

"Don’t worry, Captain Cai," one said. "We’re good, Brother Cai," added the other.

Old Cai picked up the item that the previous three had left on the table. It was a black sphere the size of a fist. The Countermeasures Bureau had named it the "Dream-Dropping Pearl"!

Just as the name implied, if one held this Treasure Pearl in the real world, it would drastically shorten the time they could stay in reality, causing the Dream Descender to rapidly enter a Fallen Dream. Conversely, if held in the Nightmare World, it would significantly extend the amount of time the Dream Descender spent in the Nightmare World. Extending it to three or four days wouldn’t be a problem at all.

This pearl was likewise a product of the Nightmare World, but its effect was of marginal utility. On any normal day, Dream Descenders couldn’t wait to leave the Nightmare World as quickly as possible. Who would actually want to stay longer? Dream Descenders avoided this Treasure Pearl like the plague. If they accidentally got their hands on it, they would immediately throw it away.

For the Countermeasures Bureau, it was also practically useless. It was only on occasions like this that it could be put to good use.

"Let’s go," Old Cai said. "Let’s see how far along the camp’s construction has progressed."

***

PS: Happy New Year, everyone~! Wishing all you dear readers immediate wealth, immediate fortune, and immediate success in the coming year!

Next Chapter at 12 PM noon.