Chapter 800: Zhu Li's Middle Dream Layer (2)

"And keep these two things safe." I handed him the Dream Immortal Chant Child Talisman, the fractured jade, and the broken bone engraved with scripture. "The Blue Talisman is the Dream Immortal Chant; it can transmit messages out of the Dream Realm. I've already taught you how to use it. Head to the Hongqiao Port Underground Parking Lot, find the cement pillar in the very center, and wait for orders through the Dream Immortal Chant Child Talisman. When they come, just follow instructions."

Holding this handful of bizarre, unfamiliar items, Chu Men's eye twitched. "Are there no other requirements?"

"Keep a smile on your face. If you run into danger you can't fight off, that expression might just save your life." I patted Chu Men's shoulder and personally fastened the Good and Evil Asura Mask over his face. "Don't talk to anyone, and don't trust anyone."

Chu Men touched the ice-cold mask and nodded stiffly. "When do I leave?"

"Move out once it gets completely dark. Be careful." I walked Chu Men downstairs. Watching the streetlights flicker on along the road, I returned to the fourth floor of the Apartment Building and deadbolted the door.

Zhu Li was covered in talismans. A full day and night had passed, yet neither he nor the Black-Robed Anchor had woken. What unsettled me even more was that Zhu Li's vital signs were failing.

I didn't know what would happen if the master of a dream died while someone was inside it, but my intuition told me it was incredibly dangerous.

The foundation of both the Shallow Dream Layer and the Middle Dream Layer lay in individual memory. If the individual died and their memories dissipated, any consciousness trapped within that dream would likely dissipate along with them. But the Deep Dream Layer was different. It belonged to the Third World—a completely unknown realm between illusion and reality that ordinary people had never touched.

As long as I entered the Deep Dream Layer before Zhu Li's body died, I could at least guarantee my consciousness wouldn't fade in the short term.

Decision made, I wasted no more time. My real-world contingency plans were in place; staying out here any longer was pointless.

'The Black-Robed Anchor has been inside the Dream Realm for a day and a night without coming out. The Deep Dream Layer might have already undergone massive changes.' Everything that needed to be handled was done. I jiggled the iron door to ensure it was locked. Just as I was about to turn around, I spotted the black umbrella from the Faceless Woman resting behind the door.

'Entering Zhu Li's Dream Realm to find the missing face is related to her anyway.' After a moment of hesitation, I pulled the black umbrella over, untied the loop of black hair wrapped around its handle, and tied it next to the Ghost Ring.

'It's a desperate measure, but let's see if I can bring you into the Dream Realm with me.' To prevent the Faceless Woman from disrupting my next live broadcast, I took her commission very seriously.

I took out the Paulownia Mulberry Talisman and pressed it to Zhu Li's forehead. Silently reciting the incantation, I slipped into the familiar process. When I opened my eyes again, I was already inside his Shallow Dream Layer.

Entering the Dream Realm behind the Black-Robed Anchor's back, I had no intention of interfering between him and the Butcher. Instead, I planned to let the snipe and the clam grapple while I profited as the fisherman, aiming to snatch the remaining three Reincarnation Mirror Fragments from the Butcher.

Ever since I learned about reincarnation in the Red Building, a thread capable of connecting all the secrets had vaguely begun to take shape in my mind. I just lacked a crucial piece of evidence.

'Once I gather all the fragments and piece the Reincarnation Mirror back together, everything will make sense.'

Not rushing to leave, I first checked the items I had brought into Zhu Li's Shallow Dream Layer.

The Reincarnation Mirror Fragments, the Live Show Phone, the Black Jade Pixiu, the Ghost Ring, the Faceless Woman's black hair, and the various spirits and Gu creatures hidden in my acupoints...

'Compared to previous times, my consciousness is far stronger now. Ordinary dreamscapes can no longer hinder me.' Packing everything away, I pushed open the bedroom door. This was where Zhu Li's father had accidentally beaten his mother to death, and this cramped apartment was also the door to his Middle Dream Layer.

Psychopathic criminals were still human. They lived within various real-world social relationships. Their metamorphosis required a process and a space to unfold, and the transition from the Shallow Dream Layer to the Middle Dream Layer was exactly that process.

The world behind the door was even gloomier, almost entirely devoid of light. Zhu Li had moved away from the Apartment Building and now lived alone in the outer district.

'Jinghai Medical University?' A few remittance slips and a crumpled acceptance letter were tossed in the desk drawer. Interestingly, a few adult magazines were stuffed right beneath the letter.

'This guy actually attended a prestigious university?' I really couldn't wrap my head around it. Why would a medical student eventually pursue art with such madness? Especially this kind of hair-raising art.

As I picked up the remittance slips, a photo slipped out. Sweeping over it with my Judging Eye, I realized both people in the picture were very familiar.

The tall, precocious boy was Zhu Li, while the man in the police uniform was the officer who had helped Zhu Li's mother clean up the clutter in the Shallow Dream Layer.

The officer's name was written on the back of the photo. Cross-referencing it with the receipts, it was obvious this cop had been the one financially supporting Zhu Li's education all these years.

'A kind, responsible good man ended up funding and cultivating a twisted, psychopathic devil.' I separated the receipts. Some had crosses drawn over them, while others were circled in red pen. It seemed Zhu Li had paid back every single cent of that financial support after coming of age.

'Devils aren't terrifying. What's terrifying is a devil with his own principles.' People like this typically never realized their own mistakes; in their world, they were always the absolute authority.

Returning everything to its original place, I wandered the room. The layout of the dilapidated rental apartment was very similar to the Red Building, but since this was the Dream Realm and everything was constructed entirely from Zhu Li's memories, I couldn't be certain.

The desk and chair were battered, and the walls were covered in sticky notes. The only source of entertainment in this cramped room was a television and the VCD player connected beneath it.

I plugged in the TV and flipped on the VCD player. Before long, a movie I had never seen began playing on the screen.

The scenes were gory. It told the story of a homicidal maniac who went on a crazed killing spree before finally being brought to justice.

The plot was tacky and unoriginal, but I forced myself to endure it. The entire film was incredibly oppressive, killing any desire to watch it a second time.

Shutting off the TV, I ejected the disc. Only then did I learn the movie's title—Lamb Butcher.

'Butcher? This is the only disc in the entire apartment. Did Zhu Li buy a VCD player just to watch this movie?' Back in his day, VCD players weren't cheap.

Holding the disc, I stood in the cramped rental apartment, easily imagining Zhu Li's living conditions at the time.

He had locked himself in this room, rewatching this eventually banned film over and over again.

'Why was he so obsessed with this specific movie?' Looking toward the sticky notes on the wall, my attention was suddenly snared. The notes were densely packed with handwriting detailing the movie's plot.

At first, I thought they were just film reflections. But upon closer inspection, I realized Zhu Li had reconstructed every single crime scene from the movie. Furthermore, he had listed out different methods of murder for every scenario.

'This lunatic imagined himself as the homicidal maniac in the movie. He heavily inserted himself into the killer's persona!'

The gory, thrilling movie hadn't made me feel the slightest bit uncomfortable, but the handwriting Zhu Li had left all over the walls was genuinely startling.

When he wrote all this down, he was nothing more than a university student who hadn't even graduated.

Once he accumulated enough theory, the next step would naturally be practice. I could already predict exactly what I was going to encounter inside his Middle Dream Layer.

'The world outside that door is probably going to be blood-red.' At this thought, my gaze returned to the disc. 'The Butcher's will is housed within the bodies of various ordinary people, but compared to the others, Zhu Li stands out in every aspect. He almost perfectly embodies the very meaning of the word "Butcher." Is there a hierarchy among the different wills? Is the one inside Zhu Li the primary will?'

My guess was highly likely to be true. It was the only way to explain why the Black-Robed Anchor placed so much importance on Zhu Li.

'The Middle Dream Layer has already been swept clean by Black Robe. Zhu Li's physical condition is highly concerning. I need to enter the Deep Dream Layer as soon as possible...'