Eternal Night

Chapter 892, Part 3... Huh? Not?
Wu Pifu had a good breakfast at the street corner early in the morning: six fried dough sticks, three bowls of soy milk, three large steamed buns, and five eggs...

If the boss and the people around him hadn't been looking terrified and holding their phones, ready to call the police, the fire department, or an ambulance, he would have continued eating.

He was only about 30-40% full, and he planned to go to the next restaurant to eat again.

As for money, that's easy to say. Passersby can contribute a little, since it's just a meal and it won't cost much anyway.

After a night of fighting, Wu Pifu felt a little unsatisfied.

With the body of a five-year-old child combined with the supreme skill of the Chinese martial arts, which is indestructible, Wu Pifu was able to fight against a large group of rule-based monsters, some of which had physical forms and could regenerate almost infinitely, and others that did not have physical forms but could also regenerate almost infinitely. This battle was incredibly exhilarating for Wu Pifu.

The exhilaration of a battle has nothing to do with the level of the battle. He may be able to cleave everything within a radius of hundreds of kilometers with a single strike, but such a cleavage is often not exhilarating, and it has little to do with the strength of himself or the enemy.

This kind of close-quarters combat, where life and death hang in the balance, actually gets his blood pumping.

The battle that lasted all night did not tire him out; on the contrary, it warmed up his physical body. As for the physical load-bearing capacity, as long as it was not an overload from a single battle, he could adjust and recover in a short time.

It could be said that the battle that lasted all night actually increased his combat power by 20-30%, preparing him for even more intense battles as more nightmares arrive.

Wu Pifu ate at two other breakfast stalls, finally managing to eat until he was about 80% full, before slowly walking towards the kindergarten.

When he arrived at the kindergarten gate, he suddenly saw Nightmare Number One and Nightmare Number Two standing there, looking at the crowd with sincere smiles. Parents, children, and even passersby were all people they treated with genuine smiles.

This left Wu Pifu with a strange expression on his face.

No... you guys are a nightmare, actually treating kindergarten teachers and caregivers as your real jobs?
Wu Pifu walked towards the kindergarten with a black line on his forehead, while his lips moved slightly as he asked, "What's going on with you guys?"

Unexpectedly, instead of being frightened by his voice, the two nightmares reacted with a sense of relief, as if they had just let out a long breath.

No... isn't the sense of relaxation in your nightmares a bit too much?

Are the welfare benefits at the source of pollution really that good?

Just as Wu Pifu was utterly puzzled, the two nightmares lowered their heads slightly, and their eyes were actually a little red.

This scene was like a bolt of lightning to Wu Pifu, a truly devastating blow that left him utterly humiliated. Seriously, guys?

At this moment, Nightmare Number Two's mouth moved slightly, and he said in a very low voice, "You... fought last night?"

Wu Pifu's ears twitched. Although it was noisy around him, he could hear him clearly. He immediately transmitted his voice, "What do you mean? The new rules you came up with have left me homeless, and now you're here to mock me for not fighting last night? Believe me or not, I'll beat you all to a pulp right now?"

Nightmare Number One quickly and discreetly waved his hand, saying in a very low voice, "No, no, we're not being sarcastic, we just... want to know how many strange things are happening outside?"

Wu Pifu was even more puzzled, but considering that he could get answers to a total of six questions from the two nightmares today, he thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "It's not that many, much less than I expected..."

The eyes of both nightmares lit up, and they even exchanged glances.

"...There are at most five or six ghosts on a street, about two or three in a community park, only one in a toilet, and not many ghosts wandering in residential areas, about one per area. There are more in the stairwells, but it also depends on the population. The more people there are, the fewer ghosts there are... What's with your expressions?"

Wu Pifu said with a look of disgust.

The two nightmares wore expressions of utter despair. Wu Pifu even vaguely saw tears in the corners of Nightmare Number One's eyes, while Nightmare Number Two turned away to wipe his face... No, you two are being so direct in your mockery, especially mocking a powerful figure who could slap you to death. Is it really that interesting to be so close to death?

Wu Pifu suppressed the urge to slap the two nightmares into a pancake, and also suppressed her nausea as she entered the kindergarten. Nightmare No. 1 and Nightmare No. 2 looked at each other, each carefully maintaining their expressions, but in their hearts they were already eager to talk to Wu Pifu.

Wu Pifu, on the other hand, stayed comfortably in the small classroom, casually found a chair to sit down and rest. Although he had been fighting monsters all night, he wasn't too tired, but it would be good to be able to rest for a while. Anyway, he didn't have anything else to do... He couldn't very well start fighting monsters first thing in the morning, could he?

A moment later, Wu Pifu, while drinking his bagged milk, stared at the two nightmares with dead fish eyes: "...So, you're planning to have me help you clear monsters tonight? Me? Help you? Clear monsters!?"

He could understand what the two nightmares were saying, but he couldn't understand their combined words at all. He even started to feel that they were mocking him, causing veins to bulge on his forehead. "Who gave you this..." Wu Pifu said in a low voice, but before he could finish, the two nightmares actually knelt down!?

That's right!

I'm kneeling before him!

This scene greatly shocked Wu Pifu, so much so that he didn't even notice the milk he spilled in his hand.

After a moment, Wu Pifu rubbed his temples and said, "...So, you're also being chased by the ghosts and monsters in this space? Why? Aren't these things created by your Nightmares? Not to mention that you can command them or anything, we fought last night and found that these things have no one to command them. But you're supposed to be Nightmares, how can you be afraid of these things?"

Both Nightmares were utterly devastated. Since they had already been defeated, they no longer bothered to hide anything. Nightmare Number One immediately said, "If the Nightmare Space was created by us Nightmares, then naturally everything would be under our control. But this isn't just a simple Nightmare Space. Your uniqueness anchors the underlying structure of this space, and our Nightmare corruption fills the resulting gaps, thus creating this space... These monsters are terrifying! They show no mercy to us at all! We almost died last night!"

Wu Pifu covered his face. He had so much to complain about, but because he had so much to complain about, he didn't know where to begin.

Nightmare Number Two immediately added, "The key is that this place is neither the illusion we're familiar with, nor the reality you're in. It's a mixture of the two in varying proportions. We don't know what will happen to us if we die here, or if we're dragged away by those strange creatures, but we'll definitely be doomed forever..."

Wu Pifu remained silent for a while before saying, "Let's not rush these things. I'm going to ask questions now. You Nightmare will answer three questions. Let's fulfill our agreement from yesterday first, and then we can talk about other things."

The two nightmares looked at each other and nodded helplessly.

Wu Pifu first asked Nightmare Number One, "The first question is, what exactly is the source of the pollution?"

Nightmare Number One immediately replied, "The essence."

Wu Pifu was taken aback for a moment and said, "No, what's the difference between what you're doing and not saying anything at all?"

Nightmare Number One did not lie, but some information was essentially the same as not saying it, which made Wu Pifu quite annoyed.

Nightmare Number One immediately protested, "I really want to answer your question to the best of my ability, but you have turned me into a living being. I don't remember much of the information from my nightmares. No, perhaps I do remember, but I can't express it in the way a living being can. So I can only try my best to answer your question."

Wu Pifu fell silent. He could tell that Nightmare Number One wasn't lying; it was indeed the truth. Even the expression on Nightmare Number Two's face could corroborate this.

But that's pointless; what he wants to find is the truth of the entire dream world...

After a long silence, Wu Pifu asked, "What is essence? Right, this is the second question. I asked about the source of pollution, and you answered with essence. So what is essence... You'd better give me a more detailed explanation."

Nightmare Number One, with a pained expression, pondered for a long time before tentatively asking, "...The essence of everything?"

Veins bulged on Wu Pifu's forehead as he growled, "Then what am I? What is the real universe? Are these also sources of pollution?"

Nightmare Number One was speechless for a moment, but Nightmare Number Two calmly said to Wu Pifu, "Is this the third question? If so, I'll answer it."

Wu Pifu immediately glanced at Nightmare Number Two, who took a breath and said, "Although we don't know why now, in our understanding, reality, existence, life... or your world, everything you know, all belong to cancer, all belong to disease. Can I call what I said the third question?"

Wu Pifu fell silent. This answer was unexpected. He nodded slightly and was about to ask Nightmare Number Two a question when he suddenly paused. A strange feeling suddenly surged up. Not only him, but the two Nightmares also felt this feeling, and their expressions changed instantly.

Wu Pifu sneered, "Very well, your companions have arrived. The third dream... what?"

Just as Wu Pifu was about to utter the third nightmare, a human-shaped "balloon" suddenly appeared in his sight on the distant street. It was a "balloon" that kept inflating and expanding, with gas or something else constantly expanding under its flesh and skin, getting bigger and bigger. Even from the top floor of the kindergarten, Wu Pifu could see that it was at least twenty meters tall and was still expanding...

Bang!
Under the watchful eyes of Wu Pifu and the two nightmares, the humanoid "balloon" burst open, splattering blood and flesh across half a block.

Nightmare Number Two said coldly, "Obviously not. This is an outsider, an outsider who accidentally intruded into this place, and he violated the taboo. In the eyes of others..."

"not human."

(End of this chapter)