Trickster Hunter.

Chapter 575 Ming's Nightmare

"Grandpa! Grandpa, can you hear me?!" Cheng Ming raised his voice. He remembered that the old man was a little hard of hearing, but not so deaf as to be this bad.

Cheng Ming practically yelled into the other person's ear.

However, the gatekeeper still did not react.

Cheng Ming got a little anxious and immediately reached out to pat the gatekeeper's shoulder. However, at that moment, the gatekeeper suddenly tilted his head, and the hand that was going to pat his shoulder patted the gatekeeper's head instead.

What Cheng Ming didn't expect happened—the gatekeeper's half-skull was smashed to pieces by Cheng Ming's light tap, just like a cream cake. The bloody mess instantly covered Cheng Ming's palm, and an eyeball popped out from the crack in the gatehouse window and rolled into the green belt next to it.

Cheng Ming's eyes widened, and he froze on the spot as if he had been frozen in place, with the hairs on the back of his head standing on end.

He tried to pull his hand back, but his body wouldn't obey him at all.

The gatekeeper slowly raised his head, glanced at Cheng Ming with his only remaining eye, and then lowered his head again to start scrolling through short videos on his phone.

It was as if nothing had happened.

Only then did Cheng Ming resemble a drowning person who had just been pulled ashore. A large amount of air rushed into his lungs, and he took a deep breath. He then stumbled back a dozen steps before tripping over the curb of the green belt and falling hard into a sparse clump of bushes.

Human beings' instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm made Cheng Ming want to run away as far away as possible from this strange place contaminated by the monster, but his inner turmoil kept drawing his gaze toward the hospital building not far away.

He couldn't run away; he didn't want to see his mother end up like the gatekeeper... The thought of that bloody, gruesome scene filled Cheng Ming with terror.

Cheng Ming bit his lower lip hard. The intense pain briefly dispelled his fear. He licked the sweet, metallic blood flowing from his lips, then got up and rushed toward the entrance of the hospital building.

The main gate of the hospital building was tightly closed. The sensor door, which usually opens automatically whenever someone approaches, did not react to Cheng Ming. However, Cheng Ming did not hesitate. He picked up a stone from the green belt and smashed it hard against the glass sensor door.

With a loud crash, the tempered glass shattered into countless tiny pieces the size of soybeans. Cheng Ming stepped on these glass shards and rushed into the hospital building.

At the entrance of the inpatient building are the windows for handling admission and discharge procedures and payment. Behind these windows, the hospital staff sit blankly like puppets, their skin glowing with an eerie red.

Cheng Ming picked up the stone again, smashed the glass of one of the windows, and then climbed over the counter.

He didn't remember which ward his mother was in, but he knew that the hospital's computer system must have a record of this information, and Cheng Ming's name would also be recorded as a patient's family member and the person who handled the admission and discharge procedures.

If you can find your name in the archives, you'll naturally know your mother's ward number.

"Feel sorry."

Cheng Ming apologized to the staff member sitting in the chair, then pushed the chair aside.

The other person's hands, which were resting on the keyboard, were directly separated from their body, and sticky flesh spread across the table like a spilled strawberry milkshake.

Cheng Ming grabbed the keyboard and mouse, quickly found the patient's file on the computer, typed his name into the search bar, and then pressed enter.

After a brief pause, hundreds of entry and exit records popped up on the screen. Cheng Ming found the most recent admission record based on the date and quickly opened it.

"Ward 607...?"

Cheng Ming turned his head and glanced at the staff member whose arms were broken and whose upper body was beginning to dissolve. He then jumped over the counter again and ran wildly toward the emergency staircase.

The sixth floor isn't high, there's no need to take the elevator... not to mention that in the standard training manual for monster hunters, if you're in an area contaminated by monsters, or even inside an environmental monster, where both stairs and elevators exist, the stairs always have a higher priority than the elevators.

One is an open structure and the other is a closed structure; the safety of stairs far surpasses that of elevators when going up.

From a reliability perspective, compared to elevators that rely on both electrical and mechanical technologies, stairs made of reinforced concrete are clearly a more reliable mode of transportation.

Cheng Ming ran up two or three steps at a time, and in less than a minute, he had already rushed to the sixth floor.

Cheng Ming kicked open the fire door on the sixth floor, and his body froze as he took half a step out.

The corridor on the sixth floor was crowded with people dressed in hospital gowns and nurses' uniforms. These people moved around like sleepwalking zombies, and occasionally two people would bump into each other, immediately creating a bloody mess.

The stench of blood in the air was so strong it was almost suffocating. Cheng Ming forced himself to take a deep breath and then reached out to push a nurse who was blocking his way.

Just as his hand was about to touch the nurse, she suddenly turned around, presenting her indistinct face to Cheng Ming.

Cheng Ming stopped moving. Although he couldn't see the other person's facial features, for some reason, he could tell that the nurse was crying... The fear, despair, and sadness emanating from the nurse were like drops of ink spreading in clear water, gradually infecting Cheng Ming as well.

The thought of escaping gradually took over Cheng Ming's mind. He took two steps back, creating some distance between himself and the nurse.

Cheng Ming felt liquid run down his cheek and drip onto the ground. He looked down and saw a drop of bloody tear.

Cheng Ming squatted down, his hands trembling as he touched his cheeks.

To his horror, he discovered that the liquid, which resembled blood and tears, was not flowing from his eyes, but rather seeping from his pores.

With a gentle scratch, he tore off a large chunk of rotten flesh covered in pus and blood from his face... and throughout the entire process, he felt no pain whatsoever.

Cheng Ming suddenly realized that he was no different from the gatekeeper, the office staff, and the nurses and patients in this corridor; he had long since become part of this infected area.

A strong sense of despair welled up inside, but along with it came a strange anger.

Why...why has the world become like this?

Why put despair into your palm after you've grasped hope?
Why is it always me who suffers these misfortunes?

Cheng Ming slowly stood up. He clenched his fists so tightly that his fingers turned into a puddle of flesh, revealing the white bones beneath.

But he was completely unaware.

Once fear crosses a certain threshold, it ceases to be fear and transforms entirely into anger.

Cheng Ming felt as if his body was burning; the searing pain spread from the inside out, covering every inch of his skin and every bone...

He suddenly roared, and in an instant, everyone in the corridor exploded into a cloud of blood mist—including himself.

"what!"

Cheng Ming suddenly opened his eyes and found himself still sitting in the Bai Group's car. Directly above him was the car's overhead light, which was set to soft light mode. The engine noise and tire noise continued to reach his ears, while the other people in the car were staring at him with different expressions.

The bloody scenes faded away, as if they were a distant dream. Cheng Ming raised his hand to wipe his forehead and found that his forehead was covered in cold sweat, which even slid down his temples and onto his collar.

The clothes underneath were already soaked and clung tightly to the skin.

"Is it a dream..." Cheng Ming thought to himself.

He glanced at the sweat wiping from his hands; the sweat was transparent, not blood-red… This made Cheng Ming breathe a sigh of relief.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Bai Lingqiu asked from the passenger seat.

"Mm." Cheng Ming nodded.

“It’s normal… Many monster hunters have nightmares.” Miss Shadow handed Cheng Ming a pack of tissues. “Some people dream about being infected by a monster, some dream about being killed by a monster during a hunt, and some dream about their infection progressing beyond the danger threshold, eventually becoming a monster or a monster skeleton… I wonder which kind of nightmare you have?”

Instead of answering the other person's question, Cheng Ming asked in return, "Have you ever had this kind of nightmare?"

“I never dream.” Miss Shadow shook her head. “Of course, it’s also possible that the dreams I have are forgotten when I wake up.”

"Is it possible for things that happen in dreams to become reality?" Cheng Ming couldn't help but ask.

But he regretted it a little after asking.

This question is absolutely ridiculous.

To his surprise, Miss Shadow gave a very serious answer: "Generally speaking, things in dreams are fictional, but there is a saying that what you think about during the day, you dream about at night. When you often think about certain things, and these things are projected into your dreams, reality and dreams may overlap to a certain extent. In this case, a kind of 'déjà vu' flashback effect will occur, which is also known as 'déjà vu'."

She paused, then continued, "Of course, these claims are based on a fundamental understanding of the human brain and the laws of physics. But in this era rife with strange creatures, anything is possible. Perhaps one of these creatures possesses the ability to turn human dreams into reality..."

"Does this kind of strange creature really exist?"

“Even if they exist, they’re probably Type A monsters with very low serial numbers,” Bai Lingqiu interjected. “The files on these kinds of monsters are probably only accessible to the core members of the Tian Shu Tower. Ordinary people would never have the chance to know about their existence.”

“Even if such a strange creature exists, the Heavenly Pivot Tower certainly wouldn’t make it public.” Miss Shadow chuckled. “The ability to turn nightmares into reality is too likely to cause panic among humans. As long as people know that such a strange creature exists, they certainly won’t dare to have nightmares. But dreams are often the kind of things that appear the most you fear… otherwise, how could they be called nightmares?”

"What you fear most is what will happen..." Cheng Ming murmured, then suddenly looked up at the distant horizon.

A pale dawn was already spreading across the horizon.

"How long have I been asleep?" Cheng Ming asked.

"Not much, only five and a half hours," Miss Shadow said.

“You can sleep a little longer,” Bai Lingqiu said. “If you need sleeping pills, I have some.”

"No need," Cheng Ming politely declined the offer, saying, "Could I take a look at the computer? I want to know our next route."

Bai Lingqiu generously handed the computer to Cheng Ming and said, "The route we're taking is the same as the first hunting team. This route can be said to be one of the safest routes in the no-man's land. The only drawback is that it requires taking a long detour, which will greatly increase the risk of being chased by the death sandstorm."

"Has there been no movement from Nanhua Town these past few days?" Cheng Ming asked again.

“No, the target monster seems to be in a state of hibernation.” Bai Lingqiu shook his head. “If it weren’t for the fact that the first hunting team’s meme detection equipment could confirm that the target’s meme response had remained at the bottom of the pit without any movement, we would have suspected that the target had already dug a tunnel and escaped.”

"Will we attack the target monster immediately after we arrive?" Cheng Ming asked again.

Although he was nominally the vice leader of the second hunting party, he knew nothing about the party's operational plans.

“Yes, after the two hunting teams merge, they will immediately launch a new round of attacks on the target monsters,” Bai Lingqiu said. “Unlike the first hunting team, which pursued speed and operated as lightly as possible, this time we are carrying a lot of heavy equipment, so we are not afraid at all even if we have to fight a positional war with the monsters.”

"I still don't understand why Miss Bai values ​​me so much." Cheng Ming handed the computer back to Bai Lingqiu. "If it's to express your apology for G09's loss of control, you've already given me a lot of material compensation... I'm not particularly strong myself, and I don't have any experience in commanding other hunters in battle. Isn't it a bit inappropriate for me to be the vice-captain?"

This was a question that had been lingering in Cheng Ming's mind ever since he set off.

Upon hearing Cheng Ming's question, Bai Lingqiu was taken aback at first, then her gaze involuntarily drifted to Miss Shadow in the back row—but she quickly brought her gaze back and said, "Please don't underestimate yourself, Mr. Cheng. Among the hunters who underwent the combat power test, your performance can be said to be the most outstanding. Moreover, in our observations over this period of time, whether it is strength, character, or personality, you are the most suitable candidate to serve as the vice-captain among this group of hunters."

"Is this some kind of flattery?" Cheng Ming couldn't help but wonder to himself.

“But I am an outsider after all… Shouldn’t the leaders and deputy leaders of the hunting teams of the three major families be your people?” Cheng Ming asked.

"If all the commanders in the hunting party are from the three major families, Mr. Cheng, what do you think the free hunters who participate in this hunting party will think?" Bai Lingqiu didn't speak, but Miss Shadow looked at Cheng Ming with a smile and asked.

"...I see, I understand."

(End of this chapter)