Global Ghost Stories: I'm Investigating Ghosts in My Nightmare!

Chapter 4 The Dream Cafe

"Look, I'm back safe and sound!" Bai Yu walked up to An Mu and extended a hand to him.

An Mu's eyes lit up with surprise, then he smiled and grasped Bai Yu's hand: "Welcome back!"

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, everyone quickly returned to the main topic and continued the meeting about the Nightmare.

"So, this is a rule-distorted nightmare?" Bai Yu looked at the data on the big screen, lost in thought. He habitually picked up a pen and twirled it in his hand, while resting his chin on his other hand, waiting for Lan Ce to continue, his mind already analyzing the contradictions in these rules.

“Yes. The children in the coffee shop, the red-clad staff, the music, and the restrooms are the key areas of focus for this investigation.” Lan Ce nodded to Bai Yu. “At the same time, it is still unclear whether the black-clad staff have any other role in this.”

“This is the customer rules posted at the entrance of the coffee shop, but based on past experience with the ghost story missions, there might be other rules inside,” Lance continued. “And whether there are any false rules among them, we have no way of knowing.”

At this point, Lan Ce suddenly stopped and looked at Bai Yu.

“No,” Bai Yu said crisply, the pen he was spinning coming to a steady stop in his hand. He could use part of Hei Yan’s ability to distinguish the authenticity of the rules at a glance, but this time, he felt an unusual ambiguity.

“It seems we’ll have to get further clues from the coffee shop,” Bai Yu said, standing up. “Leave it to me.”

"Want to come along?" Mo Fei asked Bai Yu, who was walking towards the door.

“No need.” Bai Yu shook his head. “These rule-based supernatural tales are interconnected; the more people involved, the easier it is to trigger incorrect rule options, causing the difficulty of the entire tale to increase exponentially. Besides, even if I can’t solve it, at least I can survive.”

Unlike ordinary nightmares, such as the one Lu Yueqi encountered, which could be easily eliminated, the Rule-Twisted Nightmare is often deeply hidden, requiring the complete deciphering of clues to uncover its true form. Simply escaping the nightmare by relying on the rules is not the ideal outcome; such a situation does not constitute breaking the nightmare. The nightmare will still remain in the real world. Only by completely deciphering it can this type of nightmare be completely eradicated and disappear from reality.

With the help of the Investigation Bureau, Bai Yu quickly arrived at the scene. A modern shopping mall had been cordoned off, and many investigators were patrolling back and forth.

"The Dream Cafe." Bai Yu quickly found his target. At this moment, the space around the Dream Cafe seemed to be shrouded in a distorted membrane, and the light became blurry and indistinct, appearing unpredictable. Fortunately, it did not show any signs of spreading further. If the nightmare continued to spread and engulf the entire mall, Bai Yu would have to carefully consider whether he could handle it. The difficulty of investigating the strange rules of a cafe and the strange rules of a mall is worlds apart.

As soon as Bai Yu pushed open the door, the scene before her eyes changed rapidly.

"Welcome to the Dream Cafe." A female voice rang out from beside Bai Yu.

Bai Yu turned his head and saw that the other person was wearing a black and white uniform. Was this considered a black-clad employee? Bai Yu was unsure. Hei Yan's ability allowed him to discern the truthfulness of rules at a glance, but in such ambiguous situations, even Hei Yan couldn't give a definite answer. He recalled the rule: "2. Black-clad employees in the coffee shop are trustworthy; please buy coffee from them."

"Hello, how many are in your party?" the girl asked politely.

“One,” Bai Yu replied.

“One!” the girl called out.

Soon a tall, thin man walked over; his work clothes were the same style as the girl's.

"this way please."

Bai Yu was quickly led to his seat, a single table by the window, where he could clearly see the cars going by on the street outside. Unlike the hustle and bustle outside, Bai Yu was the only person in the restaurant, and the waiters didn't exchange any words with each other except for the few words they had just exchanged. The whole restaurant was eerily quiet.

"What would you like?" the waiter asked after handing Bai Yu a menu.

In these kinds of nightmares, the target is very important. If you can buy coffee from employees in black, then you first need to determine who exactly these employees in black are, and whether the waiter serving you now falls into this category.

Bai Yu looked at the menu. There were many kinds of coffee, but no other drinks or food were listed. However, he was still wondering whether he should buy coffee from the waiter.

After a moment, Bai Yu said, "You can go now, I'll take another look myself." "Okay." Just as the waiter was about to turn and leave, Bai Yu called him back.

"Wait a minute, could you tell me where the restroom is?"

The waiter, with the same smile he had maintained since meeting Bai Yu, replied, "There is no restroom in the restaurant. If you need one, you can look for one inside the mall."

This answer also aligns with point 8 in the customer rules: "There are no restrooms in the coffee shop." Furthermore, this answer is a typical indication that the nightmare hasn't yet spread. In normal real life, if you ask a server where the restroom is, they won't tell you "look inside the mall," but will give you a specific location.

The waiter's answer wasn't due to a flawed thought process, but rather because he simply didn't know if there were restrooms in the mall. His understanding was based on ghost stories, which hadn't extended to the mall itself. Therefore, his concept remained limited to the coffee shop being located within the mall—nothing more. He couldn't answer any questions about the mall because, in this ghost story world, leaving the coffee shop meant leaving the realm of the ghost stories. Of course, this didn't mean returning to reality; rather, the ghost stories would pull him back in various ways, forcing him to start over until he successfully left the coffee shop according to the rules.

Bai Yu's goal this time is not just to return to the real world, but more importantly, to unravel the mystery of the supernatural tales. Therefore, finding new rules becomes a necessary condition. The information provided by the customer rules is too limited; in fact, it can be said that even how to leave this place cannot be found in the customer rules.

"What happens if I don't order coffee?" Bai Yu recalled the rules. Although it mentioned buying coffee from the employees in black, it didn't say what would happen if she didn't order any coffee at all. Perhaps she could give it a try? Bai Yu had already observed her surroundings. The things that were supposed to not appear according to the rules were indeed not there. The only two strange things in the store were these "dummy" waiters and the fact that she was the only person there.

He sat there, patiently waiting, time ticking by. Even without ordering anything, after a long while, the "trouble" still hadn't arrived. It seemed the ghost story didn't mind dragging on. The shop assistants were like dolls, standing motionless at their workstations. The male waiter who had served Bai Yu earlier had returned to his original position, remaining there with a smile, doing nothing, not even bothering to ask again, as if he were stuck. Or rather, because of Bai Yu's "inaction," the entire ghost story world was now frozen in place.

In the end, Bai Yu lost to Guai Tan in the endurance contest. "Waiter!" he waved to the male waiter. "Order!" Bai Yu casually pointed to a coffee on the menu and handed it back to the waiter. Then he saw the barista behind the counter finally get moving and start making the coffee.

"Hello, your coffee." A moment later, the male waiter reappeared in front of Bai Yu with the coffee. He placed the coffee on the table and turned to leave. The coffee tasted pretty good. Bai Yu picked up the cup and took a small sip. It was clear that the Nightmare had done some research on the coffee; it wasn't just a perfunctory effort. However, the hallucinogenic effect was a bit too strong.

A wave of dizziness washed over Bai Yu, everything in front of her seemed to be twisting and stretching, and a strong sense of vertigo washed over her. When the dizziness subsided, Bai Yu found herself standing in front of the coffee shop once again.

"Welcome to Dream Cafe." The same female voice appeared again. "Guest, you..."

“One.” This time, Bai Yu interrupted the other person directly, finally learning to answer first. He looked the girl up and down, then patted her shoulder with satisfaction. After returning to the entrance, he noticed the change in the store's environment. If the previous scene was a half-finished, empty shell, then this moment was when he had truly entered the world of ghost stories.

The staff were no longer rigidly following procedures; their movements were fluid and natural, and their eyes had become more lively, no longer the wooden, stiff figures they once were. The shop was quite full; people were drinking coffee, eating desserts, and munching on bread. The lively chatter mingled with the soft jazz music, bringing the entire coffee shop to life. Some people even sat with their legs crossed, tapping their feet to the rhythm as they listened to the music.

"This way, please." The same male waiter greeted them again, but this time his smile wasn't the same as before; he looked completely real. The menu he handed them wasn't a thin sheet of paper anymore, but a thick booklet, neatly categorized with everything from steak to noodles. Bai Yu quickly skimmed the first few items, flipped to the last page on coffee, ordered the same one as before, and then shoved the menu into the waiter's arms.

Bai Yu looked around. Several of the things mentioned in the customer rules had already appeared: red-clad staff, black-clad staff, music, and food that shouldn't be there. What was still missing were children and a restroom. The coffee-making process was noticeably slower than before. Bai Yu waited quite a while before a male waiter came over with a tray of coffee.

"Please enjoy."

"Wait a minute." Bai Yu called out to the waiter who was about to leave. "Excuse me, where is the restroom?"

The waiter flashed his signature smile again. "There's no restroom in the restaurant. If you need one, you can look for one inside the mall."

"Okay, thank you." Bai Yu thanked him and then let him leave.

"Big brother, do you need to go to the restroom?" A childish yet slightly off-key hoarse voice sounded from behind.

“Yes,” Bai Yu replied.

"Big brother, I think my eyeball fell into the bathroom just now. Can you help me get it back?"

Bai Yu turned around and looked at that childish face, which resembled two bottomless, dry wells—two black holes.

"Okay." A smile appeared on Bai Yu's lips, a smile that seemed somewhat meaningful in the dimly lit shop, carrying a hint of playfulness and a touch of coldness.

(End of this chapter)