Nightmare Despair

Chapter 11 Walker

"Old Huang, is it really that serious? You call this almost dying at the hands of Number Seven?"

In a villa on the outskirts of Xishan City, a stylish woman wearing black-rimmed glasses curled her lip and made no attempt to hide her mockery of the restless man on the sofa.

"A sickly man on the verge of death has driven you to this point. If this news gets out, how will those officials continue to cooperate with us?"

Huang Zhang, the man who had been following Zhou Kai, had his face flushed red: "What if the intelligence is wrong? That kid looks perfectly healthy, and he's even stronger than me."

"Third sister, how about... we remove him from the list of targets?"

Ding San was tall and straight with a stern face.

She leaned against the water dispenser and decisively shook her head: "No. Raise the attention level, classify her as a [Traveler], and continue monitoring!"

"The Pilgrim? Him? A recent graduate!"

Several people around gasped in surprise.

"He's just an ordinary college student..."

Ding San stretched, revealing a striking physique: "Has he been to the hospital recently?"

Huang Zhang immediately replied, "Nothing was observed."

Ding San shrugged: "Oh... then he might really be a formidable character. Not only did he obtain the 'identity certificate,' but he also activated a special building. You know, on their first day as Travelers, which of those monsters didn't wake up covered in injuries, as if they had been dismantled and reassembled?"

Everyone fell into silence.

They simply couldn't imagine that a recent graduate who barely passed his four years of physical education could survive such a nightmare where life was practically impossible.

According to official data from the Red Star Republic's Bureau of Abnormal Affairs, Nightmares have existed for hundreds of years, and since the beginning of the second millennium, the number of infected individuals has been increasing year by year.

This year alone, the number of people suspected of dying from nightmares in the city has exceeded three hundred.

And among these people...

Before life is completely consumed by nightmares, one can find "identity cards" such as name tags, room keys, armbands, driver's licenses, and badges, and activate "special buildings" such as campfires, incense burners, nurseries, and shrines to establish a foothold in the nightmare world and become a so-called "Nightmare Walker"...

not a single one.

Of course, the situation varies in other cities.

Huang Zhang was stunned.

If he also agrees with Ding San's judgment, then it becomes perfectly normal for him to be easily defeated by Zhou Kai, and there's nothing shameful about it.

After all, it's only natural that someone who can survive in such a place would have some skills.

But... he just felt something was off.

There are always some things that are more important than one's own pride.

What if it's not number seven?
They dragged an innocent, ordinary person into this mess, exposing him to the real and cruel world beneath the surface.

This is a bit...

Huang Zhang finally shook his head: "Third sister, your deductions are all based on the premise that he has indeed been infected with nightmare disease."

"What if they just happened to come across that website and clicked on it casually?"

Ding San's eyes turned cold. He rushed to Huang Zhang in a few steps, grabbed his collar, and pulled him forward sharply.

She said coldly, "Detective Huang, I advise you to take this matter more seriously."

"The latest official research report...the spread of nightmares is very likely related to the Walker."

"Even if it's for nothing else, think of your daughter."

Ding San released his grip and tossed Huang Zhang back onto the sofa like he was throwing away trash.

"If you don't want more people to die silently in their dreams like your daughter, then you'd better get serious!"

"Don't forget what kind of resolve you had when you joined 'Dreamless'!"

Huang Zhang fell silent, as if his spine had been removed.

The young man next to her quickly stepped forward to smooth things over: "Hey, Third Sister, we're all family... there's no need to say such harsh words."

Ding San glared at him fiercely, then looked at the girl sitting cross-legged on the ground not far away, surrounded by snack bags and beverage bottles.

"Ye Zi, report the information on Number Seven to the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs and request monitoring permissions."

"Immediately coordinate and take control should any abnormalities occur!"

The girl called Yezi didn't even look up, just gave an "OK" sign.

"Let me finish this game first."

The adults around them immediately widened their eyes.

Ye Zi seemed to sense everyone's gaze and curled her lip in disdain: "Anyway, we're still monitoring them even without the approval, so what's the rush?"

……

"Unfortunately, it's probably not possible to make money by selling items from Nightmare in the short term." "It's also unrealistic to turn something into gold with experience points... experience points are far from enough, and it's too conspicuous."

Zhou Kai's excited expression gradually cooled, and his thoughts quickly became clear.

He decided to temporarily abandon the practice of trading goods for profit; he needed to keep a low profile during this period.

The reason is nothing more than the same thing: [lack of dreams].

After being followed once, Zhou Kai realized that he was being targeted by this mysterious organization.

Out of his innate caution, he felt he couldn't easily reveal his hand, much less get involved with this kind of organization.

"If those people can find my IP address and home address, they can definitely listen to my phone and monitor my bank accounts."

Searching for information online and chatting are fine, Zhou Kai has plenty of ways to avoid it.

But when it comes to monetary transactions, there are far too many places where things can be exposed...

This is something that can be done, but it needs to be planned carefully in the long term.

"It has to be put on hold for now. The most urgent thing is to ensure that I can survive for the long term."

In the quiet rented room, the ticking of the clock could be clearly heard.

The moment the clock struck midnight, it meant that Zhou Kai had less than forty-eight hours left before he was forcibly summoned by the nightmare again.

He must make new progress in today's nightmare exploration.

So, before entering the nightmare, Zhou Kai found a wad of toilet paper and soaked it in water.

He took a few shriveled seeds from the glass jar and carefully placed them on a damp ball of paper.

Then, he silently said to himself, "Add points."

[You've sacrificed 1 point of general experience; the withered seed has leveled up.]

A flash of white light appeared on the surface of the seed, and it visibly became much plumper, as if it had awakened from a deep sleep.

Zhou Kai put the wet paper ball containing the seeds into a sealed sample bag and placed it close to his body.

"This should be fine. I hope I don't need to add any extra to make it sprout."

Sometimes, in addition to improving oneself, external resources can also be relied upon.

Although Zhou Kai was terrified by his experience in the study, he remained convinced that the words on that letter contained important information.

The question "What can plants withstand?" particularly caught Zhou Kai's attention.

Perhaps this special plant is what keeps those monsters away.

"Loading into a nightmare!"

At 12:09 a.m., Zhou Kai lay in bed and slowly closed his eyes.

The dry clothes quickly became damp, even condensing into cold dewdrops on his skin.

His breathing was steady, but his body temperature was dropping rapidly.

The sheets beneath her began to smear with cold water again.

……

Welcome back, the fire is burning brightly.

Zhou Kai opened his eyes in front of the fireplace. The biting chill he felt when he entered the nightmare was quickly dispelled by the orange-red firelight.

The heat of the flames made his cheeks burn, and Zhou Kai paused for a few seconds to relieve the fatigue of the day.

With a thought.

Zhou Kai felt a sudden weight in his hands as a sharp short-handled axe and an oil lamp appeared simultaneously in his left and right hands.

The flashlight I brought from home last time is completely useless in this world.

Click, click.

Zhou Kai put down the oil lamp and pressed the switch a few more times, but the flashlight still didn't work.

"It seems that the physical rules of this world are indeed different from those of reality... This is really troublesome."

Helpless, Zhou Kai could only throw the flashlight aside and relight the oil lamp.

The fuel in the oil lamp can burn for about twenty more minutes, which is not very safe, but it's enough for now.

Zhou Kai carried an oil lamp in one hand and an axe in the other, heading towards the sloping staircase leading to the basement.

It was dark and gloomy there, exuding a chilling aura.

Zhou Kai has been interested in it for a long time.

(End of this chapter)