I created a safe zone in the nightmare world.

"Old He has gone missing!"

Across the low table, his old classmate Lu Fan spoke in a low voice, his expression grave.

Shi An's hand, which was reaching for the grilled kidneys, froze in mid-air.

He, Lao He, and Lu Fan were all roommates in college. He was closest to Haji Lu, and naturally, he was also close to Lao He.

During our last chat, Lao He mentioned that he was about to get a promotion and a raise, and was planning to treat everyone to a meal in a few days.

But how long has it been? Old He has already disappeared.

"Are you kidding me?"

When Shi An saw that Lao Lu did not take advantage of the opportunity to snatch the last skewer of kidneys, he was already 70% convinced.

Lu Fan said, "Am I the kind of person who would joke about something like this? At first, I also thought that Lao He was just having nightmares because he was under too much mental stress."

"Nightmare?"

Lu Fan took a deep breath, as if recalling something, "Old He told me about his dream. In the dream, a butcher covered in bandages dragged a long machete and walked towards him step by step."

"At first glance, it seemed like just an ordinary nightmare, nothing special. But on the second, third, and fourth days, Lao He had the same dream again. The difference was that in the dream, the bandaged butcher was getting closer and closer to Lao He, and no matter how Lao He ran away, the butcher would catch up with him."

"Until Old He was slashed by the butcher, he woke up from a nightmare to find his arm covered in blood—the very spot where the butcher had slashed him in the nightmare!"

"After that, Lao He disappeared. I haven't been able to contact him since yesterday. I went to Lao He's place to check, but I couldn't find a trace of him. Lao He... he's very likely in trouble!"

It's really strange that a living person has been missing for almost two days.

but,

Why do you think Lao He's disappearance is related to nightmares? Perhaps it's because Lao He encountered something in real life that caused him too much stress, which led to him having nightmares for several days in a row. Lao He's disappearance is more likely related to his "stress".

Shi An analyzed the situation rationally.

This is indeed the most likely possibility. They live in a modern society where gods and ghosts don't exist. We should believe in science.

"What you say makes sense, but..."

Lu Fan paused for a moment, staring unfocused at the glowing embers of the charcoal grill in the distance. After a long while, he came to his senses and said, "But the problem is, I had nightmares too."

He didn't actually completely believe Lao He's nightmares, but he felt that Lao He might have some mental issues.

Until he himself had a terrifying, incredibly real nightmare.

"It's like it really happened; I can still recall the details of the dream, which is the most strange thing."

He said.

Indeed, the details of a normal dream become very blurry after waking up.

"But is it possible that you were overthinking things after hearing about Lao He's situation, which caused your nightmares?"

Shi An frowned.

Old Lu smiled wryly, "Maybe."

He also thought that he might be overthinking things and that he came to see Shi An to vent his inner pressure.

After a meal of skewers and beer, his unease did indeed dissipate considerably.

Lu Fan said, "You're right. Maybe Lao He will get in touch with me tomorrow. I'm sure I can get a good night's sleep tonight. You should go back too; you have to go to work tomorrow."

We ate the skewers downstairs from Hagi Lu's place.

Since Shi An still had to ride his bike back, he didn't drink any alcohol.

Riding his electric scooter, which could reach speeds of up to 25 km/h, Shi An quickly returned to his rented room.

"Nightmare?"

Shi An thought for a moment, then opened her laptop and searched for things like "what to do when having nightmares." She then scrolled through one search result after another, hoping to find something different.

But the internet was calm, with no supernatural rumors whatsoever.

"As expected, it was exactly what I anticipated."

Shi An is not a local; he has been awakening his past life memories for a week now.

Since awakening his memories, Shi An has been exploring this world, dreaming of things like cultivating immortality, superpowers, high-level martial arts, contracted pets, and real-world games.

Finally came to the conclusion:

Before he transmigrated, he was a cow or a horse; after he transmigrated, he was still a cow or a horse.

It's a bit of a waste to wear this!

"Not only can you not find any bizarre events online, but even movies, games, and novels are completely devoid of suspense or horror themes, and the imagination of various works is extremely lacking."

This is clearly a peaceful, stable, and warm everyday scene presented to the world.

Shi An even felt that it could be rated as a "12+" environment.

"Since things have come to this, just go to sleep. There's no need to scare yourself unnecessarily."

"When I wake up tomorrow, it will be another day of routine."

After changing into her pajamas and washing up, Shi An turned off the light, sat on the bed, pulled the blanket over herself, and lay down.

He closed his eyes.

Sleepiness washed over me like a tidal wave, lasting only two or three seconds...

"Splash!"

His whole body sank, the bed seemed to turn into water, and he fell as if he were falling into the deep sea, breaking through the vast boundaries of the dream.

After a long while, I stepped onto the hard floor.

Shi An opened her eyes again.

The walls were peeling, the ceiling was cracked with alarming fissures, and the bar counter was rotten, emitting a musty smell. Further away, the huge glass windows were covered in dust and bloodstains, with spiderweb-like cracks everywhere.

Scattered gravel and wood chips, broken tables and chairs that were hard to put together, and shelves leaning precariously.

This place seems to have once been a small shop, but it has long since fallen into disrepair and decay, leaving only a deathly silence like that of a tomb.

Shi An opened his arms to face the pungent smell, yet the scent still felt familiar and reassuring to him.

"We've come here again."

"Sure enough, as soon as I fall asleep, I find myself drawn into this dilapidated little shop, just like falling into a dream."

Was it a nightmare?

It seems very similar to the nightmare dream described by Hakiru.

But Shi An didn't think so.

Since awakening his past life memories, he has frequently entered this dream. However, no matter how many times he enters, the dream environment remains unchanged, and there are no butchers, monsters, or strange occurrences.

It didn't matter at all; the danger was right behind them, chasing them like death.

Not to mention...

"The environment here is indeed dilapidated and decaying, but it doesn't make me feel oppressed; instead, it makes me feel at ease."

Arriving at this dilapidated little shop, Shi An felt as at home as if she had returned home, completely at ease, without any of the creepy feeling one gets from having a nightmare.

He didn't think this was a nightmare; maybe it was his cheat code.

If you transmigrate and don't have any cheat codes, then what's the point of transmigrating?

But what exactly is the purpose of this dream world? Shi An wasn't sure; he was still researching it. The only effect he had figured out was…

Even if you stay in this dream world for several hours and dream all night, you will still feel refreshed and have a good night's sleep when you wake up the next day.

It's equivalent to having an extra sleep time compared to others.

They could be tireless, nuclear-powered oxen and horses.

But Shi An felt that he couldn't only have such a small ambition, could he?

He did have some ideas about making money first and then slowly researching the cheat system—after all, it was a peaceful modern society, and while one could survive without a cheat system, one really couldn't survive without money.

But the problem is...

What if the world wasn't actually so peaceful?

He didn't completely believe the "nightmare" that Haki Lu mentioned, but he was still a little concerned.

His own current experience is also a kind of dream, and it's hard to say whether there's a connection between this dilapidated little shop and the nightmare.

If there truly are any strange things in this world, then researching this life-saving "golden finger" is of utmost urgency.

Despite saying that, Shi An still had no clue.

Shi An has already explored everything that could be studied in the dilapidated little shop.

Shi An walked to the front of the shop. The door was tightly closed. Although it was rotten, no matter how much he pushed, pulled, or pounded on it, the door did not budge.

And outside the store...

Shi An looked to the other side and, through the dusty, cracked glass window, could see the billowing white fog outside.

The white mist completely blocked the view, making it impossible to see even a trace of the outside world.

"Or perhaps, my store exists within the white fog?"

What lies beyond the white fog?

Shi An frowned, but he had no way of knowing how to find out.

He searched the shop thoroughly but couldn't figure anything out, so he tidied up the messy interior a bit. He kicked aside a piece of broken wood that was tripping him, pieced it together to make a barely usable table, and swept the dust off the bar counter.

He lacked the right tools and couldn't do much more.

The dream felt incredibly real; he could come and go freely, but unfortunately, he couldn't bring in anything from outside the dream.

The door, which had been closed for a long time, suddenly creaked open.

The door was slightly ajar.

Through the crack, one could see that the outside of the door was also shrouded in thick white fog.

However, at this time...

The white fog outside the door and window swirls and gradually fades.

Shi An opened her eyes wide.

One second, two seconds, three seconds... After more than ten seconds, the white fog finally dissipated completely, and the scene outside the dilapidated shop came into view.

The streets were deserted.

The old streetlights cast dim, yellowish light, as if they might be swallowed up by the lurking darkness deep within the street at any moment.

Shi An frowned.

"Outside the shop, it's just an ordinary road? At most, it's just a bit deserted, lifeless, and dimly lit."

But he felt it was more than that.

He looked towards the gate.

At this moment, the shop door seemed ready to be opened, but as soon as he had the thought of stepping into the outside world, a strong sense of unease suddenly arose.

Danger! Extreme danger!

There are definitely dangerous and strange places in the outside world!

Shi An watched as a figure appeared at the end of the dark street.

This was a man around forty years old. He was wearing a black suit, but a safety helmet on his head, and he was tightly gripping a pair of brownish-red scissors about the length of his forearm.

This outfit is supposed to be quite strange, but in the current environment, Shi An feels that it is very normal and natural.

At this moment, the middle-aged man's black suit was tattered, and fear lingered in his eyes. He walked with a limp and frequently looked back, as if some ferocious beast was chasing him.

"Damn it, that thing is catching up again!"

Those were writhing shadows—no, eerie things resembling shadows. These shadows came from the end of the street, spreading like a tide, their speed increasing.

Wherever it passed, the streetlights, already flickering like candles in the wind, went out, and a terrifying darkness descended.

The middle-aged man in the black suit took a deep breath, once again squeezing out his potential from his exhausted body.

He ran for his life, but the dark street seemed to have no end, and the creeping shadows behind him were getting closer and closer.

Danger! Danger!

...

Shi An gasped, "My intuition was right!"

The world outside the small shop is incredibly dangerous! The middle-aged man in the black suit was running at a speed that left this useless young man far behind, and even so, he was already on the verge of death.

If it were me? I'd be doomed by now!

It was the right decision not to recklessly venture outside the shop.

Shi An murmured to himself, when a subtle prompt appeared in his mind.

"Prompt: Invite the other person to the safe zone?"

"Countdown: 9, 8, 7, ..."

Invitation? Safe Zone?

Shi An didn't have time to think about these meanings; the striking countdown was changing before her eyes like a death warrant.

This is indeed a death warrant, even though it doesn't mean it's his own life. But right now, this "variable" is the only opportunity that Shi An has been waiting for all week.

After only a slight hesitation, Shi An made her choice:

"invite!"

In the dimly lit street, the middle-aged man in a black suit, who was running away in a burning manner, suddenly paused.

To the right front, the tall brick wall that stretched all the way to the end of the road suddenly broke off about 40 or 50 meters away, and in its place was a shop with a storefront about ten meters long.

Eye-catching and abrupt!

That's the only difference in this dark street! Even the art style seems a bit out of place.

"What exactly is that?"

The presence of this shop on this dimly lit road, with only faint light and endless brick walls, was eerie. But the middle-aged man in the black suit knew he had no choice at this moment. Without hesitation, he unleashed his last bit of strength and rushed towards the half-open door of the shop.

boom!

The middle-aged man burst through the door, as if he had broken through a curtain of water, the veil of the world, and the gears of fate.

The powerful inertia momentarily stopped him, and he staggered.

The black tide lashed against the shop's mottled glass windows and the faint white mist in front of the open door.

The tide surged, making a sharp, screeching sound.

The middle-aged man in the black suit felt his heart pounding, his eyes fixed on the door and window.

Outside the window, darkness reigned, but these seemingly fragile glass windows, covered in dust and cracks, remained perfectly still despite the terrifying darkness.

The faint white mist outside the door was like a threshold separating the world, firmly blocking the eerie and terrifying black tide from the outside.

The great terror stopped at the door.

The bright yellow light inside the shop shone on his exhausted face.

The middle-aged man looked into the store and saw that it was as dilapidated as ever, just like the Nightmare World, but there was one figure leaning against the bar.

The man was dressed in a black top and a silver-gray overcoat, with a pendant hanging from his chest depicting a sun and a crescent moon. His eyes were deep, like a starry sea, containing specks of golden light.

His mere glance was enough to make people afraid to look him in the eye.

"Welcome, kindred spirit."