Translator: CinderTL
Zhao Xingguo spoke with a grim expression. "I suspect Crippled Liu is actually the former Disciple of the Door, Ancestor Yamamoto."
"That would explain how he survived the explosion."
"Using the power of the Door, Ancestor Yamamoto evaded the blast. But it came at a price. Overusing the Door's power caused a severe backlash, leaving him in his current ghastly state," Zhao Xingguo said in a rush, as if he'd been holding it in for a long time.
Everyone understood his feelings. After all, his two teammates had died at the hands of this very Ancestor Yamamoto.
Just as they were pondering their next move, an out-of-place voice suddenly broke the silence from behind them.
"Which way is this?" Pi Ruan's voice was filled with confusion.
Hearing this, everyone stopped. They had unknowingly wandered into a narrow alley.
Tall walls lined both sides, their surfaces mottled and stained with moss, as if they had endured countless years.
The high walls blocked their view, preventing them from seeing what lay beyond.
A sense of foreboding settled over everyone's hearts.
Because they had been discussing Crippled Liu, everyone's attention wasn't focused on the road ahead. They were simply following one another.
Leading the group was Chen Qiang.
As if unaware of the changes around him, Chen Qiang continued walking, his steps stiff and mechanical.
Suddenly, everyone realized that they hadn't heard Chen Qiang's voice in a while. He had always been the most enthusiastic about discussing clues.
"Chen Qiang!" someone called out.
Chen Qiang didn't stop, as if he hadn't heard. He kept walking forward.
The familiar figure now turned away from them, yet it felt utterly alien.
Stopping Zhao Xingguo from speaking further, Jiang Cheng quickly approached Chen Qiang. He didn't try to call out or touch him. Instead, he walked directly in front of Chen Qiang and looked into his eyes.
As expected...
Chen Qiang's eyes were tightly closed, and he mechanically repeated the same sequence of movements: step, land, step. He moved like a sleepwalker.
His eyeballs trembled rapidly beneath his eyelids.
Jiang Cheng had once read a book dedicated to sleep research. The researchers in the book argued that rapid eye movement during sleep reflected the brain's reaction to new dream scenarios.
In other words, Chen Qiang was currently trapped in a dream, and the scenes within it were deeply disturbing to him.
"What's going on?" Fatty's eyes widened. "How did he just fall asleep while walking?"
No one could explain it, but it was clear that Chen Qiang was in a dire situation, trapped in a bizarre dream.
A ghost did this.
"Don't worry about a dead man," Fu Fu's voice cut through the air. "Think about yourselves first. You don't think he's the only one who's in trouble, do you?"
This alleyway was filled with an unsettling aura. Since they first noticed the anomaly, they had walked a considerable distance without encountering a single intersection.
There were no buildings or houses on either side.
This was highly unusual, making them question the alley's purpose. Gazing down the alley toward its end, they saw it shrouded in a thin, hazy mist.
Shadowy figures flickered within the mist, concealing unknown entities.
An indescribable atmosphere permeated the air, and someone wondered if following this path to its end would lead to another world.
"Damn it," Zhao Xingguo snarled, his eyes blazing with fury. "Chen Qiang must have been the first to fall victim, and then he dragged us all into this nightmare."
Huai Yi's gaze sharpened. "Are you saying we're currently trapped inside Chen Qiang's dream?"
The moment those words left his lips, the atmosphere within the group shifted instantly. A wave of panic spread like wildfire, its effects in this situation potentially more devastating than the Ghost itself.
"Calm down, it's not that extreme," Jiang Cheng immediately interrupted, his eyes darting around warily as he tried to soothe everyone's nerves. "I believe our current situation differs from being fully immersed in Chen Qiang's dream. We're merely being interfered with, not completely trapped."
"If I had to describe it, we're standing at the crossroads between dream and reality," Jiang Cheng continued, his calm voice like a ray of light cutting through the surrounding chill. "It's unrealistic for a Ghost to simultaneously drag all of us into a dream while we're fully conscious. The Ghost has merely trapped us here temporarily. As long as we don't do anything reckless, we'll be safe."
Of course, Chen Qiang, the person at the center of this, wasn't included in that. His survival depended entirely on his own abilities.
But it seemed no one held much hope for him.
"So, we're just waiting for a result," Huai Yi said, seemingly understanding Jiang Cheng's meaning. He looked at him and continued, "As soon as Chen Qiang's dream ends, we can leave here."
Jiang Cheng nodded. "That's right."
There were two ways the dream could end. One was for Chen Qiang to find a way out and actively end this bizarre killing dream.
The other was for Chen Qiang to be killed by a Ghost within the dream.
If the dreamer died, the dream would naturally end. This was considered a passive exit.
"Look at him," Fatty suddenly said.
In truth, no one needed to be told. Everyone had already noticed the change in Chen Qiang. His stiff upper body had begun to move.
He slowly raised his arm and took off the backpack behind him. Though his eyes remained closed, he now seemed to possess a faint aura of life.
This series of movements carried an indescribable eeriness, as if viewed through a gray filter.
Though Chen Qiang stood before them, everyone knew this was merely his body. His consciousness was trapped in another, utterly incomprehensible world of horror.
"Hiss—"
Someone gasped. They watched as Chen Qiang took his backpack, unzipped it, and turned it upside down, letting its contents spill out.
At first, only miscellaneous items fell out, until a cloth bundle caught their attention.
The bundle landed on the ground, bouncing a few times before revealing a corner of its contents: a crudely made straw doll.
The one Yangzi had given them.
With so much happening lately, they had almost forgotten about the doll. How it ended up in Chen Qiang's backpack, only he could know.
But it was clear that his descent into the Ghost's dream was connected to the doll.
Fu Fu narrowed her eyes, watching Chen Qiang's movements with a smirk. "Interesting. It seems he's realized he's trapped in a dream."
"Throwing away the doll is his attempt to escape."
Indeed, shortly after Chen Qiang discarded the doll, a blinding light suddenly appeared at the end of the endless alley.
As they walked toward the light, the scene abruptly shifted. "This is..." Pi Ruan gaped, still struggling to comprehend what was happening.
They were back on the familiar street they had been on before.
The surrounding clamor suddenly surged back, creating an unsettling sense of unreality.
"Did... did we succeed?" Fatty asked, his eyes wide.
(End of the Chapter)
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