In the evening breeze, Sui Yuan looked up at Xie He, then at the little boy.
"Alright. I'll open the dream world now and send you in." The little boy reluctantly opened a dream sphere and closed his eyes.
Xie He tentatively asked, "What are you doing?"
"I need to meditate, to imagine you in that dream world, so I can pull you in," the little boy said.
"Oh." Xie He looked at the little boy, silently noting this.
...
After entering Principal Zhang's dream sphere, Xie He heard the little boy's voice in his ear, "In this world, all the students will chase you. The ZA virus in their bodies has reached its late stage and could explode at any moment. Your mission is to dodge each of their explosions and find the dream exit alive—"
The voice still echoed eerily in his ear.
Principal Zhang stood before Xie He, holding a flower lantern. The lighting from this angle was quite unsettling; shadows were cast upwards onto his face, creating sharp, angular shapes.
Principal Zhang was pale and sweating, terrified by the faceless students. Upon seeing Xie He, he reacted like a dying man grasping at a straw, a mixture of surprise and joy: "Y-you, you actually came too! Where are the others?! Those students…"
He continued, but footsteps rushed down from upstairs—
"Run—" Xie He interrupted him, pulling him quickly downstairs.
"There's a...a ghost downstairs!!" Principal Zhang stammered, his strong voice trembling.
"I know," Xie He replied casually, without stopping.
But if there were ghosts downstairs, weren't there ghosts upstairs too?
As they ran downstairs, the student who had patted Principal Zhang's shoulder was still there at the corner, now turning his face towards them.
It was either dawn or dusk; the sky was hazy, and they could only see the student's dark figure, his smooth face blank.
He had no face.
“You’re here.” His voice, laced with amusement, approached the two step by step.
“Ah!” Principal Zhang’s heart sank, and he cried out involuntarily, instinctively taking a step back until his back hit the stair railing.
The footsteps from upstairs were drawing ever closer, and Principal Zhang’s legs went weak—
Xie He flicked his finger, and the faceless student stumbled, falling like a rag doll from the third-floor railing!
“Thump!”
It was a heavy thud.
“You!” Principal Zhang stared in disbelief, clearly even more shocked. For the past hour, his mind had been completely blank, as if it had crashed.
“This is a dream, run,” Xie He said calmly.
But how many students were chasing them?
Where would the exit from this dream be this time?
Xie He led Principal Zhang downstairs, encountering several students on each floor. Each time, Xie He would use his "Spy" skill to throw them off the stairs.
However, the "Spy" skill had a cooldown.
After each use, a few minutes were required before the skill could be used again.
The large group behind them was growing larger and larger; they could only wait for the cooldown to pass quickly. The students were still shouting, "Chase them! Those two in front have the nerve! It's terrifying! Don't let them get away—"
Hurry, hurry!
But the stairs were winding and seemed to stretch on and on, with no end in sight.
The middle-aged man's stamina was failing; his heavy breathing as he ran was clearly audible to Xie He.
"Tick-tock, tick-tock—" The school's large clock ticked heavily.
More and more students were chasing after them, like a dark, approaching cloud.
4, 3, 2—
The finger-moving skill was about to be unlocked! 1!
Now—
The boy's grey hoodie over his head, the cold wind blowing through the hall gently ruffling his bangs.
He found an opening, turned around, and flicked his finger at the dark mass of people behind him, unleashing his skill—
He could feel the skill surging from his fingertip.
But one second, two seconds…
The students remained motionless, like immovable mountains. They even moved ten centimeters closer to Xie He and the others.
“!”
Damn it!
The skill's range is limited.
There are too many of them this time! The skill can't be used!
Xie He's eyes darkened, realizing the situation was dire.
Just then, “Boom!”—one of the students in the crowd exploded.
Blood and brains splattered everywhere, and several people around him were instantly detonated as well.
Because they were so close, a slippery piece of intestine fell into Principal Zhang's hand. "Ahhhhh!" He jerked it away as if electrocuted, but his clothes were still stained with a nauseating, putrid smell of blood. Principal Zhang's face grew increasingly pale; he felt like he was about to go mad in the middle of the night.
His screams echoed through the corridor. Principal Zhang couldn't help but turn around for a glance. "Hiss—" He gasped, nearly fainting.
They were surrounded by countless faceless, ghostly figures, relentlessly pursuing them!
The student closest to them lunged forward, instantly tearing a long gash in Principal Zhang's suit!
A gust of cold wind rushed in, leaving a bloody gash on his chest. Principal Zhang grimaced in pain, breaking out in a cold sweat!
Principal Zhang's legs were about to give way again, but Xie He finally dragged him downstairs.
The sound of many students running in pursuit, along with the oppressive feeling and the chilling aura that followed, lingered.
It wouldn't go away.
Principal Zhang disregarded everything else; his mind went blank, and all he could do was clutch the flower lantern and unconsciously chase after Xie He.
He gasped, "What...what's going on? Are they all ghosts? There are so many..."
Xie He: "There will only be more."
"Ah?" Principal Zhang's face paled even further.
When they finally reached the playground, the students behind them were no longer a dense, layered mass, but rather loose swarms, still chasing the two.
But this only lasted half a minute.
Soon, the deadly thing happened: students from other school buildings also came running down—there were at least three thousand students in the school. This made the crowd even larger.
—Crushing them would be as easy as stepping on an ant.
Behind them, the students relentlessly pursued them.
From an aerial perspective, the scene on the playground would look like a massive, surging mass of ink chasing two small black dots.
The most terrifying thing was that the students were all coming right up to you and exploding, killing you instantly—it was like a swarm of time bombs chasing you.
"Bang! Bang! Bang bang bang!"
Behind them, explosions rang out one after another. The stench of blood on the playground was overwhelming, with intestines and brains dripping wet with blood hanging everywhere, a truly gruesome sight.
The two returned to the room where the sports equipment had been stored.
Seeing the students about to catch up, Xie He quickly closed the door.
But less than half a minute later, a soul-crushing knocking sound came from outside.
"Bang bang bang!!" Each knock was like a landmine shaking the ground.
Principal Zhang prepared to look out the window to see what was happening. Just as he pressed his eye to a small corner of the glass behind the curtains, trying to sneak a peek at the outside world,
"Pfft—" he watched in horror as a student very close by exploded right before his eyes.
Bright red blood instantly splattered across the window, like a giant watermelon bursting open in front of him.
The students outside were frantically banging against their doors and windows, making strange, alarming noises.
The doors of the house were shaking, and dust was falling from the walls above the doorframes!
"Bang bang bang!!"
They were about to break down the doors at any moment.
Dark red, gushing, pungent blood seeped into the room through the gaps under the doorframe, like a splash of ink on the floor.
The comments section was filled with anxiety:
[Hahaha, they're doomed! In this kind of situation, usually after the room is breached, the people inside are blown up along with the infected.]
[Am I the only one feeling this pain???]
[Could you please stop constantly cutting to explosions outside?]
[Oh ho, I don't think this player will survive to compete with Yunyun, hehe.[
[Hahahaha, everyone, I was just thinking I should use cards at this point, but then I thought about his cards, hahahahaha. Help, let's surrender, what are those things anyway?]
"What do we do now?" Principal Zhang had never encountered this situation before.
Xie He didn't say anything, but raised his chin, giving Principal Zhang a subtle hint.
Principal Zhang understood; he hadn't expected this seemingly young boy beside him to be so much calmer than him.
He and Xie He quickly moved a table to block the door.
But the iron door was recessed inwards, and a triangular tear had been made in the upper left corner, curling inwards.
A blast of cold wind rushed into the room, biting and piercing.
"Sizzle—" Several narrow cracks appeared in the glass window, like mottled spiderwebs.
From the tear in the iron door, a pale, white arm suddenly reached in, groping for the doorknob.
They were about to be overwhelmed.
───
The scene gradually shrank into the dream sphere. The dream sphere swayed in front of Sui Yuan.
Sui Yuan sat in a chair in the basement.
Messages flooded his phone; he first checked the work check-in group for the card-drawing world.
A cigarette butt, still glowing faintly, was held between the middle and ring fingers of his left hand.
While replying to messages, his fingers unconsciously touched his lips several times, as if still warm.
The little boy stood obediently to the side. Now that all the players were trapped in the dream, no one noticed their relationship, and he no longer needed to act.
Looking at the dream sphere, the little boy couldn't help but say, "Boss, that guy looks like he's about to give up. Should I make it easier for him?"
Sui Yuan didn't answer, so the little boy continued, "Boss, that door is only half open, and the window is almost broken. If those damn students outside rush in, they're doomed!"
After a long while, Sui Yuan finally raised his eyelids and glanced at him indifferently.
Even though Sui Yuan didn't say anything.
But the little boy had already involuntarily retreated to the side, trembling with fear. He was terrified of Sui Yuan.
Although his boss had made a mistake a few years ago and was punished by the game with his powers suspended.
But once his boss regained his abilities, he would be the most powerful being in the game, easily crushing him.
The little boy stammered, "Boss, their room is about to break down. I really don't want to save that person... but I feel like Xie He is doomed too. Should we lower the difficulty?"
Sui Yuan fell silent.
The little boy blinked, picked at his fingers, and weakly added, "...The fireworks are super pretty."
Sui Yuan: "?"
You're the one who wished to kill him, aren't you?
Sui Yuan said calmly, "No need. If he dies in there, he doesn't need to come back."
This person was one of the players under his management. He hadn't expected a newbie to break through the barriers time and time again, which piqued his interest.
But if he was too weak, there was no need to waste time.
The little boy tilted his head: "But didn't you two already kiss?"
"Cough cough cough..."
Sui Yuan almost choked on his cigarette. "Say one more word, and you won't get your salary this month."
The little boy: "..." Sobbing
Sui Yuan's gaze unconsciously drifted back to the scene in his dream, his fingers gripping the cigarette butt tightening unconsciously.
It was his favorite orange-flavored cigarette; the scent was relaxing. But this time, a sense of unease crept into his heart.
───
Meanwhile.
Inside the sports equipment room.
Principal Zhang had been pacing anxiously for quite some time.
They reinforced the doors and windows with everything they could. But the crashing sounds outside continued unabated, like a torrential downpour pounding on an awning.
Principal Zhang was sweating profusely, muttering incessantly, "It's over. It's over. What a disaster! My school! How did it get like this…"
Xie He leaned lazily to the side, watching the students relentlessly banging their heads against the doors and windows, lost in thought.
Even with continuous reinforcement, it would only temporarily patch the holes; it was merely a stopgap measure, not a long-term solution.
He needed to think of something else.
He tried hard to recall…
That evening on the playground, Xie He had noted down the little boy's method for summoning the dream sphere—the mole could use ghost skills, and the little boy had used it in front of him that night, essentially giving him a live demonstration.
Now, he tried summoning the dream sphere, imitating the little boy.
Soon, the dream sphere appeared.
However, Xie He only knew that the little boy could create and alter dream spheres.
He hadn't witnessed the boy's actual operation and didn't understand how the boy had done it.
The situation was urgent, so Xie He could only try a few hand gestures haphazardly.
The next second, the ground suddenly began to tilt. "Ahhh, why...why is the ground tilting?" Principal Zhang exclaimed in fear.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" More students slammed into the door. They were forced against it, carrying the force of the tilting ground, causing the front door to bulge.
Xie He quickly adjusted his hand gestures.
But suddenly, fewer students were at the front door, while students at the back door were slamming into it.
The back door bulged, the steel taut, feeling like it might break at any moment.
Now, inside the room, students were all around, Xie He and his group sandwiched between them. No matter how they moved, the tilting of the dream sphere in any direction meant students from one side would crash into the roof. Not only could they not escape, but they were also helping the other side break down the roof sooner—
"What...what are you doing?!" Principal Zhang couldn't help but exclaim.
Xie He squinted at the thickening, dripping crimson blood on the windowpane.
His gaze returned to the dream sphere.
An idea!
Xie He, still with that unperturbed, weary expression, said casually, "Principal Zhang, my friendly suggestion is that you grab onto something sturdy right now."
Principal Zhang: "???"
Xie He hooked a shelf onto the doorknob and secured it firmly. He then tied a chair to the shelf. He sat down in the chair.
Then, he took a card from his pocket.
Comments: [???]
[What is this???]
The next second, Xie He squinted, his expression weary, and said, "Little card, spin this dream sphere."
[Spinning Little Ballet] The card flashed a bright light.
The next moment, the dream sphere began to spin.
The dream began to spin, centered on the location of Principal Zhang.
Spinning faster and faster—
"Ahhhhhh—" The students, caught off guard, screamed and crashed into each other.
They were forced to spin violently in an arc, with their distance from the door as the radius!
And within this arc were all their kind!
They could only detonate themselves, or each other!
"Bang bang bang!!!"
Under the violent impact, the students whose red marks had already turned black quickly flared up, exploding like landmines, scattering flesh everywhere.
Inside the room. The light bulb flickered, casting a warm glow.
Principal Zhang, his face deathly pale, clutched a bed leg, his leg braced against the wall, his stomach churning.
Xie He sat on a chair in the equipment room, peeling an orange that had appeared on his meal card and eating it casually.
He casually tossed an orange to Principal Zhang.
The wind chimes in the room tinkled, like something out of a dream. Ping-pong balls and volleyballs bounced around the room like running children.
Outside, there were crackling explosions, but they were completely irrelevant to them.
Like a spinning top spaceship in an amusement park.
The game world, of course, has to be played!
Comments: [！！！！]
[Am I seeing things? He actually turned a horror game into an amusement park??]
[Want to play, waaaaah, following this guy.]
[Hahaha, ghost student: Are you being polite??]
The little boy, looking at the dream sphere, excitedly called out to Sui Yuan, "Ahhh, boss, what's that? He said it's called a spinning top spaceship, it looks so fun!"
Sui Yuan said indifferently, "It's boring." He pretended not to care, but his gaze uncomfortably fell into the video.
As if deeply drawn in, curiosity flickered in his light-colored eyes regarding this gameplay.
───
After a long while, the screams and groans outside finally subsided considerably. Xie He stopped the card.
As the dream sphere stopped spinning, Xie He casually popped a segment of orange into his mouth.
Then he got up and went to open the door to the equipment room.
The moment he opened it, he saw corpses strewn everywhere outside; no one was alive. The piled-up bodies resembled a giant cake.
Only a cool breeze carrying the scent of blood drifted in.
The system notified him: [Congratulations, player Xie He, you have cleared Dream 2, gaining +10 points! (You can upgrade your card every 100 points)]
[Please keep up the good work!]
Principal Zhang was still in the equipment room, clutching the flower lamp. The dizzying sensation he had just experienced had almost killed him; he couldn't help but bend over and vomit violently.
After a long pause, his face pale, he asked Xie He, "How's it outside? Where are we going now?"
Xie He's eyes were dark, clearly showing a lack of interest in anything. "There's no one left. Let's go."
"W-where to?" Principal Zhang exclaimed in surprise, "You found the exit?"
Xie He replied lazily, "The next dream."
Principal Zhang: "???"
Watching Xie He open the dream sphere.
Principal Zhang asked tremblingly, "We're going to the next dream? With this sphere? Will it really go in?"
Xie He: "Yes, it will. Open the dream sphere, then meditate on who you want to go in, and they can go in."
—This was what the little boy had told him.
Xie He continued, "I'll go to the next dream realm first, then pull you in."
Principal Zhang nodded earnestly, "Okay, you must remember to bring me in."
"Mm."
Principal Zhang seemed quite frightened, adding anxiously, "Remember me immediately once you get there!! This place is terrifying, take me away quickly!!"
"Mm." Xie He nodded.
Then he opened the dream spheres for the other three players.
Xie He concentrated intently on meditating, and a strong, powerful suction force came from within.
Finally, when he opened his eyes again, Xie He found himself on the day of his graduation photo shoot.
This was the players' dream realm!
Success!
The ghost girl lunged at them, while the three players pulled out their cards to fight back.
But Xie He remembered Principal Zhang's words—to get Principal Zhang, they had to bring him over quickly; they couldn't leave him all alone.
So, Xie He scratched his brow and casually activated the dream sphere again.
—Let's bring Principal Zhang over first.
───
The sound of running water filled the air. Sui Yuan was showering in the basement, but the image of Xie He playing with the spinning top spaceship involuntarily flashed through his mind…
It seemed pretty good.
But he was already 26 years old; he wouldn't childishly want to play with a spinning top spaceship. It was all because the little boy had been clamoring in his ear, making a huge fuss, that the words "spinning top spaceship" were etched into his ears…
Even if he had been there, he would have just quietly snagged a spot, perhaps feeling happy inside, but awkwardly calling it childish.
As Sui Yuan was thinking, he suddenly felt a strong suction, as if someone was trying to pull him into something.
Sui Yuan, who was taking a shower: "???"
No.
Comments
Post a Comment