Ruan Qing's face turned completely pale as he watched the man draw closer, slowly backing away step by step before finally turning to flee.
Yet there was no way his speed could match Su Zhen's.
In the blink of an eye, the figure appeared right in front of him. Ruan Qing's eyes widened, his pupils contracting, but he couldn't stop his body from crashing straight into the man.
The impact was far from light—it felt like slamming into an unyielding wall. The pain made the corners of his eyes flush red, and a layer of moisture instantly blurred his vision.
But right now, pain was the least of his concerns. He wanted to turn and run again, only for the cold, hard edge of Su Zhen's knife to press against the slender curve of his neck in the next second.
The icy, unrelenting touch against his nape made his heart nearly stop. Instinctively, his body lurched forward, sending him stumbling back into Su Zhen's arms.
This time, he didn't dare move an inch. Forced to tilt his head back, his entire body stiffened as he leaned against Su Zhen's chest.
The blade resting against his throat seemed stained with blood. Drops slid down the steel before landing on his skin, trailing down into his collar. The cold, sticky sensation made every hair on his body stand on end.
But that wasn't the worst of it. The worst was the utter indifference and emptiness in Su Zhen's eyes—a look that made Ruan Qing realize with terrifying clarity that the man before him was Su Zhen, yet not the real Su Zhen at all.
This was the 'Su Zhen' he had manifested, but somehow, this version had defied the Nightmare World's rules, carrying Su Zhen's aura... and even consciousness.
Had the real Su Zhen once entered this dungeon? Or could the Nightmare World truly replicate a person's mind?
Whatever the case, this manifested 'Su Zhen' was fully capable of killing him.
The looming threat of death sent a wave of fear through Ruan Qing. He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly, while cold sweat beaded on his forehead, trickling down his fair, smooth skin.
He couldn't see behind him, but his peripheral vision caught their reflection on the nearby wall—the massive blade resting against his neck, its sharp tip menacing, as if the slightest pressure would sever his head from his body.
Yet 'Su Zhen' didn't seem intent on killing him. Instead, those hollow eyes simply stared, like a malfunctioning machine.
Ruan Qing tensed, not daring to move a muscle, even holding his breath. The two remained locked in that standoff within the corridor.
He couldn't afford reckless action. In terms of combat ability, he was no match for 'Su Zhen'—fighting back would be nothing short of suicide.
But this stalemate couldn’t go on—he could barely stay on his feet.
Altering the nightmare consumed too much energy, leaving him several times more exhausted than after intense physical exertion. Combined with the strain of maintaining his current stance, his fingertips had already begun trembling uncontrollably.
Ruan Qing’s lashes fluttered faintly before he slowly closed his eyes.
If he couldn’t make 'Su Zhen' disappear… then he’d just have to make the situation even more chaotic.
This way, he could figure out whether the problem lay with the nightmare world itself… or the 'Su Zhen' before him.
The instant Ruan Qing shut his eyes, figures emerged once more at the end of the corridor—and not just one, but many.
They were the other high-level players Ruan Qing had encountered in previous dungeons.
Clearly, he had manifested every high-level player he’d ever met, including Lu Xiuyuan and the others.
Before Ruan Qing could even open his eyes, the live chat exploded.
[What the hell?! How are these guys here too?!]
[Holy shit! What did I do to deserve seeing so many top players gathered in one place in my lifetime?!]
[Let me remind you, these probably aren’t the real people—they’re clearly all projections created by my wife! What’s he planning?!]
[Damn! I’ve watched this instance before, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone play it like this! My wife’s insane!]
On the surface, altering one’s fears seemed simple, but in practice, it was incredibly difficult. Humans struggle to override their subconscious.
Even if you succeeded, maintaining that change required constantly deceiving your own brain and subconscious.
Yet for Ruan Qing, it seemed as effortless as drinking water—so effortless it was unsettling.
Once a fear was manifested, it would immediately hunt the dreamer.
Since 'Su Zhen' stood right beside Ruan Qing, the attacks couldn’t distinguish between them—targeting Ruan Qing meant targeting 'Su Zhen' as well.
An unconscious 'Su Zhen' wouldn’t retaliate, but this one was fully aware.
Expressionless, 'Su Zhen' raised his blade and blocked the strike from behind. As if activated, he swung his knife viciously at the attacker.
'Su Zhen’s' strength had always surpassed that of ordinary high-level players, and even as a projection, that remained true.
But 'Su Zhen' was clearly different from the other manifested players.
The others hadn’t been fully replicated by the nightmare world—as if the nightmare lacked the energy to perfectly recreate them.
No, it's not just 'Su Zhen' who's different—there's another person who stands out distinctly.
Feng Ye, the vice president of the Yong'an Guild.
Though not quite on 'Su Zhen's' level, Feng Ye's strength is clearly above the others, and he's also clearly self-aware.
As Ruan Qing watched the chaotic fight unfold before him, a vague suspicion formed in his mind.
If a player dies in this dungeon, they might very well become part of the Nightmare World, making their manifestations far more realistic.
But the problem is, Su Zhen didn’t die in this dungeon.
Before Ruan Qing even entered the dungeon, Su Zhen’s bounty was still prominently displayed on the forum, and his name remained at the very top of the player rankings.
Ruan Qing recalled Su Zhen’s identity, his eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly.
Could this dungeon belong to Su Zhen?
That seemed to be the only explanation.
Su Zhen shouldn’t actually be in the dungeon right now—after all, the voice on the other end of the "Death Call" wasn’t his. Something else must have taken his place as the dungeon boss.
Still, that realization did little to ease Ruan Qing’s unease. The dungeon boss and their original dungeon were intrinsically linked.
Even if Su Zhen wasn’t physically present, there was a good chance he could still sense what was happening here.
Ruan Qing needed to clear the dungeon and leave—fast.
The manifested players were no match for 'Su Zhen.' It was only a matter of time before he killed them all.
Having gotten the answers he wanted, Ruan Qing didn’t hesitate. He turned and ran.
Even if the Nightmare World was the manifested entities' domain, it still had to follow real-world rules—like how humans relied on their five senses to perceive the world.
If he hid well enough, 'Su Zhen' might not be able to find him.
The endless corridors branched in all directions, with countless identical rooms lining both sides. After taking a long, winding path, Ruan Qing chose one at random and slipped inside.
The room was empty, devoid of anything that could conceal him. A single glance inside would reveal whether someone was there.
But since every room looked exactly the same, finding one specific person among countless identical spaces wouldn’t be easy.
Silent and motionless, Ruan Qing sat with his back against the door, listening intently for any sound from outside.
He doesn't know how much time had passed when footsteps sounded not far outside the door, along with the scraping of a blade being dragged across the floor.
It was… 'Su Zhen'.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
His footsteps were unhurried, yet carried an indescribable pressure, as if each step landed directly on one's nerves.
Dangerous. Chilling.
As the footsteps drew closer, Ruan Qing tensed up completely, his slender fingers clenching tightly. He even held his breath without realizing it.
'Su Zhen' didn’t seem to have spotted him yet—he was just searching aimlessly, his footsteps sometimes near, sometimes far.
But eerily, the sound never faded entirely, as if 'Su Zhen' knew he was hiding somewhere nearby.
Uneasy, Ruan Qing lowered his gaze and bit his thumbnail, unable to understand why 'Su Zhen' wouldn’t leave.
Not only did he not leave, but he seemed to be getting closer—so close it was as if he were heading straight for Ruan Qing’s hiding spot.
Then… the footsteps stopped right outside the door.
He’d found him!
Ruan Qing’s eyes widened. Before he could react, a loud BANG came from behind him.
It was the sound of a blade slamming into the door.
The door was just an ordinary one, easily hacked through by the knife.
Ruan Qing looked up at the blade tip now hovering above his head, his pupils contracting. Without a second thought, he rolled away from the door.
In the Nightmare World, anything you truly feared could manifest—not just living things.
As he ran toward the corner of the room, Ruan Qing shut his eyes. The next second, a deafening explosion erupted at the doorway.
The blast was powerful enough to nearly obliterate the entire room. Even Ruan Qing, who had fled to the corner, was caught in the shockwave, slamming hard into the wall.
Luckily, he had run far enough before materializing the explosion, so his injuries weren’t too severe.
Ruan Qing didn’t dare to look back. Stumbling, he rushed toward the exit blasted open by the explosion.
But the next second, a blade came slashing down beside him, its edge sinking deep into the wall—completely blocking Ruan Qing’s path.
Behind him, a tall figure emerged, its shadow engulfing Ruan Qing with an overwhelming, terrifying pressure.
Ruan Qing stared wide-eyed at the blade beside him, his body frozen stiff, not daring to move an inch.
The blade was slowly pulled free by the person behind him, as if it would come down on him at any moment.
Ling Qishuo arrived just in time to witness this scene. His heart nearly stopped, and without thinking, he flashed to Ruan Qing’s side, pulling him into a roll before swiftly escaping the nightmare world with him.
A few seconds later, the scene began to distort, and Ruan Qing woke up in reality.
The moment he regained consciousness, he bolted upright, gasping for air as if he’d nearly drowned, his hand clutching his chest.
Su Zhen was too terrifying. Even as a mere manifestation, his horror hadn’t diminished in the slightest.
There was absolutely no way to face him head-on.
As he panted, Ruan Qing suddenly sensed something wrong. He immediately glanced to the side—no one was there.
Ling Qishuo, who should have been lying beside his bed, was now on the floor. Even worse, three people sat on a nearby chair, their eyes closed.
Ruan Qing recognized two of them at a glance. Seeing that all four were about to wake up, he didn’t hesitate—he rolled off the bed and quickly headed for the dormitory exit.
Run sweetie!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for chap~
Thank you for the chapter!!
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