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Chapter 993: Last Nightmare

Antagonists in the movies would give the main characters plenty of chances, but Dream would never hold back. The real world, the cryptic world, and the surface world were all attacked. Han Fei could see the black waves coming, and he had nowhere to hide. Several hours later, the chaotic night was over. Han Fei led his neighbors to the starter village.

The sun rose, and many new players logged in. Many of them barely had enough to survive. Normally, they would never have enough money to afford an expensive gaming hub. “Be alert! Do not let any other players get close!”

Han Fei’s expression was severe. The things that had happened gave him a lot of pressure. With protection from many ghosts, Han Fei escorted everyone to the main hub. After he explained the situation to them, he led everyone to the central pavilion.

The surviving players sneaked a look. They didn’t understand why so many new players came to kill themselves. Any stranger on the street could be a murderer. The main hub was like hell. The trust between humans collapsed. The grey mist was chased away by the Pure Hatred. There were around 5000 new players that came in this time.

Their mental condition was clearly different from a normal player. As they bonded with the nightmare owners, they were under a lot of pain too. Their lives were like wicks underwater. They would be snuffed out at any moment. The central pavilion was deserted. The massacre made it so that the players didn’t dare to wander out anymore. They also stopped exploring the nightmare.

“Wait here.” Han Fei pushed No. 2 out of the room. The two stopped under the giant screen broadcasting the news about the nightmare. In just a few minutes, a new player began to cry. This was because the screen was showing his story with his mother. His mother was already gone. He could only hear his mother’s voice in his dream. Under his mother’s encouragement, he tried to face every day with a smile. “My mom is not a ghost. She chased you away because she was afraid that you’d scare me.”

“Yes. I know.” Han Fei walked through the crowd to hug the young man. “You’ll see her soon.”

“What do you need from me?” The man wiped away his tears. He looked at Han Fei sincerely as if he was willing to do anything.

“Say the things that you want to say into this box.” No. 2 raised his hand. He held a black box covered in cracks. Through the cracks, one could see that the inside of the box was white. “Don’t resist. I’ll connect your fates to Han Fei. He’ll send your feelings to the nightmare owners.” No. 2’s voice entered every new player’s ears. Then, he held the box and passed by each player. The hands touched the black box.

Black represented despair, and white represented hope. Everyone used their most precious memory to touch despair. Slowly, the box started to shrink, and the cracks filled up. When No. 2 passed by the last player, the cracks were barely visible anymore.

“Take it and accept it.” No. 2 handed the box officially to Han Fei. After Han Fei took the box, No. 2’s hands landed on the box lightly. He looked at Han Fei’s face and said, “Can you promise me one thing?”

“Tell me.”

“Let No. 0 live, okay?” No. 2 seemed to have seen something. This was his first time asking Han Fei for anything. Han Fei was a clever person. After a short hesitation, he nodded, “Okay.”

No. 2 had no regret. His eyes closed, and then his ears and arms. During the persona test, No. 2 was targeted because his results surprised everyone. To limit him, those people crippled him, dug out his eyes, and then took away his arms and hearing. In the end, he was left as a brain in a jar.

No. 2 was disappearing in this order. He had made a decision to leave everything in Han Fei’s hands. The presence of Unmentionable gushed forward. Two pillars of light, one white and one black, rushed into the sky. The shackles of fate shattered. A large hole also opened in the grey sky. “I’ll send you into the last nightmare.”

The voice disappeared. Only a wheelchair remained. He held the black and white box and felt a force changing his fate. Han Fei left the pavilion and headed to the main hospital. Every player in the city looked at him. His neighbors walked past him and entered his ghost tattoo, becoming part of his life. The mist parted for Han Fei. Han Fei continued to move forward. He climbed up the stairs to the roof. With endless players watching, Han Fei lowered his hands and touched Dream’s altar for the first time.

The colorful world was swallowed. The nightmare bubbles tried to eat Han Fei, but they moved away once they got close enough. The nightmare owners seemed to feel something familiar from Han Fei.

Han Fei sank into the darkness, and the nightmare thickened. Not one bubble stopped Han Fei. He had no idea how long he had sunken. He eventually hit the water and saw a weak light. He lay on the sea. The bubbles came from the deep ocean. Every wave carried an unfamiliar voice. This appeared to be the end of the nightmare.

…

“For someone like me, the sea has a special meaning.” The sea surged into Han Fei’s ears, and the voice echoed in his ears. Han Fei opened his eyes, and he saw an endless sea. It was bigger than any nightmare. Cold water soaked his body, and there was nothing around. Han Fei tried to swim forward, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t see the end. Eventually, he became tired. His body sunk, and the seawater covered his heart, his mouth, his eyes, and his ears.

“I don’t think there’s a God in this world. If there is one, how come there is so much sadness in the world? I do not worship a cruel God.” Every drop of seawater contained a voice. It was unsure who was talking. The voices were buried deep inside the sea floor, and only those deep inside the sea could hear them.

“I can’t control my hands. I can’t even hold a glass of water. I try to find the medicine.”

“I want to lie in the rain, but when I lay down, I fall into the sea. I don’t know who will come to save me. I’m so far away from my life.”

“I haven’t been happy for so long.”

“Can you accompany me? I feel so bad.”

“You won’t stay, right? I’m a monster.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t stand it anymore. Can I escape? I’m tired.”

“It’s raining.”

Han Fei moved further away from the sea surface. His body was still sinking. He couldn’t control himself.

“The voices keep appearing in my head. I didn’t really want to jump. They pull my hair.”

“It’s too noisy. This room is too noisy. Even with my hands over my ears, it’s still so loud.”

“There’s endless exams every day. Like my dolls, they can’t eat as well. When they put in the IV drip, I can’t help but pull it out.”

“Then, they took away my pen. I took out the metallic strip from my mask to use it to stab my wrist. The trail of blood is like a sea and waves. I see the sea.”

Han Fei felt pressure from everywhere. His body kept sinking. The feeling was not oppressive, but it was everywhere.

“My life became the sea. I want to open my heart to see what’s wrong with me.”

“Breathing is too hard, and so is living. I need to act normal.”

“No one likes me. There are more people who have it worse than me. I shouldn’t act like this.”

“I’ll do my best to make sure that others won’t hate me. I’ll try not to influence others. I will tell myself that I’m still young and I won’t die.”

“I will smile so that my family won’t be worried. I’ll be a gentle person. I’ll hide my arms filled with scabs and wear long sleeves all the time.”

Han Fei couldn’t stand the oppression anymore. He didn’t know how to clear this nightmare. There was no answer. His skin paled, and his brain dulled. Han Fei gritted his teeth to remain conscious. He tried to differentiate the voice. The voices seemed to come from the sea but also from his heart. He looked down. There was a large shadow under the sea. It was like a carcass drifting in the sea, but it was also like an abandoned island.

“I’ve deleted all the pictures. I don’t want to see myself, and I don’t want to be trapped here.”

“I stop trying to let others understand me. I became quiet. I am becoming more like this sea that I can’t escape.”

“The white pills can make me sleep. I swallow them. I can feel it sliding down my throat. I lose control of my body. My sight blurs. I’m in the dream again.”

“I sink into the sea. I see myself, and I see you.”

“I dream that I’ve become the four seasons. Flowers bloom on my arms, and warm rain falls on my feet. I melt the white snow and float on the sea.”

“I know I love that world. It has given me everything I have, but it’s time to say goodbye.”