By now, it was already seven in the morning.
Days were short and nights were long in autumn and winter, so the sun rose late. This, combined with the overcast, rainy weather, made the entire world seem to be shrouded in a dark, gloomy veil, the light growing ever more dim and oppressive.
On the road, the rain fell in a dense sheet. Every so often, a vehicle would speed past, its tires rcilessly crushing the puddles on the ground with a SPLASH.
In the quiet morning, the sound was particularly jarring, shattering the tranquility woven by the rain.
The elderly man with the surna Feng held an umbrella as he left the breakfast stall. He walked along the side of the road toward the Chenxi Security Bureau building across the street.
Although it was just diagonally across the road, the two locations weren’t actually close—they were at least a few hundred ters apart.
Just then, a truck ca roaring from the intersection.
Its massive body, like a moving wall, montarily blocked the old man from view.
A few seconds passed as he waited for the red light.
The truck drove away.
Nearby, the black umbrella that had been held firmly in the old man’s hand was now on the ground—perhaps he had lost his grip, or perhaps a sudden gust of wind had snatched it away.
Seeing this, the old man’s body froze. He stood stunned for a good while, as if under an Immobilization Spell, letting the drizzling rain patter on his head and gradually soak his hair.
He finally snapped out of it, hurried over with slightly sluggish steps, and bent down to pick up the umbrella.
Afterward, he continued walking forward at an unhurried pace, as if nothing had happened.
However, if one were to look closely at the old man’s face, they would notice his eyes were a bit duller than before, his pupils slightly dilated.
"Tell your na and your position at the Security Bureau."
A voice suddenly sounded by his ear. Its source was a transparent figure behind him—none other than Hu Qi.
In that fleeting mont, Hu Qi had acted decisively, using his superb Hypnosis Technique to forcefully hypnotize the man. He then cast Twisted Light to conceal his own form.
The Security Bureau served as the Sword Holder Headquarters and was where a large number of Dream Eyes were imprisoned and sealed.
’It definitely won’t be simple.’
’If I use the power of a Dream Eye to infiltrate, I might be discovered.’
’Besides, I don’t know much about the Security Bureau’s internal situation.’
’This ’acquaintance’ can lead the way.’
"My na is Feng Lin... I’m the group leader of the Dream Eye Phenonon Analysis Group at the Security Bureau..."
The old man’s expression remained wooden, his pupils slightly dilated. His mouth opened and closed, his voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz as he answered.
He continued walking forward, but his steps were now much slower and sowhat chanical.
Beside him, Hu Qi listened silently to the old man—Feng Lin’s—reply, getting a basic understanding of his target.
This Security Bureau was, in fact, just the public na for the Sword Holder Headquarters. Its establishnt was, naturally, due to the existence of Dream Eyes.
To conduct in-depth research on Dream Eyes, the Security Bureau was divided into multiple groups.
Take Feng Lin’s Dream Eye Phenonon Analysis Group, for example. The group was a collection of highly intelligent experts with a mastery of various disciplines.
They dug for information possibly related to Dream Eyes from every angle, including physics, ancient legends, and local customs.
They also attempted to analyze the principles behind the appearance of Dream Eyes by studying aspects like bio-magnetic fields, striving to find any useful clues.
They hoped to solve the problem of the Dream Eyes’ origins and thereby establish effective counterasures.
In addition to this, the Security Bureau also had an intelligence group responsible for collecting and investigating Nightmare incidents, as well as a group focused on developing items that could temporarily control Nightmare monsters, such as Spirit Candles and caras that could freeze Nightmare monsters.
The division of labor was clear, with each group performing its specific duties.
Soon, Feng Lin arrived at the main gate of the Chenxi Security Bureau.
Although he was the leader of the Dream Eye Phenonon Analysis Group, he still had to go through all the required security procedures.
First, he verified his fingerprint at the outermost gate. Then, he walked over to a silver instrunt, placed his finger on it, and gave a blood sample.
Only after both verifications were complete did he walk toward a silver door to the side, where he held his eyes open for a dual iris scan.
This iris recognition thod confirms identity by precisely extracting nurous detailed features from the iris image—such as texture, color, shape, spots, filants, and stripes. These Features are unique and stable.
This ensures that anyone entering the Security Bureau is the registered individual with the corresponding clearance.
anwhile, Hu Qi simply followed behind him, strolling brazenly into the Security Bureau.
The instrunt scans passed right over him, having no effect whatsoever.
Afterward, all the staff mbers they passed on the way proactively greeted Feng Lin.
Although Feng Lin was an ordinary person and not a Dream Master, his position as the leader of the Phenonon Analysis Group ant his status was by no ans low.
Fewer than three people in the entire Security Bureau had the authority to give him orders.
After winding through several corridors, they finally stopped in front of a records room.
After another iris scan, Hu Qi followed Feng Lin through the door.
The first thing he saw was row upon row of neat bookshelves.
Thick books and binders were arranged on them by category.
Although the materials were well-preserved, the pages had still yellowed, a clear sign of their age.
Hu Qi reached out, pulled one out, and began to peruse it carefully.
He flipped through the pages quickly.
He spent no more than three seconds on each page.
With his mory, achieving a photographic mory was effortless.
The only pity was that he couldn’t use his Power of the Heart. Otherwise, a single sweep of it would have allowed him to instantly absorb the contents of all these files and books.
There would be no need for such a troubleso process.
「Over an hour later.」
Hu Qi put down a binder titled "The Connection Between Neutrinos and Dream Eyes."
A thoughtful look flashed in his eyes.
Reading through these materials had given him a clearer understanding of this world. The situation was, as he had expected, not much different from what he’d guessed.
In the millennia-long history of the Yu Country, traces of Nightmare incidents had been recorded more than once.
Nightmare incidents had never truly disappeared; they had always been lurking in the world.
The only difference was that they went by other nas: cursed lands, blessed lands, evil spirits—you na it.
However, not all Nightmare incidents were harmful. For example, he had read about one called the Peach Blossom Spring.
The story told of a fisherman who stumbled into a paradise isolated from the world.
Inside, people lived in peace and harmony, free from any conflict.
After the fisherman left, he tried to go back but could never find it again.
Clearly, this so-called Peach Blossom Spring was a Nightmare, but the person who encountered it suffered no harm.
Of course, there was another version of this story.
In that one, not long after the fisherman ca out, all the Vitality drained from his body, and he turned into a dried corpse.
As for what truly happened, too much ti has passed to know for sure.
As for why Nightmare incidents seed to have vanished in recent years, that could be traced back to a massive shift that occurred eighty years ago.
At that ti, it was the end of a dynasty. The court was in upheaval, and the situation was turbulent.
Worse still, various world powers had invaded the Yu Country, and its ruler at the ti—that old witch—was inept, corrupt, and inactive.
This led to an empty national treasury and severely stunted the country’s developnt.
On the battlefield, the emaciated and starving soldiers of the Yu Country could only wield rusty Long Spears and Bows and Arrows against powerful enemies equipped with airplanes and cannons. The disparity in strength was so great that the Yu Country’s soldiers were powerless to resist.
For a ti, the flas of war raged. Bodies littered the fields, and white bones lay exposed in the wilderness. Human life was as cheap as grass, and countless innocent people perished.
This gave birth to more nurous and more powerful Nightmare incidents, plunging the entire nation into a shroud of despair and fear.
It was against this backdrop of extre chaos that an incredibly powerful Dream Master appeared in the Yu Country.
Strangely, there was no record of this Dream Master’s na in the files, as if it were so unspeakable taboo.
But there was no doubt that this person’s power was terrifying. With their strength alone, they annihilated an enemy army a million strong.
They single-handedly turned the tide and saved the nation from collapse, allowing the Yu Country to see a glimr of hope on the brink of desperation.
Seeing that such a formidable figure had erged in the Yu Country, the other nations grew fearful and withdrew their invading armies, finally giving the Yu Country a chance to breathe.
Afterward, this individual cleared out all the Nightmare incidents rampaging within the Yu Country.
This temporarily freed the entire nation from the shadow of Nightmares, restoring a asure of its forr peace.
To prevent Nightmares from reappearing, this Dream Master later used an extrely terrifying Dream Eye to seal away all the Nightmares in the world.
However, after doing all this, that being seed to have paid an unimaginably high price, and not long after, they perished completely.
Until three years ago, when the sealing power left behind by that being presumably weakened over ti, and loopholes began to appear.
Slowly, one by one, incredibly terrifying Nightmare incidents began to descend upon the world once more.
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