A mont later, Su Xingwan and Gu Zhaoning walked out of the small room together.
"All done?" Chen Xuan asked.
"Mm... well, thank you all for being willing..." She said awkwardly, "Willing to co in... and accompany through this nightmare."
"You’re welco." Lin Qing smiled faintly.
At this mont, when Su Xingwan looked at Chen Xuan again, her gaze was completely different from before.
What can be a more convincing example than eting in a dream? From this mont on, her heart was filled only with gratitude and determination.
"There’s a question I’ve wanted to ask for a while." Chen Xuan scrutinized her and asked, "Is this image sothing you ca up with, or does it change randomly every ti you dream?"
Su Xingwan’s face visibly turned red.
She was so excited that she almost forgot about this!
Her current outfit was completely different from the outside, with a dirty shirt and overalls as the base, layered with a bulletproof vest and tactical belt, and a red scarf tied around her arm, looking like a rebel warrior straight out of a post-apocalyptic movie.
"I-I don’t know... it seems to change by itself!" Su Xingwan stamred in explanation, "I wasn’t like this at the start..."
"This outfit suits you well, symbolizing your rebellious spirit." Lin Qing said with appreciation in her eyes, "And this hollow ghostly place doesn’t differ much from a post-apocalyptic world."
"I also think your outfit is full of vigor!" Gu Zhaoning chid in.
"That ans consciousness reflects into dreams." Chen Xuan shrugged, "This might also explain why we all changed appearance."
In the nightmare, he wore a standard suit, but upon entering, he found the suit completely open, the shirt collar wide open, yet still with a tie around his neck, a mix of formal and wild.
Lin Qing, on the other hand, turned into a punk girl with earrings and rings full of ornants, lipstick as dark as tallic red paint, and a gothic black dress, big long legs clad in fishnet stockings, creating a visually striking effect.
Although Chen Xuan thought Lin Qing quite suited this outfit.
Gu Zhaoning was undoubtedly the most normally dressed among them.
She wore an ordinary high school sumr uniform, a short skirt, and white stockings, looking every bit like the exemplary model student from school.
Luckily it wasn’t cold in the dream.
Or else she would have been freezing numb in this outfit after standing for half an hour.
"Dr. Chen, why aren’t you wearing a white coat?" Gu Zhaoning asked puzzled, "Do you think a suit is more fitting for a doctor?"
"Well... maybe." Su Xingwan replied guiltily.
"So, she didn’t initially see you as a proper doctor." Lin Qing whispered mischievously, "A suit jacket open, paired with gold-rimd glasses, what do you think she sees in you?"
"Who cares." Chen Xuan glared at her, then looked at Su Xingwan, "Are you familiar with the dream world?"
She nodded, "Actually... this is Shen City..."
"What? Shen City?" Gu Zhaoning exclaid, "Which part?"
"Currently... it’s the Wanhua Sports Complex in the city center."
"No way." She covered her mouth, "My ho is nearby!"
"I actually have been to your house...in the dream." Su Xingwan chuckled bitterly, "It’s exactly the sa as in reality, just without you."
"Is that so? Then this should be an easy task." Chen Xuan imdiately decided, "I’ve already found the monster’s location, about 1000 ters away from us, let’s go, and deal with it quickly."
Su Xingwan was greatly shocked, he could actually know the situation a kiloter away? "How did you find out?"
"Release the Divine Sense, and you will feel it." Chen Xuan replied mysteriously.
In the empty environnt, the scouting capability of the Celestial Mist Skill seed more acute; excluding other Spiritual Qi interference, any small light spot could quickly catch his attention.
"Wait, I need to grab weapons!" Su Xingwan ran back to the room and ca out with an added spear in her hand, and a rifle slung on her back.
"They even have guns in the dream?" Lin Qing asked curiously.
"I found them in the police station, but unfortunately, the ammo is limited." She simply explained, "The spear I made myself, using a bamboo rod with a butcher knife fixed on it."
"Ah, did you go abroad in July to learn shooting for fighting in the dream?!" Gu Zhaoning realized belatedly.
"Mm... unfortunately, the tis I win are still very few." Su Xingwan sighed, "The monsters don’t seem to fear bullets, requiring seven or eight direct hits to take effect."
Gu Zhaoning couldn’t help but hug her again, "You really worked hard. Those people online who say you often miss band practice... they know nothing!"
Su Xingwan beca montarily silent.
She only ntioned this to a few of her friends. OneHit was not her band alone; at first, her peers were understanding and comforting, but as her condition worsened, differences erged. This change in attitude also reflected in her fans’ attacks on her.
But she quickly shook off this gloomy mood, "It doesn’t matter, today, let’s put an end to it!"
Walking through the ticket hall of the sports complex, the four found themselves on the street outside.
"It really isn’t much different from reality."
Chen Xuan surveyed the street scene in the dream – Chinese signs, towering skyscrapers, and the pedestrian pathway underfoot, everything seed exceptionally real. This indistinguishability applied to the senses, like feeling unevenness when stepping on tactile paving or slling the fragrance after picking a flower from the greenery. It was unlike a real dream where you could only see things nearby clearly; now the entire city was distinctly visible, at least that was what his eyes could see.
Were it not for knowing he was trapped in a dream woven by the Shadow Demon, he’d certainly think he had traversed through another portal.
Of course, it was still quite evident compared to the real Shen City.
For example... in this vast city, not a soul could be seen.
Additionally, the somber and gloomy sky, the hot and stifling air, and the occasional flashes of lightning in the clouds seemingly mirrored Su Xingwan’s inner world.
"Incredible..." Gu Zhaoning murmured, "To hold out alone in this place for a month. If I were here, not finding another living person in two days would drive crazy."
"Actually, there were people at the beginning." Su Xingwan hesitated for a mont before saying, "Monsters rampaged through the streets, everyone fleeing in panic, it was all as real as life. Gradually, as the nightmares grew more, people started reducing until it beca like this."
The people disappeared?
Chen Xuan pondered.
Theoretically, they weren’t real people, just a manifestation of Su Xingwan’s logic that "there ought to be people in the city." What then changed to make her alter this logic?
"Have you seen your band mbers in the dream?" he suddenly asked.
Su Xingwan visibly hesitated.
It took a while before she replied, "Yes, but they were killed by monsters in previous nightmares."
"Did they not appear again after dying?"
"... Yes." she said quietly.
After crossing two blocks along Wanhua Road heading south, Chen Xuan halted, "It’s here."
Just as his words fell, a muffled huffing sound echoed in the silent street.
"It’s the monster!" Su Xingwan tensed up reflexively, "Ning, stand behind!"
A humanoid monster slowly erged from a milk tea shop, its head spinning 360 degrees before locking onto the four of them. Its whole body was grey-white, with only limbs resembling hands and feet, lacking noticeable muscular structure, more like a "doll" filled with milky white gel. The monster was quite tall, over three ters, needing to bow down to enter or exit rooms; its arms hung down longer than the knees, with a directly attached gaping maw on top of its head.
Unlike others with upper and lower jaws, it had left and right jaws, each a half-human face.
"Dr. Chen be careful, despite its size, it’s very fast!" Su Xingwan warned nervously.
However, Chen Xuan remained unfazed, for judging by the brightness of its Spiritual Qi, this monster was just a shell.
Not to ntion, he ca specifically prepared with the Celestial Thunder Order for demon-exorcising.
He casually raised his hand, and three Qi Swords instantly materialized in the air. Then, with a seamless enchantnt from the Celestial Thunder Order, electric sparks crackled across the three blades simultaneously.
"Roar!" The monster roared with an unsettling growl, seizing a nearby car with both hands, lifting it high, seeming about to smash it towards them.
But Chen Xuan was faster.
He gestured with a single finger, "Slash."
The three swords sliced through the air like lightning, carving residual straight lines, piercing through the monster’s body almost in the blink of an eye!
Furthermore, after penetrating the target, the Qi Swords turned around, hacking and slashing wildly around the Demon Fiend, chopping both it and the car into large fragnts!
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