Nightmare Assault

They had been in the world for one day and one night already. They hadn’t had a drink of water, much less food. If this continued, they’d die from thirst before the monsters came to them. Therefore, the travellers decided to split up to find food and water.

They also had to be wary of the curse mentioned by the people from Black Stone Town. Therefore, someone had to be left behind to keep the fire going. Considering the biker woman’s disappearance, the place felt chilly even during the daytime. In the end, other than the aged woman, two people would stay behind.

Su Xiaoxiao volunteered to stay behind with her little brother. However, Jiang Cheng and Chen Ran denied her. The reason was that Su An had a strong sense of observation. He might discover something new if they went out to search. In the end, it was Chen Ran and Liang Long who stayed.

When Liang Long heard about this, she was unsettled. She wanted to fight it. However, Jiang Cheng led Fatty and left. Su Xiaoxiao glanced at Chen Ran and the woman in the corner. Then, she also left with her brother.

Liang Long looked like she was about to follow them when she felt a gaze coming from behind her. She froze and eventually sat down obediently.

Chen Ran was still smiling. He faced the aged woman.

A great sense of danger slowly crawled over Liang Long.

…

Jiang Cheng led Fatty along the shoreline. The waves lapped against their feet. Their feet made mulching sounds as they walked along the beach.

Jiang Cheng stared at their feet and then at the ocean. His brows furrowed.

“Doctor,” Fatty asked curiously, “What are you looking at?”

“This sea… is so clean…” Jiang Cheng commented.

“You’re right. Look at how nice the sand is.” Fatty used his feet to nudge the layer of sand. The danger aside, this was a perfect vacation spot.

“I’m not talking about that.” Jiang Cheng sighed as he studied their footprints in the sand. “It is now low tide. The tidal flat has been exposed. Normally, those who live by the sea will come out to scour the beach for small sea creatures that are trapped in the flats.” He pointed at the great sandy expanse, “But look at this. There isn’t even an empty shell, much less crabs or fish. This sea… appears to be empty.”

Fatty blinked. Then, he nodded vehemently, “Doctor, now that you mention it, I did feel like the sea was overly clean when I first got here!” This was definitely abnormal. Fatty’s face dropped. “Doctor, do you think this is a sign that something is going to happen?” He licked his lips and looked around. “I’ve heard of things like this before. Fishermen along the shore would discover some anomalies, and soon after, a big tragedy would happen.”

Jiang Cheng shook his head, “That’s different. You’re talking about signs before a big tsunami. Tsunamis are caused by tectonic movement in the sea floor. This will lead to anomalies like deep sea creatures such as whales landing themselves on the beach to die. That is the complete opposite of what we have here.”

Fatty swallowed nervously. He asked softly, “Doctor, what are you thinking?” The anomaly was clear. For people like Jiang Cheng, anomalies meant clues. In the nightmare realm, he was not afraid of anomalies. If anything, he would be scared when everything was too normal.

Jiang Cheng scratched his chin in thought.

When Jiang Cheng didn’t say anything, Fatty pleaded, “Doctor, if you have thought of something, please share it with me. I’ll be honest. I’m a bit scared now…”

Jiang Cheng rarely didn’t use this chance to tease him. He said directly, “Two situations. One, this place is affected by some unknown power.”

Fatty looked at Jiang Cheng. “Then… what about the second situation?”

Jiang Cheng sighed and looked at Fatty’s eyes. The latter was taken aback. “Fatty,” Jiang Cheng began slowly, “I suspect this is not our world.”

Fatty’s brain stopped working for a few seconds before his body started to shake. The Doctor’s words upended their understanding of the nightmare realm. In their original hypothesis, the nightmare realm existed for real. It was a part of human history that was clipped out by an unknown force. No matter what the travellers did or said in the nightmare realm, it wouldn’t affect the ending of the real-life incident. The only thing they could affect was the process.

However, if the nightmare world was not the real world… If it was just a superfluous dream, then naturally, it wouldn’t need to follow the logic of the real world.

Therefore… The nightmare world was inexplicable!

In other words, no matter what they did and whether they found the truth or not, their only ending was death. Their deaths could be fully illogical. Tsunamis, earthquakes, or monsters could suddenly appear out of thin air to tear them apart… It was all possible. After all, dreams had no sense of logic.

“Doctor…” Fatty’s teeth chattered. His eyes widened. “Do you… mean we…”

Jiang Cheng glanced at him. “That is the most extreme example. The reality is probably not that bad. At least our previous missions have traces of logic to them. Perhaps…” Jiang Cheng began but didn’t continue.

“Doctor,” Fatty said, “Please explain it to me. At least let me die with clarity.”

Jiang Cheng hesitated, “What I meant to say was… Maybe… This place is merely an expression of the real world…”

“An expression?” Fatty stared at Jiang Cheng. He clearly didn’t understand it.

“In a way, our world does exist, but this is not our world. Instead, it is…” He paused before saying, “A projection of the normal world.”