Chapter 0: Dreamland (13)
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Lin Nan was a bit surprised to find that within the entire urban area, apart from the area near him being unfrozen, there were two other locations that were also not frozen.
One was located downtown, but the aerial footage only dared to give an overview from above. The little wooden carving absolutely wouldn’t risk getting closer.
That should be the building where Wang Xue and Lin Xiao were.
And the other location was much farther away; the little wooden carving similarly didn’t dare to get too close.
Lin Nan suddenly remembered something, so he immediately pulled out his phone and called Shiyuan. They hadn’t been in touch for a while.
Fortunately, the phone was answered after not too long.
“Teacher Lin, hello.”
“Are you currently within the suburban area?”
Upon hearing the relatively amiable Shiyuan, Lin Nan immediately cut to the chase.
“That’s right, how did you know? I just got here yesterday…”
The voice on the other side of the line sounded surprised.
“If you have time today, can we meet?”
Perhaps Shiyuan knew something about the situation, but unfortunately, the little wooden carving couldn’t speak, or else he wouldn’t have dared to risk bringing someone else into this.
Yet, if Shiyuan was also unable to be frozen by this city, just as he was, it meant that he was at least real—a living, breathing person.
“Um… yeah, sure, where should we meet?”
“You can find somewhere nearby that’s convenient for chatting and send me the address.”
“Oh, okay.”
“That’s it. See you later.”
Lin Nan hung up.
About an hour and a half later, in a private room at a teahouse, Lin Nan met Shiyuan for the third time.
After exchanging pleasantries and confirming that Shiyuan’s amiable demeanor matched his phone persona, Lin Nan got straight into it.
He simply said he had had a dream and recounted in every detail what he’d seen on the video from the little wooden carving, presenting it all as a dream.
“Do you think this dream of mine is real?”
Lin Nan stared sharply at Shiyuan, as if hoping to glean some clue from his reaction.
To his disappointment, after listening to the content of his dream, Shiyuan seemed to show no emotional fluctuations.
“Teacher Lin must have been under too much stress recently. Having an incredible dream like this is understandable.”
“Ha… ha…”
Lin Nan let out a meaningless laugh.
Seemed like this guy didn’t have a clue about his hardships.
Of course, anyone hearing his story for the first time would probably react the same: This is just too absurd. This guy must be extremely self-centered. Only some crazy person could come up with such a bizarre and eerie dream.
“But I think anything is possible in this world, for example…”
Shiyuan’s eyebrows suddenly twitched, and when he looked up, to Lin Nan, he seemed like a different person entirely.
“I believe that coming to find me after having this dream was the best choice you could have made.”
He suddenly chuckled lowly, and the viciousness in his eyes made Lin Nan involuntarily lean back in his seat.
d*mn, this must be the first time he has ever had a face-to-face with this foul-tempered Shiyuan.
He was already sharp on the phone, but in person, he was even more terrifying.
Shiyuan’s dual personality could switch seamlessly, which surprised Lin Nan a little.
“Server!”
Shiyuan pressed a button on the table, and from outside came the prompt: “Room 52 requires service.”
“Hello, may I know what the two of you need?”
Soon after, a sweet-looking girl knocked on the door and poked half her body inside.
“How is the hygiene situation here? There’s a big grease stain on the table. Isn’t it dirty?”
Shiyuan angrily reprimanded.
The girl, startled, quickly pulled out a cloth from her bag and rushed over intending to wipe the table.
However, after getting closer, she realized there didn’t seem to be any grease on the table like the customer had described.
“Master, this…”
Her words were cut halfway when Shiyuan suddenly slammed her head onto the table with a loud “bang”.
“Don’t move, or I will cut your throat!”
The girl immediately stopped moving, “Mast… Master, people outside know I entered this room. Please don’t act rashly. It’s bad for both of us.”
Lin Nan was equally shocked, “Hey, what are you doing? Are you crazy?”
Shiyuan coldly smiled, “Aren’t you looking for the truth about this world?”
He still had one hand pressing the girl’s head while moving from behind her to Lin Nan’s side.
“Come on, give me a hand.”
Lin Nan wanted to leave the spot instantly and avoid this lunatic.
But unexpectedly, the little wooden carving in his pocket started shaking a bit. He looked down, and the carving had a big grin with no ominous intent.
What does this mean? Did it really want him, a law-abiding citizen and a famous writer, to team up with Shiyuan and break the law?
But thinking of the whole city frozen except for himself, the terrifying illusion struck him instantly, shattering his last shred of resistance.
He shakily extended his hand, only for it to be snatched by Shiyuan, who forcefully pressed it onto the girl’s head.
The girl instantly screamed.
“Save… Save me! Save me!”
Immediately outside the door, some commotion followed.
Shiyuan pulled out a dagger and handed it to Lin Nan, coldly saying, “k*ll her!”
“What?” Lin Nan violently shook his head, “No, no way! How can I just k*ll someone?!
Are you kidding me? If I had known this guy was a potential violent maniac, there’s no way I would have proposed meeting him today. He must have tricked me with his stories before.”
Shiyuan sighed and said, “Alright, alright, don’t k*ll if you don’t want to.”
Then, Shiyuan’s moves turned as smooth as a butcher’s skill, slicing the girl’s clothes with just a few kn*fe swipes, her uniform fell off, exposing her white undergarments.
The girl shivered with fear, “What… What are you going to do?”
“Do what? Isn’t it obvious?” Shiyuan retorted.
He then turned to Lin Nan, “What’s with the delay? Quickly!”
Lin Nan, “… No, how could I possibly do such a thing here, in public?”
Suddenly, Shiyuan regained his seriousness, “Since we’re not killing her, let’s do something a bit excessive then. Otherwise, how would you understand the true meaning of this world for you?”
Hearing that, Lin Nan clenched his teeth and let out a nearly feral scream.
For so many years, this was the first time he dared to challenge his limits, to break the law. His body shook; under the adrenaline rush, he even felt an inexplicable thrill bubbling up inside him.
The girl kept screaming.
But not long after, she was stripped by Lin Nan, stark n*ked.
Shiyuan chuckled slightly, “Good, then I’ll take my leave.”
With that, he turned around and jumped out of the side window.
At the same time, “Bang!” — the locked door was kicked open forcefully, and five or six police officers rushed in, guns and tasers at the ready.
