Chapter 331: Without a Little Color, They Won’t Understand What Cruelty Is
Underground City.
“So, is this your plan?”
I looked at the two people in front of me, one being Tan Han, my good classmate and former rival.
The other was Ninglan Qiuyue, the daughter of the City Lord of Ninglan New City, a girl who was currently busy working for Ninglan New City.
I did not expect that after only enjoying a few days of peace, these two would find me again. Especially Ninglan Qiuyue, I found out that she had not come down in the past few days not because she was busy, but because she had been “grounded” by the City Lord and had just managed to sneak out.
Of course, she also brought news from the surface.
During these days, Tan Han had also established a connection with the Extraordinary Research Base and the Ground Patrol Team.
This connection was somewhat unexpected for me. Tan Han first found the Ground Patrol Team, then spoke with the people of the Ground Patrol Team about the Extraordinary Research Base, and of course, I was a factor in this.
After all, I did not refuse Tan Han’s request to use my name to connect with the Extraordinary Research Base.
Tan Han had been efficient in her tasks during this period, likely because her initial guess was incorrect. The major factor that led her into the dream world was her desire for answers. When she failed to obtain an answer from me, she naturally needed to seek other methods. If she did not strive for it, she would not qualify to obtain the truth.
At this moment, Tan Han was here in the Underground City as a cost for Ninglan Qiuyue’s grounding, to communicate with the people here—essentially to rally forces.
For the surface Ninglan New City, facing the Nightmare disaster, the City Lord’s power, the Dream Demons, the outsiders, and even the resistance forces that Ninglan Qiuyu was rallying within the city, this chaotic and tumultuous situation made the Underground City an undoubtedly neutral and powerful external force.
Ninglan Qiuyue represented Ninglan Qiuyu’s side, which meant that she was part of the resistance opposing the current City Lord, utilizing any means available to stop the foolish actions of the City Lord.
Moreover, Ninglan Qiuyu also represented the legitimate inheritance of Ninglan New City.
“Yes, although it all seems very hurried, we must stop my father as soon as possible.”
“You’ve convinced the Ground Patrol Team and the head of the Extraordinary Research Base?” I asked again. If everything was as Ninglan Qiuyue said, I admired their eloquence and capabilities.
“Yes, we…”
“I don’t care about the process; I care more about why you came to me.”
“Teacher Xiao Han, you once said that you don’t like to help people without them proving their worth. Only those who have demonstrated their value deserve the following support, enabling more people to contribute to it. Ninglan New City is currently in a period of transformation, and external disturbances along with internal decay require more thorough measures to eradicate.”
“Alright, I’m glad you remember what I said…”
“The people of Ninglan New City are already aware of the corruption at present. My brother has also gained considerable support from the public, and those outsiders previously expelled from Ninglan New City are also willing to help.”
“How did you make contact with those expelled outsiders… the City Defense Forces?” I frowned and asked.
“Yes, the City Defense Forces. Do you remember the highest officer of the City Defense Forces, Mo Le? I’ve heard that your arrival was personally received by him.”
“Oh, your brother convinced him?”
“The two of them… can be considered friends from a very young age. In any case, joining forces with the City Defense Forces, along with my brother’s prestige within the City Guard…”
“Wait, I remember the City Defense Forces are dealing with the Beast Tide, right?”
“Yes… so the support provided by the City Defense Forces is limited, mainly relying on the City Guard as a base. Something like the Beast Tide cannot afford to make any mistakes. However, if we add the Ground Patrol Team from the Underground City and the extraordinary armed forces of the Extraordinary Research Base…”
“It would create an absolute advantage that crushes the existing forces?”
“Yes, that’s the idea. And Teacher Xiao Han, you, as the most formidable outsider, I believe your influence over those outsiders…”
“You are mistaken; I have no influence. My presence might only provoke their resistance and infighting.”
“You’re joking. In the face of life-and-d*ath situations, I believe they won’t joke with their lives. The power you possess is an essential part of our resistance against the Dream Demons, our common enemy,” Ninglan Qiuyue said with a smile, her tone carrying a hint of plea.
“Well… I do want to help you, but I still want to ask, if I agree, where will you take me next? To meet your brother?”
“Naturally. My brother greatly admires you. The first Dream Demon killed in Ninglan New City was taken down by you and my brother together.”
“He still remembers that?” I laughed and shook my head. Although it was technically killed by that Type III extraordinary killing weapon, I can let him take some credit for it… barely.
“Of course. So, Teacher Xiao Han, what is your decision? Although I know you prefer academic research, my understanding is that you are ultimately an outsider with your own world. You can’t live here forever. Once Ninglan New City overcomes this ordeal, you can return earlier.”
“That’s true,” I nodded. Their mentioning this meant that some outsiders had fully disclosed our details, but that did not matter.
“So what will your choice be?”
“I will naturally help, but… you have made things difficult for me.” I sighed, my gaze sweeping over Ninglan Qiuyue.
“What do you mean?”
Hearing my concession, even with the condition, they were somewhat excited, but it was just a matter of terms. Tan Han was very clear about how terrifying the Xiao Han sitting before her truly was.
“Well… that is…”
I pretended to contemplate deeply, then suddenly looked up. With a snap of my fingers, a thick, dark spike pierced through Ninglan Qiuyue’s chest.
In that instant, the unexpected event shocked both Tan Han and Ninglan Qiuyue.
Tan Han was astonished by my decisive action, while Ninglan Qiuyue was left thinking why it happened.
It was not until Ninglan Qiuyue reacted that she realized my attack posed no harm to her.
Just as the two managed to comprehend what had happened and were curious about my intentions, a scream erupted from deep within Ninglan Qiuyue.
“Ah—!”
The heart-wrenching shriek was the final wail before her d*ath. A phantom emerged from Ninglan Qiuyue, revealing her original appearance, but my strike was aimed at killing her.
In the next moment, that figure dissipated like a bubble in the dream world.
“Wh-what was that?”
The violent change, even closely related to her own being, startled the girl, causing her to nearly fall to the ground.
“Dream Demon, perhaps,” I said casually, as if I had just done something trivial.
“Dream… Dream Demon?!”
At that moment, the most shocked one among us was undoubtedly Tan Han, but she quickly reacted, “Xiao Han, did you… know from the beginning?”
“Pretty much,” I nodded in acknowledgment.
The existence form from the perspective of Spirit Vision naturally cannot hide, not to mention I have seen Dream Demons and understood their form of existence. Their disguises, which are difficult to discern by the n*ked eye, felt like they were mocking my intelligence.
Of course, the Dream Demon also practically proved to me how troublesome they were. This method was a dimensional strike against all of Ninglan New City; even Tan Han was deceived, showing how capable the Dream Demon was, primarily due to the element of surprise.
This time, a Dream Demon had followed Ninglan Qiuyue, but it wasn’t the case the last time, meaning this Dream Demon had only recently appeared.
“Ninglan Qiuyue, may I ask, from the time we last met until now when you were grounded, have you noticed anything unusual?”
“I…” At this moment, Ninglan Qiuyue was slightly flustered, leaning against the wall to rise, as neither of us could help her up. After pondering for a long time, she could not think of any abnormalities. “I’m not sure; I don’t know how they…”
As she spoke, her other hand was holding the pendant she wore on her chest, where the previous Dream Demon had been.
“It’s normal not to know; this method is a bit too cheating for you. It seems the Dream Demon’s means of intrusion is far scarier than we expected,” I consoled her, as having such means allows Dream Demons to act without awareness.
“I’m sorry, Xiao Han, we didn’t anticipate such a sudden occurrence…”
“It’s fine; it’s not your fault. Why are you apologizing to me? If there’s nothing else, you should take Ninglan Qiuyue and leave. She seems quite frightened.” I looked at Tan Han.
“And about the invitation…”
“Did you not just say you would lend a hand?”
“Thank you.” With this answer, Tan Han understood that she and Ninglan Qiuyue had achieved their purpose for this trip. Since I had given them the dismissal order, they naturally wouldn’t linger unnecessarily.
Even though Ninglan Qiuyue wasn’t terrified enough to need to rest, she was persuaded by Tan Han to leave.
Once they departed, I turned my gaze to the area where I had just killed the Dream Demon.
I didn’t know what form a Dream Demon would take upon dying in reality, but in the dream world, they dissipated like bubbles.
However, even if they died in the dream world, d*ath does not mean they vanish without a trace. From the perspective of Spirit Vision, the d*ath of a Dream Demon in the dream world manifested as information dissipating. Perhaps it was not visible to the n*ked eye, but Spirit Vision could detect the feedback of that information.
I was eager to send Tan Han and the others away because I had my own considerations.
For example… to try using the Resurrection Spell on this Dream Demon?
I wasn’t worried about not having a means to deal with her after reviving her; I was more afraid that if I attempted and failed, it would mean I gained nothing.
Moreover, even if successful, let’s not forget this was the Extraordinary Research Base. The various extraordinary killing weapons developed by those scholars and technicians were considerable, and there was no doubt about the security here.
And in the dream world, could she escape?
I admit she was very troublesome and strange in the dream world, but in reality, she needed a material basis. The fact that she could be killed by the extraordinary killing weapons here was enough to indicate that her life form in reality was somewhat… fragile.
“Come, let’s try this.” I approached the dissipating Dream Demon information in the Nightmare and unleashed the Resurrection Spell.
This was my first attempt. Compared to when I first used the Fireball Spell, I couldn’t even measure how many times more difficult it was.
However, with a bit of effort, the Resurrection Spell was successfully activated.
Even I didn’t know if this was truly a success.
When I first encountered the Resurrection Spell, I remembered that it required many accompanying precious materials; however, this seemed to have only consumed magic power?
It seemed to be just the magic drawn from the Magic Source in the dream world.
But you can’t say there was no consumption, as the dream world operated on its own set of rules.
In the next moment, as I observed with my Spirit Vision, information belonging to the Dream Demon began to gather. I didn’t see any soul or information regarding Soul Material in the essence of the Dream Demon, so… can we say that the Dream Demon, to a certain extent, is also not “life”?
Upon further reflection, when the Academy Head explained the existence of Dream Demons to me, he did not explicitly state that Dream Demons were “life.”
However, looking at the Dream Demon gradually “reviving” in the Resurrection Spellbook, at least her body was slowly taking shape.
“Interesting.”
I watched with great interest as everything unfolded slowly. I didn’t care about the consumption of magic power. With my mastery of the Dream Rewriting Spell, the entire dream world was my source of magic power.
One could say that to a certain extent, the effects of the Dream Rewriting Spell were terrifying.
“Well… what am I doing…”
“Welcome back, it seems you had a good sleep.” Seeing her react, I mischievously spoke to her.
“You… you! Witch! Witch!”
At that moment, upon seeing me, she seemed to switch to a state of emergency, ready to let out a sharp scream, but before she could, a massive force suddenly slammed against one side of her face, knocking her to the ground.
This blow instantly brought her sense of calm back. Once she reacted, she immediately detached from the dream world and rushed towards the door.
“Run, if you can, but don’t forget where you are! Extraordinary Research Base, its security measures are top-notch. If you violently destroy any facilities here, alarms will be triggered—try it?”
At that moment, the violent Dream Demon was frantically pulling at the door handle. After hearing my words, she gradually calmed down, then turned to look at me—the terrifying being who had discovered and killed her in an instant. Her only solace now was that she was currently in reality while I was in the dream world.
“You… what do you want?”
“That question should be mine. What do you Dream Demons want?”
“Do you think I’ll say?”
“Of course, if you don’t talk, there are plenty of Dream Demons who will. Currently, I have not joined the hunt against you because I fear disrupting the balance of the game.”
“You… this method… you are the Extraordinary Witch!”
“It seems your perception is limited; you have it wrong~ If I were the Extraordinary Witch, our situation would not be like this, and you wouldn’t be able to speak to me so equally.”
“Not an Extraordinary Witch… huh… haha! If you’re not an Extraordinary Witch, why should I be afraid of you? Just a foolish native from the Main World… you! What have you done?”
As she mocked, she suddenly felt as if the world was spinning. The laboratory around us shrank at that moment, and to her, everything in reality turned dark, as if there was no concept of space.
“Guess what? Hehe…” At this moment, I walked up to her with a chilling smile, and she tried to run but could not create any distance between us as I closed in.
“No… don’t come closer! Let me go! Let me leave!” At that moment, this Dream Demon finally understood what fear truly meant, what helplessness felt like.
“Never experienced a setback, huh? You don’t know what pain is? Was your earlier d*ath too quick for you not to understand fear?” I stretched out my hand and slammed it down onto her forehead violently.
A dull thud echoed, not particularly crisp, meaning it wasn’t a good hit.
“Not giving you a little color, and you still don’t understand what cruelty is.”
I looked at the pitiful Dream Demon lying on the ground, unable to suppress the smile creeping on my face.
This was the technique of using Nightmare Killing Rune Ceremony skills to trap a Dream Demon in the nightmare, applied inversely.
However, after reversing it, I found that the dream world couldn’t interfere with reality. Perhaps interfering with reality requires a material basis, but I managed to achieve a capability similar to Nightmare’s invasion into the human consciousness, pulling the opponent’s consciousness into the dream, meaning pulling them into my home ground.
Those Nightmares only acted on instinct, intimidating people to extract negative emotions such as fear and anxiety. However, in the hands of someone creative, this ability can yield astonishing results.
One could say that even without a physical form, I, being in the dream world, had the capability to make those in reality suffer immensely.
Now, through experimentation, it seemed that the self-proclaimed Dream Demon of the dream world was no exception.
These Dream Demons could only bully those poor and weak Nightmares.
