Chapter 338: The Layout of the Dream Demon
Underground City.
“Block all passages leading up from the Underground City, including those hidden passages as well. As soon as any signs of the Dream Demons are detected, send out a signal immediately,” I said.
The difficulty posed by the Dream Demons exceeded my expectations. Indeed, their combat power couldn’t match mine, but their abilities to preserve their lives and remain hidden were quite impressive.
Moreover… there were quite a few of them, and they had no sense of sympathy or compassion for their fallen comrades. My killing of their companions only made them furious about the loss of their own reinforcements.
As my words left my mouth, everyone present silently nodded.
This was the first time I had showcased the combat power of an outsider in front of them, officially declaring that as an outsider, I had the ability to intervene in both the Dream World and reality.
Additionally, I had a combat method that was completely different from theirs; the use of magic was akin to divine arts for them.
Even though they possessed extraordinary skills and knowledge related to runes, their thought processes still leaned towards technological development and strategy, as evidenced by their focus on extraordinary weapons and armaments.
Furthermore, this battle between me and the Dream Demons was taking place directly within the city. Too many people witnessed the combat scenes that far exceeded their understanding, which had a strong impact on their perceptions.
But I didn’t care, and no one dared to voice any objections to my actions.
After all, they understood very well that if it weren’t for me, they wouldn’t even know what their situation would be right now.
Even if they weren’t going to Ninglan New City above ground, it didn’t mean they wouldn’t communicate information with the surface; they, too, were aware of the existence of the Dream Demons. These were not just minor nuisances like Nightmares; they truly had the ability to k*ll!
They could even treat people as food and continuously drain them, making such a life worse than d*ath.
Moreover, with the current lack of new extraordinary weapons at the Extraordinary Research Base and the Ground Patrol Team being undermanned, forming an effective defense was challenging.
Sending personnel and armaments to support the surface meant they were tacitly acknowledging the unique geographical position of the Underground City, which wouldn’t be affected by disasters from above.
Now that they were taken by surprise with a direct attack on their vulnerable point, even the Earth Vein was under threat—how could they tolerate that?
They realized they had made a significant error in judgment, nearly jeopardizing the Underground City and implicating Ninglan New City above.
Thus, the only way now was to remedy the situation.
Of course… they also wanted to curry favor with the scholar, Xiao Han, who had just saved them from peril.
It was only at this moment that they truly recognized the nature of this scholar, who normally studied extraordinary runes and exchanged techniques with them. This shattered their previously received information that outsiders could only exist in dreams and couldn’t interfere with reality.
The presence before them severely challenged their understanding.
Now, the only thing they could do was to flatter the outsider. They had conducted numerous behavioral analyses and personality profiles on her in hopes of understanding this ticking time bomb’s behavioral patterns to make everything controllable.
Now that this bomb had exhibited powers that could really blow them up, many things had changed in nature.
Currently, the sole stroke of luck for them was that the outsider was still a “friendly” target with whom they could communicate.
“We should head back, and while we’re at it… let’s prepare some containment facilities for these few,” I said, kicking the Dream Demons beneath me—unfortunate creatures trapped by my dual confinement spell in both reality and the Dream World.
If I wanted to contain and study the Dream Demon I had previously captured, it would cost the base a substantial amount of manpower and resources, and it would be highly dangerous. The base leaders and upper management would likely not agree.
But now, things were different. Once I displayed my strength, they were forced to make an equivalent judgment. I didn’t believe they lacked judgment; furthermore, my leading research on Dream Demons or directly interrogating them for information wouldn’t be a detriment to them.
Besides… I needed them to test the limits of the Resurrection Spell and other possibilities. Many things would only hit a wall if one relied solely on theoretical research without experimentation; Dream Demons were excellent experimental material.
However, given the current manpower and resources of the Extraordinary Research Base, attempting to contain the Dream Demons would naturally seem a bit stretched. Additionally, many scholars had been frightened by the recent attack, leading to numerous projects being paused or even completely terminated.
During this period, a vast amount of security personnel within the base lost their operational capability. After all, ordinary people, even those transformed into extraordinary warriors, could easily crumble in the face of overwhelming attacks beyond their comprehension.
The casualties from this incident also required reasonable handling; there were too many matters left unfinished in the Underground City.
Additionally, there were potential hidden dangers, etc.
I didn’t believe that the Dream Demons would simply give up their control over the Underground City. Even with my presence, they wouldn’t relinquish it. Here lay the lifeblood of the entire Ninglan New City; gaining a grasp here would provide them leverage to threaten the entire city. Unfortunately, the Dream Demons realized this too late.
Before the Extraordinary Research Base truly contained the Dream Demons, there was an important task to accomplish—extracting information from their mouths.
This interrogation served as a supplement to the rushed questioning from the last encounter, and this time I had caught three Dream Demons. Although the increased number made it somewhat challenging to manage, it was still manageable.
Additionally, having more Dream Demons made interrogation much simpler, and I had an effective tactic to extract more information from them: the Prisoner’s Dilemma. This tactic worked even better on Dream Demons who held no superfluous ties with each other.
Combined with the information advantage I held, it would be easy to create misunderstandings among them.
Not long after, I gathered a significant amount of useful information from them.
For example, I learned that the “companions” of the captured Dream Demons had stopped expending efforts to save them.
But according to this claim, they should have been more inclined to betray those guys’ information. However, they remained tight-lipped about it.
Only after I paid a certain price and used the Resurrection Spell for inhumane coercion did I realize that two more Dream Demons were still wandering in the Underground City.
Including those two along with the Dream Demons I captured and killed, the number of Dream Demons that had come down this time exceeded ten.
Moreover, they did indeed come down through the passage known to Ninglan Qiuyue, which confirmed this matter.
Should Ninglan Qiuyue be blamed for the calamity in the Underground City?
No, it was destined to happen. Even without Ninglan Qiuyue, others would appear.
Next, the Dream Demons had another goal, which was to contain the Nightmares held in the Extraordinary Research Base!
Within those Nightmares lay vast amounts of fortune, and they were also their targets. Initially, their goal was simply to completely control the Extraordinary Research Base and the Ground Patrol Team.
“To control the base and the Ground Patrol Team means to completely dominate the Underground City. Why?” I asked.
“The Earth Vein… to thoroughly control the Earth Vein…” the half-dead Dream Demon in front of me replied.
“Hmph.”
I scoffed, preparing to turn and leave. The signal of my action implied that I intended to interrogate the other Dream Demons. If their answers differed from the other two, what awaited them would be even more brutal torture.
And this question was merely a routine inquiry, for besides the Earth Vein, nothing else seemed as important in the Underground City.
However, the Earth Vein was not something they could simply destroy at will. The Earth Vein energy within it could not be filled, even if I used the Excessive Consumption Spellbook to do so. Moreover, due to the inherent characteristics of Earth Vein energy, I didn’t have the confidence to destroy it myself.
They probably only wanted to control the Underground City, having the Earth Vein in their grasp would give them an informational edge, and they would use this as a threat.
Also, what had those Dream Demons achieved by trying to attack the Earth Vein? Besides causing an anomalous disturbance in the energy within the Earth Vein, did they accomplish anything else?
No, the Earth Vein’s resilience exceeded human imagination.
“Wait… wait a moment…” just as I was turning away, this Dream Demon called out to me, her tone filled with fear and a hint of relief when she said “wait.”
“Speak.”
I issued a concise directive, my tone indifferent to their lives or deaths, for even d*ath here was not a release for them; the Resurrection Spell was the last straw that would break them.
“For… a deal, to help… control the Underground City…”
“A deal? What kind of deal? Be clear,” I approached her and asked in a low voice, surprised that such useful information came from a routine question.
“Someone… wants to unify Ninglan New City… above and below ground…”
“Continue.”
“He helps us… come down, we… control…”
“Ninglan Qiuyu?” I stated another name.
“Yes…”
“Does he have an alliance with you Dream Demons?”
“Yes…”
“And what about Ninglan Qiuyun? Is he in collusion with you as well?”
“Yes… no…”
“What do you mean?” I heard her admit but then shake her head in denial. Were they in collusion or not?
Or was it coercion?
“Ninglan… Qiuyu… begged us…”
“Begged you for what? So, does that mean Ninglan Qiuyun was schemed against by his son? Was it his initiative, or did you all manipulate him due to his desire for the position of City Lord?”
“Is… there… a difference…?”
“Hahaha… so interesting.”
At this moment, I let out a light laugh, feeling the pleasant surprise of witnessing the variety of human nature, shocked by the novel-like plot unfolding in reality. They say power is a seductive poison, and it can lead people to wield knives against their own kin.
The information obtained from the Dream Demon on Ninglan Qiuyue indicated that Ninglan Qiuyu’s parricide was also planned by the Dream Demons. It seemed they had planned everything from the beginning. Ninglan Qiuyu was the perfect pawn for them.
Ambitious, motivated, and with aligned goals, the only factor was the knowledge gap—this was the best pawn, the kind that would still help count the money after being sold.
“But I still have some questions. How did you find Ninglan Qiuyu? Regarding your plan to seize fortune, when you first arrived in Ninglan New City, shouldn’t you have targeted the City Lord first, rather than laying out your plans centered around Ninglan Qiuyu?”
Even if the Ritual of Destruction required the City Lord’s son, as long as you eliminated his father, his son would inherit by succession instead of going through the trouble of instigating a rebellion with Ninglan Qiuyu.
From a higher perspective, everything done was unnecessary. A number of Dream Demons would suffer innocent casualties in this process.
“Is there… any difference… no matter what… is it all the same…?”
“I’ll give you one last chance.” I said sternly.
“Location… we Dream Demons… need positioning coordinates to descend here… that… is in the hands of Ninglan Qiuyu… at first, we could only… only communicate with him…”
“Even coming here… cost a tremendous price… it requires his cooperation… to conduct the descending ritual… he… is not easily deceived…”
“Positioning coordinates. Hmph, I thought coming here was straightforward.”
“The Void is vast… reaching a place requires special means…”
“So actually, you haven’t shown your true terror in front of that naive fool yet? He still believes he can harness you and then dispose of you?” After all, that’s the most reasonable explanation.
If Ninglan Qiuyu wanted to use this Dream Demon to achieve his own goals, think about it: if a person suddenly obtained demonic abilities to summon them to fulfill their wishes, they would also need to consider whether they could control this demon while using it.
After all, Ninglan Qiuyu wanted to be the City Lord, not a lackey under a demon; he needed a deterrent method to unload the donkey after the work was done.
“Yes… I suppose…”
“What does ‘I suppose’ mean?”
“We… were merely… using each other, scheming against one another…”
“Ha-ha… indeed. He has the audacity. If things come to a head and he outmaneuvers everyone, he becomes a hero. No one knows about the underlying game. But if he fails… he becomes a sinner, potentially dragging down the entire Ninglan New City. Truly, an ambitious person who can collaborate with Abyss Demons.”
In short, the history of Ninglan New City is only the glory written by the victors.
Perhaps in Ninglan Qiuyu’s eyes, his failure would only lead to d*ath; after his d*ath, he wouldn’t care about a flooding catastrophe.
Yet he clearly could wait, but he couldn’t afford to.
Faced with something that was ultimately his, and the opportunity to obtain it now with risk, he chose the latter. No matter what mental games and struggles he went through, the outcome wouldn’t lie. This mindset destined that Ninglan Qiuyu wouldn’t be a qualified City Lord.
The continuation of Ninglan New City needed someone steadfast in spirit to guard each day, rather than a mediocre individual who couldn’t even suppress his own underlying desires, coupled with ambitions that didn’t match his understanding.
But it was not for me to judge.
I merely needed to make my choice; the choice in front of me was also very clear: approve of Ninglan Qiuyu’s actions, help him clean up the mess, or deny his actions and expose his baseness.
Since I had already understood this layer, right and wrong didn’t really matter. What mattered was the stance, which side to take.
After all, their level defined right and wrong, and coincidentally, I was also an enlightened being who wouldn’t impose such right and wrong on others.
My rational side led me to choose to understand him. Everything had already happened, and I didn’t need to impose my values on Ninglan New City. After all, if they were rotting to the core, it had nothing to do with me. However, his actions made me uncomfortable.
My emotional side naturally chose to expose him, but the consequences of exposure were uncertain and could lead to worse and unpredictable results. Moreover, that City Lord seemed to have no second son.
Thus, both choices left me feeling uncomfortable.
So I simply chose not to make a choice.
I chose to observe.
