Dreaming

The five teammates of Yan Zhiyuan died in a very tragic way. When the support from the headquarters arrived, it took a lot of effort just to piece together the bodies.

"Not counting the missing pieces, there are more than 8,000 pieces of debris."

"Tsk, this is called a thousand cuts."

"Shut up! No joking during a meeting."

Ying Xiang interrupted someone's rambling and asked, "Has the surviving one been interrogated?" The other person replied, "He claimed to be the murderer, but according to the interrogation department's report, his mental barriers are broken, his consciousness is murky, and no useful clues can be found."

"However, judging by the residual energy at the scene, the forest area is covered in a high concentration of the biological-type, psychic-type reverse supernatural power 'Dream Creation'. A team has been dispatched to search for him. Therefore, his statement cannot be verified."

"Really? I'll go and see for myself." Ying Xiangze had a headache. When he knew that the survivor of the incident was Yan Zhiyuan, the first thing he thought of was whether his son would know about it. However, this was a concern that he, a decision maker, should not have.

According to regulations, Yan Zhiyuan was to undergo interrogation by headquarters and then be held in solitary confinement until the "dream-making" fugitive was recaptured. However, Ying Xiang stared at Yan Zhiyuan, who sat in the corner of the interrogation room with a dull, pale face, for a long moment before saying, "Don't let anything happen to him. Watch him closely."

At the meeting specially held for this matter with the members of the decision-making group, Ying Xiang asked Frovich to attend as an observer.

Someone suggested: "Try empathy. It's the way with the least loss."

Ying Xiangze: "Empathy is feasible, but it's a bit risky. Does anyone have a candidate?"

The man said, "Yan Zhiyuan has a close partner living with him in District 8. Perhaps we could let him give it a try."

Ying Xiangze: "Hmm... Is he a psychic? How old is he?"

"..." The man suddenly paused, and under Ying Xiangze's somewhat dissatisfied gaze, he continued, "I don't have any special abilities. I'm an ordinary association worker, 23 years old."

"Ridiculous!" Ying Xiangze shouted angrily, "Even psychics are at risk, and you're letting a young man without any abilities do this?" The man's face flushed, but he persisted, "In Yan Zhiyuan's case, the risk of empathy is too great. No one in the association would be willing to take such a big risk for him. Rather than losing an excellent psychic, why not let someone closest to him try?"

"Shut up." Ying Xiangze's eyes darkened. "Even if we let him go to the 'Health Consultation Center' on his own, we can't let that child take such a risk."

"Captain!" The man was still trying to argue, but Frovich interrupted, "Well, how about this? Ask the kid if he's willing. If he is, let him try. If he's not willing, let Yan Zhiyuan go to the 'Health Advisory Center'."

Seeing Ying Xiangze's disapproving expression, Flovitch said lightly, "As for that 'Dream Maker' fugitive, I'll personally capture him. The experimental base is currently short on samples."

Everyone present, including Ying Xiangze, could tell that Frovich was on the side of empathy. This was his biggest concession yet. "Alright, alright. Yan Zhiyuan was a promising young talent. It would be a shame to see him die like this. I'll order the mobilization of resources to protect him." Frovich patted Ying Xiangze's shoulders reassuringly, then turned and left, leaving the crowd with varying expressions.

Ying Xiangze was not unaware of his own misstep today. He took a deep breath, calmed down, and said, "Just do as the president says. Report any progress immediately. This meeting is adjourned."

Outside the museum, Frović was talking to someone. "President, what did they say over there?" "I'll go to District 8 myself to reassure him and prevent any further incidents." "As for the empathy thing..." "Notify the contracted espers and hypnotists in the interrogation department."

"Whether or not this mission is voluntary is not up to him, let alone Ying Xiangze. He needs to do 'Empathy' and go to the 'Health Consultation Center'." Flovitch glanced up at the sky. "And have the experimental base prepare. Those with the 'Dream Creation' ability are rare."

The next day, the fugitive was thrown into the experimental base by Frovich, and then the headquarters "escorted" Yan Zhiyuan back to Area 8, and asked Lin Zhouze to "voluntarily" take on the task, and "independently" found out about empathy and its implementation methods.

However, Ying Xiangze was unaware of this, and Lin Zhouze was even less aware of it.

Ying Xiangze learned about the next development after Lin Zhouze's empathy awakened. "According to the empathic recipient, the core symbol of this 'Nightmare Fang' is..."

——

"Trust," Lin Zhouze said. Upon waking, he was immediately transferred to the interrogation department. Under the supervision of personnel sent by headquarters, he began to recount the details of his empathy. "The entire forest was made into a cauldron. After the six-man team entered, the energy within the cauldron filled, and the Nightmare Fangs activated."

The supervisor examined the data flashing across the screen, then took a moment to glance at Lin Zhouze and said, "Go on, what exactly did he go through?"

Lin Zhouze felt a prickling pain through every bone in his body. "The forest is like an infinite corridor, surrounded by fog. I can't see anything beyond ten steps." He closed his eyes and began to read the memory.

Yan Zhiyuan reached into the mist but couldn't sense any "water" in the air, so he stopped everyone. "This mist isn't right. It doesn't seem real. Don't go any further." The man at the front, still dissatisfied with his leadership, deliberately challenged him, "The mission says the target is detected in this mountain. If we don't move forward, are we going back to the association?"

Fortunately, the others were still willing to listen to Yan Zhiyuan's instructions and stopped. Seeing this, the man spat inwardly and could only stand there dissatisfied: "Then what, Captain Yan plans to do?"

"There's a door in the fog over there." The short, short-haired girl in the team suddenly spoke up, "A...red iron door." She pointed in the direction in front of everyone, the glimmer in her eyes dim and invisible in the fog.

"Is there anything else besides the door?" Yan Zhiyuan asked her. The girl shook her head: "No, there is only one door."

Yan Zhiyuan thought for a moment and said, "Ojies, take another look at the fog around you." The girl squinted her eyes and slowly turned around in a circle, concluding, "Nothing, just bushes... Wait a minute!" She exclaimed, startling the people around her. "What's wrong?"

Ogis turned back to her original direction, uncertainly. "That door seems a little closer." With her enhanced vision, she rarely made mistakes. A chill ran down their spines. Yan Zhiyuan squatted down, dug his fingers into the dirt, and felt the fresh, living "water" beneath the ground.

"The ground beneath our feet is solid. Don't look around. Just keep your heads down and look at the ground. Let's move forward together." Yan Zhiyuan said to another female team member, "Abla, wrap vines around everyone's waist." The person nodded and did as she was told, and then several people huddled together and moved forward with their heads down.

At first, the man who was not convinced by Yan Zhiyuan walked in the front. He had the ability of "metal", which was not suitable for display in this environment. But when he heard Ojies say that there was an iron gate ahead, his fighting spirit was instantly ignited, and he wanted to raise his head several times.

"Bang!" He was struggling between lifting his shoe and not lifting it when he suddenly bumped into something. "Fuck! What!" The curse words that were about to come out of his mouth were cut short when he saw a pool of blood in front of the toe of his shoe.

They reached the door.

"Put your hands down." Yan Zhiyuan's voice was cold and full of warning, "Hei Ai Luo, go back if you don't obey the order." The man's hand froze in mid-air, and he muttered in his heart, "Damn, how did he know?" Finally, he dropped it.

"Sonny, listen around the door," Yan Zhiyuan ordered, his head bowed. A moment later, a soft male voice rang out, "Captain, nothing unusual." If it weren't for the silence, it would have been difficult for anyone to hear.

"..." Yan Zhiyuan's tone turned even colder, "Put your hand down, for the second time." Hei Ai Luo tutted his words and retracted his hand again, but he kept talking: "Captain Yan, I have to do this."

Yan Zhiyuan grabbed the cane at his waist and pulled it backward, then staggered to the door. "The captain is still here, so there's no need for any of you to take risks. Everyone, take precautions." After the warning, everyone saw droplets of water seeping from the soil beneath their feet, forming a small puddle. Yan Zhiyuan squatted down, scooped up an irregularly shaped mass of water, and raised his hand toward the right door handle.

After a crisp "click" sound, the broken half of the "key" outside the keyhole turned into water and fell back into the soil, but the half embedded inside was still hard ice.

Yan Zhiyuan: "You can look up now."

Beyond the door lay the endless forest, though without the fog. "The section we just walked through was probably a barrier of some kind, and the fog was just an illusion. This section ahead must be the real environment. If they've set a trap like this, our target must be inside."

To verify this hypothesis, Yan Zhiyuan opened the bracelet and tried a few functions. "Everything is normal." He closed the screen and turned to order, "Two people in a group, separate and act separately. If you don't find the target before sunset, return here and regroup."

"Remember, do not come into contact with the living creatures here unless necessary."

The six of them split into three groups and headed in different directions. To prevent Hei Ai Luo from causing any trouble, Yan Zhiyuan asked him to act with his own team. "There's no need to be so hostile to me. We won't see each other again after the mission is over."

Hei Ai Luo was still running ahead. Because he was alone, his attitude towards Yan Zhiyuan became more distinct: "I dare not, I dare not, I'm afraid that Captain Yan, you might accidentally execute me and then go back to claim your reward and promotion." This was completely insinuating.

In that case, Yan Zhiyuan didn't need to waste any more words. The two of them calmed down and searched for the target's traces. Along the way, Hei Ai Luo left traces on some tree trunks.

Scattered sunlight peeked through the branches of the forest. Yan Zhiyuan searched along the main path for a long time, but still found no trace of the target creature. Estimating the time and distance, he felt it was almost time to return. He turned to call Hei Ai Luo, but found that his face looked a little strange.

"What's wrong?" Yan Zhiyuan asked.

Hei Ai Luo's eyes were a little evasive: "Nothing...nothing." He put his hands behind his back and hid the half piece of iron in his sleeve.

The return journey seemed longer than the coming one. Yan Zhiyuan used the simulation function in the bracelet to record the explored area, and then calculated the target location, looking up from time to time at the surrounding environment and the sky.

However, the mountains and forests seemed to be deceiving. The two walked for a long time, one in front of the other, but they never saw the shadow of the iron gate, nor did they encounter any other teammates. "Thirty minutes..." Yan Zhiyuan checked the time again, feeling a sense of unease.

At that moment, Hei Ai Luo, who was following behind him, suddenly raised his hand, slicing a long line across the back of Yan Zhiyuan's shoulder. "What are you crazy about!" He stepped back, releasing a stream of water to wash over the bleeding wound several times, leaving half of his body clinging to his wet clothes.

Hei Ai Luo stared at him fiercely and shouted, "You are not Yan Zhiyuan at all! I saw that a long time ago!"

"What?" Yan Zhiyuan narrowed his eyes and looked at him, revealing a rare sinister expression. "You attacked your teammates during a mission. Do you know the consequences?"

Hei Ai Luo raised the iron sheet in his hand, and it instantly disintegrated into several long needles. "I saw how you opened that door. Your ability is clearly water! Where did the ice in the lock come from?" Several long needles attacked Yan Zhiyuan's face.

A curtain of water surged up from the ground, blocking Yan Zhiyuan's path and swallowing the flying needle. "That's a change in the nature of energy. You can't do it yourself, haven't you seen others do it, idiot?" Yan Zhiyuan was completely speechless. He knew Hei Ai Luo was average, but he hadn't expected him to be so foolish.

Unexpectedly, despite being so directly insulted, Black Elo, though furious, remained composed. He held the needle in his hands and began cautiously circling the path to measure the distance. "Then how do you explain why you didn't see any of the markings I left along the way?"

Yan Zhiyuan was momentarily distracted by this, and his arm was accidentally pierced deeply by the long needle. "You deliberately led me the wrong way!"

It wasn't that Yan Zhiyuan couldn't fight back, but he was still adhering to the association's rules. Moreover, as the captain, he couldn't really attack his foolish teammates just because they didn't trust him. Seeing that he didn't fight back, Hei Ai Luo felt even more justified.

"You're trying to separate us. Is that a conspiracy?"

"That's enough." Yan Zhiyuan's back teeth clattered, and he said, unable to bear it any longer, "Since you don't trust me, then you can act on your own. I don't care which way you go."

Hearing him say this, Hei Ai Luo looked at him suspiciously for a moment, and then realized that he really had no intention of taking action, so he made some smart calculations. It seemed that he felt that if a fight really came, he would not be Yan Zhiyuan's opponent, so Hei Ai Luo put away his weapon and ran in another direction.

Yan Zhiyuan carefully cleaned the wound on the spot, thinking that it would not work if he did it himself, so he just let him do whatever he wanted. If anything really happened, he deserved it and could just take the pain as a lesson.

The needle in his arm was removed. Yan Zhiyuan observed it carefully and found that it was glowing red. It didn't look like blood, but rather like the red iron door. No wonder he could find a weapon in such a remote place. It must have been "stolen" just now.

Putting the needle back into his bag, Yan Zhiyuan continued walking in the same direction. This time, he paid attention to the surrounding tree trunks and found that there were indeed no obvious markings. Could it be that he had really taken the wrong path?

At this moment, the bracelet suddenly flashed red.

"Mission teammate 'Ojies' vital signs are abnormal!!!"

"Mission teammate 'Apra' is experiencing abnormalities in vital signs!!!"

"Mission teammate 'Sonnido' is experiencing abnormal vital signs!!!"

"Mission teammate 'Black Ero' is experiencing abnormal vital signs!!!"

"Mission teammate's vital signs are abnormal!!!"