cenotaph
Something was wrong. Very wrong. Yan Zhiyuan stopped.
The bracelet's warning information about life forms was always tied to the psychic's number, so how could it include a name? And what about that warning that didn't even include a name?
The whistling sound of the wind filled my ears, like the howling of some wild beast.
Yan Zhiyuan opened the bracelet screen to check the information, and quickly tried other functions. Everything was working normally...
He suddenly looked up at the sky, towards the moon hanging high in the sky. "Everything is normal, and that's the biggest abnormality." Deep in the mountains and forests, within the miasma, how could someone so smoothly use a "technological item" built with the energy projected from the present world?
And when did the sun, which originally hung in the southwest sky, turn into a crescent moon?
Realizing this, Yan Zhiyuan suddenly felt a burning sensation in his pocket. He reached out and took out the long needles. Suddenly, a ball of light shone from the needles, causing Yan Zhiyuan to instinctively turn his head and close his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw a bloody scene.
The surroundings were still shrouded in thick fog, making it impossible to see anything beyond ten steps. And the moon hanging in the sky wasn't a waning moon, but a blazing blood-red sun.
"No...no..." Yan Zhiyuan heard the weak and ethereal voice of the only teammate still standing say, "You...are not...", and then raised the thing in his hand and stabbed it into his own eyebrows.
"Bang" After the last teammate, Haley, who has the ability to regenerate, fell down, Yan Zhiyuan could see clearly that the blood-red color was not the sun itself, but the fog all around.
Or rather, it's miasma.
The gas, like a living being, greedily sucked the blood gushing from the scattered limbs on the ground, transforming itself into a piece of red silk, swaying in the air. "Ugh!" Yan Zhiyuan was irritated by the strong smell of blood and felt nauseous, but he only vomited some yellow water.
Within a few steps of his visible range, several "corpses" lay scattered in a chaotic manner. Black Ero, Ogis, Abra, Sonnido, Hailey... Yan Zhiyuan endured the intense discomfort and identified them one by one, finally confirming that all his teammates were there.
He could only identify them by their heads because their bodies were almost non-existent.
Ragged things, holes, flesh paste, and tattered rags clung to the bones. Scattered on the ground were puddles of a paste-like substance, occasionally with some white and yellow mixed in, emitting a pungent odor that reached the sky.
After vomiting twice, Yan Zhiyuan covered his mouth and nose with a ball of water in his palm, trying to dilute the bloody smell. He picked up the thing stuck in the bloody ball -
The thing Hailey had stabbed herself with was a hollow, spiral-shaped gouge. The inside of the blade was still sticky with scarlet. It seemed like this was the weapon that had caused them to be like this.
The handle of the knife was red and felt like it was made of iron. Yan Zhiyuan realized something and began to search around.
"No...no..." He turned around several times but couldn't find what he was looking for - Abra's vine, and the red iron door.
"So that's how it is..." He clutched the digging knife stained with his teammates' flesh and blood, his voice somewhat sorrowful, "From the very beginning, it was real."
What lay beyond the iron gate was reality; what lay within was a carefully crafted illusion woven by his opponent. That iron gate was the key to unlocking his true "nightmare." The moment he "opened" it with water transformed into ice, everyone froze in their tracks, trapped in their own nightmares. The subsequent pairings and the betrayal of teammates were merely figments of his nightmare.
"Dream Creation." Yan Zhiyuan had heard of this extremely rare ability, much more lethal than typical psychic powers. He had even discussed it with Lin Zhouze. "To activate it, a 'core contract' must be established, and sufficient energy and capable individuals must be present within range at the time of activation."
If the person who enters the dream violates or betrays the "core contract" consciously, they will suffer backlash. At the very least, they will lose limbs, which is not a big deal, but at the worst, they will die on the spot.
But in fact, escaping from a nightmare is not difficult. As long as you realize the existence of a falsehood and find the props related to the activation medium, you can successfully escape. This is how Yan Zhiyuan successfully woke up.
But it seemed none of his five teammates had managed to escape. Furthermore, they had completely violated their "core contract," leading to this shattered end. Nightmares amplify negative emotions: shock, fear, sadness, grief, anger, and worry. Once these negative emotions are deliberately magnified, they can easily consume one's true nature, leading to drastic actions.
This is the fundamental reason why dreams are so destructive.
Yan Zhiyuan knew that the mission could not be carried out, but fortunately he found that the supernatural bracelet was normal, and the information of several people's deaths had been passed to the association. He believed that support would arrive soon.
So he covered his mouth and nose, squatted down, and wanted to collect the bodies of his teammates.
"Haha." Suddenly a chuckle passed by his ear. Yan Zhiyuan was stunned and looked back in disbelief.
Hei Ai Luo's head behind him turned half a circle and turned towards Yan Zhiyuan.
Black Ero's eyelids were covered with a red, yellow, and white liquid that looked like brain matter. As his eyes opened, some of the sticky liquid fell off, revealing the gray eyeball inside.
"Zhiyuan, long time no see." The head spoke.
Yan Zhiyuan's teeth began to tremble. "Zhiyuan, why aren't you talking? Don't you recognize me?"
"Don't you recognize the captain?"
"Don't you recognize the captain?"
"Don't you recognize the captain?"
"Ah——" Yan Zhiyuan's shrill wail echoed in the forest.
"Black Ero" turned around again and rolled to Yan Zhiyuan's feet. "How could you forget me? You killed me with your own hands?"
——
"The feeling ends here." Lin Zhouze's forehead was covered with sweat and it hurt. "The rest is already a hallucination for the person involved. The miasma itself is extremely hallucinogenic."
The supervisor recorded, "Of course, the iron gate was an illusion. The girl named Haley was able to hold on until Yan Zhiyuan woke up from the nightmare because of her regenerative ability." What a pity. If she had held on a little longer, she might have been able to escape from the nightmare with the help of external forces.
"In this case, Yan Zhiyuan is definitely not the murderer of the five superpowered people who died tragically."
"That's true, so his interrogation..." Lin Zhouze broke out in a cold sweat. In fact, it was not impossible for him to stop empathizing when Yan Zhiyuan came out of the nightmare. After all, with his extensive theoretical knowledge of superpowers, it was not difficult for him to deduce the full picture of this dream.
However, in order to understand why Yan Zhiyuan had suffered such a mental breakdown, he still forced himself to continue empathizing until Yan Zhiyuan lost consciousness. Fortunately, he was extremely lucky and did not trigger the greatest danger of empathy. He only suffered an energy overload in his body, which caused him to be in a coma for several days.
"It can't be completely cancelled yet," the supervisor said. "He still needs to go to the 'Health Consultation Center'. This is also for his future as a psychic."
Lin Zhouze sighed softly: "Yes, I will convince him."
The last time the Supervisor came to Area 8 with Frovitch, he was not very optimistic about Lin Zhouze at first, thinking that no matter what, he was just an ordinary person without any special abilities, and if he really tried to empathize, he would probably be either dead or disabled.
But Lin Zhouze not only achieved empathy and survived, but also clearly restored the overall perspective from his own perspective, even deducing the Nightmare Fang and its core contract. These were originally what Xiangze was supposed to do.
As a result, his opinion of Lin Zhouze changed drastically. "I'm impressed by your understanding and application of supernatural theory. Have you ever considered joining our headquarters?"
Lin Zhouze's face was pale, and he smiled weakly: "Thank you for your recognition. If there is a chance in the future... I would be happy to serve this department, but at least not now. I have some important things to do."
After compiling the records, the Supervisor passed them to the headquarters' Information Analysis Department, the Decision-Making Group, and Frovitch. He then said with some regret, "What a shame! If I could work with you, I'd surely see more." He stood up and said, "Then I wish you a smooth and successful mission, and that you may achieve all that you desire."
"goodbye."
The departure of the supervisor also means that Lin Zhouze's mission has completed the most difficult stage. His next goal is to persuade Yan Zhiyuan to take the initiative to enter the "Health Consultation Office".
The fugitive of "Dream Maker" was captured by Frovich himself and brought back to the association. The tragedy that occurred in the mountains during the mission also had a verifiable basis. Two shackles on Yan Zhiyuan's body were suddenly reduced, but he still had no reaction.
Lin Zhouze did not stay in the treatment room for long. On the day the interrogation department completed the empathy recording, he returned to the 14th floor of Building 3.
After being in a coma for several days, Lin Zhouze expected the house to be a mess, given Yan Zhiyuan's current state of mind. But when he opened the door, he found it was very clean, even tidier than when he left.
Lin Zhouze's bones and flesh still ached. He braced himself against the wall with one hand, trying to keep himself from collapsing. Yan Zhiyuan emerged from the kitchen at that moment, the scent of bitter orange enveloping Lin Zhouze. In a daze, he was carried sideways onto the soft sofa.
"Don't go." Lin Zhouze's fingertips trembled slightly as he grabbed the corner of Yan Zhiyuan's clothes as he was about to turn and leave.
"You can understand, right?" Even his breathing was trembling. The blurry figure in his vision turned around and looked down at him quietly.
Lin Zhouze: "I know... you've regained consciousness." Otherwise, why would the familiar bitter orange scent reappear, and why would the house be so clean and pristine? "You should know everything, too."
"..." Yan Zhiyuan finally opened his mouth, "Why do you have to do this for me?"
Why risk your life for me? Why respond to my long-term exploitation with sincerity?
Why should I feel guilty only now?
Lin Zhouze closed his eyes and sank into the sofa without moving, as if the pain would be relieved a lot. "You are my guide."
"Without you, I might have lost the motivation to come here."
"I haven't really told you that yet."
"Thank you, Yan Zhiyuan. It's great to meet you."
"..." Lin Zhouze fainted from the pain.
Yan Zhiyuan squatted down beside him and placed his palm over his heart. If the blood flowed more slowly, would it not hurt so much?
Five days later, Lin Zhouze persuaded Yan Zhiyuan to go to a remote corner of the association's cemetery. During this period, neither of them showed up at the Information Department, but Lin Zhouze also mysteriously disappeared for a long time, and no one knew what he was doing.
"What's wrong?" Ever since Yan Zhiyuan regained consciousness, his expression and tone of voice have been indifferent, like a lake without a ripple. He has never been seen smiling, nor has he been heard revealing any emotions.
Lin Zhouze pulled him to a tombstone.
The stele looked bright, as if newly erected, but there were no inscriptions on it. "Let's make it clear first. You can't leave until you hear what I say." Lin Zhouze seemed a little nervous, and the look in his eyes as he looked at Yan Zhiyuan was unusually intense and resolute.
Although Yan Zhiyuan didn't understand, he nodded slightly, and then he heard it.
"I took out a five-year loan and used up all my savings to buy this piece of land to bury your anxieties."
"According to regulations, I can't reveal his name, but you must know it." Lin Zhouze stretched out his hand and scratched the tip of his nose. "I went to his hometown and got some of his old things from the villagers."
"This is his cenotaph."
"Yan Zhiyuan, go to the health consultation center." He turned sideways, and the cool late autumn breeze blew fallen leaves onto his shoulders, as if something was lingering. "If you fail, I'll carry you on my back for another ten years... No, I'll work for the association for the rest of my life and choose a position with the best feng shui for you. If you succeed, promise me that you'll forget about the nightmare and him, and be your Minister Yan. I'll be your assistant for the rest of my life."
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