Chapter 1
Zhou Xiaoming glided over the low bushes halfway up the mountain, flew across the stream, and landed on the sidewalk on the bank of the urban stream.
Looking around, all was silent; there wasn't even the sound of birds chirping or insects humming. The sky was low and overcast.
In the distance, a row of buildings of varying heights stretched out, shrouded in a thin mist.
Zhou Xiaoming randomly chose a direction and walked towards the building.
Not far ahead, a familiar scooter came into view.
She straddled the motorcycle, twisted the throttle, and the speed soared as she sped off along the asphalt road.
The old motorcycle that Zhou Xiaoming's brother left her when he went back to his hometown was well-maintained and fast; she drove it with superb skill. After turning the corner, the road suddenly became a dead end, blocked by a concrete wall.
Zhou Xiaoming remained unfazed, neither slowing down nor braking, and continued hurtling forward. Just before the collision, space twisted, the road the motorcycle was traveling on turned into a concrete road, and the surrounding buildings transformed into low-rise houses.
Slowing down and braking, Zhou Xiaoming parked the car next to a lamppost, sat on the curb, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and began to smoke.
Soon, people began to appear on the road, and the signs of the shops on both sides of the road began to light up, with the lights inside illuminating the goods and the figures of people making purchases.
The end of the street was shrouded in mist and could not be clearly seen, but shadows kept walking towards this side from the end. Zhou Xiaoming could not see the faces, and she did not pay attention to them. She just lowered her head, stared blankly, and kept smoking the cigarette that she had been smoking for a long time, but whose length had not changed.
All of this was like a silent film, with only dim and slightly distorted images.
After some time, she got a little bored, turned to the side and took out her phone from her pocket, trying to discern the time from the screen saver, which was distorted like the famous Western painting "Starry Night".
He let out a sigh of relief. It felt like a long time had passed, but it had only been a short while. It seemed that he had slept too well last night, so he didn't sleep well enough today. It was hard to get through the night, Zhou Xiaoming thought to himself.
Then I sat there, and continued to endure.
As more and more people gathered around him, Zhou Xiaoming felt a little agitated. He took a deep drag on his cigarette, which had remained unchanged throughout. Surprisingly, after that one puff, the cigarette was reduced to just a cigarette butt.
Zhou Xiaoming casually tossed the cigarette butt aside, stood up, and patted his backside.
Her action was like dropping a pebble into the center of a calm scene; the blurry, stiff figures in the scene all froze for a moment, and then, as if by unspoken agreement, accelerated and surrounded her.
Zhou Xiaoming seemed oblivious to any changes, straddling his motorcycle and heading towards the end of the street where the view was obscured.
As she strolled leisurely down the street, she saw unfamiliar shop owners waving at her as they emerged from familiar shops.
The rearview mirror, which he hadn't even glanced at, reflected a dense crowd following them, like zombies in a zombie movie smelling the scent of living people.
Inside the buildings on the street that she couldn't see, scenes of extreme chases and escapes were unfolding. Everyone experiencing this scene was doing their best to run to the street where Zhou Xiaoming could see them. As long as they reached the street, the eerie creature chasing them would disappear like ashes.
"I can't go down the stairs, I'm blocked, what should I do?!" A lean, crew-cut man asked a man at the other end of the corridor who was firing a gun at a strange black figure.
The strange creatures struck by the electric arc energy blast twisted and then dissipated into black mist in the air. However, there were quite a few strange creatures that dissipated in a short time, and soon they would gather into new strange creatures.
The man collecting the guns was wearing a baseball cap, a T-shirt, work pants, a tactical belt around his waist, and combat boots. He quickly retreated into a suite and said, "Come in and close the door."
The two retreated to the security window on the balcony and looked out the window. They saw a huge, warm yellow sphere of light slowly moving toward them from the side of the street.
Ignoring the strange banging as the stainless steel door was bumped, the two kicked open the fire safety window, crawled out, jumped to the top of the second-floor security window, and then jumped from the first-floor security window to the ground.
Hearing the commotion, the strange creatures in the stairwell swarmed out and pounced on the two of them.
The crew-cut man yelled and screamed, and before he could even stand up straight, he was about to fall forward. The man in the baseball cap quickly grabbed his collar and dragged him toward the light source.
The strange creatures chasing them also sprouted two legs from the shape of a cloud of black mist, mimicking the two fleeing individuals, and used their new legs to relentlessly pursue them.
Just as the crew-cut man was running with his face flushed and almost had his clothes touched by the eerie creature behind him, the eerie creature suddenly stopped. Before it could stop, the eerie creature rushed forward a little and was instantly turned into ashes and disappeared as if it had been burned by an invisible flame.
The crew-cut man, who was running so hard his lungs felt like they were going to explode, put his hands on his knees, panting heavily, and stared at the scene in disbelief.
The man in the baseball cap scoffed, "Alright, hurry up and get over there. If there are too many people, you might not be able to squeeze into the light circle. Say what you need to say now, because once you're inside, you'll lose most of your control over your body, including the ability to speak. I've run out of energy blasts; tonight I can only stay within the light circle until the Dream Weaver wakes up. As long as you don't leave the light circle, you'll be fine when you wake up tomorrow. Judging from how clear-headed you were this time in the dream, you'll most likely become a dream mercenary. Try your best to stay alive later."
The crew-cut man nodded, then thought for a moment and asked, "Can I place an order with this kind of dream weaver?"
"Want to inquire about adding to your order? I'll sell you information about Dream Makers."
The crew-cut man didn't hesitate: "Add more orders."
The man in the baseball cap smirked as he walked forward, answering the man with the buzz cut, "No, no one can touch them, communicate with them in any way, or even see them clearly. How can you place an order if you can't even find the person? Unless..."
"Unless what?!" Seeing the crew-cut man's eagerness, the man in the baseball cap replied unhurriedly, "Unless you can successfully attract her attention and make her take the initiative to approach you, you will be released from the aura and become a normal person. But note that this release is a one-time thing."
The man with the buzz cut looked at the man in the baseball cap's face and build, and pondered for a moment: "You were released from your confinement? After that, you were able to see and talk to them?"
The man in the baseball cap shrugged: "The first question is my privacy, and I refuse to answer it. The answer to the second one is 'yes'."
"Is it a man or a woman, old or young?"
"I don't know, I can't remember."
The man with the buzz cut lowered his head and pondered for a moment before saying, "I want to try and attract their attention as much as possible."
The man in the baseball cap looked at the man with the buzz cut in silence. He knew she was a woman, but he couldn't remember her appearance or any other information.
Anyone who enters the dream will instinctively move closer to her if they have the will to survive. However, she has an invisible barrier around her, and once they reach a certain distance, others can no longer get close. So, it is not easy to get close to her and attract her attention. To this day, he has not found out the reason or pattern for his release from the imprisonment.
Several times he was inexplicably released from confinement and came into contact with her, but after waking up, his memories of her were still shrouded in mist. No matter how many times he saw her in his dreams, he could not remember what she looked like.
This is a dream world, which is both logical and illogical.
As the two stepped into the circle of light, the area was already packed with people. In the distance, they saw a blurry figure slowly approaching on a silent vehicle, unsure whether it was an electric scooter or a motorcycle.
Strangely, there was a vacuum within several meters of the car; there was no one there.
The crew-cut man felt like he was trapped in a shell, his body stiff and sluggish, unable to make expressions or speak. Only his eyes could move slightly. All he could do was mechanically walk, trying to follow the circle of light. Naturally, his previous plan to attract the dream maker had failed.
He lagged a few steps behind, watching the man in the baseball cap, who, like himself, hadn't been noticed by the dream weavers. A hint of schadenfreude crept into his heart. [So what if you're experienced? You're going to get your comeuppance eventually, huh!]
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the crew-cut man felt his legs were aching unbearably when the environment suddenly changed. The recurring street scene suddenly transformed into a desolate suburb, and the flat cement road under his feet turned into a bumpy, muddy dirt road.
The previously gray sky brightened by one shade, and a light drizzle began to fall.
The man in the baseball cap clicked his tongue inwardly.
The sudden shift from a densely covered residential area to an open, unobstructed wilderness was incredibly unlucky. This group of people were truly fortunate tonight.
Just when the crew-cut man felt his feet were about to bleed and he was about to collapse, the car finally stopped.
A bridge suddenly appeared ahead, and several people who had fallen into the river below were floating on the water due to the sudden change in scenery.
Fortunately, the river was only shallow, and the riverbed was exposed. Those who fell in quickly climbed back to the shore.
A blurry figure got off the bus, walked onto the bridge, and took out his phone to look at it for a long time.
The man with the buzz cut wasn't far away and craned his neck to try and see what was on the figure's phone, but unfortunately he couldn't see anything clearly.
I saw a figure put away their phone and look out over the river while holding onto the bridge railing.
The river water turned yellow and rose at a visible speed, and in just a few breaths, the surging water was about to overflow the bridge.
Those who had fallen into the river earlier, who were not fast enough to climb out, disappeared into the surging water without even making a splash.
The crew-cut man was terrified and wanted to cry out, but he couldn't make a sound. He could only stare wide-eyed at the rolling waves in front of him.
The man in the baseball cap breathed a sigh of relief. This was the second time he had encountered a sudden flood. If he wasn't mistaken, the night was probably over.
Sure enough, the next moment, Jiang Lan opened her eyes in bed and turned her head to look at the electronic clock on the bedside table, which showed 6:03 in the morning.
It's summer now, and it's already bright outside. Jiang Lan lies quietly in bed, recalling everything that happened last night. She remembers the important parts, but subconsciously forgets the ones she doesn't think are important.
After thinking it over twice, Jiang Lan got up and sat in front of the computer to review and record it bit by bit. Dream memories have limited time, and Jiang Lan didn't want to forget anything she could recall.
Looking at the key points marked in the memo: 1. An extra consultation fee is required for flat-top consultation; 2. A major flood indicates an urgent need to urinate.
Jiang Lan leaned back in her chair and turned around. This deal went relatively smoothly, and she could take a break for a while.
Jiang Lan's phone chimed, and as she looked at the string of zeros in the payment notification, she felt a little disheartened.
After washing up, Jiang Lan made do with two slices of toast and a cup of hot milk for breakfast. She stood by the window, looking at the calm river flowing around the city in the distance, wondering how long it would be before the person who disappeared in her dream died in an accident.
Those who enter the Dream Cube will die unnaturally, within a day to six months, due to various unexpected accidents or illnesses.
Mercenaries like him are people who have triggered a special mechanism, allowing them to enter the Dream Cube without restriction under certain conditions.
Outside the aura, people can freely communicate, except within the aura's range. After entering many times, he gradually came into contact with the group of dream mercenaries and naturally joined them.
There are over thirty known examples of this Dream Cube across the country, and it is randomly opened to the public.
Based on the limited memories and limited dream logic brought out in dreams, some patterns have been summarized in the forum, but in general, these patterns discovered so far are not very reliable.
These dreams are all the dreams of dreamers. The identity of each dreamer is unknown, whether they enter sleep each night is unknown, and what kind of dreams they create is also unknown.
Therefore, even with official intervention, the situation is beyond their capabilities.
A dream as vivid as last night, if reflected in reality, would mean that a major accident is highly likely to occur within the next six months, and Jiang Lan needs to compile and report it.
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