Nightmare Assault

Chapter 346: Strange People

“What do you think… is the nature of the nightmares you’ve experienced?” The middle-aged man posed a question back.

“It’s the past,” Jiang Cheng answered, “History that has existed in the past.

“The door should have the ability to distort space and time. It will use a method we do not understand to project us into a random part of history and bestow upon us new identities.

“However, history cannot be changed. Therefore, no matter what we do in the nightmare, whether we complete the mission or not, it will not affect history.

“After the missions end, every trace of our existence would be wiped out, including the travellers who didn’t get the chance to leave from the door.

“Of course, the deletion is completed in the dream.” He paused, “At least dream as how we understand it.”

The middle-aged man clapped and smiled, “A great guess!”

Jiang Cheng looked at the man’s eyes calmly, “My guess is still wrong, right?” He accurately captured the man’s choice of words. Guess.

“If the girl didn’t hate you so much, I would have invited you back with me,” The man lamented. “You mentioned the word random,” He continued, “Using your hypothesis, if the travellers were placed in a random piece of history, why would… all the missions be so dangerous? For example, I drive along the river. I casually toss pebbles into the river. Will the pebble land in a whirlpool every time? Wouldn’t that be too much of a coincidence?” The man took a slow sip of the tea.

“If I have to guess, the nightmare is the nightmare.” The man said, “It might be a part of history, but now, it is a projection of the real world in the shadow. The selected history has been stripped of its goodness and beauty. Only gore, regrets and violence remain… And the ghosts are cultivated by the nightmares.

“They do not exist in real history, or else we would have read about them in literature. They only exist in this twisted version of history.

“Each twisted history is an isolated nightmare. Each nightmare will cultivate… its corresponding ghost.”

Something dawned on Jiang Cheng. His pupils narrowed. The way he looked at the middle-aged man changed. Before he opened his mouth, the man stood up. He held Jiang Cheng’s gaze and said slowly, “So they… are the biggest benefits.”

…

“Oh no! Sorry for being late!” The wooden door opened. A figure jogged into the room and picked his chair to sit down. This was an ancient conference room. The long black table was lined with chairs on both sides. The armrests were carved with strange patterns. They were eye-catching. Candlesticks were placed on the table. The white candles burned quietly, radiating a deathly glow.

“I hope I didn’t delay the meeting!” The latest arrival shook his body. He sounded like a young man. His face couldn’t be seen because he wore a stocking over it. Only his nose, mouth and eyes were exposed through the holes. His voice sounded childish.

“I didn’t think you’d come.” The person who sat beside him commented. It was a normal-looking woman. Her attire was more common than her appearance. She was the type to disappear in a crowd.

“Sister Lu, don’t be so angry.” The young man giggled salaciously, “Aren’t you worried that no one will marry you?” When the woman shot a murderous gaze at him, the man raised his arms in surrender, “Fine, fine. I’ll call you No. 7 from now on. Why so serious? You’re scaring my little cutie.” Then, he turned to another person. “Our Little Ran Ran is the best.” He smiled, “So cute.”

A silver glow appeared in the dim room. A well-made dagger left its sheath. The candle before the man with the stocking split from the middle. The man pouted.

“Chen Ran, you’re not cute anymore. I used to love your face, but now, you look so normal.” The man placed his hand on his waist and complained. “No wonder Sister Lu doesn’t like you.” The man continued grumbling, “You’re only No. 6. After the meeting is over, I’ll report you to Sir.”

“Stop wasting time.” Lee Lu took a deep breath. “Things have clarified. No. 10 is already making preparations.”

“Why is he also late?” Chen Ran glanced at the door and frowned.

“Can you not pretend that I’m not here?” The man with the stocking interjected with annoyance. “Look at me. Look at me. I say… Why don’t you let me go this time? I’m so bored at home. Do you think it’s so easy looking after the kid with a mask? That kid is so sensitive. I’d be recognised if I’m not careful…” The man patted his chest. “It’s so scary.”

Lee Lu and Chen Ran ignored him. They waited for No. 10 and the upcoming mission…

Simultaneously, Lee Lu and Chen Ran turned to the man with the stocking. Lee Lu demanded harshly, “Where is No. 10?”

“Oh! I ran into him when I came here. I was annoyed by his face, so I killed him.” The man shrugged, “In my mind, No. 10 shouldn’t look as dumb as he did. So I dealt with him.”

“You…”

“It’ll be fine. Okay. I’m leaving.” The man jumped down from his chair and bounced away.

The wind blew, and the candlelight danced. A silvery four appeared on the back of the chair the man with the stocking had just vacated.

…

“I’ll ask again. Other than this brother, we have no other newbie, right?” A man with combed hair and a white shirt asked. He said his name was Liu Guo.

“Wuwu…” Jiang Cheng knelt on the ground, “Where are we? It’s so scary. You… are all bad people, right?” He crawled into the corner. He appeared so weak. He resisted anyone who tried to console him.

“Get up. We are not bad people. We’ve explained everything to you. We can’t help it if you don’t trust us.” A sunny young man in a baseball shirt walked over.

“Banana Wolf, don’t touch me!” Jiang Cheng warned, “You don’t look like good people! What kind of good person would have that name?!

“You’re on the same team as that girl in cosplay, right?” Jiang Cheng pointed at the other person, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning.”

“Stop pointing fingers!” The ‘girl’ called Hua Luo was angry.

Fatty saw that underneath his skirt, the person had thicker leg hair than he did.

This mission started suddenly. Fatty entered it while he was sleeping. Thankfully, he saw the Doctor once he opened his eyes. There were eleven travellers.

There were a lot of strange people. Other than Hua Luo and Banana Wolf, there was a man who wore a black silk stocking over his head. He said his name was Lu Huaxu. He didn’t want to show his face because no one would remember him.

Another person chimed in. She stressed that she was still weak even though she was not a newbie. Her name was Yu Lan. She was a language teacher.

There was a female student called Chu Jiu. When Jiang Cheng appeared, he kept staring at her. It made her hide behind the rest.

“Don’t be scared.” A woman with spectacles and a sharp ponytail glanced at Jiang Cheng and comforted Chu Jiu, “It’ll be fine.”

Chu Jiu seemed to trust her as she nodded repeatedly. The woman’s name was Chen Yi. She had a special presence. She stood at the edge of the crowd as she studied everyone with her pair of chilly eyes.

“Don’t you think… this place is very cold?” A man in a tracksuit and sneakers hugged his shoulders. His name was Wei Jingting. He was a research student in the field of computer science. His goal was to be a programmer.

When he heard him, Jiang Cheng ran his mouth, “Brother, I’d advise you to seek another option. Hair planting is not that expensive now.”

He glanced at Hua Luo and continued, “Also, be careful of girls you meet online. They can be anything they want behind the monitor.”

Hua Luo, “...”

Fatty asked the person in the shadow, “Brother, what’s your name?”

The man raised his head. “I have no name.” He paused, “You can… call me Wu.”

“Is it the big boss?” Jiang Cheng blinked.

Fatty licked his lips. “Brother, it’s not that I want to chide you, but your name is quite… shounen manga-inspired.”