In a city colored in red and black, several tattered figures were running in panic.
Among them were a bespectacled businessman clad in a suit, armed soldiers, a man with a nose piercing and earrings, and a woman in sportswear.
"Run faster, or that guy will chase us again," said the man with the nose ring, his expression stern.
The businessman took two steps before suddenly sitting on a roadside stone.
"If you want to run, go ahead; I can't. This is a dream world. We can't outrun that guy. In fact, he's just been toying with us all along. Rather than running like mice for our lives, dying might be the real liberation."
After days of escape and watching his companions dwindle, the businessman had lost his will to survive.
The man with the nose ring also stopped, wanting to rebuke the businessman but couldn't find the words.
The businessman was the host of the man with the nose ring, paying a hefty price to hire him for dream planting.
What is dream planting? It's the act of instilling thoughts or ideas into someone's subconscious dream by deceit and trickery.
This idea will reflect in reality, making the person believe they wanted to do it themselves, without realizing it was externally imposed.
The businessman gained many illegal profits through dream planting, constantly escalating the stakes and resorting to dream planting whenever he faced difficulties.
The man with the nose ring was an even stronger Dream Speaker than Mefna, capable of bringing people into subconscious dreams and wielding certain abilities within them.
The other team members were actors hired to change the target's mind.
However, constant activity by the river led to getting one's shoes wet eventually, and this time, they hit a snag — the most terrifying presence in the dream world.
Nightmares are the most powerful beings in the dream world, feeding on the dreams of other creatures, and possessing the ability to kill within dreams.
Typically, nightmares adhere to principles of sustainable development, causing chaos to feast but not killing outright.
Too much killing invites trouble and reduces their food supply, making it counterproductive.
So, most people attacked by nightmares end up having a horrifying nightmare and experiencing a couple of days of post-traumatic stress, and that's it.
But the behavior of the businessman and his companions was akin to defecating into Nightmare's food, a grievously provocative act, prompting a cruel revenge.
Due to the businessman, they paused momentarily, waiting for ten minutes without attack; just as they thought they were safe, a silver-gray blade pierced through from the businessman's back to his chest!
Behind the businessman, a strange figure appeared, draped in a tattered silver-gray robe, its body resembling a mummy-like monster.
This monster wasn't a Nightmare but a lower dream creature called Dream Monster, which Nightmares usually rely on as minions to torment dreamers.
Pierced by the Dream Monster, the businessman didn't die but was firmly attached to its body, even feeling no pain.
Just as confusion set in, a heart-cringing pain arrived, and the skin on his right index finger peeled away inch by inch, with flesh dropping off until only a bare finger bone remained!
Then this change appeared on another finger!
The Dream Monster applied the torture of the lingchi to the businessman; in the dream world, unless Nightmare permits, one won't die even if turned into a skeleton, making this punishment more terrifying than in reality.
Seeing this scene, the others felt a scalp-numbing fear and began a life-or-death dash.
In a normal situation, this level of fright would automatically remove them from the dream, but the dream was Nightmare-locked; unless Nightmare allows, they'd be trapped here forever.
"Oh ho ho ho... keep on struggling; the more you struggle, the tastier you become,"
A woman clad in a 'boldly' luxurious open cardigan, looking rather brainless, lay seductively on a soft sofa.
She was Nightmare, named Menglan.
To a Nightmare, names and appearances are meaningless, but Menglan bullied humans so often that she developed an interest in learning from them.
From her viewpoint, streams of red smoke scurried across the city alongside a deep red plume; these were the fears of those fleeing.
With her vivid red lips pursed, Menglan gently inhaled, and those red smoke trails surged into her mouth.
"Such a delicious taste, no matter how much you eat, it never gets old..."
After ingesting the red smokes, Menglan's face flushed ruddy, her long neck raised, and she softly hummed.
After a feast, Menglan commanded her Dream Monster minions to continue hunting the remaining survivors, but without killing them; kill them in another five hours for her next meal.
With a full belly, Menglan prepared for a nap, the surroundings changed dramatically into a lavish bedroom.
Having laid down for only a few minutes, Menglan suddenly sat up, eyes glowing green.
She was hungry, very hungry!
Moreover, she could smell an incredibly sweet aroma, enticing her to consume it; compared to this fragrance, the humans she toyed with were like leftovers in a slop bucket.
"Little delicacy, wait for me, big sis is coming to favor you," Menglan extended her tongue, licking her lips.
With a gesture towards the fugitives, dozens of Dream Monsters appeared, killing all including the man with the nose ring, turning red smoke into several deep red pills.
These pills could satiate Nightmare's hunger but were far less delectable than fresh fear, yet Menglan was eager for that newly emerged taste, disregarding these minor details.
If she didn't hurry, the delicacy might be snatched away by other peers!
The Sky Curtain Giant Whale was staring wide-eyed at the Ancient God Ensook, the Cicada Ancestor was flying around like a headless fly, the Beast God Qilin lay on a grassy field like a dog, Egger transformed into a gigantic Demon God moving ceaselessly in the void, while the Pale Demon was arm-wrestling with Lofvis...
Wen Wen sat upon the Nest of Destruction, watching these perverted beings tearing through his dream world like huskies, his face filled with helplessness. The rıghtful source is N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
At first, he found the dream intriguing, but after a prolonged view, it became somewhat boring; even a pervert dislikes lingering with old enemies.
"Nightmare, oh Nightmare, hurry up, I'm waiting until I nearly rot,"