Wan Min’s expression didn’t change, but she noticed the small changes on Gao Ming’s face. She didn’t know which of her words aroused Gao Ming’s suspicion. She ignored it and tried to use more truths to get Gao Ming to agree to work together. “We are now trapped in a deep-level nightmare. Dream Release is to release the nightmares deep in our brains. This modification won’t affect the testers much. You don’t need to inject anything into your body, and you don’t need to abandon your body like when you select the Temple Construction Modification. Compared to Tragedy Admiration, where you need to sacrifice your body and consciousness to obtain the aid of unknown ghosts, Dream Release is more controllable by exhausting your own nightmare.”
“You seem to know the modification methods very well,” Gao Ming raised his eyes.
“My father’s notes have many information. When all of us are done with the modifications, the three of us can form a team to explore more nightmares.” The woman’s promise was beautiful, but Gao Ming didn’t care about it. He knew the woman would not hesitate to sacrifice him at any given moment.
“Since Dream Release has that many benefits, why do so few people choose it? There are only three of us here.”
“Dream Release is hidden in the corner of the town. Not everyone can find the school.” Wan Yang cut in. He was not as good at lying as his sister. He looked at Gao Ming with wariness.
“The Divine Ghost’s power is strong in the nightmare. We can’t fight them with our own nightmare.” Wan Min explained, “Dream Release is only suitable for those who have been through real nightmares. Only by releasing those nightmares would the Divine Ghosts be scared.”
Gao Ming suddenly felt this modification was quite suitable for him.
“Other than that, Dream Release is quite difficult. It is one of the most difficult among the thirteen modifications.” Wan Min knew that, and that was why she wanted to work with Gao Ming, “Facing true fear, resisting despair and surviving the illusive challenges are nothing. We still need to complete some ridiculous missions.”
The alcohol urns inside the small house rolled. The wooden door swung open. Zhang Mingli walked out with some books. He wasn’t surprised when he saw Wan Yang and Wan Min. He placed a copied sutra before Gao Ming. “Elder Tang is celebrating his 65th birthday. Send him this present for me.”
“Yes. I’ll deliver it to him.”
“Wait.” Zhang Mingli looked like an ancient scholar. “Do you know why Elder Tang has celebrated his 65th birthday for ten consecutively years now?”
“Because he died when he was 65?” Gao Ming answered.
“Clever. Now go.” Zhang Mingli turned to stare at the Wan Siblings.
Gao Ming hesitated after he left the school. He felt like he was not given a good task.
“Dream Release might help recreate my nightmare. It’s worth a try.” Gao Ming remembered that the team leader of the kid behind Tu Di Temple was the newly adopted son of Elder Tang. He had already been modified and accepted into Level Five Labs. He only joined this mission to help his two friends. After turning the corner, Gao Ming took a glimpse of the sutra. Other than a bunch of words he couldn’t recognise, there were many names. Most of them had the surname Tang. “This birthday present is weird.”
After finishing the patrol with the night-watcher, Gao Ming managed to memorise the location of the main buildings in the town. Tang Family was to the north of town. It was not far from the ancestral hall. It was one of the rich families.
Gao Ming was halfway to the Tang Family Home when the sheepskin started to cry loudly as if frightened by something. Several seconds later, Gao Ming understood why. He saw a giant shadow flooding in from the other end of the street.
“The butcher is here!”
Gao Ming turned and ran, but it was still too late. He could the butcher’s alternatively sharp and gravelly voices.
“Found it! You bastard!”
“The black donkey wouldn’t lie to you. I told you that. Manager Wang is still inside the mill. The knife stealer is someone else!”
“Shut your mouth! I know! I’ll kill him and then kill you!”
“I am you, and you are me. Can you kill yourself?”
The butcher didn’t care that it was late at night. A large shadow shot out from the corner. Gao Ming didn’t dare to turn to see what the butcher looked like. He rushed towards the North Street when he first heard the butcher.
Hai Shi hadn’t arrived, and the birthday hadn’t started, but townies were already there to participate in the party. All the guests, male and female, wore heavy blushes. They carried present boxes. They looked unfocused. They were worried that their presents would not be liked by Elder Tang.
“Why are there so many people?” Gao Ming mixed into the crowd. He could pick up the scent of ashes from the people. When he accidentally bumped into some of them, joss stick ashes fell onto his clothes.
“They… are very light.” Gao Ming noticed that these townies were categorically different from the night-watcher and the butcher. These people appeared to be made from paper.
Worried about the butcher, Gao Ming squeezed in further. He saw two white paper stuck on the bright red gate. The stone lions before the gate had their eyes covered with black cloth. Two children guarding the gate wore giant wooden doll heads and carried a plump peach in their hands.
The hall was filled with white candles. The tables were covered in delicacies. There were a lot of guests on the North Street. However, the Tang Family House felt deserted.
The wind caused the candles in the hall to flicker. Then, a young man in a black robe walked into the yard. He kowtowed nine times at the hall.
“Adopted father, it is time. Can we start the birthday party now?” The man’s voice was beautiful. He looked handsome. A low growl came from deep inside the hall. It was not human. Through the layers of windows and doors, Gao Ming couldn’t see what was inside.
The man only dared move after he heard the sound. He walked to the gate. The two children with doll heads carried the present table closer to the gate.
The guests entered the yard and placed their gifts on the table. After that, they crossed the yard and entered the hall with ingratiating smiles. However, to Gao Ming’s consternation, so many people had entered the hall, but the hall was still eerily quiet.
“Have they all been killed? Is Elder Tang eating his guests?”