“Why is the water rising so quickly? Is the bridge breaking too?”
Gao Ming had to grab the altar so he wouldn’t fall. In the blink of an eye, the river had flooded the corridor. The sound of rushing water entered his eyes. The mist lowered the visibility. Gao Ming could see a giant black snake crawl up from the river onto the bridge. The scales brushed against the wooden board. The snake’s large body was imposing.
“You are a worm. Why are you called the Water Dragon King? You look so ugly, but you pick beauties as sacrifices. How disgusting.” Gao Ming cursed under his breath. He thought no one could hear him, but he noticed that the snake’s eyes had turned fully black. The killing intent was palpable. It opened its maw. The fangs bit at Gao Ming’s head.
“Dream Release!” The nightmare in his heart exploded with Gao Ming as the centre. A bloody flower bloomed on the bridge. A power stranger than Dream Break Town descended. The wound in his heart widened. Indescribable pain filled Gao Ming’s eyes. Endless despair oozed out of his skin and twisted his surroundings. Gao Ming was still in Dream Break Town, but the space two meters around him was taken over by his own nightmare. The release of a normal tester’s nightmare wouldn’t rival the deep-level nightmare. However, even though this was Gao Ming’s first Dream Release, it had already created a crack in this nightmare, which was carefully crafted by Immortal Pharma.
“Why would I die again and again? Is the bloodred city worth so many deaths?” The pain almost tore apart Gao Ming’s brain. His body existed between two nightmares. It could be crushed by two ‘gears’ at any time. Through this extreme torment, Gao Ming gained power from his nightmare. The blank altar in his sleeve opened. Eight arms reached out from Gao Ming’s screams. They grabbed the snake’s head.
“I saw the face of the person who killed me! But why can’t I recognise him? Who killed me again and again?” Gao Ming was spiralling into madness. He couldn’t remain sane. The return in time carried with it gore and torture.
He was strangled, stabbed, swallowed by monsters, drained by ghosts, betrayed, abandoned, sold and tormented beyond belief!
His eyes were pierced by blood. The greater the pain Gao Ming was in, the more solid the divine shadow behind him. The arms punched mercilessly at the Water Dragon King. He wanted to relieve all the pain. He needed the destruction. Once the snake’s head was within one metre of Gao Ming, it instantly sensed that something was wrong. It wanted to retreat but was held back by the God of Flesh and Blood.
Gao Ming ignored his plan to find the snake’s weakness. He grabbed the butcher’s knife and charged at the snake’s maw. He struck with all his might.
There was a thunderous boom, and the slashing tail knocked over a pillar. The bridge careened to the side. Gao Ming didn’t maintain his balance. The black snake used the chance to escape. The black head was covered in wounds. The snake was almost blinded by Gao Ming.
“You… You were the one who killed me!” Gao Ming’s eyes were bloodshot. He seemed to have lost his mind as he pointed the blade at the black snake. The poisonous blood slid down its skin. The snake didn’t dare to approach Gao Ming carelessly. The venom in the eyes turned into Gao Ming. Then, the human faces in its scales took on Gao Ming’s features. The fear taken from many nightmares started to target Gao Ming. The Water Dragon King slammed the surface of the river. It wanted to reveal the scariest thing in Gao Ming’s heart. It would break down Gao Ming and then swallow Gao Ming. Everyone had something they feared. There was no exception. The scales turned into mirrors. The scales turned into Gao Mings from his nightmare.
When the Water Dragon King fought Gao Ming, it scratched him and gained his blood. The human faces on the scales formed a strong connection with Gao Ming. They moved Gao Ming’s soul. They slowly dug out the fear in Gao Ming’s heart!
From Gao Ming’s perspective, his heart pounded. His blood burned. Fear and despair tried to fight over the control of his heart.
He was unwilling to retreat. He examined the fear deep in his heart.
The giant snake expanded in the mist. It became longer than the river and the galaxy in the sky. It blotted out the world. It represented all the rules. It represented fate!
Blood and flesh exploded. The scary presence only lasted for a second before disappearing. Gao Ming opened his eyes and saw a heavily injured giant snake.
The Water Dragon King tried to bring out the fear in Gao Ming’s heart, but it didn’t expect that the thing that scared Gao Ming the most was not a monster or a memory. Instead, it was the unreadable and unfathomable fate. When it tried to mimic the fear in Gao Ming’s heart, its defence was shredded. It touched the true taboo.
What kind of person would have fate as their deepest fear?
The mist lightened. The snake’s bloody body fell into the river and dyed the bridge red. The divine shadow returned to the altar. When the altar doors closed, the nightmare Gao Ming released returned to his heart.
Gao Ming collapsed beside the altar and held his head. The side-effect of using Dream Release was the confusion between the real world and the nightmare. Plus, Gao Ming already believed there was a real-world hidden inside the nightmare.
“Killer! I have to find the killer! I remember his face! I need to change fate, no matter how many times I die!”
Gao Ming’s shouts echoed around the river. Fu Shu didn’t dare to make a sound. He held his breath. This tester was too scary!
When Gao Ming released his nightmare, Fu Shu was covered in goosebumps. He felt like dying. For a moment, he missed the urn at the Xi Residence cellar.
However, he had no limbs. There was no one who could help him in Dream Break Town.