Chapter 174: Piercing Through the Dream
After handling the tasks assigned by Director Zhang, Song Cheng returned to his office, lit a cigarette, and absentmindedly stared out the window.
Outside, the maze-like walls stacked one upon another, extending endlessly into the distance. The storm from within the labyrinth poured out between the walls, flying towards the sky, washing over another land above the clouds.
Song Cheng snapped out of his daze, realizing that today was Friday, and that after midnight, his office would shift to the viewing floor in the ‘Labyrinth’ area.
Ah, Friday. A day to look forward to. Tomorrow is the weekend… well, more like another overtime day.
He chuckled bitterly to himself, pulled the blinds down, and walked to his desk to examine a few dossiers just delivered by his subordinate.
These documents were related to the ‘Fairy Tale’ from the Otherworld, as well as intelligence about members of the current ‘Fairy Tale Organization.’
Thanks to the recent activity of a ‘New Spirit Realm Detective Organization,’ several departments within the Special Affairs Bureau had shifted their focus towards ‘Fairy Tale.’
Extinguishing his cigarette in the nearby ashtray, Song Cheng calmed his mind and began reviewing the files.
He had no idea how much time passed, but suddenly, a hurried footstep echoed from the hallway outside his door, halting his reading.
As soon as the knock sounded, he spoke, ‘Come in.’
The door opened, and Ren Wen Wen, with her short black hair, appeared at the entrance. ‘Captain Song, the team sent to South City has returned and successfully completed their mission.’
‘Did they catch those two Angel Cultists?’ Song Cheng raised an eyebrow, a smile appearing on his face. ‘Any big fish caught?’
‘It seems… no,’ Ren Wen Wen shook her head. ‘The team had been lying low for several days, and the two cultists seemed to be operating independently. They were either ‘disconnected members,’ or their superiors had temporarily severed their communication after assigning the task. Would you like to go and check it out?’
‘…Alright, I’ll head over now.’
…
In his bedroom, Yu Sheng was sleeping fitfully.
A recent expedition in the Black Forest, followed by a fierce battle with the Wolf Granny, had drained much of his energy. Despite a strange sense of exhilaration keeping him from feeling tired, as soon as he returned to his bedroom and lay down on his bed, he succumbed to a sudden, overwhelming wave of drowsiness and fell asleep almost instantly.
In his half-conscious state, he could hear faint rustling sounds beside him—probably Doll, who also intended to take a nap—and the soft footsteps of Foxy, who was returning to her room.
Then, he heard a hollow wind blowing, as if the wind had passed through the Forest, rustling through dense branches and towering trees, its hollow whistle mingling with the faint cries of a baby.
Yu Sheng suddenly opened his eyes.
He found himself lying in total darkness, surrounded by a thick, almost suffocating curtain of fog. Behind the curtain, there seemed to be something, but he couldn’t see it clearly. In front of him, there was a towering, indistinct shadow.
The figure wore old hunting attire, a dark, worn-out hood that was empty beneath, void of any form.
However, Yu Sheng could distinctly feel the presence of eyes beneath the hood, silently fixed upon him.
He jolted awake and rose from the darkness, his gaze fixed firmly on the figure.
At the same time, he quickly scanned his surroundings, trying to make sense of the situation.
Had he returned to the Black Forest? It didn’t quite seem so… The scene here didn’t resemble the Black Forest. The thick curtain of mist seemed more like a dream of his own. But he could still hear the hollow wind from the Forest, which was familiar… And the crying sound—was that a baby’s cry?
Was this his dream? Or the Black Forest? Or had his ‘dream’ somehow connected to something strange?
Yu Sheng steadied his mind and, realizing he couldn’t determine where he was at the moment, shifted his focus to the ghostly figure before him.
The figure remained still, not making any move to raise its rifle and shoot him.
‘Hello,’ Yu Sheng spoke cautiously, addressing the figure, ‘Should I call you ‘Hunter’?’
The figure did not respond.
‘You must be,’ Yu Sheng continued, though feeling slightly awkward. ‘We met in the Black Forest… twice. The second time, you even shot me. But of course, I didn’t mind. I’m sure you had your reasons, right… Hey, Hunter, can you give me some response? This is getting a little awkward for me.’
Hunter still showed no response, almost as if it was nothing more than a mere illusion that had somehow appeared in this seemingly dreamlike Dark Space. Yu Sheng furrowed his brows tightly, proceeding cautiously while observing the figure’s reaction. He then circled around it warily.
“Can’t you speak?” Yu Sheng asked, curious.
No response came.
After a moment of awkward silence, Yu Sheng gritted his teeth and reached toward the hunter’s floating attire.
He only intended to touch it lightly to see how the Hunter would react, but the next moment, he was stunned to find that his fingers easily passed through the clothing.
Yu Sheng was momentarily taken aback, but seeing that the ‘Hunter’ still stood motionless, he let out a breath of relief, gathering his courage to extend his hand further.
He felt a slight resistance, a strange, ethereal resistance as his fingers passed through the ‘fabric,’ followed by a cool sensation, as if he had touched air several degrees colder than the surroundings. However, beyond that, there was nothing particularly unusual.
Yu Sheng stood by the ‘Hunter’s’ side, completely extending one arm into the floating attire. Then, he frowned.
Unintentionally, part of his arm overlapped with the sleeve of the hunter’s garment—this moment seemed as though he had actually ‘worn’ the sleeve.
The next instant, Yu Sheng saw the sleeve that had previously been a mere floating illusion in the air suddenly stir, moving in sync with his own arm. The movement was subtle but unmistakable.
I… I am ‘wearing’ this clothing!
The sudden realization hit him like a shockwave, reverberating through this dark, chaotic ‘dreamscape.’ Yu Sheng felt an intense shaking emanating from all directions. As the ground trembled, he realized that, at some point, his arm had been withdrawn. The thick ‘curtain’ surrounding him began to crumble, the dark space started to disintegrate, and the ‘Hunter,’ which had been an empty, formless shadow, suddenly began to move. With awkward, unnatural steps, it retreated. In the blink of an eye, it was reduced to nothing more than a faint shadow.
Instinctively, Yu Sheng reached out, attempting to stop the strange ‘Hunter,’ but before he could fully extend his arm, he suddenly heard a familiar voice from beside him.
“Uncle, what are you doing?”
Everything in front of him collapsed with a resounding crash. For a fleeting moment, Yu Sheng found himself standing in a boundless, dimly lit wilderness, with a hazy gray sky blanketing the Wilderness. Unknown wild grass covered the ground, and a familiar hill stood still in the distance. A soft breeze brushed through the Wilderness, making the grasses ripple.
And standing beside him, a little girl, no more than five or six years old, was looking up at him with wide, curious eyes.
Yu Sheng, still deep in thought over his recent encounter with the ‘Hunter’ and the near-moment of ‘wearing’ its attire, remained frozen for a few seconds, before suddenly reacting with shock, “Xiao Xiao?!”
“Hello, Uncle!” Xiao Xiao suddenly smiled, greeting Yu Sheng cheerfully.
“Uh, hello… wait, how did you get here?!” Yu Sheng looked at the young lady in confusion. His words barely left his mouth before he looked around, but he didn’t spot Little Red Riding Hood’s figure. “Is it just you?”
“I don’t know…” Xiao Xiao tilted her head in confusion. “I was taking an afternoon nap.”
“Afternoon nap?”
“Yeah, Teacher Su made us nap. We have to sleep at noon or else we get sleepy in the afternoon,” Xiao Xiao explained. “I fell asleep, and then I dreamt there was a big gray wolf chasing me. I ran, ran, ran, but eventually I got so tired I tripped and fell… then I ended up here. After a while, I saw you too, but you seemed to be in a daze.”
The little girl rambled on, but the basic logic and events made sense. Yu Sheng understood, yet his expression grew even more bewildered.
Xiao Xiao had dreamt of a ‘Big Bad Wolf,’ a clear reflection of the Fairy Tale’s influence on her. She must have fallen into the Black Forest once again in her dream and been discovered by the Wolf. But then, she said she tripped while running… and fell into this wilderness? What was going on here?
Yu Sheng lifted his gaze, recognizing the area. He knew this place all too well. It was still his strange ‘dreamscape.’ However, after the unsettling experiences he’d had, he was beginning to sense something was off.
Is this truly a ‘dreamscape’?
Yu Sheng recalled the last time he encountered Little Red Riding Hood here. He remembered that after he ‘woke up’ from this place, Little Red Riding Hood had remained behind. Had she not been woken up by Teacher Su with chalk during class, she might still be there. But this time, Xiao Xiao had already arrived here before he did…
All the clues pointed to one conclusion: this wilderness wasn’t a ‘dream.’
It was a ‘place,’ a consciousness space, or something else entirely, existing independently. It had always been there, but whenever Yu Sheng fell asleep, he was likely to end up here.