In a city of red and black, several disheveled figures fled in panic. Among them were a businessman in a suit and glasses, heavily armed soldiers, a man with a nose and ear piercing, and a woman in sportswear.
"Run faster, or that guy will catch up again," the man with the nose ring said sternly.
The man in the suit ran a few steps before collapsing onto a roadside rock. "You guys run. I can't run anymore. This is a dream, and we can't outrun him. In fact, he's been toying with us the whole time. Instead of desperately running like mice, it's better to die sooner for release."
After fleeing for days and seeing his companions dwindle, the man in the suit had lost the will to live. The man with the nose ring stopped, wanting to scold him, but found himself unable to. This man in the suit was the nose-ringed man's host, who had paid a hefty sum for the nose-ringed man to implant a dream.
Dream implantation was a process of subtly instilling a thought or idea into someone's subconscious through deceit within a dream. This implanted thought would then manifest in reality, with the recipient believing it was their own idea, not one forced upon them. The man in the suit had used dream implantation to gain much illegal profit, escalating his schemes and resorting to it to solve problems. The nose-ringed man, a dream speaker even more powerful than Meivena, could take people into subconscious dreams and wield certain abilities within them. The others in the group were actors hired to influence the target's thoughts.
However, even the most skilled can falter. This time, they had encountered a formidable opponent, the most terrifying entity in dreams: a Nightmare. Nightmares were the most powerful creatures in dreams, feeding on the dreams of others and possessing the ability to kill within the dreamscape. Typically, Nightmares adhered to principles of sustainable development, causing chaos and feeding but not directly killing their prey. Killing too many would attract trouble and reduce their food source, a lose-lose scenario. Thus, most victims of Nightmares merely suffered terrifying nightmares, followed by a few days of neurasthenia.
But the actions of the man in the suit and his group were akin to defecating in the Nightmare's food, a grave provocation. Consequently, the Nightmare began a brutal retaliation. As the man in the suit had stopped, the group rested briefly. Ten minutes later, when the Nightmare had not attacked, and they believed themselves safe, a silver-gray blade pierced the man in the suit's chest from behind!
Behind the man in the suit, a grotesque figure emerged. It was a creature resembling a mummy, clad in a tattered silver-gray robe. This was not the Nightmare itself, but a low-level dream creature known as a Dream Demon, a minion of the Nightmare, often used to torment dreamers. Pierced by the Dream Demon, the man in the suit did not die but was firmly pinned to its limbs. He felt no pain at first. As he wondered why, an excruciating agony began. The skin behind his right index finger was peeled away inch by inch, flesh and blood falling away piece by piece, leaving only a bone devoid of any tissue! This process then repeated on another finger.
The Dream Demon was subjecting the man in the suit to slow slicing, a torture far more terrifying than its real-world counterpart, as in this dream, he could not die as long as the Nightmare willed it. Witnessing this, the others were petrified and fled as if their lives depended on it. Under normal circumstances, such terror would cause them to automatically exit the dream. However, this dreamscape had been sealed by the Nightmare, and unless it permitted, they would be trapped here forever.
"Oh ho ho ho... Keep struggling. The more you struggle, the tastier you become." A woman, dressed in a flamboyant, revealing cardigan and appearing rather dim-witted, lay languidly on a soft sofa. She was the Nightmare, named Meng Lan. For Nightmares, names and appearances were meaningless, but Meng Lan had been tormenting humans for so long that she had begun to emulate them. From her perspective, several streaks of red smoke and one plume of deep crimson smoke were visible in the city, representing the fear of the fleeing individuals. Meng Lan pursed her bright red lips, then gently inhaled, drawing the red smoke into her mouth.
"This exquisite taste never tires, no matter how much I eat..." After consuming the red smoke, Meng Lan's complexion flushed, her slender neck arched, and she began to hum softly. Having enjoyed her meal, Meng Lan instructed her henchmen, the Dream Demons, to continue pursuing the remaining individuals, but not to kill them. They were to be killed in another five hours, allowing her to feast again.
Meng Lan prepared for a nap after her meal. Her surroundings dramatically shifted, transforming into a luxurious bedroom. Within minutes of lying down, she suddenly sat up, her eyes glowing green. She was hungry, ravenously hungry! Furthermore, she smelled an intensely sweet aroma. She desired to devour it, finding the scent far superior to the people she was currently toying with, who were like leftovers in a slop bucket.
"My little delicacy, wait for me. Big sister is coming to favor you," Meng Lan licked her lips. With a wave of her hand towards the fleeing group, dozens of Dream Demons materialized, killing everyone, including the man with the nose ring. The red smoke formed several deep crimson pellets. These pellets could satisfy a Nightmare's hunger, but their taste was far inferior to fresh fear. However, Meng Lan was too eager for the new delicacy to bother with such minor details. If she didn't act quickly, another of her kind might snatch the prize away!
...
The Sky-Screening Giant Whale locked eyes with the ancient god Ensuke, while Cicada Ancestor flew about aimlessly. The Beast God Qilin lay on a patch of grass, sleeping like a dog. Egel, transformed into a colossal demon god, moved incessantly through the void, while the Pale Demon wrestled with Lovis…
Wen Wen sat atop the Nest of Destruction, observing these monstrous beings wreaking havoc in his dream like Huskies, a look of helplessness on his face. Initially, he found the dream novel, but after a while, it became tedious. Even monsters disliked spending extended periods with their enemies.
"Nightmare, oh Nightmare, hurry up and come. I'm growing mold waiting for you."