Chapter 78: The Duty of a Dream Ferryman
Jinling City First Hospital.
A figure clad in a doctor's white coat, symbolizing a plague rat, stood atop the hospital’s towering building.
His hands were tucked into his pockets, buffeted by a cold wind at such heights, making the white coat flutter. The sky was drizzling, rain pattering against his skin, bringing a faint chill.
That ferocious rat mask mirrored the impending nightfall of Jinling City and the thousands of neon lights beginning to illuminate.
Behind him stood an exquisite doll dressed in a princess gown, as if dancing ballet.
With each leap, the Barbie doll let out a string of eerie giggles, echoing like laughter from a deep abyss, chilling to the bone.
The plague rat glanced back, a smirk tugging at his lips.
The Barbie danced for a long while, eventually sketching a sinister pattern on the rooftop floor. It seemed drawn by the blood splattered from her broken limbs.
At the instant the pattern took shape,
A column of black light shot into the clouds,
In the blink of an eye, it spread like a bowl, radiating in all directions, enveloping the entire hospital!
The once bustling hospital fell silent, as if death had descended.
The plague rat spread his arms, his eyes wild and manic beneath the mask, fixed on the Barbie doll.
From his throat,
A deep, guttural voice rang out, reverberating across the rooftop.
“The show... has begun!”
...
Jinling City First Hospital.
In a private ward,
Lan Xiang, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly opened his eyes.
The hospital was eerily quiet—
Too quiet.
He couldn’t hear a single sound from the corridor.
The door opened.
Sun Yaohai and Sun Zhe entered, faces grave, yet not a whisper of footsteps or door hinges could be heard.
“Captain Sun, something’s happened!” Lan Xiang pressed a finger to his brow, letting his dream spirit dissipate, his expression solemn.
Sun Yaohai also released his dream spirit to communicate with Lan Xiang,
He glanced at Lan Xiang approvingly, “Your perception is impressive. If you hadn’t faltered in the first round of the New Dream Walker Invitational, you might have met Du Fang in the provincial champion showdown. A pity.”
“Indeed, the entire Jinling City First Hospital is shrouded by a powerful dream spirit,” Lan Xiang’s brows furrowed, “How could this happen?”
“A hospital, of all places—if a dream disaster erupts, the Dream Walkers Association’s monitoring station should be able to forecast it, right?”
Sun Yaohai went to the floor-to-ceiling window,
Gazing at the sea of lights outside, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes, “This isn’t a natural occurrence. It’s artificial.”
“Someone is using a forbidden device to unleash a dream disaster, enveloping the entire hospital…”
“Judging by the dream spirit fluctuations, the disaster ranks no lower than the seventh grade of the uncanny tier—this is an attempt to kill every soul in the hospital!”
Sun Yaohai drew a deep breath.
Lan Xiang and Sun Zhe shuddered.
“Captain Sun… is this aimed at me?” Lan Xiang’s lips trembled.
Sun Yaohai shot him a sidelong glance, “Don’t flatter yourself, rookie. Do you really think you warrant this kind of attention?”
Lan Xiang: “…”
Sun Yaohai walked up to him, reached into Lan Xiang’s bed, and fished out a mirror.
“Stay put in the ward.”
“No matter their intentions, I can’t stand by and do nothing.”
“Since I’ve encountered this, I, Sun Yaohai, will intervene.”
With these words, he turned to leave the private ward.
“Dad!” Sun Zhe’s face was pale as he called out.
“Don’t go… Wait for the Association’s Dream Walkers to rescue us,” Sun Zhe’s lips quivered.
But Sun Yaohai shook his head, “We can wait, but the thousands in the hospital cannot.”
“Moreover, as a Dream Walker, I cannot let a dream disaster be unleashed right under my nose.”
“It’s my duty.”
Before closing the door, he looked at Lan Xiang, “You all stay put. This matter has far exceeded what you greenhorns can meddle in.”
“Hide well, and don’t die.”
“Lan Xiang, take care of Sun Zhe.”
With that, the ward door slammed shut.
Inside, Lan Xiang gazed complicatedly at Sun Yaohai’s resolute departure.
Sun Zhe collapsed onto the floor.
...
At the moment the plague rat acted atop the hospital,
On the rooftops of several key buildings across Jinling City,
At the Jinling City Opera House,
A burly figure wearing a vicious bull mask similarly activated a giggling Barbie doll.
Black light, shaped like a bowl, enveloped the opera house.
The venue that had been filled with melodious song instantly fell silent—every note seemed cut off.
...
In Jinling City’s Fangzheng Mall,
The city’s largest shopping center was ablaze with lights and teeming with crowds.
Yet,
On the outdoor rooftop,
A graceful figure in a rabbit mask, with long slender legs, hooked her limbs around the railing with fluid motion, finally standing atop it.
Behind her, at the mall’s rooftop,
Another Barbie doll came to life, giggling eerily as it danced in place.
Eventually, black light erupted, shrouding the entire mall.
The woman beneath the rabbit mask pressed her wireless earpiece and spoke softly,
“Azure Dragon, everything is ready.”
...
Hospital, mall, opera house—
The forbidden devices were unleashed in the busiest places, releasing dream disasters.
Once the dream disaster spread, it encompassed thousands upon thousands.
Every soul engulfed by the dream disaster faced mortal peril.
Jinling City Dream Walkers Association.
“Beep, beep, beep, beep…”
Suddenly, alarms blared. The moment dream disaster waves were detected at three populous sites, the instruments atop the Dream Walker Tower triggered automatically.
Eighty floors up—
The President’s Office.
Tang Nai, just returned from the city’s sports center, was about to enjoy a sip of fine tea when the alarm startled him.
The cup sat on the desk, but he was already gone, leaving only a still ripple in the tea.
Atop the Dream Walker Tower,
President Tang Nai stood at the summit, facing the gale and a few icy raindrops.
He climbed high and looked far.
He saw three black domes covering three districts of Jinling City, as if erasing them from the world.
He closed his eyes,
Felt the dream spirit waves carried by the wind.
Listened to the “giggle, giggle, giggle” echoing in his ears.
“This is forbidden device—091…”
“Just yesterday, we received intelligence: powerful figures from Underworld and Divine Core organizations secretly arrived in Jinling. Didn’t expect today they’d pull this stunt.”
“Do they really think Jinling City is a pushover?”
A coldness surfaced on Tang Nai’s kindly face, though it was tinged with confusion.
“But what is their goal?”
“To deploy forbidden devices on such a scale must serve a purpose.”
Tang Nai couldn’t fathom it, nor could he divine their intent.
Yet, he surmised one thing: by dividing the dream disaster into three zones, the enemy aimed to tie down the Association’s forces.
Whoosh!
His figure blurred, leaving a faint shadow atop the high-rise.
He reappeared, leaning on a cane, light as a feather in the lobby of the Dream Walker Tower.
Wen Ji rushed over, his face grave and icy.
“President! I’ve already notified three gold squads to respond to the dream disasters cloaking the hospital, mall, and theater. To set dream disasters in such crowded places is clearly meant to split our forces.”
“We know their purpose, but we can’t ignore it,” Wen Ji said swiftly.
Tang Nai nodded coldly, “Good arrangements.”
Yet Wen Ji’s face remained stern, unmoved by praise, “There’s another piece of news—I’m not sure if it’s good or bad.”
“Speak.”
“One of the dream disaster zones—the hospital—has Gold Squad Silver Wolf’s Captain Sun Yaohai inside. He’s sent a rescue request and is attacking from within.”
Wen Ji reported.
Tang Nai paused, his cane thumping heavily.
“Sun Yaohai?” Tang Nai’s brows furrowed as he looked toward the hospital.
After a long while, he exhaled.
“He’s competent, but… not enough!”
“Search for the nearest silver attack squad. Tell them to act immediately and head to the hospital dream disaster zone for rescue.”
Tang Nai ordered.
Wen Ji nodded, then activated the device to search for nearby phone signals.
“President, I have results.”
Tang Nai nodded, “Which silver squad is nearby?”
Wen Ji’s expression turned odd as he replied slowly,
“Wildfire.”
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