Chapter 210: Unraveling the Nightmare

“Officer, please believe us, we really didn’t do anything…”

“Yes, we were just performing an exorcism…”

“No, no, don’t listen to them, it wasn’t a relationship dispute…”

“A gun? What gun?”

“We didn’t fire any guns… not a single shot…”

…

Outside the hotel room door, Xiao Yuan was desperately trying to explain the gunshot to the arriving patrol officers.

But even with his relatively high status, he couldn’t convince them regarding something as serious as firing a gun.

The two officers had already forced their way into the hotel room for an inspection and were now sternly demanding a full search of the area.

Just as he was sweating bullets, unwilling to betray Lu Xin, the officers received a call on their walkie-talkies. One stepped aside to talk. When he returned, his expression had shifted. He whispered something to his partner just as Lu Xin walked over from nearby. Both officers suddenly looked nervous and quickly saluted.

Their tone shifted instantly from questioning what happened to respectful inquiry: “Is there anything we can help you with?”

Xiao Yuan stared, stunned. Why the sudden, drastic change in the officers’ attitude?

“No, no, thank you.”

Lu Xin quickly thanked them too. The officers nodded, saluted again, and hurried away.

Xiao Yuan watched them leave, completely bewildered.

Although he was sure Lu Xin was helping him, the whole situation felt unreal.

This was a serious incident involving gunfire, and it just… ended?

Ever since he saw Lu Xin casually walk into the Security Hall, he suspected Lu Xin wasn’t just anybody.

But now, he felt the world was even more absurd than he’d imagined…

…not because his own employee was so formidable, but why on earth was someone like that working for *his* company?

…

…

“Big Lu… no, Little Lu… no, Brother Lu…”

Xiao Yuan finally settled on a name that felt slightly less awkward and asked nervously, “What… what should I do now?”

“I really am younger than you.”

Lu Xin glanced at him. “You’re a leader in our company. Just call me Little Lu.”

Xiao Yuan felt his scalp tingle. “I’m not *that* kind of leader…”

Lu Xin sighed, deciding to let it go and not argue about the name. He gathered his thoughts and said:

“The issue with your nightly nightmares is resolved for now. You should be able to sleep soundly tonight. But there’s still the problem of finding the person *causing* these nightmares. I’ll handle that myself…”

“The person making me have nightmares?”

Xiao Yuan was startled at first, then his eyes widened. “Someone… someone is doing this to me?”

Lu Xin nodded. “Yes, that’s confirmed. You’re having nightmares because someone is intentionally causing them.”

“I’ve only stopped the nightmares for now. The next step is to find the person responsible.”

…

“Okay… okay…”

Xiao Yuan listened, practically trembling with gratitude.

He wasn’t sure if he felt more fear or anger at that moment.

At first, the relentless nightmares had driven him to the edge, making him wonder if he was truly losing his mind. When Lu Xin said he could help, all he felt was excitement and hope. Just stopping the nightmares felt like the ultimate goal. But now, hearing they were intentionally caused by someone else, anger surged through him.

“I’ll have to trouble Lu… trouble Brother Lu then. You must…”

His face twisted. “You absolutely have to help me find him!”

…

He couldn’t fathom who could be so vicious, forcing him to relive eating his younger siblings over and over again…

He’d rather have someone point a gun at him than endure this.

“Finding him is a certainty, but I’ll need your help.”

Facing Xiao Yuan’s contorted, furious expression, Lu Xin remained remarkably calm, lightly rubbing his temples.

“First, you need to tell me the truth.”

Lu Xin looked up at him. “In the dream, was someone forcing you to eat, or…”

“…were you eating on your own?”

…

Though the question seemed to come out of nowhere, it made Xiao Yuan snap his head up.

Looking at Lu Xin’s calm face, he felt immense pressure, unable to lie. After a long pause, he stammered, “A-at first, I did dream of a… a strange person. He was forcing me. But… but after a few days, it… it was just me… doing those things. The me in the dream seemed…”

His lips trembled as he mumbled for a while before finally admitting, “It seemed like I became someone else. Someone who… really enjoyed it.”

Lu Xin just watched him quietly, his brow furrowed in thought.

“I… I didn’t want to say it because… because I truly feel that wasn’t me in the dream…”

Xiao Yuan desperately tried to explain, “The person in the dream was a complete pervert! That wasn’t me…”

Saying it aloud seemed incredibly difficult for him.

Surprisingly, Lu Xin didn’t press further, simply nodding. “I understand. Don’t worry. It’s not because you actually harbor those thoughts. It just means the influence on you was exceptionally strong. However…”

“You must tell the truth about everything going forward, understand?”

…

“Yes, yes, okay, I swear…”

Xiao Yuan nodded vigorously, even raising a hand as if taking an oath.

“No need to be so tense.”

Lu Xin gestured for him to lower his hand, mentally chiding himself.

*Was I being a bit too serious? Look how scared I made the Vice President…*

…

…

But hearing Vice President Xiao’s confession confirmed Lu Xin’s earlier thoughts.

This Ability User was likely stronger than he’d initially assumed.

Or perhaps, the situation was just more complex.

The problem Xiao Yuan faced seemed like something a typical Dream Weaver-type could cause; Han Bing’s analysis wasn’t wrong.

But certain details felt off.

For instance, the mental power residue left in Xiao Yuan. While it seemed innocuous and easy to dispel, Lu Xin suspected it wasn’t just tens or hundreds of units as Han Bing suggested, but likely several times that amount…

That was the strange part.

What sane Ability User would willingly leave such a significant portion of their mental power within a victim?

That was practically akin to fragmenting one’s own mental power.

Even when trying to harm someone, you had to consider the cost!

The difference between an Ability User and a Pollution Source lies in intent. A Pollution Source contaminates anyone matching its logic chain indiscriminately without controlling the intensity. An Ability User, however, deliberately chooses targets and manipulates them to fit their logic chain, carefully calculating to maximize their gain.

The dilemma Lu Xin faced was this:

Judging by the severity of the influence on Xiao Yuan and the strong residual mental power, it resembled contamination by a Pollution Source.

Yet, the targeted nature of the affliction suggested the precise work of an Ability User.

…

…

“To find the person harming you, you need to do a few things first.”

Lu Xin looked at Xiao Yuan and spoke slowly, “If these nightmares started a month ago, I need you to think about everyone you’ve interacted with since then. Anyone who holds a grudge against your family, anyone who wants to ruin your family relationships, and anyone who stands to gain the most if something happened to you… The key is they must have had repeated contact with you and easy access to you.”

Lu Xin continued slowly, “Gather all of them.”

Xiao Yuan listened, looking bewildered. “Why?”

Lu Xin simply looked at him without speaking.

Xiao Yuan quickly caught on. “It’ll be complicated, but I’ll do my best. The only issue is, my family’s been handling the paperwork to move into the Main City. My parents, the staff… they’re all staying there right now…”

“You’ll need to go to the Main City as well.”

Lu Xin replied. After a pause, he added, “I need to see them all, then screen them one by one.”

“Screen them one by one?”

Xiao Yuan’s eyes widened slightly. “A-and then what?”

“Then?”

Lu Xin glanced at him. “Capture them, of course.”

Xiao Yuan was stunned speechless. Lu Xin stated it so casually…

He suddenly felt his employee possessed an almost frightening level of cool confidence.

…

…

This was the plan Lu Xin had devised.

He had already encountered the residual power of the Dream Weaver left on Xiao Yuan.

He’d sensed it closely and memorized its signature.

Since he couldn’t directly ask his Family for help, he’d have to gather all the suspects. Then, he’d examine them individually. Once he found someone whose mental power felt similar, he’d have found the culprit.

Whether the perpetrator was a Dream Weaver-type or a Pollution Source, this somewhat crude method should work.

It was a process of elimination.

Besides genuinely helping Xiao Yuan, finding this person served another, hidden purpose for Lu Xin.

The remnant Dream Weaver-type power on Xiao Yuan had bought him over twenty seconds in the corridor…

Which meant the main body…

Of course, he shouldn’t think like that. Dream Weaver-types weren’t disposable resources.

But surely, sincerely asking for a small favor would be acceptable?

…The mental power left inside Xiao Yuan had been very helpful, consuming itself to aid Lu Xin.

…Presumably, the main body must be a warm-hearted person too, right?

Of course, even if they refused, Lu Xin wouldn’t mind persuading them, perhaps moving them with his sincerity.

After all, this person *was* an illegal Ability User.

As he thought this, a calm smile finally spread across Lu Xin’s previously tense face.