Chapter 649: Nightmare of God

Nightmare of God?

Lu Xin froze for a moment upon hearing that name.

He remembered Mom once telling him that it represented the ultimate form of thirteen types of Mental Power.

One of those was Nightmare of God.

Although he had heard of it before, he never imagined that Number Two would bring him here without his notice—and seeing the bizarre, surreal scene around him stirred a strange feeling. So, this was what Nightmare of God looked like.

Looking around, he found that Sister and Father had vanished.

He could sense their presence, yet he couldn’t locate them, as though they were deliberately hiding.

And as for Xia Chong’s words…

He glanced around a few times before spotting Xia Chong on a fragment of a floating road far off, hugging her Multi-barrel Rotary Gun as she vigilantly swept the darkness, quickly pointing left then right, her head turning rapidly.

With such boundless energy, everything must be alright.

Feeling slightly relieved, he turned to look at Number Two.

Number Two sat quietly on a shard beside Lu Xin, steadily approaching until his space merged with Lu Xin’s. Noticing Lu Xin’s puzzlement, he softly explained, “They say this place is a nightmare once dreamt by God. Since God is immortal, his dreams have been preserved—ever-present yet disconnected from anything…”

“Except for me.”

He looked up at the floating scenery and murmured, “I’ve been coming here since I was a child.”

“As soon as I fall asleep, I dream.”

“And with each dream, I find myself here, watching this world unfold.”

“Back then, I was terrified. I feared I’d be trapped here forever, unable to ever leave.”

“…”

Lu Xin listened quietly to his recounting, while also taking in the strange world around him.

He could feel the cold desolation and vast emptiness—a myriad of realities torn apart and twisted, lingering here.

Yet they were like stars in a vast night sky: shining yet insignificant. An endless void filled only with scattered, baseless fantasies, a loneliness that was downright unnerving.

If a person ended up here every time they slept, it truly would be terrifying.

In that moment, he began to understand Number Two a bit better…

“No wonder you refused to sleep when you were young—and all that TV made your eyes terrible.”

Lu Xin cast a glance at Number Two and whispered.

“Yeah…”

Number Two stared at the shattered scenery around him, hugging his knees as he sat in a daze.

As if Lu Xin’s words stirred old memories, a slight smile crept onto his face.

“Back then, I was so frightened that I wouldn’t dare sleep. But I was constantly drowsy, so much so that whether playing with friends or sitting in class, I could barely keep up…”

“…”

“Yes…”

Recalling old times, Lu Xin laughed and said, “When we used to play ‘Old Eagle Eats Little Chickens,’ you couldn’t tell anyone apart.”

“Everyone followed the hen, but you ended up bumping into an eagle and even tore his pants down…”

“…”

Number Two, also remembering childhood embarrassments, blushed slightly and nodded with a gentle smile:

“Yeah, that poor eagle was a real mess. Everyone saw his thing…”

“…”

The two traded old stories before a brief silence fell.

After a while, Lu Xin removed his Jacket and handed it to Number Two.

“Put your clothes on; you’re still naked…”

He reminded Number Two before sitting beside him and pulling out a cigarette and a lighter.

“Want one?”

He gestured toward Number Two.

Number Two smiled and shook his head, “Smoking is bad for your health.”

“Mm!”

Lu Xin nodded and lit the cigarette.

Strangely, even though there was no noticeable air or sense of breathing here, he could still smoke.

“Tell me, then!”

After a moment of silence, Lu Xin asked, “What exactly is this place all about?”

“Why were you in that bizarre mechanical tree?”

“…”

“I stayed there for a long time.”

Number Two chuckled softly and replied warmly, “Do you remember our Orphanage Director?”

“Back at the Orphanage, he was in charge of treating us—all of us, including me, who was constantly haunted by this nightmare.”

“But he never managed to cure it, and then that incident happened…”

He paused briefly before looking at Lu Xin, saying, “Back then, you killed everyone. Yet, I don’t truly harbor hatred—I understand you. You were furious and, unlike you now, had little control over yourself…”

Lu Xin fell silent, absorbing every word.

Whenever someone brought up the subject, he didn’t know how to respond or what attitude to adopt.

“Honestly, I thought it would have been better if I had just died back then.”

Number Two sighed gently, “But after a long sleep, I eventually woke up again.”

“It was the Orphanage Director who saved me.”

“I’m not exactly sure how long after that was, but from then on, a few of us, following the Director, wandered for a while. We took trains to the South, to the West, and even ventured to places even further…”

“What the Director was doing then didn’t really concern me—I only hoped he could cure me.”

“But one day, the Director told me he had failed.”

“He couldn’t help me control this dream, so he had no choice but to abandon me…”

“…”

As Number Two recounted these memories in a nonchalant tone, Lu Xin’s cigarette-toting fingers began to tremble slightly.

Yet he restrained himself, listening intently to Number Two’s narrative.

“I spent a long time alone, coming here daily—or every three days—without fail.”

Number Two continued slowly, “Sometimes I’d be here for what felt like an eternity, convinced I would never return, only to wake up one day and find myself lying on a bustling street.”

“And sometimes it was so brief that before I could even rejoice at returning to reality, someone would knock me unconscious…”

“It hurt like hell…”

Number Two smiled softly, pressing his lips together, “In the real world, many people can be downright brutal—they love to hit.”

“But I still long to return to their world.”

“…”

Lu Xin glanced sideways and noticed several prominent scars decorating Number Two’s pale, fragile body.

“And then?”

He couldn’t help but ask.

“Then…”

After a moment of distraction, Number Two lifted his gaze to the surreal sky.

His voice turned soft, almost as if murmuring in his sleep, “I heard a voice.”

“Hmm?”

“It was a very strange sound, right here in this world.”

Number Two whispered, “Before that, I had never heard any voice or seen anyone in this place.”

“So I was overjoyed, wanting to speak with it.”

“But it rarely spoke—instead, it would occasionally tell me bits and pieces.”

“Like what this world is, or what I should do to better protect myself…”

“It instructed me in ways, some of which I didn’t care for.”

“But gradually, I began to follow its advice, for in this world, it was the only one who ever spoke to me.”

“So I started doing what it said in the real world—like getting killed by vicious people, only to appear again right in front of them, telling others that the real world is false and not truly real…”

“…”

Lu Xin frowned as he listened, then turned to Number Two.

He suspected something, though he wasn’t entirely sure.

“The things it taught me have proven very useful.”

Number Two sighed softly and continued, “Gradually, more and more people began to trust me.”

“I no longer went hungry or got beaten up.”

“So many people started supporting me—even if they had only a morsel to eat, they’d give it to me first.”

“Yet, I never really cared about that. I only wished that one day, after entering the dream, I wouldn’t have to come back here…”

“…”

At length, he smiled at Lu Xin and said, “I like living in the real world—despite the beatings and hunger…”

Lu Xin didn’t know how to reply; he could only nod slowly.

“That voice told me my wish could come true.”

As Number Two spoke, a happy smile illuminated his face, “It said it could help me return to the real world.”

“And let me remain there forever.”

“…”

Lu Xin couldn’t help but glance at him, but he didn’t interrupt.

Number Two continued, “So I kept doing exactly as he said.”

“As more people gathered around me, he led me to the Chaos Zone, instructing me to follow his will and tell others that the real world was nothing but a lie, that a certain place was wonderful…”

“At times, I even had to demonstrate miracles repeatedly…”

“Soon enough, even in vast places like the Flame, innumerable people began to believe me.”

“…”

Only then did he lower his voice and sigh, “Finally, at that moment, he said he could help me.”

Lu Xin couldn’t help but ask, “He really would help you?”

“Yes.”

Number Two nodded and said, “He told me I wouldn’t have to be so lonely anymore…”

“For example, if I was truly afraid of being alone here—even fearful of being trapped here forever—why not try bringing a few more people in until I could leave?”

“I listened to him!”

The depth in Number Two’s eyes grew unfathomable as he continued,

“Back then, I didn’t know how to bring people here until he taught me what a step was.”

“So when I reached the second step, I realized I could actually bring outsiders into this place—to fill this lonely, once solitary space with the sound of voices.”

“…”

Listening to the mix of melancholy and absurdity in Number Two’s calm tone, Lu Xin couldn’t help but stand up.

He looked down at Number Two, his expression suddenly filled with complexity.

He seemed about to speak but held back, and after a moment, he asked, “And then?”

“Then…”

Number Two fell silent for a moment, a look of bewilderment on his face, “Then, I probably did a lot of things. I listened to that voice and brought many people in, but once they arrived, things weren’t the same. I still felt lonely, enduring the emptiness day after day, still yearning to leave…”

“So I pleaded with that voice to fulfill its promise…”

“And then it told me how…”

“…”

After a pause, Number Two said, “It said it couldn’t help me leave, but it could help me return to the real world.”

“For example, by pulling the real world into here, wouldn’t that mean I’d get back to reality?”

“…”

“…”

“Whoosh!”

At that, Lu Xin finally sprang to his feet, his gaze fixed on Number Two with a complex expression.

“So you are the Source of True Hometown…”

“So they really meant that hell was you…”