Nightmare Despair

Chapter 126 Nursery Expansion
Open your eyes slowly.

The fireplace flames danced before his eyes, and Zhou Kai was back in his nightmare.

The prepared materials, such as bricks and potting soil, appeared in the inventory.

"It seems that I can bring more and more things in."

Zhou Kai savored the process of entering the dream, carefully discerning the subtle differences in feeling each time he entered the dream.

The maximum number of external objects a person can carry is definitely linked to some element on their person.

It's not about strength, it's about physique.

Intuitively, Zhou Kai felt it was about body shape.

He felt that the taller and stronger he was, the more external resources he could bring into this world.

Of course, the exact ratio will need to be explored gradually.

"Expand the nursery first."

Zhou Kai stopped thinking about it.

With a thought, a suitcase half the height of a person fell from the sky.

Unpack and pick up the goods.

Bricks, tiles, and potting soil were removed, and Zhou Kai began construction.

His original plan was to make the most of the materials, building several small nurseries around the main entrance on the first floor, on the balcony on the second floor, and in several key corners of the shelter.

He finished the work with a heavy sigh, tidying up all the corners of the shelter.

After finishing, he clapped his hands.

However, after waiting for a while, there was no response.

"Does upgrading and expanding the nursery, like the fireplace, also require the use of universal experience points?"

Zhou Kai was in no hurry to draw a conclusion.

He went back to the basement, grabbed the notebook Adams had left next to the nursery, and began to examine it word by word.

Besides the descriptions of magical plants and clean soil in the notes, Zhou Kai gleaned something else from between the lines.

Setting up a nursery seems to be more than just enclosing clean soil with bricks.

There's a trick to this.

"The ratio... 18/9/3?"

He crouched down and carefully counted the number of bricks in the basement nursery, discovering this unusually regular proportion.

Zhou Kai's heart skipped a beat.

Does a building have to be built strictly according to the 6:3:1 length-to-width-to-height ratio to be approved by the shelter?

Thinking too much is pointless; just take action.

It's just a matter of rebuilding the bricks and filling in the soil again. It's no big deal. If it fails, we can think of other solutions.

Zhou Kai got right to work, first dismantling the previous incorrect ones, and then, in less than twenty minutes, the first nursery, No. 2, which was exactly the same as the initial nursery in proportion, was initially built up with its perimeter not far from the main gate.

The number of bricks he brought was just enough to meet the minimum requirement for achieving the required proportion, with two extra bricks left over, which he casually tossed aside.

Next, Zhou Kai filled the soil with clean soil and then quickly transplanted two Moonflower Orchids from downstairs.

Zhou Kai carefully planted the orchid in the soil and waited patiently for the results.

The chat box appeared above the nursery right on time.

It became.

[A brand new territory! Although it's not very clean, the Moonlit Orchids love it here...]

The minor contamination is being removed...

Her presence will permeate a wider area.

[Note: As your Mysticism level increases, you will be able to receive more blessings from Moonlit Orchids. As their population expands, the effects you receive will also be enhanced.]

An unexpected surprise?

Zhou Kai looked at the notification in the chat box with some surprise.

He expanded the nursery with the sole intention of increasing its resistance to blood tides.

Unexpectedly, the effect of having a clear mind, which had benefited him greatly, still had room for improvement.

If that's the case, then the nursery is clearly worth his continued expansion.

They're everywhere in the shelters... no, they're practically everywhere in the entire town of Soraka!

How strong will the boost Moonshine Orchid give me by then?
Zhou Kai's heart was burning with passion.

But after the initial excitement, he also noticed some worrying information in the chat box.

Zhou Kai picked up a bit of fresh soil and brought it to his nose.

There was no putrid smell or strange odor.

"Why... is the soil I brought from reality contaminated?"

If the pollution refers to heavy metal residues, then it doesn't matter.

But if it refers to nightmare erosion...

Doesn't that mean the distance between the real world and nightmares is much closer than he imagined?!
"Perhaps there's no need to be so pessimistic."

Zhou Kai took a deep breath, his brows furrowed, and several other possibilities surfaced in his mind.

"On the bright side, perhaps it's just that the place where this batch of potting soil was produced happened to be contaminated by the power of nightmares."

"After all, there is the precedent of Xinhui Industrial Park."

"Leaving aside the building that was corrupted by the nightmare of reality, the surrounding buildings that weren't pulled in will probably also be affected by the power of the nightmare."

"Since the chat box says it's only slightly contaminated, it's probably just as I thought, a secondary contamination, not a big problem."

This understanding is quite convincing.

An ordinary person would probably just comfort themselves and let it go.

But he is Zhou Kai.

If he were so easily self-hypnotized, the progress of the chariot engraving would have already taken off from where it was.

Zhou Kai's heart sank, and a shadow crossed his eyes.

He knew very well that he had another, even more damning guess in his mind.

"Perhaps the reality is already precarious, and timely detection of soil pollution might be a good thing... a constant reminder."

The speed at which we grow stronger, the progress of our exploration... cannot be slowed down.

The expansion of the nursery can also be seen as a period of rest and recuperation for Zhou Kai.

Once he finished his civil engineering work, he planned to get to work immediately.

Zhou Kai sowed all the remaining seeds he had, and specially cut off a piece of Gastrodia elata tuber with buds, which he then buried in nursery No. 2.

After doing all this, Zhou Kai, fully armed, hurriedly left the house.

Unless it's during a blood tide, he has no reason to stay in the shelter.

Especially now, general experience points are almost zero.

Gurgle...

Zhou Kai stepped into the soft mud, and the tiny sound he made was only audible to himself under the vast rain.

His light, agile steps at level three were gradually becoming insufficient to keep up with his current needs.

As Zhou Kai's physique and equipment became heavier, his skills could no longer allow him to remain as serene and elusive as before.

"Should we upgrade our light footwork?"

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he nipped it in the bud.

Forget it.

Universal experience points are always precious, and many advanced skills with more remarkable effects, as well as chariot markings, are still eagerly awaited. Which of these is a priority over it?
Light Footwork is a skill that doesn't rank highly, and it's not qualified to compete for resources with Buzzard Claw and Marking.

Moreover, the skill's training efficiency is still decent; with more use, it might level up on its own someday.

After a short walk, Zhou Kai returned to the Western-style mansion area at the top of the town.

Instead of going directly in, he went around to the outermost edge of the town behind the mansion.

Before venturing into the inner region again, Zhou Kai wanted to take advantage of the remaining time to thoroughly explore the outer region, which he had already plowed three times, to see if there was any left to exploit. He also wanted to probe outwards a little.

As Zhou Kai got closer to the outskirts of the town, the rain falling from the sky gradually thinned out.

This gave him the illusion that another blood tide was coming, but when he retreated dozens of meters, the rain was still pouring down.

"It seems this torrential rain has a limited range... most likely it only covers the town of Soraka. Once you leave the town, it's a completely different world."

Zhou Kai glanced at the countdown timer set in his eyepiece, and after confirming that there was no immediate threat of a blood tide, he calmed down and continued to make his way out of the town.

The raindrops went from pouring down to falling in sparse amounts, and finally stopped abruptly.

About ten minutes later, when the tall Western-style building behind him had completely disappeared into the rain, Zhou Kai suddenly stopped.

The rain clouds that shrouded the town were now only illuminated by flashes of lightning, a testament to their presence.

Before him stood a high wall.

A high, curved wall composed of a slowly rolling, surging, seemingly living, hidden black mist...

Zhou Kai looked to both sides along the curve of the fog wall and was horrified to find that the black fog, which was different from the white fog in the core of the town, had actually enveloped the entire town of Soraka.

Inside and outside the walls are like two different worlds.

What's outside...?

Zhou Kai was prepared to retreat at any time, and he drew his Dragon-Slaying Sword, the tip of which touched the black mist.

The Dragon-Slaying Sword pierced through.

No entity.

The black mist rippled... The sensation was like piercing into some kind of soft, sticky lipid, silently engulfing the sword without any sense of obstruction.

It was as if the black mist was just a facade, merely serving to mark out territory, and not at all the invisible wall Zhou Kai had imagined.

But... is it really that simple?
Zhou Kai wasn't that naive. He drew his sword and retreated, preparing to go back to the inner area to catch one or two monsters and throw them in to scout ahead.

The sword, which had just emerged from the black mist, came into Zhou Kai's view.

Zhou Kai's heart skipped a beat.

He touched the blade with his bare fingers; the texture was rough, like touching a layer of cheap sandpaper.

The next moment, a slight stinging pain came.

"This is?"

Zhou Kai moved his hand away as if he had been electrocuted.

In the darkness, he couldn't see the abnormality on his hand, but if he placed it in the light, he could see that the Dragon Slayer Sword and his fingertips were emitting extremely fine black energy.

[You have come into contact with a high concentration of pollutant; the erosion is accelerating. We recommend you stay away!]

The next second after his surprise, the comments section appeared precisely on time.

Upon seeing this line of text, Zhou Kai immediately abandoned all thoughts of risky exploration.

Could it be that... just stepping into this black mist is no less corrosive than death?

He had worked so hard to control the erosion process, and he couldn't let it all be lost by recklessly exploring the map.

Zhou Kai twitched his lips: "Let's explore the world ahead later."

"I just hope that when I go to the church, the black fog won't block my way."

The church sits atop the mountains at the edge of the lake, behind the white mist in the heart of the city.

Zhou Kai could only pray that when the exploration progressed to the church, there wouldn't be any black fog blocking his way.

If it really exists, in order to find the core of the nightmare, we'll probably have no choice but to venture in...

He glanced around a few times.

This place is vast and barren, with the only feature being this impenetrable black wall of mist.

There was nowhere to hide, and staying there for too long made me feel inexplicably uneasy.

Since the black fog is untouchable, it's best to retreat as soon as possible.

Zhou Kai slowly took a few steps back, turned around, and ran wildly towards the town.

When he arrived, he was like a stealthy hunter, full of patience.

Now, in the blink of an eye, he was back in the rain.

……

However, unexpectedly, perhaps it was Zhou Kai's footsteps as he left that completely shattered the deathly silence of the place.

Heavy footsteps echoed from within the black mist.

A dark figure leaped out from the black mist, following the sound.

Unlike the white mist that restrains monsters, this black mist is completely unconcerned about anything leaving it; it merely twists and changes shape for a while before returning to its original state.

The shadow was almost as large as Elizabeth.

It sniffed around the spot where Zhou Kai had been, as if it had a sense of smell, and then, locking onto the direction of the rain, it charged off.

That speed was even faster than Zhou Kai's when he wasn't at full power.

……

There are no monsters left in the outer zone.

The Nightmare World is not a game after all; the monsters that Zhou Kai killed won't be foolish enough to respawn.

To continue gaining general experience points, you either need to venture into the black fog and leave the town, or you need to head towards the innermost part of the town.

Having confirmed that the black fog was a high-risk area, Zhou Kai naturally headed towards the inner area of ​​the town surrounding the clock tower without looking back.

The monster resources here should be quite plentiful.

Upon arriving near the clock tower, Zhou Kai didn't even glance at the manor area, nor did he linger in any open space.

In order to avoid being discovered by the heavily armored knight, Zhou Kai's every move was precisely aimed at the knight's blind spot.

……

boom!
The Dragon Slayer Sword tore through the air, carrying wind pressure. Although the surface of the sword was corroded and rough, its power was not diminished in the slightest. It smashed violently onto the parasitic corpse's head.

The monster didn't even have time to put up any resistance before its squid head, along with its chest and abdomen, was smashed to pieces by Zhou Kai's sword.

Like a tomato smashed by a heavy hammer.

Rotten flesh everywhere.

Only its two legs remained, standing there dumbfounded.

At this point, no matter how tenacious the parasitic corpse's vitality is, Zhou Kai doesn't need to deliver a second blow.

You have killed 'Diavolo Parasite (Adult)', gaining +7 Universal Experience.

The comments section immediately filled the screen, and Zhou Kai's expression softened slightly.

After repairing the equipment, I only had two experience points left, leaving me penniless and feeling quite uneasy.

Now that it's back to nine o'clock, I feel much better.

There was only one parasitic corpse in this house. After gaining experience points, Zhou Kai was in a hurry to go to the next house.

He quickly searched the various rooms, trying to find items that were clearly different and contained important information.

When Zhou Kai finally found a storage room, he was rewarded after a long time.

On the large wooden plank nailed with long nails and covered with rusted and corroded tools, there was a piece of iron the size of a palm, gleaming faintly.

There seemed to be some text written on it, but it was difficult to see clearly from the distance.

Zhou Kai reached out and took it directly.

However, just as his hand was about to touch the sheet metal...

Boom! !
Zhou Kai's eardrums were ringing.

The wall in front of him... exploded.

Bricks and wood chips flew everywhere like cannonballs!
A massive black shadow, accompanied by wind pressure, flew in and smashed half of the storage room to pieces.

The sheet metal that Zhou Kai hadn't yet obtained was also taken into the ruins and wouldn't be found anytime soon.

"Grass."

Zhou Kai's face darkened, and he raised the Dragon Slayer Sword.

(End of this chapter)