Nightmare Despair

Chapter 50 Air Force
After parting ways with the group of young masters and ladies, Zhou Kai did not rush back to the boxing gym.

According to Du Feng, Chen Ping wouldn't be back until after midnight at the earliest, and if there were many things to do, it was possible that he would be back even later.

"It's rare to have some free time, so there's no rush."

The key to seeing Chen Ping lies in the secret medicine. If Chen Ping isn't here, where can we get the medicine?

Why not take advantage of this rare free time to relax your tense nerves?

Zhou Kai has indeed been suppressing his feelings for too long...

A nightmare of darkness and despair, followed by a series of despairs, and a looming crisis in reality.

Not to mention that bastard who smashed his door today.

Even in his nightmares, Zhou Kai could still wield an axe and release some pressure amidst the flying blood and gore.

But what about reality?

Zhou Kai felt the muscles in his hands begin to tighten involuntarily again.

"Phew... Calm down."

The sustained state of double mental clarity made Zhou Kai feel more comfortable than ever before.

Zhou Kai was strolling alone in the camping park.

There aren't many man-made structures here; the nearest streetlamp is 80 or 90 meters away, its dim yellow light mostly swallowed up by the darkness.

For most people, large areas of the park are pitch black.

But for Zhou Kai... the situation is somewhat subtly different.

"I once heard that the human eye has an extremely strong ability to adapt."

"For strong to mild to moderate myopia and astigmatism, as long as you spend a long time in a spacious and open natural environment, your vision can miraculously return to normal."

Zhou Kai's bright eyes scanned his surroundings in the night. Even in the deepest darkness, he could barely make out the outlines of trees and the undulations of grass.

These are practically the eyes of a carnivore.

"Is it because I've been struggling to survive in the dark environment of nightmares for so long that my body has started to adapt and has developed basic night vision?"

Upon discovering this small discovery, Zhou Kai's lips twitched almost imperceptibly.

Limited by the physical structure of the human eye, this night vision effect is probably limited to this point.

But who can say for sure what the future holds?

Who knows when he might learn a skill from the nightmare that would allow his eyes to leap into the light, enabling him to see clearly even in the dark.

As Zhou Kai walked, he arrived near the small lake in the park.

At this moment, the nearly full moon rose to its perfect position, and the clear, soft moonlight, like cooled mercury, filled the lake inch by inch. The wind blew, rippling the lake like a shattered mirror.

The water shimmered and sparkled like flowing mercury.

The rare and beautiful scenery made Zhou Kai pause for a moment, and he simply stopped and watched quietly.

To Zhou Kai's left is a small promontory extending from the shore into the lake, with a fish-attracting lamp hanging on a pole, its soft light illuminating the water's surface.

Under the lamp, a man and a woman were squatting.

The man looks like a fisherman, and the woman is probably his wife.

Zhou Kai didn't pay attention, but their conversation still drifted into his ears intermittently on the evening breeze.

"...I've registered to be a food delivery driver, which should help ease some of your burden..."

"Don't be sad. I'll come fishing with you every week from now on. It's just unemployment. Let's work hard together. We can get through this."

The woman squatted on the bank, gazing thoughtfully at the water; her mood was certainly not as calm as she claimed.

The fisherman muttered, "I'm sorry, Xiaoyue... but I can't help it. The company is cutting costs and increasing efficiency, and I'm getting old, so I'm part of the layoff batch..."

"...Why are we always the ones who suffer? We bought a house for 1.9 million, but now it's only worth 1.1 million, yet we can't pay a single penny less on the mortgage."

"I've thought about it several times: I should just cut off the supply altogether."

The man gripped the fishing rod tightly, but he seemed not to notice the float bobbing several times.

"But...we need a home, right?"

“Ahua…”

"It looks like they've caught some fish." The woman suddenly changed the subject.

The man named Ahua belatedly realized what was happening and suddenly lifted his rod... perhaps the timing was wrong, for the hook was empty.

"The air force has failed... not a single fish all night."

Ahua's voice was full of disappointment.

……

The hot war between Red Star and the Lyle Federation has ended, but the economic and political winter has only just begun...

The fleeting joy brought by peace, like a breeze that swept through everyone's lives, left behind a general depression of unknown duration. Zhou Kai left the lakeshore.

He had no mortgage burden, and his income problem was also fortunately resolved...

But he could indeed understand the couple's despair.

He frowned slightly, reflecting on the gradual changes in his life recently and contemplating everything that was changing around him.

For a moment, Zhou Kai was also confused.

What makes this real world increasingly abnormal is either the nightmare of despair and terror, or the unpredictable nature of the human heart.

Zhou Kai walked into the woods by the lake, his figure quickly disappearing into the darkness.

drip.

The phone rang at that moment.

Zhou Kai picked it up and looked at it; the light from the screen illuminated his face.

The message was sent by Feng Mingtai.

“Master Zhou, a dangerous person has entered the camping park. Are you still there? Miss Fischl asked me to remind you to be careful.”

Zhou Kai's nerves tensed instantly, and he instinctively became alert.

And in the very next instant.

A chilling feeling swept through his body like an electric current the instant his thoughts began to surface!
Whoosh!
A thin, dim red light shot out from the darkness ahead, tearing through the air!
The impending death warning caused Zhou Kai's pupils to constrict suddenly, and everything before his eyes seemed to slow down.

My heart instantly roared like an engine, pumping scalding blood into every muscle!
Zhou Kai's strong physique was fully activated in a very short time.

Zhou Kai suddenly raised his right hand, which was holding the phone, and precisely blocked the red light that rushed towards him, right in front of his brow.

Oh!

The screen shattered instantly.

Damn, it's the brand newest model I just got!

The attack of that red light was greatly weakened by the sacrifice of the phone, and Zhou Kai swung his other hand out like a sharp blade, cleaving it away.

Benedict!
A blood-red throwing knife, about the length of a hand, pierced heavily into the trunk of a nearby tree, its tip trembling and emitting a buzzing sound.

Zhou Kai's eyes, like unsheathed blades, were fixed intently on the darkness directly ahead.

Snap, snap.

A hooded man clapped his hands as he slowly emerged from the woods.

His head was covered in dark blue tattoos, which made him appear blurry in the dim light, like a demon.

"Good reaction, kid."

"Based on what you just did, your life is worth far more than 100,000 Crimson Star Coins."

Qiu Ping didn't hold back his praise, because... he had already begun to think about how to manipulate the prey before him.

Being able to dodge one of his flying knives doesn't mean he'll live to see tomorrow's sun.

Zhou Kai's expression was cold and stern, as countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Based on just a few words from the man, Zhou Kai had already roughly guessed the man's identity and purpose.

"Assassin? Bounty?"

Zhou Kai's eyes swept over the man, a strange light gleaming deep within his pupils.

fear?

nonexistent.

At this moment, what was burning in his chest was... an extreme, calm rage.

Zhou Kai moved his feet, his footsteps rustling softly over the fallen leaves, advancing rather than retreating, slowly getting closer to his opponent.

"I'm just a weak, pitiful, and helpless recent graduate in the cultural industry. Is it really necessary for me to hire a hitman to take my life?"

Qiu Ping shrugged. "Who knows?"

"I never ask about the client's identity, nor do I care who I'm going to kill. If the money is right, I'll do it, it's that simple."

Zhou Kai didn't stop.

"Killing someone on Red Star? You've got some nerve..."

Qiu Ping looked at the prey that not only did not run away but also took the initiative to approach, and a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

With a flick of his right wrist, he had five identical blood-red throwing knives caught between his five fingers.

Qiu Ping smiled, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth: "Why wouldn't I dare? It's all thanks to the good place you chose; there are no surveillance cameras here."

(End of this chapter)