Nightmare Despair

Chapter 73 Organizing the Harvest
[A hard-fought victory against overwhelming odds; the Marked Chariot gains +1 experience point]

[Props: Bottled Scent]

[Effect: Blows away reason, turning into a puppet...]

A few lines of text flashed before Zhou Kai's eyes.

The silent puppeteer in front of him, like a punctured water balloon, was spraying bodily fluids as he collapsed and convulsed... In the end, only a clump of supple, bluish-black skin remained on the ground.

There was a layer of oily, off-white powder floating on the surface of the skin, like putty that had been scraped on.

With the puppeteer's complete death, this once exquisite study began to fade and decay rapidly.

Like a transition animation.

The lavish decorations crumbled and peeled away, revealing the mold-covered walls beneath.

The beautifully bound books were also covered in a layer of gray and black color, and fell to the ground with a clatter as the bookshelf collapsed.

"A decoy, an illusion."

Zhou Kai crumpled up the thick piece of leather on the ground, put it away, looked around at the dilapidated and cramped environment, and slowly let out a sigh of relief.

This room is completely different from the previous places that contained key clues; it is most likely a private trap set by the puppeteer for himself.

From the moment I entered, I fell into its illusion and was almost manipulated by it again, just like when I first anchored myself to the nightmare.

But thankfully... Zhou Kai is no longer the Zhou Kai of that day.

Zhou Kai sat down against the wall in the room and took a few deep breaths.

The unbearable cold was barely dispelled by the oil lamp, and the body's deficiencies were slowly replenished by a state of vitality.

About ten minutes later, Zhou Kai rallied and began exploring the gloomy mansion again.

There were no additional finds in the other rooms on the first floor.

On the second floor, after three short thuds of people falling to the ground, another 21 experience points were gained. Zhou Kai cleanly and efficiently dealt with three fully-formed parasitic zombies.

The general experience points consumed in upgrading the two skills were perfectly recovered, and I even made a small profit.

The wolf-headed, human-faced monster never appeared again, but its heavy footsteps could always be clearly heard by Zhou Kai through the resonance of the stone slabs of the mansion.

The sound was like an invisible pendulum, constantly reminding Zhou Kai that danger lurked everywhere.

Time passed second by second. Without hindering his own actions, Zhou Kai collected as many valuable items as possible from the mansion and tried to find the fourth volume of Chenxing's notes.

But sometimes that's how it is; the more you desire something, the more unattainable it seems.

Zhou Kai's exploration stalled in the middle of the third floor... for two reasons. First, starting from the third floor, the mansion experienced multiple collapses and tilts, the floorboards creaking underfoot, as if it could completely collapse at any moment. Therefore, Zhou Kai could no longer act recklessly with the oil lamp on... monsters could easily crawl in through the broken walls or ceilings, such as that wolf-headed, human-faced monster that looked menacing.

Secondly, this was the biggest reason for directly halting Zhou Kai's operation.

"call……"

Zhou Kai dimmed the oil lamp and, in a bedroom on the third floor, lifted a corner of the heavy curtains to look outside.

The red glow of the burning flames was still flickering a few hundred meters away, but what Zhou Kai really cared about was the thunder that had completely subsided and the rain that was gradually turning into a drizzle.

"When the rain stops, when the blood surges... tonight's hunt ends here."

He drew the curtains, finished tidying up his harvest one last time, and began his journey home.

The light of the incinerating fire, along with the road that Zhou Kai had specially cleared before his arrival, ensured that this return trip proceeded without any further incidents.

As the silt on the ground began to bubble like boiling water, Zhou Kai slammed the heavy wooden door of the shelter shut.

……

"If we survive this blood tide, and then use the Nightmare Strategy to relocate again... we can completely avoid the Willow People."

After carefully inspecting the shelter and confirming that nothing unusual had happened during the hours he had been away, Zhou Kai tossed the puppeteer's large, fleshy body in front of the fireplace. This loose yet remarkably resilient body had served as a backpack during the earlier exploration, helping Zhou Kai carry back many of his spoils.

Those were some gold artifacts and jewels that looked quite valuable in the Western-style mansion... Once Zhou Kai was certain that he was no longer being monitored, these things could improve his material life.

After carefully removing and placing the antique items, Zhou Kai indifferently threw the excess skin in his hand into the raging flames.

A few seconds later, the remaining burning time of the fireplace appeared.

【27h】

Upon seeing this, a slight hint of joy appeared in Zhou Kai's eyes.

A monster that can contribute 21 experience points is indeed extraordinary. This is the first time the fireplace's burning time has exceeded one day!
Moreover, the puppeteer's skin should offer more than just this. During the subsequent burning process, even more general experience points should be gained.

"Alright, let's continue sorting out the spoils... Once we get through the blood tide, we can return to reality."

Zhou Kai leaned against the fireplace, the warm firelight illuminating his profile, his gaze fixed on the human skin in his inventory and those two fragments of memory…

The scent of the Moonlit Orchid surged and ebbed within the blood tide, forming an invisible barrier that kept the insects out. These lovely plants, in turn, grew freely and unrestrained.

Outside the shelter, in today's safe zone, and beside the Willow People... the flames of the burning sins also kept those blood-red beetles at bay.

If Zhou Kai had encountered the Willow Man on the first night of his dream and followed him, everything might have been completely different under the protection of that flame.

……

Going back to reality.

He clutched the Moonlit Orchid Amulet tightly in his hand. Some of the elements causing the nightmare were dispelled by its faint glow. Today, as soon as Zhou Kai left the nightmare, his consciousness was clear.

In the nightmare, Zhou Kai read through memories, turning human skin into blood ink... and sorted through all the gains of the night.

His control panel was thus completely refreshed.

[Character: Zhou Kai]

[Status: Erosion, Clear Mind, Vitality]

【Scars: Chariot - Part 1 (11/100)】

【技能：隼击术Lv3（2/50），索拉卡剑术lv3（1/50），神秘学lv2（1/25），综合格斗lv3（1/50），轻盈步伐lv3（13/50）】

[Items: Residence Permit, Morning Star Notebook (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Moonshine Orchid Seed (Full), Exquisite Moonshine Orchid Amulet, Sturdy Two-Handed Greatsword, Heat-Resistant Gauntlets, For's Gift (Common Fire), Bottled Scent]

[General Experience Points: 60]

Once swordsmanship reaches level three, the experience points gained from reading memories decrease significantly.

The two swordsmen's memories only gave Zhou Kai a little bit of experience...

It's probably because his current skill level is almost the same as that of those two swordsmen in their lifetime.

The puppeteer possessed more than seven skills, but unfortunately Zhou Kai didn't know any of them and couldn't fully absorb them... However, the fireplace wouldn't leave him empty-handed. During the burning process, the unabsorbable skill experience was transformed by the fireplace, eventually becoming 6 universal experience points.

Because of all these various experiences, Zhou Kai's general experience points have reached as high as 60 points.

This means...

"I can advance the Broken Wing Flow Basic Method to level four at any time, truly entering the Real Power stage!"

Moreover, due to the presence of engravings and other skills, once Zhou Kai steps into the True Strength realm, he immediately becomes one of the best!
With the nightmare temporarily over, Zhou Kai didn't rest for a moment and immediately turned his attention to reality.

By this time, he had enough confidence that he had the power to uproot the Wang family from Xishan City.

But he was not an impulsive fool. He planned everything carefully before acting, and even if he didn't expect to be 100% certain, he needed at least an 80% chance of success before he would act without hesitation.

"The Wang family's grave has already been dug. Old Lin's intelligence is the last handful of soil."

(End of this chapter)