Dream Ghost

Su Wanning sat opposite Lin Ye, holding a cup of instant coffee in her hand, her expression revealing neither disdain nor habit.

Lin Ye didn't pour her coffee. In fact, he didn't even let her in. The two of them stood in the doorway, talking through the half-open door, and the scene was quite awkward.

"Aren't you afraid I'm a bad person?" Su Wanning asked.

"You knocked," Lin Ye said. "Real bad guys don't knock."

Su Wanning glanced at him, a slight smile playing on her lips: "Psychology majors are just different."

Lin Ye didn't reply. He was waiting. Waiting for this woman to give a reasonable explanation, or to reveal a flaw that proved everything that had just happened was some kind of carefully planned deception.

Su Wanning didn't keep him waiting long. She put her ID in her pocket, took out a metal device about the size of a lighter from another pocket, and pressed it. A faint blue light appeared at the top of the device.

"A jammer, to prevent eavesdropping," she explained. "What follows is not suitable for ordinary people to hear."

"Am I not an ordinary person?" Lin Ye asked.

"You just 'ate' a Fear Hunter," Su Wanning said. "Do you consider yourself a normal person?"

Lin Ye paused for two seconds: "What is that thing?"

"Dream creatures." Su Wanning's tone became formal, as if giving a standard report, "More precisely, they are entities formed from human fears, nightmares, and negative emotions. They are born in the sea of ​​the subconscious and occasionally infiltrate the real world to seek hosts."

"Host?"

"It's someone who has nightmares." Su Wanning looked at Lin Ye. "Have you been having the same dream lately? In the dream, something is chasing you, you can't run fast, you can't scream, and you wake up in a fright every time you're about to be caught?"

Lin Ye didn't speak. But his silence itself was the answer.

"Fear Hunters are low-level dream creatures," Su Wanning continued. "They don't kill people directly, but rather absorb the host's fear by repeatedly creating nightmares. Once the host's mental defenses completely collapse, they will... take over. At that point, the host will become an empty shell, and the Hunters will wear that shell and blend into human society."

"You mean, they can 'possess' beings?"

"Pretty much. It's just that the process is very slow, it might take several months or even years." Su Wanning paused, "But your situation is different."

"What's different?"

"You devoured it." Su Wanning's gaze fell on Lin Ye's palm. "Generally speaking, people targeted by fear hunters only have two outcomes—either their spirit is exhausted, leaving them as empty shells; or they are discovered by our association, and the dreamer enters the host's dream to eliminate the hunter. But no one... no ordinary person has ever been able to 'eat' a dream creature on their own."

Lin Ye looked down at his palm. The faint mark was still there.

"So what are you trying to say?" He looked up. "I'm not an ordinary person, I'm a monster?"

"You are an 'Awakener'," Su Wanning said. "Someone who is born with the ability to perceive and interfere with the dream world. Such people are very rare; our association has fewer than three thousand registered members worldwide."

"Nightmare Hunter Association?" Lin Ye repeated the identity she had previously introduced.

"Yes." Su Wanning nodded. "An organization that specializes in dealing with dream creature invasions. We have the ability to infiltrate dreams and hunt those things inside. We call ourselves 'Dream Enterers'."

Lin Ye took a few seconds to process this information. Theoretically, this content was too absurd, so absurd that any normal person would immediately shut the door and call the police. But he had just personally "devoured" a monster, gaining superhuman sensory abilities. The facts were undeniable, leaving him no choice but to believe it.

"Why did you come to see me?" he asked.

"Because you can 'eat' them." Su Wanning's expression turned serious. "Ordinary dreamers can only clear away dream creatures, scattering them back into the sea of ​​subconsciousness. But you completely devoured them, turning them into your own power. This ability... we've never seen anything like it before."

"So you want to study me?"

"I'd like to invite you to join the association," Su Wanning said. "Your abilities are unique; if used properly, they can save many people. And—" she hesitated for a moment, "you've already been targeted."

"By whom?"

"The person who created that fearsome hunter." Su Wanning took out his phone from his pocket, pulled out a photo, and handed it to Lin Ye. The photo showed a basement with dim lighting and intricate rune patterns drawn on the floor. It was exactly the same scene he had "seen" when he devoured the hunter.

"We found this in the basement of an abandoned factory last week," Su Wanning said. "Someone was performing some kind of ritual, artificially creating dream creatures and then sending them to attack specific people. You're on their list."

Lin Ye stared at the photo, his fingers tightening slightly.

"Why me?"

"I don't know." Su Wanning shook his head frankly. "That's one of the reasons we need you to join us. You're not just a victim; you're the only one who has turned around and 'eaten up' their creation. If you're willing to cooperate, we can find out the truth together."

Lin Ye remained silent for a long time.

At three in the morning, the only sound in the rented room was the hum of the old refrigerator. Su Wanning waited quietly, without urging him.

"What if I refuse?" Lin Ye finally asked.

"Then I'll erase your memory of tonight and let you return to a normal life," Su Wanning said. "But I can't guarantee those people won't come looking for you again. Next time, it might not be low-level hunters."

Another silence followed.

"I need a mission," Lin Ye said.

"What?"

"Didn't you say you were hunters?" Lin Ye looked up, his eyes holding something Su Wanning couldn't quite understand. "Give me a mission. Let me see for myself what you're doing. After I've done it, I'll decide whether to join or not."

Su Wanning stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled.

"Interesting." She stood up and placed the unfinished cup of instant coffee on the table. "Okay. There's a case here that's perfect for a beginner to practice on. See you here tomorrow night at eight." She handed over a slip of paper with an address written on it.

Lin Ye took the note.

"By the way," Su Wanning said, walking to the door and glancing back at him, "what ability did you just gain?"

Lin Ye hesitated for a moment: "Perception extension, approximately a ten-meter range."

Su Wanning raised an eyebrow: "Gaining full power on the first absorption? Interesting." She didn't say anything more and turned to walk into the corridor.

"Su Wanning," Lin Ye called out to her.

She turned around.

"Those who enter the dream," Lin Ye asked, "if they are killed in the dream, will they die in reality?"

Su Wanning's smile vanished.

"Yes," she said. "Death in a dream will directly affect your consciousness. The brain believes you're dead, and your heart stops beating. So... be careful."

She left. Lin Ye was left alone in the corridor.

Lin Ye closed the door, returned to the bedroom, and sat on the edge of the bed. He opened his right hand and looked at the faint mark on his palm.

[Rule Fragment - Page: Fear Hunter (Already Consumed)]

[Ability Acquired: Extended Perception (within a 10-meter range, ignoring physical obstacles)]

[Current Fragment Level: Page Fragment (Upgradeable)]

[Next goal: Consume more dream creatures to upgrade the fragment level]

Lin Ye closed his eyes.

Tomorrow night at eight o'clock. He didn't know what awaited him. But he knew one thing—he could never go back. From the moment he grasped that dark "hand," he had stepped into a completely different world.

A world more dangerous in dreams than in reality.