Dream Ghost

At 7:55 p.m. the next day, Lin Ye stood at the door of the address on the note.

This is an old residential building located in a shantytown in the west of the city. The words "Demolition Notice" are posted on the wall. Only one window on the third floor is lit, its light dim and yellowish, as if it might go out at any moment.

Su Wanning stood downstairs waiting for him. Today she wasn't wearing her white dress, but a black tracksuit, her long hair tied in a ponytail, making her look much more neat and tidy.

"Pretty punctual." She glanced at her watch. "Come on, let's go upstairs and talk."

The two climbed to the third floor and entered a room with the lights on. Someone was already waiting inside—a middle-aged man in his forties, with a square face, short hair, and wearing a gray jacket; he looked like a section chief from some organization. He saw Lin Ye and nodded.

"Chen Xuan, a senior Dreamer in the association," Su Wanning introduced. "He's leading today's case; you can just follow along and learn."

Chen Xuan glanced at Lin Ye: "Is it him? The one who can 'eat' things?"

"Um."

"Interesting." Chen Xuan didn't ask any further questions, picked up a document from the table and handed it to Lin Ye, "Let's look at the case first."

Lin Ye took the document and opened it.

Case Number: M-0721

[Case Type: Dream Creature Invasion]

[Target: Li Jianming, male, 32 years old, courier]

[Symptoms: Two weeks of continuous nightmares, rapid deterioration of mental state, self-harming behavior started three days ago, currently hospitalized at the Municipal Mental Health Center]

[Preliminary assessment: There is at least one dream creature in the dream, estimated to be between the level of a fragment and the level of a book page.]

[Note: The target has not been in contact with any suspicious persons or places recently, and the source of the corrosion is unknown.]

"Li Jianming's case is rather special," Chen Xuan said. "His nightmares didn't occur naturally; they were implanted. It was probably done by the same group of people as the stalker that chased you yesterday."

"Artificial implantation?" Lin Ye looked up. "How was it implanted?"

"Through some kind of ritual, or some kind of medium," Chen Xuan said. "We're still investigating. The problem now is that Li Jianming's condition won't last much longer. Tonight's mission is simple—I'll infiltrate his dream, find that creature, and eliminate it. You follow me in, observe the whole time, and don't do anything."

"Can I go in?" Lin Ye asked.

"Awakened individuals can do it," Su Wanning explained. "Entering dreams isn't a special skill, but rather a talent. However, most people's talents need to be activated later in life. You've already awakened, so theoretically you can enter dreams directly. But the first time, you'll need someone to guide you."

Chen Xuan took out three coin-sized metal pieces from his pocket and handed one to each of Lin Ye and Su Wanning: "Place them on your palms, close your eyes, and concentrate on thinking about the target's appearance and name. I will use my dream as a bridge to bring you in."

Lin Ye took the metal plate and placed it on his right palm. The cool touch, the instant it overlapped with his "mark," gave him a strange resonance.

"Are you ready?" Chen Xuan asked.

Lin Ye nodded.

"Remember," Chen Xuan said finally, "In dreams, rules are everything. Don't confront dream creatures head-on. Find their 'loopholes in the rules,' and then deliver a fatal blow."

All three metal plates lit up with blue light at the same time.

Lin Ye closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer in that dilapidated rented room.

He stood on a street. To be precise, it was a street that deliveryman Li Jianming walked every day. The buildings on both sides of the road were crooked and twisted, as if something had squeezed them in the middle. The sky was dark red, without sun or clouds, only a suffocating sense of oppression.

"This is his dream," Su Wanning's voice came from the side. She had also entered and stood beside Lin Ye, her expression wary. "The worse the dreamer's mental state, the more distorted the dream. Li Jianming's condition... is indeed not good."

Chen Xuan walked in front, his steps steady, as if he had walked through this place countless times. Lin Ye followed behind him, observing their surroundings as they went.

The streets were deserted. But Lin Ye's "perceptual extension" told him that at every corner of the street, behind every window, there was something watching them. Not a person. Something else entirely.

"Where is it?" Lin Ye asked in a low voice.

"In the deepest fears of a dream," Chen Xuan said, "find the place the dreamer fears most, and you will find it."

The three people walked for about ten minutes and stopped in front of a building.

It was a courier station. Li Jianming's workplace. But in his dream, the building was completely distorted—countless "parcel slips" were pasted on the door, each bearing the same name: "Li Jianming." The door was open, and the inside was pitch black, like an open mouth.

"This is it." Chen Xuan took a deep breath. "You guys wait outside, I'll go in."

"Wait a minute," Lin Ye suddenly said.

Chen Xuan turned around.

Lin Ye stared at the package slips, his mind racing. He was studying psychology in college, and although he hadn't graduated yet, he still possessed basic logical analysis skills. The name on these package slips was Li Jianming, but the sender addresses varied, coming from all over the country, and some even from cities that didn't exist.

"These aren't ordinary packages," Lin Ye said. "They represent 'things that must be delivered.' What are delivery drivers most afraid of? Not being able to deliver. Customer complaints. And an endless stream of packages."

Chen Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly: "Continue."

"That dream creature might not be hiding in the dark," Lin Ye said. "It might be hiding in these packages. It's exploiting Li Jianming's professional anxiety to create fear—as long as the packages aren't delivered, the fear won't disappear. Even if you go in and kill it, it'll just pop out of a new package tomorrow."

Chen Xuan fell silent. Su Wanning also fell silent.

"So what's your suggestion?" Chen Xuan asked.

"Find the rules," Lin Ye said. "The rules of the dream creature. There must be some kind of limitation to its creation of these packages. For example... it can't deliver the packages itself. It has to wait for the dreamer or someone else to pick them up. If no one touches these packages, it can't continue to create fear."

Chen Xuan stared at Lin Ye for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled.

"Interesting," he said. "The 'rules' you just mentioned are something that took me three years to learn."

He turned to face the dark door, but didn't go in. Instead, he took something out of his pocket—a copper coin—and flicked it lightly with his finger.

The copper coin flew into the darkness inside the door.

A few seconds later, a sharp howl came from deep within. The entire building began to shake violently, and the packages fell from the doors, bursting into flames in the air. A mass of black matter surged out from the door, attempting to pounce on Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan did not back down. He reached out, as if he had grabbed something, and twisted it sharply.

The black mass let out a scream and vanished.

The dream began to collapse. The dark red in the sky quickly faded, the crooked buildings began to return to normal, and blurry figures appeared on the streets—the subconscious of the dreamer, Li Jianming, was rebuilding his dream.

"Let's go," Chen Xuan said. "It's over."

The three metal plates lit up with blue light again.

Lin Ye opened his eyes and returned to reality. Everything in the room was as usual; the clock on the wall showed 8:17. They had been in the dream for nearly twenty minutes, but only two minutes had passed in reality.

Chen Xuan put away the metal piece and looked at Lin Ye.

“You’re right,” he said. “That creature is indeed hidden within the rules of the package. It can’t attack on its own; it can only wait for the dreamer to open the package. If I didn’t know this rule and went in to fight it head-on, even if I killed it, the rule wouldn’t be broken, and it would regenerate.”

Lin Ye didn't speak.

"You have talent." Chen Xuan stood up and patted Lin Ye on the shoulder. "It's not a talent for devouring, it's a talent for analyzing rules. The former makes you strong, the latter allows you to survive. Practice hard."

He walked to the door, glanced back at Su Wanning, and said, "Take him to headquarters to register tomorrow. I want this new recruit."

The door closed.

Only Lin Ye and Su Wanning remained in the room.

"So," Su Wanning leaned against the wall, looking at Lin Ye, "what's your decision?"

Lin Ye looked down at the palm of his right hand. The mark was still there, and it seemed a little clearer than yesterday.

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

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

[New Experience: Assisted in clearing one dream creature through rule analysis]

[Fragment Evolution Progress: 12%]

He raised his head.

"When are we going to headquarters?"

Su Wanning smiled. This time, her smile was much more genuine than yesterday's.

"I'll pick you up at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."

Outside the window, the city lights blazed brightly. But somewhere unseen, an eye peered through the darkness, watching the room. A voice whispered in the shadows:

"Found it. The one who 'ate' our creation."

"Interesting. Bring him back. Alive."

The darkness writhed, responding to the voice.