Dream Ghost

After training, Lin Ye did not return to his rented apartment.

He sat in the lounge of the association headquarters, staring at the coffee cup in his hand, the name Gu Yan replaying in his mind.

The fourth offering.

A man everyone thought had been dead for three years. A dreamer who was once stronger than him. A man who might still be alive, or who might have already been "marked".

Su Wanning pushed open the door and came in, holding a folder in her hand.

"Captain Chen asked me to give this to you." She placed the folder on the table. "Gu Yan's information. Everything that can be found in the association's archives is here."

Lin Ye opened the folder.

The first page is a photograph. A young man, in his early twenties, with long black hair tied back, deep-set features, and an old scar running from his eyebrow to his cheekbone on his left cheek. He is wearing the association's dark blue uniform, the "Eye Holding the Moon" emblem on his chest reflecting the sunlight. In the photograph, he has his head slightly tilted, his expression indifferent, as if he is looking at something that is not in the frame.

Name: Gu Yan

Code name: Mo Zhe

Age: 23 (at the time of disappearance)

Dream Enterer Level: Dream Realm Overlord (Candidate)

Abilities: Dream Devouring (different from Lin Ye's, it is "Tearing Devouring"), Dream Mimicry, Rule Perception

Status: Missing (Declared dead, body not found)

Last known location: Dreamland - Misty Coast

Lin Ye turned to the second page.

Those were Gu Yan's mission logs. They were densely packed, with two to three missions almost every month. From Dream Enterer to Dream Controller to Dream Weaver, he only took less than a year. His advancement speed was the highest in the association in nearly ten years.

"He's very strong." Su Wanning sat opposite Lin Ye. "When I entered the industry, Gu Yan had already disappeared. But the older members of the association sounded a bit off when they talked about him."

"What's wrong?"

"It's like... a mixture of admiration and fear," Su Wanning said. "Some say he'd stop at nothing to complete a mission. Others say his abilities malfunctioned, that he devoured too many dream creatures, causing a drastic personality change. Still others say he didn't disappear at all, but left the association voluntarily."

Lin Ye turned to the last page.

It was a handwritten report, the handwriting messy, as if hastily written. It was signed by Gu Yan, and the date was three days before his disappearance.

"Something is awakening deep within the Dream Continent. It's not an ordinary dream creature; it's an existence far more ancient than the Codex. Its power has permeated the middle layers of the Sea of ​​Subconsciousness, influencing the dream ecosystem of the real world. If no one stops it, dream erosion events will increase tenfold within three years."

"I need to enter the forbidden realm. If I don't return, don't look for me."

The last line of text was crossed out, but Lin Ye could still make it out:

"The only way to kill it is to become it."

Lin Ye closed the folder.

"Become it," he repeated. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know," Su Wanning said. "But Captain Chen said that after Gu Yan disappeared, the cracks in the Dream Continent did increase. Maybe what he was talking about really exists."

Lin Ye recalled the crack he had seen in the basement the previous night. Endless darkness, writhing shadows, and ancient laughter.

"Perhaps he has already become it," Lin Ye said.

Su Wanning remained silent.

The door to the lounge opened, and Chen Xuan walked in. He didn't look well, with obvious dark circles under his eyes—clearly, he hadn't slept all night.

"I looked into Gu Yan's trail," he said. "Three years ago, before he entered the Dream Continent, he did something."

"What is it?"

"He had private contact with a mysterious figure." Chen Xuan placed a photograph on the table. "We can't find out who this person is. But he met with Gu Yan three times in the week before Gu Yan disappeared. The last time was the day before Gu Yan entered the Dream Continent."

The photo shows the back of a man. He's wearing a black trench coat and a wide-brimmed hat, obscuring his face. He's standing at the entrance of an alley, as if waiting for someone.

"Was it captured by surveillance cameras?" Lin Ye asked.

"Yes. But there's only this one. It seems like this person deliberately avoided all the cameras; only this angle captured him," Chen Xuan said. "What's even stranger is that the day after this photo was taken, all surveillance records about this person were deleted. Not physically deleted, but directly erased from the server."

"There's a mole in the association," Lin Ye said.

"Possibly," Chen Xuan didn't deny it, "It could also be someone at a higher level."

The room was silent for a few seconds.

"I have an idea," Lin Ye said. "Gu Yan being listed as the fourth sacrifice means that the people who created those dream creatures—or rather, the organization—had been watching him for three years or even longer. As for me, the third sacrifice, I was probably being watched around..."

He recalled the time he spent testing the "Dream Depth" app.

"One year ago."

"What about the first two offerings?" Su Wanning asked.

Chen Xuan opened his notebook: "The first sacrifice fell into a coma three months ago. But according to his family, he took that app test a year and a half ago. The second sacrifice fell into a coma a month ago, and the test was conducted a year ago."

"In other words, the interval between testing and 'harvesting' is about one to one and a half years," Lin Ye said. "I was marked as being 'harvested' a year ago, and my 'harvesting' time is in thirty days."

"Gu Yan was marked three years ago," Su Wanning said, "but no one 'harvested' him. Because he entered the Dream Continent and disappeared."

"Or," Lin Ye said, "he's no longer a 'sacrifice.' He's become something else."

Chen Xuan stood up.

"I want to go to the Dream Continent."

Su Wanning and Lin Ye both looked at him at the same time.

"Are you crazy?" Su Wanning said. "Only Dream Weavers and above can reliably enter the Dream Continent. You're currently a late-stage Dream Weaver, barely enough to get in, but what if you encounter danger—"

"That's why we need you," Chen Xuan said. "If I don't go, the rift will only widen. I need to figure out what Gu Yan's clue—'become it'—means. In thirty days, those people will 'harvest' Lin Ye. If Gu Yan had faced the same situation back then, his choice might have been Lin Ye's future choice."

"You mean, Gu Yan willingly became a sacrifice?" Lin Ye asked.

"He didn't willingly become a sacrifice," Chen Xuan said. "He actively entered the Dream Continent to face the thing that wanted to 'harvest' him. He didn't wait thirty days; he went directly to it."

Lin Ye remained silent for a few seconds.

"I'll go with you."

"No way." Chen Xuan refused decisively. "You're only at the peak of the Dream Enterer realm, not even a Dream Controller yet. The Dream Continent is too dangerous for you."

"But my rule-analysis ability—"

"In the Dream Continent, rule analysis won't save you," Chen Xuan said sternly. "The rules there aren't just one person's dream; they're the sedimentation of thousands of years of humanity's collective subconscious. You can analyze the rules of a dream creature, but can you analyze the rules of the entire world?"

Lin Ye did not speak.

"I'm not trying to discourage you," Chen Xuan's tone softened. "You're very talented, but what you need now is time. Thirty days is enough for you to reach the mid-stage of a Dream Controller. Once you reach that level, we can talk about going to the Dream Continent."

He picked up the photo on the table and stuffed it into his pocket.

"I'll be leaving in three days. During these three days, you and Su Wanning will train together. I want you to devour at least one page-level creature every day to raise your fragment level to the peak of the page level."

"That's such a big increase in just three days?"

"Yes," Chen Xuan said, "as long as you dare."

He walked to the door and paused.

"Lin Ye".

"Um."

"Gu Yan was once the association's sharpest blade." Chen Xuan didn't turn around, "but in the end, his blade wounded him. I don't want you to become like that."

The door closed.

Lin Ye sat in the lounge, looking at the folder in his hand.

A photo of Gu Yan. That indifferent face, that scar, those eyes that seemed to see through everything.

"Become it."

He repeated it in a low voice.

Su Wanning looked at him and said softly, "You won't become his."

How did you know?

"Because you still have thirty days," Su Wanning said. "He might only have one day. You're not in such a hurry."

Lin Ye did not answer.

He closed the folder and stood up.

"When will the training begin?"

"Now."

Su Wanning also stood up, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Team Leader Chen has assigned you an opponent."

"Who?"

"I."

---

End of Chapter Eight

Next chapter preview: Lin Ye develops new abilities during sparring with Su Wanning; Chen Xuan leaves Lin Ye with a mysterious recording on the eve of entering the Dream Continent; the mole within the association is exposed.