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“I’ll try contacting other investigators. Maybe there are other professionals nearby.” Fina said, operating on the marker. However, the minimap showed that only she and Natasha had publicly available information about them. Her support request in the investigator channel went unanswered.

(Yang Qiu: There are only six investigators in total. You think you can find a third one? Dream on...)

Fina was silent for a while. Just when Natasha thought something was wrong with her, Fina spoke up, "I have to go in and see. This wasn't originally this serious. If I hadn't asked you for help and attracted so many strange people, things wouldn't be like this now. For the sake of the original residents here, I can't just leave like this."

“I’ll go in with you; it was my mistake,” Natasha said without hesitation.

This time, Fina didn't refuse. Firstly, seeing Natasha's condition, there was no point in refusing. Secondly, she herself was also a little scared.

Chapter 41 The Powerful Nightmare—Freddy

After entering the town, Fina found the surrounding environment even quieter. She couldn't even hear the chirping of insects. These sensitive insects seemed to have sensed some hidden danger and had all hidden themselves away.

Fina lowered her body, her Eye of Insight rotating around, observing the energy distribution in the town. If she could find the place with the most concentrated negative energy, she would be able to follow the clues to find their target.

Natasha stood guard beside Fina, gun in hand. If it were some kind of evil spirit or other enemy, she wouldn't be able to deal with it. But if it were agents or soldiers, she was confident she could spot them immediately, and if there weren't too many of them, she could take them all out by herself.

"La la la, la la la, I'm a little expert in anatomy, I'll go dissect before dawn..."

In his dream, Freddy hummed a nursery rhyme as iron claws pierced and pulled out in front of him, then pierced and pulled out again, causing his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys to fly around the room.

Along with these organs flying around, there was also a former agent, now a member of the Supernatural Rapid Response Team, who was firmly bound by barbed wire in front of Freddy. However, as Freddy continued to move, the speed at which the team member's limbs flew around slowed down, and he soon became a dead fish.

"Oh no, he's dead. Looks like my skills aren't good enough. I need to keep practicing."

Freddy slowly raised his head and smiled cruelly. Several people in front of him, who were also tied up, were struggling in terror. With each struggle, the wire went deeper into their bodies, making them look like animals trapped in a snare.

"Don't rush, one at a time. I'll show you how much my skills have improved." Freddy walked towards the lambs to the slaughter, his iron claws lightly slicing across their faces, blood dripping onto the ground.

After savoring the fear of his prey and the surge of power within him, Freddy looked at the overlapping dreams behind these people, where even more people were trapped. These people had not yet reached their limit, so Freddy did not single them out. They could provide even more fear in their own independent dreams.

While observing, Freddy suddenly paused, sensing something amiss in his territory, as if a ferocious beast had intruded. Turning his gaze to the town in the dream, Freddy used the power of the mirror to observe the residual magical fluctuations in Fina's path, originating from the Eye of Insight above her head.

"Hmm... a mere little mage. These mages really love meddling in other people's business..." Freddy said, a regretful expression appearing on his terrifying face. He swung his iron claws and appeared in all the controlled dreams at the same time, beginning to accelerate the rate at which the captured were gripped by fear.

The fear of his prey is Freddy's best food. Although he doesn't know how he suddenly became like this or how he acquired these special abilities, he instinctively knows how to improve himself and who his biggest opponent is.

As Freddy accelerated, the most obvious reaction was seen in the soldiers who were still investigating the case in the town. They felt their drowsiness suddenly intensify, and coupled with the heavy psychological pressure, many of them fell directly into a dream.

Freddy was excitedly reaping the fear power of these newcomers, gathering strength to fight the enemy that was about to arrive.

Although he had never fought any mages, Freddy had descriptions of their power in his memories, a power that he could hardly contend with now. However, Fina's performance was slightly different from the mage in his memory.

An hour later, Fina and Natasha arrived outside Elm Street in Elm Town. The street was now filled with soldiers, and their faces clearly showed their anxiety.

Moreover, Fina also saw that these people had started to use a lot of stimulants. She even saw a drowsy soldier with no less than five cigarettes in his mouth. Even so, the soldier did not dare to sit down and kept running in the middle of the street.

With a thud, the soldier suddenly fell to the ground, the cigarette in his mouth poking his face. Despite this, the soldier remained unconscious.

Two soldiers by the roadside heavily lifted their comrades up. They had all received the news that some of the soldiers who had initially fallen asleep had been injured or killed. Now everyone regarded falling asleep as a harbinger of death. The reason why no deserters had appeared yet was simply that no one could be sure that they would not fall asleep before leaving the town.

Natasha waved to Fina and led her to follow the soldier. After confirming which house the soldier had entered, Natasha climbed over the wall and reached the top of the house in just a few seconds.

A soldier sat on the edge of the house. He was originally one of the observation posts assigned to this place by the military, but various unfavorable news made him dare not lie down anymore, as it was too easy to fall asleep without realizing it.

Natasha carefully walked behind the soldier. Just as she was about to snap his neck, she remembered that the very upright Fina was behind her, so she changed her attack to stun him.

Then, the soldier was gently placed on the rooftop platform. The view from this spot was excellent, allowing a glimpse of the situation on the first floor across the street through the window.

“1, 2, 3…” Natasha counted them one by one, and there were as many as eight people lying on the ground that she could see.

"Did you notice anything amiss?" Natasha whispered to Fina after counting the number of people.

“Perhaps it’s a nightmare. The energy fluctuations in the air seem to conceal some kind of spell that accelerates sleep, but I can’t decipher it yet,” Fina replied.

"Let's head out first, ha~." Natasha said, suddenly yawning.

Fina looked at Natasha with a serious expression. She must have been affected as well. No, to be precise, she had been affected since entering this area. It's just that her physical condition was much stronger than that of the other soldiers, so it was only now showing.

Natasha realized this as well. Even if she hadn't slept well the night before, she couldn't possibly be sleepy so quickly. During her previous special agent training, she could maintain a clear mind for ten consecutive days without sleeping for a single second, a mind so clear that she could pass the interrogation in the Red Room.

"Let's retreat," Fina said through gritted teeth. Although they had very little information, she knew that if they stayed any longer, Natasha might get into trouble, which was something she didn't want to see.

Natasha nodded in agreement. She had always maintained the idea of ​​retreating. As for the nightmare brewing in this place, Natasha refused to believe that she could not resolve it by requesting a large-scale tactical missile strike.

As for the people inside, just pretend they're dead and that's it. She doesn't care anyway. In the end, she can just shift the blame to the terrorists, and everything will be solved.

Chapter 42 Looking down on the Fireball Cult? (Seeking recommendation votes)

Fina and Natasha wanted to retreat, but Freddy was now reluctant to let them leave so easily.

Freddy's rapidly growing power had made him a little arrogant, and after observing Fina from multiple perspectives, he felt that this mage was still a novice, definitely hadn't experienced anything, and didn't seem to be very strong.

What does fear taste like for a monk?

Freddy sensed the fluctuations emanating from Fina and revealed a cruel smile.

Although he decided to keep Fina in his hideout, Freddy was still cautious and did not launch a direct attack on her.

He wasn't entirely confident he could pull Fina into his dream world, but Natasha was different. In Freddy's eyes, Natasha was just an ordinary person with an exceptionally strong body and a resilient spirit.

The resistance to nightmares is vastly different between professionals with their own energy and ordinary people who do not have directly controllable energy in their bodies, and this gap cannot be bridged no matter how much training is done.

So, as Natasha prepared to climb down the wall, the energy fluctuations around her body suddenly intensified, and under the impact of this energy, Natasha felt dizzy.

In that dizzying moment, Natasha was pulled directly into a dream, and when she came to her senses, she found herself surrounded by a dark and gloomy prison.

Have I been infected?

Natasha looked around and heard a faint, hoarse sound.

Yes, I've been infected.

Natasha showed no fear whatsoever; the scene itself was more than enough to frighten her.

Immediately afterwards, a group of people who had been killed by Natasha emerged from the shadows, including fellow trainees who had competed with her for the title of Black Widow.

These men, armed with various weapons and with ferocious expressions, advanced towards Natasha.

Natasha loosened her muscles. They were just a bunch of defeated opponents. Since she had killed them once, she could kill them again. She really didn't know what was so scary about this kind of scene.

So, with that old, worn-out nursery rhyme playing in the background, Natasha quickly dispatched all the guys in front of her.

This frustrated Freddy a bit; he hadn't been around for long, and he already had only three tricks up his sleeve.

The first step is environmental cues, using negative emotions such as darkness and coldness to evoke fear in the target's heart. Humans are inherently afraid of the dark, a trace left in their genes by so many years of evolution.

However, perhaps Natasha had lived too long and experienced too much, or perhaps the inferior serum had altered Natasha's genes; in any case, she showed no fear whatsoever.

Secondly, most of the targets Freddy has brought into the dream world so far are not good people; they have a lot of blood on their hands. When facing resurrected enemies, such people are prone to emotional fluctuations. Then, he artificially creates a power gap to evoke the fear in the target's heart.

Unfortunately, those who died at Natasha's hands were all useless; they couldn't defeat her even with weapons in hand. Now that she had moved her body, Natasha felt more confident and excited.

The third game is the simplest hunting game. Freddy takes the initiative and becomes an enemy that the target cannot fight. When the target's status slips to that of the prey, fear naturally arises.

However, Freddy now realizes that his presence in front of Natasha won't make much of a difference, and continuing like this will only result in a loss. Although others will make up for the losses, Freddy is still frustrated.

Outside the dream, Fina watched Freddy fall into a deep sleep with great anxiety. She gritted her teeth, stamped her foot, and opened her right hand. Blue waves emanated from her palm, enveloping Natasha. Using this energy, she located the dream constructed by Freddy. After adding several layers of defense for herself, Fina directly entered the dream.

In the dream, Fina suddenly appeared beside Natasha, took her hand, and led her out of the dream. After a brilliant burst of magical light, the two appeared together in a small town.

No! I'm still dreaming!

Fina was startled when she sensed the magical mark she had left on Elm Street. They had only just escaped the deep dream. Freddy, like a nesting doll, had layered the individual and collective dreams together.

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave. You've come to visit the host's home, and you're leaving without even meeting him. That would be against my way of treating guests."

Freddy's voice came from all directions, and at the same time, his figure appeared in all directions, surrounding Natasha and Fina. The surging power in the dream also interrupted Fina's escape spell.

Fina stood in front of Natasha, extending her right hand to create a thicker version of a magic shield that enveloped both of them.

Burning Hand!

After completing the defense, Fina waved her right hand, and a surge of flames shot out from her hand, directly igniting the nearby buildings. However, the burning lasted only a short time, and in the blink of an eye, the flames were completely extinguished, leaving only a wisp of smoke.

"Yo yo yo, is this the latest sauna style? It's definitely much more comfortable than the ordinary one." Freddy jumped around Fina, making sarcastic remarks, his iron claws flickering, ready to attack at any moment.

Rapid Fireballs!

Fina's right hand quickly changed the spell array, and a series of fireballs shot out from the center of the array, heading towards Freddy who was jumping left and right. When the fireballs exploded on the ground, they shattered into pieces, but unfortunately, the target of the spell - Freddy - was not injured at all.

He has a teleportation spell with no cooldown and low cost in his dreams.

"Wow, is this the famous Fireball spell? Are you a member of the Cult of Fireball?"

Freddy appeared beside Fina in a flash, his iron claws slicing across the magic shield, creating ripples.

Natasha grabbed Fina and flipped her over. The next second, a shipping container crashed down where they had been. Freddy waved his iron claws with a hint of regret. These two were indeed difficult to deal with. Natasha was responsible for observing the surroundings and guarding against the special attacks that evolved from the dream, while Fina was responsible for the two of them defending themselves and putting pressure on Freddy.

As long as the team works together smoothly, it's actually quite difficult for someone like Freddy, who has relatively weak direct attack power, to kill them before Fina runs out of mana.

As he spoke, Freddy dodged the fireball again with a blink and appeared on Fina's other side. "How about I let you go out? Go back and learn some other spells. What's the use of a fireball?"

Before he finished speaking, a huge fireball shot down from above, dozens of times larger in diameter than the one Fina had launched, and its surface was a vibrant blue-green color, reaching 5000 degrees Celsius.

Boom! When the fireball exploded, the entire dream world in that area began to tremble.

Fina curled up, thickening her magic shield once more to prepare for the impending impact, but she discovered that the shockwave and spreading flames from the giant fireball's explosion avoided her small area, as if it had been preordained.

Chapter 43 Deep Bond Between Master and Disciple (Seeking Recommendation Votes)

Freddy, who had dodged the giant fireball, looked at the area in front of him with lingering fear. Many of the buildings in the dream had been vaporized by that attack. The power of this fireball was completely different from the one Fina had unleashed.

Fina looked up slightly in one direction. She only knew one person who could control the Fireball spell so precisely, but that person shouldn't be here. He should still be in the alchemy workshop being punished.

Natasha followed Fina's gaze to the side, where a figure slowly appeared in the scorching air. The person held a strangely shaped staff in their hand and wore a somewhat tattered robe. To an uninformed person, they might look more like a vagrant than a mage.

"Professor Blaze!" Fina exclaimed in surprise.

Blaze nodded to Fina, then stared at Freddy not far away. The situation wasn't critical enough for him to intervene, but Freddy's words had really annoyed him. He'd been holding back his anger for a while, and now that he finally had someone to vent it on, Blaze wasn't going to wait any longer.

The younger one gets beaten up and the older one comes out?

Freddy licked the blood off the iron claws. The pent-up fear from his deep, individual dream entered his body through the dream portal, instantly stabilizing the entire collective dream.

"You old geezer, I told you not to play with fireballs, look what you've done to yourself..." Before Freddy could finish speaking, a giant fireball came hurtling towards him.

That's unsportsmanlike conduct! Bullying people! How could you start a fight before the conversation was even finished?!

Freddy began frantically flashing through the dream world. Blaze used the advanced version of Fireball, Flameblast, without any pauses, and his suppressed mental power allowed him to pinpoint Freddy's location every time he flashed, making the explosions incredibly satisfying.

After bombarding him for half a minute, Fina's eyes lit up with admiration. It was so powerful! She wanted to do the same, but her strength wouldn't allow it.