On the Ark.

And then, that was it.

When he regained consciousness, he had already returned to the sanatorium.

Looking at the monotonous ceiling of the sanatorium, Lin Ye didn't react immediately. He stood there stunned for a full thirty seconds before realizing what had just happened.

I'd only been in Shining's dream for less than a minute...

He was killed by Shining!

Author's BB:

I've only slept a few hours these past two days... I can't take it anymore, I'll go to bed around midnight.

Chapter 110 Remember to be gentle with her

Twenty minutes later, Shining awoke from her slumber. Seven or eight sleeping pills had only kept her asleep for less than an hour, a testament to the incredible strength of the Sarkaz.

"Huh? Is it over already?" Shining sat up from the recliner, propping her head up with her hand. It seemed the effects of the sleeping pills hadn't completely worn off. After a few seconds, she looked up at Lin Ye and asked, "Did you use your ability on me? Did it work?"

Lin Ye and Lin Guang exchanged a glance.

Nearl coughed twice and asked, "Shining, were you dreaming just now?"

"Hmm," Shining said softly, "not a very pleasant dream."

"Really?" Lin Guang pointed at Lin Ye. "Then did you see him?"

“That’s what I wanted to ask too,” Shining said. “Lin Ye, you couldn’t enter my dream? Why do I have no memory of you at all?”

Lin Ye said expressionlessly, "Because you chopped me up."

"Huh?" Shining was taken aback.

"I said you chopped me down with one sword." Lin Ye sighed. "I successfully entered your dream. But before I could do anything, you chopped me down with one sword. What's going on? I couldn't even say a word."

Shining seemed somewhat surprised: "Why is this happening?"

"Are you asking me?" Lin Ye was speechless. "You spent half an hour asleep, and it took me ten minutes to enter your dream, but I only stayed in your dream for less than ten seconds. I went in and you chopped me up with your sword. What's there to say... Wait, you chopped me up, and you don't remember anything? What kind of dream were you having?"

Shining tried hard to recall, then shook her head: "I really didn't see you. And I feel like my dream just now was a bit unreal, I can't remember the specifics, it was just that..." She paused, seemingly reluctant to recall, but still said it, "...killing, always killing."

"Has your past been all about killing people?"

Shining nodded: "You can think of it that way."

Lin Ye was speechless. What a bloody and cruel past! No wonder Shining didn't want to recall it. However, not wanting to recall it didn't mean she would forget it. Just like Nightingale, that terrible experience was imprinted in her mind and replayed in her dreams. The only difference was that Shining wasn't trapped inside it.

"Should we try again?" Shining asked. "If needed, I'll take the medicine again. I'll be more careful this time."

Lin Ye thought for a moment, then shook his head: "Forget it, your efficiency is too low. Besides, dreams are not the same as reality. You can't control what you do in your dreams. Even if we did it again, you definitely wouldn't remember what our purpose was, and you might just chop me up again."

"Alright," Shining said, somewhat helplessly.

That's just how people are; most of the time, they're unaware that they're dreaming. Take Lin Ye, for example. Even after starting university, he dreamt countless times that he was still in his senior year of high school, sweating profusely over stacks of test papers, completely forgetting that he had already been admitted to university and was spending his days in his dorm playing brothels.

At that moment, Furong came up with a report.

"How is it?" Shining asked Hibiscus.

“Sister Shanling, your physical and mental state is very stable.” Furong said while looking at the report. “According to the monitoring data, you just had a restless sleep, and nothing else happened.”

Shining looked at Lin Ye: "Just like Officer Chen from Lungmen? Could it be because the time was too short?"

Lin Ye shook his head: "I'm not sure either, but I don't think so. I'm more inclined to think it's a problem with Liz personally, after all, her situation is different from yours."

No sooner had the words left her lips than Nightingale's voice rang out from behind her: "My question?"

Everyone turned around and found Nightingale standing in front of the door, wearing pajamas.

"Liz, you're awake?" Shining stood up.

"Hmm." Nightingale nodded, walked in, and looked at Lin Ye. "Pineapple Bun, are you here to take me to breakfast?"

Just as Lin Ye was about to nod, he saw Fu Rong run over with a bag of pineapple buns, smiling and saying, "Liz, the pineapple buns are ready for you."

Nightingale took the bag, glanced at it, and said, "Thank you, Lianrong."

“...My name is Furong.”

Lin Guang coughed twice and took over the conversation: "In that case, let's continue. Dr. Lin Ye, would you like some breakfast?"

Seeing that Nightingale was already enjoying her food, Lin Ye didn't say anything more: "I don't need to. I can eat later. Let's continue. I've used my ability four times so far, and twice it put a strain on people's minds. Both of those times were with Liz."

Furong said, "So it does seem to be Liz's problem, doesn't it?"

Lin Guang shook his head: "We can't be so hasty. The sample size is still too small. We need to continue the experiment."

"Miss Lin Guang, are you going to participate this time?" Fu Rong asked.

Lin Guang hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Okay, let me go."

“Wait, Nearl,” Shining said, looking at Nearl. “I think you need to reconsider.”

Lin Guang frowned: "Why?"

“Because you might dream about painful memories from your past,” Shining said softly. “I did, Liz did, and that Officer Chen from Lungmen probably did too, so you probably will too…”

"So what?" Lin Guang retorted.

Shining was silent for a moment, then said, "Nearlight, you know I'm not looking down on you. What I mean is, if you don't want to remember the past..."

“No, Shining, I’m not afraid to recall the past.” Nearl said, removing her armor. The heavy armor was placed on the ground, revealing her not-so-robust body. “My armor is to protect my body, not to conceal my heart. Shining, although my body is not as strong as yours, I am confident that my spirit will not lose to yours. It’s just the past, what is there to be afraid of?”

After she finished speaking, she walked to the chair where Shining had been lying and sat down.

"Thank you for your trouble, Dr. Lin Ye." Lin Guang took the sleeping pills from Fu Rong's hand, then looked up at Lin Ye. "It might make you see my unbearable past, but... never mind, there's no 'but'."

Lin Guang took the sleeping pills and then closed his eyes.

Lin Ye glanced at Shining.

Shining sighed softly, then patted Lin Ye on the shoulder: "Since Nearl has made her decision, then go for it, Doctor Lin Ye. Remember to be gentle with her."

Lin Ye: "..."

Shining continued, "Don't let her appearance fool you, she's actually still..."

"Shining!" Nearl opened her eyes and said angrily, "I'm not asleep yet!"

Chapter 111 The Experiment—Nearlight

After taking the sleeping pills, Nearl fell asleep in less than ten minutes. As a majestic "Radiant Knight," Nearl's sleeping posture was quite amusing, mainly due to his enormous tail, which he couldn't hide. The tail alone took up almost half the space of the chair, making him look like a squirrel sleeping with its tail tucked in. This contrasted sharply with his posture when he was in armor, wielding his warhammer.

"Lin Ye," Shining said to Lin Ye, "Nearlight is asleep, you can go now."

Lin Ye: "..."

So, is this how all Sarkaz talk? Whether it's Shining or Nightingale, their words are perfectly normal, but why do they sound so strange when expressed in their way? Fortunately, after spending so much time with them, Lin Ye had developed a certain immunity to their language, so he pretended not to hear anything and walked towards Nearl.

Walking up to Lin Guang and looking at the sleeping Lin Guang, Lin Ye still felt a little strange. After all, Lin Ye knew Lin Guang's temper very well, so he had a bad feeling that Lin Guang might jump up and hit him at any moment.

Forget it, I shouldn't think about it too much.

Lin Ye grasped Lin Guang's hand and slowly closed his eyes.

A chaotic and noisy sound gradually filled my ears.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a dilapidated tavern.

Lin Ye looked around and found that the tavern had a Western style. Although the facilities were dilapidated, there were many customers. They sat in twos and threes, talking loudly. Every now and then, you could hear the sound of glasses clinking and cheap ale spilling on the table. The tavern owner sat behind the counter, propping his head up and dozing off.

Is this Nearl's dream? Where is Nearl?

Just as this question arose in Lin Ye's mind, the tavern door was pushed open. He turned around and saw Lin Guang walk in. At that moment, he was surprised because the Lin Guang before him was so unlike Lin Guang.

When Lin Ye entered Officer Chen's and Nightingale's dreams, he saw them as children. Shining's dream, however, was set in the war after she became an adult, as was Nearl's. Just by looking at her appearance, Lin Ye found it hard to believe that the disheveled woman who walked in from outside the door, dressed in tattered clothes, covered in blood, and with eyes full of death, was Nearl.

Is that really Nearl?! Is that really the "Radiant Knight"?!

Lin Ye could hardly believe his eyes.

Lin Guang walked past Lin Ye, who smelled an unpleasant odor of alcohol on her. Lin Ye wanted to call out to her, but he was too surprised and hesitated. By the time he realized what was happening, Lin Guang was already standing at the counter buying alcohol.

The tavern owner nodded, then frowned when he saw the hand Nearl showed as she took the money: "Wait, are you an infected?"

The tavern fell silent instantly, and all eyes were on Lin Guang.

Lin Guang paused for a moment, then gave a soft "hmm".

“Let’s go.” The tavern owner leaned back slightly, seemingly unwilling to have contact with Nearl. “I don’t do business with the infected.”

"I just want to buy some wine." Lin Guang's voice was light and airy, completely lacking the strength Lin Ye remembered. "I'll leave after I buy the wine."

The tavern owner simply shook his head.

Lin Guang wanted to say something more, but a tall man at the next table stood up.

"Wait, are you... a knight of Kazimierz?"

Lin Ye looked over and found that the other person was a member of Lin Guang's clan, with similar features to Lin Guang. He walked towards Lin Guang, carrying a bottle of wine in his hand.

The man walked up behind Lin Guang, lowered his head, and sniffed her hair: "Have I seen you before?"

Lin Guang's eyes were lifeless; he remained silent.

"Let me think about it." The man grabbed Nearl's hair and gently toyed with it in his hand. "The 'Radiant Knight' of Kazimierz, am I right?"

"The Radiant Knight?" Someone in the tavern had clearly heard of this nickname and seemed quite surprised. "Isn't that Camishir's star knight? How did he end up like this?"

"Why did things turn out like this?" The man grinned slightly and said, "Because she was fired, fired because she was infected."

After he finished speaking, he suddenly went berserk, raised the bottle, and smashed it hard on Lin Guang's head.

With a crisp sound, Nearl fell to the ground, blood seeping from her golden hair.

Lin Ye was stunned.

The man's smile turned sinister: "'Radiant Knight'? Do you remember me? Hmm, you might not, but I remember you. I remember everything you did to me clearly. So, 'Radiant Knight', let me repay you. Let me treat you to drinks, all the drinks."

After saying that, he picked up empty wine bottles from the table next to him and smashed them one by one on Lin Guang's head. The people in the tavern immediately clapped and cheered, with mocking smiles on their faces.

Lin Ye originally thought that Lin Guang would resist, after all, with Lin Guang's strength, it should be no problem for him to easily take down everyone in this tavern.

However, Lin Guang did nothing; she simply lay on the ground, letting the man beat her without moving.