Mastering the Sword Manual, sweeping across the globe

Following Qian Mingyuan, several other P9s successively recounted their experiences.

Lin Xu, head of the technical department at headquarters.

"I'm delivering food on a motorcycle on the national highway."

"Both sides of the national highway were lined with large trucks, one after another. When they passed by, the wind they created could knock you over."

"I was weaving through traffic... There were semi-trailers on my left and semi-trailers on my right. The one in front braked and I went around it, and the one behind me honked and rushed over."

"Countless pedestrians, motorcycles, tricycles... appeared out of nowhere, daring to cross the road just a few meters apart... I barely managed to dodge them... and then there were densely packed semi-trailers ahead."

"Keep riding. Ride when it's light, ride when it's dark, day and night are the same. The road is always the same, the density of bikes is always the same, you can never ride to the end."

"I don't know how long I rode..."

"It's longer than the first half of my life..."

"..."

"After I woke up, I lay in bed with my heart pounding. Even with my eyes closed, I could still hear the horns of big trucks, buzzing and whirring, making my head ache."

"Even now, as I sit here, I always feel like a car is driving past me."

-

Ms. Qian, the finance director, is in her early fifties and is usually very calm and composed.

“I was pinned down under a traffic light,” she said, “at midday in the far south, when the sun was at its strongest… there was a traffic light intersection in front of me.”

"Waiting and waiting."

"Waiting and waiting..."

"Waiting and waiting, waiting and waiting..."

"The light across the street is always red."

"Has it ever turned green? I don't know, it seems like it has... But whenever I look up, it's always red."

"The sun was blazing, the asphalt was melting, and the heat was rising. Standing there felt like being in a steamer. Sweat dripped down and stung my eyes, making it hard to open them. My legs ached from standing, and when I looked down for a while, I felt a slight movement. When I looked up, my legs were still red."

"There was no one around. I was all alone, standing at that intersection, waiting for a red light that never changes."

“I tried to push through. I had only gone half a meter when a dump truck came rushing from the side, honking its horn. I went back, but the light was still red.”

"I'll just keep waiting."

"I'll keep waiting."

"I'll keep waiting."

"I don't know why I've been waiting..."

"And that's how it happened... I waited for decades..."

After she finished speaking, she picked up the water glass in front of her, took a sip, and her hand was very steady.

But Chen Juefei clearly saw that when she put the cup back, the bottom of the cup hit the table with a "thud".

It took two bumps to finally settle down.

-

Personnel P9, Zhao.

"I am in an elevator."

"The elevator is not moving."

"I waited for ages, but nothing happened. I pressed the door open button, but it wouldn't open. I pressed the alarm bell, but there was no sound."

"They're stuck there."

"The elevator lights were on, always on. Never turned off. There were no windows, so I couldn't tell if it was day or night. In that small space, I stood, sat, squatted, lay down, changing positions all over the place. I was still trapped."

"Later I started counting. When I got to tens of thousands, I got confused and stopped counting."

"Just stay here."

"They're stuck there."

There's nothing there.

"I can't see anything."

There was no sound at all.

"After I woke up, I lay in bed and stared at the ceiling for a long time. It took me a while to realize that I was actually sleeping in a bed."

-

After Zhao, the HR manager, finished speaking, it was Director Fang's turn.

Luckily, he was only a P8, and he delivered food for five years in an ordinary way.

"I'm done talking."

-

Everyone has finished speaking.

Everyone's gaze slowly turned in the same direction.

Zhou Zhengyi.

Group President, P10.

Sitting in the main seat, Zhou Zhengyi hasn't said a single word since the meeting began.

"It's no big deal."

“I haven’t delivered a single order…” Zhou Zhengyi’s voice was very calm, “…I just realized I was carrying a takeout order when I fell down the stairs.”

"I bumped into every single step."

"The ground below is the hardest kind of cement, and you'll get a head injury if you bump into it. The wall on the left is asphalt at midday in summer, so hot you could roast meat. The railing on the right is a handrail at minus twenty degrees Celsius in winter, and you can stick your skin to it if you touch it."

"When I fell, my left cheek hit the asphalt, my right hand touched the iron railing, my back hit the steps, and my head hit the ground."

"In just a few hours, all the flesh on my body rotted away."

"As for the time..."

"Just like you."

Zhou Zhengyi raised his head and looked at the P9s present:

"It's only been a few decades since I fell."

-

No one spoke in the meeting room.

Chen Juefei sat there, looking at Zhou Zhengyi.

That face was still the same face, his hair perfectly styled, and his suit impeccably tailored.

But he wondered if it was just his imagination, because he felt that the face looked a little grayer and more sunken than before.

Zhou Zhengyi picked up the water glass in front of him and took a sip.

"continue."

-

Director Fang nodded, opened his laptop, and typed a few times.

A face appeared on the screen.

It was a middle-aged man in a white coat and glasses; the background was a clinic.

"This is Director Zhang from the Mental Health Center of Shuguang Hospital," Director Fang introduced. "He is here online with several other experts to listen to our meeting. They heard everything you just said."

Director Zhang on the screen nodded, his expression very professional.

“We have a preliminary understanding of everyone’s situation.” His voice came through the computer speakers. “From a medical point of view, this is a typical case of group dream experience. Although rare, it is not without precedent.”

"Dreams are the brain's integration and processing of daily information. Under certain physiological or psychological states, time perception may be distorted. For example, some people dream that many years have passed, but wake up to find that they have only slept for one night. This is medically documented."

He spoke for several minutes.

What about "prolonged REM sleep," "abnormal activation during memory consolidation," and "emotional isolation caused by individual protective mechanisms"?

The vocabulary is very professional, and the logic is very rigorous.

But as Chen Juefei listened, he suddenly remembered the bald man in his dream, who stood at the door pointing at his nose and cursing, spitting on his face.

Those spittle droplets were real.

Those words were true.

I still feel that trembling sensation in my legs.

He didn't know what "individual protection mechanism" was.

All he knew was that he was sitting here with that thing pressing against his chest.

Director Zhang is still speaking.

"Everyone is experiencing intense discomfort, but so far, no one has suffered a serious mental breakdown."

"This is clear evidence of collective dreaming..."

"...This is also related to the human psychological defense mechanism. When the pain exceeds the limit of tolerance, the brain will automatically activate protective programs, such as forgetting, emotional numbness, and detachment from reality. The 'not remembering the details' that you just mentioned is a typical example of the protective mechanism at work..."

Chen Juefei glanced at the person next to him.

He Yu lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought.

Li Nan crossed her arms and stared at the table.

Several P9s sat there, their faces expressionless.

Someone is listening.

Someone is spacing out.

Someone had a faint smile on their lips: Keep talking nonsense.

Director Zhang spoke for about ten minutes.

"...Therefore, from a medical perspective, while your cases are rare, they do not violate physiological laws. We recommend individualized psychological counseling, combined with adequate rest and adjustment; your symptoms should gradually subside... Considering these factors, in the time to come, everyone..."

“Shut it down,” Zhou Zhengyi suddenly said.

Slightly taken aback, Director Fang ended the video call.

"This is an arrangement from above, intended to temporarily appease everyone's emotions, but..." Zhou Zhengyi sighed, "Those of you sitting here are all intelligent people, and you must all know very well that, in principle, after experiencing such torment, there should be fewer people in the room by now."

That's right, that's the biggest problem.

Which of us here isn’t used to a life of luxury?

Let alone fifty years of climbing stairs, fifty years of being exposed to the sun, and fifty years of falling and hitting, even if you were just an ordinary delivery person for five years—more than ten hours a day, exposed to wind and rain, being scolded and penalized, exhausted to the bone—some people would have given up long ago.

Mental breakdown, depression, insanity, or even worse.

Logically speaking, there should be at least a few people absent from this meeting room.

But no.

not a single one.

Not a single person was absent.

Those who can't stand steadily, those who were helped in, and those who can't get up once they sit down are just tired.

I'm just tired.

It's that kind of torment that seeps from the very bones, a torment that just won't let you get any rest.

These bizarre dreams not only tormented people in the most cruel way—which was the cruelest way for everyone in this conference room—but also stripped them of the thoughts of "driving them crazy," "making them not want to live," and even "not wanting to go to work today."

That's perfectly normal!

—This is a wondrous technique of the Heavenly Demon Sect, controlling and adjusting physiological and psychological thresholds in all aspects. It has been innovated countless times, and there is no way it could cause the great demonic figures to perish prematurely.

……