Chapter 10 | Embers of the Past

Something was wrong with this kid!

Ever since he had spaced out and experienced that life-and-death struggle with Xia Jie, Yu Jin's eyes had been filled with wariness whenever he looked at the boy.

He didn't know how to define what had just happened, but that simulated death served as a wake-up call.

Was a seemingly innocent and cowardly child truly innocent and cowardly?

Not necessarily.

However, a mere "hallucination" wasn't enough to condemn the child in front of him; after all, the boy hadn't actually done anything.

Making a preemptive strike under the guise of neutralizing a threat under these circumstances wouldn't be "fair."

Fairness didn't really matter in a dream, but this brought him back to that fundamental question: could he be absolutely certain that Xia Jie was the Dream Core of this dream?

If not, once the Nightmare Disaster was cleared, Yu Jin would have to take responsibility for Xia Jie's death.

That was the real reason he was hesitant to act.

In a world plagued by Nightmare Disasters, there were always people trying to fish in troubled waters within dreams. Many felt that dreams were detached from reality, and thus, real-world laws shouldn't bind their actions in a dream.

But if this kind of mindset were allowed to spread, Nightmare Disasters would become incredibly difficult to manage. When that time came, the Special Response Squad would not just be fighting pure anomalies and the unknown in Nightmare Disasters, but also hostility and malice from the general public.

The Bureau had anticipated this long ago and extended life-related laws into dreams.

If any citizen acted illegally and caused someone else's death, they would have to face prosecution under the Dream Derivative Law.

Unless they did it so flawlessly that no one found out, or they had sufficient evidence to plead their defense.

Yu Jin didn't think he could fool the Special Response Squad, who specialized in Nightmare Disasters. Thus, he had to keep up his guard while searching for clues that could prove Xia Jie was indeed that cruel and tyrannical.

He believed that no matter what, a person's true nature couldn't be completely hidden, especially in a dream.

He began to carefully scan the entire bedroom, standing near the doorway, furthest from the bed.

Xiao Jie felt the change in atmosphere and asked warily, “Brother, what are you looking for?”

Yu Jin didn't reply. His gaze swept around the room, and when he looked under the desk, he noticed some black stuffed animals.

He squatted down and picked them up, finding that they were eyeless sheep dolls. The fronts of the sheep were placed facing outward, looking perfectly intact, but all four legs on their bellies had been torn off.

A mix of gray and white stuffing spilled from the tears. Yu Jin felt that the dolls looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen them. Holding a doll, he looked toward Xiao Jie.

Xiao Jie's eyes darkened when he saw the dolls. “Dad tore them,” he said. “He always felt that playing with these things affected my studies, so he tore up and threw away a lot of them. I only secretly salvaged a few of my favorites.”

“Oh, really?” Yu Jin smiled. “I just thought these dolls were quite unique and wanted to ask what they originally looked like. I didn't ask who tore them up, did I?”

Xiao Jie choked on his words, mumbling awkwardly, “They're just comfort toys. Do you know what an abeibei is?”

“I've never seen anyone whose abeibei was an ugly black sheep like this,” Yu Jin retorted.

“They're not ugly!”

Xiao Jie suddenly stood up, his face contorting into a snarl as he protested loudly.

But he quickly realized he had lost his composure, and he curled back up on the bed, hugging his knees again.

Yu Jin found the extreme reaction strange. He looked at the doll in his hand once more, while also pondering another matter...

Why was it so quiet outside?

That was right. His mother's screeching outside the door had stopped for some time now. He couldn't even remember when the screaming had vanished.

Would a mother, who had done everything in her power to stop him from entering the bedroom and had utterly broken down hysterically once he did, suddenly lose all interest in what was happening inside?

This wasn't normal. Something was definitely wrong.

Yu Jin leaned against the door, straining his ears to listen. He found that there was absolutely no sound outside; even the footsteps had vanished.

He asked in confusion, “Is your mom gone?”

“...”

Xiao Jie didn't respond.

Yu Jin looked toward the bed. At first glance, he was shocked to find that the person sitting on the bed with their legs hugged was no longer Xiao Jie, but Mrs. Xia.

Mrs. Xia's heavy makeup was cracking apart inch by inch, and countless tentacles erupted from the fissures, creeping down the bedsheets toward his feet.

Startled, he was just about to draw his gun when, in the blink of an eye, the person on the bed changed back into Xiao Jie.

Xiao Jie shook his head timidly, “I don't know. She goes to all kinds of gatherings all the time, so it's normal for her not to be home.”

Although Xiao Jie looked as if he truly knew nothing, Yu Jin still caught a fleeting trace of excitement in the boy's dodging eyes.

It was the thrill of a hunter closing in on its prey.

In that moment, Yu Jin suddenly felt that this bedroom was far too dangerous—even more so than the outside.

Recalling Mrs. Xia's wails before her death and Father Xia's resistance during his execution, Yu Jin had a sudden, dazed revelation that perhaps they had been the ones in the right. It was as if they had been trying, in a way he didn't understand, to keep him away from this bedroom.

It wasn't hostility; it was "protection."

Oh no. This kid might actually be the real "Nightmare" in this dream.

Yu Jin's entire body tensed, and his hand instinctively gripped the doorknob.

The risk of helping the Special Response Squad narrow down the suspects had already far exceeded his safety threshold. He needed to get out of the Xia residence to save himself first before worrying about how he could assist the squad.

Just as he was hesitating whether to open the door and slip out while no one was outside, a rapid knocking suddenly rang out from the bedroom door.

The sound coming from right next to him startled Yu Jin. He took a wary step back, not rushing to ask who was outside.

Just then, an unfamiliar voice drifted in from beyond the door.

“Haicheng Nightmare Disaster Emergency Response Bureau, Special Response Squad 6, Lu Ren. Is Xia Jie inside? I regret to inform you that you are currently in a dream. The Bureau has detected a large-scale, high-frequency conscious disturbance, confirming the occurrence of a Nightmare Disaster. Special Response Squad 6 has taken over this operation to clear it. It has been confirmed that many residents near Qingniao Street have fallen into a Dream Entanglement. To prevent collateral damage, we have secured the entire neighborhood within the dream, including your father and mother. If you are indeed Xia Jie, please open the door.”

The Special Response Squad was here?!

Hearing the standard operating procedure of a Special Response Squad, Yu Jin felt a surge of relief.

He had heard of Lu Ren's name and knew they were the captain of Special Response Squad 6, though he had never met them.

Xia Jie on the bed was even more excited than Yu Jin. With a cheer, he scrambled off the bed and dashed toward the bedroom door, clearly intent on throwing it open to welcome the squad.

But at the critical moment, Yu Jin drew his gun and forced the approaching Xia Jie to a halt.

He still remembered the terrifying, vicious expression Xia Jie had worn during that waking daydream, as well as the boy's threat to wipe out the entire Special Response Squad.

With that warning echoing in his mind, Yu Jin did not dare let Xiao Jie come into contact with them.

“Don't move. Go back.”

Xiao Jie looked aggrieved, but he did as he was told.

Only after Xiao Jie sat back down on the bed did Yu Jin cautiously open the door.

Standing outside was a rather lean Bureau agent. The agent had a sharp, handsome face and a keen gaze. Instead of tactical gear, they wore loose, baggy men's clothes that looked a size too big.

Yu Jin was slightly puzzled by this, but didn't dwell on it.

After all, the Bureau did not mandate that the Special Response Squad had to wear tactical gear. In fact, the vast majority of agents preferred to wear their own clothes while on missions.

He had no place to judge other people's fashion preferences.

Moreover, the joy of finally being rescued by the Special Response Squad washed away Yu Jin's doubts. Stepping up to the door, he shook Lu Ren's hand and said:

“Post-Disaster Investigation Team 4, Yu Jin, one of the Affected Parties in this Nightmare Disaster. Captain Lu, I've heard so much about you. The situation here is quite complicated. The child sitting on the bed is suspected to be the Dream Core of this dream. However, I can't say for sure because this dream is unlike any other I've encountered in my investigations.”

Yu Jin wanted to explain the current situation as clearly as possible, gesturing toward Xiao Jie on the bed as he spoke non-stop.

Lu Ren had kept a firm grip on Yu Jin's hand since they shook, never letting go. They asked with a soft chuckle, “What's different about it?”

Yu Jin's gaze had already drifted toward Xiao Jie, but when he heard this question, he froze completely.

Because that wasn't Lu Ren's voice from before. It sounded more like...

Xiao Jie's voice?!

He whipped his head back to his side, only to find that Xiao Jie, who had just been on the bed, was now standing where Lu Ren was supposed to be. The boy's small, childish hand was gripping his in a vice-like hold, staring up at him with a mocking, half-smiling expression.