Chapter 15 | Embers of the Past

“How is that possible?!” Yu Jin was utterly shocked.

The moment a Nightmare Disaster is dispelled, any real-world living being dragged into it for whatever reason is expelled from the dream and returned to reality.

This was the rule of Nightmare Disasters and the absolute premise upon which the Bureau currently dealt with them using Special Response Squads.

At first glance, Zhou Li's claim sounded like a paradox.

Because once a Special Response Squad completed its mission and eliminated the Dream Core, even if the battle inside the dream was so brutal that only one survivor remained with a single breath left, that survivor should still return to reality.

How could they have been completely wiped out?

Of course, total annihilation was not entirely unheard of.

When the evolution of a Nightmare Disaster far exceeded initial estimates, the first batch of agents who entered the dream might very well die from unexpected dangers within the rapidly shifting nightmare.

To address such scenarios, the Bureau had a comprehensive emergency response plan where a second Special Response Squad would immediately follow as a backup to take over the unfinished mission of the first squad until the Nightmare Disaster was dispelled.

Therefore, in many cases, Nightmare Disasters were literally paved over with human lives.

But the problem was that in the case of Squad 6, they had never returned, yet the Nightmare Disaster did not continue and was instead dispelled. Such an occurrence was exceedingly rare!

So, who had eliminated the Dream Core?

Yu Jin constantly recalled the various cases he had handled, attempting to find a similarity. Suddenly, a bizarre thought flashed through his mind. Stunned, he murmured uncertainly, “It couldn't be that... the Dream Core eliminated itself?”

“Exactly. If only the Post-Disaster Investigation Team had reacted as fast as you did just now. Of course, the reason you can think of this now might be because you thoroughly read the investigation files they left behind, and the memory still lingers in your subconscious.”

“What do you mean?”

Seeing the solemn expressions of Squad 172, Yu Jin's heart grew tighter and tighter.

Zhou Li sighed with emotion and continued, “Dispelling the Nightmare Disaster was a good thing, but the news of the five missing squad members still shocked the entire Bureau. The higher-ups instructed the Post-Disaster Investigation Team to thoroughly investigate the cause, and Director Mei handed this task to you, Yu Jin. She had you lead all of Investigation Group 4 to investigate why Special Response Squad 6 had completely vanished. You happily accepted the assignment and led your team to Qingniao Street first thing the next morning. However, because that day was the first anniversary of last year's Nightmare Disaster, which also happened to be the anniversary of your brother's passing, you and your colleague Tang Yaoting left the team temporarily to visit Changming Cemetery first before starting the investigation.”

Hearing this, Yu Jin still didn't find anything wrong.

As the saying goes, what one thinks about by day, one dreams about by night. Everything that happened in the dream today seemed to be a projection of what had already occurred in reality. It all aligned perfectly.

But the more it aligned, the more Yu Jin felt that something massive was waiting for him.

Zhou Li quietly tightened his grip on his gun, and the surrounding members of Squad 172 stood highly alert as well.

They knew that the upcoming description might trigger a massive emotional fluctuation in Yu Jin, and any emotional volatility was fatal when dealing with a Nightmare Disaster.

Because the more intense the emotions, the higher the probability that the Nightmare Disaster would manifest.

Keeping a close eye on Yu Jin's reaction, Zhou Li softened his tone as much as possible.

“However, when the two of you finished paying your respects and returned to Qingniao Street, tragedy struck. Qingniao Street, which had been peaceful in the morning, was left in absolute ruins. Debris and shattered walls were everywhere, along with severed limbs and broken bodies. Wails of agony echoed across the sky. The field agents who had cordoned off the street were either dead or severely injured, and the entire Investigation Group 4 that entered the Xia residence was...”

Yu Jin froze.

He couldn't believe his ears.

Shattered images rushed backward like an incoming tide, sweeping him back into the deep sea of his memories.

He looked at Squad 172 before him. In his dazed state, his vision seemed to pass through them, through the bedroom, and he saw the living room in ruins.

His vision flickered, continuously flashing back to scenes both unfamiliar and intimately known.

He saw a colleague's body impaled on exposed rebar, blood pooling all over the ground. His colleague, whose eyes had not yet closed, struggled to reach out to him. He stiffly reached his hand out, but the other person's hand suddenly slumped down;

He saw a colleague who had just greeted him that morning; their head was on the sofa, hands in the bedroom, and feet in the living room;

He saw colleagues who had been laughing and joking before they arrived, now twisted and knotted like pretzels, hanging like bloody, dirty rags from the frayed wires of the chandelier, posed in all kinds of bizarre shapes...

With each flashing scene, his vision grew a shade redder with blood.

After several flashes, Yu Jin's vision was entirely crimson.

And turning red alongside his vision was his hair.

It was blood-red, thick and dripping with crimson.

His eyes turned cold and sharp. Looking at Zhou Li, who was aiming a gun at him, he paid no heed to the offensive gesture, instead speaking in an incredibly chilling tone, “Was what? Tell me. Continue. I'm listening.”

Zhou Li had rarely felt such a terrifying aura from anyone. The last time he had felt this way was when he caught a glimpse of that serial killer in the Day Prison.

His heart sank.

Logically speaking, the most correct decision right now would be to shoot and kill Yu Jin immediately, dispelling the Nightmare Disaster and returning to reality.

However, if they didn't figure out what was going on with this red-haired Yu Jin inside the dream, investigating it after returning to reality would be incredibly difficult.

Dreams were an extension of human consciousness. Although dreams were often bizarre, absurd, and twisted, compared to reality which was full of lies and hypocrisy, a person could be seen much more clearly here.

A tragedy had already occurred on Qingniao Street. Zhou Li could not let a second similar tragedy happen, especially when the subject was a colleague from the Bureau.

He tried to soften his tone, but he did not avoid the hard truth.

Lies could only be traded for lies; only sincerity could earn sincerity in return.

“...The entire Investigation Group 4 was wiped out. Except for you and Tang Yaoting, everyone else perished—killed by Xia Jie.”

“!”

For a brief moment, a terrifying, heaven-shaking murderous intent erupted from Yu Jin's eyes. He looked down at Xia Jie beneath his feet and stomped directly on the corpse's head.

Bang!

Gore splattered all over everyone, yet not a single person stepped back.

“Continue.”

Sighing in his heart, Zhou Li continued, “At first, Xia Jie acted covertly. He only dealt with Post-Disaster Investigation Group 4 after they entered the home. By the time the field agents cordoning off the area caught the scent of blood, it was already too late.

Xia Jie rushed out of the house and began a slaughter on Qingniao Street. Even the sole survivor of Squad 6—the safety officer who had accompanied Investigation Group 4 to inspect the Xia household—died at his hands.