A few more people arrived one after another in the afternoon.
The newly arrived unfamiliar faces would be placed in different spots to be observed for a while. Only if nothing went wrong throughout the afternoon would they be gathered to assign beds.
The same batch of drug testers stayed in the same partitioned area. Each section housed over a hundred people, with bunk beds arranged in a circle, heads facing inward and feet outward. In the center stood a crude consciousness disturbance detector. Yu Jin was assigned a bottom bunk, while the top bunk went to a chubby little girl.
When it was time, everyone lay down. Brother Scar personally did the honors, administering injections in whatever spot above the neck each person had chosen.
Yu Jin chose behind the ear; it made hiding the needle mark easy and didn't require shaving his hair.
When it was Yu Jin's turn, Brother Scar held up a syringe emitting a blue fluorescent glow and said with a serious look:
“This syringe contains our latest research breakthrough, the Floating Life Series 2.0. Compared to the previous version, we've significantly increased the concentration of certain core factors. Don't say I didn't help you out—this is the drug with the highest awakening rate here. If you manage to awaken after this shot, you could empty out an entire jewelry store to buy your wife a gift and it still wouldn't matter.”
The red-haired Yu Jin didn't know what expression to make. Maintaining his persona, he merely grunted in response and turned his head away without saying thanks.
Brother Scar didn't mind. Seeing that the man was cooperating, he picked up the syringe and stabbed it right behind his ear.
Perhaps from injecting so many people, Brother Scar's technique was better than a hospital nurse's. The red-haired Yu Jin felt absolutely no pain as a full dose of the drug was pushed into his head.
Brother Scar checked carefully. Seeing no fluorescent fluid leaking onto the pillow, he finally let his guard down regarding Yu Jin.
Fluorescence was the stronghold's last resort for checking for moles. The side effects of the drugs were lifelong, and heaven only knew what side effects a new formula might have. Undercover officers from the Bureau wouldn't actually risk their lives for a minor stronghold.
Thus, the moment the injection was successfully completed, the red-haired Yu Jin truly became that fool who wanted to buy a gold bracelet for his wife in Brother Scar's eyes.
Never mind if his wife was actually someone else's wife—the foolishness was certainly real.
Watching Yu Jin drift off to sleep, he nodded in satisfaction and began injecting the little girl in the top bunk.
The girl on the top bunk had chosen her neck. The injection was done quickly and without any issues.
Before long, all the drug testers in the partitioned area had been injected. Brother Scar did a quick sweep, and seeing nothing amiss, paced away in satisfaction.
But the very moment Brother Scar stepped out, the red-haired Yu Jin, who had just been fast asleep, opened his eyes.
He wasn't afraid of any detection methods around him, because the eye he opened was on the top of his head!
Yes, the top of his head.
Hidden by his hair, it was extremely difficult to spot in the dim environment.
This was the benefit of having a head full of tentacles. Thanks to Mrs. Xia's ability, the red-haired Yu Jin's head was now like an infinitely dissectible and reassemblable jigsaw puzzle.
The tentacles beneath his facial skin could move his facial features at will, allowing them to appear wherever he wanted.
Naturally, he could also use some tentacles to trap all the injected fluid, storing it in a corner that wouldn't affect his normal movements.
Thus, the red-haired Yu Jin hadn't entered a dream. He was merely waiting for an opportunity—an opportunity to gather information about the Disciples of Eternal Night from this stronghold.
He had originally planned to sneak out and scout the area once Brother Scar was far enough, but to his surprise, the information seemed to have grown legs and walked right up to him.
Before Brother Scar could even exit the partitioned area, someone walked in from outside and started a conversation with him.
“All done?”
It sounded like a woman's voice, clear yet carrying an hard-to-define tone.
Her body was blocked by Brother Scar, so the eye on top of the red-haired Yu Jin's head couldn't get a full view of her. He could only see half of her face, exaggerated eyeliner, loose blonde curls, and a black leather jacket.
The woman had a tiny mole near the outer corner of her eye, which stood out vividly under the light from the doorway.
Brother Scar handed over the injection log and said:
“All done. 114 people, all injected.”
The woman nodded.
“Find the appropriate dilution ratio for the dream-inducing agent as soon as possible. The higher-ups are pushing hard, and we don't have much time left.”
Brother Scar grunted and said nothing more.
The woman also fell silent, and the air grew somewhat stagnant for a moment.
After a long while, the woman sighed and said:
“I'm leaving tonight. Whether I live or die depends entirely on whether the plan over there goes smoothly. Do you... have nothing you want to say to me?”
Brother Scar choked up. Gone was his ruthless demeanor from the afternoon, replaced by a deep, husky tone:
“Is it high risk?”
The woman nodded. “Yes.”
Brother Scar clenched his fists.
“He didn't stop you, and he doesn't care if you live or die. He doesn't love you.”
The woman chuckled.
“It has nothing to do with him; I chose to go myself. I've been a gutter rat for over a decade, and I'm tired of it. I want to see the sunlight outside. The higher-ups said that although the risk is high, the success rate of the plan is very good. If I can awaken during this mission...”
The woman didn't finish her sentence, but both of them seemed to know what she would do once she awakened.
Brother Scar said nothing. After a long pause, he pulled something from his breast pocket and held it out to her.
Because Brother Scar's back was turned, Yu Jin couldn't see what it was. He only saw the woman glance down, smile, and leave without taking it.
As she left, she murmured a final phrase:
“May all that you dream be a Nightmare...”
Brother Scar's body trembled slightly. He silently tucked the item away, lowered his head, and completed the phrase:
“...and all that you fear be real.”
“!!!”
This was the blessing of the Disciples of Eternal Night!
Hearing this, Yu Jin was shocked, but his shock was instantly followed by a surge of joy. He realized that through sheer, blind luck, he had actually infiltrated a secret stronghold of the Disciples of Eternal Night!
Talk about luck—he had hit the jackpot on his very first day!
After the woman left, a nearby lackey sidled up to Brother Scar and whispered a warning:
“Boss, if you keep this up, what are we going to do if the Big Boss finds out?”
Brother Scar slapped the lackey on the head, instantly reverting to his ferocious persona as he cursed:
“If none of you talk, how is he going to find out? If he ever finds out and wants to deal with me over this, I'll make sure to put you guys under the ground before I go. Hmph, if you don't want to die, keep your mouths shut!”
Shut tight, absolutely shut tight!
Yu Jin's mouth was closed tighter than anyone's.
No wonder infiltrating a stronghold of the Disciples of Eternal Night was so much easier than I expected, Yu Jin thought. It turns out someone saw their own reflection in my fake backstory.
Yu Jin, who was watching this unfold from his own room back home, really wanted to laugh, but the laughter died in his throat.
For at the very moment he shifted his eye from the top of his head to scan his surroundings for any surveillance, he spotted something in the faint light of the consciousness disturbance detector: a shadow cast on the wooden partition wall had subtly shifted.
The shadow had come alive!
In the partitioned area, where only the sound of breathing could be heard, a vast patch of shadow in the corner peeled off the wall, gradually weaving itself into a figure.
The figure slowly took shape, broke free from the constraints of the shadow, and stepped forward, materializing into a solid physical form.
It was a man.
With a half-tied wolf cut and wire-rimmed gold glasses, he cut a highly shrewd figure in his black Tang suit embroidered with a subtle dragon pattern.
Seeing this bizarre sight, Yu Jin's pupils shrank.
A Dreamwalker!
Only an awakened Dreamwalker could possess such an eerie ability!
Who was this Dreamwalker?
Could he be one of the Disciples of Eternal Night?
Had he noticed Yu Jin's subtle movements just now?
Yu Jin wasn't particularly worried about getting into a fight with the man. After all, the red-haired Yu Jin's combat strength was decent, and even if worse came to worst, Yu Jin's main body could fire a shot from the revolver to bring them back safely.
The issue was that after relying on sheer luck to finally infiltrate a stronghold of the Disciples of Eternal Night, exposing his identity before finding anything would be too great a loss.
Once he lost this opportunity, there was no telling if he would ever get this lucky again.
Therefore, as long as the other party hadn't noticed him, Yu Jin preferred to have the red-haired Yu Jin keep up the disguise and wait to see how things unfolded.
Fortunately, the man in the Tang suit truly hadn't noticed the red-haired Yu Jin opening his eye. He simply walked around on light feet, surveyed the area for a moment, and then melted back into the shadows to depart silently.
Both Yu Jins exhaled a sigh of relief simultaneously.
We should be safe now.
Just as the red-haired Yu Jin prepared to begin his information gathering for the night, the sound of a heel lightly tapping against the wooden bunk frame came from above him.
“Thud.”
“!!!”
Rate on N.U.
