Chapter 7 | Embers of the Past

Nightmares brought disaster to humanity, but they also brought opportunities.

Thanks to the characteristic of Nightmare Disasters being able to manifest in reality, when lives caught in a Nightmare Disaster acquire extraordinary abilities within the nightmare, there is a probability they can bring those extraordinary abilities out of the dream through the Nightmare Disaster, manifesting them in reality and truly possessing that ability.

This is what is known as awakening.

Those who have awakened are called Dreamwalkers, and they will not lose themselves when actively entering the dreams of others.

This is also the primary requirement for joining the Special Response Team.

However, obtaining extraordinary abilities in a dream is not that simple; the prerequisite is that you need to be conscious and aware in the dream.

Generally speaking, it is very difficult for a person to be fully conscious in a dream. Even if some dreams look completely absurd, bizarre, and outrageous to outsiders, the person inside the dream won't find anything wrong with them.

They will use their experiences and memories in the dream as anchors, rejecting all "delusions" from the outside world.

This is also why the Special Response Squad always has to play the "bad guys" in dreams.

Even if they go through the trouble of explaining everything they can, those who are not conscious will still refuse to accept their explanation, treating them like madmen.

Therefore, in most cases, the Special Response Squad can only resort to violence to resolve the Dream Core. Once the Nightmare Disaster is completely dispelled, the Post-Disaster Investigation Team is dispatched to soothe the Subject's wounded heart.

Of course, it could also be tearing open scars and rubbing salt into the wound again.

Xiao Jie, in front of him, seemed to have regained consciousness.

Facing Yu Jin's question, Xiao Jie didn't hide anything and nodded timidly.

“Yes, the teacher taught us that when you find out you're dreaming, you have to hide and wait for the Special Response Squad to come rescue you.”

Yu Jin was somewhat shocked.

A child only about ten years old was about to awaken?

Comparing oneself to others was truly infuriating. When did he awaken himself?

He forgot.

But he must have awakened, otherwise where did the red-haired Yu Jin come from?

Yu Jin slowly walked towards Xiao Jie, pointing at Xiao Jie's bed.

“Can I sit here?”

Xiao Jie was very well-behaved; he shifted to the side to make room.

The bed was very messy, with blankets, clothes, and socks mixed together, leaving almost no space. Yu Jin casually pushed the clothes aside, sat down with a smile, and looked around.

The messy state of the room contrasted sharply with the well-behaved impression Xiao Jie gave. It was hard to imagine a timid-looking little boy making such a mess of his bedroom.

There were clothes and toys everywhere on the floor. Yu Jin took a casual glance and noticed that these clothes were generally quite large, not looking like a child's, but rather like the child's father's, and some even belonged to the child's mother.

It didn't seem to be a problem for a son to wear his father's clothes, but wasn't it a bit strange to have a son wear his mother's clothes as well?

Whose idea was this?

Mrs. Xia's angry roars outside the door rang out right on cue. Yu Jin filtered them out automatically and asked Xiao Jie once more:

“How did you find out that this is a dream?”

Xiao Jie was not as timid as he appeared. He seemed very eager to share, excitedly gesturing with his hands as if to say something. Realizing his loss of composure, he shrank back a little, suppressing the excitement in his throat as he said:

“In here, Mom and Dad can't enter my bedroom! They used to come in before. No matter how much I refused, they would always come in. They always felt like I was up to no good in my bedroom. As long as this door was closed, they wouldn't believe a word I said. If I said I was reading, they wouldn't believe me; if I said I was spacing out, they wouldn't believe me; if I said I was sleeping, they wouldn't believe me... They didn't believe me no matter what I said I was doing, but I clearly wasn't doing anything at all! I know I'm still young and it's the age for play, but just because I'm young, does that mean I shouldn't be trusted, and that I have to live under their continuous twenty-four-hour surveillance! Before being a child, shouldn't I be a human first?”

Yu Jin didn't speak.

Xiao Jie wiped his tears with some grievance and continued:

“But suddenly one day, I found out that Mom and Dad couldn't come in. As long as I didn't want them to come in, they could only stay outside the door. Even if they smashed the house to pieces, they couldn't push this bedroom door open. At that moment, I knew I must be dreaming. I know nightmares are bad and kill many people, and I don't want others to die, but... I only stayed in the dream for a little while. It should be fine, right?”

Xiao Jie looked at Yu Jin apprehensively, as if waiting for a "pardon."

Yu Jin still didn't say anything.

Xiao Jie pouted and "pardoned" himself:

“It's definitely fine! The Special Response Squad didn't even come looking for me. The teacher said that the Special Response Squad would intervene the very first moment a Nightmare Disaster occurred. Since they didn't show up, it must be because the intensity of this Nightmare Disaster isn't that strong. So there's nothing wrong with me staying in the dream a little longer. And so I waited and waited, and waited and waited, all the way until today, when I finally met you, Uncle.”

“Brother,” Yu Jin emphasized.

“...”

Xiao Jie cast a strange look at this weird brother and continued sharing:

“At first, I thought the dream was very fun. I finally had my own voice at home, and I liked watching Mom and Dad get angry yet unable to hit me. But soon, I started to miss them. I wanted to go out and be with them. But they got sick. They became so fierce, and they tore the house apart. I was afraid that after hiding for so long, Dad would beat me to death if I went out, so I didn't dare to go out...”

As he spoke, Xiao Jie burst into tears.

Yu Jin waited patiently. Only after the child finished crying did he ask, “Does he hit you often?”

“Huh?” Xiao Jie froze, then gave a wronged whimpering “Mhm.”

“Whenever I leave their sight, he hits me, even if it's just for a moment. I don't know what's wrong with them. I feel like this is wrong. But I know they love me. Even though Dad hits me, he also speaks up for me. When others come to cause trouble for me, he always stands right at the front. Mom helps treat my wounds every night, and no matter how late it is, she lulls me to sleep. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have left their sight. I miss them... Waaah, I want to go home...”

Seeing the child crying so hard he was gasping for air, Yu Jin offered some comfort:

“Does he hit you with a baseball bat?”

“...”

Xiao Jie's crying stopped abruptly. He thought that crying so miserably would at least earn him a few words of comfort, but he never expected that instead of comfort, he would get slashed by verbal knives.

Wait, how are you so practiced at reopening people's wounds?

Indignant, Xiao Jie turned his head away, ignoring Yu Jin and sobbing silently.

Seeing that the boy didn't want to talk about being beaten, Yu Jin considerately changed the subject.

“What about Mom then? Does she get beaten too? Was Mom's face ruined from being beaten by Dad?”

“?”

Xiao Jie was stunned. He felt like this weird brother from the Post-Disaster Investigation Team wasn't here to rescue him, but was clearly here to destroy him.

Mental destruction.

He didn't want to answer, but Yu Jin kept asking persistently, being even more like a child than he was.

Annoyed by the constant questioning, Xiao Jie said huffily:

“Dad would never hit Mom, especially not her face! Mom values her face very much. Every day she does skincare, puts on makeup, and takes care of it. Her makeup is so beautiful! She can make herself look like whatever she wants, and every time she's so beautiful that others can't even recognize her!”

Xiao Jie was very proud, and Yu Jin shared that feeling.

“Then does Mom hit you?”

“...”

This can't go on.

If we keep chatting like this, my heart won't be able to take it.

Xiao Jie's expression shifted several times. He took the initiative to cut off the topic, looking up at Yu Jin with tearful, pitiful eyes, and said:

“Unc... Brother, the Special Response Squad will rescue us soon, right?”

Yu Jin was now ninety percent sure that Xiao Jie was the Dream Core of this Nightmare Disaster, though he still hadn't figured out why last night's operation failed.

Furthermore, the ability the boy awakened was highly likely related to rejection, just like refusing to let his parents enter his room.

In fact, not all awakenings were as dazzling as people hoped. While there were powerful and cool awakenings, there were also many that were ineffective and far from cool.

While someone could control lightning to soar through the clouds, someone else might only be able to ensure they always ran out of toilet paper whenever they went to the restroom.