Chapter 14: Chapter 14

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Sun Bin was one of the members of the review department. When he heard that the Level S Nightmare Seed in Fengdu Prison was changed by a student, his first response was to contact the military region to blow Fengdu Prison up.

This decision was absolutely not radical at all.

Sun Bin had witnessed what harm a Nightmare Seed that had lost control could cause to the surrounding environment.

Based on the level of the Nightmare Seeds, one to a hundred miles of the area with the Nightmare Seed as the center would become a restricted region of cognition pollution.

The consciousness of all living creatures would be swallowed by the Nightmare Seed. It was very likely that they would never wake up again.

If the one in Fengdu Prison lost control, there wouldn’t be any living things awake in a hundred miles of area.

So, Sun Bin had already written a note before coming to Fengdu Prison this time.

He didn’t believe the report from Fengdu Prison, saying that “the Nightmare Dungeon built by the student was stable for now, and a preliminary safety assessment could be conducted.”

The Lords of Nightmare were cunning. Who could be sure that the Lord of Nightmare in Fengdu Prison wasn’t using that student as a stepping stone for it to control all the staff members in the entire prison?

So, when he led the team of the review department to Fengdu Prison, they also put on a complete set of protective suits.

One of the most essential pieces of equipment was a protective suit for shielding the attacks aimed at their consciousness. The function of the suit was a bit similar to that of chemical protective clothing. It was very effective in preventing Level A to Level C Nightmare Seeds from forcibly entering their consciousness.

As for a Level S Nightmare Seed, they could only leave their fate to God.

With such a heavy feeling and anxiousness, Sun Bin arrived in Fengdu Prison with the team from the review department.

It turned out to be pretty good?

The staff members of Fengdu Prison, who were welcoming them, acted passionate and normal. They didn’t seem to have signs of mental disorder caused by the contamination of the Nightmare Seed.

Sun Bin wasn’t fooled by how it looked. He remained tense and paid attention to the surroundings… to see if there was anyone mentally abnormal.

The staff members weren’t the most important. The most important ones were the death row prisoners who had entered the Nightmare Dungeon.

When Sun Bin was brought to the death row prisoners’ cells, he found that they also looked quite normal?

“They’re the death row prisoners who went into the reformed nightmare not long ago?”

Sun Bin followed the prison guards through these cells one by one. The physical condition of the death row prisoners inside seemed normal at a glance.

This made Sun Bin suspect that the Fengdu Prison might have shown him another group of death row prisoners, who didn’t go into the nightmare, so they could pass this assessment.

“Yes, we can prove it with footage. A total of a hundred people went into the Nightmare Dungeon for exploration last time, including ninety-seven death row prisoners and three Dream Explorers. Among the ninety-seven death row prisoners, eleven died. The surviving death row prisoners mostly have symptoms like perforation of the stomach, bleeding of the intestinal mucosa, and retinal congestion. However, most of them can be passed with minor injuries only. They can enter the Nightmare Dungeon for exploration again.”

The prison guard gave a competent report to this group of “newcomers.” Sun Bin felt a bit weird after hearing it…

Usually, lethal diseases like “blockage of heart aorta,” “impaired brain function,” and “hematopoietic dysfunction” were the things he heard from a casualty report of a Level S Nightmare Dungeon.

Even though stomach perforation and intestinal mucosal bleeding made an adult like Sun Bin cover his stomach right away, that Level S Nightmare Seed indeed caused a bit less harm to the human body.

People would be half-dead after being stabbed in the past. Now, they might only have five or six fingers chopped off after a slash.

“What about the mental condition of these death row prisoners?”

This was the thing Sun Bin was most concerned about. If the harm caused by the Nightmare Dungeon was reduced, there might be a possibility that the Lord of Nightmare wanted to control these death row prisoners to do something.

“There’s no need to worry about that. The mental condition of these death row prisoners is very nor—”

Before the prison guard could finish saying the word “normal,” a muscular arm suddenly reached out from the gap between the iron bars of the cell. It directly grabbed the collar of that prison guard.

“Hey! The next round of the battle royale game is about to start, right? Send me back there! I must eat the chicken this time! Do you hear me? Send me back!”

The death row prisoner holding the prison guard’s collar was the man with a scarred face. He was killed by Zhao Yanqing before. At the moment, his voice was full of anger and madness, as if he would chew the prison guard’s neck to pieces the next second.

“No.102! I’m warning you! Let me go immediately!”

This prison guard wasn’t a pushover as well. He pulled out his baton and fiercely hit the arm of the man that had stretched out of the cell.

“Aren’t you sending us to Hell… bringing us here? I want to die now. Can I not?” The man with a scarred face didn’t let go. He kept talking with a grim look. “I can still move! Send me back! Let me play another round. I must kill that guy with my own hands!”

The man with a scarred face was extremely strong. The prison guard had no choice but to activate the contingency plan. As the alarm rang, the iron gates above the cells quickly dropped down.

This forced the man to let the prison guard go.

After the gate completely sealed the cell, the sounds of the man with a scarred face banging on the gate and his shouts of anger came from behind.

“Why can’t you let me play another round? You jerks!”

“I’m sorry. There are always prisoners who don’t obey our orders.”

The prison guard tidied up his clothes as he said to the leaders of the review department standing next to him.

“What was ‘eating the chicken’ he mentioned just then?”

Sun Bin wasn’t scared by the man with a scarred face, as the Nightmare Review Department consisted of the most experienced Dream Explorers.

These vicious prisoners couldn’t frighten them. They were only scared of the powerful Lords of Nightmare.

Sun Bin was more concerned about the meaning of the chicken that the man with a scarred face was so desperate to eat.

“It’s another name for victory in the Nightmare Dungeon built by that student. The person who survives till the end can win the honor of eating the chicken.”

The prison guard replied smoothly. If not, he wouldn’t be assigned by Fengdu Prison to lead the team.

“Eating the chicken? Honor? Are you saying that those death row prisoners are addicted to eating chicken? The Nightmare Dungeon reformed by that student is addictive?!”

Addictive was a word Sun Bin didn’t want to hear during this evaluation!

A Nightmare Dungeon had many characteristics that tortured people. However, the side effect most troublesome to deal with was the addiction.

The Dream Explorers could still recover if they were severely injured. Once they got hooked to the Nightmare Dungeon, it would be the same as being addicted to drugs. They would be tortured half-dead in a short period.

“This is absolutely impossible. How could the death row prisoners be addicted to the Nightmare Dungeon?”

It didn’t sound convincing at all in front of the sounds of the man with a scarred face banging on the gate. He was still begging to eat the delicious chicken while the prison guard spoke.

“I remember three Dream Explorers entered that Nightmare Dungeon as well?” Sun Bin looked in the eyes of the prison guard and said, “I want to see them.”

“Sure.” The prison guard had already prepared for it. He lowered his voice and contacted his seniors with the radio, “Ask Xiao Zhou and the others to get ready. The heads of the review department are on their way.”

…

“Ad-Addicted? I don’t know what you’re talking about. How would a normal person like me be addicted to a nightmare?”

Xiao Zhou sat upright as he looked at the brawny leader in front of him.

This was the first time he had seen a leader with such a good body. Most heads had already gotten a beer belly after they turned middle-aged. However, judging by his muscles, the man in front of him could easily kill him with a punch.

But that made sense… The Nightmare Review Department was made up of the elites among Dream Explorers. They could be regarded as one of the management departments of the Dream Explorers. He wouldn’t have been able to get to this position if he didn’t have much strength.

“Zhou Xinyu, you graduated from the Police Academy in your province and have been working in Fengdu Prison for a year. You could have applied for a transfer to the file management unit in the city today, but you rejected it… Why?”

Sun Bin put a recommendation letter written by Kan Shaoni and a stamped transfer application form in front of Xiao Zhou.

He had also started off as a newcomer like Xiao Zhou.

So, he knew exactly that part of the reason why many young people from the Police Academy chose the profession of Dream Explorer was that they had no other choice. Sun Bin had already seen too many young Dream Explorers applying for a transfer and leaving without hesitation after getting experiences for their resumes.

However, Xiao Zhou suddenly didn’t want to leave. It caused Sun Bin to stare at Xiao Zhou with a sharp gaze all of a sudden.

Tell me! Have you been addicted to something bad?

“Because… Because I think staying here can better realize my life values! The care between comrades makes me, makes me…”

Xiao Zhou really wanted to slap himself when he said this, but he couldn’t think of another reason.

After all, he couldn’t say that the reason why he stayed was to eat chicken.

He could earn enough money to buy a house every time he ate the chicken! Even if the reward wasn’t a Level C Dream Seed in the future but a Level D Dream Seed, it would still be worth a hundred thousand or above.

In fact, Xiao Zhou had truly thought about quitting his job and going back home to get married after eating the chicken once.

But it was impossible to ask him to leave now!

Xiao Zhou was still gnashing his teeth with hatred. He was killed by someone in the finals. He was considering whether he could go inside for another round when the Nightmare Seed opened tonight.

If not, Xiao Zhou felt like he would dream of things like skydiving, Karabiner 98k, eight-time scope, level-three armor, level-three helmet, first blood, double kill, and triple kill, etc., tonight.

“Captain Sun, I swear I’m really not addicted to that Nightmare Dungeon. I know that clearly,” Xiao Zhou said with all the sincerity he could muster up.

Sun Bin was still skeptical about his words. However, Xiao Zhou indeed didn’t seem to have any symptoms of addiction on the outside.

Until… The alarm of Fengdu Prison rang again. This meant that the Nightmare Seed was in a state of hunger.

It also represented that the second round of the battle royale game was about to begin!

Xiao Zhou’s chicken radar also rang at this moment. He looked around and became anxious and restless. He kept shaking his legs and even wanted to request to join the second round of the battle royale game several times.

And you still say that you’re not addicted?!

No! I can’t let the addiction to the battle royale game spread. What should I do? Completely lock Fengdu Prison down? Or simply forbid all Dream Explorers to enter this Nightmare Dungeon?

While Sun Bin was thinking about how he should deal with this Nightmare Dungeon, a Dream Explorer suddenly ran into the meeting room in a hurry.

“Captain Sun, something’s wrong!”

“Is the sealed Nightmare Seed showing signs of losing control?”

“No, it’s… An examiner fainted near that Nightmare Seed!”

“This is a sign of losing control… Is there only one person who has fainted?”

Sun Bin had already expected this situation before he came here. The Dream Explorer’s following words were completely out of his expectations, though.

“Just one. That examiner got close to the Nightmare Seed. Then… we… found the mark of another Lord of Nightmare on the examiner’s body.”

“What!”

Sun Bin stood straight up when he heard the news. He didn’t have time to do psychological counseling for Xiao Zhou anymore. He directly took his team to the examiner who had fainted.

That examiner was his right-hand man. He had worked in the Nightmare Review Department for almost three years. He had accompanied Sun Bin to Fengdu Prison today and certainly had the authority to get closer to the Nightmare Seed for evaluation.

However, a subordinate he trusted had a dazzling reversed spider mark on the back of his neck right now.

This mark represented a Lord of Nightmare! It usually couldn’t be detected with bare eyes and any equipment!

“A devouring black widow. Which Lord of Nightmare does this mark belong to?” Sun Bin quickly searched for related information about this mark in his brain.

“Captain… Captain Sun, this mark isn’t… from a Nightmare Seed sealed in our country.” Another Dream Explorer that came together showed everyone the source of this reversed spider mark with the tablet in his hands. “It’s from another country.”

From another country?

With that information, Sun Bin immediately remembered this mark’s origins.

Many countries in the world had Nightmare Seeds, but only the Celestial Empire adopted a fully closed system. They sealed every Nightmare Seed deep into the ground and ensured they wouldn’t hurt anyone by all means.

And yet, foreign countries handled different levels of Nightmare Seeds in a more unrestrained way. They directly opened the Nightmare Dungeons to the public! There were always people who would go to explore these Nightmare Dungeons to seek excitement. The rewards in the Nightmare Dungeons also attracted many people.

As for incidents where people’s lives were swallowed by Nightmare Seeds and they died accidentally in Nightmare Dungeons… not many people were willing to care.

This led to the production of many Dream Games with Nightmare Seeds as the carrier.

This reversed spider mark was the logo of a Dream Game, one that was popular overseas and could take people’s lives away.

This type of Dream Game had a powerful Lord of Nightmare behind them!

And right now, this Level S Nightmare Seed had used his subordinate as a medium to invade the Level S Nightmare Seed sealed in Fengdu Prison.

Sun Bin certainly didn’t think that it was here to save its own kind… Its goal was to swallow the Level S Nightmare Seed in Fengdu Prison!

That floating Rubik’s Cube in the center of Fengdu Prison started distorting irregularly. It released some weird sounds, as if it was wailing.

The situation was… bad!