Chapter 303: Chapter 299: Li Chengguang (2)

’To think one person could seal away the entire world’s Nightmare for almost eighty years, all on their own?’

A flicker of awe crossed Hu Qi’s face.

’To accomplish something like that, the person’s power must have reached the Void Realm of a Secret Martial Artist—the threshold of the Apostle Level.’

The reason Hu Qi suspected they hadn’t actually reached the Apostle Level was because Apostle Level power involved the Power of Space.

For an existence wielding such immense power, sealing this world would be a simple matter. Obliterating it entirely would be just as easy.

Of course, nothing is ever absolute.

’It could also be that this world’s Dream Eye system is unique.’

Unlike Secret Martial Artists, who comprehensively elevated their Life Level through their own cultivation, the path of a Dream Master was too distorted. Their strength was determined entirely by how much of the Dream Eyes’ Erosion they could personally withstand.

The so-called Dream Eyes were more like individual sources of contamination, and even the strongest ordinary person had a limit.

Ninety percent of people couldn’t even successfully master a single Dream Eye.

Only the most compatible Dream Masters with exceptionally strong wills could persevere and advance further.

What intrigued Hu Qi even more was the strange life story of that mysterious individual who never left a name behind.

From the moment they appeared to the time they sealed the Nightmare, less than a year had passed in total.

This was precisely why there were no historical records of that individual’s existence.

The era was chaotic, and the timeframe was so short that it was nearly impossible for any records to have survived.

Even if some did exist, ordinary people would have dismissed them as mere myths.

Although this world’s Extraordinary System didn’t require cultivation, a factor that certainly played a part, such terrifying growth was still astonishing.

’Unfortunately, I can’t find the reason for the Nightmare’s appearance or the source of the Dream Eyes here either.’

Hu Qi mused internally.

His gaze fell on the booklet he had just closed, titled *The Connection Between Neutrinos and Dream Eyes*.

’But it wasn’t a complete waste of time. According to the research in this world, there’s a special particle called a neutrino.’

’It moves at the speed of light and has an extremely strong piercing ability, allowing it to pass through all kinds of matter with almost no interaction.’

’Most importantly, experiments have shown that it has some connection to living organisms. In places where Nightmare incidents occur, the concentration of neutrinos is higher.’

’Does this mean the existence of Dream Eyes is truly connected to the resentment of living creatures? That’s probably one reason they’re called Nightmares.’

’That idea the Truth Sect had... perhaps there’s really something to it.’

At this thought, the image of the two Truth Society followers he had "purified" on the train surfaced in Hu Qi’s mind.

They used blood sacrifices not only to master the Dream Eyes more easily, but also to let the Dream Eyes enhance their own power by devouring and absorbing the resentment of living creatures.

It seemed now that the Truth Sect might have known something after all.

He glanced at the books inside the room.

The books here covered a wide range of topics. Not all were related to Dream Eyes; a portion consisted of various folklore and rumors.

These were of little use to him.

Just then, Hu Qi’s expression shifted.

As if sensing something, his figure instantly vanished, as though he had never been there at all.

A second later, the large door behind where he had stood was pushed open.

A square-faced man in a white research coat walked in.

"Team Leader Feng, I didn’t expect to see you here."

Seeing Feng Lin, he paused for a moment, clearly not expecting to run into him here.

From the side, Hu Qi’s gaze swept over the man’s chest badge.

This person was also a member of the Dream Eye Phenomenon Analysis Group.

Feng Lin merely grunted an affirmative, saying nothing more.

"Team Leader Feng, there’s a very important meeting in a little while. Minister Li might be there," the square-faced man added, as if suddenly remembering something.

"Right, I know."

Feng Lin nodded, then turned and left.

Seeing this, the square-faced man found Feng Lin’s cold attitude a bit strange, but he didn’t dwell on it.

’Maybe he’s just thinking about something important,’ he thought. ’It’s not the first time he’s acted like this.’

He shook his head and walked behind a bookshelf to start looking for the materials he needed.

***

"Take me to the place where the Dream Eyes are sealed!" Hu Qi said to Feng Lin, his voice focused into a single thread that entered Feng Lin’s ear.

The voice seemed to carry a special kind of Magic Power.

With his Hypnosis Technique, augmented by the Essence of the Divine Soul at the Apostle Level, hypnotizing someone was an incredibly simple task.

Hu Qi had originally planned to spend more time in the archives. After all, to the ordinary people of this world, the information here was absolutely top secret.

But the arrival of that man had shattered his plan.

While under Hypnosis, Feng Lin’s own consciousness was dormant. Hu Qi could control him and make him perform actions based on his own memories, but making him mimic his normal tone of voice and mannerisms to avoid suspicion was a far more difficult task.

Besides, the man had said that Feng Lin had a meeting to attend soon.

Therefore, he had no choice but to speed things up.

Leaving the archives, Hu Qi followed Feng Lin into a nearby elevator.

This Security Bureau had five layers above ground and four layers below.

After they entered the elevator, it scanned and verified Feng Lin’s face to confirm his identity, then began to descend slowly.

The floor indicator changed continuously. When it reached the negative third layer, the elevator doors slowly opened.

It revealed a long corridor outside, constructed from silvery-white metal.

According to the information he’d gotten from hypnotizing and questioning Feng Lin earlier, the Dream Eyes were held on the fourth underground layer.

However, the Fourth Layer had no elevator access; it could only be reached by passing through the Third Layer.

After the elevator doors opened,

Hu Qi gave Feng Lin one final hypnotic command.

"Now, return to the surface. You will forget everything that has just happened.

You just finished your meal, had an upset stomach, and went to the restroom..."

As Hu Qi issued the hypnotic command,

Feng Lin took the elevator and departed.

Hu Qi, meanwhile, stepped out of the elevator on the Third Layer, concealed by the Disguise of Twisted Light.

Strangely,

this layer was barren.

There was only a single corridor, with no detection equipment or instruments whatsoever.

He looked down at the floor.

His expression flickered. He crouched down, touched the surface with his palm, and applied a bit of pressure with his fingers.

He easily dented the layer of silvery metal, revealing a flash of brilliant gold underneath.

At the sight of this,

a strange glint flashed in Hu Qi’s eyes.

Clearly, the entire floor was made of Gold.

The reason it was clad in a layer of silvery metal

was to prevent, to some extent, external substances from coming into contact with the Gold and damaging it.

Gold doesn’t oxidize, but it certainly isn’t sturdy.

Gold was not cheap in this world. And considering Gold could be used to seal Dream Eyes, it was obvious the Security Bureau had paid this enormous price for the purpose of sealing the Dream Eyes below.

As he continued forward,

the corridor began to curve.

He could clearly perceive that this so-called corridor was actually a passageway spiraling downward.

Rather than the Third Layer, it was more fitting to call it a transitional hallway to the Fourth Layer.