Chapter 308: Chapter 304: Demon Soul (Part 1)

The Security Bureau.

In the spacious lobby on the first floor.

Suddenly.

A flash of white light cut through the empty air.

Immediately after.

The sudden sound of something heavy hitting the floor instantly drew the attention of the busy staff.

Everyone turned toward the sound. When they saw its source, their faces filled with astonishment.

Lying on the floor was a humanoid object, charred completely black and utterly unrecognizable.

A faint scent of cooked meat even hung in the air.

As staff of the Security Bureau,

they were naturally aware of the existence of Nightmare incidents.

The scene before them had appeared too abruptly.

It was hard not to associate it with a Nightmare incident.

At this thought,

everyone instinctively grew wary and backed away. Someone even rushed to sound the Security Bureau’s alarm.

In an instant, soldiers armed with guns and Dream Masters began rushing over.

However, before they could act,

a crisp CRACK echoed out. The charred figure, which had been lying motionless on the floor as if dead, suddenly twitched.

Seeing this, the onlookers became even more vigilant, and a few Dream Masters quickly began to evacuate the crowd.

After all, no one knew what this unidentified object that had suddenly appeared in the Security Bureau was.

It might have been caused by some extremely unusual Nightmare incident that defied all logic. As everyone knew, the patterns of Nightmare incidents were completely unpredictable.

Just then, the surface of the charred figure on the floor cracked open, and a small, fair-skinned arm reached out from within.

Then, a young boy—completely naked and covered in green slime—crawled out.

"It’s me!"

The boy spoke just as the lead Dream Master was about to make a move.

Hearing his voice, the man took a closer look and was stunned to find that the boy’s face bore a striking resemblance to that esteemed individual, though his features were more boyish.

"Are you... Director Li Chengguang?"

After confirming that the figure was human, the men exchanged glances before the leader asked hesitantly.

"I am. Immediately notify Directors Zhu Xiao and Qin Yizhou to come here. Also, activate the highest alert! Forbid anyone from entering or leaving the Security Bureau."

Li Chengguang looked to be in terrible condition, his body deathly pale and completely drained of color.

After crawling out of the charred husk, he lay on the floor, gasping for a few breaths before managing to give his orders.

...

A little over ten minutes later.

In a quiet room inside the Security Bureau, Li Chengguang, now cleaned up and changed into fresh clothes, lay on a bed.

Two figures, a man and a woman, stood by his bedside.

The man was burly, with thick eyebrows and a square face, but his back was slightly hunched, as if he were carrying an extremely heavy burden.

It created a subtle sense of incongruity with his otherwise powerful build.

The woman was slender and graceful, her hair in a bun, and she wore a blue-black qipao.

The qipao was extremely form-fitting, even a bit tight, perfectly showcasing her curvaceous figure.

However, the color of the qipao had an indescribable strangeness to it, like a faded tone settled over long years—a red tinged with dark blue, as if created by the stain of long-dried blood mixed with ink.

The square-faced, hunched man was Qin Yizhou.

And the woman in the qipao was Zhu Xiao.

These two were the other directors at the Security Bureau besides Li Chengguang, and both were Dream Masters who had reached the Controller Level.

After listening to Li Chengguang’s account of what had happened, both of them wore looks of shock and uncertainty.

"You’re saying that person was unaffected by your Dream Realm and even shattered it in the end?"

Qin Yizhou was the first to speak, his brow furrowed tightly.

"That’s right. He gave me a very strange feeling. His physical strength is absurdly high—he’s not even human. He’s like one of those Superhuman types from movies and TV shows."

Li Chengguang recalled the inhuman strength Hu Qi had displayed.

Even now, the thought made his skin crawl.

If he hadn’t reached the Controller Level and fused his body with his Dream Eyes, he probably would have been slapped to death by that one blow.

Moreover,

that final, terrifying image was seared into his mind like a branding iron, impossible to erase.

Although he had survived,

it had come at a great cost.

He could clearly feel the weakness in his body now.

However, there was one thing he found rather strange.

After he had successfully advanced to the Controller Level, the Dream Eyes inside his body had reached a state of equilibrium.

They were in a ’shutdown’ state, one that wouldn’t easily reactivate.

But he had never experienced a situation like this before.

Now, all the Dream Eyes in his body had fallen into a true, literal shutdown, so quiet there wasn’t the slightest stir.

He couldn’t even use the power of his Dream Eyes.

However, he could sense that this condition was only temporary and would require some time to recover.

Still, it was astonishing enough.

He controlled a considerable number of Dream Eyes, yet all of them had gone into a complete shutdown at once.

"Based on what you’re saying, this person must be a Dream Master of at least the Controller Level.

But a Dream Master of that level couldn’t possibly be a complete unknown. How have we never heard of him before?"

Zhu Xiao, who was standing to the side, spoke up. Her voice was exceptionally pleasant, delicate, and carried the unique melodic cadence of an opera singer.

Even in normal conversation, it sounded as if she were singing.

"And his actions are truly bizarre. Our investigation shows that after entering the Security Bureau,

he only took eleven Dream Eyes and did nothing else."

After she finished, a brief silence fell over the room as they each pondered the situation.

"Regardless, we have to catch this person. The power he wields over Dream Eyes is too strange; it has immense research value.

Besides, he was brazen enough to break into the Security Bureau and steal Dream Eyes. He might come back a second time.

If these Dream Eyes end up in the wild, they will surely cause unimaginable harm."

Li Chengguang said in a grave tone, his expression serious.

But as he spoke, he lowered his gaze, and an unusual look of craving flickered in his eyes.

It was the craving a researcher feels for a rare experimental subject.

There was one thing he hadn’t mentioned to Zhu Xiao and Qin Yizhou.

During his fight with Hu Qi,

whenever his opponent’s attacks landed on him,

it would cause the Dream Eyes in his body to enter a temporary state of stagnation. This was a major reason why he had been beaten so badly.

Coupled with the fact that he couldn’t sense the aura of a Dream Eye on his opponent, and the current shutdown state of the Dream Eyes within his own body,

he couldn’t help but suspect that the man might know the secret to better controlling Dream Eyes.

Or perhaps he carried an extremely special Dream Eye.

"Do you know where he is now?"

Qin Yizhou asked, looking at Li Chengguang.

"I left a mark on him earlier, but it has now disappeared."

Li Chengguang shook his head slightly.

"However, we can use *that* item!"

Hearing this, both Zhu Xiao and Qin Yizhou’s expressions turned peculiar.

It was a known fact that different Dream Eyes possessed different Abilities.

Although the Security Bureau served as the Sword Holder Headquarters and stored a large number of Dream Eyes, there were some particularly special ones that were not under their control.

These types of Dream Eyes were more stable than ordinary ones and usually remained in a dormant state.

Using them often required paying a much greater price.

Correspondingly, however, the power they displayed once activated was far beyond what ordinary Dream Eyes could compare to.

"But the price to use that item is not small. Zero won’t agree to it."

Qin Yizhou said with a frown.

"You two don’t need to worry about that. I will go see Zero myself later. But for now, I need to rest and recover properly. I’ll have to trouble you both to manage the Security Bureau’s affairs for the time being."

Li Chengguang covered his mouth, coughed softly, and spoke in a low voice.

"Of course. Just focus on your recovery for now."

Zhu Xiao replied in her delicate voice from the side.

...

The three people in the room had no idea that the person they were currently discussing

was, at that very moment, perched on a tree branch on a street just outside the Security Bureau.

’Two more powerful auras have appeared. Are those the other two directors?’

Hu Qi, transformed into a black swift, glanced in the direction of the Security Bureau before looking away.

Hu Qi had long since detected the trace of Nightmare Power that Li Chengguang had left on him.

However, the moment it had landed on his body,

it was devoured and digested by his Spirit Devouring Talent, leaving not a single trace behind.

Gazing at the Security Bureau, Hu Qi did not go back inside.

Although he had held the upper hand in their previous clash,

killing Li Chengguang would be difficult.

Dream Masters at the Controller Level were strange; it was as if they had fused with their Dream Eyes.

What’s more, the other two directors were there now.

If the three of them joined forces, even he

wasn’t confident he could escape their combined assault unscathed—not unless he used the power of his true form.

’Forget it. The Dream Eyes are in there, and they’re not going anywhere. I’ll just come back for them next time!’

With that thought, Hu Qi flapped his wings a few times.

He turned and quickly vanished into the cold rain, leaving no trace behind.