Nightmare

Monday: left at five-thirty in the morning, returned home at midnight. Tuesday: left at six in the morning, returned home at eleven-forty at night. Wednesday: after going home last night, taking a shower, and using the bathroom, this little bastard headed out at four-thirty to bang on the workshop door, shouting for Ye Chun to get out of bed... Then came Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. This bastard didn't even know what a day off meant! He was treating labor laws with utter contempt! Peering through binoculars with bloodshot eyes at the silent workshop in the distance, the middle-aged stalker could think of nothing except how to report him to the authorities. Are you even fucking human?! At first, he had figured the kid was just full of youthful vigor and eager to show off. Once the grind wore on him, he would learn the misery of a wage slave and how tough real work was, and naturally begin slacking off, loafing, and slacking around. Instead, starting the second week, this bastard literally carried his bedding over and moved in?! He stopped leaving altogether! He wouldn't even show his face outside all day?! Come on, buddy, does that place have mountains of gold and silver, or gorgeous babes and femboys? Do you love working yourself to death that much? If the owner of this whole factory zone weren't Ye Xian—a master in Yacheng whom nobody dared cross—the middle-aged man would have stormed in long ago and slapped Ji Jue twice across the face: *Wake up, you dumbass! Go outside and stretch your damn legs! Even if you aren't trying to hook up with Wen Wen, at least let me see if you're a Celestial Conscript!* It wasn't just the stalker who was about to cry. Ye Chun was on the verge of tears too. No, she was already crying. "Big brother! Ji Jue! You're my senior, okay? Have mercy on me! Here, take the keys! Go wherever you want, grab whatever you need yourself, alright? Just stop dragging me into your insane grind!" After noticing dark circles under her eyes from pulling all-nighters several days in a row, Ye Chun's little pearls wouldn't stop falling. "Your senior sister really can't out-grind a freak like you! "If you can't stand sitting still, just go outside and get a girlfriend! If you can't find one, I can introduce some underclasswomen to you..." "What kind of talk is that, Senior Sister?!" Ji Jue was filled with righteous indignation. "We need to work together and make progress together! How can you be so slack? Do you remember Professor Ye's earnest instructions before she left? "You wouldn't want Professor Ye to return and find that aside from gaining weight, you haven't made a shred of progress on your thesis, would you?" Ye Chun was itching to punch him. *Dial back the obnoxious vibe, will you?!* Now she finally understood why her aunt had taken off without even assigning any homework... The day she allowed this stray dog into her den, her fate of being ground into dust was sealed. "How many days has it been since you showered, big brother?" Gazing at Ji Jue's stubble, bloodshot eyes, matted hair, and drained, ghostly appearance, she wanted nothing more than to call the police. "If you're going to drop dead from overwork, could you at least not die in my family's workshop?" "Shower? Sleep? Romance?!" Ji Jue's eyes widened, and across his pallid face, his grin turned even more manic. "I love studying, okay?! I love alchemy! The workshop is my home!" *Boom!* Inside the furnace, the shattered blade hummed sharply, like the battle cries of myriad legions rising from blood and fire. Within it, the towering shadow of a throne woven from crimson and stark white manifested from the spiritus! And so, amid Ji Jue's bizarre, cackling laughter, following Ascension, Entropy, and Desolate Ruins, the fourth totem governing disaster, strife, discord, and slaughter came into being. —Sovereign Virtue · [Swarm]! "Haha, hahaha—" Looking at the progress bar on his wristwatch that was already one-third complete, Ji Jue rested his hands on his hips and laughed up at the ceiling. "Do you see the value of a professional hardcore grinder now? "Had Heaven not borne Ji Jue, the path of grinders would be an eternal night! "Transmute—!" Amid his unhinged laughter, darkness encroached on his vision. His laughter grew fainter and fainter. He tipped backward and collapsed. *Crunch, crunch.* After the crisp sound of chewing a potato chip, Ye Chun let out an expressionless sigh. "I knew it. A grind-hound like you was bound to grind himself to death sooner or later." No saving him, stopped breathing, time to call the crematorium. *I'll arrange a top-tier grand funeral with five weeping sons wailing at your grave, then scatter your ashes into Tianmen Lake and tell every incoming junior student that this is what happens to tryhards!* Muttering to herself, she reached into a cabinet and took out a tightly sealed bottle. Using a dropper, she meticulously drew out one milliliter, diluted it in three hundred milliliters of fresh water, and finally poured all of the orange-red liquid down Ji Jue's throat. Visibly, a touch of color returned to his pale face. His eyelids twitched. Ji Jue opened his eyes in a daze, met by Ye Chun's exasperated expression. His memory was stuck several minutes ago; he had no idea what had happened. "Sequelae from prolonged spiritus deprivation. Intermittent blackouts and physical exhaustion are just the early symptoms. If you don't rest, I'll be taking underclassmen to the psych ward to watch you chatter like a monkey." Ye Chun pinched his cheeks mercilessly, squishing his face back and forth. "Get. The hell. To bed. You hear me?" Ji Jue actually wanted to say he could grind a bit longer, but catching that sharp glare identical to Professor Ye's, he swallowed hard and nodded vigorously. "Resting is good, resting is great, I love resting most of all!" He felt as though needles were pricking his back. *She didn't pick up any of Professor Ye's good habits, only the worst ones!* Grumbling inwardly and reluctant to leave, Ji Jue looked back three times with every step as he hoisted his pack. After five whole days, he finally crawled out of the workshop and headed home to wash up and sleep. Far, far away, the stalker lying in his van weakly raised his head, glanced once, and looked away. *Fuck it. I'm exhausted. Let the world burn.* "It's been so many days, and you haven't dug up a single thing? What the hell do I pay you for?" The aged voice on the phone was ice-cold. "Do you have any idea how hard they're pressing from above? It's been this long, and you haven't accomplished anything—you can't even tail a kid properly. Why don't you consider finding a new boss?" "No, wait, boss, I've got a lead!" Cold sweat drenched the middle-aged man. "I've already contacted Nightmare. We're just waiting for the kid to show his face. By tomorrow at the latest, I'll dig up how many times he even looked at Wen Wen!" "It had better be! Otherwise, you can explain yourself to them in person!" The impatient old man, Jiang Jin, hung up. Left alone in the van, too stingy on gas to turn on the air conditioner, the middle-aged man was soaked in sweat. Gripping his phone, he hesitated repeatedly before dialing another number. "The boss doesn't want to wait anymore," he said. "You'll have to make a trip." "Wouldn't it have been easier to say so earlier? Dragging your feet for so long." On the other end of the line, the man known as Nightmare mocked, "A dead-meat kid, and you've been tiptoeing around tailing him for ages without even daring to plant a wiretap. What kind of results did you expect?" "We still aren't sure if he's a Celestial Conscript. What if he is? Better to be safe than sorry with this stuff." The middle-aged man looked up, eyeing the figure vanishing in the distance. For some reason, a sudden chill ran down his spine. "You be careful too. That kid is definitely not normal. There's something wicked about him." "Yeah, yeah. Wire the money first." Nightmare sneered. "I can dig up whatever you want, but if he turns into an idiot, don't blame me... You know my style is a bit rough." "Don't leave any traces or loose ends, got it?" The middle-aged man gave a final warning. "The boss hates screw-ups. If we get caught..." "Relax, it won't blow back on you. I'm leaving for the Empire tomorrow. No matter how formidable the Security Bureau is, can they sprout wings and fly to Rhine Port to nab me?" Nightmare's chuckle turned sinister. "Who knew I'd get to have one last bit of fun before leaving?" The call ended. The middle-aged man smoked silently without another word. For reasons unknown, thoughts of retirement suddenly crept into his mind. Yet over all these years following that man named Jiang and doing so much dirty work in the shadows... would his luck really hold until retirement day? Retirement? Without their protection, his corpse would probably be floating in the sea by tomorrow afternoon. Under the afternoon sun, looking in the rearview mirror at his scruffy, half-dead reflection, he suddenly felt envy toward the figure riding off into the distance on a scooter, humming a tune. No matter how ignorant and foolish that kid looked... At least he still got to live in the light. * * * On the other end of the severed line, melodious music and chime announcements drifted through the public address system. Before the customs gate, Nightmare hung up the call. Strolling at an easy pace, he cleared security and identity verification, then stepped into the first-class lounge. "Your tea, sir." A hostess set down a cup, smiling brightly, feeling inexplicably drawn toward this unfamiliar traveler. "Thank you." The man known as Nightmare set down his briefcase. Looking just like any ordinary traveling businessman, he leaned back into the sofa of the private suite, appearing worn out. "I'd like to rest for a while. Please ensure no one disturbs me, alright?" "Of course, sir." The hostess stepped back two paces and thoughtfully closed the door. In the ensuing silence, only the man and the wisp of steam rising from the teacup remained. Beyond the expansive floor-to-ceiling glass lay the bustling tarmac of the aerodrome. Airships rising and descending like floating towers traversed the cloudy skies, bound in every direction. He wasn't leaving for the Empire tomorrow. He was leaving tonight—immediately after finishing this job. And his destination wasn't the Empire, but the Archipelago beyond the Mid-Continent. Just as the client's subordinate had said, safety came first. Who knew whether those people thought he knew too much and planned to use this "final job" to silence him? One always had to keep an ace up their sleeve. Having spent so many years in Haizhou, he had stashed a tidy sum in anonymous bank accounts, plenty to buy an island hill and a fishery over there, hire a few hands, and comfortably fish and surf until he died of old age. Taking on this last-minute job was merely to upgrade the specs on his future yacht by another tier. Should he add a karaoke setup? He wasn't particularly fond of singing, though the girls in the Archipelago were renowned for their sweet voices... Amid these drifting thoughts, holding his teacup, he pulled a document from his briefcase that had been delivered to him earlier. Examining the photographs and records, he couldn't help a sigh of regret. He had thought he might reel in a big fish like a Celestial Conscript and make a fortune selling him off, but it turned out the kid was just a clueless fool. And a Cursed One whose risk of corruption was dozens of times higher than an ordinary person's at that. Was that old bastard Jiang Jin truly senile, or just grasping at straws in desperation? None of his concern. At least he could enjoy one last thrill. Feeling a long-dormant hunger, he leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. His breathing gradually slowed, and soon, he drifted into a deep sleep. Yet before his eyelids met, the sinister light in his pupils had already vanished. Here and now, only an empty shell remained. The dream-eating Baku set out from the world of dreams toward a new playground. Meanwhile, Ji Jue, having just returned home and taken a shower, couldn't help letting out a yawn. All at once, the drowsiness that had still been manageable surged like a tidal wave. He didn't even have time to dry himself completely. "Wait... something's not..." Right? He stumbled forward two paces and collapsed halfway onto the bed. Before he could even crawl up, he fell sound asleep. Snoring arose. Weakened by prolonged spiritus depletion, his abilities couldn't even react. Before his mind could register what was happening, he had already plummeted into the dream woven by the Baku. Helpless to resist. And then, within the void, a bottomless nightmare rose like a flood!