Chapter Two: Nightmare

“No... this isn’t real!”

Xu Fan’s pupils contracted, a cold sweat breaking out across his back.

From the very beginning, he’d been blinded by the joy before his eyes, neglecting far too many details.

If all of this was fake, then how was he supposed to return to reality?

“Why aren’t you eating the meat? Mom stewed it all morning just for you.” Wu Xiumei smiled, personally picking up a piece of meat and placing it in Xu Fan’s bowl.

He could hold it in no longer—he retched, yet nothing would come out.

“It’s fake, all of this is fake!” Xu Fan howled with a twisted expression, pinching his thigh over and over, hoping the pain would snap him awake.

“Fan, what’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?” His mother’s concerned voice sounded by his ear.

Seeing Wu Xiumei attempt to rise and approach, Xu Fan fought with all his might to flee, but his legs would not obey him.

“Stay away!” Blue veins bulged on his forehead as he roared, as if shaking the very heavens.

Then he realized there were several new items in his pocket. He hurriedly pulled them out: a blue-screened phone, a lighter he’d found in the convenience store, a fruit knife, and a hammer.

F-class Creature: Nightmare

Danger Level: One Star

Recommendation: Escape

These were the few lines of text displayed on the blue-screened phone.

Suddenly enlightened, Xu Fan understood—this was a nightmare.

He recalled reading a post online once: All illusions and unreality are nothing but manipulations of the brain's neural center. As long as the mind remains clear, all illusions will vanish.

But how was he supposed to clear his mind now?

Just as he realized he was inside a nightmare, the environment around him began to shift. From the kitchen came wretched, mournful cries, and he glimpsed a woman, only half a body, crawling.

There was a frantic pounding at the door, and his mother was closing in step by step.

Xu Fan sank into deep despair, crying out helplessly.

A flash of crimson—blood welled up, staining the tip of the knife, flowing from his chest.

He thrust the fruit knife through his chest, the blade tip emerging from his back.

Despair—despair drove Xu Fan from collapse to madness. He could no longer bear seeing his loved ones turned into this, even if it was only a nightmare.

“Come on, then! Come on!” He slumped to the ground, shouting hysterically at these grotesque things.

Agonizing pain surged through him, making him wail out loud. Sweat beaded on his brow and temples.

As Xu Fan’s mind flickered and grew hazy, everything before him shattered in an instant.

Once again, that gloomy sky and the ruined city appeared before his eyes.

He glanced around—he was standing right at the entrance of the abandoned convenience store. The wound in his chest was gone.

A few meters away, a pitch-black, humanoid creature floated in the air.

It was small, about the size of a four- or five-year-old child, its skin as black as ink—utterly terrifying.

Creak... creak...

The monster made shrill, piercing noises, but it could no longer drag Xu Fan into a nightmare.

“So it was this thing’s doing?”

At that moment, fury blazed within Xu Fan. To take everything he cherished and use it to stage a nightmare—this was the last straw.

He didn’t care what kind of monster it was or if it could threaten him; striding forward, he kicked it to the ground.

Without pause, he rained blows with the hammer and stabbed with the fruit knife, not stopping until the creature was a bloody pulp.

Clearly, apart from conjuring nightmares, this thing had no way of fighting back. Not even in death did it utter a single scream.

Killed F-class Creature: Nightmare

Devour the Essence

Physique +1

Spirit +2

Name: Xu Fan

Extraordinary Traits: S003 Devour, S008 Divine Punishment

Physique: 6

Strength: 4

Agility: 2

Spirit: 6

Magic Resistance: 3

Physical Resistance: 3

Luck: 2

……

Gazing at the data displayed on the blue-screened phone, and feeling the sudden changes in his body, a spark of vitality returned to Xu Fan’s previously exhausted state. His arms felt even stronger.

He paused, stunned. Could it be that killing these monsters makes me stronger?

But then another thought struck him: if such a creature had appeared, did that mean there were even more powerful monsters lurking in the city?

“What has happened to this world?”

At this moment, there was no trace of joy in Xu Fan’s expression. Staring at the desolate land, he felt his heart grow heavier still.

He had to find the answer.

Sitting on the ground, dazed for a long time, he silently made up his mind.

…