"I see… So, can you tell me a little more about yourself? I've been doing all the talking. I want to hear your story."

"Me? Just a miserable college student. My parents died in an incident caused by Corrupters, and I've been poor ever since. I studied hard, finally got into university, then tested into the Star Association and landed a stable job. I thought I could finally kick back and enjoy life, but right after I started, I was attacked by a Corrupter and lost more than half of my Soul. I was constantly dancing with death."

Zhou Chen sighed softly. 'My luck used to be absolutely terrible.' "Then, a new leader was brought in from above. She had a keen eye for talent and picked me. After that came a whole bunch of stuff I can't tell you about. But long story short, I eventually repaired my Soul and got my revenge, killing my enemy with my own hands."

"Is your boss a man or a woman?" Li Xiye asked suddenly.

Zhou Chen paused. Before he could answer, she cut in, "Never mind, I know. A woman."

She rolled onto her side, propping her face up with her arm. Her shoulder-length hair fell naturally as she leaned in a little closer, asking with a half-smile, "Is she pretty?"

"…She is."

"Are you having an office romance with her?"

"Don't just accuse people out of thin air. We're just friends. Speaking of which, she has a cat, a Forbidden Object…"

"Don't change the subject," Li Xiye interrupted, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Are you hiding something?"

"Look into my sincere eyes. Do I look like I'm hiding something? She's super emotionally distant, and a little manipulative. There's no way she could like anyone," Zhou Chen said with a straight face.

"Alright." Seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, Li Xiye lay back down. She didn't ask any more questions, instead gazing blankly at the distant, brilliant stars.

It was as if time had stopped.

"Zhou Chen, this has been the happiest summer vacation of my life."

She murmured softly, turning her head to flash a smile at Zhou Chen. "I'll never forget it."

Zhou Chen was silent. Seeing this, Li Xiye nudged him with her elbow in frustration. "Hey, hey, don't be so gloomy. You're ruining the mood… Hmmm, how about we make a promise?"

"A promise?"

Li Xiye sat up and held out her pinky, meeting his gaze. "A promise that we'll meet again in the future."

After a long moment of looking into each other's eyes, Zhou Chen extended his own pinky and linked it with hers, making a promise under the starry sky.

"We'll meet again."

But a pang of bitterness welled up in his heart, because he knew all too well.

'This might be goodbye forever.'

「 」

"We have a huge problem!"

Inside the conference room of the Hong City Star Association, the head of the Research Department was running his hands through his hair in frustration. "That Dreamwalker team has been missing for four days. If it's more than a week, they'll be completely lost in the Spirit Realm, trapped there forever as wandering consciousnesses."

"What about their positioning signals?" Gong Su, leader of the Special Operations Team, rubbed her temples. She was clearly dealing with a massive headache as well.

"We haven't detected any since they disappeared. They've gone completely dark. I'm afraid their fate is…"

"Let's look on the bright side. There haven't been any new Nightmare infection incidents in the last few days. It's possible they successfully eliminated the source of the pollution but got trapped in the Spirit Realm for some reason…" another executive said, his face etched with exhaustion.

"What's the word from headquarters? Are they sending another team in to find them?" another executive asked.

"The Dreamwalker program was only launched a few years ago; we don't have that many personnel. A while back, a group of Abyssal Cultists caused trouble in Yingzhou, spreading a Nightmare contagion. Now, the main force of Dreamwalkers is in Yingzhou cleaning up that mess. The number of people we can mobilize is… not looking good," the Research Department head sighed.

The meaning was clear: they had no one to send.

"We can't just sit here and wait to die."

Gong Su tapped the table. "The longer we wait, the more danger the Dreamwalkers are in," she said grimly. "We have to take the initiative."

"You mean… send people into the Spirit Realm to search? No, that's not possible. Only specially trained personnel can traverse the Spirit Realm. Sending someone in rashly could destabilize the Realm and affect the subconscious minds of the populace," an executive retorted.

"Do you have a better plan?" Gong Su stared directly at him.

The executive, pinned by her sharp gaze, sighed and shook his head.

"I don't have a better plan, but I still don't approve of recklessly entering the Spirit Realm."

"Perhaps… we won't have to send anyone in after all."

The Research Department head was looking at his phone, his face suddenly pale.

"Just now, our detectors picked up a large-scale outbreak of spiritual pollution, as well as abnormal fluctuations in the Spirit Realm's readings."

He projected an image onto the screen. A map of Hong City appeared, covered in a dense cluster of red dots. They were the coordinates of the spiritual pollution outbreaks, and the sight made everyone hold their breath.

"At least twenty sources of spiritual pollution, and the number is still rising. But the most critical part is…"

The Research Department head's lips were trembling.

"The Nightmare is descending upon reality!"

"These aren't simple sources of pollution. This is deep contamination from the Spirit Realm. Wherever they appear, all living beings within a certain radius are forced into a dream state, providing Energy for the Nightmare.

The more people who are dreaming, the faster the Nightmare will descend upon reality, and the more powerful the Nightmare Monsters within it will become!

Once all these Nightmare pollution sources fully manifest in reality, the next step will likely be the fusion of the Spirit Realm and the real world. That would be an absolute catastrophe!"

The fusion of the Spirit Realm and reality… A chill ran down everyone's spine. Gong Su immediately picked up her phone to issue a highest-level alert, then looked around at the others in the room. "The Star Association is moving to a wartime footing. Summon all Ascenders. We must eliminate the sources of the Nightmare as quickly as possible… I remember Lin Yun is in Hong City. Get her involved. Things will go much more smoothly with her here."

With that, she stood up and hurried out. As the leader of the Special Operations Team, she had to go and take command of the situation.

The others were just as quick, rapidly leaving the conference room to head to their posts. Amidst blaring sirens and the sound of countless hurried footsteps, the Hong City Star Association kicked into high gear.

「 」

"Hm?"

High up in a luxury hotel, Lin Yun stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking down. In the distance, a barrier of pure white light had appeared. It was five hundred meters in diameter, enveloping a residential complex and the surrounding streets, forming some kind of Realm that was still continuously spreading and expanding.

Within her line of sight, there were seven more of these strange Realms, of varying sizes.

'The Spirit Realm's Power has seeped into reality in Hong City? How is that possible?' Lin Yun found it hard to believe.

She observed for a few minutes and figured out what was happening. 'Nurturing Nightmares in the subconscious, turning people into channels and bridges, and using a clever method to break through the barrier between the Spirit Realm and reality to form a Nightmare Realm… Who's pulling the strings? Who has this kind of Ability?'

'Could it be one of the Crowned Kings whose Abilities lean toward the Spirit Realm? Or perhaps an even more dangerous Abyssal King?'

'This can't be what they're supposed to experience, can it? This is a bit too big of a scene for the two of them…' Lin Yun's first thought was of Zhou Chen and Li Xiye. This perfectly confirmed the Prophet's words—trouble would find them on its own.

But this wasn't just trouble knocking; it was using the most violent means possible to smash the door down!

Just then, Lin Yun's phone rang. She didn't need to guess to know it was an emergency call from the Star Association.

"I see the situation. I'll take action. Yes. Uh-huh. Okay. I'll do my best."

After hanging up, Lin Yun thought for a moment, then called Li Xiye.

At that moment, the two were standing on a hilltop, frowning as they watched the Nightmare Realms appear one after another across Hong City.

"This is a bit much, don't you think…" Zhou Chen sighed, looking at the sky. 'The main quest sure came out of nowhere.'

"We're on the outskirts… Yes, we see them. We're heading back now. We'll be careful." Li Xiye was talking to Lin Yun. Learning from her that Hong City had entered a state of war, her expression couldn't help but turn grave.

A moment later, she hung up and said worriedly, "The dog's still at home. He'll be okay, won't he? He should be fine. He's a crafty one…"