In the Red Giant Wolf District, not far from the apartment Xiao Chong rented, inside a three-bedroom apartment.
Jiang Baimian stood by the window, gazing at the lights outside that far surpassed those in the Green Olive District, and sincerely exclaimed:
“The 'Initial City' still has a profound foundation.”
Having passed through the dry winter, the power supply was no longer so strained.
Of course, the Initial City didn't just rely on hydropower; surrounding the city were an old-world nuclear power plant and two coal-fired power plants.
If most of the "Initial City's" industry wasn't concentrated in this area, consuming a vast amount of electricity, the city wouldn't have been short on power in the first place.
After retracting her gaze, Jiang Baimian said to her team members:
“Everyone, go back to your rooms and rest. Take turns standing guard according to the established schedule.”
“Actually, I don't need a room or a bed. For me, lying down in power-saving mode is no different from sitting on the sofa in power-saving mode. Anyway, there are charging points nearby,” Genava replied in a slightly synthetic baritone.
Before Jiang Baimian could speak, Shang Jianyao laughed:
“As a human, lying down is definitely more comfortable than sitting. Old Ge, wouldn't you say so?”
Genava quickly calculated and moved his metal neck:
“Indeed.”
The brief interlude ended just like that. Jiang Baimian was about to say that she would commandeer the bathroom first when Long Yuehong hesitantly opened his mouth:
“Team Leader, what can we actually do about this 'Nightmare' thing?”
Whether it was avenging Audick and Boss Wugo or preventing similar situations from happening to more people, the Old Task Force seemed to have nowhere to start.
If they were facing real-world enemies, Long Yuehong felt that with the Old Task Force's current strength and equipment, they could play a significant role even in a large-scale war. But with the Nightmare, such an ethereal enemy that was difficult to truly touch, he really couldn't think of how to solve it.
Even Shang Jianyao, the strongest member of the team and the most skilled at dealing with such things, was helpless when faced with the Nightmare. He barely managed to scare it away with the "favor" from Du Heng and Xiao Chong?
And this was clearly not something that could be repeated.
Jiang Baimian pondered for a few seconds and said:
“Firstly, the Nightmare must have a source. This might be a physical entity, or even a human being, just like Boss Wugo and Audick could also influence other people's dreams, just to varying degrees.
“Secondly, our activities in the Initial City are limited. Even if we contribute, we can only provide assistance and have to rely more on the True Self Church. They should be the same as the Dawnstar, experts in dealing with things like Nightmares.
“Finally, if there are no clues, we can't stay here for too long. The Holm Reproductive Medical Center in the Ashlands No. 13 Ruins is our destination this time.”
Seeing that the team leader's thoughts were clear, Long Yuehong stopped talking and queued up to wash up.
After tidying himself up and returning to his room, Jiang Baimian hadn't even had time to sit down when Shang Jianyao suddenly spoke:
“You didn't say just now that what we can also do is try our best to improve ourselves.”
“Wouldn't that put pressure on Xiao Bai and Xiao Hong? They haven't awakened and can't improve in the Mind Corridor,” Jiang Baimian said with a shake of her head and a smile.
She then lay down and said to Shang Jianyao:
“Turn off the lights!”
…………
Inside the Sea of Origins, Jiang Baimian once again climbed onto that Island of Fear.
She materialized a map and slowly, carefully, found the entrance to the underground building again.
Passing through the familiar parking lot and arriving in front of the elevator leading to the underground, Jiang Baimian didn't go in this time but instead sat down cross-legged.
She began to recall her mood when she heard that Audick had gone mad.
Compared to Wugo, who they had only met a few times, Audick, who had fought alongside them, was clearly more important to her.
Although she had been somewhat mentally prepared for Audick's outcome not being good, Jiang Baimian was quite sad, angry, disappointed, and frustrated when she truly confirmed that he had gone mad.
At that moment, she felt a little like she was too weak and hadn't been able to provide effective help to a friend, and a strong desire to improve herself welled up in her heart.
Afterwards, she vaguely felt that this might be a direction for her to overcome the current Island of Fear.
Apart from those who are truly cold and ruthless, most people are afraid of losing their loved ones and losing their familiar lives, but this fear definitely doesn't rise to the level of a psychological shadow for many people.
Because she didn't choose the path of indifference to emotions and closing off her mind, Jiang Baimian didn't think that after passing through this Island of Fear, she wouldn't be afraid of losing her loved ones and losing her familiar life. It was just that at that time, this fear would be limited to a range that she could accept, just like many people.
If that was the case, then why not reduce the degree of this fear now, or rather, transform this fear into a driving force to force herself to become stronger?
Jiang Baimian sat cross-legged in front of the multiple elevators in the underground building, recalling the various details of that time in her mind, in order to reproduce as much as possible the anger, sadness, frustration, and disappointment that Audick's madness had brought.
These emotions were like fuel, supporting the burning desire in her heart.
After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Baimian felt the ground tremble slightly.
It was fleeting and disappeared in an instant.
Jiang Baimian was pleasantly surprised, because this was the first time she had triggered a change in the current Island of Fear since her many attempts.
Although it was still very weak, it was enough to show that she had found a possibly effective direction!
Just trembled a little… that kind of power is not enough, still unable to carry the fear in the heart forward? Or, is something still missing? Jiang Baimian thought, slightly exhausted.
It always consumes a lot of energy to burn emotions.
…………
The Mind Corridor, Room 912, on that cruise ship.
Shang Jianyao exited and re-entered, successfully evading the chaotic night.
Under the sunlight in the high sky, he randomly found a target on the deck and approached it.
“Long time no see!” he said to a Greyman very excitedly.
The Greyman was less than forty years old, but he was considered an elder on the ship. He asked Shang Jianyao with a confused look:
“Are you…?”
He was quite sure that he had never met the other party, but Shang Jianyao's enthusiastic attitude made him a little unsure of himself.
Shang Jianyao smiled:
“Look: We are on the same cruise ship; and we are both Greymen; so…”
He had already confirmed that using abilities in this psychological shadow when not in a chaotic state would not suffer "pollution."
“This is called 'a hundred years of cultivation to cross the same boat',” the Greyman said with a smile.
Shang Jianyao immediately asked:
“Have you been to the Iron Mountain Ruins?”
“How could I have been there?” The Greyman was very surprised. “This is the Golden Sea, and it's so far away from Iron Mountain!”
He seemed to know about Iron Mountain before the Old World was destroyed.
Shang Jianyao looked disappointed and waved his hand:
“Since you haven't been there, there's nothing to talk about. See you later.”
He began to look for the next victim, no, the next target.
After busying himself for a long time, Shang Jianyao finally completed his one-on-one "chat" with the passengers on the deck.
If he wasn't afraid that the collective might influence the group's questioning and bring unexpected changes, he definitely wouldn't use this stupid method.
It exhausted him.
And none of those passengers were the owner of Room 522 who had been to the Iron Mountain Ruins.
There are still less than a third of the people on the deck of the entire cruise ship, so I still need to work hard! Shang Jianyao cheered himself up as he exited this psychological shadow.
He needed to use sleep to recover his energy.
…………
The next morning, the Old Task Force drove the jeep back near Wugo's Inn.
They encountered those security officers from yesterday again.
Jiang Baimian lowered the car window and took the initiative to greet them:
“Any discoveries?”
The security officer who had questioned them yesterday shook his head and said in an unfriendly tone:
“Everything was normal last night!”
No one had a Nightmare last night? Jiang Baimian retracted her gaze thoughtfully.
After the vehicle started, Shang Jianyao began to speculate:
“Scared and afraid to come again?”
“Maybe,” Long Yuehong wanted to say “hope.”
They went around in a half-circle and came to the True Self Church's stronghold again.
At this time, someone was guarding the entrance of the apartment, acting as a gatekeeper.
“We are looking for Cliff,” Jiang Baimian simply explained her purpose.
The gatekeeper nodded:
“Same place.”
After entering the apartment and arriving at the innermost room on the left side of the first floor, the Old Task Force saw Cliff, the Breaker of Dreams, again.
Without waiting for Cliff to speak, Jiang Baimian preemptively asked:
“Have you found any clues about that Nightmare? Is there anything you need us to help with?”
Cliff, who was wearing a black robe, sighed and said:
“Under the gaze of the Year Star, that Nightmare has faded.
“You don't have to worry anymore, it's over.”
Huh? Not only Bai Chen and Long Yuehong, but even Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao didn't expect to hear such an answer.
They left the apartment where the True Self Church was located somewhat blankly, and it wasn't until the sunlight outside pierced their eyes that they woke up.
It's over?
It's over.
Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and the others were not only not happy, but even more silent.
In the atmosphere of no one speaking, they got into their jeep.
Bai Chen drove it out from another direction.
Before long, they passed by the building they had rented before.
At the exit of the building, a man with golden-brown hair, wearing a black windbreaker and dark sunglasses, who was over 1.8 meters tall walked out.
The jeep drove past this building and drove along the street towards the Red Giant Wolf District.
After about three hundred meters, Genava suddenly spoke:
“Did you see that man just now, the one wearing black sunglasses?”
“What's wrong?” Long Yuehong asked.
Genava said in a low voice:
“I collected and analyzed the light data related to his sunglasses and discovered something.”
Sunglasses are not completely opaque, otherwise, the person wearing them would not be able to see the scene in front of them.
“What is it?” Long Yuehong asked.
The red light in Genava's eyes flickered a few times:
“The eyes behind his sunglasses are one big and one small.”
ps: Asking for monthly tickets at the beginning of the month~