Dual Attack.
Wen Xishu could hear the corpse-like footsteps behind him, but he could not turn back.
The statue of the great man was now filled with malice.
8.
The numbers were still dropping, and Wen Xishu had no choice but to muster the courage to kick the statue.
The ultimate kick was about to be launched.
Fear can be transformed into rage, and anger could make Wen Xishu’s strength grow stronger each time, while proficiency allowed his ultimate kick to become permanently stronger after a certain number of times.
His powerful kick shattered the statue to pieces.
This wasn’t Rokkasho. He was no longer the person without firepower when fear descended.
But strangely, as the number changed to 5—
The shattered statue emitted countless cries of children, and on every surface of the broken fragments, a face grew.
Those were the faces of countless children, and the fragments of the statue he kicked to pieces seemed to be trying to merge together like countless kids.
The densely packed fragments, countless children, continued crawling and wriggling, attacking Wen Xishu.
Wen Xishu also heard the sound behind him getting closer, and he suddenly turned around with a spinning kick.
What should have been a neck-breaking kick did not break the opponent’s neck...
Instead, it broke the opponent’s legs.
It turned out that the thumping sound wasn’t of someone jumping but of someone using their head to hit the ground.
"Why is this dream so eerie?"
Using the head to walk, it could vaguely be recognized as a girl. Wen Xishu gazed down at her face, and she gazed up at Wen Xishu.
This bizarre perspective made Wen Xishu feel like he was losing his sanity.
Looking at the girl’s bloody face, Wen Xishu vaguely guessed... this girl had jumped off a building.
The countless statue fragments behind him had already touched Wen Xishu’s shoes, and like parasites finding a host, they attempted to cover Wen Xishu, frantically climbing up his pant leg.
Wen Xishu hadn’t expected to encounter such eerie events just after stepping into the "light" area.
But at that moment, a melody suddenly appeared beside his ears.
The singing wasn’t particularly pleasant; it was just a girl singing softly with no technique, barely staying in tune.
"La la la la la, la la la la la, la~ la la la~"
To be honest, Wen Xishu suddenly understood why so many people disliked Nico.
This tune was very similar to the Salva Tore he had heard in his previous life. If someone suddenly heard such music in a dream, they would surely be scared.
Wen Xishu thought this was another side effect of the numbers in his vision decreasing—auditory hallucinations.
But then he quickly remembered; this was his teammate, Nico’s voice.
Nico being isolated wasn’t entirely other people’s fault. Interestingly, this was Nico trying to save Wen Xishu.
9.
14.
17.
As this sanity-draining song played, the numbers in Wen Xishu’s vision immediately began to change.
They grew larger.
As the numbers increased, Wen Xishu quickly noticed the scene around him started to flicker, and the fragments clinging to his legs had, unbeknownst to him, returned to the previous statue.
The statue of the great man from some unknown place was as good as new, the missing features restored.
The girl who had fallen behind Wen Xishu also began to look clear and lovely; she was no longer upside down but stood timidly, rapidly retreating, and looking at Wen Xishu with an incredible gaze.
"La la la la la, la la la la la, la~ la la la~"
Nico’s singing continued.
The number stopped at 24.
It could no longer go up, which meant the highest number possible here was 24, unable to return to 30.
Various clues flashed through Wen Xishu’s mind.
But at that moment, he seemed to hear other voices.
These voices came from an extremely ethereal place.
"Commander, wake up!"
"Wake up now! Without you, what would we do!"
Nico’s singing, and the surrounding people’s concerns, made the world in Wen Xishu’s eyes begin to flicker constantly.
Not long after...
Wen Xishu opened his eyes, and the scene around him completely changed.
In a desolate, decaying town with many animals and no sign of human presence...
Wen Xishu, Nico, Colonel Devon, Borg, Cavendish, and Elsa—all six of them were there.
Wen Xishu immediately realized what had happened:
"I see, this place, once entered, pulls you into a dreamscape."
Colonel Devon exclaimed with delight:
"Great, Commander, you’re finally awake."
Nico stopped her singing as well:
"Great... sorry, my singing was a bit off... don’t mind it."
Wen Xishu said:
"Next time, you can change the tune."
Elsa suddenly spoke:
"Commander, do you not like children’s songs?"
Wen Xishu was stunned:
"You call that a children’s song?"
Elsa suddenly hummed a tune, similar to "Where is Spring" that children sing, entirely different from what Wen Xishu heard.
Wen Xishu seemed to understand what was going on.
Nico happened to explain:
"Sorry, sorry, the song I sing seems to sound different to different people in the dreamscape."
"It’s good that everyone is awake... I finally, finally have some use."
Wen Xishu nodded.
Nico’s ability, it seems, has different soundtracks in different dreamscapes.
For example, in Elsa’s dreamscape, it’s probably more heartwarming? So the song Elsa hears is heartwarming as well.
Wen Xishu said:
"Elsa, could you see the numbers in the dreamscape?"