Elsa nodded.
The others nodded as well.
"Has your number changed?" Wen Xishu asked.
Everyone shook their heads.
Elsa said:
"My number is 30... I saw a school in the distance, and further away, a residential area. Some places even had lights on, but I didn’t go there."
"I noticed that as I walked towards that place, the number I saw started to decrease. Then it seemed like... there might be some eerie whispers around."
"It was like someone was whispering in my ear, and even... even the scene in my sight seemed to become gloomier."
Wen Xishu nodded:
"The lower the number, the eerier the surroundings become, and the more likely you are to encounter danger."
"30 is considered a normal dream, but once it’s below 10, you’ll encounter extremely dangerous situations..."
"I didn’t wake up from these dangers, which shows that there’s a high chance you won’t wake up; you’ll just die in the dream."
"Nico’s ability is crucial; she can forcibly raise the number to the maximum allowable limit at critical moments..."
"And help us wake up."
Cavendish admired greatly:
"Commander, did you just venture into the area where the numbers decrease?"
Wen Xishu nodded:
"My number dropped to 8."
Devon and Borg gasped.
Because both of them, while exploring the dream, began to feel chilled when the number dropped to twenty, with all kinds of spine-tingling murmurs echoing in their ears.
Instinct drove them back to the starting point immediately.
Of course, they weren’t entirely motivated by fear; they were worried that without a commander, rash actions might cause trouble for him.
So their first response was to stay in a safe place and wait for regrouping.
Their response was correct.
However, they did manage to get a glimpse of the terrifying aspect of this dream world, and Devon said:
"I was already trembling all over at 20, Commander... and you went to 8?"
Borg commented:
"We’ve all woken up, thanks to Nico’s ability. If not for Nico, we would still be struggling in the dream."
"But now that each of us has woken up, does it mean that as long as we cross this small town, we’ll see the door and clear the level?"
Everyone thought of this.
The biggest problem has been solved by Nico. Precision recruitment was even more expensive than advanced recruitment because—there’s a reason for it.
Nico’s ability truly counteracts this level. This level has been resolved.
But Wen Xishu shook his head, clapping his hands to draw their attention to himself:
"Everyone, don’t be hasty; here is my analysis."
"In my view, this operation has just begun; next, Nico and I need to cooperate."
"Let me share my guess."
"You all saw it too, the small town in the dream has no people, but everything is vibrant."
"In reality, the small town we woke up to is utterly desolate."
"The Balance Curse was present in both the first and second levels, so I assume it exists here too."
"I suspect another Ability User has awakened, attempting to use their power to combat the Balance Curse."
"Unlike the mad scientist from the second level with his plan to elevate weak mechanical beings by transforming living creatures into mechanical bodies, this time, he intends to push everyone into a dream and completely abandon flesh."
"Perhaps this way, population won’t be a concern anymore."
"People may die, but in the dream world, they have achieved immortality."
"This might be due to his ability, but surely the ability has side effects, and they aren’t small. It’s likely even more twisted than the mechanical city scenario of the second level."
"Everyone has emotions: fear, joy. Some dream of happy things, while others have nightmares."
"Under the backdrop of apocalypse and curses, I suspect nightmares will occur more frequently."
"So places with light in dreams indicate original inhabitants, who are likely trapped in horrific dreams and have become extremely twisted, eerie entities."
"Moreover, dreams are unstable, and constant existence in such an unstable, rapidly changing dreamworld must have many flaws, such as repressed desires..."
"The numbers might represent the degree of distortion in that place. The lower the number, the eerie the current scenario..."
"Clearly, forcefully putting everyone into dreams might bypass the Balance Curse but leads to a larger crisis."
It’s like a Hell joke—a sniper successfully kills a target, preventing the target’s suicide.
Perhaps the intention was good, but the approach could plunge everyone into greater suffering.
"I must delve deeply into the dream, find the place with the lowest number, and discover the truth."
"If we leave now, it’s an easy option but not the right one. By the fourth level, we’ll face the loss of personnel again; if we don’t explore this level as much as possible... I might have to sacrifice one of you in the next level."
"That would be wrong, and I don’t want to make mistakes."
Everyone was silent.
They had stayed in the dream for a while, and Wen Xishu woke up just minutes later than them...
But they really didn’t expect that just from brief contact, the commander could think of so much; it’s almost as if he pieced together the story’s background from slight clues.
The commander’s ability truly amazed them.
Devon said:
"So for this level, are we just... to stand by? Is there a way we can enter the dream and protect you?"
Devon didn’t want to be useless or win by default.
Wen Xishu said:
"I’m not sure if Nico’s ability will be interfered with; Nico’s singing can forcibly increase the distortion values in the dream to the maximum allowable and, over time, can pull people out of the dream."
"This ability is too restricting for this area, so it’s likely there might be some countermeasures in place."
"All of you, protect Nico."
"And Nico, sing periodically but not too long at once. From my calculations earlier, when you finish the first verse, I will wake up... Sing for about ten seconds; the number in my area will return to the maximum allowable limit."
"Then, stop for ten seconds after singing for twenty seconds. Then sing for another twenty seconds and pause for ten."
"Don’t awaken me; just give me some help."
Nico nodded:
"Well... If my singing is terrible, please be forgiving."
Wen Xishu said:
"Believe me, no matter who it is, hearing ’I’m here to save you’ at a critical moment would sound heavenly."
Nico’s eyes widened, clearly, no one had ever said that to her before.
Wen Xishu closed his eyes:
"I need to enter the dream again; this shouldn’t be difficult."
Wen Xishu’s guess was correct.
Once he closed his eyes, a feeling of overwhelming drowsiness engulfed him quickly.
Each time they were transported to a checkpoint, everyone was in a closed-eye state waiting to awaken, which caused everyone to be directly drawn into the dream.
Fortunately, even in the dream, Nico’s singing could forcibly pull herself out of it.
That was why they weren’t wiped out in the dream.
...
...
The dilapidated, abandoned town vanished once more.
What came into Wen Xishu’s sight was a street of the dreamland that seemed to have returned to the town’s days of prosperity.
"Undoubtedly, this is a world of distorted dreams..."
"The original inhabitants of the dream have all become monsters."
"That child in the school... she might have been jumping off buildings because she realized she couldn’t die in the dream and began torturing herself."
"But she shouldn’t be the one responsible for all of this."
"The school isn’t in the town center. If I were the master of this dream, able to weave this dream... I would surely place myself in a position where I can overlook the whole situation."
Wen Xishu executed a powerful kick and leaped to a high point.
Initially, he was drawn by the school’s lights and sounds...
But now, Wen Xishu noticed a peculiar building at the center as well, with lights on inside.
It was an improbable building not suited for the town’s center.
An art gallery.
Just upon seeing the art gallery, Wen Xishu noticed... the number in his eyes started decreasing slowly.
It was only when Wen Xishu shifted his gaze away that the number gradually returned to thirty.
"8 is enough to threaten me... if it drops to 1, or even 0 or negative..."
He felt a bit of a headache.
But soon, Nico’s singing reached his ear.
This time, the singing made Wen Xishu laugh.
"A new storm is coming; how can one stand still?"
Sure enough, it was the type of ability that provided a matching background music according to the surrounding environment. This ability wasn’t bad; Wen Xishu chuckled and stepped towards the most ominous art gallery within the dream.