Chapter 399

“Kill me now!”

Snow Maiden, lying in her sleeping bag, gazed at the chaotic night sky above the capital city with a vacant look as she said listlessly,

“The nightmare I created was destroyed by you, and the source of my nightmares was crushed by the Nightmare King. I can’t be what I once was… What are you doing?”

“Nothing much.”

After removing the thick gloves from his hands, Leon poked Snow Maiden’s face and couldn’t help but sigh with slight regret.

[Name: Ruined Nightmare (Nightmare, Element, ?)]

[Appearance: A beautiful woman dressed in a white thin skirt, who apart from being immune to low temperatures, is no different from an ordinary human female. However, this state cannot last long; once the part where the dream realm overlaps with reality separates again, she will completely dissipate under real sunlight.]

[Abilities: Nightmare Messenger, Blizzard Summoner, ?]

[Cost: Knowing she is doomed, she genuinely refuses to be used by you.]

[File: A powerful nightmare born from a folk legend in Frostland Country, possessing her own mountain nightmare. She once dominated a region within the dream realm but after being defeated and captured by the Nightmare King, she had no choice but to hand over the core of her mountain nightmare and pledge allegiance to him.

Thereafter, along with six other nightmares such as Sand Dune Giant Worm, Green Tide Sea Monster, Human-faced Forest Spirit, Plague Maiden, Blood Coral, and Swamp King Snake, she was appointed as a Nightmare Messenger, responsible for handling all matters within the territory of the Nightmare King.

After the Soulfall Black Abyss reached the overlap point, following the orders of the Nightmare King, she actively sought out Level 3 Cleaner Leon Lane, attempting to eliminate him, but not only did she fail, she was also forcibly dragged out of her mountain nightmare.]

[Evaluation: A strong and rare special nightmare, personally ennobled by the Nightmare King and endowed with partial power. She can move freely through any nightmare.

Moreover, she can open a unique rule-bound nightmare world. As long as the maximum taint value is lower than hers, memories will be easily erased, and if deceived into the depths of the snowy mountain, all beings below True God level will be directly frozen to death.

But after encountering Level 3 Cleaner Leon Lane, her nightmare world was severely damaged due to contamination by his chaotic memories and actions, and her nightmare core was destroyed by the Nightmare King.

Not only has she lost the ability to erase memories, but her snowstorm summoning ability has been greatly weakened. She can no longer stir up blizzards, and all those entering the mountain nightmare will automatically hear an oddly cheerful tune.]

[Taint Value: 35]

Unfortunately, the Nightmare King moved too fast. If her nightmare core hadn’t been destroyed, handing her over to the Bureau might have resulted in a pretty decent nightmare-class anomalous item.

But after sustaining such heavy damage, her strength has greatly diminished. Apart from still being able to traverse nightmares, her two most important abilities have been completely nullified. Now, she’s basically just a humanoid music player that plays the same song…

Recalling the brainwashing melody of the Snow King that spanned two worlds, Leon shook his head speechlessly, temporarily pushing the tune of “Sweet Honey” out of his mind. He then looked around, wanting to quickly find the hardworking big dog.

Even though the mountain nightmare earlier went smoothly, and he even managed to drag Snow Maiden out, the true MVP was still the dog. Without it suppressing the snowstorm, he might not have dared to descend the mountain in a blizzard, even if he hadn’t frozen to death deep in the mountain.

You see, inside the mountain nightmare, without the memory of the Sheep Heart, his indestructibility might not have functioned properly. That dog literally saved his life, so with the rescue dog not by his side, he definitely needed to check on it promptly.

Not to mention, besides the lifesaving favor, the dog also carried part of the Scorpion Bureau Director’s will, making it his only way to contact him.

With the Scorpion Bureau Director trapped by the other six nightmare messengers and unable to come out in the short term, finding the dog and maintaining contact was undoubtedly the best choice.

…

“Woof~”

By relying on the bark, Leon confirmed the dog’s position, then pulled the rope again, dragging the despair-filled Snow Maiden in her sleeping bag toward the direction of the barking.

“Woof woof!”

Seeing the familiar person approaching, the very obedient dog immediately started wagging its tail like a propeller, sniffing Leon’s shoes while barking continuously.

“Woof woof woof~ woof woof woof~ woof woof woof woof woof woof woof~”

“…”

What a calamity!

Leon immediately twitched his lips upon hearing exactly what the dog was “singing,” then threw down Snow Maiden, who suddenly burst into tears amid the singing, squatted down, and placed the thorny crown he had just found onto the dog’s head.

When he was still inside the mountain nightmare and accidentally knocked off the crown, losing his memory, the Scorpion Bureau Director immediately went silent. Considering that the director also wore a similar crown on his head, this thing must be the “antenna” through which he projects his will.

“Woof woof woof~ woof woof woof~ woof… Damn it! Finally some movement!”

The situation was exactly as Leon had guessed. The moment the thorny crown was properly placed on the dog’s head, the tune of the dog-version of the “Snow King March” stopped, replaced by the irritated voice of the Scorpion Bureau Director.

“Didn’t I tell you not to leave this dog?”

Using the dog’s eyes, seeing Leon in strange attire, the Scorpion Bureau Director instantly relaxed slightly before angrily rebuking, “I told you! The Snow Maiden is no less skilled than a Level One Cleaner! You’re not a match for her yet! As long as your level of contamination by anomalies doesn’t exceed hers, there’s a possibility of being completely killed by her!

I didn’t get a chance to tell you earlier, but according to the General Bureau’s intelligence on dream realm creatures, she has a record of killing cleaners carrying immunity anomaly items. Don’t think your indestructibility will save you… Hmm? You’ve already escaped the dream?”

Blinking his bright yellow dog eyes, looking around at the scenery, realizing they had returned to reality from the mountain, the Scorpion Bureau Director couldn’t help but feel slightly embarrassed, clearly showing a hint of awkwardness on his dog face, then tried to save face by saying, “You… escaped quite quickly, but still be careful. Even if you luckily escaped the dream, don’t let your guard down. Snow Maiden herself is still very powerful.”

“…”

“By the way, how did you escape? Where’s Snow Maiden?”

“The nightmare Snow Maiden created wasn’t large. I came out when I descended the mountain. As for Snow Maiden…”

At this point, Leon slightly turned his body, revealing the sleeping bag and sled he had been blocking, nodding his head and saying:

“Here, the one crying on the ground is her.”

“…”

Ah Zhe… What have you done to her? Watching Snow Maiden tied up in the sleeping bag silently weeping, seemingly suffering a huge mental blow, the Scorpion Bureau Director’s dog mouth opened and closed twice, momentarily at a loss for words.

This is a nightmare that has lived for at least several hundred years, existing longer than the Ice Kingdom! You’ve only been dealing with anomalies for more than two months, not even reaching a fraction of her lifespan! Not dying in her nightmare after escaping from her hands is one thing, but you actually captured her alive?

(The chapter ends here)