Chapter 406

It’s here! At the moment when the Entity hugged six layers of nightmares and tried to squeeze in, even without any obvious omen appearing, everyone in the nightmare world still almost simultaneously sensed the presence of the Nightmare King.

If one must describe it, this sudden strange feeling that appeared in the heart was like a rabbit eating grass discovering the shadow of a hawk cast on the ground, or like seeing an ever-approaching massive shadow underwater while drifting in a small boat on the sea.

Even though there was no immediate crisis yet, just the faintest hint of panic was enough to make one’s heart sink heavily.

If the Nightmare King had arrived first, I probably wouldn’t have enough time to save him…

Sensing the surroundings suddenly becoming active as if welcoming something, the Scorpion Bureau Director standing on a dusty city tower frowned slightly. He directly raised his hand and twisted the neck of the pale doll beside him.

“Crack!”

With the crisp sound of bones breaking, among the crowd blocking the door downstairs trying to escape, a frail woman let out a scream of agony. Her scarred, thin neck bent to one side at the same time as the pale doll’s neck.

But strangely, even with her neck suddenly broken, the frail woman didn’t die. Instead, she shrugged her shoulders to support her head and bolted madly towards another group of people with sickly appearances.

Unfortunately, before she could run more than a few steps, a blood-dripping slender sword cruelly pierced through her chest, impaling her to the ground and pinning her down completely.

And with her death, the city tower under the Scorpion Bureau Director’s feet began to twist strangely.

Next, the terrified crowd scattered in all directions; doctors wearing peculiar bird-beaked masks shouted loudly; soldiers behind wooden barriers used long poles to stab those rushing through the checkpoints;

The filthy streets were piled with blackened corpses everywhere; and outside the city, the cremation grounds where white smoke rolled endlessly day after day, burning countless bodies of plague victims…

This city being dragged into death by the epidemic, along with the death of the frail woman, started to twist unconsciously like a reflection on a lake disturbed by a thrown stone.

The next layer of nightmares should be the desert of the Sand Dune Giant Worm, right? After killing the Plague Maiden responsible for “guarding” this nightmare layer and temporarily breaking the “City of Death Plague” nightmare, the Scorpion Bureau Director, looking weary, squinted his eyes and glanced at the lower dream beneath the dead city, sighing regrettably. He then stepped into the endless desert below with the last hope.

After knowing Leon voluntarily jumped into the dream, he immediately pushed forward with full force, consecutively passing through three layers of nightmares, trying to quickly meet up with him, but ultimately was still a step too late.

Compared to needing to kill the corresponding nightmare to leave the nightmare himself, the Nightmare King, as the master of nightmares, can freely travel through all nightmares at will.

So, at the moment it touched the sixth layer of nightmares, it would have already found Leon’s location and could instantly traverse there, arriving in the nightmare he was in without any hindrance.

Facing the Nightmare King strengthened doubly by the Dream Realm and Soulfall Black Abyss, and fighting on home turf within a nightmare, even without the Star Palace’s enhancement, I might be facing a tough battle.

With Leon’s Level 3 Cleaner skills, no matter how many trump cards he has, he would likely shatter upon contact. For the Nightmare King to strangle him would be easier than squashing an ant.

What a pity to lose such a good seedling… Sigh… This is also the fate of cleaners.

…

Recalling everything Leon had done, the Scorpion Bureau Director couldn’t help but sigh again.

Cleaners who are often obstinate and take risks usually harbor greater potential and grow stronger faster. There was even a record of someone advancing all the way within five years to become the director of a branch office.

Unfortunately, these outstanding talents often suffer premature deaths due to overly intense emotions leading to irrational rash actions during tasks incompatible with their anomalous items, with very few surviving in the end.

And someone like Leon, who maintains rationality and calmness despite intense emotions, could achieve great things if he steadily built up his strength over ten to twenty years. His future would be limitless.

But Olivia, that wretched woman, failed entirely to fulfill her duties as a director, allowing a Level 3 Cleaner to get involved in a task at the level of True Gods. Truly…

“Puff!”

After the Scorpion Bureau Director left the damp, cold City of Death Epidemics and entered the blazing desert, scorching heat waves capable of cooking a person rushed over, drying up all the remaining moisture on his body in the blink of an eye.

Once the Scorpion Bureau Director adapted to the temperature change, he actively looked around through the heat waves distorting the horizon, and a somewhat familiar figure immediately caught his eye from afar.

That’s… Leon?!

Looking at Leon, who appeared on a sand dune miles away, desperately fleeing with Snow Maiden on his back, and the Entity emerging behind him, the Scorpion Bureau Director’s eyes couldn’t help but widen.

Damn! Why specifically in the vast boundless desert? Too far away! Having discovered Leon and the Nightmare King’s trail, the Scorpion Bureau Director activated some anomalous item, his tall figure leaning backward. The shadow beneath him extended eerily infinitely, spreading over a thousand meters in an instant until it was cut off by a large sunken sandpit.

Then, the Scorpion Bureau Director’s infinitely extended shadow rapidly retracted. When he stood up from lying down, he had instantly crossed a kilometer distance and stood directly in front of the huge sandpit.

We need to catch up! Maybe we still have time!

Without bothering to brush off the sand, the Scorpion Bureau Director was about to activate the anomalous item again and continue moving towards Leon’s direction when he suddenly realized that neither the Entity nor Leon were anywhere to be seen. There was nothing on the sand dune miles away.

It’s a mirage…

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Looking at the empty sand dunes in the distance, the Scorpion Bureau Director’s expression became completely grave.

These mirages similar to mirages are characteristics of the nightmare known as the Endless Desert, just like the infected zones of the City of Death Epidemics and the deep mountains of the Wind-Snow Mountain Range.

Their specific origin comes from the scales shed by the Sand Dune Giant Worm, which reflect light through dreams, allowing people to see what they most hope to see at the moment, luring them towards the target.

However, once lured by the desert mirage, one continuously loses water during movement, eventually collapsing in the endless sands, becoming a mummified corpse buried by yellow sand. Although the vision isn’t false, it’s something one can never truly reach.

“Hmph…”

Disappointed, the Scorpion Bureau Director exhaled and turned toward the return path, reactivating the anomalous item for traveling.

Mirage or not…

Judging by the environment around Leon in the mirage, he should also be in the Endless Desert. However, this desert named “Endless” is the most expansive among the six nightmares, larger than the other five combined. I won’t have enough time to reach him.

Since I can’t save him, I might as well use the desert mirage to witness his final moments. It’s my tribute as a cleaner to a brave comrade.

With this thought, the Scorpion Bureau Director stretched his shadow again, returning to the position he entered the Endless Desert, solemnly gazing toward the location where the mirage appeared. But then…

“Huh?”

Seeing Leon in the mirage punching the Nightmare King’s toe, then both him and the Entity twisting their faces and opening their mouths to scream in agony together, the Scorpion Bureau Director’s eyes widened so much they nearly popped out.

“Whaaaaaat??????”

(End of Chapter)