Even within the Dreamlike Domain, everyone felt this intense consciousness disturbance.
Pompey looked past Tang Cu toward the hospital building outside the illusion, smiling.
“It seems our Lord has felt the devotion of his believers and cast a glance upon this place. If that is the case, then let us meet in our dreams. Everyone, please bathe in the glow of fear and enjoy the grace bestowed by our Lord to your heart's content.”
With that, Pompey bowed elegantly to the Bureau agents present.
Tang Cu scoffed at these claims. Looking at the trapped Xia Jie, she sneered, “What, you're just going to abandon your little brother?”
“...”
Without even turning his gaze, looking completely indifferent to Xia Jie's fate, Pompey said like a smiling tiger, “The Disciples of Eternal Night have a fixed number of members. Irrelevant individuals have... absolutely nothing to do with us.”
An irrelevant individual?
Who was irrelevant?!
The cold words pierced Xia Jie's heart like a thorn. His struggling froze, and he glared at Pompey with eyes full of resentment.
Because of his limited range of motion, he could only catch a glimpse of the edge of Pompey's figure with his vicious eyes, but that didn't stop him from cursing in the most venomous tone, “The Disciples of Eternal Night deserve to die too! You all deserve to die! I am the true Nightmare! I, Xia Jie, am your master!”
Pompey maintained his smile, offering no comment.
His figure quietly disintegrated, and the illusion over the front courtyard ebbed away like the tide. The entire Dreamlike Domain seemed to be rewinding. Aside from the shattered sun that was still falling, the sky, where the crimson flames had died out, and the bottomless rift were slowly healing.
The front courtyard came back into clear view, and the hospital building reappeared before them.
Listening to the alert of a Nightmare Disaster eruption from the central dispatch on their communicators, every Bureau agent present wore an incredibly grave expression.
In the past, the Disciples of Eternal Night would only show up after a Nightmare Disaster descended, tampering with the vicinity of the disaster site or within the nightmare itself.
But today, they had actually shown themselves before the Nightmare Disaster had even descended.
Was it a coincidence? A prediction? Or had they manufactured it?!
Excluding the first option, neither of the other two scenarios was something the Bureau wanted to see.
This meant that the Disciples of Eternal Night's control over Nightmare Disasters might have progressed past the Bureau's.
This was an extremely dangerous development. If true, the entire society would face unpredictable risks.
Li Ji's brow was furrowed tighter than the creases on his shirt.
Sensing the air of panic spreading through the crowd, Xia Jie, who was still pinned firmly to the ground, remained arrogant.
“Yes, just like that, fear me! The more you fear, the faster I will ascend to my divine throne.”
“Bang!”
Before he could even finish his sentence, a cold-faced Li Ji casually fired a shot straight through Xia Jie's neck.
The bullet tore into the soil, taking Xia Jie's voice—and his life—along with it.
In his final moments of consciousness, he stared at Li Ji in disbelief. His eyes and pupils dilated in unison, and he gasped hoarsely, coughing up bloody foam, “How... dare you... kill me... I am... the Night... Night...”
“Bang!”
Li Ji fired another shot, this time aiming for the heart.
The “Nightmare” had fallen.
“Emergency situation. No spare manpower to guard prisoners. Executed on the spot. I will write the report if there are any follow-up questions.”
Li Ji had no time to overthink. Facing the imminent Nightmare Disaster, he immediately began deploying resources.
“A Nightmare Disaster has appeared. Implement the Emergency Response Regulations. I will be taking wartime command.
“All Bureau agents in Shuguang Hospital and the surrounding area, hear my orders: Everyone on the front courtyard, stand by. Captains of the Special Response Squads, verify the identities of your team members first.
“Field agents, fall back, expand the blockade, and quiet the neighboring blocks.
“The outer reserve of the Special Response Team will lead the evacuation of hospital personnel. Move immediately. Two-fourths of the on-duty Special Response Squads in nearby blocks will remain to support the evacuation.
“Connect me to the Low-Altitude Control Center.
“This is Li Ji. A Nightmare Disaster has erupted in Shuguang Hospital. The source is suspected to be on the mid-to-high floors. We need helicopter assistance to evacuate people from the upper floors.
“Connect me to the Hospital Director's office.
“This is Li Ji. In accordance with the Nightmare Disaster Evacuation Regulations, organize the staff and patients to evacuate in an orderly manner. Field agents will guide you to the relocation site shortly.
“Connect me to the Emergency Coordination Center.
“This is Li Ji. A Nightmare Disaster has erupted in Shuguang Hospital. We need to evacuate a large number of patients and staff, but these individuals still need identity verification. We need an open area to temporarily accommodate them while we conduct further checks.
“Understood.
“Connect me to the Special Emergency Office.
“This is Li Ji. A Nightmare Disaster has occurred at Shuguang Hospital. I request reinforcements and the activation of Director Chi's special crisis protection protocol.
“What? The protection protocol is on standby and I have no authority to activate it? Who gave that order? The Director?!
“Understood.
“Connect me to the Director's office.
“Ningmeng, let me speak to the Director. The Director isn't there? Where did she go?”
Having just asked this, Li Ji suddenly froze and turned to look at Tang Cu, who was still floating in midair.
Although she was the head of the Western District and likewise a subordinate of the Director, given the best-friend relationship between the two, Tang Cu's sudden appearance at Shuguang Hospital very likely meant...
Li Ji seemed to realize something, his eyes darkening. He said, “Is she inside the hospital?”
Floating in midair, Tang Cu didn't speak. She only quietly gazed at the 46th floor of the hospital.
Li Ji followed her gaze. When he connected it to what that floor represented, his pupils abruptly contracted.
“Don't tell me... the Nightmare Disaster descended because of...”
Tang Cu's expression was also incredibly solemn.
She couldn't persuade that person and could only let her do as she pleased. But a Nightmare Disaster was no laughing matter; no one could afford to take it lightly.
“I don't know, and even if I did, I wouldn't say. If there's no one in your Eastern District who can handle this, my Western District doesn't mind stepping in to help. But we'll be taking the credit.”
“Absurd!”
Li Ji flared up in a rare display of anger, cutting Tang Cu off, “If anything goes wrong with both Directors, who's going to take responsibility? You?! Do you have any idea that doing this could land you in the Day Tribunal?!”
Tang Cu frowned upon hearing the words “Day Tribunal,” but she immediately turned to look down at Li Ji on the ground, raising an eyebrow in question, “If they really come to arrest me, will a certain someone step in?”
“You...!!”
Li Ji choked, the words catching in his throat.
Soon, the rage faded from his face, and he closed his eyes, sighing.
When he opened them again, he had regained his calm and composure.
“That's the psychiatric ward. You had better pray this Nightmare Disaster isn't too severe. Otherwise, you're playing with the lives of the hospital patients and the local residents!”
Tang Cu sighed, refusing to take the blame, “Don't lump me in with this. It's not like I can boss her around.”
Li Ji kept his face grim and ignored her, continuing with his deployment:
“Special Response Squads that have finished identity verification, step forward. Special Response Squads with experience handling Nightmare Disasters involving subjects with psychiatric disorders, step forward.
“Given the urgency, we will organize into a 1-2-4 primary-reserve-support echelon in accordance with the protocols for handling Nightmare Disasters in high-density urban areas. All Dream Profilers, gain access to the hospital's files immediately.
“Connect me to the Archives Control Center.
“Open the highest archive clearance for Shuguang Hospital to the Eastern District. Request Director Chi's disclosable files.
“Connect me to the Special Emergency Office.
“I'm not here to request the special protection protocol. I am requesting that Director Chi's family members be brought to the scene to assist in neutralizing the Nightmare Disaster. Good, please make it quick.
“Attention, action teams. This operation to neutralize the Nightmare Disaster is extremely unique and highly likely involves Director Chi. You must exercise extreme caution after entering the dream. All other personnel, maintain strict confidentiality.
“The primary attack teams will review the files of Director Chi, psychiatric ward patients, and relevant staff. You have twenty minutes to gather information before setting off. The two reserve teams will use the 46th floor as an axis to review the files of the adjacent floors above and below in order, then follow after two hours.
“Support teams, stand by.
“Initiate the consciousness frequency scan. First, confirm how many people are currently trapped in the Nightmare Disaster area.”
Instruction after instruction was issued systematically by Li Ji. Every Bureau agent in the hospital began operating like a vast, precise machine.
A large number of patients and staff, who had been spectating the drama just a moment ago, were ordered to evacuate immediately in the next.
A Nightmare Disaster was no joke. If they were too slow in fleeing, no one dared to bet their lives on having the miraculous luck needed to avoid being dragged in.
Fortunately, the overall evacuation went quite orderly, and the reconnaissance operations heading toward the high-floor site of the Nightmare Disaster also proceeded smoothly.
However, apart from the blaring sirens, an evacuation on such a massive scale actually felt eerily quiet.
No, it did not seem to be quietness, but rather oppression.
The hospital's alarm lights flashed red, reflecting onto every panicked face, suffocating them with tension.
The human traffic index was clearly in the red, yet the atmospheric pressure grew heavier and heavier.
But the true low-pressure vortex had yet to arrive. Shortly after, the Bureau's central dispatch sent another message that made everyone's heart sink:
“Based on the pattern and frequency of the consciousness disturbance on-site, a preliminary assessment determines that the Nightmare Disaster descending upon Shuguang Hospital is...
Class S.”
...
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