Reflecting on his various experiences at the hospital today, Yu Jin felt there were three most suspicious points in time:
One was during the follow-up examination on the 45th floor.
Although he believed he had been fully conscious the entire time, it was still possible that he had fallen into a deep sleep while being placed under light hypnosis by the doctor conducting the follow-up, thereby getting accidentally dragged into the Nightmare Disaster.
If so, everything that happened afterward was in a dream.
Dream Entangles occurring within a Nightmare Disaster were usually logical and did not make the Affected Parties feel a massive disconnect from reality. Precisely because of this, people who were accidentally dragged into a Dream Entanglement often found it difficult to realize anything was wrong.
But there was still a question: if he had been dragged into the Nightmare Disaster during the examination, the red-haired Yu Jin would have still been on Taotie Street at the time. Had the red-haired Yu Jin been dragged into the Nightmare Disaster along with him, or had he remained awake due to his physical independence?
To this day, Yu Jin still did not understand whether the companion personality shot out by the Sneering Revolver could truly be considered independent.
If it was the former, it was understandable. But if it was the latter, did the development of the dream overlap too much with reality before he could recall the red-haired Yu Jin to his side?
The second suspicious point in time was when the red-haired Yu Jin, disguised as a janitor, was deliberately sweeping and mopping in the 8th-floor hallway without anyone noticing.
An Affected Party trapped in a Dream Entanglement was also part of constructing the massive nightmare, and their subconscious would influence the direction of the dream to some extent.
At that time, he had been anxious because no one had noticed anything unusual about the red-haired Yu Jin, until the young writer Chi Yu pointed it out first, allowing the exposure plan to proceed.
Looking at it now, could the other party's extreme vigilance have been because he himself had already been crudely dragged into the dream by the Nightmare Disaster, and everything afterward was guided by his own consciousness, causing the Chi Yu in the dream to react that way?
Yet, the subsequent appearance of Xia Jie's true body did not seem like a dream. After all, Yu Jin had never imagined that Xia Jie would actually appear in the hospital.
The third suspicious point in time was when he arrived on the 46th floor and witnessed Chi Shanshan inject those two shots of medication into former Director Chi with his own eyes.
Chi Shanshan said those were sedatives to help with sleep, and she had even given him a shot.
But the premise for all of this was that Chi Shanshan was indeed Chi Shanshan, and the sedative was indeed a sedative.
What if Chi Shanshan was not Chi Shanshan but an imposter? What if the sedative was not a sedative but some other substituted drug, like the dream-inducing agent mentioned by the Disciples of Eternal Night...?
Actually, Yu Jin had dismissed this idea before. After seeing the interaction between former Director Chi and Chi Shanshan, he was certain they knew each other.
But this familiarity was also quite strange. Judging solely by former Director Chi's mental state, Yu Jin could not tell where his psychiatric issues lay. He could only understand it based on what Chi Shanshan had said—that the old director had dementia and could no longer recognize people.
But if that was truly the case, could former Director Chi, who was unable to recognize people clearly, have also mistaken the Chi Shanshan at his bedside, misidentifying her as someone else he knew?
A targeted plan might not have started exactly when he happened to stumble upon it. Perhaps the plan against Shuguang Hospital or former Director Chi had been set in motion long ago, and Wu Xinting's appearance was merely a supplement to the plan.
In that case, Chi Shanshan could very well be a plan executor who had snuck into the hospital long ago. Exploiting her familiarity with former Director Chi and the chaotic situation on the 46th floor, she could have deceived him and injected the old director with that vial of medicine!
At this thought, Yu Jin's heart tightened, and a cold shiver ran down his spine.
Surely not!
If his fears were true, wouldn't that mean the Disciples of Eternal Night had completed their plan right under his nose?!
This was the outcome Yu Jin was least willing to see, yet it was also the option he had analyzed the most deeply.
He was not only replaying his encounter with Chi Shanshan but also pondering whether that vial of “sedative” could indeed be the dream-inducing agent that summoned the Nightmare Disaster.
If so, that was terrifying.
Even as a mere speculation, he could hardly bring himself to believe it.
If such a thing truly existed and was controlled by the Disciples of Eternal Night, then the Bureau would no longer just be facing a gang of criminals who worshipped Nightmares as gods. Instead, humanity might have to directly face the very Nightmare they worshipped, followed, and believed in!
The materialization of fear itself was not terrifying. After all, the descent of a Nightmare Disaster followed no pattern.
But once fear could be “directionally shaped,” would there still be a future for humanity?
Yu Jin's thoughts drifted as he became completely engrossed in his contemplations. He failed to notice that because he had lingered too long on the street in front of the Day Prison, the camera eyes around him had already turned toward him in unison.
These eyeballs seemed to be filling with blood, the bloodshot capillaries spreading across the whites. No one knew what would happen the moment they turned completely red.
Yu Jin almost had the chance to find out. Fortunately, at the very last moment before the eyeballs turned completely red, a hand patting his shoulder suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
Startled, Yu Jin was about to turn around when he heard an urgent, low voice behind him.
“You've been spotted. Follow me, quick.”
Yu Jin whipped his head around and saw a hooded figure wrapped tightly from head to toe, turning to run into an alley.
He immediately understood and glanced at the surrounding cameras.
The eyeballs in front of the lenses had already bulged to a terrifying degree. They had been staring intently at Yu Jin, but when the mysterious person appeared, nearly half of the cameras shifted their focus to follow the mysterious figure instead.
Yu Jin's expression changed, and without a second word, he immediately followed.
He subconsciously felt that this person should be trustworthy. After all, they were “helping” him.
Lest he forget, in this cold Haicheng, lending a helping hand without authorization was illegal!
But who was this person, and why would they take such a risk to help him?
The two of them threaded through the alleys one after the other. Yu Jin lost track of how long they had been walking, until they reached an area of abandoned, old buildings where there were no cameras around. Only then did the person leading the way stop.
He turned around, pulled down his mask, and revealed his true appearance.
It was a very unfamiliar face, yet Yu Jin felt an odd sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
He thought for a long time but couldn't recall, until the other party pulled a phone out of his pocket.
“!!!”
It was him!
The thief who had “stolen” a phone on the street!
Yu Jin was shocked, but he calmed down almost immediately, knitting his brows as he pondered.
“It seems those cameras aren't the only things watching me. You were keeping an eye on me too, weren't you?
“That theft earlier... was it a performance for my benefit?”
The man nodded.
“What happened earlier wasn't entirely an act. At least the victim was kept in the dark. But don't worry, I'll return the phone.
“It was a two-way test, and I am very satisfied with the results.
“You really are different from them. I knew I didn't misjudge you.”
Yu Jin was highly perplexed.
“Who are you?”
The man's expression turned solemn as he formally introduced himself: “I am a human.”
“...”
Yu Jin was dumbfounded.
Well, obviously?
What else could you be?
A primate that had spent five hundred years meditating on the teachings of Buddha to finally comprehend humanity, descending the mountain to assimilate into society, only to disguise itself as a human and steal cell phones in the city?
Look, buddy, I might not understand what's going on, but my eyes work just fine. Did you really think I couldn't tell you were human?
Yu Jin was completely speechless, but this statement seemed exceptionally important to the man before him. He emphasized once more:
“I am human, and you are human. This is very important.”
“...I'm honored to be human, but why is that important?”
“It's important because both of us agree that humans should help one another, rather than guard against each other with cold vigilance!”
“!”
Finally, it made sense.
When the other party tapped him awake to prevent him from being locked onto by the cameras, Yu Jin could sense that this person was different from everyone else in this city.
But what Yu Jin did not understand was that since he had done absolutely nothing during that theft, how had the other party determined they were cut from the same cloth?
The man noticed Yu Jin's confusion and explained methodically,
“Because you drew closer.”
“Drew closer?”
“Exactly. When 'crime' occurs in this city, no one wants to draw close. Everyone's first reaction is to distance themselves.
“But you... you took a step closer to the phone booth where the victim was. This shows you were interested in his plight, which proves that the fire of humanity within you has not died out.
“You can still be saved.
“So, I've come to help you.”
...
Rate on N.U.
