Translator: Lonelytree
After people returned from Dreamlands and Wu Siyu fell through the dimensional gap, Phecda’s Eastern State Division and the headquarters busied themselves with the aftermath. First, the dreamers had to be separated and interviewed one by one to confirm their mental state and to reconstruct everything that had happened on that island in the Dreamland. Wu Siyu was asked to describe everything from the moment she and Gu Jun stepped onto the white ship. Then, they were given some physical tests. Due to Wu Siyu’s physical exposure to the Dreamlands and its unknown bacteria, she had to be separately quarantined. And because of her physical contact with the others inside the dreaming room, it meant the others were slapped with the same treatment.
All members from the Investigation and Review Departments were mobilized. They were busy from noon to late afternoon. The result was a great relief. Even though most of them had suffered psychological damage to a certain degree, the most direct impact being the lowering of their S Value, all of them could still be categorized as normally functioning.
“Mental power and the mind itself are two different things.” Regarding this point, both Phecda and the Angell’s Order had the same understanding. Other than the lowering of the S Value, the overall mood of the group was demotivating and depressive. The reason was none other than Gu Jun.
Thanks to their corroboration of the story, Phecda had constructed what had basically happened inside dreamlands. It appeared like Gu Jun had used a spell to consume that nightmare. A normal human would not be able to survive that kind of consumption, but they couldn’t be sure either. They turned to the Angell’s Order for some hope. With the success of this mission, the Order’s credibility inside Phecda had increased tremendously.
“We believe...” Mr. Jiang said in a severe tone. “I cannot say what kind of physical transmutation will happen to his body, but it is almost impossible for a person to survive this kind of heavy mental impact.”
‘Physical transmutation? Was there such a thing that happened?’ According to the descriptions from Elder Tong and the rest, the answer was a definite yes. Prof Gu, Wang Ruoxiang, and most of them who entered the Dreamlands were doctors. They knew from what they saw with Gu Jun, things were not going well.
“The skin on his face...” Inside the interrogation room, when Wang Ruoxiang thought back to that situation, a haze of melancholy clouded her face. “First, the capillaries burst. I was certain of that because the symptoms were fairly obvious. Then, there was subdermal hemorrhaging. In the end, even his skin started to crack...”
Prof Gu sighed and provided an opinion that was darker but based more in medical science. “I believe his cranial pressure was incredibly high, so the bleeding could have come from a brain hemorrhage. Ah Jun, he... he’s probably already...”
Everyone came to the same conclusion, but no one was willing to put it into words. Even the perpetual optimist, Cai Zixuan, had nothing to say but hung his head and sighed. However, no one wanted to give up. Therefore, that night itself, they gathered for another dreaming attempt. This time, even Wu Siyu joined in. Even though they were extremely tired, Gu Jun might be awaiting their rescue. Nevertheless, no matter how hard they summoned him this time, there was no reply. There was only silence, a silence that shocked their hearts harder than the loudest explosion could.
They had been calling for three hours until the last one of them collapsed from exhaustion. Several people, including Uncle Dan, had passed out and had to be sent to the emergency room. The spiritual connection they shared with Gu Jun was fading away with time. Wu Siyu made the most attempts. She could enter her own lucid dream but could find no way to reach the Dreamlands.
“How can I enter Dreamlands?” she asked Mr. Jiang. “We have to at least bring Stupid Jun’s body back, right? I’m afraid the zombies might feast on him.”
“We have no physical way of entering the Dreamlands,” Mr. Jiang said cautiously. “And this is the only way to do it. Throughout the history of the Order, we have only succeeded only a few times. We have not entered the Dreamlands ourselves, and we are no closer to uncovering the talent and condition required. But in your current condition where your mental power hasn’t fully recovered, it will only make the journey that much harder.
“But his body will be eaten,” Wu Siyu mumbled. “Perhaps they might preserve his body to marinate, but still, the ending is the same.”
Even though Wu Siyu and Cai Zixuan refused to give up, as the leader and their senior, Yao Sinian saw the need to move on. Prof Qin, who had recovered slightly, and Elder Tong shared his opinion. Perhaps it was their experience that lent them the realization that life was hard, but life was always moving forward. Gu Jun had done his part, and now they needed to do theirs.
“Ah Jun has bravely sacrificed himself,” Elder Tong said heavily, without his usual humor. “He has chosen that, and we should respect his choice.”
Inside the quarantine activity room, when the rest heard that, something appeared to click. Cai Zixuan doubled over in a dry heave, and tears slid silently down Wang Ruoxiang’s cheeks. Prof Gu turned away and sighed. Lou Xiaoning, Xue Ba, and Brother Qiang stood there numbly, their faces as gray as ash. Indeed, everyone had sacrificed something in this mission, but Ah Jun had made the biggest sacrifice... He had trumped them all.
“I know he made that decision.” Wu Siyu was still insisting on demands that sounded more and more like incoherent words to the others. “But we still need to bring his body back, or else he will really be eaten! Who knows how painful it is to be eaten in the Dreamlands? And how much of one’s body needs to be eaten to feel the pain?”
Everyone knew that Wu Siyu was under the greatest mental pressure because Gu Jun gave her the second most difficult choice to make...
“Siyu.” Elder Tong sighed. “Even the zombies would shy away from Ah Jun, that bonehead. His bones will mostly crack their teeth, so don’t you worry about him.”
“No, that’s not true,” Wu Siyu argued. “You know the zombies are like dogs, and dogs prefer hardier bones. They would slobber over a delicious meal like him.”
Wu Siyu worried everyone with her mental state. The psychology group needed to come up with a therapy session for her, but some work had to be continued. Phecda could not halt themselves due to a sacrifice. Gu Jun would not have wanted that either.
The things brought back by Wu Siyu from the Dreamlands were all taken away for research. The material of the cotton dress, its design, the composition of the food, the things inside the medic kit, and of course, the most important discovery of all, the tome of the Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan. It was a complete spell book, one written in an ancient Chinese language. This was a great addition to the Spell Department that was being constructed within Phecda. It would boost their standing and rate of improvement greatly. However, this was yet another reward traded with Gu Jun’s life...
Currently, every country in the world was conducting research and competing in this field so that they could claim a higher seat in the international organization that seemed inevitable in the future. With this Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan in Phecda, China practically had a nuclear bomb. It was more than enough to solidify their leadership position in the international organization.
The research and utilization as well as expansion of the Spell Department was currently the most important focus of Phecda. At the same time, the depressing fog that had blanketed Eastern State for many days finally cleared. In five consecutive days, there were no reports of any new Nightmare Illness cases. The patients who had not received the lobotomy stopped having the nightmares, and their symptoms were slowing down. The speed of atrophy for their nervous system was even slower than the patients who had undergone the surgery. They had hope that their illness could be monitored with medicine and physiotherapy.
For the old patients who had gone under the knife, their condition was getting better as well. Prof Qin and Brother Qiang were more like their old selves. It was like something that had been taken away from them had been returned. The phobia Surgeon Zhu had suddenly developed just disappeared; even the man himself could not explain it. “Earlier, it was like there was this whispering enhancing my fear, but now it’s all gone.”
Another three days passed, and there were no new victims. The recovery was going smoothly. Finally, the Eastern State Medical Department gave the announcement that the Nightmare Illness Epidemic had officially been curbed.
Of course, no one could tell whether the epidemic would return in the future, but at least for now, after so many days, people deserved a good night’s sleep.
The public was naturally most buzzed about this news. Communication channels slowly reopened. The news of the flu being brought under control spread through many different media outlets. As the new year rushed in, the streets of Eastern State filled with crowds, parents with kids, couples, tourists... Things were returning to normal.
But that good spirit did not spread to Phecda’s Eastern Division because in their dream, they could still see that single figure walking with determination toward that creepy old manor, singing the inscrutable spell on his lips.
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