Darkness surged.
Lu Yuan opened his eyes.
A familiar sense of dizziness swept through his body as the surrounding scenery distorted and shifted.
He had come here again.
This beach where the setting sun lingered.
Underfoot was damp gravel, and waves slapped against the shore one after another, the cold seawater washing over his ankles.
Lu Yuan looked down at his hands.
He could move.
This time, he could move again.
Ever since being infected by the Strange Dreams, he would come here every night.
Sometimes he could move, other times he was trapped in place, left to be washed over by the seawater.
Though he still hadn't figured out why he could move sometimes and not others, his goal was clear: the Iron Whale he had seen before.
Lu Yuan took a deep breath and surveyed his surroundings.
To the west was the endless deep sea, the dark, heavy water stretching all the way to the horizon.
To the east was the island's interior, where a massive cavern was faintly visible, with ruined houses that could not be entered built near the entrance.
And to the south... that was precisely where he had seen the Iron Whale.
Without hesitation, Lu Yuan walked south along the beach, the gravel beneath his feet making a rustling sound.
The sea breeze carried a fishy, salty scent, making his robes flap loudly.
After walking for about a few minutes, Lu Yuan suddenly stopped.
Not far ahead, the ruined buildings standing on the edge of the beach among the stone pillars appeared again.
But this time, something different seemed to have appeared; the originally worn-out runes were now glowing brightly, and...
They were too new! Was someone constantly repairing these structures?
Lu Yuan frowned, hesitated briefly, and then decided to move closer to investigate.
Lowering his stance, Lu Yuan approached cautiously. As his vision gradually cleared, the scene before him made him freeze in place.
Because in a place that should have been empty and desolate...
There were now several figures dressed in grey cloaks.
Their movements were synchronized, their mouths chanting some kind of ancient language.
The voices were low and eerie, sounding as if they came from an abyss:
"Great Lord of the Deep Sea... Your scions call upon you..."
"Offer up this city... Offer up this flesh..."
"Please descend... Please grant us eternal life..."
Lu Yuan felt a chill in his heart.
These people were definitely up to no good. Even if they weren't cultists, they were definitely heretics!
And the "this city" they spoke of... surely it couldn't be Gelimu Port? But wasn't this a small island? How were they doing this?
Lu Yuan instinctively wanted to distance himself from the area.
But at that moment, a intense sense of crisis welled up from deep within his heart.
His Sanity Barrier began to vibrate violently.
【Warning! High-intensity mental pollution detected!】
【Sanity Barrier is resisting... -1... -1...】
Lu Yuan stopped in his tracks, but it was already too late.
In the center of the formation, something was writhing.
In the next moment, a massive shadow slowly rose from the seawater, splashing up a gargantuan wave.
The wave shot into the sky and then fell like torrential rain.
The thing was so massive that Lu Yuan couldn't even see its full form.
He could only see countless tentacle-like appendages dancing slowly in the seawater, each one's size far exceeding the length of the Iron Whale!
Lu Yuan dared not imagine what would happen if this thing appeared in Gelimu Port...
As the seawater fell, countless eyes suddenly snapped open.
The eyes covering the surface of the shadow beneath the deep sea were all spinning frantically, as if searching for something on the beach.
Lu Yuan felt a wave of suffocation.
He had seen Abyssal Kin and mutated monsters, but he had never seen such a... such an indescribable existence.
Just looking at it caused his Sanity to drain away frantically.
【Sanity: 70/75 → 68/75 → 65/75...】
Just as Lu Yuan was falling into a state of semi-madness and confusion, one of the grey-cloaked figures suddenly turned around.
Under that pitch-black hood, although their face could not be seen, Lu Yuan clearly felt the other's "gaze."
In that instant, Lu Yuan's Sanity Barrier shook violently again.
【Sanity Barrier damaged! -1/-1/-1...】
【Sanity: 65/75 → 60/75...】
The grey-cloaked figure let out a piercing screech:
"There is a Gazer!"
The other grey-cloaked figures turned their heads at the same time.
Countless pairs of eyes, along with the myriad pupils on the deep sea shadow, all stared at Lu Yuan.
A terrifying pressure overwhelmed him.
Lu Yuan felt as if his brain were being pierced by countless steel needles! A sharp, intense pain suddenly struck him.
【Sanity: 60/75 → 55/75...】
In just a few short seconds, Lu Yuan's Sanity was dropping like water through a sieve.
He couldn't stay here any longer!
Lu Yuan desperately tried to exit the Strange Dreams, but his body felt as if it were pinned down by something, unable to move.
Those gazes were like tangible chains, binding him firmly to the spot.
"Found him... a new sacrifice..."
The grey-cloaked figure's voice echoed in his ears, sounding like countless people whispering simultaneously.
"Offer him to the Lord of the Deep Sea... offer..."
At this critical moment.
A familiar power suddenly surged forth.
Black runes emerged around Lu Yuan, quickly weaving into a barrier.
It was Ink!
It had clearly sensed Lu Yuan's abnormality!
The black runes transformed into a sturdy rampart, blocking those terrifying gazes outside.
The grey-cloaked figures' gaze was severed, and the suffocating pressure lightened instantly.
Lu Yuan seized this opportunity and slammed his head toward the surrounding stones.
"Wake up! Wake up for me!"
Lu Yuan roared in his mind, and with a flash of darkness...
The scene before him began to collapse and disintegrate, and the setting in the Strange Dreams vanished into thin air.
"Hah!"
Lu Yuan woke up with a start, the clinic's ceiling coming into view.
He gasped for breath, his entire body soaked in cold sweat, and his heart was pounding wildly.
【You have encountered mental pollution. Undergoing check... Check failed, Sanity Barrier has been damaged.】
【Current Sanity: 41/71】
【Sanity Barrier: 1/3 (Heavily Damaged)】
The limit... had dropped again.
It went from 75 down to 71.
Lu Yuan's face was pale, and he had a splitting headache.
This episode of Strange Dreams was more perilous than any before, and he had nearly failed to return.
"Bang!"
The door was pushed open forcefully.
Ink flew in, its expression grim, completely lacking its usual playful demeanor.
It floated in the air, its beady eyes staring fixedly at Lu Yuan.
"Lu Yuan, what on earth is going on with you?"
Its voice was icy, carrying suppressed anger.
"I just felt your Sanity dropping frantically, nearly reaching the point of collapse!"
Lu Yuan sat up and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"I... had a nightmare."
"Don't lie to me!"
Ink floated in front of him, its voice rising.
"I am a book spirit; I am more sensitive to fluctuations in Sanity than anyone!"
"There is a strange trace on you, and it hasn't been there for just a day or two!"
"This thing is constantly eroding your Sanity. Do you know what it means for Sanity to collapse?"
Lu Yuan remained silent.
Ink continued speaking, its tone agitated:
"You'll turn into a monster! You'll lose yourself!"
"Why didn't you say something earlier?!"
Lu Yuan gave a bitter smile.
"What difference would it have made if I said something?"
"You've seen the Nightwatchers' attitude toward mutants. Discovery means execution; there is absolutely no second possibility."
"Isn't that why Laisen would rather wait to die at home than ask for help? Oh, you don't seem to know who Laisen is..."
However, Ink caught Lu Yuan's subtext.
"You... you don't trust the Nightwatchers?"
Lu Yuan looked at Ink, his voice calm:
"It's not that I don't trust them, it's that I don't dare to gamble."
"If they find out I've been infected by the Strange Dreams, what will they do?"
"Quarantine me? Monitor me? Or... execute me directly?"
Ink was silent for a moment.
It floated in front of Lu Yuan, its voice softening slightly:
"Old Morgan wouldn't."
"He might be caustic, but he truly cares about talented young people."
"Besides, this thing on you—or rather, the Strange Dreams—should theoretically be treatable."
Lu Yuan was stunned to hear this.
"Are you sure?"
Ink nodded, its expression serious:
"I've seen plenty of diseases."
"While I don't know the specific cure, Old Morgan should know."
"You should go and ask him."
Lu Yuan still had some hesitations.
"Your current situation is very dangerous!"
"If you keep dragging this out until your Sanity collapses, no one will be able to save you!"
"At that point, this book spirit will have to personally send you on your way!"
Lu Yuan remained silent.
He looked at Ink's serious expression, then looked out the window.
The horizon was already beginning to pale, and it would soon be dawn.
Taking a deep breath, Lu Yuan made a decision.
"Fine, I'll go find Old Morgan."
He stood up and straightened his clothes, which were soaked with cold sweat.
"But you have to come with me."
Ink nodded.
"No problem. I want to see that old man's reaction anyway."
It floated over to Mina's notebook, its form flickering slightly.
"I need to prepare a few more knowledge light orbs. Just in case there's a delay, I can't stay away from knowledge for too long."
Lu Yuan nodded and waited for Ink to finish its preparations.
A few minutes later, Ink floated out from the notebook, several slightly glowing spheres orbiting its body.
"Let's go."
It floated toward the door and glanced back at Lu Yuan.
"Go find that old man while there are few people at the base."
Lu Yuan followed behind Ink and pushed open the clinic door.
Rate on N.U.
