Chapter 204
Lang Ze felt the rough, barbed tongue of the cat licking his cheek. It tickled slightly but also stung just a little.
That faint pain jolted him fully awake.
Everything just now had been a dream—this was reality!
Even so, he carefully picked up the little black cat from his shoulder to inspect it. Only after confirming that it was unharmed and brimming with energy did he breathe a sigh of relief.
“Xing Xing, thank goodness! You’re okay!”
He held up the kitten and rubbed his cheek against its fur, tears glistening at the corners of his eyes.
The scene just now had felt too real.
He didn’t care what that bastard did to him, but if anyone dared to hurt Xing Xing—his little brother—he wouldn’t stand for it.
Even if it cost him his life, he would never let that scumbag harm Xing Xing.
Zheng Xing endured the cheek-rubbing, his face aching but staying still like an obedient little cat. Though blind, his powerful mental strength allowed him to perceive many things within the nightmare world created by the monster.
This nightmare world was designed to weave the most terrifying scenarios based on the intruder’s real experiences, rendering them defenseless within their worst fears. If someone died in the dream, they would never wake again, leaving their physical body in reality at the mercy of the lurking monster.
Only those with strong mental power and the ability to shield themselves could resist such an attack.
Zheng Xing’s mental strength had always been formidable, and under Su Ci’s guidance and training, it had reached an even higher level. The monster’s attacks couldn’t affect him.
After discovering that Lang Ze and Ran Lie had been dragged into the nightmare world, Zheng Xing secured their bodies and entered the dreamscape to find them. He had finally located Lang Ze and merged into his dream.
Though it was just a dream, it had been woven from Lang Ze’s real experiences. Everything that had just happened was something Lang Ze had truly lived through.
If Zheng Xing hadn’t arrived in time, the monster would have killed Lang Ze…
Thinking about this made waves stir in Zheng Xing’s usually calm and serene heart.
“Brother, don’t be afraid,” Zheng Xing said softly, his words seemingly meant to comfort both Lang Ze and himself.
“I’m not afraid,” Lang Ze replied, setting the black cat down and wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand.
As long as he knew the nursery wasn’t a dream, he wasn’t afraid.
As for that bastard… Lang Ze wasn’t scared of him anymore. If that monster wasn’t dead yet, he would let him live a few more years—until he was strong enough to take him down himself.
Lang Ze thought viciously to himself. Then, noticing something off about his surroundings, he asked, “Xing Xing, where are we?”
“A nightmare space created by the monster,” Zheng Xing replied softly.
“How do we get out?” Lang Ze asked, only to hear a sharp, eerie laugh echo through the void.
“Hahahaha, get out? And where do you think you can go, my little darlings?”
“Who’s there?!”
Lang Ze instinctively grabbed Zheng Xing, tucking the black cat back into his collar for protection before looking toward the source of the voice.
In the air above, a massive eyeball had appeared out of nowhere. Its sclera was covered in blood-red veins, and its black-and-red iris looked grotesque and terrifying.
“Ew—what are you supposed to be? So ugly!” Lang Ze exclaimed.
The monster’s laughter abruptly ceased, and a hint of malice flickered in the giant eye. It sneered, “Hmph! You’ve got quite the mouth. Let’s see how long you can keep it up, you little mutt!”
Lang Ze jumped up in fury. “Are you blind? I’m a wolf! You’re the mutt! Your whole family’s mutts!”
Zheng Xing, poking his head out of Lang Ze’s collar, was about to remind him to stay calm in the nightmare space and not let fear control him.
However, hearing Lang Ze confidently hurling insults at the monster, Zheng Xing hesitated for a moment before pulling his head back in.
Lang Ze was fine after all—what a relief.
Growing up at a space pirate base, Lang Ze had accumulated quite a colorful vocabulary. Though he rarely had the opportunity to use it, the sight of the giant eye had enraged him, and his long-dormant skills resurfaced effortlessly.
Hiding in Lang Ze’s collar, Zheng Xing listened to the relentless stream of insults. While somewhat impressed, he couldn’t help but feel curious about the meanings of some of the terms the wolf cub was using.
Meanwhile, Zheng Xing could sense that the nightmare space was becoming increasingly unstable.
The giant eye, which had managed only one sentence before being overwhelmed by Lang Ze’s tirade, was visibly furious.
Finally, after nearly ten minutes of Lang Ze’s verbal onslaught, the giant eye snapped.
“You brat! Haven’t you had enough?!”
The entire space seemed to tremble with the monster’s enraged shout.
But Lang Ze, utterly fearless, raised his head defiantly and retorted, “Not even close! What are you gonna do about it?”
The giant eye couldn’t take it anymore. Since becoming a monster, it had never been insulted like this—and to make matters worse, it understood every single word Lang Ze hurled at it, making the humiliation even worse.
“I’ll eat you!”
The giant eye transformed into a massive mouth, opening wide and lunging at Lang Ze and Zheng Xing.
Despite his spirited insults, Lang Ze had been closely monitoring the monster’s movements. The moment it began to roar in frustration, he turned and bolted.
He had no idea how vast the nightmare space was or how to escape it with Zheng Xing, but he knew one thing—it was an illusion.
And if it was an illusion, wasn’t that right up his alley?
Though he couldn’t yet perform sound illusions while being disrupted, since the space could create things he feared, then…
“There’s a hover disc ahead!” Lang Ze shouted.
As soon as he spoke, a hover disc appeared before him, the exact model that He Qirui had gifted him.
He grinned. It worked!
Messing with illusions? He was game!
Lang Ze jumped onto the hover disc, and its speed surged.
Even while escaping, he had the energy to look back at the massive mouth chasing after him. Pointing to its path, he shouted, “There’s a pile of dog poop over there! A big, giant pile!”
The next moment, sure enough, an enormous, unspeakable pile appeared directly in the path of the gaping mouth—and the monster swallowed it whole.
In the nightmare space, if someone dies, they die for real.
Likewise, if the monster ate something in this space… it had really eaten it.
“Yuehh—!”
Watching the massive mouth pause to vomit, Lang Ze felt a bit nauseated himself but couldn’t hide the smug smirk on his face.
Hmph, dare to call me a mutt? Enjoy eating dog poop, you disgusting thing!
Suddenly, Lang Ze remembered something and reached into his collar to fish out the little black cat. However, this time, the cat clung stubbornly to his clothes with its claws and refused to come out.
Seeing this, Lang Ze figured that Zheng Xing must have been scared by the giant mouth. He let it slide and tried to comfort him. “Don’t be afraid, Xing Xing. I’ll protect you!”
Then he added a reminder, “But you can’t repeat the bad words I just said, okay?”
When the little cat in his collar remained silent, Lang Ze grew more worried. “Xing Xing, did you hear me?”
After a moment, a faint “Mm…” sounded from his collar.
Lang Ze finally relaxed.
To be honest, he didn’t fully understand what some of the insults meant himself. But the little wolf cub prided himself on being polite and knew it wasn’t right to use foul language.
Of course, swearing at a monster didn’t count.
As Lang Ze reassured Zheng Xing, the entire nightmare space began to shake violently, becoming increasingly unstable.
The disembodied voice from earlier echoed again, but this time, its frustration was unmistakable. “You wretched brat! How dare you… how dare you… I’ll make you pay for this!”
Lang Ze didn’t panic. However, he noticed that his ability to conjure objects in the nightmare space was no longer working.
Uh-oh, that’s a problem.
“I’ll tear you apart! I’ll make you die in agony, drowning in the deepest despair and pain!”
The hysterical voice continued to rage as the nightmare space itself began to compress inward. Lang Ze could feel the oppressive force closing in.
The giant mouth had dissolved into a blood-red mist—or perhaps the entire space itself was now that monstrous mouth.
Is this really the end? Am I going to die here?
“Xing Xing, do you have a way to escape?” Lang Ze asked, knowing Zheng Xing’s mental strength was formidable and hoping he might have a solution.
Zheng Xing remained silent.
He did have a way to escape—but he couldn’t take Lang Ze with him. If that was the case, he’d rather stay.
Lang Ze sighed heavily.
It seemed like they were at an impasse. Still, he wasn’t willing to give up. Turning to Zheng Xing, he began discussing an idea.
“I can’t create anything anymore. Maybe it’s because my mental strength isn’t strong enough,” Lang Ze said. “But you’re much better than me. Can you create illusions in this space?”
Zheng Xing hesitated, sensing this wasn’t going to end well, but he still poked his head out of Lang Ze’s collar and softly replied, “I can.”
“Great!” Lang Ze said excitedly. “Can you recreate the stuff I made it eat earlier? Let’s fill this entire space with it…”
The shrinking space suddenly paused for a brief moment.
In the next instant, before Lang Ze could finish speaking, the scene around him shifted. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on the ground, surrounded by the metallic buildings of Base 16.
Blinking in confusion, he propped himself up.
Beside him were the unconscious forms of Ran Lie and Li Sinian. Panicking, Lang Ze quickly looked down to find the little black cat curled up beside him. A sigh of relief escaped his lips.
Everyone’s safe!
However, just as he relaxed, a tall figure burst through the blood mist, accompanied by a voice filled with rage.
“You little mutt! You’re finished!”
It was a monster with a single, grotesque eyeball. Its mouth opened wide as it charged toward Lang Ze and the others with a horrifying expression.
Lang Ze’s heart sank. The distance was too short for him to use his sound illusion technique, and Ran Lie and Li Sinian were still unconscious. What should I do?
He knew that he was undoubtedly the monster’s primary target. Without hesitation, he scrambled to his feet, prepared to use himself as bait to lure the creature away.
But the monster was far too close. Before Lang Ze could even start running, it had already reached him.
As the monster opened its massive mouth, ready to bite down on him, a soft yet commanding childlike voice suddenly rang out beside his ear.
“You—stop!”
At the same time, a streak of sword energy sliced through the blood mist from a distance, striking the one-eyed monster and cutting it cleanly in half.
