Chen Shi ran out of the room in one breath and kept looking back to see whether Sadako had come out of the TV. He slammed the door open. The outside was not "outside", but a huge abandoned warehouse filled with building materials. The smell of blood lingered in the air. His eyes widened, knowing that somewhere in front of him, the corpses of Han Luoxi and Li Mu were laying there. This was the starting point of his nightmare.

"Don't be like this! Don't be like this!"

Since this was a lucid dream, let it end without danger. Change the scene! Chen Shi closed his eyes and said silently.

When he opened his eyes, he was sitting in a messy and dirty little Internet cafe with his hands on a yellow keyboard covered with soot. The computer was running Red Alert[1], which was his favorite when he was young. When he felt lost, he became addicted to the game. He saw a group of bombers attacking his hometown. Without even thinking about it, he immediately commanded the air defense unit of the base to defend it.

After some operation, the party he belonged to won. Chen Shi was very excited. He picked up a pack of Hongmei cigarettes on the table and smoked it. When he reached over, the whole box of cigarettes directly appeared.

There were cigarettes but no fire to light them. At this moment, a person next to him handed the lighter over. Chen Shi lit one up, thanked him, and looked at the guy sitting next to him. He was an ordinary man, dressed tastelessly in a white shirt that was neatly buttoned and his hair was combed as though he had used a ruler to part it. He wore a pair of glasses without a special frame.

On his computer, Red Alert was also running, and he was the one who was defeated by Chen Shi.

"I haven't seen you before." Chen Shi said.

"You have, but forgot." The man replied. "I am a human observer."

"What do you observe?"

"Observe you humans!"

"Haha, you’re so funny, do peeping toms call themselves that way now?"

"I’ve been observing you for a long time. The sins brewing in this city have exceeded its ability to purify itself. It’s time to take action to break this vicious circle."

"Do you mean killing people?"

"You have to admit that killing is the most effective way to solve most of the problems in this world."

Chen Shi stood up which caused the chair behind him to fall. He yelled, "Are you crazy? I’m a policeman. What are you saying in front of me?!"

"The police can only solve what has already happened. You guys are as powerless as ordinary people for what is about to happen and what is currently happening." The mysterious man picked up the cigarettes on the table and lit a cigarette for himself.

"I have heard a lot of self-righteous words, but no one can override the law, no matter the reason!"

"The justice of the law is a kind of faith for you, so you never dared to question it. Even in your dreams, you will unconsciously defend it... Song Lang, I’m not your enemy. I didn’t appear here to persuade you either. This is just a notification. I will take action. I will take action to correct this sinful city. You can stop me if you can find me."

With a mysterious smile, he got up and left. Chen Shi shouted at his back, "Hey, you took my cigarettes away!"

"I’ll return it to you next time." The man waved goodbye.

Chen Shi was baffled. He sat down, intending to continue to engage in a few rounds of Red Alert. It was quite nice playing games in his dreams. He should just play until he woke up so as not to encounter any more strange things.

At this time, a window popped up on the screen. "Want to experience other people's dreams? YES/NO"

"Ai, this damn dream!" Curiosity drove Chen Shi to click YES.

A whirlpool appeared on the computer, sucking him in. Then, he got to a door that seemed familiar to him. Inside the door came a seemingly very intimate conversation between a man and a woman.

"Do you like it like this?"

"Yes, I like it."

"I'll try it from the back... Ah!"

Curiously, Chen Shi opened the door and saw Xin Bai moving a chest of drawers while panting. His beautiful female neighbor stood to the side. Xin Bai's thin and small physique was already sweating profusely from moving the drawers. The female neighbor said, "Mr. Bai, if it really doesn't work, I can find a moving company!"

"No need. No need. There’s no need to do that. I can completely move these drawers... Hey, go!" He pushed hard and the chest of drawers slid out a short distance.

Chen Shi wanted to laugh. He walked over and said, "Weakling, let me help you!"

He put his hand on the chest of drawers, but couldn't push it at all. He said in his heart, Damn, why are these drawers so heavy?

Then, he found that neither Xin Bai nor the female neighbor were aware of his appearance and were talking amongst themselves.

Chen Shi tried to grab an apple off a plate. The apple was as though it was welded down. It couldn't be picked up no matter what. This was someone else's dream, and he couldn't interfere with the laws of physics.

Xin Bai was tired and sweating, so he sat down. The female neighbor took out a towel to wipe the sweat off of him and asked, "It's hot, do you want something to drink?"

"A Coke, thank you!"

"I don't have Coke in my house. I'm afraid that the baby will have a cavity. Mr. Bai, how old are you to drink this kind of thing?"

"No, no, I don't actually like to drink it. Please give me whatever you want."

Although it was an ordinary conversation, the two of them constantly released mixed signals towards each other through their eyes. Chen Shi thought, It's fake. This is just a dream, and this part must have never happened in reality.

At this moment, the window exploded. Yes, it indeed exploded!

A man came out from the flying fragments. He was Xu Guolong, who had imprisoned Xin Bai. He smiled coldly and said, "Writer baby, did you miss me?"

"Ah, run! I'll protect you!" Xin Bai bravely guarded the female neighbor.

The female neighbor behind him was motionless and her face slowly melted like wax oil. She was turning into another person. It was Lan Xiao, who bullied Xin Bai as a child.

Lan Xiao put a hand on Xin Bai's shoulder and said with a grin, "Little Cowlick, I’ve been looking for you again."

"Ah!"

Xin Bai screamed, slammed the door, and ran away. Chen Shi also ran, not because he wanted to run, but his body moved involuntarily.

He thought about the reasons for this. The perspective of dreams was always focused on the dreamer, so he was forced to move along.

As they ran out into the housing community, the two assailants chased after them. For some reason, there were suddenly two knives in their hands. However, when they looked out into the distance, they would find that there was no scene in front of them at all. It was just an area of nothingness.

After running away, even the building behind them disappeared.

The stage of the dream was set in a small space a dozen meters around Xin Bai.

Xin Bai jumped into a bush, holding his head and trembling. Suddenly, he looked up at Chen Shi. His eyes were full of surprise. Chen Shi wasn’t sure whether Xin Bai was looking at himself or if there was something behind him.

The ground under his feet suddenly began to soften, as if turning into a muddy swamp, and the two of them sank together. Chen Shi had a strong feeling that Xin Bai was about to wake up.

Wait, since this is Xin Bai's dream, what will happen if I wake up with him...?

1. The game is called Command and Conquer: Red Alert.