The sheep-headed humanoid monster staggered back slightly under Gu Jiu’s shove. Its crimson eyes fixated on her as it advanced once again.
Gu Jiu frowned, quickly sensing that something was off in her surroundings.
She was in an endless, empty space, stretching infinitely in all directions. It felt as if only she and the sheep-headed creature existed in this vast, surreal world.
Logically, she should still be lying on that narrow bed in the game world, in her tiny 1.2-meter-wide bed. Even if this monster had somehow taken her away, she should have sensed something. And where was Lu Ji? With her high vigilance, there’s no way she wouldn’t notice if a supernatural entity intruded.
Thus, she concluded this must be a dream world.
Either she was in her own dream, or this was the monster’s dream; it remained unclear who had invaded whom.
Quickly sorting out her thoughts, Gu Jiu stood up. Seeing the creature approaching again, she unhesitatingly summoned her Banshee’s Armor and grabbed the horns on its ram head.
Her slender, fair hand looked almost delicate, but once she seized the horns, no matter how the creature struggled, it couldn’t move an inch.
Gu Jiu smirked and said, “Whether this is your dream or mine, you’re getting me out of here now!”
The sheep-headed creature let out a ragged, heavy breath, its red eyes glaring at her with a ferocious gleam.
Suddenly, Gu Jiu released her grip and swiftly stepped back.
She watched as the creature opened its mouth wide, its jaws stretching grotesquely, taking up most of its head. The sharp teeth jutted out past its lips, and if Gu Jiu hadn’t let go just then, she’d likely have been bitten.
With its mouth open, thick saliva dripped from the creature’s maw as it lunged toward her, intent on sinking its fangs into her.
Gu Jiu swiped at it with her claws.
The Banshee’s Armor was supposed to suppress all evil beings, but strangely, it seemed ineffective here. No matter how she attacked, the sheep-headed creature pressed on relentlessly, undeterred even as it took damage. Its wide-open mouth seemed determined to devour her.
Fortunately, Gu Jiu’s three days of training in the Boundless City had sharpened her stamina and reflexes, or she might have already been bitten.
After a few skirmishes, Gu Jiu had a thought. She summoned a small, blood-red pellet, no bigger than her thumb.
This was a Red Vine Seed, with a shell as crimson as flowing blood, exuding an ominous aura. When Gu Jiu brandished it, she noticed the creature’s gaze shift to the pellet, its eyes flickering with a fierce red gleam, its breath coming in heavy snorts as its aggression surged.
Before it could go berserk and charge at her, Gu Jiu flung the Red Vine Seed aside.
The creature’s legs sprang into action, pouncing after it, its massive jaws catching the seed mid-air.
As soon as it swallowed the seed, the creature grew calm, lying docilely on the ground, chewing the pellet gently. It seemed almost tame.
From a safe distance, Gu Jiu observed it, watching as the space around her began to dissolve like mist…
×××
When she opened her eyes again, the first thing she saw was the familiar, stained ceiling above her and the grimy incandescent bulb.
This was the same cramped room in the game world, the one she had stared at countless times before drifting off.
“Ah Jiu, are you alright?”
Gu Jiu turned her head to see Lu Ji, who was already sitting up beside her, leaning over with a hint of concern on her face. When she saw her awake, she visibly sighed in relief.
Sitting up with the blanket wrapped around her, Gu Jiu said, “Ah Ji, I was just pulled into a dream. There was a sheep-headed creature in it, and none of my attacks worked on it. I could only escape after using a Red Vine Seed.”
Lu Ji’s brow furrowed slightly.
“So the Red Vine Seed the game provided was meant to be used here. That sheep-headed creature does align with the theme of ‘Seven Little Sheep’—after all, it has a sheep’s head.” Gu Jiu smiled.
“But I’m curious about why it appears in players’ dreams instead of in the real game world. Maybe it can’t manifest normally and can only show up in a dream state?”
Lu Ji didn’t respond, and he knew she was mostly thinking out loud.
Then she added, “Ah Ji, I’m going to try sleeping again and see what happens.”
Lu Ji opened his mouth, but in the end, all he could say was, “Be careful.”
Gu Jiu gave him a soft smile before lying back down and drifting quickly into sleep once more.
Lu Ji remained awake, worried that she might face danger in the dream, but he couldn’t intervene in every player’s actions, nor could he give her any hints. All he could do was watch over her.
×××
Gu Jiu opened her eyes again and saw the sheep-headed creature once more, confirming her suspicions.
As she thought, any time a player falls asleep, they get drawn into the dream world to face this creature. And in the dream world, no attacks work on it; only feeding it a Red Vine Seed can release you from the dream. Otherwise, it will continue to attack and attempt to tear you apart.
If a player dies from an attack in the dream, they die for real.
The dream is another kind of reality.
Gu Jiu didn’t try to fight it this time. Instead, she fed it another Red Vine Seed and exited the dream.
When she awoke, she shared her discovery with Lu Ji.
Her brows knit tightly together. “So, players can’t sleep normally?”
If a player goes three days without sleep, they’ll likely be physically and mentally exhausted, and their irritability would skyrocket, making everything they do more challenging and more dangerous.
That’s why the game’s mission was to survive for three days; three days is the limit.
But Lu Ji knew just how particular this young lady could be. Forcing her to stay awake for three days was practically a death sentence.
Holding the remaining two Red Vine Seeds, Gu Jiu sighed, “I’ve already used two of these, and with just two left, it’s clearly not enough.”
Seeing her sigh like that made Lu Ji uncomfortable.
“Why don’t you try sleeping again? You can use my Red Vine Seeds if you need them.” Though she’d face the sheep-headed creature in the dream, at least she’d get some rest.
Gu Jiu shook her head and glanced at her phone. “It’s only two hours until dawn. Let’s just wait until morning.”
Lu Ji didn’t press her any further and sat beside her, waiting for the dawn.
When the sun finally rose, the sky outside remained as dark as night.
They gauged dawn by the chime of an old clock in the building. In the living room stood a vintage clock, its hour, minute, and second hands frozen as if broken. Yet, each night and at dawn, it chimed once, reminding players of the time.
Gu Jiu and Lu Ji opened their door and stepped out, finding others emerging as well.
Everyone looked exhausted, clearly having had a rough night. The seasoned players, in particular, bore visible scratches and bruises.
The group gathered around the dining table in the living room, exchanging glances and studying each other’s expressions.
Ying Tong broke the silence. “Last night, when you fell asleep, you encountered that sheep-headed creature in your dreams, right?”
“We did,” answered one of the seasoned players.
Fatty grumbled, “Every time you fall asleep, you end up in that dream with it. I wasted two Red Vine Seeds just to wake up.”
“Same here!” another player chimed in. “When I woke up the first time, I thought maybe the creature wouldn’t appear again. But as soon as I went back to sleep, there it was, and I had to use a second Red Vine Seed.”
The other seasoned players shared similar experiences. Having wasted two seeds each, they no longer dared to sleep, wary of depleting their stock of Red Vine Seeds and leaving themselves defenseless against whatever dangers might come.
Players had learned to keep something in reserve.
Ying Tong turned to the newcomers. “What about you?”
The newcomers shook their heads. They hadn’t been pulled into the dream, but there had been strange movements outside their doors all night, making it impossible to sleep well. Too afraid to open the door, they endured a restless night.
Thankfully, they hadn’t been dragged into the dream with the sheep-headed creature. In their current state, they wouldn’t have stood a chance.
After confirming the situation, Ying Tong mused, “It seems this game instance is more dangerous than expected. Besides the ghosts, there’s now an invincible sheep-headed creature in the dream. I wonder if it’s the boss of this instance…”
The other players wore disheartened expressions.
The game had offered minimal clues so far. Despite being here for a full day and night, they were still in the dark.
Fatty muttered, “This game is way too stingy. It only lets each player buy four Red Vine Seeds. If we could get more, we wouldn’t be in such a bind.”
With two seeds already used for testing, having only two left made everyone uneasy.
The others nodded in agreement.
Gu Jiu stayed silent. Even if the game allowed more purchases, she didn’t have enough points to buy them.
As they talked, the landlord appeared again, almost ghostly. His gaze swept over the players, noting no one was missing, and a disappointed look crossed his face.
“It seems you’re quite lucky, making it through the first night unscathed.”
As he spoke, his eyes lingered on Gu Jiu for a moment.
Gu Jiu, her temper flaring, snapped, “What are you looking at me for? One more look, and I’ll gouge your eyes out!”
The landlord gave her a sinister smile and replied coldly, “Let’s hope your luck holds tonight.”
With that, he headed to the kitchen, returning with bowls of ominous, blood-streaked mush.
“This is your breakfast!” the landlord announced indifferently. Without waiting to see if the players would eat, he turned and left.
“Dump it all. We’re not eating anything served by that lowlife,” Gu Jiu said irritably.
The brothers and Tu Shuai, took the bowls back to the kitchen. Then everyone sat together and shared bread for breakfast instead.
After breakfast, the players dispersed to search the house again.
Though it wasn’t certain they’d find anything, the tight timeframe of two remaining days meant they had no choice but to take action. They needed to uncover any hidden information in the game world that could improve their chances of survival.
Gu Jiu decided to check out the third floor.
Fatty and his group had gone up there yesterday, claiming there was nothing unusual, but Gu Jiu still preferred to see it for herself.
Lu Ji went along with her. He glanced back, stopping the flirty Tu Shuai in his tracks with a single look.
With a bruised face, Tu Shuai felt an inexplicable fear of her. At this point, he no longer entertained any thoughts of flirting with Gu Jiu; he simply wanted to stick close to her for protection, hoping to make it out of the game world alive. After being brutalized by the game’s dangers, the playboy had lost any notions of romance, resigned to just surviving.
When they reached the third floor, they found it was identical to the second floor.
Gu Jiu entered the third-floor living room and glanced at the wall, noticing there was no clock hanging there.
They inspected each room, finding every one of them filthy and chaotic, just like the rooms on the second floor that hadn’t been cleaned yesterday. It was as if the third floor was a duplicate of the second.
As they passed by the kitchen, a faint shuffling sound caught their attention.
Gu Jiu paused and moved toward the kitchen.
The lights on the third floor didn’t work, so they had to rely on flashlights. As her flashlight beam swept over the kitchen, it illuminated a figure crouched in front of a garbage can, seemingly rummaging for scraps and making an eerie chewing sound.
“Who’s there?” Gu Jiu called out.
The crouched figure didn’t respond, as if it hadn’t heard her.
Gu Jiu pulled out a packaged bread roll and tossed it at the figure, hitting it squarely on the back.
The figure stiffly turned its head toward the kitchen entrance, revealing a pale, ghastly face with lifeless features and a fragment of something fresh and bloody—possibly an intestine—dangling from its mouth.
With an expressionless face, Gu Jiu said, “Ah Ji, let your paper frog devour this thing.”
From the corner of the room, the paper frog emerged, hopping into the kitchen. It opened its wide mouth toward the male ghost, who was gnawing on what looked like a human organ, and swallowed him whole.