Vol. 1 Chapter 20.2 – Fresh Flowers Scorched Earth Campus. (20)

Yin Liuming slowly reached into his bag.
Chu Dong stared at him intently. Even Ning Yuanyuan subconsciously held her breath.
—What item would Yin Liuming use to turn the tables?
Yin Liuming pulled out a bundle of tied ivy from his bag and suddenly tossed it into the Flames of Rage and Regret. “Here’s your return gift.”
Chu Dong was stunned for a moment, then visibly surprised.
—Teacher Yin’s still thinking about completing the side mission at a time like this?
Even though she was the dreamer of this world, she still had to follow the rules of the dream.
She’d been wanting to find the ivy that symbolized the souls of Yan Hang and the others, but had never succeeded.
Now, seeing those ivy vines, a layer of frost appeared on Chu Dong’s face. She pointed with a finger, and countless Flames of Rage and Regret surged forward, completely engulfing the ivy.
From the ivy came shrill screams, like those of a human crying in agony—but the screams quickly faded away.
In an instant, the six ivy vines withered into dry branches and fell into Chu Dong’s hands.
Chu Dong smiled in satisfaction. “Thank you, Teacher Yin… With these, I won’t have to rely on that repeated cycle anymore to burn Yan Hang to death.”
Her dream plot had to go through a full cycle before it could reach the ending where Yan Hang and the others were burned to death. But now that she had control over Yan Hang’s soul, she could trap him in one place forever, forcing him to endure endless torment and suffering.
Yin Liuming also showed a pleased smile. “I think it’s pretty good too.”
In his ear, the loudspeaker crackled twice, followed by a mechanical voice:
[Side mission complete. Chu Dong received six return gifts and is very satisfied. Rewarding player: 6 points.]
The earlier phase of the main mission had only awarded 1 point, but now he got 6 all at once—proving how generous the rewards for side missions could be.
Yin Liuming leisurely pulled out his illustration book and lightly placed a finger on it. “Chu Dong, in your dream, everyone has their own flower, right?”
Chu Dong tensed. “You want to target my flower? Too bad—my ivy is hidden in the flowerbed. Even if you send Teacher Chi to search, he won’t find it.”
“I don’t need to know the exact location.”
A light blue mark glowed in the center of Yin Liuming’s palm. He smiled gently at Chu Dong. “Knowing the general area is enough.”
With that, he activated the Flames of Rage and Regret ability from his illustration book, infusing it with the power Shen Lou had given him earlier.
In an instant, a bright golden flame-rose bloomed in his palm. Then, as if alive, it passed straight through the wall behind him, vanishing into the office building.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion came from outside. Even from far away, the tremor made the walls around Yin Liuming shed layers of dust.
Almost at the same time, both Yin Liuming and Ning Yuanyuan felt a strange shift—as if the entire dream’s restraints had suddenly disappeared. Time started flowing normally again, and even the creepy corridor was bathed in clear moonlight.
Chu Dong froze for a split second. Then her face changed dramatically, her eyes wide, mouth open in a scream of “No!”, and she collapsed backward!
Director Jiang and Qi Xiaobei instinctively caught her as she fell.
The small sparks drifting between them turned into tiny glowing fireflies and vanished into the darkness of the corridor.
Yin Liuming put the illustration book away calmly and slipped it into his pocket. “Done.”
Ning Yuanyuan almost dropped her cigarette, looking at him in shock.
She’d seen all kinds of props before, and she knew there were many that could pull this off—but how did a newcomer to the game already have access to one?
However, seeing that Yin Liuming clearly didn’t plan to explain, she only nodded. “No wonder Chi Xi didn’t show up tonight.”
It seemed that Yin Liuming had sent Chi Xi to look for the coordinates of the attack.
A while later, Chu Dong woke up from her faint. She opened her eyes and looked at Yin Liuming, her gaze complicated—part resentment, part sorrow, but mostly relief.
After a long silence, she pressed her lips together and said hoarsely, “Teacher Yin… you really are incredible.”
Yin Liuming stretched his legs and took a step forward.
The spell Ding Pei’an had cast had now worn off—they could move again.
He looked at Chu Dong and said flatly, “What good is it to keep torturing the Yan Hang you made up in a dream? You should return to reality. Don’t you want the real Yan Hang to be punished too?”
Chu Dong’s expression shifted, and she lowered her head, biting her lip.
Yin Liuming pinched the bridge of his nose and said expressionlessly, “Since it’s all taken care of, I’m going back to sleep.”
Almost the moment he finished speaking, daylight suddenly broke through—the world outside turned from night to day, and a lively morning broadcast for school exercises started playing.
Yin Liuming’s expression instantly turned sour.
Ning Yuanyuan couldn’t help bursting into laughter.
Caught under Yin Liuming’s unamused glare, Chu Dong blurted out instinctively, “It wasn’t me.”
She no longer had control over the dream—time moving fast had nothing to do with her anymore!
Yin Liuming took a slow breath and said with a stiff face, “Then let’s hurry up and start the exam.”
“The other students are all taking the exam in the classroom, Qi Xiaobei can take it here.” Director Jiang suddenly spoke up out of nowhere. “Just right, I’ll proctor for you.”
Qi Xiaobei looked up, a little lost. He hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Yin Liuming and Chi Xi, who had just rushed over from the flowerbed, set up desks and chairs in the corridor. They prepared answer sheets, 2B pencils, and black gel pens.
Director Jiang stood solemnly in front of Qi Xiaobei. His square face radiated a natural authority, his expression formal. Even though the corridor was charred from the fire, he acted as if they were in a real exam room.
Completely scorched and hardly even human in appearance, Qi Xiaobei sat quietly in his seat, struggling but patiently working through the exam.
Chu Dong stood to the side, watching the scene. She lowered her head, wiped away her tears, and sniffled.
A handkerchief was handed to her.
Chu Dong took it and softly said, “Thank you, Teacher Chi.”
Chi Xi had already heard the full story from Yin Liuming and Ning Yuanyuan. He felt deeply sorry for Chu Dong and encouraged her gently, “Don’t worry. I’ll help you.”
Chu Dong lowered her head and gave a quiet “Mhm.”
An hour and a half later, the exam bell rang. Qi Xiaobei turned in his paper.
After that, Qi Xiaobei also completed the subjects chosen by Ning Yuanyuan and Chi Xi.
Director Jiang carefully graded the papers with the answer key. He sighed and scolded out of habit, “Qi Xiaobei, it’s one thing not to know the logic questions, but you even got the math wrong? Didn’t I always teach you to get every point you can?”
Qi Xiaobei lowered his head and rubbed his hands nervously. “Sorry…”
Director Jiang placed the finished paper on the desk, entirely unfazed by the smell of burnt flesh and ash on Qi Xiaobei. He patted the boy’s shoulder and gave him a mild smile. “Forget the score. In my heart, for standing up bravely and speaking out for justice, you passed this exam without question.”
Qi Xiaobei looked up with a shy smile, glanced over at Yin Liuming, and smiled again.
He waved his hand, still wrapped in bandages, and said softly, “Thank you… Teacher Yin.”
As he finished speaking, his whole body turned into a cloud of black ash and drifted away gradually, like a withered butterfly.
At almost the same moment, Chu Dong suddenly collapsed as if drained, and disappeared from everyone’s sight.
Ding-dong!
Several small charms dropped to the floor, their smooth wooden surfaces tapping sharply against the ground.
Chi Xi froze for a second before Ning Yuanyuan dashed forward like an arrow and scooped the charms into her hand.
“Sister Ning?”
Ning Yuanyuan examined the charms carefully and let out a long breath. “Good, it’s the right one.”
Yin Liuming frowned and looked at her.
Ning Yuanyuan steadied her emotions, then flicked her hand, three of the charms landed in Yin Liuming’s hands. “Lucky you. There are four in total, or I might’ve had to fight you for them.”
Yin Liuming picked them up and glanced at them.
The charms were small hand-carved wooden Buddha figurines, strung together with red cotton thread in traditional Chinese knots. The craftsmanship was a bit rough, but the strange symbols etched on their backs gave them an eerie, mystical feel.
“What are these?”
“This is my goal for becoming a guide.” Ning Yuanyuan was clearly very happy, gently stroking the one remaining charm in her hand. “This thing is called a Wish Charm. It gives you a second chance to make a wish.”
“A second chance?”
“You guys entered the Nightmare Game because you qualified and because you have a wish, right?” Ning Yuanyuan said. “But maybe the Nightmare never told you… You can only make one wish in the Nightmare Game. After that, the system will kick you out.”
Chi Xi looked confused. “But after you get your wish, why would you want to stay?”
Yin Liuming understood and gently rubbed his chin. “Human desire is endless.”
Ning Yuanyuan nodded. “Exactly. The Nightmare can grant any wish you want. At first, maybe you only want one thing. However, the longer you stay, the more new desires you get—so the Wish Charm lets you make another wish. It still costs points, but it gives you another shot. Unfortunately, it’s super rare. I heard they only drop from full clears of certain high-difficulty novice dreams. That’s why I kept taking guide jobs and grinding missions—finally, I got one.”
‘Fresh Flowers Scorched Earth Campus’ was a very difficult dream for beginners. Just looking at the flowerbed full of dead players was enough to prove that.
Yin Liuming looked at the three charms in his hand and raised an eyebrow. “I thought you’d take them all.”
Who wouldn’t want more of these? Even if you didn’t use them yourself, rich players would pay good money for one.
Ning Yuanyuan gave a relaxed, open smile. “I only have one wish I can’t give up. In the Nightmare Game, the less greedy you are, the better your chances of staying alive.”
Yin Liuming nodded thoughtfully and tossed one charm to Chi Xi. “This one’s yours.”
Chi Xi fumbled to catch it, eyes wide. “Brother Yin?! I— I don’t deserve…”
“You contributed a lot.” Yin Liuming tossed the other two charms into the air and caught them again, waving it off. “Honestly, I don’t even need these right now. If I sell one later, I’ll give you a share of the points.”
The Nightmare illustration book already had a wish function.
“Brother Yin… thank you…”
As soon as the fate of the Wish Charms was decided, the loudspeaker chimed in at the right moment:
Dream ‘Fresh Flowers Scorched Earth Campus’ has been cleared. Two players died. One lost qualification. Three players passed.]
[Players who cleared the level are transferred to Haizhou, and the point calculation begins.]
Everything around them started to fade into nothingness—the office building, the walls, and the flowerbed outside all broke apart, dissolving into twinkling fragments of light.
The entire dream built from Chu Dong and Qi Xiaobei’s resentment disappeared completely.
They were surrounded by pure emptiness.
Within the void, lines of text slowly appeared in front of Yin Liuming.
[Fresh Flowers Scorched Earth Campus has disappeared. Dreamers: Chu Dong, Qi Xiaobei.]
[Player Yin Liuming has perfectly cleared ‘Fresh Flowers Scorched Earth Campus.’ Rating: S. Reward: 50 points.]
[Yin Liuming is officially recognized as a Nightmare Game player. Exchange system unlocked. Haizhou access granted.]
[Perfect clear on first entry. One bonus draw was awarded. Use it in your personal space in Haizhou.]
[Nightmare Illustration Book collection progress: Fresh Flowers Scorched Earth Campus — 100%.]
Yin Liuming took out his illustration book and found that the bottom two spaces on the page for Fresh Flowers Scorched Earth Campus were now filled in.
One was ‘Regretful Flower Girl,’ and the other was ‘Helpless Scorched Boy.’ Each displayed a portrait—Chu Dong and Qi Xiaobei, respectively.
Unlike the previous illustrations, these two had light bronze-colored frames, labeled with the word ‘BOSS’ below.
Yin Liuming blinked and tried placing his finger on them, but he didn’t receive the usual information pop-up.
“Bosses tied to the foundation of the dream won’t be taken into the illustration book.” Shen Lou appeared from the book at some point, casually adjusting his collar and sounding quite cheerful. “But if you clear the dream perfectly, you still get their illustrations.”
Yin Liuming recalled what the system had just said. “There were two dreamers?”
“That happens sometimes,” Shen Lou replied. “When two people have deep obsessions about the same event, their dreams can become entangled. Especially since Qi Xiaobei is already dead—he basically latched onto Chu Dong’s dream as a ghost, influencing her world.”
Yin Liuming frowned. “That sounds dangerous.”
“Of course. If she keeps sleeping inside a dream mixed with a dead soul, Chu Dong’s life will drain away quickly. If the Nightmare Game hadn’t let players in to break the cycle, she would’ve eventually died in the real world.”
Now that Chu Dong had been forcibly removed from the dream and Qi Xiaobei had peacefully passed on, everything had finally returned to the proper path.
Yin Liuming nodded, then seemed to remember something and raised an eyebrow. “You’re not restricted here?”
This was supposed to be the system zone of the Nightmare Game, wasn’t it?
Shen Lou chuckled. “I’m part of the Nightmare Game itself. Of course I can move freely here.”
He leaned down, gently flicked the little pom-pom on Yin Liuming’s sleeping cap, and smiled. “You did well. You completely collected every illustration in your first dream. I hope you’ll keep it up.”
Yin Liuming’s smile grew stiff. Without making a scene, he stepped back and took off the sleeping cap. “Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Shen.”
He turned toward the void and said to the system, “Take me to Haizhou.”
As his words fell, the surrounding space distorted again. When Yin Liuming blinked next, he was standing on a ship’s deck.
In front of them stretched an endlessly vast ocean—clear skies and blue sea, with gentle ripples across the waves. The salty scent of the sea breeze filled their nostrils, and flocks of seabirds could be seen flying in the distance.
Yin Liuming turned and saw Chi Xi and Ning Yuanyuan beside him.
Yang Jiao was nowhere to be seen—clearly expelled from the Nightmare Game for failing the mission.
Chi Xi stared at the sea and said blankly, “It really is… the ocean?”
Yin Liuming looked down and opened his phone’s GPS.
He hadn’t expected much, but to his surprise, the GPS displayed a precise location—10° South, 167° West.
In other words, he was standing in the heart of the Pacific Ocean.
“Did we return to reality?”
“We’re still in the game. You saw the GPS?” Ning Yuanyuan wasn’t surprised. She lit another cigarette and took a slow drag. “Someone tried that before—tried going to the coordinates in real life, but found nothing. Maybe it’s a fake coordinate the Nightmare gave you.”
Yin Liuming raised an eyebrow.
“Come with me. Let me show you around Haizhou.”
…….
“Haizhou is the gathering place for all Nightmare Game players. Don’t be fooled by how it looks like just a luxury cruise ship—the inside is actually huge.”
Ning Yuanyuan led Chi Xi and Yin Liuming down from the deck into the central hall.
Inside, the space opened up dramatically—it looked almost like a town square. In the center stood a circular service counter, surrounded by many players.
The ‘tourists’ on Haizhou or rather, players, were numerous. Most were lone wolves, some in small groups of two or three. Their eyes met with blank unfamiliarity; hardly anyone knew each other.
Ning Yuanyuan pointed to the bar counter in the center. “That’s the dream selection area. If you want to enter the next dream, you’ll need to go there and claim it.”
Then she pointed toward the corridor on the left. “That leads to the player market. You can sell any extras you’ve picked up. Just remember—it’s best to wear some kind of disguise, to avoid being targeted and robbed.”
Chi Xi flinched. “You can… kill people here?”
Ning Yuanyuan chuckled. “Of course not. But if you’re holding something valuable, someone might start eyeing you, then follow you into the next dream… There are countless ways to get people killed without getting their hands dirty. Don’t think all veteran players are as naive and sweet as Ding Pei’an.”
Chi Xi muttered, “Since when is he sweet and innocent.
Ning Yuanyuan gestured to the hallway on the right. “That leads to your personal space—your rest area. If you want to return to the real world, that’s the place too. I’m guessing what you want most right now is to go home and get a good night’s sleep.”
Chi Xi’s eyes brightened up instantly.
Ning Yuanyuan exhaled a graceful smoke ring and led them toward the right hallway.
The corridor was lined with an elegant wine-red carpet, and on both sides were doors that looked almost identical—just like the entrances of an apartment-style hotel.
Ning Yuanyuan said, “Pick any door you like.”
Chi Xi paused. “Ah? What if I walk into someone else’s place?”
“You won’t. The Nightmare Game’s rest areas are basically your own dreams. Once you open the door, you’ll enter your personal space.” Ning Yuanyuan winked. “It’s actually pretty fun inside. You can design it however you like—be your own dream painter. You’ll figure it out.”
Yin Liuming’s hand, resting on the doorknob, paused slightly.
He quietly applied pressure, and just as he suspected, the door didn’t budge.
Yin Liuming lowered his gaze a little.
He had never dreamed before.
So… he didn’t have a personal rest area—and he couldn’t return to the real world either?
Over there, Chi Xi had already opened his door but hadn’t stepped inside. He turned to look at Yin Liuming. “Brother Yin, aren’t you going to rest?”
Yin Liuming was turning over a few excuses in his head, just about to speak, when he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his hand.
A slender, translucent pale blue hand quietly reached out from his pocket, perfectly avoiding Chi Xi’s line of sight, and gently wrapped around the right hand that was still on the doorknob.
Click!
The door slowly creaked open.