Translator: Cinder Translations
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The fat man, realizing that Jiang Cheng had saved his life during this mission, likely understood that his survival this time was due to Jiang Cheng's help. He probably wouldn't have such luck next time.
His face showed embarrassment after being exposed. Jiang Cheng quickly searched him but found nothing special, so he released him and turned on the light above.
The fat man leaned against the wall, rubbing his arm, and looked around Jiang Cheng's workspace.
"Brother," the fat man stretched his neck, noticing a few medical records on the desk, and asked, "Are you a doctor?"
"Yes."
"What's your specialty?"
Jiang Cheng walked to the desk, sat down, and raised his head, saying, "I specialize in curing disobedience."
The fat man swallowed hard, as if he wanted to say more, but kept his mouth shut and obediently sat on the sofa opposite Jiang Cheng, as instructed.
The sofa looked quite old, with cracked armrests. One side seemed foldable, turning it into a bed.
Sometimes, Jiang Cheng would ask patients to lie there to relax during consultations.
Through their conversation, Jiang Cheng learned the fat man's name was Wang Fugui. Over the years, he had done various jobs, the most recent being a long-haul truck driver. However, due to some reasons, he had quit. He lived in Echeng, a city far from Rongcheng.
Wang said this was his first time entering the nightmare world.
Jiang Cheng questioned why he was so well-dressed and carrying an umbrella — not exactly typical attire for sleeping.
Scratching his head awkwardly, Wang explained that he had a huge argument with his boss over withheld wages. Afterward, he was kicked out of the staff dormitory. With no money for a hotel, he found a small park to pass the night but unexpectedly...
Jiang Cheng understood that Wang wanted to say he hadn't expected to enter that eerie place as soon as he fell asleep.
"Was it also through a door?" Jiang Cheng asked.
"Yes," Wang nodded, his face turning grim. "The door appeared on a wall in the park, but I'm sure there was no door there before."
Like Jiang Cheng's experience, it seemed everyone who entered the dream world came through a previously nonexistent door, though the location varied.
Jiang Cheng glanced at the time. It was now early morning.
Turning to Wang, Jiang Cheng said seriously, "You can stay until daybreak, but after that, you must leave."
Wang stared at Jiang Cheng pitifully.
But Jiang Cheng didn't waver. After speaking, he ignored Wang, pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket that had been folded many times, and laid it flat on the desk.
Wang craned his neck to see but eventually couldn't resist and came over to look.
It was a newspaper. The paper had yellowed slightly, and much of the text had become blurred. Jiang Cheng flipped it over, revealing a bold headline on the back: **"Villa Murder Case Solved, Entire Family of Killers Drowns in River."**
The article detailed the case.
The villa's male and female owners, along with their two daughters, were all heretics. The man drove a bus disguised as a tourist vehicle to lure unsuspecting victims to their secluded forest villa. One daughter posed as a tour guide, while the other posted bait online. The wife coordinated the entire operation.
They imprisoned and tortured their victims in the villa. In just one month, the local police received multiple missing persons reports.
One case involved twin brothers.
Eventually, the police traced the missing persons' movements and discovered the hidden villa in the forest. However, the keen criminals fled with three victims just before being caught.
Late at night, they sped down a remote road in the bus, but due to a storm that had washed away part of the road, the bus skidded into a nearby river.
When found, the entire family of four and the three victims had all drowned.
It seemed this was the backstory of the previous mission, or perhaps the truth.
But what intrigued Jiang Cheng more were the photos below. One showed the corpse of a drowned man, likely released at the police's request.
The accompanying text stated that the identity of the body was still undetermined, and anyone with relevant information was urged to contact the police.
From the photo, the man appeared tall and well-built. His face was blurred, possibly due to tampering, but his black collared leather jacket was striking. There were also pictures of other items found on the deceased.
Wang's gaze slowly moved down until he saw a pocket watch, at which point he froze, then became excited. "Doctor, this is—"
Jiang Cheng cut him off, "Looks like Fan Li."
The newspaper was dated June 1, 2006, meaning the case happened 14 years ago. Fan Li had died in a past timeline.
No wonder the police couldn't find any information about him back then.
"So, every nightmare world really existed, and the door sends us back in time to relive what those people went through?" Wang asked in astonishment.
Jiang Cheng thought for a moment and replied, "It's possible, but one example doesn't prove the rule. We've only been through one nightmare so far, so it's too early to draw conclusions."
"Also, there's something inaccurate in what you said," Jiang Cheng folded the newspaper and looked at Wang. "Even if the door does send us back, we're only reliving the victims' tragedies, or another nightmare."
Wang thought for a bit and realized Jiang Cheng was right. Since it was called the nightmare world in the last mission, it was clearly terrifying, and each time would be a life-and-death struggle.
Sister Nuan and Fan Li had clearly survived at least one mission but still ended up dead at the hands of that ghost.
"Doctor," Wang's lips trembled. "Do you remember how there was water wherever the ghost appeared in the villa?"
Jiang Cheng nodded. "Since the family died by drowning, they kept that trait even as ghosts."
Wang nodded with a pale face, then suddenly seemed to remember something, staring at the newspaper in Jiang Cheng's hand.
Noticing Jiang Cheng's wary expression, Wang quickly explained, "Don't get me wrong, Doctor. I just want to know where you got that newspaper."
Jiang Cheng answered casually, "Chen Xiaomeng gave it to me."
"Her?" Wang looked doubtful. "Doctor, I may not be as smart as you, but I'm not stupid either. If she really had this, she'd sooner burn it than give it to you."
(End of the chapter)
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