"I invited Lily over as a guest," Sam began, his voice calm yet edged with faint mockery. "I offered her fine wine and steak. And how did you respond? By barging in uninvited and creating a mess."
Ethan's expression darkened instantly. "What are you planning now?!"
Clang! Clang!
The chains binding him rattled violently as his anger flared.
"Nothing much," Sam replied nonchalantly. "Just asking for a small, insignificant compensation."
Ethan's chest heaved, his temper barely restrained. Gritting his teeth, he spat, "Compensation? You captured me, and now you want compensation?!"
Sam tilted his head slightly, his expression one of exaggerated surprise.
"Breaking into someone's home and causing a massacre… Tell me, don't you think that deserves compensation?"
"Invited? That was a kidnapping!" Ethan retorted, his fury evident.
"All I did was make a phone call to extend an invitation to Miss Lily. Nothing more."
"You threatened her!"
"Let's not get bogged down in such trivial details," Sam interrupted, waving his hand dismissively. "Just answer—will you compensate me or not?"
"…Fine," Ethan growled, his face ashen.
Though Ethan wasn't particularly bright, he understood one truth all too well: Sam held all the power. He was in no position to refuse.
Sam nodded in satisfaction. "Considering you're flat broke, the only thing you have to offer is your body. So… three years of service to me will suffice as compensation."
To Sam, three years was more than enough. He already had Ethan under his thumb now; three years later, with his rapidly growing psychic abilities, controlling him would be trivial—assuming, of course, he lived that long.
"Work for you?" Ethan's expression eased slightly. This implied that he wouldn't be killed for the time being, and more importantly, Lily would remain unharmed. For now, he decided to feign agreement, planning to bide his time and wait for an opportunity to take revenge.
Sam seemed to see through his thoughts. His tone turned icy as he said, "You're aware of my abilities, aren't you? Dealing with someone like Lily—a mere ordinary person—is child's play. To be frank, I've already implanted a thought in her mind… a suicidal thought.
"If you even consider betraying me, Lily will take her own life at my command."
Ethan's expression shifted dramatically. "You bastard! Don't you dare hurt Lily! If you have a problem, take it out on me!"
"How touching," Sam said with an air of mock admiration. "True love, isn't it? In that case, you should be even more considerate of her well-being. She loves you so much that she even dared to betray me for you. Such a wonderful woman—her life or death hangs on the edge of your choices.
"Agree to work for me for three years, and at the end of it, I'll set you both free."
Ethan's face was dark with conflict as he stood in brooding silence for what felt like an eternity. Finally, he growled, "Fine. I'll do it. But if you break your promise or harm Lily, I swear, even if it costs me my life, I'll make you pay!"
Sam's smile widened. "Good cooperation."
Behind the tea-tinted glasses, his eyes gleamed faintly with a subtle, unreadable light.
Invisible waves of psychic energy rippled through the room, emanating from Sam as he subtly reinforced his influence over Ethan Reed.
He was planting a psychological suggestion, strengthening a specific thought in Ethan's mind.
At this moment, Ethan faced two paths. The first was to trust Sam's promise of freedom after three years and sincerely cooperate. The second was to distrust him and pretend to cooperate while secretly plotting betrayal.
The purpose of the psychological suggestion was to bolster the inclination toward genuine cooperation, making Ethan more likely to choose the first path.
"Who do you want me to kill?" Ethan asked warily. "Your rivals?"
"There's no need for violence. Who said a gang leader has to resort to killing?" Sam replied with a calm smile. "I'm actually quite the pacifist. And your job doesn't involve killing anyone."
"That's hard to believe coming from you."
"Your first task is to help me enter the Nightmare World."
Ethan froze, his body tensing as silence fell over the room.
After a long pause, he finally spoke. "Even if I wanted to help, do you even understand what entering the Nightmare World means?"
"Spare me the dramatics. I know what I'm doing," Sam said dismissively. "If my guess is correct, you felt a sense of foreboding during class before—a sudden palpitation, as if sensing your return to the Nightmare World?"
Ethan's lips pressed into a thin line, but after a moment, he nodded silently.
After another long pause, he finally added, "Nightmare Apostles can sense when they're about to return to the Nightmare World. Usually, we enter two or three days after that initial feeling."
"Earlier, you mentioned that entering the Nightmare World happens through sleeping and dreaming," Sam said thoughtfully. "What happens if you don't sleep?"
"Not sleeping can delay the process," Ethan replied, his tone weary. "But who can go without sleep forever? A person will die if they don't sleep."
Sam didn't comment on this point. In a world where transcendent beings existed, someone surviving without sleep wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility. However, Ethan's understanding was limited—he had only recently been exposed to the world of the transcendent.
"When you enter the Nightmare World, is it just your mind entering, leaving your body behind in the real world? Or do both your mind and body enter?"
Ethan shook his head. "I don't know. I've only been to the Nightmare World once. And who could check if their body is still lying in bed while they're asleep?"
Behind his tea-tinted glasses, Sam's eyes gleamed faintly as a thought struck him.
When I enter that dream where my psychic power grows endlessly… is my body still in bed, or does it vanish?
The answer would be simple enough to find—he could set up a camera in his bedroom.
But now wasn't the time to test this theory.
Ethan continued, "I think both mind and body enter. The Nightmare World feels completely real, like stepping into another dimension. Injuries sustained there carry over to the real world when you return."
"So, you said earlier that Nightmare Apostles enter the Nightmare World within two to three days. Today should be the third day, right?"
"Yeah," Ethan replied with a grim nod. "I didn't sleep last night; otherwise, I probably would've entered then."
"Why didn't you sleep last night?"
"Because of you!" Ethan's eyes blazed with fury as he shouted, "Why didn't I sleep? Maybe because you made me do math all night!"
A faint, enigmatic smile curved on Sam's lips. "Alright, let's not dwell on such trivial details. Just be ready to help me enter the Nightmare World."
Ethan scowled deeply. "That's impossible. The Nightmare World is entered randomly. As far as I know, no one can willingly choose to go there."
Sam's smile widened. "Don't worry about that. I have my own plans."
Nightfall.
Inside an opulent room, more than a dozen black-clad men stood in a perfect line under Ryan Cole's supervision.
"Chief, as per your instructions, I've gathered the elites of the Vipers," Ryan reported respectfully.
Sam scrutinized the group carefully. Each man was built like a tank, their physiques imposing and exuding a faint aura of menace. Their expressions were hard and focused, and their waists bulged slightly, indicating the firearms they carried.
"Good," Sam said, a satisfied glint in his eyes. "We'll need them for tonight's experiment."
At that moment, one of the men—a bald, eyebrow-less figure with a faint lipstick mark still visible on his cheek—sneered disdainfully.
"The Nightmare World doesn't care how many people you bring, these useless fools along will just weigh you down." he said, his tone dripping with scorn. "Oh, and that's assuming you even have a way to bring this many people into the Nightmare World in the first place."