Chapter 2: The Illness That Grows Mental Power Infinitely
Su Mu sat at his desk after waking up, his crimson blood dripping from his nose onto the pristine white pages of his notebook. The splattered patterns bore a strange aesthetic beauty.
A sickly flush of red colored his cheeks as violent headaches caused his body to tremble uncontrollably. Yet, he smiled—like a predator finding an intriguing prey.
Grabbing a pen, he quickly scribbled in his blood-stained notebook:
"Seven days! I have seven days left to live!
After waking up from the dream for the 368th time, my mental power has once again grown. As I speculated, every time I dream, my mental power increases—not by fixed increments like +1, +1, +1—but exponentially by percentage!
Although I can't quantify the exact increase due to the lack of a standard measurement for mental power, I estimate it to be approximately 1% per dream."
Pausing for a moment, Su Mu added another conclusion to his notes:
**"Conclusion 4 regarding the dream hypothesis:**
Dreams possess the ability to restore and enhance mental power. Even if mental power is completely depleted while awake, a single dream can fully replenish it and increase the total mental power by 1% (the increase is unrelated to whether mental power was consumed prior)."
He set the pen down and reviewed his earlier conclusions:
1. **As long as I fall asleep, I will dream, and after waking up, my total mental power will always increase. This can be avoided by not sleeping.**
2. **In the dream, activities that expend effort and cause emotional fluctuations—such as reading, learning, seeking thrills, indulging pleasures, or destroying the dream world—can effectively consume mental power.**
3. **The body is like a container, and mental power is like water. Once the mental power exceeds the body's capacity, severe damage will occur. Manifestations include headaches, tinnitus, nosebleeds, fatigue, muscle atrophy, and more.**
With a sharp snap, Su Mu closed the notebook. He was acutely aware of his situation: he was ill—an illness that caused his mental power to grow infinitely. However, his frail body could no longer bear the rapidly increasing mental power, and he had only seven days left to live.
The solution was simple: strengthen his body to endure the immense mental power. Yet, given his current physical condition, conventional training methods were entirely useless—akin to asking a terminally ill patient to engage in intense physical exercise, which would only hasten their demise.
For now, his only option was to consume large amounts of mental power daily to alleviate the pressure on his body.
To put it simply, Su Mu's situation was like an overfilled bladder, and his mental power was the urine. Every day, his "bladder" was on the brink of bursting. In such a state, even walking was difficult. Only by "releasing" the "urine" could he return to normalcy, but after a single sleep, the "bladder" would fill up again—and with 1% more "urine" than before.
This explained why he indulged in his dreams with twelve stunning women, studied books, and destroyed the dream world—he was consuming mental power.
Now, having woken up, his mental power was full again—and even stronger than before.
As his splitting headache eased slightly, Su Mu slumped onto his desk, chest heaving, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
---
Meanwhile, a sleek, luxurious black sedan pulled up in front of the rundown apartment building.
Passersby couldn't help but glance at the car in curiosity—such an extravagant vehicle was rarely seen in District Thirteen.
When the car door opened, onlookers quickly averted their gazes in fear.
Two burly men in black suits, their necks adorned with tattoos of black vipers, stepped out. Their presence exuded menace, their sharp gazes sweeping the surroundings. The terrified pedestrians quickly looked away, unwilling to meet their eyes.
The men radiated an aura of brutality. However, what truly frightened the onlookers was the black viper tattoo—a symbol of the infamous **Viper Gang**.
The Viper Gang, known for their ruthless and cruel methods, was the most notorious gang in District Thirteen. Those targeted by them rarely lived to see another day.
Ignoring the fearful stares, the two gang members retrieved a wheelchair from the car and entered the dilapidated building.
Once they disappeared from view, the pedestrians collectively sighed in relief, whispering among themselves:
"Why is the Viper Gang here?"
"They must be here to collect a loan! Didn't you see the wheelchair? They're probably planning to break someone's legs."
"Borrowing money from the Viper Gang is a death sentence. What were they thinking?"
"Maybe they had no other choice. In times like these, desperation drives people to do reckless things."
"Let's go. It's not safe to stick around; we don't want to get caught in the crossfire."
The crowd quickly dispersed.
---
Moments later, the door to Su Mu's apartment was pushed open. The two men in suits entered, their eyes scanning the room before locking onto his bedroom.
Hearing the noise, Su Mu turned and saw the men standing like imposing sentinels at his doorway.
"Boss!" the two called out fervently.
Su Mu frowned. "How many times have I told you? Use proper titles, not your gang's slang!"
The men flinched and hastily corrected themselves. "Yes, Leader!"
Satisfied, Su Mu grabbed a pair of tea-colored glasses from the table and put them on. Behind the lenses, his deep, enigmatic eyes became even more elusive, enhancing his vampire-like aura of mystery.
He then attempted to stand, but dizziness overwhelmed him, forcing him back into his chair.
"Help me up," he ordered flatly.
The men rushed forward, carefully placing him in the wheelchair.
---
Shortly after, Su Mu was seated in the wheelchair and carried into the luxurious car.