Chapter 376

"You… you've gone too far!"

Seeing the veteran investigator curled up on the carpet like a shrimp, legs clenched tight, the female investigator who rushed in at his scream—her still-attractive face instantly flushed dark with rage.

"Senior Jamieu was such a kind person; he endured your insults multiple times without holding a grudge, and even told me not to let personal feelings interfere with work—how could you possibly treat him like this?!"

"…"

Could it be… I misread the situation just now?

Looking at the veteran investigator writhing on the ground, his groin struck hard, Li Ang hesitated slightly, then reached out to lift him up, his face tinged with regret:

"I'm sorry… I might've misunderstood. Are you alright?"

Am I alright? Don't you know exactly how bad I am?

Hearing Li Ang's sincere inquiry, the veteran investigator, drenched in cold sweat, managed a weak eye-roll, his lips trembling but saying nothing; beside him, the female investigator hurried over, helped him up, and glared at Li Ang with fury:

"Get away! I will report everything that happened today to headquarters!"

"…"

It really was my mistake…

Looking at the veteran investigator whose legs were still trembling uncontrollably, too pained to stand, Li Ang opened his mouth slightly, then bowed deeply with sincere apology.

Sorry—I stepped a bit too hard. But your parting remark just now? It reeked of a mastermind behind the scenes. If I hadn't tested you, I wouldn't have been able to sleep tonight.

Also, even though I misjudged you, you shouldn't have acted like a villain just for fun—you're not some big bad boss, so why pretend?

"What happened? What's wrong with him?"

The earlier scream and ensuing commotion had been loud enough to draw attention—not just from the cleaners who hadn't gone on duty, but even the red-haired director herself stepped out of her office, curious.

"You're just in time!"

Seeing the red-haired director emerge, the female investigator snapped angrily:

"Your Virgin Division has gone too far this time! You kicked Senior Jamieu in… there! Wait! When we get back, I'll demand justice for Senior Jamieu!"

Hmm? Threatening me?

Hearing the female investigator's words, the red-haired director, who had been about to ask for details, raised an eyebrow, then nodded indifferently:

"Fine. Don't let us see you off."

"You?!"

"If you're leaving, go now. We're busy. No time to waste on you."

Turning his gaze away from the two investigators, the red-haired director clapped his hands sharply, drawing everyone's attention, then announced solemnly:

"Everyone who hasn't been assigned a mission—come with me to the second-floor conference room. We've got a big job."

…

"Headquarters just sent word: the Dream Realm's position has shifted. The Abyss of Fallen Souls is about to coincide with the Kingdom."

Taking out over a dozen marked maps from the veteran investigator's folder, the red-haired director pinned them one by one onto the briefing board, then spoke gravely:

"When the Abyss of Fallen Souls overlaps with the real world, the connection between body and soul will be infinitely weakened; dream realm creatures and their abilities will be dramatically amplified.

According to the Watchtower's warning, the Black Cult of Nightmare will perform a descent ritual, attempting to aid the Nightmare King in invading the real world and spreading nightmares throughout the entire Kingdom. Our mission is to stop its descent!"

The Nightmare King?

Hearing the familiar name, Li Ang paused slightly, glanced around at the serious faces of the veteran cleaners, then reached out and gently gripped Emma's slightly tensed handback.

【Senior Emma, is the Nightmare King attempting to descend the same one who was exiled by the royal ancestors and cursed the royal bloodline?】

【Yes.】

Hearing Li Ang's mental inquiry, Emma nodded slightly. Knowing his gaps in common knowledge, she gripped his hand and explained quickly:

【The Nightmare King, also called the Lord of Nightmares, is one of the three Dream Deities worshipped by the Black Cult of Nightmare. He has no true physical form and has resided in the Dream Realm for years—the Abyss of Fallen Souls is his dwelling there.

Unlike the stable material world, the spiritual Dream Realm is unstable and its position isn't fixed, so the Abyss of Fallen Souls shifts constantly.

To put it simply: just as the moon's proximity to the ocean affects tides, when the Abyss of Fallen Souls draws too close to reality, it causes disturbances—and at such times, the Black Cult of Nightmare and the Nightmare King act, attempting to invade reality and spread nightmares.】

Spread nightmares?

Li Ang pondered, then asked further:

【If someone has a nightmare during this time, will the consequences be severe?】

【Extremely severe!】

Emma nodded, her expression grave:

【If you have a nightmare during this period, you enter the Nightmare King's domain. From then on, every time you sleep, you'll be trapped in endless nightmares for the rest of your life, feeding him power until death.

Souls with exceptional compatibility with the Dream Realm may even be directly captured by the Nightmare King, dragged into the Dream Realm. When their bodies die, they'll become permanent dream realm creatures, eternally serving him as servants.

And our cleaners' souls are generally far stronger than ordinary humans—we're far more likely to be targeted and forcibly dragged away in nightmares!】

If the soul is taken, the body becomes just a shell?

Li Ang pressed further:

【How powerful is the Nightmare King? Compared to the Goddess of Wealth?】

【It's not about power—it's about existence.】

Emma shook her head:

【The Nightmare King won't descend physically like the Goddess of Wealth. He exists only within the dreams of sentient beings. When you see his true form, it usually means you've already entered his domain.

And you know what happens when you enter a true god's domain—you've faced the Goddess of Wealth. Without a comparable or higher-tier power to resist, you have zero chance to fight back. So no matter his raw strength, he's far harder to deal with than the Goddess of Wealth.

The Goddess of Wealth, in physical form? Olivia could take on three or five of them easily. But if the Nightmare King succeeds in descending, he'll slip endlessly through countless human nightmares. Even if Olivia risks entering dreams, she can't catch him.】

Even the director can't handle him?

After hearing Senior Emma's explanation, Li Ang frowned slightly, understanding why the cleaners of the Virgin Division looked as if facing certain doom.

Though occasionally unreliable, the red-haired director's overwhelming strength had always been the Virgin Division's greatest assurance—even if a mission failed and a true god slipped through, the director could clean up the mess.

But this time, the enemy is precisely the kind the director is ill-equipped to face. If anything goes wrong and the Nightmare King succeeds in descending, everyone will be left to fend for themselves.