Chapter 402

The strange thought arose, and as if planted deep, it lingered in Li Ang's heart without fading.

Through the increasingly thin red silk net, Li Ang strained to gaze at the emaciated giant shrouded in gray haze, and in the fractured mirror of its crown, he faintly saw his own startled face.

It's me! It came for me!

Though he had no evidence to prove his guess, upon noticing the emaciated face subtly aimed at him and the abyss receding deeper within the Nightmare King's eye sockets, Li Ang instinctively knew—its target was unquestionably him.

How much longer?

Sensing the approaching danger, Li Ang drew a deep breath and urged sharply:

Hurry up! Tell me now! How much longer until you pull him out?

…

Upon hearing Li Ang's question, the Snow Woman, forced into servitude, glared at him, then clenched her thin lips tightly, refusing to speak a word.

You may have my body, but you'll never have my heart!

…

Damned it! The Unfair Snake Pact can only make her act, unleash her abnormality's power—but it can't fully dominate her will, make her obey me in every way.

Seeing the Snow Woman stubbornly refusing to cooperate, Li Ang took another deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and began desperately analyzing the current situation.

The Scorpion Director won't emerge anytime soon, but the Nightmare King will break free in moments.

If I stay in reality, even with the Wine Immortal to save my life, I can't stop it from spreading nightmares among the sleeping innocents—and I might be forcibly dragged into the Dream Realm, eternally enslaved.

After all, the Wine Immortal's duration is limited, and it only guarantees I won't be harmed—it doesn't necessarily shield me from indirect methods like this.

Then there's only one path left!

…

Stop looking!

Slapping the Snow Woman's nape, Li Ang used physical contact to override his previous command.

Open the path to the Nightmare. Send me in first!

???

Hey! Isn't this what you want?

Before the Scorpion Director's stunned gaze, Li Ang stood at the edge of the passage to the Sixth Nightmare, pulled out the bottle he'd given the Director—filled with the remaining Dream-Eating Armor—and waved it toward the gray mist in the night sky, shouting:

If you want it, come inside! The mother insect of the Dream-Eating Armor is in the Dream!

Fearing misjudgment—that his priority in the Nightmare King's mind wasn't as high as he thought—Li Ang decisively raised the stakes:

But hurry. Once you fully manifest, if you linger outside for even one second, I'll flee immediately, making you never find me again—and every day I'll dump a batch of larva into the Dream Realm, then tell every other ruler of the Dream: this is all because of you!

As long as you fail to eradicate them once, these worms will multiply infinitely, devouring half the Dream Realm in one go. Whether I can do it? Go ahead, test me!

After the provocation, beneath the Nightmare King's hollow gaze, Li Ang seized the unwilling Snow Woman and leapt down into the passage to the Sixth Nightmare!

He actually thought of this… this kid is a born cleaner!

Watching Li Ang, holding the bottle of Dream-Eating Armor, directly threaten the Nightmare King and then leap into the Sixth Nightmare as bait, the Scorpion Director's dog face broke into a look of deep approval.

At first, I only valued his talent and potential, barely stirred by a touch of admiration—but now, it's full-blown respect.

Even as the original plan collapsed, he remained calm and rational; even when trapped in a dead end, he refused to give up, relentlessly seeking a way out; swiftly analyzing the situation, weighing pros and cons, he found the only possible solution—his sharpness and wisdom…

Beyond these rare qualities, more importantly, he dared to openly provoke, even offer himself as bait, when facing a true god—his resolve and courage!

Add to that his absurdly powerful abnormality and his extraordinary potential—on the verge of ascending to Level Two in just two months—and not a single one of the hundred cleaners in the Scorpion Branch can match him.

Rare! Damn rare!

After 0. 001 seconds of thinking through the dog's mind, the Scorpion Director made his decision.

To hell with Olivia! That drunken bastard doesn't deserve my bow!

Keeping this talent in the Virgin Branch is like pouring gold into dog shit—unforgivable waste. Better to swap conditions: after all this ends, I'll demand he be transferred to me from Olivia.

Hmm… calling him perfect might be inaccurate—he's outstanding, but still has a few flaws… for instance, he's not meticulous enough.

Woof!

Watching the passage close before he could enter, the Scorpion Director, inhabiting the dog, burst into furious barking.

Woof woof woof! You just go in yourself? What about me? Take me with you! Woof woof woof!

…

Glug glug glug… pah!

After spitting out the salty seawater he'd accidentally swallowed, the Marsh King Snake shuddered, then suddenly opened its eyes, its head jerking out of the sea in terror.

Wait… is this guy insane?

Looking up at the upper dream layer, shattered and cracked, its tail half-severed by some weapon, its body still healing, the Marsh King Snake glared resentfully at the others:

Before we took this mission, wasn't that damn Aquarius Director saying that if we made the target realize escaping would cost too much, he'd give up struggling and let us trap him? Why is he fighting to the death?

Exactly!

Hearing the Marsh King Snake's complaint, the other four nightmare entities who had revived it joined in with equal bitterness.

You believed his lies?

We've been tricked.

Damned humans—all of them, every last one, are liars!

He burned through my desert three times!

Twisting its massive body, covered in crimson blisters, the Sand Dune Worm opened its ringed, tooth-filled mouth, still trembling with fear:

At first, I thought burrowing deep into the sand would save me—but he set fire, turned over a hundred meters of sand into glass, and roasted me alive inside!

My situation was similar…

Raising its massive whale-fin to point at a stretch of black rocks nearby, the Green Tide Sea Monster sighed:

Last time, he summoned magma from the seabed, burned a whole island into existence, and boiled me alive… What about you? How was your dream?

Hearing the Green Tide Sea Monster's question, the Tree-Skin Giant, half his body blackened, his chest and below carbonized, let out a bitter laugh.

I'm the Face of the Forest! A forest spirit! What do you expect when you meet a fire user? You're just kindling! My Misty Forest? Now it's the Misty Firepit!

Sigh…

After hearing his "colleagues" complain, the Plague Girl, six short swords stuck in her belly, her body scarred all over, sighed wearily, eyes filled with regret:

If I'd known it'd be this bad, I should've swapped with the Snow Woman—her assignment was better… a Level Three cleaner who just joined the Bureau? She should've handled it easily.