Chapter 802: Recovering a Music Player

"Kill me!"

The Snow Woman, lying in her sleeping bag, gazed blankly at the chaotic night sky over Wang Gong.

"You destroyed the nightmare I created, and the Nightmare's root was crushed by the Nightmare King. Now I can't even… what are you doing?"

"Nothing."

Removing his thick gloves, Li Ang poked the Snow Woman's face, then sighed slightly in regret.

【Name: Damaged Nightmare (Nightmare, Element,?)】

【Appearance: A beautiful woman dressed in a thin white dress; apart from being immune to cold, she is indistinguishable from an ordinary human woman, but this state cannot be maintained long—once the overlap between Dream Realm and Reality separates again, she will vanish completely under true sunlight】

【Abilities: Dream Emissary, Storm Snow Summoning,?】

【Cost: Knowing she is certain to die, she refuses utterly, from the depths of her soul, to be used by you】

【File: A powerful nightmare born from folk legends of the Ice Plain Kingdom, possessing her own unique snow mountain nightmare. Once she ruled a domain within the Dream Realm, but after being defeated and captured by the Nightmare King, she was forced to surrender the core of her snow mountain nightmare and submit to him.】

Thereafter, alongside the Sand Dune Colossus, the Green Tide Sea Monster, the Faceless Forest Spirit, the Plague Maiden, the Blood Carmine, and the Marsh King Snake—the other six nightmares—she was appointed as a Dream Emissary, tasked with handling all matters within the Nightmare King's territory.】

After the Shadow Hollow reached the convergence point, following the Nightmare King's orders, she actively sought out Level-3 Clearance Officer Li Ang, attempting to eliminate him—but failed utterly and was instead captured, forcibly dragged out of her snow mountain nightmare.】

【Evaluation: A formidable and rare special nightmare, personally appointed and granted partial authority by the Nightmare King, she can move freely through any nightmare.】

Furthermore, she can open a nightmare world governed by unique rules; any entity whose maximum contamination level is lower than hers will have their memories effortlessly erased, and any being below the level of a True God who is lured deep into the snow mountain will be instantly frozen to death.】

But after encountering Level-3 Clearance Officer Li Ang, being contaminated by his chaotic memories and actions, and having her nightmare core destroyed by the Nightmare King, her nightmare world suffered severe damage.】

She lost not only her memory-erasing ability, but also her storm-snow summoning power was drastically weakened—she can no longer summon blizzards, and anyone entering her snow mountain nightmare now hears an unnaturally cheerful, strange tune echoing in their ears.】

【Contamination Level: 35】

Too bad the Nightmare King acted too quickly—if her nightmare core hadn't been destroyed, turning her over to the Bureau might have yielded an excellent nightmare-class anomaly item.

But now, wounded and weakened, she has lost her two most vital abilities; aside from still being able to traverse nightmares, she is merely a humanoid music player, and even then, she only plays one song…

Recalling the earworm melody of the Snow King that echoed across two worlds, Li Ang shook his head in disbelief, temporarily banishing the tune of "Sweet Sweet" from his mind, then glanced around, eager to find that hardworking dog.

Though the snow mountain nightmare had been perilous, it ended without disaster—even though he had dragged out the Snow Woman—the real MVP was still the dog. Without it suppressing the blizzard, he might not have survived the depths of the snow mountain, let alone dared descend through the storm.

In the snow mountain nightmare, without his memory of the sheep's heart, his immortality might not have functioned properly—this dog had genuinely saved his life. Since the savior dog wasn't nearby, he had to check on it immediately.

Not to mention, the dog carried part of the Scorpio Director's will—it was his only channel to reach him.

With the Scorpio Director trapped by the other six Dream Emissaries and unable to emerge anytime soon, finding the dog first to maintain contact was undoubtedly the correct choice.

…

"Wang~" As if sensing Li Ang was searching for him, the dog, who had vanished earlier, barked from afar.

Confirming the dog's location by its bark, Li Ang pulled the rope again, dragging the sleeping bag with the Snow Woman inside—her eyes filled with despair—toward the direction of the barking.

"Wang wang!"

Seeing the "familiar face" approach, the obedient dog immediately wagged its tail like a propeller, sniffing Li Ang's shoes and barking incessantly.

"Wang wang wang~ Wang wang wang~ Wang Wang Wang~"

"…"

What a tragedy!

Hearing instantly what the dog was "singing," Li Ang's lip twitched; he dropped the Snow Woman, who had suddenly burst into tears mid-song, and crouched down to place the thorned crown he had just found onto the dog's head.

Back in the snow mountain nightmare, when his memoryless self had knocked off the crown, the Scorpio Director had immediately gone silent. Considering the Director himself wore an identical crown, this object must be the "antenna" carrying his will.

"Wang wang wang~ Wang wang wang~ Wang wang… Damn it! Finally, something's happening!"

As Li Ang had predicted, the moment the thorned crown settled on the dog's head, the dog's version of "Snow King March" ceased, replaced by the Scorpio Director's irritated voice.

"Didn't I tell you not to leave this dog?"

Seeing Li Ang's strange attire through the dog's eyes, the Scorpio Director exhaled slightly in relief, then snapped angrily:

"I told you! The Snow Woman's strength rivals a Level-1 Clearance Officer! You're not her match yet! As long as your contamination level hasn't surpassed hers, she can kill you outright!

I didn't get a chance to tell you earlier—in the Bureau's records on dream beings, she has a documented kill record against a Clearance Officer carrying an immortality anomaly. Don't think your immortality makes you invincible… hmm? You've already left the dream?"

Blinking his bright yellow dog eyes, taking in the surroundings—he had returned to reality—the Scorpio Director's face flushed with embarrassment, clearly visible on his canine features, then he hastily tried to save face:

You escaped quickly enough. But still, be careful. Even if you barely escaped the dream, don't let your guard down. The Snow Woman's power remains formidable.

"…"

"By the way, how did you escape? Where's the Snow Woman?"

"The nightmare she created wasn't large—I left it as soon as I descended the mountain. As for the Snow Woman…"

Here, Li Ang shifted slightly, revealing the sleeping bag and sled he had been blocking, and nodded toward them.

"There. The one lying on the ground crying."

"…"

What the hell did you do to her?

Watching the Snow Woman, bound in the sleeping bag, silently weeping, her spirit clearly shattered, the Scorpio Director's dog mouth opened and closed twice, utterly at a loss for words.

This was a nightmare that had lived for at least several centuries—older than the Ice Plain Kingdom itself!

You've only been dealing with anomalies for two months—you haven't even reached a fraction of her lifespan! You managed to escape her alive? Fine. But you actually captured her alive?!

(End of Chapter)