Chapter 808

Doesn't make sense.

After hearing Li Ang's bizarre request—essentially "going against the Dao"—the Snow Woman couldn't help but ask curiously:

"He's down there. Why are you running up?"

"Because I might not catch up."

After inspecting the massive tunnel the Marsh King Snake had burrowed, Li Ang frowned as he estimated the giant serpent's volume and replied:

"The Scorpion Director knows I'm in here—he'll also speed up to meet me as soon as possible. But I can't gauge how fast he's moving. If we descend layer by layer, we might never catch him."

Considering the six layers of this nightmare world are connected end to end, if our speed matches his, we might never catch him at all. But if we turn around and head upward, we're moving straight toward him—both of us traversing this path that runs through all six nightmares."

"That way, even in the worst case—he's waiting for me in the next layer—we'll only need to pass through five more nightmares before we definitely meet up."

Two people moving toward each other… six nightmares total…

After counting on her fingers, the Snow Woman asked curiously:

"Why five? This nightmare world has six layers, doesn't it?"

"…"

We're already in the first layer… it's like planting a tree every meter, then asking how far you walk from the first tree to the sixth. Honestly, even my little sister just starting elementary school wouldn't ask such a stupid question.

The Snow Woman's question struck him like lightning. Seeing her crystal-clear, uncorrupted gaze, Li Ang fell silent for a moment, then decisively gave up on explaining.

Forget it. A nightmare born from nightmares doesn't need math. After all, even the most twisted person wouldn't dream of a Snow Woman giving them a math lesson in a snowstorm on a mountain.

For the Dream Realm, no memory or fantasy means nonexistence. So if she can't understand, fine—right now I don't have time to tutor her.

"Slap!"

"Ow!"

"Stop asking. Get to work!"

He slapped her thigh hard, leaving a red palm print, then refused to give a lesson. Li Ang the teacher pulled a bottle from the Mirror World and gulped it down, ready to activate 【Immortal in Wine】 for survival, while snapping:

"Take me up to the next nightmare layer! Move!"

"…"

Damn human!!

…

"Olivia, are you still blocking me?"

As Li Ang carried the Snow Woman backward through the six layers of the nightmare world, the confrontation in the capital's night sky finally reached its climax.

The crimson net woven by 【Blood Hair of Slaughter】 shattered again. Once more, using countless nightmares flowing through the River of Nightmares, the Gray Mist Giant reformed his body, then extended a withered hand, pointing downward at the capital, his gaze cold and stern:

"Since earlier, you've let tens of thousands of nightmares slip through. Even if they're all low-level, harmless ones, they're enough to give half the capital a nightmare."

"…"

Hearing the Nightmare King's reminder, the Red-haired Director at the center of the Crimson Binding Domain clenched her lips tightly.

As she once again shredded the Gray Mist Giant, she couldn't help looking upward—the black sky had become a sieve, with nightmares pouring through constantly, falling toward the sleeping capital.

"Listen: if you let me go now, these people will just lie in bed for half a month and recover afterward."

Sensing the Red-haired Director's hesitation, the Gray Mist Giant, having reformed his body, spoke again in a chilling, grating voice:

"But if you keep fighting me and let higher-tier nightmares slip through, many humans will suffer mental collapse—or have their souls devoured, becoming hollow shells… Are you sure that's what you want?"

"…"

Indeed, she could delay no longer.

After splitting another strand of Blood Hair of Slaughter to shred a batch of high-tier nightmares trying to breach reality, the Red-haired Director gazed up at the endless stream of nightmares above, took a deep breath, and slowly released her grip on the Gray Mist Giant.

"That's better."

Watching the Red-haired Director obey his "advice" and open the path to reality, the Gray Mist Giant's withered lips curled slightly. Then he stirred the gray river flowing with countless nightmares, wrapped his flickering form in it, and plunged into reality.

…

"Hss…"

After leaving the Dream Realm and entering reality, the Nightmare King inhaled deeply, savoring the newly formed flesh and blood shaped by the world's altered rules. His hunched spine straightened; his withered chest expanded slightly.

Flesh and soul… what an exquisite sensation…

No matter how powerful the rules of other worlds, no matter how great the beings they could sustain, none could compare to this world claimed by humans.

A world where existence is clear and whole, material laws stable and dense, yet still permits the supernatural, acknowledging soul and spirit—this was an unparalleled treasure for a being like him.

With newly formed eyes, he surveyed the world beneath the night sky, then sighed softly.

The only regret: this treasure had an owner—and that owner was not only terrifyingly powerful, but also miserly, refusing to share it with anyone.

Touching it briefly during the fleeting overlap of Dream Realm and reality was acceptable. But if he truly tried to claim it, no more than two months would pass before the Clearance Bureau recalled all its directors, summoned the Sun into the Dream Realm, and roasted the entire River of Nightmares—and him—with it.

What a pity… if only humans were weaker.

He cast one last longing glance at the capital, drifting with countless dreams, then withdrew his gaze and fixed his eyes on his true target.

That Level-3 Clearance Officer, Li Ang, was inside the nightmare world his emissary had opened!

His gaze turned cold and sharp, locking onto the docks near the capital's canal. Without hesitation, he spurred the black River of Nightmares, surging toward the stacked six layers of nightmares.

Whether it was those strange memories capable of corrupting nightmares, or the 【Dream-Eating Armored Beast】 that had devoured countless dreamscapes—both posed grave threats to him.

Even eliminating just one of these dangers would justify risking entry into reality and battling the Yellow Path Director of the Clearance Bureau. Now that he had a chance to remove both at once, he could not afford to miss it.

With fierce, burning intent, the Nightmare King extended his withered arm and gripped the violently trembling six-layer nightmare.

Then, the gray mist surrounding him silently dispersed, shielding his massive form as it slowly, inevitably, pressed into the nightmare within his grasp.