Chapter 2847: 2753.2643 Dream Thief Space

2753.2643 Dream Thief Space

Where is everybody?!

Ning Qiao was stunned for a moment; he glanced outside—originally it should have been noon, and even if it were overcast, it shouldn't be pitch black.

But outside, at some point the sunlight had faded, and heavy black clouds filled the sky, surging right outside the window. Not far off, thunder kept rumbling from afar, making his heart feel anxious.

No!

Ning Qiao immediately realized this wasn't the real world but that he was dreaming.

MD! Always like this, Ning Qiao cursed in his heart.

He closed his eyes, trying as much as possible not to hear the rustling of wind-flipped paper, and instead focused wholeheartedly on "waking" up.

He has experienced this situation many times.

Nightmares aren't anything unusual. Each time is different; if in a nightmare he starts running and fleeing out of fear, upon waking he feels completely drained, more exhausted than from running in reality.

This is all fake, this is all fake! Ning Qiao shouted in his heart. He closed his eyes, focused, and struggled to "wake" up.

But the light ahead flickered; the LED lamp dimmed and brightened for no reason, and faintly one could still hear the shrill cries of a wild cat.

Moreover, between the wild cat's cries, there seemed to be a child's sobbing.

Damn it! Ning Qiao cursed furiously in his heart—why is this noon dream so terrifying?

He didn't dare open his eyes, for if he did, he would surely be tormented in the nightmare for who knows how long.

After a while, silence finally fell; Ning Qiao heard the sound of a colleague typing on a keyboard, and the kettle boiling water—probably Sun Ge making coffee.

Soon he heard the water in the kettle come to a boil, and shortly after he smelled the rich aroma of coffee drifting over, warm and comforting, making Ning Qiao feel very at ease.

And the distant cat calls and child's sobbing from somewhere vanished without a trace.

Ning Qiao opened his eyes to see sunlight streaming in, bathing him. It was truly warm; after lying there a while, he no longer felt so tired.

"Sun Ge, I'm up." Ning Qiao said, then sat up from the sofa.

"Oh, there's a document you need to handle." The person with his back to Ning Qiao said lightly, long-haired and speaking gently.

Ning Qiao didn't realize the speaker was a woman, and he also seemed to have forgotten he was talking to Sun Ge.

It felt as if a year had passed, returning to the time when the freshly graduated Chu Lili was still sitting beside him.

"Ning Ge, the boss is urging that document urgently, saying to deliver it to him as soon as you finish." Chu Lili turned her head and gave Ning Qiao a warm smile.

"Got it."

Ning Qiao began work; today's work went smoothly, very smoothly. He printed out the document and turned to leave.

At some point a row of yellow bikes had been placed in the hallway, and Ning Qiao didn't notice anything amiss. He hopped on one and sped through the CBD, just like when he had just graduated—full of energy and drive, feeling he was surely a one-in-a-million talent, destined to achieve something great.

Although the hallway usually crowded with people, now there was not a single figure; Ning Qiao didn't ride the yellow bike next door to the boss's office, but instead strove to wander around the 19th-floor CBD.

The more he wandered, the more energized he felt, and he forgot what he was supposed to do.

Turning a corner, the LED light flickered, ts ts, and between light and shadow a figure appeared opposite him out of nowhere.

A child, about seven or eight years old, wore a red dress, hair in a ponytail, blood at the corner of the mouth yet wearing a smile.

Ning Qiao felt a bit anxious and shouted loudly: "Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

But the little girl remained motionless. As the bicycle drew nearer, her innocent smile turned increasingly eerie, the grin at her lips becoming vicious.

Ning Qiao's hands seemed to have lost control, unable to move no matter what. He strained to twist his body, but could not alter the bike's direction, and ultimately crashed head-on into the girl without hesitation.

At that instant, Ning Qiao knocked the little girl over, he himself flew out and landed on top of her.

The red dress seemed soaked through with blood, wet and slick, and Ning Qiao felt as if he were covered in blood. Especially that reek of blood filled his nose and mouth, making it impossible to breathe.

He still had a sliver of consciousness, wanting to avoid crushing the little girl. Yet he didn't know where the blood came from, only feeling that he had struck her.

He braced himself against the ground, stabilizing his body in the final second. But before he could draw a breath, the little girl's mouth beneath him gaped wider and wider, her human anatomy warping into a bloody maw; her whole face vanished, leaving only a mouth that lunged at him to devour.

He didn't dodge; Ning Qiao was already dazed.

This must be a dream, surely a nightmare, he thought.

Then he "entered" the bloody, dripping mouth, the fierce, shrill fangs beside it clearly visible.

Ning Qiao closed his eyes; although he was terrified, at the last moment he realized it was all a dream.

Surely, for if it were real, death would be just death—better than being tormented by endless nightmares.

He opened his eyes again and found himself still lying on the sofa. The blood-soaked little girl had vanished, leaving only a faint coffee aroma drifting in the air.

This nightmare had finally ended—really damn scary, and it just wouldn't quit.

Ning Qiao gave a wry smile; his limbs were sore and exhausted, that nap had truly worn him out, utterly exhausted.

He sat up, rubbed his temples, and his mind felt even more foggy.

"Sun Ge, I'm up." Ning Qiao said.

"Xiao Qiao, the virus leak at Protective Umbrella Company means we have nowhere to escape." Sun Ge, who always considered himself a tolerant elder, turned and handed Ning Qiao a dagger.

The downstairs is full of zombies; we can only protect ourselves.

"Uh..." Ning Qiao fell into a blank mental state again, dazed as if he had forgotten the dream he'd just had, rose from the sofa, and did not take the dagger.

After all, as an ordinary person, he was utterly unfamiliar with a dagger as a weapon.

He walked to the window and saw, just like in Resident Evil, the downstairs filled with zombies like the walking dead, while the sky above was choked with dark clouds, bolts of lightning pouring down like angry fire.

"What's going on?" Ning Qiao felt terrified; he had spent two years finishing the series *The Walking Dead*, never expecting to see it in reality.

"We've already been surrounded, and I just protected you but got bitten." The voice behind him had changed; when Ning Qiao turned, Sun Ge lunged at him with a ferocious face and bit his neck.