Chapter 19 Suspicions

Zhao Xingguo said with a grim face, "I suspect this Cripple Liu is the former disciple of Dongyang, Yamamoto Sakigake."

"This also explains how he survived the explosion."

"Relying on the power of the Gate, Yamamoto Sakigake escaped the explosion, but it wasn't without a price. He overused the Gate's power, causing himself to be devoured by madness, which is why he became the ghost-like figure he is now." Zhao Xingguo said in one breath, as if he had been holding it in for a long time.

Everyone could understand his current mood. After all, his two teammates had died at the hands of this Yamamoto Sakigake, a Dongyang person.

Just as everyone was thinking about what to do next, an untimely voice suddenly sounded from behind.

"Which way is this?" Pi Ruan's tone was full of doubt.

Hearing this, everyone stopped. Unknowingly, they had entered a narrow alley.

On both sides of the alley were high walls, mottled and covered with moss in some places, as if they had stood for a long time.

The high walls blocked their view, and they couldn't see what was outside.

At that moment, an ominous premonition arose in everyone's heart.

Because they had been discussing Cripple Liu, their attention hadn't been focused on the road ahead. They were just following one another.

And leading the way was Chen Qiang.

As if unaware of the changes around him, Chen Qiang continued to walk, his steps revealing a sense of stiffness.

Everyone suddenly realized that they hadn't heard Chen Qiang's voice for some time. He had always been very active in discussing clues.

"Chen Qiang," someone called out.

Chen Qiang continued walking as if he hadn't heard, still moving forward.

At that moment, the once-familiar figure was facing away from them, yet it felt strange.

Stopping Zhao Xingguo, who wanted to speak, Jiang Cheng quickly approached Chen Qiang. He didn't try to call out or touch him, but walked in front of Chen Qiang to look into his eyes.

As expected...

Chen Qiang's eyes were tightly closed, and he mechanically and rigidly repeated the series of actions of stepping, landing, and stepping again, as if sleepwalking.

The eyeballs under his eyelids were constantly twitching.

Jiang Cheng had once read a book dedicated to the study of sleep. The researchers in it believed that rapid eye movement during sleep reflected the moment the brain encountered a new scene in a dream.

In other words, Chen Qiang was currently experiencing a dream, and the scene in this dream was very stimulating to him.

"What's going on?" Fatty asked, wide-eyed. "How did he fall asleep while walking?"

No one could explain this question, but it was clear that Chen Qiang was in a bad situation. He had entered a strange dream.

A ghost did it.

"Don't worry about a dead man," Fu Fu's voice came. "Think about yourselves first. You don't think he's the only one with a problem, do you?"

This alley was strange. From the moment they noticed the anomaly until now, they had walked a long way, but they hadn't encountered any intersections.

There were no buildings or houses on either side.

This was abnormal, causing everyone to suspect the purpose of the alley's construction. Looking down the alley towards the end, it seemed to be separated by a thin layer of fog.

Something seemed to be hidden in the shadows within the fog.

An indescribable atmosphere was brewing around them. Some people speculated that if they continued down this road, would it lead to another world?

"Damn it." Zhao Xingguo's eyes were ferocious as he complained, "Chen Qiang must have been the first to be affected, and then he dragged us into the dream as well."

Huai Yi's eyes paused. "You mean we're in Chen Qiang's dream right now?"

As soon as he said this, the atmosphere in the team changed instantly. An emotion called panic spread rapidly. In this situation, the consequences of panic were even worse than ghosts in some ways.

"Don't panic, it's not that exaggerated." Jiang Cheng immediately interrupted Huai Yi, looking around warily, trying to soothe everyone's emotions. "I think our current situation is different from Chen Qiang's dream. We are just being interfered with, not completely immersed in the dream."

"If I had to describe it, we are currently at the intersection of dream and reality." Jiang Cheng's calm tone was like a ray of light, dispelling the chill around them. "It's unrealistic to drag all of us into a dream simultaneously in a conscious state. The ghost is just temporarily trapping us here. As long as we don't do anything out of line, we won't be in danger."

Of course, Chen Qiang, as the person involved, was not within this scope. Whether he could survive depended entirely on his own ability.

But it seemed that everyone didn't have much hope for him.

"So... we're just waiting for a result now." Huai Yi seemed to understand what Jiang Cheng meant and looked at him, saying, "As long as the dream Chen Qiang is experiencing ends, we can leave here."

Jiang Cheng nodded. "That's right."

There were two reasons for the dream to end. One was that Chen Qiang found a way out and actively ended this strange, murderous dream.

The other was that Chen Qiang was killed by the ghost in the dream.

If the dreamer died, the dream would naturally end. This was considered a passive departure.

"Look... look at him," Fatty suddenly said.

Actually, even without him saying it, everyone had already noticed the abnormality on Chen Qiang's body. His originally stiff upper body... moved.

He slowly raised his arm and took off the backpack behind him. Although his eyes were still closed, he had somewhat of the aura of a living person.

This series of actions revealed an unspeakable strangeness, as if through a gray filter.

Although Chen Qiang was standing right in front of them, everyone knew that this was just his body. His consciousness was struggling in another, completely incomprehensible, terrifying world.

"Hiss——"

Someone gasped. Everyone saw that Chen Qiang was holding the backpack in his hand, opened the zipper, and then turned it upside down, with the opening facing down, and the contents fell out.

At first, there were some miscellaneous items, until the appearance of a cloth bag attracted everyone's attention.

The cloth bag landed on the ground, bounced a few times, and revealed a corner of what was inside.

It was a roughly made straw doll!

The one Yangzi gave them.

Because there had been too many things happening recently, everyone had almost forgotten about the existence of this straw doll. As for how it appeared in Chen Qiang's backpack, only Chen Qiang himself probably knew.

But what was obvious was that his being dragged into the dream by the ghost was also related to the straw doll.

Fu Fu narrowed her eyes, watching Chen Qiang's movements, and the corners of her mouth curled up. "Interesting. It seems he's realized that he's experiencing a dream."

"Throwing away the straw doll is also to leave the dream."

Sure enough, not long after Chen Qiang threw away the straw doll, there was suddenly light ahead of this endless alley, dazzling light.

Not far after walking towards the light, the scene in front of them changed abruptly. "This is..." Pi Ruan opened his mouth wide, as if he hadn't reacted yet.

They were back on that familiar street.

The surrounding hustle and bustle suddenly pressed in on them, giving them an unreal feeling.

"Suc... succeeded?" Fatty asked, wide-eyed.