"They will be tortured until they are covered in wounds, then dragged on the ground like dead dogs, and finally thrown out along the door, like a bag of garbage," the middle-aged man said, rolling up the cuff on his wrist, revealing a hideous scar like a giant centipede. "They will return safely to the real world, but after that..."

He glanced at the door. Night had already fallen. "Most of them will suffer mental breakdowns, and eventually choose to end their lives." He added, "Before the next nightmare arrives."

It was hard to imagine that the fear Shen Hong instilled in those people even exceeded the nightmare itself.

Turning his head, the middle-aged man stared into Jiang Cheng's eyes. His eagle-like, sharp eyes gradually revealed themselves. It seemed... the pitch-black night was the middle-aged man's domain.

Jiang Cheng moved his lips. "What about the last group of people?"

The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment. His eagle-like, sharp eyes suddenly narrowed. After a long while, he finally said, "Young man, you are a bit stronger than I thought."

"You said earlier that there was still a group of people, not another group of people," Jiang Cheng said. "This is not in line with the language habits of Easterners."

"Not bad," the middle-aged man nodded, staring into Jiang Cheng's eyes. "There is still a final small group of people. They account for a very small proportion, so small that we almost ignored them at the beginning."

The middle-aged man took a deep breath. "They... will be chosen by Shen Hong."

"Absorbed into their ranks." Jiang Cheng nodded. This was not difficult to guess.

In reality, it was difficult to gather a group of lunatics without being noticed, but in the nightmare, this place where lunatics gathered was much easier.

The middle-aged man suddenly laughed, a strange laugh, with a rare hint of desolation. "No, more than that," he leaned forward, saying in a hoarse voice, "They are chosen... to invade this world."

Hearing this, Fatty, and even Jiang Cheng, couldn't help but be stunned, especially the former. The word "invade" instinctively made him feel fear.

And what was even more terrifying was that this fear came from the unknown.

"Alright," the middle-aged man sat up straight and said to Jiang Cheng, "Young man, I have already paid you the deposit. Now you need to give me an answer."

After a few seconds, Jiang Cheng nodded. "Deal."

The middle-aged man had no surprised expression at all. He slowly stood up, straightened his suit, and turned to walk out. "No need to contact me. When the time comes, I will come to you."

As his figure was about to walk out the door and disappear into the night, Jiang Cheng suddenly spoke, "Wait."

The middle-aged man paused.

"The mission hasn't even started yet, how do you know people from Shen Hong will be involved?"

For Jiang Cheng, the middle-aged man should be the person he could contact who understood the nightmare the most. He didn't want to miss any opportunity to understand the nightmare.

"That's not within the scope of the deposit," the middle-aged man said.

"Then I'll change the question," Jiang Cheng was not intimidated by the middle-aged man either. He could feel that the middle-aged man might not like him, but for now, he no longer had any intention to kill him.

"This mission should be very important to you. What makes you so confident in trusting me?"

The middle-aged man slowly turned around. Not far behind him was a large expanse of neon lights.

The city's hustle and bustle under the night had just begun, and lights were lit in the streets, along with the indistinct sounds of stir-frying.

For people in the nightmare, such a mundane life was also something they could only hope for but never achieve.

"Instinct," the middle-aged man gave a very insincere answer.

"Instinct?" Jiang Cheng smiled.

"I have my reasons, but you don't need to know," the middle-aged man's tone was not harsh, but more like the aura that someone who had been in a high position for a long time unknowingly revealed.

Not aimed at anyone, just looking down on all living beings.

"Then aren't you afraid that I'll break the contract at the last minute?" Jiang Cheng squinted at the middle-aged man.

"I advise you not to." The middle-aged man directly interrupted Jiang Cheng's words. Something suddenly flashed in his eyes hidden in the shadows. After a long while, he said calmly, "I don't like people who break their promises. If you are not satisfied with my price, you can refuse. But if you promise, but then break your trust because of greater temptation," he glanced at Fatty, "then I will cut off his flesh piece by piece and feed it to you myself."

...

It rained heavily at night, and the wind was strong, causing the old doors and windows to make a "clatter clatter" sound.

Jiang Cheng sat at his desk.

Fatty was piled up on the sofa, curled into a ball, his chin resting on his knees, looking worried.

He really wanted to persuade the doctor not to wade into this muddy water. The energy behind that middle-aged man was not something they could contend with.

"Doctor," he raised his head and asked hesitantly, "What are you thinking?"

"I'll go, but it's not because I'm afraid of them," Jiang Cheng casually tapped on the keyboard. "I have some things to verify."

"Then be careful," Fatty swallowed and said softly, "I have a feeling that the middle-aged man doesn't seem to be lying. I'm afraid Shen Hong is even more terrifying than he said."

Jiang Cheng ignored him. He was searching for something online on his own. If Fatty were to lean over at this time, he would find that the screen was filled with a long list.

It was a screenshot from a forum.

It was densely packed with names, followed by information. There were about twenty of them, all people who had disappeared in the past few months, and... they were all in Rong City, where he was located.

Among them, the name Hu Yan was prominently listed.

Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes slightly. He couldn't help but recall the words that the policewoman and the young policeman driving the car had inadvertently said here not long ago.

"Sister Wei," the policeman carrying the bag said, "Team Leader Liu called and told us to hurry up. Another person disappeared in the south of the city last night. The team doesn't have enough manpower."

Again...

The next moment, the middle-aged man's enigmatic and strange behavior also appeared in Jiang Cheng's mind.

"No, more than that," the scar on the middle-aged man's lips became more and more hideous. He leaned forward and said in a hoarse voice, "They are chosen... to invade this world."

As if there was some kind of tacit understanding, the voices of the policeman and the middle-aged man, two completely unrelated voices, suddenly appeared, and then uncontrollably intertwined.

Like a ball of thread messed up by a cat, it became more and more messy, more and more complex, until... it finally snapped.

"Invade, huh..." Jiang Cheng leaned back in his chair, his eyes obscure.