Chapter 1 Get Out of the Car

“Let’s get out,” the middle-aged man said, the first to exit the car after bringing it to a stop. Fatty was second, even faster than Jiang Cheng, as if some kind of jackal or beast was chasing him from behind.

Opening the car door, Jiang Cheng stood on the open ground, looking around. He found himself in front of a villa-style building, occupying a large area and surrounded by a stone wall.

But judging from the mottled exterior, it was quite old, and the location was very remote. At least for him, who had lived in Rong City for a long time, he didn't know there was such a place in the suburbs.

Fatty rushed to Jiang Cheng's side in a few steps and whispered, "Doctor, where is this?"

Jiang Cheng shook his head, then narrowed his eyes, looking at the middle-aged man who got out of the car.

Although Xia Meng seemed to have the highest priority among this group of people, here, the others clearly obeyed the middle-aged man, who seemed to be the manager.

As soon as the middle-aged man got out of the car, a young man who had been waiting immediately got in, sat in the driver's seat, and drove the car away.

A rolling shutter door in a more remote part of the building slowly rose, revealing a dark, garage-like space. The black car that had brought them here slowly reversed in, and then the rolling shutter door fell, concealing all traces.

The gate of the villa gradually closed, and with a loud rumble, the rusty iron gate clanged shut, as if leaving sunlight and hope outside.

Fatty's throat couldn't help but bob twice.

He seemed to want to say something, but after seeing Jiang Cheng's face, he wisely shut his mouth.

After a flurry of activity, the sun began to set, and a wisp of the setting sun hung in the sky, like a dying old man reluctant to take his last breath.

The dilapidated villa stood in the sunset, casting a half-dead shadow on the ground.

Without any unnecessary words, the middle-aged man walked towards the villa. Jiang Cheng followed him about two meters behind, and Fatty followed closely beside the doctor.

This villa seemed to have been unoccupied for a long time. As they walked in, they saw some people busy cleaning up.

The group sat down in front of a large, luxurious leather sofa, facing a spotless marble table, so clean it almost reflected their images. Several cups were placed on the table.

Jiang Cheng reached out and picked up one. The residual warmth transmitted to his fingers was just right.

He took a sip, then held the cup in his hand, not putting it down, as if drawing warmth from it to dispel the chill from before. "So this is the place," he said, looking up at the person opposite him.

The middle-aged man opposite him didn't speak, but sitting there, he carried a powerful aura. After a long while, he nodded. "Yes, after dinner, you can prepare."

"You... you want to enter the nightmare here?" Fatty finally realized that the reason these people had gone to so much trouble to build this place like a fortress was to use it as a base to enter the nightmare.

"Not me," the middle-aged man turned his head to look at Fatty, and said lightly, "It's you."

Although the doctor had emphasized to him earlier that he would be taking him along, it was only now, hearing it from the middle-aged man, that it was truly confirmed.

After all, it seemed that even the doctor was under the control of this middle-aged man.

Fatty was well aware that the doctor must be holding a bellyful of anger. Once they entered the mission, Xia Meng's life would not be easy.

"The clue newspaper is in your hands," Jiang Cheng's voice was very calm. Although Xia Meng was sitting very close to him, and he could see her with just a turn of his head, his attention was still focused on the middle-aged man.

After all, the only one here who could bring him a sense of danger was him.

"Yes," the middle-aged man nodded.

This was not difficult to guess. The clue newspaper could be placed close to the body to open the corresponding door. Jiang Cheng had personally experienced this in the school instance. At that time, he had almost died from going down into instances too frequently after just coming out of the first one.

He didn't ask to take a look at the newspaper to verify it, because this time it wasn't just his group, but also this Xia Meng who seemed so precious was accompanying him.

Ah no, it was he who was accompanying her.

Sharing life and death, sharing blessings and misfortunes.

Judging by the middle-aged man's personality, if Xia Meng were to die, even if he survived the nightmare mission and returned to reality, his situation would probably be very bad.

After a simple dinner, Jiang Cheng, Fatty, and Xia Meng were all led by the middle-aged man to a large room upstairs.

The villa had three floors, but so far, only the first floor was occupied. The second and third floors were very quiet.

Here, the group had a brief meeting, which was really just listening to the middle-aged man talk about some things to be aware of in the nightmare. It was called a meeting only because of the middle-aged man's serious demeanor.

Unfortunately, the middle-aged man only mentioned a little bit about the crimson information that Jiang Cheng wanted to know most.

He only said that intelligence indicated that the Crimson would intervene this time, but to what extent they would intervene, whether they would send people to infiltrate, what kind of people they would send, whether they would be male or female, and how many, such specific information was completely absent.

Raising his wrist, the middle-aged man looked at his watch, looked up and said, "It's exactly 10 o'clock now. In half an hour, I will start clearing out the others in this villa, including myself."

Before leaving, the middle-aged man looked at Xia Meng, who deliberately avoided him, sighed, and then stretched out his hand. Fatty blinked suspiciously, wondering what they were up to.

A few seconds later, Xia Meng reluctantly took out a newspaper from a very close-fitting position on her clothes. The middle-aged man took it and turned around, handing the newspaper to Jiang Cheng.

Without any hesitation, Jiang Cheng grabbed it.

"I'm counting on you," the middle-aged man nodded slightly.

Jiang Cheng stared at him for a while, then suddenly said, "I hope that when we come out, you will still abide by our previous agreement."

The middle-aged man took one last look at Xia Meng, turned around and strode away.

After the wooden door closed, only Jiang Cheng, Fatty, and Xia Meng were left in the room, staring at each other.

But unlike the scene Fatty had imagined, Xia Meng completely lost her previous aggressive manner.

She sat on the corner of the largest bed in the room, glaring at Jiang Cheng, her eyes constantly glancing at the newspaper in his hand.

"Doctor," Fatty crept over, his eyes shining as he stared at the newspaper in Jiang Cheng's hand. "This thing isn't fake, is it? Why do I feel like this is so easy?"

He kept signaling Jiang Cheng with his eyes to look at Xia Meng, clearly wanting to ask why the newspaper wasn't given to her, but left to their group.

Jiang Cheng didn't seem to have as many thoughts as Xia Meng and Fatty. He left Fatty, came to the largest and most comfortable bed where Xia Meng was, and then in front of Xia Meng, tilted his head, squinted his eyes, and in a very wretched smile, pressed the folded newspaper tightly against his face.

"Still warm," he said, grinning happily.