8 nightmare

Entering someone else's dream was not difficult for Zhang Yaoyang.

Just like when he entered Liu Yang's dream before, it only took a little more effort this time to successfully break through that barrier and enter a world of blurry abstraction.

Tang Ning's dream was simple. In what seemed like a school grove, a handsome man hummed a tuneless song, strolling leisurely ahead.

The man's features were not clear, even his face was somewhat blurred, but the essence of the dream centered here. Obviously, this handsome man was Tang Ning's embodiment in the dream.

"It seems you're a bit insecure about your appearance," Zhang Yaoyang emerged from the secluded grove, gazing at the man's back, silently analyzing, "Because you're dissatisfied with your appearance, is that why you dream of yourself becoming handsome?"

Attempting to analyze further, Zhang Yaoyang furrowed his brows. It seemed he needed to study more dream-related books in the future. Only then could he quickly discern the person's preferences, habits, and psychology from their dreams.

Dreams are always irregular. Tang Ning's embodiment quickly reached the end of the shaded path, where a luxurious restaurant suddenly stood out. Without hesitation, Tang Ning walked straight in.

Zhang Yaoyang trailed behind from a distance, eventually entering the restaurant himself. He wasn't afraid of losing sight of Tang Ning because, as the core of the dream, wherever Tang Ning went would become the most vivid focal point of the dream, while the dream's edges either vanished or became dim.

Once inside the restaurant, Zhang Yaoyang noticed it was quite empty, with only a few indistinct silhouettes seated. In a corner, Tang Ning was leaning over a table, eating heartily.

Rather than disturbing him, Zhang Yaoyang casually took a seat, then checked the panel in front of him. The "Fantasy Value" still read 2788, neither more nor less.

"It seems disrupting Liu Yang's dream last night caused the rise in Fantasy Value. So, to gain Fantasy Value, one must disturb the dreams of others?"

After a brief thought, Zhang Yaoyang remained still, silently waiting. An hour passed, but Tang Ning showed no signs of stopping.

However, time in dreams is distorted. Although it felt like a long time, perhaps only a few minutes had passed in reality.

Faint music seemed to drift from the sky, ethereal and illusory upon closer inspection.

Unsurprised, Zhang Yaoyang noted that dream scenarios often came with background music. Listening closely, it seemed the other person was enjoying their meal, the music accompanying a cheerful rhythm.

After roughly another hour, Tang Ning finally stood up, patting his satisfied belly. He then took out his wallet, seemingly ready to pay. At the same time, the colors of the dream began to fade.

"The dream is ending?" Zhang Yaoyang was surprised. Glancing at the interface once more, he found his Fantasy Value had indeed increased to 2789, a small but real improvement!

Indeed, it was true!

Creating illusions, it's essentially gathering energy from dreams. But what if I continue to disrupt this dream?

As the dream segment neared its end, Zhang Yaoyang's expression flickered. Suddenly, he stood up, striding over to Tang Ning. "Sir, please settle the bill. It totals thirteen thousand two hundred and fifty-four yuan. We can offer you a discount, making it thirteen thousand yuan in total."

"What...?" Tang Ning startled, his gaze shifting to the man who suddenly appeared before him. Bewildered, he exclaimed, "Is this a mistake? So expensive?"

"Yes, the Australian lobster you ate costs ten thousand yuan per serving, along with other delicacies like bird's nest, all priced quite high." Zhang Yaoyang replied courteously. At the same time, he glanced at the table, and unsurprisingly, after his words, the blurry food on the table suddenly twisted and changed into a messy pile of lobster shells.

This wasn't Zhang Yaoyang's ability but rather, after he spoke, Tang Ning's subconscious believed he had indeed consumed these items, thus actively altering the dream to allow the storyline to continue!

"But...," Tang Ning's face completely changed, feeling uneasy, he fumbled in his pockets, "But I don't have that much money?"

"In that case, we'll have to call the police." Zhang Yaoyang's expression hardened. "Sir, do you want to dine and dash?"

"I..." Tang Ning looked regretful, tinged with doubt. Suddenly, he raised his head, staring at Zhang Yaoyang. "Huh, why do I feel like I've seen you somewhere before?"

As these words were spoken, the entire dream suddenly trembled, faint clicking sounds audible. Zhang Yaoyang knew it was due to the instability of the dream. Clearly, although he tried to immerse himself in the other's dream, Tang Ning's surface consciousness was gradually awakening upon seeing Zhang Yaoyang's appearance.

"Let's not dwell on that. How will you settle the bill?" Zhang Yaoyang's heart skipped a beat, swiftly redirecting the other's attention.

As expected, upon hearing Zhang Yaoyang's words, Tang Ning's face turned bitter. "I really don't have that much money. How about I work off the debt by washing dishes?" And once again, the dream stabilized.

"Hmm." Zhang Yaoyang sneered. "Washing dishes? Fine. There are tens of thousands of dishes piled up back there. You can start with those before anything else today." As he spoke, he pointed to the wall directly opposite the restaurant's entrance, and with his words, a dark passage appeared on the wall.

This passage was also the effect of Zhang Yaoyang's suggestion to Tang Ning's subconscious.

Embarrassed, Tang Ning walked toward the passage, and sure enough, at the end of it, there was a mountain-like pile of dishes. With a solemn face, he sat down and began washing silently.

At this moment, Zhang Yaoyang glanced at the interface again, noticing that the Illusion Creation Value had increased slightly, now at 2790 points!

"As expected, influencing someone's dream yields more Illusion Creation Power than doing nothing!" Zhang Yaoyang's eyes lit up, then he pondered again. "But, I remember gaining a full 10 points of Illusion Creation Value in Liu Yang's dream last night, far more than what I've gained now. Could it be..."

With this thought, Zhang Yaoyang suddenly narrowed his eyes, silently approaching Tang Ning's back. Passing by the dining table, a dining knife was already in his hand.

"If I'm not mistaken, to gain more Illusion Creation Value, these minor alterations to the dream won't suffice. Only..." By the time he reached behind Tang Ning, he raised the knife, plunging it fiercely into Tang Ning's back!

Boom!

At this moment, the entire dream shook again, even the previously calm and soothing BGM suddenly became tense!

"Ah!" Tang Ning screamed in agony, looking at Zhang Yaoyang as if seeing a ghost. "Are you... Are you going to kill me?"

"What do you think you just ate?" Zhang Yaoyang licked his lips, a sinister smile appearing on his face. "Everything you just consumed... was human flesh."

"What?!" Tang Ning's face changed again, feeling a sharp pain in his back. He quickly got up, "Are you going to kill me and turn me into lobster?"

Zhang Yaoyang smirked inwardly, finding the logic of dreams indeed pitifully fragile. Yet, outwardly, he remained stern, saying, "Indeed, I'll turn you into lobster. You know, the meat on a chubby body like yours is the most succulent..."

Tang Ning's face showed fear as he endured the pain behind him, running towards the exit of the passage.

At this moment, the dream was still trembling, showing signs of instability. Zhang Yaoyang didn't pursue, recalling how he had frightened Liu Yang awake last night.

Obviously, once a dreamer experiences a dream beyond their psychological tolerance, they quickly wake up. Waking up equals the collapse of the dream. Once the dream collapses, if one fails to escape in time, even Zhang Yaoyang himself would suffer backlash, resulting in a decrease in SAN value.

Now his SAN value had dropped to just over fifty due to the supernatural events during the day. He vaguely guessed that having a low SAN value wouldn't lead to anything good.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yaoyang glanced again at Tang Ning's fleeing figure. At this moment, Tang Ning's speed was very slow, giving the feeling of wanting to run but unable to run fast. However, this was also the typical nature of nightmares. He shook his head and began to try to break free from Tang Ning's dream.

Just as he had the idea of breaking free, the next moment, Zhang Yaoyang opened his eyes. Looking around, he saw only darkness in the dormitory, but through the moonlight outside the window, he could still see Tang Ning lying on the bed not far away, eyes tightly closed, trembling all over, waving his hands constantly, and constantly crying out in his dream, "Don't kill me, don't kill me."

Obviously, although Zhang Yaoyang had left, dreams had inertia and did not end just because Zhang Yaoyang had left.

Ignoring Tang Ning's repeated nightmares, Zhang Yaoyang once again opened the interface in front of him and immediately discovered that the illusion value had become 2794 points, an increase of five points!

"Indeed, the more intense the emotions in the dream, the more illusion value I can obtain." A flash of joy crossed Zhang Yaoyang's eyes. By now, he had basically figured out everything in the interface.

However, a new question arose: what could illusion value do?