1.Fall from the building

one two three...

The deserted corridor, with goose-yellow lights, shines with a bloodthirsty laziness.

Ninety-seven, ninety-eight...

A gust of cool wind blew by, and Jiang Yanche's counting sound stopped abruptly. After walking up the stairs, in front of you is the rooftop of the apartment complex.

Walking non-stop, Jiang Yanche was like a robot, the frequency and length of each step were exactly the same.

His eyes were dull and his face was expressionless, like a puppet on strings, walking step by step towards the edge of the rooftop and towards the abyss of death.

As he approached the fall, his speed did not slow down. After taking a step into the air, Jiang Yanche lost all weight and fell straight into the night.

The feeling of weightlessness filled his heart. Jiang Yanche felt like he was waking up from a dream, and his eyes became clear again.

Seeing the scene around him clearly, he couldn't help but sigh.

This is not the first time he has had this dream!

Since about ten days ago, Jiang Yanche would be in such a sluggish state every night, mechanically walking to the rooftop of the apartment and jumping off the tall building. His autonomous consciousness could not interfere in the whole process.

Jiang Yanche watched him fall from the building again and again from the first-person perspective, but was unable to make any reaction.

The apartment where he lived had 12 floors. On the first night, Jiang Yanche had a nightmare and woke up due to the weightlessness after falling to the twelfth floor. At that time, he didn't pay too much attention until the second night, when the awakening time limit was delayed. After falling, he woke up only when he reached the eleventh floor.

…

By analogy, every night after that, Jiang Yanche's escape from the nightmare would be delayed a little longer.

well...

The familiar feeling of weightlessness came to his heart, but Jiang Yanche was almost numb. His eyes were like stagnant water, staring calmly at the floor beside him.

According to the pattern of the past few nights, this time, it should be...

…

Ha ha...

After a shiver, Jiang Yanche's whole body trembled, and he jumped up from the bed. Veins popped up in his hands, and he gripped the sheets tightly.

It wasn't until the cool breeze penetrated into the window and stimulated the exposed skin of his upper body that he shivered and his rapid breathing gradually eased.

Sure enough, the dream was still a dream after all. He was still in his room, but...

Just as he expected, this time, he fell to the height of the second floor before he woke up from his dream.

In the past, the joy of getting rid of nightmares was gone. Jiang Yanche was worried about the next night.

If he fell to the ground on the first floor and didn't wake up from his dream, then... would he really die?

Jiang Yanche casually grabbed a coat and put it on his body. Jiang Yanche moved his neck and went to the bathroom.

Looking at the bathroom mirror, he couldn't help but be stunned.

Is this still himself?

His face was pale, without any color. On his thin cheeks, the two cheekbones protruded like two hills. The whites of his eyes were covered with spiderweb-like bloodshot eyes, and his lips were chapped with gullies.

The nightmare itself may not have such an impact. You can have the same nightmare for eleven consecutive days. At the same time, you have to experience a free fall in your dream. The harm to the human body is no longer as simple as accumulation.

When jumping from a high building, due to inertia, a large amount of blood all over the body will rush to the brain. Jiang Yanche has a real experience with the feeling of cerebral congestion. The blood streaks in the whites of his eyes probably come from this.

hehe...

He smiled bitterly. If this continued, even if he did not fall to the ground and die next night, his spirit would collapse.

Five days ago, he had gone to see a psychiatrist, but even the psychiatrist couldn't explain why.

After all, it was unbelievable to have the same nightmare for several days in a row, and Jiang Yanche's physical and mental state was not false. In the end, he could only make a hasty decision that the pressure was too much and prescribed a bottle of sleeping pills.

But one thing is for sure, Jiang Yanche didn't dare to take this sleeping pill.

He believed that it was because he woke up in time that he avoided feeling the impact of falling to the ground in his dream. What if he fell asleep too much after taking sleeping pills...

...Okay, this may not be in line with scientific logic, but given Jiang Yanche's current mental state, he would not do anything that he was not 100% sure of.

After briefly flushing his face with cold water, Jiang Yanche returned to the bedroom and sat slumped on the edge of the bed, staring at the flashing neon lights at night, at the orange-yellow morning glow rising in the sky, and at the sun coming back to the world again.

At this moment, he clearly felt: I am truly alive!

…

The day passed by in a blur, and it was already evening.

Jiang Yanche lowered his head and walked back to the apartment from school. His mental state was extremely poor.

He is preparing to get a doctorate in literature, and the less busy courses in liberal arts are the only thing he feels relaxed these days. However, people who study literature probably have sentimental emotions, and Jiang Yanche reveals a hint of gloom in his bones.

"Young man, have you been having bad luck lately? Come and try tarot divination!"

This gloom was clearly inspired by the recent nightmares. Walking on the street, Jiang Yanche was temporarily freed from the panic of nightmares by a voice.

Turning around, he unknowingly passed by an elementary school. A white-haired mother-in-law spread a stall at the door and sat on the floor. On the stall was a stack of tarot cards.

"Sorry, I'm in a hurry."

Now is not the time to play tarot cards. Jiang Yanche smiled bitterly, waved his hands, and kept walking.

"Young man, are you sure it's something urgent and not a worry?"

There was another solicitation, and Jiang Yanche froze on the spot, his eyes narrowed.

If he hadn't realized anything at this point, he was not qualified to have a graduate degree in literature. Nightmares disturb the mood, but the basic thinking ability is still there.

Divination...

"Okay, please."

Jiang Yanche was moved, and his slightly introverted personality made him subconsciously try to solve the nightmare problem on his own.

Although he is a bit superstitious, maybe divination can really give him some methods, even if it is psychological comfort, it is the best medicine for him in his current state.

Sitting down in front of the old woman, Jiang Yanche concentrated on watching the old woman's movements.

"How to wash it?"

"Stagger normally."

Shuffle, cut, showdown...

Jiang Yanche only saw two words on the old woman's body - ridiculous!

First of all, her appearance was an extremely ridiculous thing. Thinking of this, Jiang Yanche suddenly felt that he had been living in a haze these past few days. The day seemed to pass in a blink of an eye, and the whole world became absurd unconsciously.

Secondly, for an old man of such an age, who is so skilled at shuffling cards, and who also specializes in studying tarot cards, a new thing that young talents are involved in, a strong sense of dissonance emerges inexplicably.

"What questions do you want to ask?"

"...dream."

Raising her eyebrows, the old woman was not surprised as she scrambled the tarot cards clockwise, and then gathered the scrambled tarot cards together.

First, take the top two-thirds of the cards and place them in front of Jiang Yanche. Then, take another half from them and place them in front of yourself. In this way, three card piles have been formed.

Finally, merge the three card piles into one in order, rotate them ninety degrees counterclockwise, and spread the card piles horizontally.

"Please, three."

Jiang Yanche stared at the tarot cards with blue stars on the back on the tablecloth, and began to recall the specific content of the nightmare in his mind.

Take the cards, open the cards,

Right position [star]...