During his coma, Shen Yao had a long dream.
He dreamed of finding himself in a vast Red Sea of Flowers, the ground covered with every kind of red bloom—Birch Lily, Cotton Tree Flower, Rose, and countless others whose names he couldn’t even guess, each more vivid than the last.
What kind of person would plant such a sea of flowers?
There was a sparse little path in the Red Sea of Flowers, and Shen Yao followed it onward.
Strangely enough, there were no insects or beasts here; despite the brilliant splendor, there wasn’t a trace of human presence.
He didn’t know how long he’d walked, and just as Shen Yao was beginning to think the Red Sea of Flowers was endless, a small Gravestone suddenly appeared ahead.
It stood there quietly, nestled in the embrace of red blossoms, blending into the crimson earth.
Shen Yao stepped closer and brushed off the petals, seeing only a single line engraved on the Gravestone: “Beloved Wife… Forever Resting in the Sea of Flowers.” The name had been scratched out, making it unreadable.
A voice suddenly sounded behind him: “You’ve come at a rather inopportune time.”
The voice was somewhat strange; one couldn’t tell if it belonged to a man or woman, old or young.
Shen Yao turned around to see a person in a cloak standing behind him.
Shen Yao felt a headache coming on. “I remember being eaten by something, then… then…”
The newcomer interrupted directly, “You lost consciousness and are dreaming.”
“A dream?” Shen Yao found it odd—could people in dreams be aware they were dreaming? If so, how could one tell which side was the dream and which was reality?
The newcomer walked to the Gravestone, crouched down slowly, and placed a bouquet of red flowers in front of it.
“Shen Yao, your mind is being consumed by Chaotic Devouring. Subspace is corroding you.”
Shen Yao realized what it meant. “You mean Urban Legend Syndrome? I’ve definitely been getting a bit neurotic from it lately… But… who are you? How do you know my name?”
The other ignored Shen Yao’s question.
“You must find an effective way to suppress your Urban Legend Syndrome. Otherwise, one day, the things you fear will truly descend upon the people and world you care about through your inspiration.”
“I’m already taking Antidepressants… Who exactly are you? Why are you telling me this? And where is this place?”
The cloaked figure was silent for a long while, as if praying for the one who rested beneath the Gravestone.
“This is her resting place. She loved red things, especially flowers, so I filled her entire world with them.”
The whole world? That’s way too exaggerated… Shen Yao thought to himself. This person is a real love-struck fool. I definitely don’t want to end up like that.
“Overcome your fear, Shen Yao,” it said. “Stop being so pessimistic. Try to be a little more passionate about life, or your Urban Legend Syndrome will only worsen.”
It paused. “There’s also a more direct method—face your fears, confront the Strange Tales, break them one by one. That way, you can delay your symptoms.”
As it spoke, it gave two dry laughs, the meaning unclear.
“Where exactly is this place in my memory? Why would I dream of it?” Shen Yao grew even more confused.
“This is what you call the Zero Dimension. Zero Dimension is dream, dream is Zero Dimension—they are nothing more than the collective subconscious.”
“Zero Dimension… is a dream?”
The cloaked person stood up straight and walked deeper into the Red Sea of Flowers. Shen Yao hesitated for a moment, then followed.
“Zero Dimension and the real world are like two sides of the same coin, complementing each other. Here, time is reversed, there is no distinction between sun and moon, so you can’t judge it with the concepts of time from the Material World. You might not remember this place today, but who knows, maybe one day you will.”
When it laughed, the sound was stiff and awkward, as if someone who rarely laughs was forcing themselves to do so.
“So when you dream, you come to the Zero Dimension?”
“Not always. Only those targeted by Strangeness frequently fall into dreams.”
Shen Yao’s steps faltered slightly. He remembered that starting a few years ago, he often had Nightmares.
Even before the Telephone Strange Tales incident, he’d dreamed of similar scenes.
Could it be that even before the Telephone Strange Tales, he’d already been caught up in it without realizing?
“So now I’ve been targeted by Strangeness?”
It laughed again. “No. It’s just that your consciousness is too far from your physical body and briefly arrived in the Zero Dimension, that’s all.”
The more it spoke, the more confused Shen Yao became. People like this always seemed to speak in riddles.
While Shen Yao was still pondering its words, he suddenly saw that the place he’d come from had begun to collapse, and the Red Sea of Flowers was breaking apart.
“Hey, your Red Sea of Flowers seems to be having problems.”
“Of course. In fact, you won’t remember any of what I’ve told you. When you wake from the dream, everything I’ve said will be forgotten as quickly as possible. It’s the law of nature.”
The other seemed completely unconcerned by the collapsing Red Sea of Flowers.
Shen Yao pointed at the world crumbling in the distance. “Can’t you see that?”
“That means you’re about to wake up,” it replied calmly.
Shen Yao was on the verge of breaking down.
“Can’t any of you stop speaking in riddles! Cheng Orange won’t share what’s on her mind, Qiao Yunxue always keeps to herself, and now even a strange guy like you is spouting nonsense!”
“Then what do you want to ask?” it replied. “Even if I told you, you wouldn’t remember anyway. Just like those Nightmares you had, you forget them one by one. You don’t even know what you’ve been through.”
“At first, I just wanted to confess to Qiao Yunxue. How did things get so bizarre?”
“Shen Yao, this is what you deserve. If you weren’t tired of your old life, tired of your former self, why would you go after her? The reason things got strange is because your inspiration is much higher than ordinary people.”
Standing in front of this odd person, Shen Yao felt the distance between them grow with each passing moment, as if he was being drawn away by the collapsing world behind him.
He could only shout, “What am I supposed to do to change things? Who are you? Why do you know so much about me?!”
The Red Sea of Flowers, when stared at long enough, looked unnaturally red, even bloody.
The cloaked figure stood in the crimson sea, bizarre and eerie: “Shen Yao, nothing you do will change it. Cherish the time with those you want to be with. Don’t wait until you’ve lost them to regret it.”
“As for who I am? In fact, we’ve met here many times before. Everything I know is actually what you’ve told me. I have many names. One of them is… Heydrich.”
It slowly removed the cloak, revealing its true face.
Shen Yao froze, his mind momentarily crashing as he saw its face. His brain felt electrified, and only a single thought flashed through it:
He must not forget this conversation… absolutely not! He had to find a way to leave a “switch” in his subconscious…
Heydrich… Heidelich…
This person… this person…
——
“In the past, Strangeness from the Zero Dimension could only intermittently affect the Material World, because information couldn’t travel far and the reach of human minds was limited. But with the rise of the Internet and advances in media, the Zero Dimension began to expand uncontrollably. Even the smallest Strange Tales, once they spread on the web, could easily affect hundreds or thousands of people, and Strangeness could thus descend. Born from intense emotions, they reach the Material World through the spread of those emotions.”
Qiao Yunxue sketched a clawed monster on her drawing board.
“The first Strangeness to appear in the Material World was Heidelich of Berlin, who landed in Berlin, Germany in 1991. It’s said that on the day it arrived, every rat in the city poured out, forming a human shape and imitating people as they wandered the dark, unlit streets at night. Heidelich of Berlin is also believed to be the first Strangeness to gain power from the Internet, and is still an unparsed Strangeness to this day.”
Heidelich of Berlin…
Berlin… Heidelich…
Shen Yao felt a tingling in his mind. Why did it all feel so familiar? Had he dreamed about it in a Nightmare before?
——