Time passed quickly.
Cheng Yehai felt like he hadn’t even had a few days of relaxation when the Academy started classes again.
Although Cheng Yehai loved vacations, he had marked this one as a vacation he absolutely never wanted to recall.
No exceptions.
It was because even now, whenever he recalled the scene of facing Da She, Cheng Yehai couldn’t help but shiver.
He could still remember that feeling—the earth trembling beneath his feet, the stench of blood rushing toward him, his legs heavy as if filled with lead, as if the next moment he would be bitten by the serpent’s fangs and swallowed into its belly.
Besides, his mother had also heard about the incident at the Academy.
The moment Cheng Yehai stepped through the door, she pulled him into a tight embrace, crying uncontrollably.
It took a while for her to calm down.
After Cheng Yehai gently comforted his mother, she placed him under house arrest, saying it was too dangerous outside and forbidding him from going out.
So during those three days, Cheng Yehai didn’t go anywhere.
He just endured it.
Well, “endured” might not be the right word.
At least he was well fed and well looked after.
But for him, not being allowed to leave the house was truly like being in prison.
So after staying home for three days, he had to grudgingly return to the Academy.
When he left, his mother cried again.
She stuffed him with a pile of bags and packages, nagging him for a long time.
Although he knew his mother meant well, every word she said felt like she had repeated it thousands of times.
Nodding and letting it go in one ear and out the other, Cheng Yehai finally gave his mother a hug before saying goodbye.
Carrying the large pile of bags and packages, he struggled to open the dormitory door.
After putting everything down, he looked around and saw Su Li lying on the bed, completely silent.
Cheng Yehai was startled.
He quickly reached out a finger to check his breath.
Feeling the steady airflow, he relaxed.
But he muttered to himself inside, ’Why is Brother Su sleeping during the day?’
Cheng Yehai stayed in the dorm from noon until afternoon, but Su Li never woke up.
So he went to the cafeteria for dinner.
When he returned to the dorm, he found that Su Li still hadn’t woken up.
Cheng Yehai immediately sensed something was wrong.
He had never seen Su Li stay up late, let alone sleep during the day.
He called Su Li’s name loudly several times, but there was no response.
Maybe he was sleeping too deeply?
Cheng Yehai went a step further and gently patted Su Li’s cheek.
Still, there was no reaction.
If he didn’t know Su Li was alive, Cheng Yehai would have thought he was facing a corpse.
Gritting his teeth, Cheng Yehai increased his efforts.
He grabbed Su Li by the shoulders and shook him forcefully, but there was still no response—not even a frown.
This was against common sense.
Even if someone were in the deepest sleep, being shaken so violently would definitely elicit some kind of reaction.
Cheng Yehai didn’t hesitate.
He immediately left the dorm.
This kind of abnormality was definitely not something a student could handle.
He had to find a teacher.
In the end, he found Anbian Du.
When Cheng Yehai saw this training ground teacher, he was on the phone near the training ground.
“What? A student who wouldn’t wake up has gone berserk and started attacking indiscriminately?”
Anbian Du’s tone wasn’t loud, but Cheng Yehai could hear the suppressed urgency in his voice even from several steps away.
“Was it successfully contained?”
“No casualties? Alright.”
“What? The Dream Eater?”
“Alright, I’ll do my best to find out.”
Hanging up the phone, Anbian Du let out a deep sigh.
He was about to pull out a cigarette to ease his nerves when he looked up and saw Cheng Yehai.
“Cheng Yehai, what’s the matter?”
Cheng Yehai quickly informed Anbian Du about Su Li’s situation.
The teacher’s expression darkened, and he muttered in a low voice.
“Another case.”
Though his voice was quiet, Cheng Yehai heard it clearly.
His heart instantly sank.
What did he mean by “another”?
They had just gone through a dangerous incident, and now, upon returning to the Academy, another crisis seemed to be quietly approaching.
They entered the dorm.
Su Li was still deep in sleep, with no sign of waking up.
Anbian Du also tried to wake Su Li, but there was no effect.
Finally, he hoisted Su Li onto his shoulder.
“T-Teacher, are we going to the infirmary?”
“No, to the Research Department.”
Anbian Du replied casually.
“Haha, so it’s the Research Department. I thought Brother Su had some serious illness.”
Cheng Yehai scratched the back of his head and laughed, but only for a moment before he realized something was wrong.
“The Research Department?”
Cheng Yehai’s voice suddenly pitched higher.
He remembered—wasn’t that the place for magic power research and weapon modification?
Cheng Yehai’s eyes widened.
’Is Brother Su going to get sliced up for research?’
“T-Teacher, Su Li is still alive! It’s not time to cut him up for research yet!”
Cheng Yehai quickly said.
“You’re overthinking it. The Research Department isn’t an interrogation room.”
Anbian Du didn’t turn around, his tone tinged with helplessness.
“The Research Department is investigating the cause. Sending Su Li there is to find out the problem as soon as possible. Besides, students who fall into this state will turn into monsters that attack anyone indiscriminately once they wake up.”
Cheng Yehai followed behind Anbian Du, watching him carry Su Li into the Research Department building.
They walked down a long corridor and arrived at the room at the end.
Cheng Yehai opened the door, letting Anbian Du carry Su Li inside.
He could see a sister with long purple hair standing with her back to the door, leaning over a machine operating something.
There were also several students who seemed to be in the same state, but they were tied up and placed inside transparent glass containers.
“Xi Lin, I’ve brought the person.”
Xi Lin glanced at Anbian Du, then walked over to one of the empty glass containers and gestured.
“Put him here for now.”
After speaking, she sighed.
“There are more and more students like this lately.”
As Anbian Du placed Su Li into the glass container, he said,
“Didn’t you guys figure out that it’s the Dream Eater’s doing?”
Xi Lin shook her head at that.
“That’s just a speculation based on some current circumstances like magic power fluctuations and the patients’ symptoms. This situation is clearly different from a normal Dream Eater attack. Logically, one Dream Eater can only attack one person, and it wouldn’t turn people into that kind of bizarre state.”
Anbian Du was about to settle Su Li completely into the glass container.
His fingers hadn’t fully let go when he suddenly sensed something unusual.
Under his palm, Su Li’s shoulder twitched slightly.
He froze and looked down at Su Li’s face.
That face, which had been as calm as a sleeping one, now had its eyelashes trembling faintly, and his brows were slightly furrowed, as if he were struggling to rise from an extremely deep sleep.
“Xi Lin.”
Anbian Du called out in a low voice.
Xi Lin looked up, following Anbian Du’s gaze.
The recording pen in her hand stopped in midair.
“He… is he about to wake up?”
Then she looked at Cheng Yehai, who was observing by the door, and warned,
“Step back quickly. He might also enter that bizarre state!”
Immediately after, she also began to retreat, leaving only Anbian Du staring sharply at the figure gradually awakening.
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