Chapter 136: Dream World |
The cave was pitch black.
With a gas lamp hanging from his waist, a cane in one hand, and a gun in the other, Levi made his way down the stairs, level by level.
It was so dark that he could see nothing beyond the small circle of light illuminating his feet. It felt as though there was absolute nothingness around him. Levi's footsteps did not even echo in the narrow passage; instead, the sound seemed to vanish entirely.
"Hmm..."
Levi began to ponder as he walked.
Was he currently asleep, or was he awake?
The Phantom Killer's method of using abilities was unrefined, but Levi had watched enough movies to know that truly powerful dreamweavers could seamlessly connect reality with the dream world. By the time you realized you were still awake, you might very well have already entered a dream.
That was a true nightmare killer. In comparison, the Phantom Killer was rather... low tier.
However, determining whether he was in a dream did not seem particularly difficult.
The original void of darkness vanished. In its place, a dense tropical rainforest appeared before Levi. The air carried a damp, sweltering heat that made breathing somewhat difficult. The distant sky was overcast, looking as though a thunderstorm was imminent.
As expected, he was dreaming right now.
He just did not know exactly when this dream had begun.
Levi checked himself once more. He was still wearing the clothes he had on before going to sleep—the Hunter Gear. The texture of the Persuader in his hand felt exactly the same as always, and his Cane Gun appeared to be completely normal.
What about other things?
Levi closed his eyes again and focused his thoughts. Immediately, a bizarre, illusory, and warped object manifested in front of him. It fluctuated constantly, attempting to solidify between a liquid and a solid state. Ultimately, with a sharp pop, the strange object burst completely apart. A sudden stab of pain flared in Levi's mind, and the mental image vanished entirely.
'As expected, you can't create something out of nothing in a dream.'
Levi rubbed his head and sighed.
Just moments ago, he had tried to create an incredibly powerful robot to escort him out, but it failed. It seemed this world did not accept arbitrary fantasies. At the very least, an entity had to be something he fundamentally believed in for it to manifest.
Fortunately, this meant he was not entirely helpless.
In the past, Levi might have found dealing with a dream world quite troublesome. Luckily, after raising his Intelligence, he had acquired the Photographic Memory skill, which fortified his recollections. Therefore, Levi could draw upon specific memories to recreate what he needed.
Furthermore, Levi did not need to worry about these things being illogical.
Because that was exactly how it happened in the movies.
With that thought, Levi extended his hand and blew a sharp whistle.
"—!"
With the whistle, the surrounding bushes began to rustle the next moment. A brief moment later, several bipedal, lizard-like beasts emerged from the undergrowth and gathered around Levi.
"Just as I thought."
Looking at the dinosaurs circling him, Levi nodded. These Velociraptors were from a movie Levi had watched, where they were domesticated by the male protagonist and followed his orders. In the later parts of the film, they provided significant assistance to the hero. In Levi's subconscious mind, these Velociraptors clearly belonged to the protagonist's allies and acted according to his commands.
It appeared the dream world accepted this logic.
Levi reached into his pocket, retrieved several small mechanical constructs, fastened them to the slender necks of the Velociraptors, and gestured forward.
"Go!"
The Velociraptors instantly dashed into the jungle like arrows released from a bow, scattering in all directions.
Where were the others?
Levi pondered while using his Puppeteer ability to switch between the perspectives of the mechanical constructs to monitor the surroundings. Although he was still unclear about the full details of the situation, he could at least confirm that he was currently in a dream world—one constructed from his own memories.
The others should be experiencing something similar.
If that was the case, where were they?
Hard work paid off. Soon, through the visual feed of a mechanical construct attached to one of the dinosaurs, Levi spotted another member of the expedition party.
It was none other than Annie!
However, Annie's current situation was a bit peculiar—no, it should not just be called peculiar; it was utterly bizarre.
She was lying flat on an examination table situated in a clearing within the jungle. Surrounding Annie were several figures dressed in white lab coats... who were animals.
Yes, animals.
Among them were a rabbit, a rat, and a pigeon. At the very least, they possessed the heads and bodies of these animals, yet they stood as tall as humans and wore white lab coats.
It looked exactly like a scene out of a children's cartoon.
However, the behavior of these animals was far from heartwarming. Levi could clearly see that they were holding sharp scalpels, waving them over Annie's body while chattering amongst themselves.
To put it simply, the situation was bad!
Shadow Swap!
With a single thought from Levi, the mechanical construct attached to the Velociraptor's neck unfastened and dropped to the ground. In a flash, his body swapped positions with the construct on the forest floor. Levi then silently glided into the tall grass, cautiously approaching the animals.
As the distance closed, Levi managed to overhear the conversation between the animals.
"Remember, next we will perform a human dissection. First, we must cut through the outer epidermis of the human body, which is this layer of clothing..."
The leading rabbit spoke like a teacher, gesturing with its blade.
"Next are the skin and bones. Following that, we need to observe the mechanics of the internal organs. Now, first, would this student please..."
Well, well, this certainly was not a heartwarming children's cartoon; this was a horror flick!
And a highly graphic one at that!
Hearing this, Levi hesitated no longer. He burst from the grass, raised his weapon, aimed at the animals, and pulled the trigger!
"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!"
As the gunshots rang out, most of the animals surrounding Annie were gunned down. Only the rabbit teacher leaped into the air like a true rabbit, evading Levi's attack, and lunged toward him with a grotesque shriek!
"Gaaah—!"
Right at that moment, a Velociraptor pounced from the opposite bushes, snapping its jaws shut and locking its teeth firmly around the rabbit teacher's neck. Immediately after, the other raptors surged forward, surrounding the rabbit teacher completely. With a flurry of tearing bites, the human-sized rabbit became a fresh carcass for the dinosaurs within the blink of an eye.
"Well, well, this really is a classic recreation."
Watching the Velociraptors gorging themselves on the rabbit's remains, Levi shook his head and walked over to Annie.
"Are you alright, Miss Branson?"
"...Mr. Levi?"
Seeing Levi appear, Annie blinked as she lay on the examination table.
"Why are you here? Are you planning to dissect me too?"
"Dissect you?"
"Yes, I am supposed to be a human subject for an animal dissection right now."
"Uh..."
Hearing Annie's completely deadpan response, Levi was left entirely speechless.
"We are just dreaming."
"Dreaming?"
"Yes, this is just a dream of yours, not reality. Furthermore, you won't be dissected. The animals that wanted to dissect you have all been killed by me."
"..."
Annie fell silent, staring fixedly at Levi without blinking. It took a few moments before she seemed to comprehend the current situation, and she sat up from the examination table.
"So, this is a dream?"
"Yes, don't you remember?"
"I only remember that when I woke up, I was lying here, and the rabbit gentleman said he needed me as a subject for a dissection experiment."
"Your dream is strange enough," Levi offered a wry comment. "You weren't actually planning to let those animals cut you into pieces, were you?"
"We have dissected animals many times for experiments, so when an animal wants to dissect a human, I consider it a logical request."
"I don't see how that looks logical at all..."
Hearing Annie's calm reply, a cold sweat broke out on Levi's forehead. This young lady truly seemed a bit unusual in certain aspects; at the very least, her train of thought was quite problematic.
"...I understand now."
At that moment, Annie stared intently at Levi, then nodded as if she had just solved a difficult equation.
"What do you understand now?"
"I understand that I like you, Mr. Levi."
"...Huh?"
It had to be said that this sudden confession left Levi completely bewildered.
"You like me?"
"Yes, it is a logical deduction."
"How is it logical?"
"If this were a nightmare, I should have been shredded by those animals. However, in the face of danger, you appeared just in time to save me, Mr. Levi. This aligns perfectly with the Prince Charming complex in adolescent psychology. When encountering danger, a young woman instinctively desires to be saved by someone she likes and relies upon. I believe I must like you, Mr. Levi, which is why I unconsciously yearned for your appearance and rescue while dreaming."
"...Alright, that does sound somewhat logical when you put it that way."
Levi was too exhausted to argue. He realized that while Miss Branson usually remained quiet, whenever she did speak, her words were always astonishing.
"In any case, let's look for the others. They should be trapped somewhere in this dream world as well."
"So they are also anticipating a rescue from you, Mr. Levi? Do they like you as well?"
"...I think it would be best if you didn't ask me that question."
Levi completely threw his hands up in defeat.