While the two were talking, Little Seven had already finished setting up the Blood Spiders and had covered Shen Ge in a full-body Red Mist Battle Armor.
Then, Shen Ge tried to awaken the glowing dream fragments and expand his Haunted Domain. The next second, the light in the room suddenly dimmed.
“Any paranormal energy reaction?” Shen Ge asked.
Little Seven replied, “Reporting to you, Master. Perhaps due to the influence of your Haunted Domain, no paranormal energy reactions have been detected in this room at the moment.”
Just as he thought.
After Shen Ge absorbed a large number of glowing dream fragments, the size of his Haunted Domain expanded several times over. As a result, when he spread out his Haunted Domain now, he was still within his own space.
Unless he kept the Haunted Domain connected to the Paranormal Space, turning the Haunted Domain into a “door” leading to the Dream World, and then left the Haunted Domain to enter the Paranormal Space.
But there was a critical issue right now: whether Cheng Shengnan and the others had truly been pulled into the Dream World. If so, that would be best. With Shen Ge’s status as a half-ruler of the Dream World, finding them wouldn’t be too hard. But if they weren’t in the Dream World, it wouldn’t be so simple for Shen Ge to leave it either.
Although there wouldn’t be much danger once he got familiar with the Dream World again, it would definitely take some time, which might delay the rescue.
After a moment of thought, Shen Ge came up with a reliable plan.
“Little Seven, you generate a secondary suit and enter it. You control the secondary suit and stay in the room, while I go out to search for the Paranormal Space. This way, we can test whether, when I cancel my Haunted Domain, you remain in the real world or get pulled into the Dream World as well. If you stay in the real world, then while I go look for them in the Dream World, you’ll be responsible for searching for them in the real world,” Shen Ge instructed.
“Got it, Master.” As Little Seven responded, the Corroded Blood Watch on Shen Ge’s left wrist quickly extended and formed a slightly smaller Corroded Blood Monster standing beside him.
Little Seven tried moving its “body” around. Seeing this, Shen Ge asked, “How does it feel?”
Little Seven replied, “Honestly, it’s pretty similar to when you wear the Red Mist Battle Armor and I control it. But there are subtle differences. Maybe it’s on an individual level, or maybe sensory… Even though this is just battle armor, having a body I can control myself feels pretty good, too.”
“I’ll ask the research department to make you an android when there’s a chance. It might give you an even deeper feeling,” Shen Ge said.
“Thank you so much, Master.”
Shen Ge walked to the door, opened it, and stepped into the hallway. Under the influence of his Haunted Domain, the entire space here had taken on an eerie, grayish darkness. The hallway lights were audibly crackling with static, flickering as if they might go out at any moment.
“This ability could save on prop costs if I ever used it to shoot a horror movie,” Shen Ge couldn’t help but remark. Countless experiences in the Paranormal Space had made him immune to this kind of terrifying environment; he wouldn’t even have any emotional fluctuations even if plunged into complete darkness.
But under the influence of his Haunted Domain, the whole space had turned ghostly. You might as well say it looked like the set of Ju-On: The Grudge.
Shen Ge followed the hallway to the stairwell at the end. Standing in front of a window, he looked outside. The outside was shrouded in paranormal black fog, with visibility of only a few meters—he couldn’t see the situation across the way at all.
Areas not covered by the paranormal black fog represented the range of Shen Ge’s Haunted Domain. Looking at it this way, the range had expanded three to four times compared to before.
Having determined the maximum range of his Haunted Domain, Shen Ge naturally didn’t need to step out of it to break free. He just needed to control the size of the Haunted Domain and shrink it.
He raised one hand, reaching out as if grasping something in the air. A glowing dream fragment in his palm burst out with intense light, and the entire Haunted Domain began to shrink rapidly, down to the floor he was standing on, and then to right beneath his feet.
Then, Shen Ge took a step forward. The next second, the entire hotel shook violently. The ceilings, floors, and walls began to collapse continuously. The whole hotel was on the verge of falling apart in an instant.
Fortunately, Shen Ge had learned from his previous experience. This time, he was somewhat prepared. He immediately activated his Paranormal Leather Shoes, leaped up, and jumped out by stepping on a collapsing slab of stone.
The moment Shen Ge leaped out of the collapsing area, a red figure rushed out from a room that was caving in ahead—it was Little Seven, who had been waiting in the room.
Clearly, when Shen Ge withdrew his Haunted Domain, it hadn’t stayed in the real world but had been dragged into the Dream World along with everything else.
“Master!” As an artificial intelligence, Little Seven reacted much faster than Shen Ge, precisely calculating a path to avoid the debris and quickly reaching his side.
“Let’s get out of here first!”
“Yes, sir!”
The two quickly escaped the collapsing hotel. Standing on the rubble and looking around, the entire city was as desolate as ever, with not a single person in sight, sending chills down the spine.
Shen Ge figured that if Cheng Shengnan and the other two women had fallen into a world like this, their first priority would be to find a safe place, search for an exit, and gather supplies.
Of course, that was assuming the best. If things were worse, they might have been swallowed by a fusion monster just like he had been before.
“Little Seven, can you scan for life sources nearby as normal?” Shen Ge asked.
Little Seven immediately released several Blood Spiders and activated detection mode: “No life sources detected at the moment, but paranormal energy reactions are very frequent in the area.”
Shen Ge looked left and right, then chose a high vantage point.
“Paranormal Eye!”
Shen Ge closed his eyes and opened the Paranormal Eye on his forehead. After evolving, the Paranormal Eye could cut through the interference of the paranormal black fog, allowing him to see the entire ruined city clearly.
Among the distant ruins, a half-collapsed abandoned building stood out prominently.
“In an unknown territory like this, if I were them, I’d also choose a relatively intact building to look for survivors, or to hide in…” Shen Ge thought heading to the “Spire” would be the best choice. Even if he couldn’t find Cheng Shengnan and the other two, he could still use his previous method to leave the Dream World as quickly as possible.
“System, scan the area!” To be safe, Shen Ge decided to have the system scan and mark the area first, to determine how many high-level paranormal entities were around.
[Starting scan now—]
[Consuming 100 system points. Now beginning to mark targets containing paranormal energy within a 10-kilometer radius—]
[Marking successful.]
After the system upgrade, its scanning function had greatly improved. Previously, scanning in the Dream World was easily disrupted, but this time it quickly mapped out the surrounding paranormal entities.
Shen Ge opened the [Map] and saw several huge red dots beneath the ground, estimated to be around level 4 to 6 in paranormal intensity.
The largest red dot was at the site of the collapsed hotel, with a detected paranormal intensity of level 6. This made Shen Ge, who had been planning to head to the “Spire” to search, hesitate for a moment.
…He suspected that after Cheng Shengnan and the other two were pulled into the Dream World, they might have ended up directly inside the monster fused with the hotel.
If so, even though Yang Yuxin and Yun’er could hold their own against level 3 or 4 paranormal entities, being inside the belly of a fusion monster was a whole different story.
For a moment, Shen Ge was torn. He wasn’t sure whether to head to the “Spire” or to first check under the rubble of the hotel, which was likely the fusion monster’s body.
“Little Seven, go check near the Spire for any life source reactions. I’ll go take a look under the hotel ruins,” Shen Ge said after a moment of thought, finally deciding to split up with Little Seven.
“Okay, Master,” Little Seven replied.
Although Little Seven wasn’t present every time Shen Ge entered the Dream World, it had been there for the most critical times—when he seized the dream fragments—and knew some of the Dream World’s “rules.”
After Little Seven left, Shen Ge looked at the completely collapsed hotel ruins and wondered how to lure out the level 6 paranormal entity beneath.
After thinking for a moment, Shen Ge decided on the most direct approach. He stood on the rubble, removed his Red Mist Battle Armor, and “exposed” himself to the air.
Sure enough, two or three seconds later, the pile of gravel beneath his feet began to tremble slightly. Then, with a loud “rumble,” a giant flesh worm burst out from underground, opened a massive, circular maw lined with rings of disgusting teeth, and swallowed Shen Ge in one gulp.
At the same time, the system’s alert sounded.
[Warning!]
[The host is approaching a “Level 6 Paranormal Entity.” Detected that engaging it at your current strength would be very risky. It is recommended to find a safe place to observe the enemy first, find its weaknesses, and then take action!]
“…”
Great. The system strikes again—another delayed warning!
Thud!
After a period of free fall, Shen Ge hit the bottom. But this time, he didn’t land in the fusion monster’s “stomach.” Instead, he found himself in a hallway fused with rotting flesh.
“It seems this entity hasn’t fully merged with the building yet. The inside still retains the hotel’s original appearance. As the team leader, Yang Yuxin must have read my report on the fusion monster. Even if she didn’t, Shengnan definitely did. So in a situation like this, they’re probably looking for the ‘heart,'” Shen Ge thought as he walked deeper into the hallway, trying to deduce the action plan from Cheng Shengnan’s perspective.
Unlike Cheng Shengnan and the others, who would have to explore layer by layer downward, Shen Ge first activated his three traits. Using “Intangible + Silent + Formless,” he masked his presence entirely, preventing the “antibodies” inside the fusion monster from locking onto him, saving him the trouble of dealing with minor enemies.
Then, using the “Collapse” ability of the Intangible Haunted Domain, he could skip layers directly, heading straight down to find the entity’s “heart” location.
“System, scan the surroundings.” As Shen Ge moved downward, he had the system mark the area, wanting to see if the same situation as last time would occur.
If this level 6 paranormal entity was also a cultivation container for a monster, then he would need to stay as hidden as possible and avoid drawing its attention.
[Marking successful.]
Shen Ge opened the [Map] and saw red dots densely packed all around. But fortunately, they were all small, with the largest being only level 3. That meant this entity wasn’t a “monster cultivator.”
Three minutes later, Shen Ge had descended about a dozen or so floors. Here, the hallway became much wider, and the rotting flesh adhesion on the floors and walls was a full layer thicker. Parasitic entities and rotting mutants were also increasing, which meant he was getting closer to the heart’s location.
However, with the three traits active, these low-level entities couldn’t detect his presence at all, so he could search for the heart confidently and boldly.
Soon, Shen Ge arrived in front of a door shaped like a heart. He had encountered this kind of “door” many times before. He skillfully used his Paranormal-Killing Revolver to make a hole, then fired a paranormal rocket.
With a “boom,” the door was blown open, revealing a large hole. Shen Ge shone his paranormal flashlight inside and saw that the disgusting room, covered in blood vessels and rotting flesh, contained no sign of a heart.
“Empty?” Shen Ge was also surprised.
Just then, the “door” he had blown open began to heal at a visible rate.
“Gulp.”
“Gulp.”
Shen Ge was about to fire another round at the “door” when, along with a series of swallowing sounds, the “door” suddenly twisted and became hideous. Then, a terrifying, bloody maw slowly emerged.
Although the entity hadn’t detected Shen Ge’s presence, after being attacked, it instinctively activated its defense mode, opening its bloody maw to protect itself.
Shen Ge had used up a lot of paranormal explosives in the Dream World before, but now, in his hurry to find Cheng Shengnan and the others, it wasn’t the time to be frugal. He shouldered his rocket launcher and fired several rounds straight into the bloody maw.
After blasting the “door” apart, Shen Ge entered the room but found nothing. After a brief thought, he directly expanded his Intangible Haunted Domain within the room and used “Collapse” to go down.
Then, he fell into an identical room.
Down again.
A third.
A fourth.
Shen Ge fell through several identical rooms in a row, leaving him momentarily confused as to whether he was trapped in a maze or if the entity had deliberately created so many identical “hearts” to confuse intruders.
Just as Shen Ge decided to use “Collapse” on the surrounding walls to search horizontally, the ground suddenly shook, and faint gunfire echoed from below.
“Gunfire?”
Entities inside a monster’s belly wouldn’t use guns. Aside from Cheng Shengnan and the other two, Shen Ge couldn’t think of anyone else who would end up in such a predicament.
So, Shen Ge used “Collapse” directly on the ground. But this time, he encountered significant resistance, and his own paranormal energy was being consumed rapidly.
Instead of panicking, Shen Ge was actually pleased. Based on past experience, the closer you got to the heart, the stronger the paranormal defenses became. That meant the heart below might be the real one!
Shen Ge directly had his Red Mist Battle Armor supply him with red paranormal energy, then activated the system for a “Mental Amplification” to expand his paranormal energy reserves.
Five times!
Ten times!
Fifty times!
A huge twisting vortex appeared on the floor, and the next second, a hole was opened by “Collapse.” Shen Ge jumped down without hesitation.
And then he saw a slender figure, carrying something like an explosive pack, charging out from a collapsed wall hole and dashing resolutely toward the “heart” in the center of the room!
“Hey, don’t be so reckless!” Shen Ge flashed to Yun’er’s side, deactivated his three traits, and firmly pressed down on her shoulder.
“Who’s there!” Yun’er spun around, thrusting her sharp claws toward Shen Ge’s throat. Then, recognizing him, she exclaimed with joy, “Shen Tan!”
