Anmeng Yue’s Bargain and a Midnight Surprise

A sharp pang of regret pierced Lin Ran’s heart.

He had never in his wildest dreams imagined that his very first crystal core, his sole and precious possession, would be given away so freely before he even had a chance to properly warm it in his grasp.

This was hard currency, a vital resource in this new world! What would he ever do if he found himself needing to purchase something later on?

Suddenly, a brilliant flash of insight ignited in his mind, as if a vital piece of information had just clicked into place.

“Oh, that’s right. There’s a Dream Eater in every wooden house, isn’t there? What would you do if someone harbored ill intentions, wanting to kill you and steal your crystal core?”

The moment the words left his lips, Anmeng Yue’s cheerful smile instantly evaporated, and she recoiled sharply into the corner, much like a cat suddenly spooked.

She eyed the window with intense vigilance, as if ready to leap out at any moment and make her escape.

“Don’t worry, I have no intention of doing such a thing.”

Seeing her extreme reaction, Lin Ran quickly waved a reassuring hand, attempting to calm her.

“You probably don’t have many to spare anyway. Killing the goose that lays the golden eggs isn’t a profitable venture; I prefer sustainable development.”

He leaned back languidly in his chair, spreading his hands wide to convey his utter lack of threat.

Only after observing his seemingly harmless demeanor did Anmeng Yue’s taut body finally begin to relax.

She let out a sigh, and the light in her eyes dimmed considerably.

“…Indeed, several of my kin have already been killed. And given our appearance, we are quite vulnerable to men… you should understand.”

Lin Ran nodded slowly, a clear understanding dawning in his mind.

In the apocalypse, the darker aspects of human nature were magnified to an almost limitless extent.

People would instinctively gravitate towards options that promised the greatest personal gain.

His own teleportation gate served as a prime example.

Had it been someone else in his position, they might have immediately slaughtered everyone in the dormitory building, seizing all food and drink and leaving no survivors.

Theoretically, this truly represented the most rational and profit-maximizing approach.

Yet, Lin Ran had never once entertained such a thought.

For him, this felt less like an apocalypse and more like a game with rules yet to be fully uncovered.

To kill other players for meager supplies, especially when he already possessed a stable food source, seemed utterly illogical.

The risks involved far outweighed any potential rewards.

This was without even considering potential “red name” penalties or the possibility that other players might possess greater strength than his own.

The crystal core intelligence provided by Chen Jing alone, coupled with the recurring loops and memory loss experienced by others in their dreams, offered invaluable clues.

These precious threads of information were simply unobtainable through indiscriminate slaughter.

They were far more significant than a mere handful of food and drink.

Steering back to the immediate conversation, Lin Ran turned his gaze towards Anmeng Yue.

She clearly still had something she wished to convey.

“It’s far more convenient to show you directly than to explain.”

With that, she stepped forward decisively, took Lin Ran’s hand, and led him towards the window.

Pushing the window open, Anmeng Yue snapped her fingers towards the world outside.

With a low ‘hum—’, the distant landscape seemed to be violently snatched forward, as if by an invisible, colossal hand, pulling it right before their eyes.

A wooden house that had been at the very edge of their sight was abruptly pulled closer, now appearing almost directly beneath them.

Outside the wooden house, a female Dream Eater lay motionless, bearing a striking resemblance to Anmeng Yue.

She had been stabbed multiple times and was unmistakably dead.

Inside the wooden house, however, an even more horrific sight awaited them.

A creature, likely human, was trapped within, its body grotesquely inflated six or seven times its original size, its skin stretched taut and semi-transparent.

From within its swollen form, continuous ‘thump-thump’ sounds reverberated, and with each thud, blood spurted from its facial orifices.

His face had turned a deep purple, contorted in an agony so profound that his eyes seemed on the verge of bursting from their sockets.

Anmeng Yue let out a chilling chuckle, then began to explain the horrifying tableau.

“We are incredibly petty! If anyone dares to harm us, we will exhaust every possible means to exact our revenge!”

“That man, right now, is likely trapped in a nightmare where his body is filled with bombs, endlessly experiencing explosion, pulverization, reassembly, and then explosion again, all within an eternal darkness~”

As she spoke, Anmeng Yue’s face was alight with a dark, unsettling smile.

Witnessing this, Lin Ran instinctively swallowed hard, a lump forming in his throat.

He felt a surge of relief that he still considered himself lawful good, having never even entertained such a sinister thought.

Yet, once the initial wave of fear subsided, a far more pressing and realistic problem presented itself.

“If I can’t earn anything from you, what am I supposed to do?” Lin Ran shook his head repeatedly, sighing with a deeply troubled expression.

“You seriously thought about robbing me, didn’t you?!” Anmeng Yue’s composure shattered instantly, and she glared at him, puffing out her cheeks in indignation.

“Haha, just a little jest. But about that compensation we discussed earlier… could you perhaps spare some crystal cores?”

Lin Ran’s tone was bordering on outright begging, for he truly was desperate for these precious resources.

Whether for trading with Anmeng Yue or with anyone else in the future, crystal cores were an absolute necessity.

Hearing his words, Anmeng Yue pondered for a few seconds before a look of sudden realization dawned on her face, as if she had only just remembered the matter.

But—crystal cores were her absolute bottom line!

“Money, I have none. My life, however, is yours.”

Having declared her stance, she crossed her arms over her chest.

Even the loose-fitting worker’s uniform couldn’t conceal her shapely figure as she provocatively surveyed Lin Ran from head to toe.

Her gaze lingered on Lin Ran’s toned abdomen beneath his white shirt, and her eyes suddenly sparkled with a mischievous glint.

A knowing smile played on her lips as she shot Lin Ran a teasing wink.

“If all else fails, how about a ‘flesh repayment’?”

As Anmeng Yue uttered these words, her face remained perfectly composed, her heartbeat steady.

This was a stark contrast to the innocent, blushing girls back home who would shy away from even the slightest touch.

Lin Ran, taking the opportunity, casually read Anmeng Yue’s thoughts to ascertain if she was truly serious.

Or perhaps she harbored some other scheme, deliberately waiting for him to suggest it himself.

Only…

[‘Hehehehe… this little hottie is quite handsome, and what a physique… those solid abs… if only I could touch them… no, if only I could pin him against the wall…’]

It certainly seemed as though she was the one who would be profiting from this ‘flesh repayment’!

****

By the time Lin Ran finally managed to send off the persistently pestering Anmeng Yue, it was already deep into the night.

The second wave of enemy attacks would likely persist for some time, as the vast majority of people probably still had no idea how to overcome the current predicament.

Not to mention there were individuals like himself who wished to save the Self-Disciplined Doll, which would only further prolong the duration of this second assault.

The third wave of attacks, he reasoned, wouldn’t arrive until most people had successfully cleared this stage.

Thus, Lin Ran decided to spend the night sleeping in the wooden house.

—After all, it was undeniably more comfortable than his dormitory room.

Only…

First, Lim arrived with a pillow, claiming she couldn’t sleep and wanted to share his bed.

Then came Anmeng Yue, with her relentless pestering.

Finally, even Slime Tot and the other little dolls joined the commotion.

The Slime Tot he had previously rescued, in particular, had somehow managed to crawl from the washbasin into his bed, now sleeping soundly amidst his covers.

Fortunately, they eventually started squabbling among themselves, and after much commotion, retreated to their own rooms.

Only the Self-Disciplined Doll remained silent and still.

It wasn’t that he harbored any unrealistic fantasies; it was simply that ever since his return, he had been engrossed in serious discussions with Anmeng Yue.

He hadn’t even had the chance to name the Self-Disciplined Doll.

‘Never mind… I’ll deal with it tomorrow,’ he thought, ‘Time to sleep.’

****

“[Current environment detected as apocalypse. First Survival Protocol initiated.]”

“[All fellow units, please cooperate with me to achieve the objective.]”

When Lin Ran was abruptly jolted awake in the dead of night, the first sight that greeted him was the Self-Disciplined Doll perched atop his chest.

And himself, tightly bound by the other little dolls.

‘Hmm…’

‘Hmm?’

‘You actually launched a night attack!’