In the following days, Fang Xiu returned to the hospital to heal from his injuries, receiving a scheduled cell repair injection every day.
This miraculous medicine, developed by the headquarters, was incredibly effective in treating injuries. It could even heal severed limbs as long as the pieces were still there and treated within a certain period.
Psychics, like Fang Xiu, had stronger bodies and healing abilities compared to ordinary people. Despite his severe injuries, his natural recovery power and the cell repair fluid can heal him in less than a week.
He didn't join Bai Qi in searching for Nightmare. After all, he knew very well that with Nightmare's abilities, it would be almost impossible to find if it chose to hide.
Nightmare could simply enter anyone's dreams; it was like finding a needle in a haystack. The only option was to wait for Nightmare to reveal itself.
One day, Wang Dehai visited Fang Xiu's ward again.
"How are you feeling, Fang Xiu?" Wang Dehai asked with a tired smile, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep.
"Much better. Any news on Nightmare?" Fang Xiu asked.
Wang Dehai nodded, anger flashing in his eyes. "We haven't found Nightmare, but it has struck again. Yesterday, the entire Xiyuan community on Yuhua Road West fell. Everyone in the community is in a coma, with a few casualties. Several families have died in their dreams. The authorities had to take measures to keep the media from revealing this to the public."
Wang Dehai handed a report to Fang Xiu, which included several photos. In them, men and women lay with their eyes closed, their faces etched with terror.
It was clear that they were victims of Nightmare's slaughter, killed by fear in their dreams.
Fang Xiu speculated that fear might be the source of Nightmare's powerIt can grow stronger from it.
"I think Nightmare feeds on fear to strengthen itself. We must keep this quiet to prevent panic. If the general public becomes fearful because of this, Nightmare might grow too powerful for us to handle. The report shows that the sleep epidemic started with one family and spread like a plague, indicating that Nightmare is growing stronger," Fang Xiu observed and explained.
Wang Dehai nodded gravely. "Your assessment is correct. The department has discussed this. Nightmare indeed grows stronger through fear, and its range is expanding."
"But the problem now is that we currently have no effective way to deal with Nightmare. Those in a coma cannot be awakened, no matter what we do," Wang Dehai expressed his concern.
"Did you send anyone on it?" Fang Xiu asked.
"Yeah, I sent Bai Qi, but it seems Nightmare is wary of him. Even though Bai Qi stayed in Xiyuan community for several days, he couldn't enter the dreamscape to resolve the issue," Wang Dehai replied.
Hearing this, Fang Xiu had a thought. _'Nightmare is wary of Bai Qi? Why? Does this mean Bai Qi could harm it in the dream?'_
After thinking it over, Fang Xiu calmly said, "It seems Nightmare's weakness lies within the dreams."
Wang Dehai's gaze sharpened. "Are you saying that to defeat Nightmare, we must do it in a dream?"
Fang Xiu nodded. "Correct. If I'm guessing it right, Nightmare has no physical form, so most attacks can't harm it. But it's different in a dream because we also enter a dream without a physical form. We are in the same state as Nightmare, so we can only fight it in a dream."
"Then this mission must fall to you and Zhao Hao. Only you two have ever defeated Nightmare," Wang Dehai said.
Fang Xiu shook his head. He did defeat Nightmare, but Zhao Hao's situation was a bit different.
Fang Xiu replied, "Nightmare was as sneaky as humans. That may be why it never allowed Bai Qi into its dreams. If Zhao Hao and I go, we might also not be able to get into the dreams either."
Wang Dehai's expression grew grimmer. "Is there really no way to handle it? And we're just gonna watch as Nightmare pulls everyone into its realm?"
"Yes, I think that's all we can do for now."
"Wait? For now? Until when?"
"Until Nightmare is strong enough, until it feels we're no longer threatening to it. Only then will it pull us into the dream," Fang Xiu said the harrowing fact calmly.
Frustrated, Wang Dehai said, "Come on, you really think that's gonna work? Once Nightmare is strong enough not to fear you, and it pulls you into the dream, how will you fight it? Damn it! I feel like it's killing all of us. It holds all the initiative, attacking when it wants and using ordinary people's fear to strengthen itself. This already puts it in an invincible position!"
"Then we will see who is stronger at that time," Fang Xiu said calmly.
Seeing Fang Xiu's calm demeanor, Wang Dehai immediately asked, "Do you see a chance for victory in the future?"
Fang Xiu shook his head. "No, I dont."
Fang Xiu hadn't used his death reset ability for a long time, but even if he had, things would still be the same.
If Bai Qi, the top psychic in Greenvine, couldn't enter the dreamscape, neither could Fang Xiu. So, resetting to go to the Xiyuan community would only mean watching the residents fall into the dream over and over.
As for evacuating the residents in advance to prevent Nightmare from absorbing fear and gaining strength That wouldn't work, either. For ordinary people, Nightmare was overwhelmingly powerful. Even if Xiyuan community was empty now, there would always be places for it to find a new group of victims.
This was almost meant to happen when Nightmare broke loose; it was destined to kill many people.
After a bit more conversation, Wang Dehai left in frustration.
Soon after, Shen Lingxue, looking anxious and furious, hurried into the ward, followed by her partner, Li Wenhao.
Li Wenhao, too, appeared worried and seemed to want to hold Shen Lingxue back in place, but as an ordinary human, he was unable to hold back a psychic, not to mention one in a rage.
Shen Lingxue was now wearing a wig and looking as she did before. She confronted Fang Xiu. "Fang Xiu! Why didn't you make it clear that there were dozens of Specters in Green Mountain Mental Hospital? Do you know that because of you, Yang Kunpeng's squad was wiped out, and now the entire Xiyuan community is in a coma? They might all die! Do you know that?
"