I first went to the border of the town to see for myself what the so-called "barrier" was all about.

The abandoned department store, which was the prototype of the shelter, was located near a residential area, close to the edge of the town, which made it easier for me to move. At the fastest pace I could make in concealment, it took me less than three minutes to get from the shelter to the town's borders.

The scenery that appeared in front of me at this time confirmed my suspicions: there was no barrier at all.

Beyond the town, there is only the abyss.

There was no other shore in this abyss, and the darkness stretched out as far as the eye could see. For example, this town is like a "small" stone dug from the earth by the gods of doom, which was inexplicably thrown into the vast space of the universe and never returned. Since there were no references around, it was unclear whether the town was moving in the endless darkness or simply hovering.

No wonder they say that the undead can't invade the town at will, because there are no undead outside the town at all. The undead in the town now certainly did not come in from the outside, but appeared directly in the town.

But that's not to say they're lying.

I'm afraid that for them, the "enchantment" is real, and the "one hundred years protected by the enchantment" is also true. Even if they were brought here, they might not be able to see the abyss, but only the scenery they thought they were. It's as if they look at things from a very different perspective than we do, and they seem to have different solutions to the same math problems. It is not surprising that this "dislocation" occurs between the inhabitants of the dream realm and the outsiders. For those of us outsiders, those are just "backgrounds" that don't fit in with the nightmares of the moment.

But that's not the point, the point is: the town is all there is to this nightmare.

In other words: if anyone else accidentally falls into this nightmare, it will only appear in the interior of the town.

And from what I've seen and heard before, and from the conversations I've had with the survivors, the number of people who are now in the nightmare is only three people, including me, Huma, and Doctor Turin. Even if there are others, it will not exceed two digits at most. But this is very strange, the permanent population of Sabbath plus the floating population is at least five figures, and if a two-digit candidate is randomly selected from them, and then there happens to be me, my companion Huma, and the Turin doctor I am looking for - how low is this probability?

I wouldn't believe in such a coincidence. I'd rather believe that there is some kind of man-made conspiracy involved.

Ever since I entered the nightmare, I've been passively taking calls. And no matter what the situation, if you want to break out of the situation, passive acceptance is always the worst option, and it is not in line with my style all along. I had to regain the initiative. And for this, I decided to dive into the dream of the Turin doctor.

This is by no means a prudent option. But in a nightmare town full of terrifying undead, caution isn't as valuable as it used to be, because caution doesn't work for the undead. Now is the time to take the initiative. As a forerunner who was probably trained in dreams and entered the nightmare before we did, the Turin doctor may have a richer and more unique insight into the topic of "how to escape this nightmare". Even for that, I had to go to her.

And if she's the real culprit in everything — so much the better, I'll deal with her.

*

A moment later, I returned to the underground sewer beneath the shelter and grabbed my usual red chalk from my pocket.

It was because I was in a dream that I was able to do something that I couldn't do in reality with my past training. For example, there is a "doppelganger" mentioned once before.

To put it simply, it is to make your own doppelganger - the disadvantage is that there is only one in number, and you can't count on combat power; The advantage is that there is no risk of being taken over by the doppelganger, and the more "sinister guys" like me who have two faces before and after, the easier it is to train and complete this skill.

The reason why I want to separate the doppelganger here is to give Hu Ma an explanation, and on the other hand, when I enter the dream within a dream, someone must be outside to take care of the wind for me.

Although I can also ask for flax, I rarely ask others for things that I am able to accomplish.

But when I fumbled for my pocket, I didn't find the red chalk, but a small and delicate sphere.

Only then did I remember: I was using the body of a twenty-four-year-old in my previous life at the moment, and my clothes were not clothes from the real world. Naturally, the red chalk that used to be in the pocket of the pants is now impossible to have.

So, what is this sphere? I took it out and took a look, and it was a pale metal marble that looked like a miniature version of the moon, and I was stunned.

This is the "Eye of the Moon", a contract item used to sign the "Forgotten Moon Oath", and it is also my loot from a long time ago.

And it was also the "secret weapon" that I specially carried with me when I went to the town of Sabbath to guard against the doctors of Turin.

I can't afford not to be wary of the Turin doctors. Because the name "Doctor Turin" came out of the mouth of the Faceless Shadow, I had to guard against the possibility that "the Doctor of Turin knew him and deceived me about the medicine". The easiest way to do this is to make a pact with her that has real effect. In this way, no matter what other thoughts she has for me, they will not be able to put them into action.

As for why the Eye of the Moon was brought into the nightmare...... Presumably, because it is an object used to make a vow to the "Moon of Forgetting" lost in the abstract universe, it is closer to the abstract universe in nature, and the dream is also close to the abstract universe.

I put it back in my pocket. Although there is no red chalk, it is not in the way. I broke my finger and drew a palm-sized ritual pattern on the ground — it didn't really work, it just gave me a sense of ritual about what I was doing. To put it bluntly, it's self-hypnosis.

Then I covered my palms, closed my eyes, and listened to my heartbeat.

While silently counting the sound of his heartbeat, he imagined that there was a second heart outside of his body.

The important thing is imagination, and the more realistic the imagination, the more it will be able to reach the result.

I stripped away all distractions and concentrated on imagining the beating of the second heart, as if it were real, beating right in front of me.

When I could no longer distinguish between what was imagined and what was real in meditation, I naturally opened my eyes—there was no light, no ornate summoning array, and the second was already standing in front of me. And under my deliberate design, he took on the appearance of the eighteen-year-old of my life, wearing a black blindfold on his right eye, a wooden cane, and an unmarked camel-colored long-sleeved jacket and gray trousers.

When he saw my eyes open, he smiled kindly, but he didn't speak, and he looked quite gentle.

I also watched him without saying a word.

It turns out that in the eyes of other people, I am this image.

It's very different from looking in the mirror. The other self, with such a vivid attitude, really appeared in front of his eyes.

It's not so much that I met a person who "looks exactly like me", but rather that it was a "second possibility in life", and I appeared in front of my eyes as an entity that I could see and touch.

I think if I hadn't thought about pursuing psionic powers, let alone become a Faceling, I wouldn't have been able to carry an eye patch or a cane, but maybe that's how it would have felt.

I didn't become a faceling—when the thought came to mind, the familiar face in front of me suddenly became blurry and distant. Not visually, just such an illusion.

"Let's go." I said to him.

He nodded.

By the time we returned to the Vault, the Prophet had returned, as had the rest of the supply gathering team.

The team members were counting the harvest, and the Prophet smiled at the others, and the others looked trusting at the Prophet. Just by looking at this scene, you can understand how important the position of the prophet is here. The sanctuary was built on the power of the prophet himself, both in terms of organization and in the building itself. No one can deny that he is a well-deserved hero and leader here.

He also noticed me, and the other me beside me—for convenience, and then called me "Xu Fu" for the time being.

"You just went out?" The prophet walked up to me and looked at him, "Who is this?" ”

"He's a partner who was separated from us before." I made up a lie without thinking.

"I see." The prophet smiled and said, "I am the 'prophet'. ”

Xu Fu just smiled, but did not speak, and nodded.

The prophet seemed to sense that something was wrong, he frowned sharply, and looked at Xu Fu for a long time, but he couldn't see anything after all. Xu Fu is an individual who I have separated from the dream technology, and the dream dwellers will not be able to recognize the dream technology unless they can realize that the world they live in is a dream. Even if the prophet is a psychic with a professing ability.

"You make me feel special." The soothsayer looked at me again, "You don't seem to be a psyker, do you?" But being so close to you makes me feel like I'm right next to a Delta-class psyker. ”

The "Delta-level psionics" he refers to are the hierarchical designation for psionics in humans before the Hell Havoc era. If it corresponds to modern times, it almost refers to the level of "super psyker".

"I have my own secrets, too." I said noncommittally, "Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to survive in this world." ”

"Hopefully we can have a day to share secrets." He smiled, didn't mean to dig deeper, and left.

Just then, there was a rush of running behind me. I looked back and saw that it was Hu Ma. He looked at Xu Fu beside me with joy, and waved while running, and shouted at the same time, "Xu-"

Xu Fu turned his head to look at him, first changed his cane to his right hand, which could not move, and then raised his left index finger and placed it quietly in front of his lips.

Hu Ma reacted immediately and quickly closed his mouth, but still rushed in front of Xu Fu and gave him a bear hug.

"Great!" Like a child who has lost his most precious treasure and has finally found it, "You are still alive!" ”

Xu Fu smiled and nodded.

"Do you feel sick about anything? Are you hungry? Hu Ma circled around Xu Fu's side, and then suddenly remembered something, and took out an unopened canned braised beef, which seemed to be what I gave him before, and then he looked back at me, "That...... Can I give this can to him to eat? ”

"You haven't eaten it yet?" I asked unexpectedly. He was obviously hungry just now.

"I want to keep it for now, and when he comes back, I'll let him eat it." Hu Ma cautiously asked, "Is it okay?" ”

"It's okay." I certainly don't have any opinions.

Having said that, watching him give me the canned food he gave me away to another me, this wonderful cause and effect really made me not know what to say.

Hu Ma smiled and gave the can to Xu Fu.

The latter took the can with his left hand, looked down at the can for about two seconds. Then he raised his head, smiled at Hu Ma, and said his first words, "Thank you." ”