The moonlight falls on the majestic Fort Wilhelm.

Char stood by the window, looked up at the bright moon, and took a few deep breaths to calm down his slightly restless heart.

Char then lay back on the bed and closed her eyes, wanting to fall back into the dream.

The feeling of being out of the body is amazing, and Char wants to experience it again.

Of course, this time Char won't go to anyone else's room again, especially Suzanne's.

Before he knew it, Char let out a soft snoring sound and he fell asleep.

"Here it is..."

Char's consciousness appears in a huge and empty playground.

All the rides are running, but the playground is empty.

Bang bang ...

A life-size robot rabbit in a red uniform walks past Char beating gongs and drums.

"Why did I get to this playground again?"

Char felt a chill in his heart, and fear and uneasiness poured out of his bone marrow, instantly spreading all over his body.

"Big brother, are you here to play with me?"

Behind him came the sound of a girl's laughter.

"Dream Girl!"

Char turned around slowly, and saw a girl with black hair and a black dress on the merry-go-round, raising her little white hands and waving them at her.

"Continuous dreams... The dreams are connected. ”

Char felt an inexplicable fear.

Dream Girl jumped off the merry-go-round and slowly walked towards Char.

With every step she took, Char's fear weighed a little.

A large shadow hung over the playground, and endless darkness poured out of the ground like the sea spreading in all directions.

"Wake up... Wake up! ”

Char's consciousness was very clear, and he knew that he was dreaming.

Moreover, Char has a clear premonition that once the dream girl comes to him and touches him, something terrible will definitely happen.

Bang...

The earth suddenly tore apart, and a huge crack suddenly appeared under Char's feet, swallowing him inside.

The strong sense of falling made Char wake up suddenly, straighten up from the bed, gasping for breath, already sweating.

"Is this reality, or is it a dream?"

In the dim light, Char looked at his hands and was a little dazed for a while.

Truth be told, the huge, empty playground is weird, but it's not scary.

Although Dream Girl's eyes are gloomy, her appearance is delicate and has nothing to do with horror.

But Char recalled the dream just now, and her body couldn't stop trembling.

It's a nightmare.

Char's worst nightmare.

Char glanced at the time, it was three o'clock in the morning, and it was already late at night.

Char's body was very sleepy, and his upper and lower eyelids kept fighting, but he didn't dare to sleep.

He was afraid that when he fell asleep, he would return to the empty playground and see the Dream Girl again.

This time, Char was able to wake up so quickly, probably because of the effect of the dream potion, which allowed him to control the dream for a short time.

Now that the effects of the Dream Elixir had begun to fade, next time, he might not be so lucky.

In order to avoid falling asleep, Char had to open the holographic bracelet.

Colorful light shot out from inside the bracelet, turning into a light screen in front of him.

Char reaches out and touches the virtual keyboard to enter the virtual world.

Drip, drip...

The mailbox is flashing with a new message.

Char opens the mailbox and finds that it is an email from the landlord Locke, which is a hologram.

Eugen was a middle-aged man, with a burly build, a beard, and a bit of blonde hair.

He shook his fist viciously at Char and roared, "Little rabbit, you'd better pay the rent in time, otherwise, I'll throw all your things out!" ”

Char didn't finish reading it, and tapped the close button.

Obviously, Locke has a bad temper and is a difficult landlord to deal with.

Char began to worry about how he could earn money to pay the rent in a short period of time.

"Hey..."

Char sighed, in this era, it is really difficult to make money.

Char read some news, including a subway suicide that he personally experienced.

It was mentioned on the news that the suicide was named Simon, who killed his wife in order to defraud the insurance money, and couldn't stand the condemnation of conscience and chose to commit suicide.

About the nightmare plague, the news says not a word.

"The truth is covered up."

Char was filled with emotion.

In this day and age, information is extremely advanced. However, the more information is developed, the more difficult it is for ordinary people to know the truth.

"Does the truth matter? Or is it pointless? ”

When Char came back to his senses, he found that his palm had been placed on the cold door leading to Shadow Street.

Squeak...

The door opens, and a hermit in a white robe and white hat appears at the wizard's bar.

Whether it's day or late at night, the Wizard's Bar is just as lively.

Char even felt that in the middle of the night, there were more wizards in the bar than usual.

After all, most hackers are night owls.

"Hermit-sama, you're finally here."

Seeing the hermit enter the bar, the wizard's apprentice Merlin rushed up to greet him, excitedly saying, "You have brought me good luck, and I have earned my first Shadow Coins. Can I ask you for a drink? ”

The hermit sat on a high chair at the bar and said gently, "Why not?" ”

Char asked for a glass of dark beer and took a sip.

Virtual networks can simulate most sensations, but when it comes to simulating the taste of food, it's not as good as it can be.

For example, this cup of dark beer is slightly bitter and lacks the mellow aroma unique to dark beer.

This time, the Red Witch did not appear.

"By this time, she may have slept. That is, like me, the time in the city where the Red Witch is located is late at night? Char smiled at the corner of her mouth.

Time flies by at the Wizard's Bar.

Soon at dawn, Char said goodbye to Merlin and prepared to leave Shadow Street.

"Hermit-sama... I still have a lot of questions for you, but I can't be waiting for you at the Wizard's Bar all the time. In reality, I also have some work to take care of. Can you add me as a friend and let me write to you? ”

Merlin's brown eyes were a little frightened, and he rubbed his hands a little nervously and whispered.

"Friends?"

Char was slightly stunned, and quickly realized that Shadow Street also had a communication function similar to a mailbox.

As long as the two parties are friends, they can pass messages at any time.

Of course, the information is encrypted, so it will never be snooped on and the identity of the wizard will not be revealed.

"Why not?"

Char bowed slightly, and exchanged friends with Merlin.

At this time, Char discovered that in addition to Merlin, there was another person in the hermit's friend list.

His name is Deep Blue.

The avatar is a blue sea.

Seeing this avatar, Char felt extremely familiar in her heart.

“HI。”

Char sent a message to Deep Blue.

However, he waited for a long time, and Deep Blue did not respond.

"Maybe Deep Blue, like Bob the Bartender, is just an artificial intelligence in the Shadow Street Buddy System." Char shook her head, disconnected, and returned to the real world.