The bus didnāt hesitate at all, ramming straight ahead.
Those that tried to escape were also caught by the strange ropes and left dangling from the back of the bus.
It was simply too brutal, too savage.
But as he watched, a thrill involuntarily rose in his heart.
Ever since becoming a script actorāeven after mastering the Dream Eye and becoming a veteranāheād had to be cautious during missions, living an extremely stifled life.
When had he ever felt this liberated?
Soon, after the bus snagged a few disheveled and obviously inhuman monsters from the lakeside, it drove on for some distance.
The scenery and the rain on both sides began to disappear.
In their place, the surroundings on both sides and even the road behind them became a hazy, foggy environment.
Strange and grotesque images flickered faintly within the mist.
Now, only the road ahead was still clear.
On the electronic map to the side, all the black dots had vanished, replaced by a massive, blood-red symbol that resembled a giant maw.
Apparently, that was the final destination.
At such a high speed, a journey that should have taken over an hour was now almost complete after just a dozen or so minutes.
In Hu Qiās perception, if the bus had previously been traveling in a space where reality and Nightmare overlapped, it had now entered the deeper reaches of the Nightmare, completely detached from the real world.
āThe Nightmare World, to put it bluntly, is a derivative product of the Mind Realm.ā
āThe Dream Eye that Li Chengguang pulled me into before was more like a unique Domain created in dependence on the real world.ā
āBut this is different.ā
āThis so-called Nightmare Gap is a space truly detached from reality.ā
āAnd those strange images surging within the gray mist are the product of countless beingsā mental landscapes.ā
āDreams and the mind are closely linked.ā
āFrom a psychological perspective, dreams are an expression of the subconscious.ā
āTherefore, this Nightmare Gap is hidden in the deepest part of the Mind Realm.ā
āBut logically, a situation like this shouldnāt be possible.ā
āNightmares exist in the deepest part of the Mind Realm. It would be one thing for a spiritual body to enter, but how could a physical body possibly get in?ā
āAnd yet, it happened.ā
āThis situation is somewhat similar to the Grotto Heaven within my own body.ā
Thinking of this, Hu Qi grew even more interested in this world.
This world was like a dense fog, and he had only managed to glimpse a tiny corner of it.
ćA few more minutes passed.ć
A crimson glow appeared up ahead.
It was, shockingly, a crimson apartment building.
It was the only thing in this entire space.
The apartment was surrounded on all sides by a gray, hazy mist.
At this moment, more than half of the apartmentās windows were dark, while the other third glowed with dim, yellow light.
Seeing this, a strange look flashed across Hu Qiās face. āThis is the Nightmare Gap, yet thereās something as illogical as electricity here?ā
However, on second thought, if there were apartments and people here, what was a little electricity?
...
At this moment, four or five figures stood at the apartment entrance.
They seemed to be chatting idly.
Just then, they seemed to hear a noise in the distance and all looked up.
In their line of sight, a gray, old-fashioned bus appeared at the end of the street.
"Hm? Looks like the rookies who finished their intern mission have arrived."
A man with a full beard, leaning against the doorway, spoke up.
"If you ask me, three or four rookies at most will have survived this time.
Maybe in a little bit, weāll get to see them pissing their pants in fear."
The bearded man grinned, took a deep drag from the cigarette butt dangling from his lips, and exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"I say two at most."
Beside him stood a refined-looking man.
He had a fair complexion and wore black-framed glasses, exuding a scholarly and elegant air.
He raised a hand and pushed up his glasses with his middle finger, speaking in an unhurried tone.
"My first intern script was riding the Deceitful Bus.
During the trip, different monsters get on board.
Even though itās just an intern script, its difficulty is on par with a formal script mission.
If a veteran hadnāt helped me back then, I wouldāve been a goner for sure."
As he said this, he paused, his brow furrowing slightly as if he had suddenly noticed something was wrong.
"But, speaking of which, I donāt remember the Deceitful Bus being this fast. And why doesnāt it show any signs of stopping?"
Hearing this, the others were startled and quickly turned their gazes to the distance.
The bus had already appeared outside the apartment, its bright headlights like a sharp sword thrusting straight toward them.
The intense light shone on their faces, which instantly turned ashen white, completely drained of color, as if their blood had frozen into ice crystals in that very moment.
Witnessing this scene, the men who had been standing leisurely at the entrance finally reacted, their expressions changing drastically.
"Fuck!"
They didnāt even have time to cry out in alarm.
Their instincts as script actors made them react instantly.
They spun around and bolted into the apartment for their lives.
Their panicked footsteps made a series of chaotic sounds on the floor.
BOOM!
The next second, a massive crash, like a clap of thunder, shook the very air.
In an instant, the apartmentās glass doors, like fragile, thin ice, shattered into countless sharp fragments that flew everywhere.