Chapter 205 – Nightmare from Ten Thousand Years Ago – Nightmare Space (01)
[Points settlement: 1000 points awarded for breaking up the male and female leads. Side quest reward: 300 points for destroying the female lead’s support system.]
It was still the familiar mechanical voice. After the points were settled, the voice suddenly added, “Host, please take a short rest before proceeding to the next world.”
At the same time, the portal gate within the main system shut tightly—it was actually forcing Bai Tang to rest.
Usually, Bai Tang would rush to see his beloved as soon as possible. His routine was to complete the point settlement, receive the storyline for the next world, and immediately begin the new task. He had never encountered a situation like this before.
“I think I know what’s going on,” Qiu’er said, swallowing nervously. “Tang Tang really should take a break and adjust.”
Xiao A leaned over and looked at the cover of the script for the next world. On it was a cramped, dirty old city district, and at the top were four distorted characters: [Nightmare Space.]
It was clear that this was a horror-themed world.
“An escape game, maybe?” Xiao A comforted the trembling Qiu’er in their arms and flipped open the first page of the story.
Sure enough, the plot of this world was escape-oriented. Strangely, however, the introduction was unusually brief.
Just a few paragraphs summed up the premise, while the rest of the thick book was completely blank.
The introduction read as follows:
In the year 1533 of the Future Era on the planet Quan Zhi, the Time-Space Laboratory suddenly received a cube. Upon research, they found it contained an independent space that recreated the urban legends of Lan Xing from ten thousand years ago.
In the Era of Omniscience, there is very little surviving data about Lan Xing from millennia past. To unlock the cube’s secrets, the lab decided to connect human brainwaves to the cube in order to explore the ancient urban legends from across the ages…
That was the end of the introduction. Below it was the list of expedition members.
Inside a mysterious cube, no one knows what kind of urban legends lie within. The choices each person makes influence how the story unfolds, which is why the rest of the plot is completely blank.
Bai Tang’s main mission is still to break up the official CP. He figured the male and female leads probably develop feelings during the expedition, and the two of them successfully escape, ending in a happily-ever-after.
Xiao A asked, “Host, are you afraid of ghosts?”
Qiu’er widened his eyes in surprise. “How did you know?”
Xiao A replied, “There’s a similar world in my database. This kind of cube likely forms a new dimension built around urban legends. It’s a bit like a horror game—explorers are the players, collecting clues in the game to piece together the full storyline, solve puzzles, and find the exit. But I suspect this world isn’t just about solving puzzles and escaping. Otherwise, the system wouldn’t have made the host rest and adjust his mindset first. There might be unknown demons or ghosts.”
Qiu’er got even more frightened at that. Oh no. Tang Tang was scared of that kind of thing, and so was he. What if they died in that world?
Tears welling up, Qiu’er said in a choked voice, “T-Tang Tang… how about… we switch to another world instead? We can use points to skip this one… sob sob…”
Bai Tang didn’t dare claim he wasn’t afraid—just watching a horror movie felt like it drained half his life. If he had to personally experience it… just imagining the scenes made his back crawl with fear.
But his beloved was still in that world. How could he leave him behind just because he was scared?
Bai Tang said firmly, “I’m going.”
“Tang Tang…” Qiu’er’s eyes filled with tears. “That place is really dangerous and terrifying…”
Bai Tang knew full well that fear comes from the unknown.
In previous worlds—zombie apocalypses, werewolf killings—those were also extremely dangerous scenarios, but at least he knew the plot, so he never felt completely helpless. But this Nightmare Space… no one knew what was inside. Not even what to prepare for.
Clenching his jaw, Bai Tang insisted, “Qiu’er, I’m going.”
Xiao A patted Qiu’er on the head. “With us here, do you really think we can’t protect the host?”
Qiu’er threw himself into Xiao A’s arms, sobbing. Since Tang Tang was determined, he had no choice but to risk his life and follow.
As everyone knows, urban legends are inherently filled with horror, eeriness, and suspense. When a person’s brainwaves are connected to a virtual space like this, and they experience extreme fear that shatters their psychological defenses, it’s inevitable—they go mad.
The laboratory encountered countless difficulties in trying to conduct this experiment. As a result, the explorers sent into the Nightmare Space were actually people captured on the orders of the academician who proposed the project.
At first, the academician targeted street thugs and small-time nobodies—people whose disappearances wouldn’t raise public suspicion.
But very quickly, the downside of choosing such individuals became apparent. Most couldn’t survive more than ten minutes. They were unable to explore deeper into the world’s secrets, and after dying inside Nightmare Space, they went insane in reality.
No matter how many were sent in, the outcome remained the same.
With a heavy sigh, the academician decided to take a risk and began selecting top university students with both intelligence and courage. Under the guise of recruiting research assistants, he tricked them into participating.
The male lead, Mu Quyan, was one such outstanding PhD student who had been deceived.
The academician had his reasons for choosing Mu Quyan—he was not only quick-witted, but also physically capable. Mu Quyan was the youth sanda (Chinese kickboxing) champion of City D. His physical condition made him a perfect candidate for Nightmare Space.
Of course, Mu Quyan wasn’t the only one sent in. The academician had captured many others, including the female lead Wei Kexin, the male supporting character Bai Tang, and various industry elites as well as people from all walks of life.
When Bai Tang entered the world, it happened to be the moment he was being restrained and tied to a bed.
A researcher in a white lab coat injected a clear solution into his body with a syringe.
Bai Tang’s head instantly grew heavy and dizzy. In his daze, he vaguely heard the researchers saying something like, “Good luck.”
Once he had completely lost consciousness, the researchers pushed him into a white scanning pod. They pressed a switch, and the pod began to flash red and blue lights.
By the time Bai Tang woke up again, his brainwaves had already been connected to the Nightmare Space.
He looked around—he was in an old city district that resembled the kind of architecture often seen in TV dramas from the 1980s and ’90s.
The surroundings were dirty, chaotic, and run-down. Electrical wires crisscrossed through the narrow alleys, rats scurried past from time to time, and the air was laced with the stench of garbage.
Bai Tang looked up at the sky. It was a lifeless, dull gray that made it feel like there was no hope at all.
“Tang Tang, are you okay?” Qiu’er asked cautiously.
“I’m fine,” Bai Tang replied.
“Host, we’ve officially entered the Nightmare Space,” Xiao A reported. “The terrain here is highly complex. I’m activating scan mode—it may take some time, but I’ll map it out as quickly as possible, so please don’t worry. Also, the male lead and the others are at the entrance of the old district just ahead. You can still catch up and join the rest of the explorers.”
As always, Xiao A was the first to regain composure at a critical moment. It wasn’t that Qiu’er didn’t want to help Bai Tang, but his system had practically crashed. Curled up into a ball of white fluff, Qiu’er nestled close to Xiao A.
“Don’t be scared, Qiu’er. Just stay quietly in the little white room. If something terrifying shows up, just close your eyes. I’ll protect you,” Bai Tang reassured him gently.
“Waaah, Tang Tang, you’re so kind! I… I can’t abandon you. I’ll try my best to overcome my fear,” Qiu’er said, touched.
The ground was littered with trash, and every step squished against years of grime caked onto the surface. It clung to the soles of his shoes with a sticky unpleasantness.
Based on Xiao A’s current scans, the magnetic field inside the old district was highly unstable. There was a strong possibility that residual shadows lurked within—dangerous entities that could kill intruders and disrupt their brainwaves. If that happened, the person would go mad upon returning to the real world.
Fortunately, the shadows had fixed patrol zones. Since the explorers hadn’t officially entered the inner part of the old district yet, the escape game hadn’t technically begun. For now, they were safe.
After walking for about five minutes, Bai Tang spotted three men and two women standing by a large iron gate.
“Great, another one here to die,” said a long-haired man who noticed Bai Tang first.
“Don’t be like that,” said a sweet-looking girl with a ponytail, nudging him with her elbow. “None of us came here willingly. We’ll only find a way out if we work together.”
“Hi there. Don’t mind Qi Jiu—he’s just blunt,” she added. “My name is Wei Kexin, and he’s Qi Jiu. What should we call you?”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Bai Tang~”
The boy gave a soft smile, his voice sweet and soft like a child’s, with an adorable milky tone that was impossible to dislike.
Upon hearing the voice, Mu Quyan, who had been resting with his eyes closed against the wall, suddenly opened them. He looked toward the source of the sound, and his gaze met Bai Tang’s.
Mu Quyan’s heart felt as though it had been struck by something—his heartbeat suddenly quickened.
Then, a surge of anger rose from deep within him.
Those hypocritical researchers had actually dragged innocent people into this place.
Mu Quyan knew exactly what kind of place this was. He had been tricked into coming to the research institute under the pretense of studying artifacts from ancient Lanxing. He was aware of the previous experiments conducted on the cube. When he refused to allow them to connect his brainwaves to the cube, they ambushed and drugged him, forcing the connection.
He hadn’t felt much about the others being pulled in too—until he saw the boy. For some reason, the sight of Bai Tang stirred something unsettled in him.
Mu Quyan walked over to Bai Tang and extended a hand. “Hello, I’m Mu Quyan.”
“Hi~” Bai Tang responded cheerfully. He was delighted that the male lead had come up to greet him the very first time they met.
He took Mu Quyan’s outstretched hand, and the joy in his heart seemed to wash away much of the fear he had about entering the old city district.
Mu Quyan pressed a hand against his rapidly beating heart. “Since we’re already in here, the only way out is to uncover the secrets inside. Want to team up?”
Standing to the side, Wei Kexin was silently screaming in her heart: Brother, we were all gathered here arguing just now and you didn’t say a word.
“Sure~” Bai Tang smiled, his eyes curved like crescent moons. He looked absolutely adorable.
This time, the forced expedition team consisted of: Mu Quyan, Bai Tang, Wei Kexin, Qi Jiu, Bi Xinzhi, and Han Nian.
Each of them came from different backgrounds:
- Mu Quyan was a genius PhD candidate in physics.
- Bai Tang was the young master of a renowned confectionery company, born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
- Wei Kexin was an expert in ancient cultures.
- Qi Jiu was a sports referee and Wei Kexin’s childhood friend.
- Bi Xinzhi was an architect.
- Han Nian was a newly employed interior designer.
All of them had professional skills that could prove useful in the Nightmare Space—except for Bai Tang. In this space, no one really knew what role Bai Tang could possibly play.
Bi Xinzhi was a well-known architect in the industry, having won countless awards every year. He was proud and arrogant. After everyone had reported their background, he scoffed at Bai Tang and said, “What use are you? I don’t want you dragging the team down.”
Bai Tang retorted, “I’ll go my way, you go yours—what’s it to you?!”
Mu Quyan’s expression darkened. He half-embraced Bai Tang, shielding him protectively under his wing. “Since Mr. Bi feels that way, why don’t we split into teams? That way, we won’t hold him back.”
Wei Kexin looked at Mu Quyan, then at Bi Xinzhi. Whether it was because Mu Quyan seemed more reliable, or due to the natural attraction between the male and female leads, she hesitated for a moment before stepping over to Mu Quyan’s side. Qi Jiu, her childhood friend, followed her lead and joined the same group.
That left Han Nian torn between two choices: one was a team with more people, the other was her long-admired idol in the industry.
In the end, admiration won out. She chose to follow Bi Xinzhi. After all, in this kind of old city district, an architect’s knowledge of building structures would be highly beneficial for navigating the terrain. Compared to following a conspicuous group, staying with Bi Xinzhi might actually improve their chances of finding an exit.
With the teams formed, the two groups entered the old city one after the other.
Author’s Note:
The inspiration for this world came from a horror game playthrough I recently watched—those old-style Hong Kong residential buildings are really creepy. I wanted to see Tang Tang trembling in the male lead’s arms, so this futuristic horror-escape world was born.
Before I knew it, Tang Tang’s story has already reached over 500,000 words! Are my dear readers starting to feel a little burnt out?