Nightmare Assault

There were buildings 2 and 3 stories tall across from him. There were businesses one would find around a school, like eateries, bookstores, internet cafes and so on.

The internet cafe had good business, but the female boss who stood in front of the bookstore looked very pissed.

Jiang Cheng walked to a cafe and paused at the door for a few seconds before walking in.  There was no one on the first floor. He found the stairs and headed up to the second floor. He noticed that the window seats were all taken. Around eight customers turned their eyes to Jiang Cheng.

“Doctor!” Fatty, who was squeezed into the corner, looked at Jiang Cheng with watery eyes, “It’s so good to see you here!”

Jiang Cheng was surprised to see Fatty there, but he only glanced at him before turning away. That group appeared to be his teammates for this mission. It was more than last time. There were eight, including Jiang Cheng.

“Hello.” A man in a white suit stood up to greet Jiang Cheng, “You’re amazing to be able to find this place on your own.” He was right that Jiang Cheng didn’t choose this cafe randomly. Most of the surrounding buildings were low. The cafe provided the best vantage point. Furthermore, there was a large glass window on the third floor where one could easily look into the school. Jiang Cheng looked at the school outside the window before turning around, “Is the school the location of the mission?”

“It should be.” The man in the suit shrugged, “I’ve already asked the waiter here. That is not a normal school but an art school.”

Just as the man was about to continue, a loud roar interrupted him, “Where is this place? Who are you? I’m calling the cops!”

Jiang Cheng turned his head and saw a middle-aged man in a tank top yelling agitatedly. It appeared to be his first time in the nightmare realm.

“We’ve told you what you needed to know. It’s not our issue if you want to accept it or not.” A young man with a cap leaned on the chair. He narrowed his eyes at the middle-aged man and suddenly chuckled, “I’m not your father, so I don’t care whether you live or die.”

“I’m calling the cops. I’m suing you for illegally detaining me!” The middle-aged man growled, but Jiang Cheng knew at first glance that it was because he was scared. The middle-aged man should have known that this world was different from the real world, but his heart had been resisting it. Or else he could have chosen to leave instead of staying.

There were three newbies this time. Other than the middle-aged man, there was a boy and a girl.

The girl wore a set of cute dinosaur pyjamas. A white fluffy tail trailed at the back. Her face was so white that she might faint at any time. The man was better. However, based on what Fatty told him later… When the man first arrived, he was worse than the middle-aged man. He threatened everyone present and even flipped the cafe table.

“Enough.” The suited man said very naturally, “Since everyone is here, we should go to the school.”

“Must the school be the mission venue?” The person who spoke was a woman in a qipao. She had on light makeup. Her body was amazing, but her appearance was normal.

“Not necessarily.” The suited man smiled, “But we should still try. We know that we’ll only run into those things at the real mission venue.”

When the man mentioned those things, everyone became serious. The group left the cafe. Even the angry middle-aged man walked at the back silently.

Fatty used this chance to get close to Jiang Cheng and whispered, “Doctor, I was so scared when I came here and didn’t see you.”

Jiang Cheng didn’t waste time. “How did you find the cafe?”

Fatty licked his lips and said shyly, “I didn’t find it. I descended there. I was standing on top of the third-floor table of this cafe after I opened the door. The school was displayed right before my eyes.”

Jiang Cheng glanced at Fatty. After some time, he asked, “What about the others?”

“They arrived later than me.”

“Did they all start at the cafe?”

“Not all.” Fatty shook his head and then lifted his chin. The suited man was comforting the girl in the pyjamas. “The white suit found the place like you did.”

Jiang Cheng sucked in a breath. “In other words, other than him and me, seven of you were born in the cafe. You even directly appeared on the third-floor table.”

“Doctor, I can’t refute that.” Fatty looked calmer than the first time he was in a nightmare. At least he wasn’t stuttering. “But, please don’t use the term, born. I prefer descended.”

Jiang Cheng tutted and was about to lecture Fatty when they arrived at the school gate. There was no one at the gate, but a smaller door at the side creaked. Then, a middle-aged woman walked out. She said she was the welcoming teacher who came to welcome them.

Since they didn’t know the mission content and their identity, everyone chose to follow the middle-aged woman or the first NPC silently.

Normally, the first NPC was there to help the players understand the world-building and so on. After communicating with the woman, they knew their roles. They were the camera crew from an entertainment company. They were invited by the school to shoot the school’s imminent anniversary event.

As the suited man said, this was an art school. They took in music students. The school was small but very famous. They had many celebrity alums, according to the middle-aged woman.

“Your company has sent the devices over yesterday.” The woman said, “They are currently situated in the prop room. Don’t worry.”

“Can we go to the prop room then?” The young man with the cap suddenly asked. He had turned his cap around. Something was embedded in the ear stud he had. It glowed under the sun.

The woman stopped. When she saw the young man, her face darkened. “No. Definitely not!”