Chapter 00040: Fake Goods
# Fake Goods
Chapter 40
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 40: Fake Goods
It felt like he had suddenly fallen asleep.
Ji Jue opened his eyes from the cold floor, his entire body aching as if he had just been beaten up.
Every limb felt on the verge of falling apart.
He struggled to turn over, staring at the familiar ceiling, trying to piece together what had happened, but the pain throbbed in his head like a hammer, leaving him unable to remember anything at all.
Could it be that he had overworked himself to the point of collapse?
No, that couldn’t be right.
Before the Level Three Engineer examination, he had spent a week studying in the library, and he still managed to squeeze in two mock exams for the lifeguard qualifications!
Am I getting old?
I’m not even twenty yet!
Ji Jue clutched his throbbing head and slowly picked himself up from the floor, trying to take deep breaths.
However, the air was filled with a pungent moldy smell.
He noticed that the window was open, letting in a deluge of rain that dripped onto the ground in a rhythmic patter.
Outside, the sky was cloaked in heavy clouds, blocking any sight of stars or the moon.
All he could hear was a distant, piercing wail from a dark alley far away, like the dying cry of a wild dog.
Ji Jue shivered involuntarily, instinctively closing the window.
His gaze then fell on the wall, where large patches of mold and peeling paint made him freeze in place.
How long had he slept?
A strange fear and unease began to creep up from his heart, quickening his breath.
Cold sweat drenched him.
When he raised his hand to look at his wrist, he found nothing there.
His watch was gone!
Even his abilities had vanished without a trace, like they had overloaded and collapsed, leaving his soul feeling empty.
All that remained was an unsettling scratching noise slowly creeping up from downstairs.
Ji Jue held his breath.
Cautiously, he pushed the door open, peering into the swirling darkness.
Inside, it was empty, save for an iron door swaying precariously in the wind and rain.
His heart suddenly constricted!
It felt as if an invisible fear had gripped him, making it hard to breathe.
A muffled, light laughter seemed to echo from the darkness, but he couldn’t make out what it was, only sensing a profound tremor in the air.
Beyond the veil of dreams, an invisible creature, the Nightmare, licked its lips, savoring the fear that bubbled up uncontrollably.
Such delight was impossible to fully enjoy since obtaining the essence of the Nightmare.
The chosen one, known as the Nightmare, never appeared before mortals, nor did it ever meet with its employers or enemies.
What it loved most was to become a nightmare itself, infiltrating the dreams of its targets, cruelly toying with and trampling them until they crumbled under fear, turning into mere puppets and playthings.
Now, it only had to move its fingers, and Ji Jue’s most horrifying memories and terrifying scenes would rise from the depths of his unconscious mind, dragging him further into despair.
A gust of cold wind carrying rain swept through the open door.
Before Ji Jue lay a line of muddy footprints that had inexplicably led into his home, like an unseen monster hiding in impenetrable darkness.
At that moment, a strange chewing sound echoed from the far end of the living room!
He stumbled back a step, almost losing his balance.
The intangible fear had reached its peak, transforming into something tangible.
Too easy, too uncomplicated, too simple.
The corners of the Nightmare's mouth slowly curled up, melding into the form crafted by fear, manifesting as a shadow stepping onto the stage.
- The game of hunting and torment had begun!
It laughed maniacally, opened its eyes wide, and then… froze in place.
Blinking in confusion, Ji Jue looked at himself, perplexed about why he was lying on top of the refrigerator.
Moreover, why on earth was he chewing on half a chicken leg?
Without sharp blades, without minions.
The withered figure slumped over the fridge met his reflection in the glass, staring at each other in disbelief.
Then a terrified scream sounded from behind him, followed by an enraged roar.
“My chicken leg! My fridge ahhhhhhh!!!”
Tears were almost streaming down Ji Jue’s face as he was completely overwhelmed by the scene before him, forgetting all reason and thought.
He charged forward recklessly, “I’ll fight you for this!”
Bang!
The Nightmare didn’t even have time to turn around before being walloped on the forehead, the sound of its skull cracking echoing in the air as everything spun around.
“Wait…”
Instinctively, it turned back, waving its hand, trying to tear Ji Jue apart, but its thin arm was effortlessly snapped by the impact, like a dry stalk of wheat.
“No way!” It widened its eyes in disbelief, “I—”
“What about you?!” Ji Jue roared, slamming the half of a table leg against the Nightmarish face, yelling, “You better pay for my fridge!”
As he watched the door of his newly repaired fridge fall to the ground, the last thread in Ji Jue’s mind snapped, his eyes turning scarlet, fists and feet flying.
“Take that for your illegal invasion!”
“Take that for eating my chicken leg!!”
“Take that for breaking! My! Fridge!!!!”
Bang!
The table leg broke into pieces under the impact of Ji Jue’s rage, but he showed no sign of stopping.
Still standing on its body, he grabbed a plate from beside him and smashed it directly onto the Nightmare’s forehead.
Smash!
Shards of ceramic flew everywhere; a plate that had been used for seven or eight years was completely shattered!
Ji Jue felt as if his heart was being stabbed.
Next, he picked up a rolling pin propped up against the cupboard and grabbed a greasy frying pan that was yet to be washed from the sink, wielding both like weapons.
“Are you all bullying me? Why is everyone picking on a poor guy like me?!” Ji Jue questioned, shouting, “I haven’t even finished paying off my student loans! Where’s my motorcycle?! Damn, where did my cow go?!”
Upon realizing that his small cow had also been stolen, Ji Jue felt as if the world had crashed around him.
His eyes bloodshot, he swung the frying pan wildly, unable to stop!
“Wait, I, no, you stop… I…”
Amid the storm of punches and kicks, the Nightmare instinctively curled into a ball, clutching its head, barely able to comprehend what had just happened.
How could someone’s worst nightmare be having their fridge destroyed? Surely, no one is that afraid of having their chicken leg stolen?
Damn it, are you crazy?!
Yet it was too late for protests or clarifications.
As the blood-stained rolling pin came swinging down again, the dream abruptly shattered.
In an airport lounge, the Nightmare cried out as it woke from the dream, opening its eyes, feeling blood oozing from its eyes, ears, mouth, and nose in disbelief.
Had it really been killed in the dream?
“Sir? Sir!” A hurried knock sounded from outside, “Do you need help? What happened?”
“I’m fine! Don’t bother me!”
The Nightmare screamed in a fit of rage, disregarding all decorum and politeness, instructing the staff through the door to leave him alone.
In the silence, only his heavy breathing remained, eyes filled with blood vessels, so fierce and terrifying.
“Ji Jue—”
A hoarse voice squeezed through its gritted teeth, unable to swallow this unprecedented humiliation, “We are not done yet.”
Before it could steady its frenzied spirit.
The Nightmare closed its eyes once more.
Nightmares howled from afar, rushing in again!
In a room, Ji Jue had just opened his eyes and hadn’t yet grasped what had happened when he slumped back down, snoring.
After an extended daze, he finally awoke to the afternoon sun streaming in.
Someone gently nudged his shoulder, so tenderly.
“Wake up, Ji Jue.”
Sitting beside him, Wen Wen looked down at him, “Did you fall asleep again?”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
Ji Jue instinctively apologized, rubbing his face, “I’ve been pushing myself hard lately, I…”
He raised his head to look over, but his words came to a halt, lost in confusion.
Wen Wen smiled, resting her chin on her hand, gazing at him.
“What’s wrong?” She picked up the ice cream beside her, readying a spoon, “Want to taste? This ice cream is really good.”
“Ah?” Ji Jue was perplexed.
“Come on, open your mouth.”
Wen Wen scooped up ice cream and cream with her spoon, bringing it to his lips, “Want to try?”
“Ah… um… maybe not.”
Ji Jue instinctively leaned back a little, embarrassed, “I have high blood sugar; I can’t eat these things. But, Wen Jie, you’re being so nice to me; it makes me kinda nervous.”
“Pfff, always thinking about who knows what.”
Wen Wen rolled her eyes, taking out a cigarette box from her pocket, expertly placing one between her lips, just as she was about to light it.
She noticed Ji Jue dutifully handing her the ashtray sitting next to him.
“You brat, at least you’re a chosen one…”
She shook her head, seeming about to say something, then noticed Ji Jue lifting the ashtray and aiming it at her forehead.
Bang!!!
With a loud crash, blood gushed from Wen Wen’s head, splattering everywhere as the ashtray shattered into two.
“Ji Jue, are you crazy?!” she shouted furiously.
“Who are you?”
Ji Jue stood up, holding the broken ashtray, expressionless as he stared at her furious face, enunciating each word, “Who are you?”
“Are you confused? I’m Wen Wen, I—”
“Wen Jie never smokes anything other than Bai Xing brands.” Ji Jue firmly shook his head, “She wouldn’t smoke anything else.”
“I just wanted to try something different!”
“Perhaps so, but maybe.”
Ji Jue nonchalantly nodded, not caring.
Yet, as he averted his gaze to her, he couldn't help but feel disdain, “But Wen Jie would never smile like that, like a pathetic dog, all greasy.”
Throughout his life, Ji Jue had seen countless smiles like that.
Each time someone smiled at him in such a way, it was always for some ulterior motive.
But Wen Wen had never smiled like that.
Not even once.
“Perfume, flavor, tone, if you think about it, there are too many flaws, even this face seems off.”
Ji Jue sighed, revealing the masquerader before him, “I guess either you don’t understand her well, or you know her all too well that you’d never dare show your face around her.”
He studied the gradually twisted expression before him, suddenly realizing, “So, you can’t even look her in the eye, right?”
In that instant, the bloodied, broken face rapidly morphed into an unfamiliar, sinister visage.
With the outline of some beast.
So grotesque.
The nightmare hiding in the shadows was pushed into a corner, the dream-eating beast cursed in fury.
“I wanted you to drown in sweet dreams, but it seems that’s unnecessary now.”
The Nightmare’s voice echoed from all directions, “This is all on you, Ji Jue.”
Boom!
The ground trembled violently, the sky cracking apart.
Ji Jue’s brain throbbed intensely.
Everything turned black.
It was as if an invisible hand was digging through his mind, violently unearthing the past, gathering fragments of pain and despair into a vast ocean.
Totally drowning him!
(End of Chapter)