It is when the Missiontakers have separated, and Fei, Wu Jian and Mr Suicide are heading due east, that Wu Jian glances at Mr Suicide and confirms he is still in some kind of trance that he turns to Fei to talk.

He had this burning question for a long time now, saying, “Fei, that radio we heard before…”

Fei is quiet.

She knows what Wu Jian wants to talk about, but she also doesn’t know how to talk about it.

What came from the radio… was the government of the nation in this Nightmare, announcing the truth in the very last minute.

They already observed and confirmed the thing flying towards the planet earlier than the amateur astronomers had, of course.

What it was, they did not know either.

Not when the world’s nations’ resources were solely devoted to maintaining national stability due to the madness spreading a year ago.

In fact, some countries and territories actually gave up struggling altogether, resulting in bloodbath in their own lands.

Where they are is already one example that has kept society running, so to speak, even if that order…
Isn’t exactly easy to be called ‘societal order,’ as it may simply have been an ‘adaptation’ to the way the madness runs.

Regardless, the inexplicable madness has seen humanity abandon their efforts to explore space.

They had to, because they didn’t even have the reach to maintain the original systems and society.

Civilisation crumbled in just a moment… after a year.

The thing that was flying towards them were observed by the governments as well as the amateur astronomers, but they couldn’t do anything about it.

Rumours were overflowing amongst the sane, while the mad people are already happily worshipping Apocalypse cults.

All the official channels of media under government control, however, have kept quiet; in the last days that followed, society looked to be collapsing once again.

Finally, at the very last minute, a Communiqué issued to the whole of humanity, as relayed by their government through the radio and other sources, has been delivered to as many living humans as possible.

The world is going to end. Humans, at least, should have the right to know about it.

Even if one minute is far too short for a full-fledged explanation.

Humans were only informed that something was falling towards them. Their lives may be extinguished soon afterwards.

At that moment, all the Missiontakers could hear wails and cries coming from everywhere in the Nightmare.

Was it from the mad people? Does even insanity not preclude a primaeval fear for death?

Though, is that really even a broadcast of the truth?

They were just informed of their impending doom; what is causing their death, actually? Literally a rock falling from the sky?

Many people have already struggled to survive in this madness through the year. They might have gone mad themselves during it, but they’re still doing their best to survive.

One day, they would just expire in another inexplicable, all-encompassing disaster.

And they only realise they were going to die one minute before their expected deaths.

What would they think about in that minute?

Would they do their best to escape? Look for a ‘safe’ shelter? Would they just give up everything and end their own lives before the world could get to them? Would they, unable to cope with the disaster, lash out and make death fall to others before them?

They have so many questions.

Yet, when the Nightmare restarted, no Missiontaker mentioned a word to that effect.

They all mutually ignored the communiqué of the final minute. Instead, they just focused on the Nightmare; even if they all know, that something was fundamentally different.

That minute of announcement, wasn’t just an announcement to the people in the Nightmare, but also, to them.

To them, the humans who were still struggling along in the Tower.

So, when Fei has stomached everything, she started wondering. Whose Nightmare could this be, actually?

Would it seriously just be the Nightmare of a Tower resident that screams ‘the Apocalypse is going to destroy everything’?

Or, is it simply a Nightmare of all of humanity?

Fei is silent for a long time, before finally telling Wu Jian, “what we should do, is to find the truth. And then, we leave this place forever.”

Wu Jian looks at her.

He knows what she means.

‘This place’ isn’t just the Nightmare, but the despicable Tower.

So soon enough, Wu Jian nods and promises, “we will…”

They continue walking forward, while Mr Suicide follows closely behind them.

Meanwhile, Lin Qin and He Shujün is now in the library.

The young woman still looks extremely gloomy, completely different to how cheery she looked not long ago.

She has been affected by this Nightmare deeply, becoming the Nightmare’s – the Apocalypse’s – prisoner through-and-through.

She walks to the sofas for the visitors near the entrance of the library, sits down, and then remains motionless there.

Lin Qin observes and confirms she doesn’t look like she’s going to escape somewhere, before taking big strides towards Xü Beijin.

Xü Beijin, glancing at him, once again confirms how clingy Lin Qin really is. Maybe he should just suck it up at this point…

Sticking to him whenever and wherever in the Nightmares, never mind in the Tower.

Is this how his ‘like’ manifests itself?

Xü Beijin wonders, with a slightly strange expression.

Lin Qin approaches Xü Beijin, and instead of sitting down immediately, he merely looks at him with a hint of a smile, asking, “are you tired?”

Xü Beijin is surprised at the question, and looking at him rather suspiciously, replies, “I’m sleepy all the time,” then he adds, as sternly as possible, “I don’t want to sleep, however.”

Lin Qin then says, “you keep yawning all the time, so how can you say you don’t want to sleep?”

Xü Beijin makes an exasperated expression. Even though before coming to this Nightmare, Lin Qin has already given up on making him sleep, what is he on about now? Is this that important to him?

Recalling how Lin Qin once annoyed him to no end trying to make him brawl with him, and how he was so adamant in figuring out exactly what ‘like’ is until he managed to fool himself completely blind… Then, he thinks about how fundamentally, these things were only connected by the fact that they relate to Xü Beijin.

Xü Beijin remains quiet.

Lin Qin finally shows his true intentions, going, “do you not sleep because of your Nightmare? In that case… what really is your Nightmare?”

Xü Beijin looks at Lin Qin in shock.

Just now, he was still wondering if Lin Qin is now interested in his Nightmare.

He had no idea how to deal with him if he said he is. He was even sure before that that Lin Qin is disinterested in his Nightmare, given that he said it himself.

So he just threw the idea away when now, Lin Qin is talking about his Nightmare!

Xü Beijin has a complicated expression. What kind of intuition is that between he and Lin Qin?

Though…

Now that his thoughts have come to pass, Xü Beijin doesn’t know how to deal with them.

He did consider if he needs to open his Nightmare up to the world, with Lin Qin being one of the candidates he’s considering. He admits he has realised the necessity for this gesture.

What happened recently in the Tower had this invisible but highly prominent hand behind it all. The hand most likely belonged to…
NE.

What actually happened to him?

Xü Beijin has come to the conclusion that he needs to investigate the current state of NE.

While his Nightmare…

Xü Beijin is looking at Lin Qin with a piercing gaze so deep that Lin Qin has never seen it before. Now Lin Qin is wondering what Xü Beijin is thinking about while quietly awaiting his response.

The moment Xü Beijin is about to speak up, his vision takes in something and realises, that something is different about the library in front of him.

Where is He Shujün who was supposed to be seated at the sofa?!