Dark Moon Era

In Tang Ling’s room at Dvesha Moha, everyone else was in a somber mood. It had been almost an hour and Tang Ling was still asleep.

 Under normal circumstances, a dream entry would normally end around 10 minutes.

 After multiple dream entries, a Dream Seed would easily notice that the time spent in Dream Domain could barely affect the time in the real world and it was impossible to measure the accurate time flow.

 Usually, spending a day in the Dream Domain would take around 2 to 3 seconds, but sometimes, spending 3 to 5 days inside would also still take up around the same time. However, the number was constantly fluctuating, and if the days spent inside the Dream Domain were within a certain day limit, the time in the real world would not exceed 10 seconds.

 The delay that went up to minutes usually happened in the Mysterious Store and it was the same situation for everyone. If there were no special circumstances or unexpected situations, selecting the items from the list that the Mysterious Store provided should be quick.

 In Tang Ling’s case, he had not been up for even an hour!

 Did he run into some difficult situation and was unable to free himself? Had he spent hundreds of years in the Dream Domain? Then, could his mission have failed, so the odds of him ever waking up were slim?

 However, Tang Ling was still breathing and despite having injuries on his body, they were all healed in an instant. He had been fine ever since.

 Could the injuries have healed themselves after being trapped in the Dream Domain for far too long?

 “Boss, please check whether Little Tang Tang has any internal injuries. Didn’t you say even if his external injuries were healed, he might suffer from internal injuries? If he’s trapped, no one will be able to heal him…” Two lines of tears were streaked across Ding Ling’s face as she pleaded with the boss.

 Ding Dong was also teary-eyed when she looked at the boss. They were not that naive to the point that they could simply form a thick bond with anyone who lived with them for around a month.

 As a matter of fact, Boss Huang was the only person in their world before Tang Ling and the others appeared. Tang Ling was the first outsider, the freshman that appeared in their world, so he meant something else to them. On top of that, they got along with him quite well and felt happy around him, hence the bond.

 However, to their surprise, had something happened to Little Tang Tang this soon? Ding Ling and Ding Dong became sad by the thought of it, and they looked at the boss with big, teary eyes.

 Han Xing sighed as he carried the two little balls. He was also a Dream Seed and he knew that unless it was the last resort, Boss Huang would never consider touching Tang Ling. No one knew what would happen to a Dream Seed when the body was trifled with during a dream. Tang Ling’s situation was already unusual and if he simply touched him or woke him up, then…

 “Let’s wait a little longer.” Han Xing did not know how to console people, but he was gentle when he said that. That was the best he could do to calm the two little balls down.

 Looking at Tang Ling’s condition, other than anxiety, Han Xing also felt heavy and worried. He, too, had been through a lot before having the heart to follow Tang Ling. Would it just break like this?

 Han Xing was a little absent-minded and it was difficult for him to accept. He could not show his true feelings at the moment because both the little balls were hugging his neck left and right thanks to Tang Ling. It was the first time the two girls got so close to Han Xing.

 Hearing the plea from the two girls and watching how sad they were, Boss Huang finally showed unease.

 Was Tang Ling this weak? No, even if he was not Tang Feng’s son, based on what he had achieved in Dvesha Moha, the kid was certainly one-of-a-kind. He had only entered the dream that many times, but he failed to overcome it. Had Boss Huang made a mistake from the start?

 Aside from the merciless comments, humans were sentimental beings. Boss Huang grew worried because he looked highly upon Tang Ling and had grown to like the kid. Taking a deep breath, as the leader of the house, Boss Huang said, “Give him another 15 minutes. If he hasn’t woken up then, I’ll check his body for internal injuries. And if he hasn’t died, I’ll try to think of a way.”

 Actually, what could Boss Huang possibly do? He was not that capable yet to be able to affect the Dream Domain.

 Maybe I can get ‘him’ to help…

 Boss Huang slightly lifted his head as the person came into his mind. At that very moment, Dvesha Moha shook a bit, and other than him, no one else felt it.

 Speaking of the devil, he came just when I thought of him? Does he know about Tang Ling’s unusual condition?

 With that in mind, Boss Huang said, “I’ll have to get prepared before that. You guys stay here and watch over him. I’ll be back in 15 minutes.”

 …

 The dream felt like a long time, but it had only been an hour.

 Before the dream started, it was dusk. After the dream ended, the boss and Han Xing saw the Purple Moon just rising from the horizon.

 Inside Boss Huang’s room, the copper-faced man was sitting on a chair near the window as if he was enjoying the rising moon. He did not respond even when Boss Huang came in.

 “Something’s happened to Tang Ling.” Boss Huang skipped to the point when he saw the copper-faced man.

 In this whole world, there were only a handful of people who had the ability to interfere with the Dream Domain and this copper-faced man was one of them.

 “He’s fine.” The copper-faced man’s voice was as horrible as the grinding of machines, but he sounded very certain.

 “Really?” Boss Huang was in disbelief. Tang Ling had been into the dream for an hour but the copper-faced man was saying that he was fine?

 Immediately, Boss Huang mocked himself with a smile. He had no reason to doubt the copper-faced man. If something really had happened to Tang Ling, this man would certainly be more worried than him.

 “I’m still too ignorant.” The proud Boss Huang acknowledged his shortsightedness in front of the copper-faced man and even admitted his mistake.

 Nonetheless, the copper-faced man did not comment on Boss Huang’s attitude. He said after two seconds of silence, “You aren’t. Among your peers, you are the smartest and the most reliable.”

 “Please don’t talk about that,” Boss Huang replied with an awkward smile, yet his smile contained loneliness and reluctance as though he was trying to avoid the topic. He quickly buried the unusual feelings and wisely shifted the topic, “If you aren’t here about Tang Ling, then…why are you here?”

 “Here’s the latest intel from the front line which is confidential internal news. At least, I’m the fastest in Darkness Port to receive it.” The copper-faced man then took out a small piece of paper, which appeared to be a cutting from a newspaper, and passed it to Boss Huang.

 Boss Huang recalled what the copper-faced man told him during the first meeting and his expression somehow started to change for the worse. He did not want to accept the newspaper clipping, but in the end, he could not resist the temptation as his hands gripped it. He started to read and his face twisted even uglier.

 What’s this? The peace and subtle balance shattering because of an external force? Or something scarier than breaking the peace is happening?

 Boss Huang’s hands started to shake. It was unlike him at all. As though he wanted to double confirm his thoughts, he went silent and absent-minded after he read the newspaper for a second time.

 …

 Van Persie’s bones were all shattered. He laid in the best ward in Iron-Blooded City like a pile of bloody meat.

 Under normal circumstances, a mere position like the major should not have the right to lie down in the best ward. He was in there because of his valiant act on the battlefield. Indeed, Van Persie’s sacrifice was acknowledged. Anyone who brought a 500-men company to face the Autol tiger-bull and fought to the very end would be acknowledged and recognized.

 Unfortunately, even if he survived to receive the acknowledgment, what about his dead brother-in-arms? What about the aides who had joked intimately with him before the battle?

 How many men of the 500-strong company survived? Seven? Eight? Or ten? Any more than that would be a joke.

 Van Persie suddenly wanted to cry, but his body was badly mutilated and he did not even have the strength to shed a tear. The tears rumbled in his eyes, slowly building up before they rolled out from his eyes.

 Damn it! Those who had died might have been soldiers, but they were his friends, his brother-in-arms, his brothers! Tragically, he did not even have the strength to cry for them! Any Rank 3 Purple Moon Warrior who got trampled by a stampede of Autol tiger-bulls would not have the strength to cry either.

 Outside the ward, the short-tempered Major General Li Lie was shouting, “I said give him the best cell regeneration serum there is! Don’t f*cking tell me it’s not enough. If those damn serums aren’t for heroes, they are useless! I don’t care how many more there are. Just bring me two more vials! I want at least two!”

 Two? How well can I recover? I think the best I can do is become a crippled person, right? 

 I guess being a crippled person is fine. I’ll get to live a stable life from now on. I heard being labeled as a hero has some perks.

 Isn’t this what I always wanted? Why the hell are my eyes watery? Why am I so sad?

 Despite not being able to move a muscle, Van Persie was choking on his sobs, and his snot almost suffocated him. He was so weak to the point that he could not breathe properly.

 The instrument monitoring his condition went off and the nurses came in, followed by Major General Li Lie. The nurses quickly cleaned up the snot for Van Persie. He was a Rank 3 Purple Moon Warrior who was so helpless that he could not even clean his own snot, yet he could not stop crying.

 Damn it! My brothers! Your blood and flesh are buried in the snow. Are you guys cold? Or is it actually comfortable? I want to try it too. At least, I won’t be separated from you guys!

 Why the hell am I staying here? Is it because you guys are buried under the wall? I’m actually f*cking scared because we saw the devil, the devil that’s hiding among the stampede of Autol tiger-bulls!

 The battle won’t stop. It’s coming fiercer than ever, but I…Can I continue to stand on the ground where your blood spilled and protect the land?