Chapter 3645: Ghosts Everywhere (17)

The human brain was a truly miraculous thing, but any brain that’d had to endure such intense simulation was likely ruined.

“Thank you for telling me,” Ning Shu said, her tone half-serious and half-joking. “I actually think it’s pretty nice in here. Maybe I’ll even achieve immortality.”

“But your body won’t be able to hold out,” Song Mo said.

“Oh, I see!” Ning Shu nodded solemnly. “Then I’ll have to give that some serious thought.”

“Mm. Good luck.” Song Mo reached out to pat her head again, but she dodged him instantly. You just called me a retard.

If I let you pat my head after that, I really would be a retard.

Song Mo turned and walked away.

Ning Shu went upstairs and finished washing up. As she lay in bed, she wondered if she was about to start a new dream sequence.

She kept her eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling. Fine, she simply wouldn’t sleep.

She felt it would be incredibly difficult to get out of this. Song Mo’s ability to appear in her consciousness was undoubtedly the result of his hypnosis, forcing her to accept his role in her mind.

It seemed like Song Mo was there to help her, but Ning Shu didn’t dare trust him completely.

As she was unable to fall asleep, she began to recall the contents of the hypnosis books she had previously exchanged for. Now that she knew she was being hypnotized, she had to start learning how it worked.

She had only memorized the books and hadn’t fully mastered the concepts yet. She hadn’t even used the skill once before encountering this mission.

Hypnosis is a substituted state of consciousness induced by various techniques. In this state, a person is highly responsive to the suggestions of others.

It is a state of high suggestibility where the subject responds accordingly in terms of perception, memory, and control.

Hypnosis was a special, trance-like psychological state induced by human guidance, similar to sleep but not quite.

Its characteristics include a weakened or lost sense of independent judgment and willpower in the subject, along with distorted or lost sensations and perceptions.

Ning Shu suspected that she hadn’t just been hypnotized, but had also been injected with hallucinogenic drugs to end up like this.

Who was trying to harm her?

Everyone’s subconscious has a steadfast mission: to protect the person.

In reality, even in a hypnotic state, the subconscious acts like a loyal guardian to protect itself.

Given these horrific nightmares, Ning Shu still felt that someone was trying to destroy her spirit and her subconscious.

A lunatic has already lost the ability to think normally.

Damn it, this had to be the result of some deep-seated grudge!

Ning Shu was familiar with hypnosis, but it wasn’t something she could learn overnight.

It also required training.

The purpose of hypnosis is to help people relax and solve psychological problems. It’s meant to be positive, though some people use it for nefarious purposes. After all, once someone is hypnotized, they can be made to reveal secrets.

Ning Shu pulled out her phone and checked the time. It was already very late, and her roommates were all asleep.

She felt incredibly drowsy. She forced her eyelids open with all her might. I won’t sleep, I won’t sleep!

Who knew what things would look like when she woke up? All she could do was try to stay alive. Dying over and over again was simply draining her will to live.

Eventually, Ning Shu drifted into a deep sleep. Her eyelids felt so heavy it was as if someone were physically prying them down.

She was in a daze when her fingers twitched. However, her entire body felt as if an incredibly heavy weight were pressing down on her. She couldn’t move at all, and even breathing became difficult.

Damn, sleep paralysis?

Ning Shu felt that if she opened her eyes, she would see a terrifying ghost face—something as horrifying as possible. A gaping, bloody mouth, disheveled hair, red robes, and long fingernails, all pressing down on her.

She rolled her eyes behind her lids and struggled to move her body. She wondered if the thing pressing on her was a male or female ghost.

If she had a choice, she hoped it would be a cute little girl!

But would a cute little girl be this heavy?

It was probably a green-faced, sharp-toothed female ghost with a bloody maw, bleeding from every orifice.

The more terrifying, the better.

After experiencing so much, Ning Shu had become somewhat numb. She had captured ghosts before, after all.

She struggled to open her eyes, only to find that she could see a sinister-looking moon in the sky.

Ning Shu maintained a cold expression.

Wasn’t I in the dormitory? Why am I sleeping out in the open?

Sure enough, it was starting again. She moved her hands and found herself tied up on the sports field. Her limbs were bound with ropes, and her body was stretched out in the shape of a capital letter ‘A.’

She was surrounded by a dense crowd of people. They wore black clothes and hooded cloaks that seemed to hide their faces entirely. They held torches and surrounded her in a circle, looking quite ominous.

Ning Shu shifted her body, but the ropes only bit painfully into her wrists and ankles.

They were tied very tightly.

Her heart hammered in her chest. If she were facing demons or monsters right now, she wouldn’t be this nervous. At worst, she’d be swallowed whole or be scared out of her wits.

But the malice in the human heart exceeds that of any demon.

The human heart is the most poisonous thing of all.

Were they going to burn her alive?

Furthermore, Ning Shu discovered that she wasn’t wearing anything at all. Not a single stitch of clothing.

Oh, for Heaven’s sake!

Each time, the challenge to her psychological endurance increased. This time, she didn’t even have clothes.

At the very least, out of a sense of basic humanity, they could have given her something to cover up with.

With so many people surrounding her and staring, the sense of shame made her want to die of indignation.

She couldn’t even move an inch.

Ning Shu stared silently at the sky. Was she about to suffer something even more tragic?

Wasn’t this torture enough already?

She didn’t believe for a second when Song Mo said she was being hypnotized. Instead, this dreamscape was being refined over and over again to trap her in this purgatory forever.

Right now, she was a fish on the chopping block. Whether these people chose to violate her or kill her was entirely up to them.

She watched the moon grow brighter, its light shining directly down on her.

Was this some kind of ritual?

The problem was that they were in a school. Was it really okay to do something like this here?

She twisted her wrists, but the rope chafed painfully against her skin.

Damn it, even in a dream I have to be bullied. My self-consciousness really should be protecting me.

More and more of the deathly white moonlight fell upon her.

This was too humiliating. She was standing there completely naked, and they were basically shining a spotlight on her. What was the point?

She was being put on display!

Ning Shu struggled to keep her mind clear.

I was born naked anyway. This is just a return to nature.

She flicked her middle finger at the moon. Stupid moon.

What a bizarre nightmare. Why was this happening?

She tilted her head and saw Song Mo among the hooded figures, moving toward her.

He actually smiled at her sinisterly. He pulled out a gleaming dagger and, under the cold moonlight, plunged it straight into her chest.

As Song Mo withdrew the dagger, blood sprayed out and splattered across her chest like blooming flowers.