Wu Pifu's eyes were a deep crimson as he ran past the bodies of Wang Xiuting and Li An without looking back.
In his stumbling, he nearly fell, but fortunately, his mastery of the Tiger Demon Technique had strengthened his lower body, preventing him from collapsing at this critical moment and losing his life.
A Level Two Nightmare!
He never imagined he would encounter a Level Two Nightmare.
Just like that, two out of the three of them were dead, and… there was no longer anywhere outside to isolate the Nightmare!
Although Wu Pifu was filled with despair, he was not one to sit idly by.
Driven by his will to survive, he began to sprint madly towards the corner ahead.
Moving like a tiger, wild as a demon, it was the first time Wu Pifu felt so close to the state of mind required for this technique.
This was a secluded warehouse near Lujiazui on the Bund in Shanghai, across the river from the French Concession.
His target was the French Concession on the other side of the river!
By this time, the sky had completely darkened.
This was not the twenty-first century; although the Bund during the Republic of China was a world of indulgence, aside from the various concessions and bustling areas, other regions lacked the infrastructure of the future.
Therefore, after running out of the dimly lit warehouse, Wu Pifu found himself in complete darkness ahead.
However, Wu Pifu dared not hesitate or pause for even a moment.
He charged directly into the darkness, following the faint reflections of light on the river's surface as he surged forward.
He knew the Nightmare was mocking him, treating his escape like a cat playing with a mouse.
This was the baseline reality of 0.9, and this Level Two Nightmare came from baseline reality 0.8, allowing it to exert its full power here, possibly even enhancing its strength.
Just a moment ago, this Level Two Nightmare had killed Wang Xiuting and Li An with ease.
His survival was certainly not due to his strength, but rather sheer luck…
This Nightmare wanted to savor the fear he emitted!
But…
Could a man just sit and wait for death!?
Even if he were to die, he must die on the path of charging forward!!
There was still a glimmer of hope ahead, the only hope…
In this 0.9 baseline reality dream world, there were a total of three Level One Sanctuaries: his, Wang Xiuting's, and Li An's.
Li An's Sanctuary had been destroyed last year, in 1934, due to the influence of the Shanghai serial murders.
He had joined the Red Team to gain influence, only to have it sabotaged by the Central Bureau's agents.
Wang Xiuting's Sanctuary was the very warehouse that had just been destroyed when the Level Two Nightmare penetrated it.
Now, only his Sanctuary remained, located in the French Concession ahead; that was his only hope for escape!
Bursting out of the warehouse and onto the river, Wu Pifu leaped into the air, his body taking on a tiger-like form as he pounced forward, splashing into the water with a loud splash.
He was not skilled in water, but the Tiger Demon Technique included methods for training in water and swimming like a tiger.
However, Wu Pifu had not yet mastered these techniques, and now, forced into action, he began to flail madly in the water.
Gradually, he felt a bone-chilling coldness creeping up his back.
It was June on the Bund, and the weather was beginning to heat up.
Even as he struggled in the water, he should not have felt such a piercing chill, so this coldness could only mean one thing…
The Nightmare had come up behind him!
(…Just give me a little more time, just a little more opportunity.)
Wu Pifu continued to thrash forward, his entire body flushed with a faint red hue, steam rising from the top of his head.
The blood and qi of the Tiger Demon Technique had been activated to its peak.
This state could not be sustained for long, but it allowed him to exert two to three hundred jin of strength in his hands, propelling him forward with astonishing speed.
Yet… he still could not shake off the coldness behind him.
That was the Nightmare from baseline reality 0.8, a terrifying cursed spirit, formless and intangible, possessing speed that transcended logical concepts, capable of flashing and distorting physical space and laws.
It could manipulate human hearts, inducing hallucinations, and without any restraining techniques or powers, it could wipe out an entire legion of people in under a minute!
While the Tiger Demon Technique could immunize him against illusions in its state of blood and qi transportation, it could not resist this Nightmare's life force extraction.
It needed nothing more than a gentle touch from the Nightmare, and he would immediately sink to the bottom of the river, dead beyond recovery.
But whether it was his prayers being answered or the Nightmare wanting to toy with him a moment longer, Wu Pifu felt only the coldness on his back, without any further attacks, and miraculously managed to cross the river, charging into the territory of the French Concession ahead.
The year was 1935. Although the Japanese had invaded China, they had not yet attacked Shanghai.
While the various concessions were somewhat wary of the Japanese, their arrogance led them to believe that the Japanese lacked the courage to invade their territories.
Thus, aside from normal patrols, there were no searchlights or checkpoints along the borders of the French Concession.
Wu Pifu dashed through the darkness of the night towards the location of his Sanctuary.
Whether it was his illusion or not, the coldness on his back intensified…
No… it was not an illusion.
This thing could directly infiltrate human thoughts, causing hallucinations, so it could certainly sense his mind.
The closer he got to his destination, the more likely this thing was to kill him.
From what he knew of the Nightmares and their terrifying and malicious nature, the moment this Level Two Nightmare was most likely to kill him was… at the very instant he was about to be saved!?
Wu Pifu immediately began to clear his mind of thoughts.
This had been proven to be an effective method against Nightmares' perception of thoughts.
However, between life and death lay great terror; he was still a mortal, how could he completely empty his mind?
Wu Pifu could only desperately recall the various details of the Tiger Demon Technique, embodying the tiger, spirit like a demon…
Although the Tiger Demon Technique was a form of Xingyi Quan, practiced in the shape of a tiger, when it came to maintaining one's spirit and thoughts, it was not about imitating a real tiger, but rather going mad!
Chaotic and frenzied, within the madness lay true intent, guarding the heart and preserving one's true nature.
This was a martial art completely distinct from conventional national martial arts.
Other national martial arts required a calm mind; the so-called observation of one's true nature was for emptiness, but the Tiger Demon Technique reversed this, demanding that one be filled with madness while practicing.
The more chaotic thoughts one had, the better.
When one practiced the Tiger Demon Technique to the point of madness, one would instead settle down, finding a moment of tranquility amidst chaos and distraction.
Only then could one consider themselves to have entered the realm of the Tiger Demon Technique.
Wu Pifu had not yet reached this level; to be precise, he was merely a beginner.
According to the main interface, his proficiency in the Tiger Demon Technique was still at the entry level.
At this moment, Wu Pifu could only use chaotic thoughts to replace the emptiness of his mind, his head filled with various memories and questions.
Parents, what kind of emotions did they have when they bid me farewell?
It had been 2877 years, and I still had not found a partner, how pathetic!
I’m so hungry; ever since I started practicing national martial arts, I can eat so much.
Will I… survive?
I will survive!
The destination was just ahead.
Wu Pifu looked at the street with people and the tailor shop right at the edge of the French Concession.
He gathered all his strength and charged forward.
Having operated the Tiger Demon Technique to this point, he had activated his life force for over ten minutes.
At this moment, he looked quite terrifying, blood seeping from his mouth, ears, nose, and eyes, his skin a bright red and hot, beads of blood oozing from the surface, causing the surrounding pedestrians to retreat in fear, clearing a path for him to run forward.
Fifty meters, forty meters, thirty meters, twenty meters…
At the last ten meters, Wu Pifu let out a furious roar and leaped forward, executing the "Mad Tiger Pouncing into the Abyss" move from the Tiger Demon Technique.
His entire body soared into the air, his speed increasing several times, and he was about to crash into the red door of the tailor shop when suddenly, a tremendous force fixed his left arm in place, leaving him just one step away from the door, yet unable to enter.
Space!
Wu Pifu immediately understood what had happened.
The Nightmare had altered the spatial rules, trapping his left arm in space, leaving him in a final deadlock just one step away from escape.
The bone-chilling cold intensified sharply, and sounds that resembled moans, wails, and cries flooded into his mind.
At this moment, even though he was still operating the Tiger Demon Technique, the scene before him began to twist; this was a sign of the impending hallucination.
His life hung in the balance!
“Ahhh!!”
Wu Pifu suddenly let out a loud roar, his voice like a tiger's roar, like a madman.
He felt his skin erupting with green tendrils, his muscles bulging, and even some of his skin tearing apart.
In the next moment, Wu Pifu actually tore his left arm free, leaping into the red wooden door, crashing through it with a loud bang, and he vanished without a trace.
In an instant, Wu Pifu found himself in a futuristic, high-tech sleep chamber.
He did not rise but raised his intact right arm and shouted, “Mainframe, initiate random dream world penetration! Confirm!”
“Is… confirmation achieved? Penetration initiated.”
At that moment, a pale arm appeared out of nowhere beside the sleep chamber, reaching for Wu Pifu's head.
Simultaneously, Wu Pifu's vision went dark, and in the next instant, he fell into a muddy ground, with light rain falling from the sky.
He saw a building a dozen meters ahead, unable to discern what it was, but he still mustered all his remaining strength to stagger forward, then used all his might to slam his head against the weathered wooden door, producing a loud thud.
In the final moments before losing consciousness, Wu Pifu opened the mainframe's personal information interface in his mind and looked at the dream world he was in.
Baseline reality 0.7.
Finally, Wu Pifu fainted, feeling a slight sense of relief.
(End of Chapter)