Chapter 148: Ghostfire Youth

The walls of the private dining room were slightly yellowed with age, adorned with faded promotional posters from a bygone era, while an antique speaker in the corner softly played a melodic tune.

The environment of the Chinese restaurant could hardly be called pleasant; it was somewhat cluttered—the kind of obscure, hole-in-the-wall eatery that only residents intimately familiar with the development zone could ever hope to find.

For a restaurant hidden deep within winding alleys to boast such bustling popularity, the reasons surely extended far beyond mere affordability.

"Don't mind the ordinary setting; the food here is undeniably authentic." Li Nanke stood up, pulled out a chair, and invited the eldest daughter of the Westahlia family to be seated. "Do you have any dietary restrictions?"

"Thank you. As long as it's not overly spicy, I can eat anything." Minian maintained an elegant and graceful posture, her gaze sweeping over the nostalgic decor of the private room.

Although the development zone and the high-precision district were both located within the City of Salvation, separated by a mere wall, they felt like two completely different worlds.

Here lay the gloomy, filthy slums; there stood the sun-drenched, affluent district.

Minian could recall visiting the development zone only twice in her entire life—she had ventured into the wilderness more times than she had set foot here. One visit was for a charity gala, and the other was when she had snuck out to play in her youth...

Under normal circumstances, she would have grown weary of the pedantic and elderly head maid’s endless nagging and abandoned the idea of coming to the development zone altogether. This time, however, she had Li Nanke to thank, leaving Madam Rosalyn with no grounds for objection.

"Mr. Li, thank you so much for activating the blue crystal," Minian said with a smile. "The taboo artifact traits you deciphered possess immense research value. Initially, the family's research team never imagined that the blue crystal could hold pharmaceutical potential."

Pharmaceuticals? How did this become about pharmaceuticals... Li Nanke thought to himself that while he was aware of the taboo artifact's traits, he certainly never suspected that the thing could be used to manufacture medicine.

Maintaining an impassive expression, he replied, "Oh? It seems my train of thought was correct. Could you elaborate?"

Minian continued, "Based on the taboo artifact traits you provided, the family's research team discovered a peculiar substance within the blue crystal called 'Essence Qi,' though the energy contained within it was somewhat impure."

"The team attempted to purify the Essence Qi energy and injected it into subjects such as mice and experimental monkeys. To our surprise, it significantly enhanced the test subjects' lifespans and overall physical attributes."

"However, the team's current purification method still seems to have flaws, causing some animal test subjects to develop unsettling side effects—such as the formation of turquoise flaky crystals on their skin, localized joint stiffness and paralysis, or even plunging into madness with extreme aggression..."

The more Li Nanke listened, the more wrong it sounded. Wait a minute, weren't these precisely the symptoms of petrification disease and living corpses!

He couldn't help but envision the Westahlia family mass-producing existences similar to Champion Victor or The Complete One Laxsia, a mental image carrying a deeply horrific undertone.

He had shared the hidden traits of the taboo artifact purely out of goodwill, yet it felt as though he had accidentally opened Pandora's box.

"Miss Minian, I'm not very familiar with pharmaceuticals... but I feel that these side effects might be far more dangerous than you imagine," Li Nanke said, weighing his words and offering a cautious warning.

Minian was slightly startled before she recovered, pursing her lips into a smile.

"Mr. Li is a very kind person. I understand what you're worried about, but rest assured, the horrifying scenes you're imagining won't happen... I've played those zombie apocalypse dreams too, cough."

She stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence and hastily changed the subject. "We are still a long way from the clinical trial and market release stages. The team will only proceed to clinical trials once the side effects are completely eliminated."

"Furthermore, similar drugs undergo rigorous supervision and regulation by the Control Bureau and the Ethics Committee during both clinical trials and pre-launch phases. Bizarre occurrences like those in horror dreams simply cannot happen in reality."

Upon closer reflection, Li Nanke realized she had a point.

The real world was home to the Control Bureau and a vast multitude of transcendent beings. Despite the countless existing taboo artifacts, they had never stirred up any catastrophic waves.

A behemoth like the Control Bureau could pull out a containment team leader who was a terrifying Tier 5 transcendent; even if ten Complete One Laxsias popped out to join forces, they wouldn't even serve as a proper warm-up.

Previously, a large-scale outbreak of aberrant entities had occurred in the A91 Security Zone, yet the containment personnel barely had to lift a finger—the regular modernized military alone had quelled the disaster.

If the reality he inhabited was viewed as a forbidden dream by the eyes of other nightmares, it was undoubtedly the highest-difficulty, most terrifying tier of forbidden dream.

"If I can summon transcendent creatures from dreams into reality, and if I could similarly summon real-world transcendents within dreams, I'd practically be able to walk sideways..." Li Nanke mused inwardly.

At that moment, a knock sounded at the private room door, and a waiter served steaming hot dishes to the table.

Though they were simple, home-style Chinese dishes, their enticing aroma made one swallow hard and instantly stimulated the appetite.

Minian had been taking great care to maintain her etiquette and manners, but she still couldn't resist sneaking a few extra bites, prompting her to praise, "The place you picked is simply wonderful, Mr. Li. It was supposed to be my treat for a lavish dinner, but looking at it now, I'm so glad I didn't insist."

Li Nanke noticed that she seemed to favor sweet and sour dishes.

In truth, it wasn't just Minian; the majority of the population in the City of Salvation felt the same way.

The flavor profiles of these dishes matched their dietary habits quite well. Conversely, they tended to find conventional Chinese dishes greasy. Among his colleagues at the Control Bureau, only Jiang Lei could completely share his culinary tastes.

"As long as you enjoy it. The worst thing is recommending a great restaurant or a wonderful dream to someone, only for them to feel completely indifferent." Li Nanke rotated the sweet and sour dishes toward her. "You keep calling me 'Mr. Li'; it's far too polite and distant. Just call me by my name."

"Alright, Nanke. I really love the flavors here," Minian said, blinking with a smile. "If you know of any other hidden-gem restaurants, please be sure to recommend them to me."

"I'm out," Li Nanke said, putting on a mock stern face. "Though I do happen to have a few horror dreams about zombies that Miss Minian should find quite interesting. I can mail them to you tomorrow."

"Cough." Minian instantly choked on her water and coughed awkwardly twice. "You must be joking. A lady who must maintain her decorum could never be interested in that kind of dream."

Li Nanke continued unbothered, "Before joining the Control Bureau, I worked on black-dream modification. I have quite a few thrilling and terrifying horror dreams stored away, with synchronization rates so high ordinary people can hardly stomach them... Now that I've turned over a new leaf and quit, those dream data drives are just gathering dust in the warehouse. It's truly a waste."

Minian had been raised with an elite 'aristocratic' education since childhood, requiring her every word and action to remain elegant and dignified.

Head maid Rosalyn monitored her grooming, supervised her speech and deportment, and constantly reminded her to be a quiet and virtuous lady. Even in the thoroughly liberated modern era, the Westahlia family's views on these matters remained far more conservative and feudal than those of antiquity.

Yet Minian would occasionally shed her mask to glimpse her true self, lest she wear the facade for so long that she forgot her heart still yearned for freedom.

She would secretly defy the head maid to synchronize with thrilling horror dreams, and she would quietly accompany her brother into the wilderness to observe newly discovered taboo artifacts...

"It is indeed a pity; such a waste," Minian said, trying to remain calm and pretending to be unconcerned. "However, I happen to have a friend who enjoys those kinds of horror dreams. If you're willing, you can hand the dream drives to me, and I can pass them on to my friend..."

Li Nanke smiled faintly. "Very well. I'll grab them for you when I get home later. Be sure to tell your friend to put on adult diapers before synchronizing, and perhaps stock up on some fast-acting heart pills."

Meeting Li Nanke's knowing, amused gaze, Minian could only nod with a slight blush.

Seemingly recalling something, she hastily changed the subject. "By the way, you mentioned over the communicator earlier that you had something important to discuss with me..."

"Ah, yes. I want to use a laboratory to tinker with some personal gadgets, which isn't very convenient at the Control Bureau. Could I borrow your family's research laboratory for a while?"

Minian understood instantly.

Li Nanke must have taken on some private work from a researcher.

Some transcendents within the Control Bureau took on private gigs in their spare time. For instance, logistics medical personnel like Lena, who served as a mental-type healer, would secretly take on private healing cases to earn a little extra cash.

The Control Bureau usually turned a blind eye to this, generally ignoring it as long as it didn't interfere with official duties.

However, the bureau was much stricter with researchers like Li Nanke, given that research personnel held numerous top-secret clearances, making private projects a potential conflict of interest.

"That's not a problem at all. The family's research team has plenty of laboratories, and several of them remain vacant most of the time," Minian said, carefully weighing her words. "However, if you're experiencing financial difficulties, I can help you..."

Li Nanke smiled and shook his head. With a flick of his wrist, a metal greatsword of bizarre design materialized in his hand.

The spine of the sword was hollowed out, featuring sharp metal electrodes shaped like human spinal vertebrae running down the center. The blade gleamed with a chilling, razor-sharp light, instantly marking it as a lethal weapon of terrifying destructive power.

"This is..." Minian widened her gorgeous eyes.

The greatsword looked fierce and sported a cool design, resembling a weapon straight out of a gaming dream.

She knew he was a Pantheon-type transcendent, but she had no idea that alongside his physical-type abilities, Li Nanke also possessed Fantastical-type talents.

"I enjoy crafting weapons and tools like this, but since my Fantastical-type abilities aren't fully mastered yet, I can only materialize some raw materials first and then process them myself to fully manifest a complete weapon like this."

Li Nanke continued, "It's purely a personal hobby. Since it's inconvenient to do at the Control Bureau, I have to impose on you."

"So that's how it is. It's no trouble at all, really." Minian blinked and said softly, "Um... may I take a closer look? Fantastical-type transcendents are exceedingly rare, and I've never seen items materialized by one. I'm purely curious."

Minian wasn't a nightmare; even if she looked at it, she wouldn't be able to discern any of its attributes. Openly and generously, Li Nanke handed the Thunder Verdict greatsword over to her.

Her hands sank under its weight, and Minian nearly failed to keep a steady grip on the sword.

The greatsword weighed at least a hundred kilograms, feeling cold and hard to the touch. An ordinary person would find it quite difficult even to lift the weapon, let alone wield it in battle.

Minian gripped the greatsword tightly and swung it a couple of times. Her form actually looked quite decent, though the confines of the private room were too cramped for her to fully unleash its potential.

She played with the greatsword for a long time, her eyes carrying a subtle hint of fondness, before reluctantly returning it to Li Nanke after quite a while.

"This is just a false object brought into existence through manifestation. If you like it, I can craft a similar one for you another day... Ah, I mean, for your friend."

With a flick of Li Nanke's wrist, the Thunder Verdict greatsword vanished.

"Really?" Minian asked, pleasantly surprised. Then, seeming to recall something, she politely declined, "Actually, never mind, don't bother. With a sword this large, if it can't be put on public display in a room and has to be hidden away secretly, it's better never to have possessed it at all."

To her, the greatsword wasn't a weapon; it was a coolly designed collectible.

Much like an action figure, if it had to be buried at the bottom of a box instead of resting in a display case where she could admire it every day, then not having it at all was preferable.

Seeing this, Li Nanke dropped the subject.

Now that the laboratory was secured, he would be able to manufacture alchemical items to earn money, allowing him to properly kit himself out for the Deep Dream World.

Otherwise, with only a few coins left in his pocket, he couldn't even afford a decent piece of defensive gear. It would truly waste such an excellent support and logistics profession as an alchemist.

Once he was fully geared up in divine equipment, he could stride into the next forbidden dream.

If he encountered a non-peaceful mode and ran into hostile nightmare enemies at that time, he would definitely give those foes a massive surprise.

The two chatted as they ate. Li Nanke repeatedly coaxed fond smiles from the wealthy young heiress, and by the end of the meal, their relationship had subtly shifted from business partners to genuine friends.

After finishing their meal, they left the restaurant.

"It's getting late." Minian checked the time on her communicator. "Madam Rosalyn is still waiting for me. I should head back."

Minian cast a subtle, fleeting glance at the heavy motorcycle before quickly looking away, preparing to dial the number to summon the head maid and driver to pick her up.

She silently chided herself, telling herself she had already behaved quite unladylike today; if the head maid Rosalyn found out, she would likely endure a whole week of endless nagging.

Li Nanke paused. "Aren't you coming back with me to get the dream data drive? Did you forget you still have a friend?"

He unlocked his black heavy motorcycle, the "Hell's Elegy." Its blinding headlights pierced the gloom of the shadowy alley, and an invisible plasma shield insulated the rider from the chilly, drizzling wind and rain.

Straddling the motorcycle, Li Nanke patted the pillion seat and said,

"Let's go. We'll stop by my place first, and I'll send you home afterward."

Minian hesitated on the spot, stammering, "I—Is that really a good idea?"

"Come on. Consider it an experience for your friend."

"No, I'm wearing a skirt."

"We're both transcendents, not ordinary people. You can sit sideways; it'll be fine."

Biting her lip and pondering for a long moment, Minian finally gritted her teeth and mounted the motorcycle.

The heavy motorcycle roared into the rainy curtain, charging out of the alley.

Li Nanke possessed lightning-fast neural reflexes, completely bypassing the auto-pilot mode and driving entirely manually. Street scenery flashed backward in a blur, transforming the rain and neon lights into streaks of light that vanished in an instant.

With one hand holding the rear grip and the other pressing down her skirt, Minian listened to the whistling wind of freedom in her ears and stared at the broad, sturdy back of the man before her.

"Mind your posture... Minian."

She muttered softly to herself, yet her eyes burned with excitement and delight.