Chapter 28 The Flare Project

Li Nanke lay inside his sleeping bag, not touching the fragment of the forbidden object directly, but instead holding the storage box. Following the visualization method provided by the Great Shore, he began to attempt entering the dream...

According to the Great Shore, as long as he successfully traversed the forbidden dream, no matter how long he experienced within the dream, it would only be but a brief moment in reality.

He had pondered this issue for quite some time. If, regardless of the time spent within the dream, only an instant passed in the real world, then such a flow of time seemed utterly unreasonable.

For now, the Great Shore had provided only one method of entering the forbidden dream, and there were others present within the dream as well.

If the first guided dream involved five dreamers simultaneously contacting the forbidden object related to "the Sea of Abbes," causing them to enter the dream at the same time, it might be explained as pure coincidence at first.

But now, as he visualized the fragment of the forbidden object in his hand to enter the forbidden dream, what if he encountered another dreamer? Could it be that the other dreamer happened to visualize the same forbidden object at this exact second?

If this explanation were valid, then Li Nanke only needed to seek those unique forbidden objects, never encountering competitors, since such objects were singular, and no one else could visualize them simultaneously.

He had many conjectures about this, but none could be proven.

To be safe, Li Nanke had brought Haosen over to guard him, just in case. Of course, there was a deeper significance to this arrangement.

Lost in thought, the visualization method gradually took effect, and his consciousness began to blur...

...

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

“Where’s the guard? Where did they go?”

“Why haven’t they brought meals yet? I’m starving!”

“Those damned guards must have played cards all night. I swear, I’ll stuff ore right up their asses!”

“Hey, did you hear? A big thing was dug up from the pit a few days ago. Something’s off about it…”

“Doesn’t matter to me. If they don’t bring food, I’m not digging today!”

“Hmph, you can lead the strike if you’re not afraid of getting fried by the electric collars…”

Amidst the noisy clamor, Li Nanke slowly opened his eyes.

-----

What greeted him was a filthy, cramped ceiling, smeared with grime; the air was thick with the persistent stench of ammonia from urine, mingled with sweat, foot odors, and other nauseating scents.

He sat up. The tiny space contained only a single bed, a toilet, and a sink. The sealed metal bars at the door stood out starkly.

Li Nanke glanced at the electronic screen embedded in the wall beside the bed—Level B13, Cell 186, 7:00 AM.

As he rose, he felt something unfamiliar around his neck. Looking down and fumbling, he discovered a solid electronic steel collar, its green indicator light steadily glowing.

A mechanical voice, indistinguishable in gender, sounded, with blood-red text appearing before his eyes, line by line:

[Dream—‘Flare Project’]

[Dream Details: Gliese 798c is a small, Earth-like planet, rich in rare minerals. Due to its harsh environment, unsuitable for habitation or mining, the United People’s Government constructed a strict prison atop its largest mineral vein, incarcerating all death row inmates here. Their sentences are commuted, but they must toil forever in the dark mines beneath the prison.]

[Recently, the inmates unearthed a strange, unnatural stone stele from the depths, stirring heated discussion within the prison, for the planet had never been deeply explored before the prison was built; no man-made objects should exist underground…]

[Twisted, sinister shadows silently engulf the Deep Pit Prison… So, how will you struggle to survive in this hell beneath the earth?]

As the Great Shore’s synchronized information appeared, a flood of memories surged into his mind.

Michael was a transport ship pilot addicted to gambling. Unable to pay his debts, he smuggled large quantities of illicit goods and was sentenced to death, imprisoned in the remote Deep Pit Prison for over half a year now.

Normally, the prison served meals at 6 AM, with half an hour for eating before the inmates were sent to the mines under guard supervision.

Yet now, it was already 7 AM—no guards had delivered food, nor had they organized mining shifts. There was no trace of any security staff...

Li Nanke approached the cell door. The vertical metal bars were densely packed, the gaps only wide enough to fit a hand through, offering no view of the neighboring cells. He could only hear the ‘bang bang bang’ of disgruntled inmates striking their doors, along with curses and complaints.

He understood the dream’s plot had not yet formally unfolded, so he waited silently for the synchronized cue of a key event.

“The forbidden object I visualized was some metal fragment peeled from a machine. According to witness accounts in the disaster zone, the thing that fell from the sky seemed to be an artificial satellite.”

“Since the forbidden dream is related to the object, whatever was unearthed underground should be similar. But according to the dream details and Michael’s knowledge, it appears to be... a twisted stone stele?”

A satellite and a stone stele—two things utterly unrelated. Li Nanke couldn’t imagine any connection between them, so he could only speculate about the sudden emergence of a second characteristic of the forbidden object...

“Boom!!!”

-----

Suddenly, a deafening explosion rang out, the entire cell trembling violently, blinding flames erupting not far away.

Michael—Li Nanke’s current identity—was in a cell on the thirteenth underground level. The entire Deep Pit Prison, shaped like a bowl, was subterranean, with fifty levels and mines below.

The explosion had come from the main control room suspended at the “center of the bowl.” From his vantage point on the “bowl’s wall,” he could see it clearly.

The cell’s electronic screen flashed a harsh red glow. The speaker in the ceiling corner repeatedly broadcast: Do not panic, please remain calm in your cell… Do not panic, please remain calm in your cell…

With a click, the electronic lock snapped open, and the barred door automatically slid aside.

Not only did Li Nanke’s cell open, but every cell in the Deep Pit Prison unlocked at the same moment.

Without guards or wardens, countless excited, crazed death row inmates surged forth, reclaiming their freedom and plunging the prison into chaos.

At the same time, the collar around his neck shifted its indicator from green to yellow…

The prison’s neck collars were designed to prevent riots and escapes; upon receiving certain commands or if forcibly removed, they would deliver a fatal high-voltage shock—perfect for suicidal inmates.

Yellow signified a severe warning; if not resolved within fifteen minutes, it would turn red, ending life on the spot.

A few inmates, faces flushed with excitement, dashed down the corridor outside his cell. Li Nanke noticed their collar lights had also turned yellow, though their exhilaration kept them oblivious.

A cold, emotionless synchronization prompt sounded…

[Key Event One: Survive for fifteen minutes.]

The consequences of failing to safely resolve the collar’s warning hardly needed explanation—but this was not the most urgent concern.

Li Nanke couldn’t help recalling the forbidden object’s second characteristic and the living corpses revived in the disaster zone—and here was a super-prison with a population of a hundred thousand!

He stepped out, grasped the railing, and looked down. Each ring-shaped corridor was packed with people, all wearing collars glowing yellow at their throats…

“Oh, hell!”