Qin Zhou’s expression finally darkened as the wounds on his body instantly healed. Though he did not fear death, the situation he now faced was worse than being alive. They were within Liu Hui’s dreamscape; here, Liu Hui was god, the absolute controller of their lives and deaths. If Liu Hui repeated this cycle just a few more times, surely one of them would break.

Liu Hui chuckled. “How is it? Do you like the taste? Don’t worry, we have all the time in the world. We can go through this an infinite number of times. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied.”

Qin Zhou suddenly spoke. “Liu Hui, do you think you can torture us for this long? Remember, we have someone waiting outside. We already made arrangements with him: if we don't wake up within a certain time, he will forcefully pull us out. At best, you can kill us then; you’ll never be able to imprison and torture us forever. Your desire to extract the information you need is nothing but a fantasy.”

Liu Hui roared with laughter. “Heh heh, Qin Zhou, I should truly thank you for the reminder. Had you not mentioned it, I might have genuinely forgotten you had an accomplice waiting outside!”

Qin Zhou sneered. “So what if you know we have someone outside? Are you going to wake up immediately to deal with him?”

Liu Hui smiled. “Qin Zhou, you are quite clever. Did you think that by saying this, you could provoke me into abandoning this dreamscape to deal with the person outside, allowing you an opportunity to escape my dream? Your goading tactic is utterly useless against me. I shall let you witness my true methods!”

Liu Hui cried out, “Return… Dream!”

A character for ‘Return’ () and a character for ‘Dream’ () flew out of his mouth. These two characters intertwined in the air. Then, the ‘Return’ character shot out, adhering itself to the void of the lava plane. At the very center of the character ‘Return,’ a deep passage formed. The ‘Dream’ character continued to shift and morph in the air before transforming into a massive hand that flew straight through that passage.

“What are you doing…” Qin Zhou gasped, a terrifying possibility dawning on him.

“Heh heh, correct, Qin Zhou. The situation is exactly as you suspect,” Liu Hui smiled.

No sooner had Liu Hui finished speaking than the hand that had flown out returned through the passage carved by the character ‘Return,’ clutching a person. The massive hand tossed this person casually, dropping them into the bubble, where they landed right on top of Qin Zhou.

“Qin Zhou, how did I suddenly get pulled into a dream? Where is this place? Why is there so much lava?” The person who fell in took a quick look around, realizing they had somehow been dragged into a dream, a bizarre one filled with magma.

Qin Zhou sighed. “Xiao Fei, we’re sunk this time. This Liu Hui is a ruthless character who hides his true strength. He pulled you in from the outside world.”

Xiao Fei was greatly shocked. “I just saw his body outside shaking violently, so I went over to check his pulse to see if anything abnormal was happening to him. And just like that, I was pulled into the dream?”

Qin Zhou managed a wry smile. “It seems so. We underestimated him.”

Liu Hui laughed. “Qin Zhou, now that all the members of your dream-stealing team are gathered, it’s time for you to share the bitterness together!”

Liu Hui pointed his hand, and the transparent bubble enveloping them burst again. These five people were instantly subjected to the searing heat of the external lava once more.

Qin Zhou still gritted his teeth and remained silent, but when the beautiful nurse saw that the person waiting outside had also been captured by Liu Hui in the dream, coupled with the continuous agony, she finally lost her last shred of confidence. Her spirit shattered. She screamed, crying out, “Liu Hui, please let me go! I’ll tell you everything! We were sent by the Professor to steal your secrets…”

Qin Zhou’s expression finally became one of utter defeat. He let out a long sigh. “Xiao You, you couldn't hold on after all! You must remember, the Professor must not be defiled. Since things are this way, let’s all leave together!”

The remaining individuals cried out in alarm. “Wen Xing, no, don't! We don’t want to die yet…”

A sense of foreboding flashed through Liu Hui’s mind. He saw a mocking smile play on Qin Zhou’s lips as he declared, “Liu Hui, you will never comprehend the terror of the Professor. Even if we die now, the Professor will surely avenge us. I believe it won't be long before you come down to join us…”

Liu Hui started in alarm and prepared to terminate the dream. As soon as Qin Zhou and the others left his dreamscape, he could capture them alive. Then he could use the truth serum he possessed to interrogate them, still obtaining detailed confessions. However, if he did that, Hu Xian’er would feel immense guilt once she learned the truth.

But Qin Zhou’s action was even quicker. He merely chuckled twice and ceased breathing within Liu Hui’s dream space. As Qin Zhou stopped breathing, the other four also stopped breathing, their faces contorted with terror.

Liu Hui’s eyes snapped open instantly, and he found himself lying in a different room. Qin Zhou, Xiao You, the young man who delivered medicine, and the old sweeping man were all slumped motionless on recliners, covered in wires connecting them to various monitoring devices. A middle-aged man in an unfamiliar white lab coat was also sprawled beside him.

Liu Hui jumped off the sofa and pressed his fingers against Qin Zhou’s neck pulse. He found that Qin Zhou’s pulse had stopped beating, and his complexion was blue—he was clearly stone dead. Liu Hui checked the others and discovered the other four had also ceased breathing, exhibiting the exact same condition as Qin Zhou; they had all died by some method unknown to Liu Hui.

Liu Hui was filled with a sense of profound realization. This dream-stealing team truly possessed unique capabilities. Just when he believed he controlled their life and death, they had a hidden trump card, employing a secret technique to commit mass suicide simultaneously, robbing him of the chance to thoroughly trace the mastermind.

However, Liu Hui had not emerged entirely empty-handed this time. At least through Xiao You, he learned that Qin Zhou and his team were dispatched by someone called the Professor to steal his secrets, and this Professor seemed incredibly powerful based on Qin Zhou’s words. He resolved to step up intelligence gathering on this mysterious Professor; sooner or later, he would uncover some clue leading to him.

Liu Hui calmed his nerves and pushed open the door to this room, discovering that the room outside was the very one where he had received treatment from Qin Zhou earlier. Outside the transparent glass wall, Desheng still stood, watching the scene inside with rapt attention, completely unaware that the situation within had drastically changed.

So, when Liu Hui opened the door and appeared before Desheng, Desheng was startled. He glanced at Liu Hui, then back at the transparent glass wall, and instinctively asked, “Boss, why are you out…”

Liu Hui smiled. “Why shouldn't I be out?”

Desheng pointed at the glass wall. “Weren’t you still in there… Ah! I understand. I’ve been tricked by them.”

Liu Hui looked through the glass wall. He could see himself lying on the sofa, with Qin Zhou sitting beside him, seemingly speaking to him. The room showed no abnormalities at all.

Desheng looked in from the doorway and saw that the room was now empty, yet the display on the glass wall indicated three people were inside. He instantly realized he had been deceived by the glass partition. He asked nervously, “Boss, are you alright?”

Liu Hui shook his head. “I’m fine. Immediately organize the situation at this clinic. The personnel here are the members of the dream-stealing team who attacked me earlier. They just initiated a dream-theft operation against me, but I discovered it. They then used some method to commit suicide; I didn't manage to obtain any useful intelligence from them. Search this clinic thoroughly; see if you can find any useful evidence.”

Desheng immediately contacted the security personnel below via communicator, preparing for a detailed sweep of the clinic.

Liu Hui instructed, “You must search meticulously. Focus particularly on any clues related to the Professor. I will head back now.”

Desheng was deeply ashamed. Previously, when Liu Hui asked him to investigate Qin Zhou’s clinic, he hadn’t found any issues and had instead vigorously recommended the place to Liu Hui. To think he had fallen into the enemy’s trap, sending his boss into danger! Fortunately, the Boss was unharmed, but even so, Desheng blamed himself profusely. He vowed internally to uncover every detail about this dream-stealing team. He also felt a flicker of awe regarding Liu Hui’s true strength; after all, managing to expose the dream-stealers and force them all to death was no ordinary feat. Liu Hui’s image soared infinitely higher in Desheng’s eyes.

Under the close protection of security personnel, Liu Hui returned to the Hong Kong headquarters of Starry Sky Group, then took a hover-fighter back to the "Starry Sky City," leaving Desheng and a contingent behind in Hong Kong to continue gathering intelligence.

When Liu Hui arrived home, Hu Xian’er rushed to meet him. “Shui Niu, how was the treatment?”

Liu Hui replied gloomily, “My luck is truly awful. By the time we arrived there, it turned out Qin Zhou and the people in his clinic had already been silenced by someone. So, I rushed back immediately.”

Hu Xian’er started in alarm. “Then what about you? Is everything alright with you?”

Liu Hui sighed. “I’m fine, nothing happened to me, but Qin Zhou is dead. It’s unlikely my psychological issue will be resolved anytime soon.”

Hu Xian’er comforted him. “Shui Niu, don’t worry. Perhaps your condition will improve after some time? Besides, without Qin Zhou, we can find other psychiatrists.”

Liu Hui smiled. “That’s true. As long as my dear wife stays by my side, perhaps this abnormal condition will disappear naturally!”

Hu Xian’er’s cheeks flushed red. She said, “If that’s truly how you feel, then I almost hope you remain in this abnormal state forever, so you’ll never leave me.”

Liu Hui stroked Hu Xian’er’s delicate cheek and chuckled. “No matter what state I’m in, I will never leave my wife.”

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～ The second chapter is delivered, and I continue writing! The next update will be around six or seven this evening. Thank you all for the update votes and support! RO