Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

Gulu's aura became somewhat restless, like a volcano about to erupt. His killing intent almost solidified, making the already thin air around him even thicker.

Just as Gulu was about to make a move, Lin Yi reached out and pressed Gulu down.

Gulu turned to look at Lin Yi, its eyes filled with barely suppressed killing intent: "What are we waiting for? This hellhole is clearly never going to end! One theater after another, one movie after another. Are we going to keep playing this endless movie-watching game with it forever?"

“I have a hypothesis that needs to be verified in the next theater.” Lin Yi’s gaze also fell on the faceless ticket checker. “If you fail, it’s not too late to make your move. If you force your way in now, the probability of triggering the instant death rule is extremely high.”

Gulu stared at him for two seconds, his chest heaving slightly, before finally taking a deep breath and forcibly suppressing his boiling killing intent.

[Kiss of the Night] disappeared into the shadows again. She shook off Lin Yi's hand in annoyance: "Fine, I'll believe you this time. I hope your guess is worth the price."

"I hope so." Lin Yi withdrew his hand and followed the welcoming mascot who had already made a "please" gesture.

The door to Hall 7 was more dilapidated than any of the previous ones, its original color almost unrecognizable. The original deep red paint had almost completely peeled off, leaving only a mottled, dark base color, like dried and congealed bloodstains.

The moment the doll pushed open the door, a strong, pungent stench, a mixture of burnt, moldy, and bloody smells, hit you. The smell was so strong that it was almost suffocating, and people with sensitive stomachs would probably vomit immediately.

The scene behind the door was less like a movie theater and more like a ruin that had just experienced a horrific fire and violent demolition.

The tiered seating area is now unrecognizable, with only a large number of twisted and broken metal frames remaining, and a few charred, hardened and deformed sponge cushions scattered among them, like ugly scars.

Most of the area was covered and piled up with collapsed wall fragments, broken and twisted steel bars, burned wooden debris, and various other remains that were difficult to identify, forming messy slopes and hills.

The ground was no longer a carpet, but covered with a thick layer of ash and dust, which felt soft and made an unsettling "rustling" sound when stepped on, raising a small cloud of gray-black dust with each step.

Where the screen used to hang, only a small, tattered piece of fabric remains, hanging limply with charred, curled edges like dying butterfly wings, revealing the brick wall behind it, also blackened by smoke and fire.

Dim light shone through several holes in the ceiling, illuminating the dust particles dancing in the air.

The only thing that could be clearly heard in the entire space was the faint sound of their feet constantly crushing and grinding the ashes and debris.

The welcoming mascots showed no reaction and mechanically guided them to their so-called "seats."

Lin Yi and Gulu's ticket stubs indicated the tenth row. They trudged through the ruins, finding the almost completely destroyed seat frame of that row.

On seat number 04 and the adjacent seat frame, a few charred remnants of the cushions still clung precariously.

Gulu frowned in disgust and kicked aside a charred, twisted piece of remains on the frame with the tip of his boot, which could be vaguely identified as the shape of a human forearm.

After confirming that there were no other obvious foreign objects, he reluctantly sat down sideways.

Her body weight was mainly on her legs, and her buttocks were almost only resting on the cold, twisted metal frame, ready to spring up at any moment.

Lin Yi glanced at the seating area, then took out the cup of popcorn he hadn't finished in Hall 6 from his personal space.

The paper cup had some wrinkles around the edges, and most of the popcorn inside was still white, but upon closer inspection, nearly a third of the kernels had turned a dull yellow, and some even had a faint red tinge around their edges.

The sweet aroma was almost completely masked by a faint rancid smell.

Lin Yi calmly sat on the metal frame next to Gulu, holding the obviously spoiled popcorn, with the paper cup on his lap.

The other two surviving dreamers also struggled to find their places. Their faces were pale, their eyes looked around in terror, and their bodies were taut to the extreme, clearly on the verge of collapse.

Just as the group sat down, the dilapidated door was pushed open again.

The little boy pushed the still brand-new and clean popcorn cart in.

The aroma of popcorn filled the air again, but was quickly swallowed up by the stench of the ruins.

Following behind the little boy was a dark mass of more than twenty charred corpses in various shapes and sizes.

They poured in silently, exuding a suffocating resentment and deathly stillness.

The next second, something unexpected happened.

The shadows around Lin Yi began to shift, and each empty "seat" was filled by one or even two ninja soldiers who suddenly appeared.

They all turned towards the doorway, forcefully blocking the venomous gazes of the more than twenty charred corpses.

The little boy pushing the stroller stopped in his tracks, and for the first time, a clear change appeared on his perpetually stiff face—an extreme sense of astonishment and bewilderment.

The twenty-odd charred corpses behind him also stopped in their tracks. Their empty eye sockets swept across the empty ruins, as if they were caught in some kind of program error, standing frozen in place, unable to move forward or backward, not knowing what to do.

The little boy's lips twitched, as if he wanted to shout, but the sound got stuck in his throat and he swallowed it back down.

He glanced at the full "seats," then at Lin Yi and Gulu, especially at the cup of popcorn in Lin Yi's hand that had changed color, and a hint of extremely human hesitation flashed in his eyes.

In the end, he gave no orders, and together with the large number of charred corpses behind him, he created a bizarre scene.

Seeing this, a look of understanding flashed in Lin Yi's eyes.

One of his conjectures was confirmed: as long as the established rules are not violated, the monsters derived from these cinemas cannot forcefully launch an attack on the "guests" in these "seats".

By occupying all the empty spaces, at least at the rule level, the monsters' right to move has been temporarily disabled.

The faceless ticket inspector appeared on time as usual. As if it were a pre-programmed procedure, it passed through the still, charred corpses, completed the ticket inspection, and then stood frozen near the exit.

Suddenly, the remaining corner of the screen lit up, and the image began to flicker and become blurry and distorted.

This time, the screening was not of a fictional film, but rather of fragmented documentary footage.

The once magnificent opening ceremony of the cinema, the bustling crowd, the arguments and shoving in a dark corner, the sudden burst of flames, people screaming and running in the sea of ​​fire, the collapse of buildings... the scene is chaotic and oppressive, accompanied by intermittent screams and the crackling sound of burning.

Lin Yi had no interest in this "history." His gaze quickly swept over the disturbing images, and then without hesitation, he picked up a piece of popcorn from the paper cup in his hand—the one that was the darkest and most murky in color, almost orange-yellow—and put it directly into his mouth.

The moment the popcorn touches your mouth, a mixture of burnt, bitter, and fishy smells explodes out.

What followed was not the expected mental shock, but a dramatic shift in vision.

The ruins before my eyes rippled violently like water rippled after a stone was thrown in.

Countless indistinct, translucent gray shadows appeared out of thin air around him, twisting and howling, stretching out their ethereal arms as if trying to grab at something.

The cold resentment clung to me as if it were a tangible thing.

Almost simultaneously, on the remaining footage on the screen, a shot recording the fire suddenly froze and zoomed in.

In the center of the image, a figure completely engulfed in flames, struggling in agony, has stopped moving.

It turned its head with extreme stiffness, and its eyes, burning in the flames, pierced through the barriers of time and space, locking onto Lin Yi.

The next second, the charred figure tore through the tattered screen, transforming into a dark streak of flames and smoke that hurtled straight at Lin Yi.

five meters.

Lin Yi calmly raised his right hand, aiming at the oncoming fiery shadow.

Soul suppression.

An invisible, immense force descended instantly, like a mountain crashing down.

boom!
The charred figure rushing towards them seemed to have crashed into an invisible, absolute barrier, its forward momentum coming to an abrupt halt.

The flames around it dimmed, and the power of the soul's suppression pressed it firmly to the ground, rendering it unable to move.

The flames and thick smoke that make up its body churn violently, yet it cannot break free even slightly.

That suppressive force targeting the soul made it feel the fear of death.

Lin Yi stood up, and the black and white rose fell into his hand.

Without any further words, the sword fell swiftly.

After three sword strikes, the [Soul Shadow Sword] effect is triggered.

An annihilating force targeting the soul erupted completely from the tip of the sword.

The monster's struggles ceased, and it let out a piercing wail that seemed to penetrate the very depths of its soul. Then, all the flames and black smoke that made up its body vanished abruptly, like a sandcastle swept away by a raging storm.

Only a slightly charred patch of ground remained, along with the fading smell of burning in the air. The entire ruined theater fell into a deathly silence.

The little boy pushing the stroller in the distance showed an almost ferocious expression on his face for the first time, but his body trembled slightly and he ultimately did not make any move.

The rules tightly constrained it, and it never anticipated that someone could use the rules in reverse, even directly annihilating one of the core elements of the cinema's fear energy.

The other two dreamers stared in disbelief, their brains barely able to process what had just happened.

Just then, a cold notification from the Paradise of Reincarnation appeared in Lin Yi's mind.

[Notification: You have defeated 'Nightmare Cinema: Shadow of the Remnant'.]

You have gained 5.4% of the World Source, bringing your total World Source to 23.8%.

[You have obtained 'Nightmare Core' x1.]

Nightmare Crystal Core

Origin: City of Sleep, Nightmare Realm

Quality: Epic
Category: Special Consumables
Effect: Upon activation, the crystal core will synchronize with the user's soul frequency, continuously absorbing the surrounding dissipated nightmare energy for the next 12 hours and converting it into pure soul energy. Once integrated into the soul, it significantly enhances mental resilience. When facing mental shocks, memory manipulation, or other effects, it provides an additional strength bonus based on the Willpower attribute, and each successful Willpower check will restore a small amount of lost mental energy.

Warning: This item is only for contractors with a Soul Strength of 80 or higher and a Willpower of 50 or higher. Forced use carries an extremely high risk of soul contamination, personality disintegration, or becoming a nightmare vessel.

Rating: 700 (Epic items have a rating of 530-700 points)
Description: Formed from the core of a nightmare creature, it has undergone countless cycles of dreams and reality.

Lin Yi clenched his five fingers, and his mental energy directly activated the power inside the crystal core.

A cool sensation instantly spread from the crystal core to his arm, then burrowed into his skin like a living thing, rushing along some invisible meridian to his brain, and finally sinking into the depths of his soul.

There was no intense conflict or pain as expected, only a strange sense of "saturation," as if parched land had been nourished by sweet rain.

More noticeably, his perception of his surroundings underwent subtle changes.

The resentment that permeated the ruins and the oppressive feeling emanating from the little boy were separated by a thin film. Although their presence could still be felt, the discomfort was greatly reduced.

[Note: You have used the 'Nightmare Core' (Epic).]

Your mental energy recovery speed has increased by 200%, and your resistance to mental illusions has increased by 35 points.

['Barrier of the Heart' has taken effect. Based on your Willpower attribute, you gain ??? points of Mental Resilience bonus.]

From the moment Lin Yi swallowed the popcorn, summoned the Shadow of the Remnant Flame, instantly suppressed and killed it, to absorbing the crystal core, it only took about ten seconds.

The other two dreamers were still in a state of great shock and confusion, while the little boy pushing the popcorn cart had transformed his ferocious anger into a kind of resentment.

It seemed to fully understand that the prey before it was not only extremely dangerous, but was also provoking it!
However, it is still bound by rules and cannot directly attack guests who are "seated" and "have not violated the rules".

The twenty-odd charred corpses behind it were restless, their empty eye sockets staring intently at Lin Yi. Their intense resentment was almost tangible, yet they too could not transcend the rules.

This feeling of being countered by the rules almost made their resentment explode.

Click.

Lin Yi slightly shifted his foot, crushing a piece of charred bone.

He raised his head, his clear black and white eyes looking at the little boy, and then walked forward step by step.

Lin Yi ignored the charred corpses that were eyeing him menacingly and walked straight toward the little boy... and the popcorn cart behind him.

His goal was clear—the truck was overflowing with freshly popped popcorn, emitting an enticing aroma.

If spoiled popcorn can attract a core monster like "Shadow of the Remnant," then what does fresh, or rather, "whole" popcorn mean? Is it even greater danger, or... something else? More importantly, actively touching, or even attempting to seize, this cart, which is clearly an important symbol of the cinema, is undoubtedly the most direct test and challenge to the rules!

Five meters, three meters... The resentment on the little boy's stiff face grew stronger and stronger.

As it pushed the cart, it subconsciously shrank back slightly, revealing its emotions.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch the glass dome—

“Ah——!!!”

The little boy let out a shrill scream that was completely inhuman. Its entire face was twisted, and its mouth was split open to an unbelievable degree, revealing a dark, empty throat inside.

Its "human" form began to collapse, its skin turned charred, and thick black smoke mixed with sparks emerged from the cracks, radiating terrifying heat.

Almost simultaneously, the twenty-odd charred corpses behind it received the order to attack, and their suppressed resentment erupted.

The three charred corpses at the front were the first to rush out!
They were incredibly fast, their charred, carbonized limbs tearing through the air, sending scorching waves of air straight at Lin Yi's vitals from three different angles.

The restrictions of the rules were broken the moment Lin Yi touched the core symbol of the cart.

The floodgates of slaughter have been opened!
"They're here!" Gulu's eyes sharpened, and a crazy smile appeared on his face.

She'd been holding it in for ages, it had been itching to smash all this pretentious nonsense to smithereens!

Lin Yi reacted the moment the charred corpse moved. Instead of taking the hit head-on, he slid to the right at lightning speed.

Using the momentum of the side slide, with a flick of the wrist, the black and white rose slashed at the wrist of the charred corpse that was lunging at the left.

The charred corpse's wrist snapped off instantly, falling to the ground and shattering like burnt charcoal.

After dodging an attack from a charred corpse, Lin Yi's gaze once again locked onto the half-charred little boy.

To catch the thief, first catch the king, or destroy that obvious popcorn truck.

Lin Yi lunged forward with a burst of speed, and two charred corpses pounced on him from the left and right to intercept him.

Lin Yi neither dodged nor evaded, but instead took the charred corpse's claw with his left arm.

Sizzle! Clothes tore, leaving three deep, charred scratches on the arm, the blood scorched by the high temperature before it could even flow out.

But he used this force to twist his body, and the black and white rose pierced the eye socket of the charred corpse on the right.

The charred corpse shuddered violently, its movements froze, and the flames burning in its eye sockets instantly went out, turning into a wisp of black smoke and dissipating.

[Notification: You have defeated 'Nightmare Cinema - Incinerator', gaining 0.7% of World Source.]

The little boy's smirk froze, turning into a clear look of fear.

It pulled the popcorn cart back, spread its charred arms, and let out a threatening roar as it approached Lin Yi.

Ten meters! Five meters! Three meters! Just as Lin Yi was about to collide head-on with the little boy, his figure suddenly swayed, making a feint, seemingly trying to forcefully break through the little boy's defense.

The little boy instinctively swung his claws to the right front with all his might to block, and his center of gravity shifted accordingly.

But Lin Yi's real goal was never that!
Lin Yi's figure grazed the edge of the little boy's claws and rushed straight towards the undefended popcorn truck.

Crack—Boom!

The ear-piercing cracking sound and the violent explosion rang out almost simultaneously!

The seemingly sturdy glass oven shattered into countless fragments in an instant, and the high-temperature, high-pressure steam inside, mixed with the semi-formed popcorn, was ejected.

Countless twisted, tormented, semi-transparent humanoid phantoms screech as they surged forth from the wreckage of the popcorn cart!

They were so numerous that they instantly filled most of the ruined screening room. The temperature in the air plummeted, and piercing screams filled the brains—the remnants of countless victims' souls that had been devoured.

The half-charred, corpse-like little boy let out the most piercing and painful howl. His body began to dissipate the moment the vengeful spirits surged out, as if he had lost the foundation of his existence.

It futilely brandished its claws, unable to stop the resentment that made up its body from being torn apart and devoured by those more frenzied vengeful spirits.

[Note: You have successfully escaped 'Midnight Cinema'.]

You have gained 8.2% of the World Source, bringing your total World Source to 32%.

[Warning: You have been marked with a 'Nightmare Mark'. Something has noticed your actions. This mark will continue to reveal your location and may attract even more terrifying nightmare creations. Survival difficulty has increased significantly!] (End of Chapter)