Chapter 35: A Morning Haunted by Nightmare

The first rays of morning sunlight spilled over the horizon, casting a brilliant glow upon the city’s buildings.

Everything came alive, birds chattering incessantly in the treetops.

Light slanted through the gaps in the curtains, and only then did Chen Lin realize with surprise that morning had already arrived.

Having spent the entire night lost in wild thoughts, Chen Lin hadn’t noticed that it was already morning.

Not only did his body feel no fatigue, but even after hours without food, his mouth wasn’t dry and his stomach wasn’t hungry.

Chen Lin wondered if this was another effect of the curse on his body.

No, he quickly shook his head, deciding it was an unhealthy physical reaction caused by overwhelming mental stress.

Since his random thoughts were yielding nothing useful, he might as well try to rest.

Chen Lin checked his phone. It was 6:54 AM.

If he slept for four hours and woke up around eleven, it wouldn’t disrupt his circadian rhythm too much.

He set an alarm for eleven, placed his phone on the charger, and lay back down on the bed.

He adjusted the pillow to cradle his head perfectly, pulled up the covers, and closed his eyes.

All he needed to do was empty his mind and calm his thoughts—then sleep should come easily.

His body had been awake for nearly twenty-four hours, but his mind was even more exhausted, having gone over forty-eight hours without rest.

Even a man of iron would feel fatigue.

Yet despite that, his mind felt like a mess of sticky paste, chaotic thoughts bubbling up endlessly, preventing him from emptying his head.

“One sheep, two sheep, three sheep…” Chen Lin tried to shift his focus by counting sheep, hoping to lull himself to sleep.

But attention wasn’t something he could redirect at will. Time slipped by, and he lost track.

“Two thousand one hundred… thirty-five sheep, two thousand one hundred thirty-six sheep… two thousand, two thousand one hundred thirty…” Finally, drowsiness crept over him. Even though his mind was still chaotic, he managed to drift off.

Even light sleep was better than staying awake.

Once asleep, fatigue swept over him completely. Chen Lin, who never snored, began to breathe softly in his sleep.

As soon as Chen Lin fell asleep, a small, shadowy figure sat huddled under his desk, hugging their knees.

She seemed to have been waiting a long time, and now her opportunity had finally arrived.

“Heeheehee… heehee…” A doting smile curled her lips, but her eyes were like a dead fish—pale and terrifying.

Her skin didn’t look human; it resembled the stitched fabric of a doll.

“Well then, I’m going to strike,” she said, holding a carpenter’s hammer in her hand.

The hammer was an old model, covered in mottled rust, exuding a sense of age.

If Chen Lin were awake, he would recognize it as the hammer from the storage room downstairs.

It was one of his grandfather’s keepsakes, so Chen Lin hadn’t been able to bring himself to throw it away.

Now the hammer was in her hands. The tool that once guarded Chen Lin’s home and mended furniture was about to become a weapon.

At that moment, Chen Lin sensed something. He opened his eyes and saw the shadowy figure raising the hammer high.

The figure wore a pink dress, but her face was indistinct.

Chen Lin tried to flee, but found his body paralyzed. His limbs were strapped to a cold operating table with iron bands.

He couldn’t even scream—a ball gag had been forced into his mouth.

Helpless, Chen Lin could only watch in despair as the hammer swung down with a heavy thud—

Thud!

Thud… thud… thud…

Chen Lin jolted awake, his hands flying to his face in terror. The face that should have been crushed was intact.

He looked around the room. He was alone.

Had he been killed again and undergone death regression?

He grabbed his phone to check the time. It showed Sunday, 10:40 AM.

That meant he hadn’t regressed to Saturday?

Chen Lin realized at once: this wasn’t death regression. It had been a dream—a very vivid nightmare.

Due to overwhelming stress, he couldn’t even distinguish dream from reality upon waking.

This was the first time Chen Lin had experienced such extreme mental pressure. He even felt a dull pain in his stomach.

He estimated that he must have finished counting sheep around nine o’clock, meaning he had only slept for about an hour.

As he was thinking, he still heard a thud… thud… thud… sound from his ears. It seemed to be knocking at the door!

Being woken up by noise was already annoying.

Especially since the knocking had blended with his nightmare, blurring reality. Fuming, Chen Lin marched to his front door.

He opened the door and stepped back in shock. Yan was standing outside, wearing a pure white dress that made her look as fresh as spring cherry blossoms—the kind of sight that could brighten anyone’s mood.

But Chen Lin was no longer the same person.

Having been killed by this little girl, he had seen her dark side. How could he be fooled by her youthful appearance so easily?

Chen Lin stayed on guard, ready for a sudden attack, but Yan showed no sign of aggression. Instead, she said apologetically, “Did I wake you up, big brother?”

Judging by his messy hair and oily face, he had clearly just woken up.

“What do you want so early in the morning?” Chen Lin asked, his tone casual but his vigilance intact.

He left Yan standing outside, leaning against the doorframe, with no intention of letting her in.

If Yan made any suspicious move, he would slam the door shut in an instant.

“Really, big brother, did you forget? We made plans the night before last. Today’s Sunday—we’re going to see a movie together,” Yan reminded him, slightly annoyed.

She had even bought a new dress for their Sunday outing. She didn’t want to hear that he had forgotten.

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