Chapter 539: Resolution

Chapter 539: Resolution

“Huh? This theory of yours shares some similarities with a few plans I had before!” Zheng Yichen said after reading through the new notes Irene had brought out. Irene looked at Zheng Yichen with some interest, waiting for his explanation.

Zheng Yichen rummaged through his Personal Space and tossed a novel he had idly typed out using his thoughts to Irene. Its title was “Infinity Terror.”

“Too thick, won’t read it.” Irene placed the book aside.

“Alright then, take a look at this setting collection instead.” Zheng Yichen handed her a different book of settings.

After reading it, Irene gave Zheng Yichen a deep look. “The people in your world really have rich imaginations. You want Nightmare Magic to develop into such a ‘realm’? That could easily spiral out of control, and it wouldn’t affect reality—only the strength of the mind and soul.”

It wasn’t unheard of for some people, tormented by Nightmare Magic, to develop unprecedentedly strong mental will power . Moreover, Nightmare Magic primarily concerns how the builder constructs the Nightmare Realm. Therefore, achieving this sort of “infinite flow” operation was possible.

“That’s enough, though. How feasible do you think this specific setting is?”

“That depends on how you want to operate it,” Irene said after a moment’s thought. “If you want to use Nightmare Magic to create something like soldiers for training the Undead, using that as a basis to enhance Nightmare Magic to attack others’ minds, it would require extra time and could easily backfire.”

This method required leaving a nightmare mark on a person. If someone marked with a nightmare imprint found a special entity, they could potentially use it to trace back to Zheng Yichen. Of course, Irene was aware of such operations—having those marked with nightmare imprints undergo training within the Nightmare Realm, like forced conscription, then using them against other powerful beings, relying on numbers to overwhelm and defeat them. It was a special usage of Nightmare Magic.

The advantage was being able to eliminate enemies without personally getting involved, or being able to drain most of an enemy’s energy before engagement and then finishing them off. The downside, naturally, was how easily it could expose you.

From Irene’s perspective, Zheng Yichen’s infinite flow setting collection very much trended in this direction: cultivating beings within the Nightmare Realm with generally strong minds and wills through various “instances,” then using them to deal with his enemies… After all, in the Nightmare Realm, the body wasn’t important. If the mind and will were strong enough, becoming stronger inside could also mean becoming truly ‘strong’—well, limited to the Nightmare Realm constructed by Nightmare Magic.

In reality, without talent, even with so-called strong mind and will, it was pretty much useless. Ordinary people would still get squashed when they were supposed to be squashed, merely possessing traits others didn’t have—pretty useless…

“Uh, I’m not planning to create that kind of thing. We’ll talk about this in detail later… I’ll draft a plan for you then. The Magic Weapon Summoning Book needs an upgrade!” Zheng Yichen said, holding Irene’s notebook as he left. The notebook contained much of Irene’s subsequent research and new understandings of Nightmare Magic, most of which were interference-type. The earlier parts covered the essence of Nightmare Magic; the magic book Zheng Yichen had previously held already counted as fully mastering Nightmare Magic.

The interference-type sections were all Irene’s expansion research on Nightmare Magic.

“Hmm… Mental interference types can be excluded. They’re not very useful,” Zheng Yichen muttered. For mental interference, the copies and the originals were basically identical, with hardly any difference. What Zheng Yichen wanted to use was transformation-type interference. No matter what, those copies were created due to the Derivative Witch’s influence. Even if they were incredibly lifelike compared to the originals, they couldn’t be completely identical.

With some special transformation interference, differences could be detected—unless that Derivative Witch was willing to let Zheng Yichen manipulate her freely! Zheng Yichen couldn’t freely manipulate the Derivative Witch, but he could use it on the town residents whose strength was far inferior to his. As for the people in the Sanctuary Church, most were too weak and could also be interfered with. The bodyguard was a bit troublesome; he’d deal with that separately later. Oro?

Smart brain, weak strength—ignore, ignore.

“Hmm… Let me see how to operate this.” Zheng Yichen calmed down and pondered the notebook. As for the events in the Nightmare Realm, Zheng Yichen had just checked in. The two invincible cheaters were still tirelessly dismantling each other—one moment one was grinding the other’s head against the ground, the next the other was grabbing the former’s face and grinding the back of their head against the ground. Watching them, Zheng Yichen felt like placing some indestructible nail boards or something in their battle area.

The two Oros weren’t shuffling cards anymore; they were playing rock-paper-scissors… The stalemate was similar to the bodyguard’s situation.

After spending some time and getting a good grasp of the interference notes, Zheng Yichen directly selected two people from the Nightmare Realm. He chose randomly, without any specific selection. Once chosen, as the two panicked, Zheng Yichen began attempting to use interference. The two were startled to find the other’s facial features becoming softer, with big eyes and a small mouth—the proportions of their features greatly skewed.

It was like a poster from a small shop in town, resembling a “2D” art style that seemed to have leaked from the Magic Weapon Forum, accessible only to existences like Magic Weapon Summoners… That’s right, their art style changed to this form, and their genders changed too, damn it!!

“What happened to me?!” a town resident cried in horror, looking at his arms. His hands were delicate, clearly lacking the marks of regular heavy labor. As for his chest… Was this what a woman’s chest felt like? So heavy! And his clothes had changed into a miniskirt. The drafty feeling between his legs gave him a strong sense of insecurity.

The other him reacted the same way.

“Hmm? No flaws revealed? Then keep changing.” Zheng Yichen snapped his fingers, and the art styles of the two changed again. Previously, it was “mature lady”; now it was “loli,” then a “tsundere girl,” a “beast-eared girl,” and so on… In the end, they both completely resigned themselves, staring blankly at each other’s transformations.

Previous hatred? Well, now there was a sense of shared misfortune. Not only that, but there was even a feeling that becoming this ‘pretty’ wasn’t so bad… In just five minutes, they had changed over a dozen art styles. As they changed, one of their appearances suddenly became somewhat distorted.

It was a very brief moment, making the other wonder if it was an illusion. But Zheng Yichen was certain. Although this interference transformation was temporary, effective only in the Nightmare Realm, one mustn’t forget who researched these interference changes. The transformations within this Nightmare Realm were extremely pure!

If Zheng Yichen was willing to increase Mana consumption, endlessly extending the flow of time within the Nightmare Realm, even a male could produce offspring… One could imagine just how pure these changes were.

After using transformation interference over a dozen times, Zheng Yichen became increasingly familiar with it. The interference on the selected residents also became purer. After rapid consecutive changes, the flaws of the copy appeared, as the essence of a Derivative Witch greatly differed from that of an ordinary person.

The moment he noticed the change, Zheng Yichen reached his hand into the Nightmare Realm. The instant his human hand entered, it immediately transformed into a Black Dragon’s claw. This claw directly grabbed the changing copy. Seeing this, the other town resident was terrified…

Well, considering his current appearance, it wasn’t particularly unpleasant to look at, but remembering he was originally a rough man, Zheng Yichen waved his hand and sent him back to his previous location. Staring at the captured copy, the copy’s expression slightly changed, giving a deep look toward the sky, his gaze seemingly piercing through the Nightmare Realm to see Zheng Yichen outside…

After that one glance, the copy dissipated into nothingness. Zheng Yichen checked the Nightmare Realm; the copy was gone, and the number of beings with doubles decreased by one.

“Actually, I should’ve realized it earlier. Those magic crystals were just decoys,” one of the two Oros—who had gone from playing chess to shuffling cards, then rolling dice, and finally cycling through rock-paper-scissors—said with a slight smirk.

“They were always decoys,” Oro shrugged. Initially, Oro had taken the magic crystals Zheng Yichen provided seriously, but later he disregarded them. Those things basically felt useless. As for so-called preparations, Oro did make preparations… and indeed put in some effort. This was because he realized the possibility of the town’s Derivative Witch synchronizing with him.

As for such preparations, they were actions of completely fooling himself. Only by completely fooling himself could he possibly fool… him! As for why Zheng Yichen did this, it was likely to buy time.

“Actually, whether you fool or not doesn’t matter much. There must be something very important in this town that you wanted to obtain,” Oro said. “But it’s too late to say anything now, isn’t it?”

“Yes, indeed too late.” As soon as the copy Oro finished speaking, a Dragon’s Claw abruptly reached out, firmly grasping his body. Under Oro’s watch, the black Dragon’s Claw crushed the copy Oro to pieces right before his eyes.

“So violent… I hope I don’t die like that in the future.” Watching the vanished Dragon’s Claw, Oro rubbed his temples. He had been exhausted lately; the feeling of outwitting another version of himself made his brain feel like it was burning. Now he finally didn’t have to do that, but he had just seen an exact copy of himself get crushed before his eyes.

Catching his breath, Oro walked to where a wall was missing and looked out at the street. Chaos still reigned in the street, but Oro saw the bodies of town residents who had copies undergoing subtle, blurry changes. Under these changes, the copies were quickly exposed, each shot and exploded by light blades descending from the sky. So, the result of his copy getting crushed was intentional, huh?

Right, what about his bodyguard? Oro looked toward the area of strongest turbulence in the town. After all other copies were eliminated, only his bodyguard still had a copy remaining. The two were still fighting, but after light spears descended from the sky to subdue them, one bodyguard directly broke free from the spears’ restraints, while the other stood dumbfounded, frozen in place.

Staring blankly at the version of himself that broke free, the bodyguard wondered if he had regressed. This enemy, who could fight him evenly and engage in continuous combat for over a month, had done something he himself couldn’t. He tried to exert force, but the light spears remained immovable like mountains. Alright, he couldn’t break free.

The bodyguard copy that broke free raised a hand. Scattered auras throughout the town quickly gathered back. His form rapidly changed, transforming into the very ordinary-looking woman Zheng Yichen had first seen.

“Tsk tsk, as expected. This Derivative Witch has no physical body…” Zheng Yichen remarked, feeling a small section of the Nightmare Realm slip from his control. The area of lost control was tiny—only half a meter around the Derivative Witch. Within this range, she could do nothing, let alone interfere with the Nightmare Realm in reverse.

“As expected, you are…” the Derivative Witch said softly. Zheng Yichen didn’t let her finish, simply waving his hand to expel everyone from the Nightmare Realm. During the expulsion, he forcibly plunged their consciousness into sleep. For everyone in the Nightmare Realm, it was just a peaceful sleep—another form of interference within Nightmare Magic.

The most troublesome to handle were Oro and his bodyguard. Oro was clever; upon being expelled, he sensed the interference power. After a slight resistance, he gave up. He knew this interference wasn’t something he could decide; even resisting would only make Zheng Yichen expend a bit more Mana. Better to obediently give up.

The bodyguard held out for a long time before Zheng Yichen forcibly suppressed him… He was the last to be expelled. Afterwards, with the bodyguard’s expulsion, the entire environment of the Nightmare Realm reverted to the original void emptiness, shrinking in scope to a size just enough for the Derivative Witch to maintain herself. Scope didn’t mean much for the Nightmare Realm. For those capable of breaking through, no matter how large the scope, it was just a step. For those incapable, even if wrapped tightly like a bodysuit, they couldn’t break through!

The Derivative Witch remained silent, not struggling excessively. The Mana maintaining the Nightmare Realm was that of a Witch. She… couldn’t break through. Therefore, any struggle was futile, meaningless. But! Within this, Zheng Yichen also couldn’t erase her!

In the Nightmare Realm, there was a half-meter gap around her. For a Nightmare Realm theoretically capable of infinite expansion, distance meant little, but survival significance was immense. It ensured she wouldn’t be easily eliminated. The Mana Zheng Yichen could currently use was borrowed; he himself didn’t possess the strength to erase her.

Thus, she awaited Zheng Yichen’s next move.

“Hmm… That’s the final step.” Zheng Yichen muttered. This Nightmare Realm had no carrier; it was purely a magical creation. Stuffing it into the Ice Soul was impossible… That would cause intense conflict. The moment it touched the Ice Soul, a gap would appear. The Derivative Witch inside wouldn’t miss such an opportunity; catching her again would be difficult.

He still needed to gather a big move!

Zheng Yichen rubbed his hands together, picked up the sphere created by Nightmare Magic, and left his room. A Magic Rune Array appeared in the sky. Its scale and intensity were far less than those used against the Undying Witch, but it was sufficient here. Under the Magic covering the entire town, the Sealing Magic’s scale was large, but limited to the town. Outside the town, all was calm, with only faint magical fluctuations spreading.

These magical fluctuations spread over a very small range and quickly dissipated due to natural decay. The magical power generated by the Magic Rune Array in the sky concentrated on the Nightmare Realm sphere. The Nightmare Realm sphere was immediately annihilated. The Derivative Witch trapped inside still took no action; she couldn’t move at all now!

In the Nightmare Realm, she could still secure some space, but under this Magic, she didn’t even have a sliver of room to move. Her non-physical form was forcibly pressed into the Ice Soul. The Ice Soul, missing a piece, was completely restored as Zheng Yichen filled the gap!

Afterwards, the Magic Rune Array in the sky didn’t disappear. Instead, it rapidly shrank, wrapping around the outer layer of the Ice Soul without direct contact, maintaining a tiny gap—like an additional Firewall. “Hmm… The remaining Mana should last about half a month.” Zheng Yichen touched the Ice Soul. The Ice Soul had already been assimilated by his ability; pure ice energy could be considered his power… The principle?

It was like the Lord of the Snow Mountain. From what Annie said, the other had a throne made of Ice Soul. In any case, Zheng Yichen now felt about this hollow Ice Soul sphere as the Lord of the Snow Mountain would upon contacting an Ice Soul.

As long as it wasn’t Magic directly touching the Ice Soul, maintaining it was easy, especially since this Magic was based on Irene’s Mana—using a strand of her hair!

Once done, Zheng Yichen raised a finger, controlling the large-scale Magic Rune Array enveloping the town to cleanse all magical fluctuations generated within. This cleansing was primarily disruptive, thoroughly scrambling the residual magical waves left behind—like throwing paper into a shredder and shredding it over a dozen times. Even if some disordered magical residue could be detected, no real information would be found.

Simple and crude. At most, others could only find traces of this concealing Magic. Hmm hmm… Hide one’s merit and fame! With a Witch-level existence ‘maliciously’ targeting a Derivative Witch, it wasn’t just a matter of countering anymore; in some aspects, it was a complete overpowering. If Zheng Yichen were alone, he definitely couldn’t achieve this. But with a Witch’s involvement, it became so ‘simple’—almost like a very powerful being getting backstabbed and dying in frustration.

Zheng Yichen stuffed the Ice Soul into his Personal Space and returned to his room, waiting for dawn. Leave? What a joke; he hadn’t received the remaining half of the payment yet!