Chapter 279: Chapter 275: The Reincarnator

More importantly, he sensed a hint of danger from the man, which was one of the main reasons for his concern.

’There’s something very wrong with that guy. He might even be connected to this world’s Transcendents! But now’s not the time to approach him. I’d better focus on improving my own strength first.’

At this thought.

Hu Qi glanced at the medicinal herbs in his hands, then turned and went back inside to begin brewing a blood-replenishing tonic.

He was different now than he had been on Earth Star.

He had enough time and energy.

There was no need to rush; he could take his time getting to know this world.

...

’Fang Xi is still alive!?’

In another room, Wei Fan exchanged a few words with his grandparents after coming in, then made an excuse to go back to his room.

He sat on the bed, his brow furrowed and his gaze flickering, as if he couldn’t wrap his head around something.

’According to my memories, Fang Xi was supposed to die today by jumping off a building. Did my reincarnation cause a butterfly effect that changed the future?’

He muttered to himself.

’No, that can’t be it. I bought that lottery ticket, and it was a winner, just as I remembered. That proves the future hasn’t changed. This situation probably just means I misremembered the date.’

If anyone else had heard him, they would have been utterly shocked.

The reason was simple.

Wei Fan was a Reincarnator from ten years in the future.

He had been sent by headquarters to resolve a desperate ordeal known as a Level Nine Nightmare.

After paying a terrible price—of ten elite squads, with twelve members each, only three people survived—they had managed to temporarily contain the Nightmare.

However, just as they were about to seal the Dream Eye responsible for it all...

...he was ambushed by the two teammates who had fought by his side through life and death. He died inside that Nightmare as a result.

He had thought it was all over.

But, unexpectedly, fate had given him another chance.

Now that he was reborn, he would naturally use every advantage he had to grow strong, and fast.

In his past life, he hadn’t encountered a Nightmare until three or four years had passed. That was far too late.

But now, he had been reborn just after the Nightmares had begun to appear. This time, he would become a Dream Master far ahead of schedule.

To become a powerful Dream Master, one needed to obtain a Dream Eye. That was the most fundamental requirement.

For an ordinary person, facing a Nightmare was a near-certain death sentence.

These things called Nightmares were terrifying. No one could guarantee they would survive an encounter—not even the most seasoned veterans.

Veterans simply had a higher chance of survival than ordinary people.

But Wei Fan had no intention of backing down.

He understood that as time went on, Nightmare incidents would only grow more frequent.

Though he could use his foreknowledge as a Reincarnator to avoid some dangers, he chose not to.

As a former top-tier Dream Master, he knew that avoiding reality was just lying to himself.

It was tantamount to a slow death.

Instead, he was determined to become a Dream Master again. It was the only way he could survive the increasingly frequent Nightmare incidents of the future.

Besides, he, Wei Fan, still had to get his revenge on the two bastards who betrayed him.

’Liu Yuan, Wen Xin... just you two wait!’

His tone was frigid, his body radiating a palpable killing intent.

According to his memory, a major incident was due to happen here in one week.

A natural gas pipeline would explode, killing everyone in the apartment building, including his grandparents.

At the time, he had believed it was just an accident. It wasn’t until he later encountered the Nightmares and, by a stroke of luck, became a Dream Master that he learned the truth of what had happened here.

The gas pipeline explosion was just a cover story to pacify the public. During this period, Nightmare incidents had only just started appearing and hadn’t yet reached an uncontrollable stage.

To avoid causing unnecessary panic, the authorities officially declared incidents caused by Nightmares as mere accidents.

Most other Nightmare incidents were handled in the same way.

But Wei Fan, having been reborn, naturally knew the truth.

The building they lived in was about to become the site of a Nightmare invading reality—the true cause of death for all its residents.

In his previous life, he had been away at college during this time and had missed the event entirely.

Based on information he had acquired later, the Dream Eye that caused it all would reappear three months from now.

It ended up being acquired by a lucky individual.

This gave rise to a powerful Dream Master codenamed Butcher.

’This time, that Dream Eye will be mine!’

Thinking of that Dream Eye’s Ability...

A look of intense longing appeared on Wei Fan’s face.

Then, as if remembering something,

He unzipped his backpack, pulled out a mirror, and gazed into it. His reflection stared back, perfectly normal.

But the next second, something bizarre happened.

Wei Fan’s eyes, once a distinct black and white, began to change.

To be precise, it was his right eye.

His black pupil began to contract, shrinking to a pinprick. From this central point, three blood-red threads of varying lengths radiated outward, while a gear-like pattern appeared at the edge of his iris.

At a glance, Wei Fan’s eye looked as if it had transformed into a clock. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

The three blood-red threads were the hour, minute, and second hands.

His past-life experience was one reason for Wei Fan’s confidence in obtaining the local Dream Eye, but his greatest asset was this.

This was an incredibly powerful Dream Eye.

A Dream Eye wasn’t a literal eye. It was the fundamental source of a Nightmare’s power.

Only by mastering a Dream Eye could an ordinary person wield the power of a Nightmare.

As for Wei Fan’s Dream Eye, it came from the very Level Nine Nightmare he had dealt with at the end of his past life.

Wei Fan suspected that his rebirth was very likely connected to this bizarre Dream Eye.

Just as Nightmares varied in strength, so too did the power of their Dream Eyes.

However, its exact power could only be determined through use.

There was no clear system of classification for them.

The authorities classified Nightmares into Levels, from Level One to Level Nine.

This classification, however, had no direct relationship with the power of a Dream Eye. Instead, it was based on a Nightmare’s threat level and its area of effect.

Level One to Level Three Nightmares typically affected individuals or an area the size of a residential complex or village.

Level Four to Six Nightmares could potentially envelop an entire city.

As for the Level Nine Nightmare he had dealt with at the end of his past life, that was a terrifying Nightmare that had enveloped several countries.

Although a Dream Eye’s power wasn’t directly correlated with a Nightmare’s Level, it didn’t take a genius to understand that the Dream Eye from a Level Nine Nightmare was anything but simple.

Furthermore, as the owner of this Dream Eye, Wei Fan knew its power better than anyone.

It was a power capable of interfering with the very concept of time.

He couldn’t truly wield it yet, however.

But having it, combined with the advantages of his rebirth, gave Wei Fan the confidence that he could go much further in this life.

"Xiaofan, come out and eat! I made your favorite braised fish today!"

Just then, a knock came at the door, accompanied by the gentle voice of an elderly woman.

At the sound of the voice, Wei Fan’s right eye instantly returned to normal.

He called back a reply while silently making a decision.

’But before any of that, I have to get Grandpa and Grandma out of Qishan City. I can’t let the tragedy of my past life happen again.’

...

「Three days passed in a flash.」

In the center of Room 3310, a space had been cleared.

Hu Qi had piled tables, chairs, stools, and other miscellaneous items into a corner.

In the empty space, Hu Qi held a peculiar stance. His shoulders were sunk and his elbows dropped, his legs were spread apart, his back was straight, and his arms were held in a rounded shape as if embracing a large tree.

As he held the pose, he breathed in and out through his mouth and nose. Wisps of white mist flowed out, coiling around his body like small, translucent snakes, only to be drawn back in, forming a continuous cycle.

His chest and abdomen rose and fell in a specific rhythm, and his skin flushed a strange, crimson color.

Though he looked the same as he had three days ago, he gave off the impression of being an entirely different person.

His previously scrawny body—so thin a gust of wind could have blown him over, with ribs visible and barely any flesh on his bones—was gone.

Now, his physique looked much fuller, with even a hint of clear muscle definition.

The change in just three days was astonishing.

However, it would be impossible for an ordinary person to achieve such a result in such a short amount of time.

An ordinary person’s food conversion efficiency varies depending on the type of food and individual factors like age, gender, physical activity level, and basal metabolic rate.

The average efficiency is typically between 50 and 70 percent.