Despite her concerns, nothing happened for a long time. After a few hours, Winningham, having gained some trust in Minnie, went to sleep, while May stood guard in case something happened.

  The rest of the night passed quietly. May couldn't sleep. The theory that sleep was impossible in this nightmare world seemed to be confirmed. Unfortunately, even with this limitation, fatigue was real and began to bother her greatly.

  “Maybe we were wrong?” Minnie began. “It's been a few hours and nothing has happened yet. At this rate, this nightmare should be over soon..."

  As soon as Minnie finished speaking, there was an aggressive knock on their door. May looked at Minnie angrily, irritated that she had jinxed it. She wasn't very superstitious, but in this case, it was hard to argue with that.

  Evelyn also became alarmed and grabbed her revolver. She nodded and, together with May, approached the door. Once again, she looked through the peephole.

  There stood a man with short brown hair and a distinctive dark mustache. May felt like she recognized him from somewhere.

  “Granny?” she suddenly heard a voice from behind the door. May was about to answer when Winningham pushed her back and looked through the peephole herself.

  “David!” she said a little louder, and May finally realized that it was her grandson, who was the only one of all her relatives who visited her from time to time.

  Evelyn had already started to open the door when May grabbed her hand and asked, “Are you sure it's him? After all, you know...” She stopped and looked at her.

  “I know. But if it's him, I can't let him stand there... And if it's someone else... I'll kill him myself.” She replied, and May could see that she was serious.

  “I understand, but... Maybe you should ask him a question first? One that only he would know the answer to.”

  The woman snorted and rolled her eyes as if she had just heard something stupid. “If what that crazy blonde told you is true, then these monsters are indistinguishable from ordinary people. Even if he answers my question, it still won't give us any certainty.”

  May was about to protest, but before she could, the woman opened the door. May was slightly disappointed, as she thought Winningham had more sense than that.

  The man threw himself into the woman's arms; he had always been a little too clingy for his grown-up age. May and he were, after all, equal in age.

  “Oh, May!” he exclaimed, also wanting to hug her, but May didn't let him, simply offering him her hand.

  David once had even invited her for a beer with obvious intentions, but nothing came of it. His childish nature repelled May, and she couldn't imagine him as a partner for life. The only thing minimally worthwhile about him was his appearance.

  However, he didn't get flustered and shook her hand, smiling foolishly and baring his teeth. “Hey May, long time no see.”

  Long indeed. For him, it had been maybe a year since those events, but for her? More than ten years. To be honest, she barely remembered him.

  “Yes... Anyway... Would you mind telling me what brings you here?” she asked, sensing that he was not who he claimed to be. It would be too much of a coincidence, considering that they were trapped in a nightmare.

  “Umm, why shouldn’t I be here?” He deflected, frowning. “It’s my grandmother’s house, isn’t it?”

  May shook her head.

  “Yes, but we're in the middle of, how should I put it, an apocalypse. And as far as I know, you live very far away. A mere visit isn't strange, but in the current situation, you'll have to forgive me for being suspicious, but your popping up is quite... Shady.”

  “Oh, I think I understand what you mean. On my way here, I saw what was happening... But I don't know how I could prove to you that I am who I say I am.”

  “May, I think that's enough for now...” Winningham interjected.

  “But...”

  “Besides, your friend Minnie is just as suspicious, isn't she? She appeared out of nowhere, and you barely know her.”

  The woman was right, of course, but in Minnie's case, she was sure she was truthful. She had given her access to the system after all, but she couldn't tell Evelyn that.

  However, she sighed, not knowing what exactly she could do. She couldn't just chase him away or kill him. The test would certainly give her negative points for her character if she did so without evidence.

  So all she could do was wait.

  They spent the rest of the day inside. Evelyn made dinner from the supplies she had left. May also helped a little with the cleaning, but kept an eye on David the whole time.

  “He seems fine,” Minnie commented. “Maybe it was a false alarm?”

  “I don't believe in coincidences,” May replied. “His arrival at this particular moment is too suspicious.”

  David smiled at her. May looked away for a moment.

  “The only question is when he will attack,” she said quietly to Minnie.

  “What are you talking about, my darlings?” David asked, coming closer and smiling cheerfully.

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  “About you,” Minnie said, and May glared at her.

  “About not trusting me?” he said dryly, and Minnie nodded.

  I thought she had become wiser, but I guess I was wrong.

  “Is there anything I can do to make you trust me?” He moved closer to Minnie.

  The blonde smiled and replied, “I don't know... Maybe... You could get rid of that knife you're holding behind your back.”

  There was silence and no one said anything.

  May quickly came to her senses and kicked him in the stomach! Unfortunately, it wasn't very effective. She was much weaker here, and her martial arts skills were useless without the use of Qi.

  David began to cackle and no longer hid his knife. He flew straight towards her.

  “Evelyn!” May shouted, hoping that the woman would appear with her gun. She knew that in her current state, she had no chance against him.

  “No use!,” he shouted, stabbing her in the chest. Her whole body became hot. She felt a piercing pain.

  “Ugh!” she roared, feeling that it was over for her.

  “What's going on?!” Winningham suddenly appeared in the living room, holding her revolver in her hand.

  Before she knew it, David grabbed her with great force and pushed her in front of him, then shouted, “Drop your weapon!”

  She became his hostage, blocking him with her body. Winningham couldn't shoot him without hitting May. Unfortunately for him, May knew that this wasn't real life.

  “Don't listen to him!” she shouted in great pain. “Shoot!”

  The woman hesitated. “No...”

  “He's not your grandson!” she exclaimed.

  Sacrificing your own life... Damn... That has to give me good results!

  Of course, she didn't want to die yet, but this nightmare had already lasted too long. It was originally supposed to last only a few hours, but it had already lasted nearly two days. She was honestly fed up with it.

  I appreciate that I'm back in my world, but…

  But this wasn't her world. She knew it was just a fake. She couldn't talk to her parents or family. The internet and everything else wasn't working. It was nice to be back for a while, but it wasn't what she wanted.

  The pain was getting worse, and there was already a pool of blood under their feet.

  “Shoot! I'm already dead!” she shouted, hoping he would do it.

  ...

  “Forgive me. May. David.”

  “Wait, you whore!” shouted the man holding her.

  She heard the sound of a gunshot. And then darkness fell.

  ───── ??☆?? ─────

  May began to choke and had trouble breathing. She felt as if someone had hit her head with a hammer. Tears of pain began to stream from her eyes. “Damn it,” she whispered.

  “Hey! Easy! Calm down, I’m here!” said An Fuqi, reaching out his hand to help her out of the hole. She grabbed his hand and was pulled out.

  She lay on the ground, writhing in pain.

  “Huh. Her soul...” began the sect leader.

  “Yes... It has become absurdly more potent... Even among the Elders of the sect, such effects are hardly ever seen...” he said thoughtfully. “May? Can you hear me? How much time has passed in your nightmare?”

  May was angry that someone dared to ask her anything in her current state. She felt as if she were dying. She didn't want to answer the question. She couldn't even think about it.

  A few minutes passed. She slowly began to calm down, and the pain began to subside. An Fuqi repeated his question.

  “Over two days...” She answered honestly.

  “Strange... Nightmares rarely last more than a few hours... I've never even heard of one lasting half a day, let alone two whole days.”

  “No wonder... She was in that state for over half an hour, when most people are done in just a few minutes. May, what did you dream about?”

  She couldn't tell him everything. About Earth.

  “People went crazy. They were murdering each other.”

  “Hmm, it's not much different from the others...” commented the leader. “But as I guess, it's good for her. Take her away.”

  An Fuqi nodded. “Follow me.”

  May could barely stand, but they already expected her to walk back to where they had come from. She walked slowly, leaning against the walls the whole time.

  “What about the results... of my character...?”

  “The other Elders of the Sect are examining them... It's not that simple, and the data obtained from your stay in the nightmare requires a lot of processing and verification. The report will only be available later.”

  May nodded, hoping that they would not discover any irregularities.

  “Oh, one more thing, I almost forgot,” Elder An said. “Don't tell the others about the test. We don't want it to affect the results.” May nodded absently.

  Due to May's slow pace, it took them more than twice as long as before to return to the starting room. When they entered, all eyes fell on them.

  Peng Chen quickly ran up to May and grabbed her by the arm. “May! What happened?!” Although she didn't want to admit it, she could barely stand on her feet. She leaned on Peng, and he helped her to a chair, where he sat her down.

  “I'm fine... I'm just feeling a little weak.”

  “A little? What are you talking about? You could barely stand, you would have fainted in a few more minutes!” he said in an overdramatized tone. “Believe me, I’ve seen this state more than once.”

  Zu Chen and Yifan also seemed anxious. May, however, suspected that it was not out of concern for her, but out of fear of taking the test themselves. Seeing her condition, they were afraid of what awaited them.

  Elder An smiled as he watched May and Peng. After a moment, however, he shook his head and said in a cheerful voice, “So, who's next?”

  No one was eager to volunteer.

  After an awkward silence, Yifan finally raised his hand with a sigh. “I can go now. I'm sure I can do better than her...”

  An Fuqi smiled and left the room with the boy, leaving them alone.

  “What happened? You were gone for so long, we were afraid something had happened to you...” Peng said anxiously.

  “He was the only one who was worried,” Zu Chen said out loud.

  He looked at his sister angrily but said nothing. He turned his gaze to May. “Don’t mind her.”

  “It’s okay,” May said, lying.

  “Really?”

  “Yes. Elder An forbade me to talk about this test, but... It's only temporary. I'll get over it soon.”

  “You won't get better,” Zu Chen commented from a distance. “Your body is on the verge of exhaustion and you're shaking all over. I understand it well because I've been in that state many times myself.”

  “Zu, you're not being helpful,” Peng growled.

  “What am I supposed to do, lie to her? You can see for yourself how she looks. She's going to have a hard time for the rest of the ceremony.”

  Peng didn't respond.

  May was tired. She didn't know why. The nightmare itself didn't seem that scary, but she guess it was the time factor.

  According to An Fuqi, only thirty minutes had passed in reality, but she had spent more than two days in her dream. She suspected that her condition was caused by her brain being overloaded with information.

  Shortly thereafter, she fell asleep in the chair she was sitting in. She no longer paid any attention to the rest of the world.