NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1 - Nightmares
Chapter 1 – Nightmares
Have you ever woken up from a nightmare and found yourself in another nightmare?
Lu Sheng was now.
“Lu Sheng!”
A stern voice exploded in his ears like a thunderclap.
Lu Sheng looked up dazedly, his face still showing the bewilderment and confusion of having just woken up from sleep.
The middle-aged man on the podium pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose and stared at him fiercely with a look seethed with hatred.
“There are just over two hundred days left before the college entrance exams. You don’t even think about working hard for your exams, yet still have the heart to sleep in class? With this attitude, even if you graduate and go to a construction site to move bricks, they may not want you!
“Do you know what the minimum blood standard for cement workers on construction sites is these days? 0.8! And has your Blood Qi Value reached 0.8? …”
Lu Sheng lowered his head, rubbing his swollen temples, while obediently listening to the class teacher castigate him.
The little fatty sitting on his left secretly turned his head to look at him.
“Having nightmares again?”
Lu Sheng nodded, not saying anything, but had a strong look of helplessness in his eyes.
He had been dreaming the same dream frequently for three days.
Lu Sheng could not describe what kind of dream it was, only remembered that the scene in the dream was very dilapidated, desolate and depressing.
He stood bewildered on top of a wilderness, with roaming monsters all around …
It was a nightmare—there was no doubt in it.
Because after encountering this dream, he became very drowsy, and the quality of sleep turned incredibly poor.
Although he slept for more than 12 hours a day, he looked like he had been sleep-deprived due to insomnia continuously for the past few days.
So much so that during these three days, Lu Sheng’s Blood Qi Value (BQV) had slipped by 0.02!
0.02 ah!
How many elixirs and potions, and how any days of workout, would I need to make up for this loss!
Lu Sheng’s mood was simply terrible.
…
After school, Lu Sheng walked listlessly while carrying his backpack.
Someone called his name and came up from behind, blocking his path.
“Lu Sheng, heading to the Internet café, huh?”
It was the little fatty from the classroom during the day.
His name was Liu Qiming, and he was considered one of Lu Sheng’s few friends.
Facing Liu Qiming’s invitation, Lu Sheng shook his head.
“No, I’m not going. I’ll go home.”
“Going home so early? It’s not like your style. Let’s go to the café, I’ll pay for all the drinks and charges today.”
Liu Qiming patted his chest and sincerely invited.
But Lu Sheng still shook his head and explained, “I really don’t want to go, I’ll go back early and catch up on my sleep.”
“You slept all day in class today, and you’re still sleepy?” Liu Qiming had an exaggerated expression on his face.
Lu Sheng did not bother to explain, he waved his hand and continued to walk forward.
Liu Qiming still wanted to persuade Lu Sheng when several boys hollered for him.
“Liu Qiming, are you going to the café or not?”
“I’ll be there, right away!”
Liu Qiming took a final look at Lu Sheng, and did not say anything else. He left Lu Sheng and sped towards the other few boys running ahead.
Lu Sheng watched Liu Qiming’s distant back, during which students in black and blue uniforms kept passing by him on both sides.
These people bustled towards the school’s entrance and quickly scattered away in all directions, like a murky river moving far away in the midst of the hustle-bustle.
“Ai …”
Lu Sheng let out a soft sigh as his mind began to churn with thoughts.
He had almost forgotten that he had been living in this world for eighteen years.
Lu Sheng’s memories of his previous life had turned very vague, and sometimes he even wondered if it was all just a dream.
A dream that he would do over and over again from his childhood.
Just like the recurrent one he had been dreaming about lately.
“… No house, no car … alone … white collar worker … went hiking … fell off a cliff … woke up …”
Lu Sheng murmured the few keywords under his breath, and his eyes gradually became empty and distant until he recited the last word.
“Transmigration …”
Yes, Lu Sheng had crossed over.
In that world of his previous life, there were no martial arts, and there were no monsters that ran out of the cracks in the ground.
What was broadcasted on the TV news was not news of the monster attacks and martial arts master duels.
The students in the school did not fret over their Blood Qi Value (BQV), Combat Power Index (CPI), combat class results, but the endless slogging over mathematics, science and foreign language papers.
Sometimes Lu Sheng would feel quite nostalgic over that world, because at least that world had …
Peace and quiet.
…
Lu Sheng pushed open the door to his home.
He saw his dad, Lu Hai, lying naked* on the arm of the sofa, and his mother, Zheng Yufen, tearing open a plaster to find a suitable spot on Lu Hai’s back.
[*TL: I’m sure it’s half-naked, or open back.]
Lu Sheng noticed his dad’s “patched up” back, his eyes stung for a moment, and he shouted, “I’m home.”
“Are you hungry? Why don’t you eat an apple first, I’ll get to cooking right away.”
Zheng Yufen said to Lu Hai while pressing the poultice firmly on his back.
Lu Sheng shook his head and dragged his school bag in the direction of his room.
He stopped halfway, turned his head to the sofa and whispered: “Why not go back to buy a blood moxibustion device, that thing can stimulate the blood, relax the tendons and activate the body. Massage healing will also very useful. My classmate’s house has a …”
“Hey, what kind of injury do you think I have, I’ll be fine in a few days. That is money that we might as well put aside and buy you potions …”
Lu Hai quickly vetoed Lu Sheng’s proposal, then made an effort to turn his head to look at him.
“How is your recent Blood Qi Value, did you breakthrough to 0.85? I saw on the news today that the cutoff for this year’s college entrance examination for undergraduates will be increased by 0.01 …”
“I know, I’ll go back to my room to exercise …”
Lu Sheng chest immediately tightened as he heard those words, and he rushed into his room.
He had a weak heart.
If Lu Hai came to know about his recent Blood Qi Value—which not only had not gone up, but taken a plunge, instead. He was afraid that his dad would jump from the sofa and smack him with the shoe board fiercely out of sheer anger.