Chapter 116: Murder in the Dream

Everything from last night dissipated the moment the morning sunlight spilled into the room.

Everything about the branch manager, the branch manager mission, even the formidable First Branch, remained buried in Ji Li’s mind.

Yet what made him most uneasy was the constant feeling of being a marionette, endlessly manipulated.

He despised this sensation, but for now, he lacked the strength to resist.

Still, since Tianhai wanted to play, Ji Li would enter the game unflinchingly.

He might not have enough capital to gamble, but he had the power to overturn the table.

Even if he fell into a situation of utter ruin, Ji Li could sever himself from Tianhai—this was his leverage.

Those who are preyed upon are not entirely defenseless.

It was a precarious time. Ji Li awoke from his sleep, drew open the window, and let the autumn wind sweep through, scattering his exhaustion and making him feel as if his body had fallen apart.

His mind foggy, he grabbed a cigarette from the desk, lit it, and held it between his lips.

Glancing at his watch, he was shocked to see it was already 1:30 PM.

He felt dazed—how had he slept so long? He quickly queried the other personas in his mind.

The second persona remained asleep, and the third had just awakened. By the clock, they had almost woken simultaneously with Ji Li…

A sinking feeling took hold; something was very wrong. He scanned the room, bewildered.

This was the hotel—how could a ghost have attacked him?

He had only fallen into sleep; nothing else had occurred.

“Could it be a ghost from the new mission, appearing early?”

Ji Li grabbed the coat draped over the chair, frowning as he stepped out.

When he opened the door, Tongguan, Chang Nian, Fang Shenyan, and Yu Guo were all blocking the entrance.

They seemed startled at his appearance but remained silent, looking at him with strange, unreadable expressions.

Ji Li, already in a foul mood, found it even more perplexing and asked coldly:

“What’s going on?”

Tongguan and Chang Nian stood silently, their eyes icy.

Fang Shenyan seemed detached, adjusting his black-framed glasses and putting on gloves.

Yu Guo hesitated, then retrieved a small box from behind him and placed it before Ji Li.

It was an ordinary gift box, no larger than a palm.

But the contents made Ji Li’s brow tighten and forced him to step back in disgust.

Inside was a humanoid figure composed entirely of segmented worms.

The worms were deliberately cut and crudely pieced together to form a roughly “human” shape.

What confirmed it as humanoid were the two eyeballs inserted where the head should be—human eyes!

From the craftsmanship, they were grotesquely damaged, as if forcibly removed from live human sockets.

Ji Li covered his mouth and nose, his voice low and tense:

“Where did this come from?”

Yu Guo hesitated, glancing at Fang Shenyan.

Fang Shenyan, expression cold as frost, said deliberately: “Last night, besides you, no one left the hotel.”

Ji Li felt something was off. Though he went upstairs last, he had not left the hotel.

As he prepared to protest, Tongguan snorted and said:

“Around three last night, I went downstairs to check the ghost occupants. I saw you returning hurriedly from outside, holding something in both hands.

This morning, I found it at your door, as if left behind.”

This statement deepened Ji Li’s confusion.

He had gone upstairs around 1 AM and immediately fallen asleep, never stepping outside…

“Did I go out last night?”

Ji Li, aware of his unusual body, felt uncertain and asked the broadcast.

“Yes, Mr. Ji Li. You went out at 2:31 AM and returned at 3:00 AM.

Your hands were covered in blood, your expression excited, holding live human eyeballs.”

The female voice did not lie. When she spoke, it was truth.

The proof was undeniable: Ji Li had indeed gone out the previous night to murder and extract eyes.

The purpose had been nothing more than to assemble a grotesque humanoid figure…

“This…”

The third persona hesitated, his voice wavering, unsure how to respond.

Ji Li looked down at his hands.

What exactly was missing from his memory…?

Fang Shenyan and Yu Guo exchanged a glance, said nothing further, and simply tossed the thing into the trash, instructing the female voice to destroy it.

“Newcomers arrive at two; let’s leave first.”

As they filed past, Ji Li remained rooted in place, feeling increasingly unsettled.

How could he have gone out to kill someone without any awareness—and with no motive?

The first thought in his mind was his inner personas.

Could it be that while he slept, one of his personas had seized control, acting through his body…?

The third persona…

But Ji Li shook his head. The third persona, ever since its last warning, would not do anything so reckless.

That left only the fourth persona.

His face went pale, jaw clenched.

“Perhaps… it wasn’t the fourth persona controlling the body, but rather using your dreams.”

At that moment, the third persona voiced his hypothesis.

Ji Li frowned, puzzled. How could someone manipulate dreams to compel the body to commit such acts?

“Strictly speaking, all personas are part-owners of this body. Normally, as the main persona, you exert decisive control.

But over prolonged exposure, the fourth persona might identify your weakest points, exploiting them to direct the body while you’re vulnerable.”

“What do you mean by my weakest points?”

“Your dreams.

It’s like a form of hypnosis. He exists as part of your body, lodged within your mind. Naturally, he has access to your dreams. When the timing is right, he can even set triggers to activate the body to carry out prearranged actions.

For example, last night he used your dream to control you—to kill and extract eyes.”

According to the third persona, the fourth had the training of a psychologist, making dream manipulation and hypnosis second nature.

Ji Li finally understood: while he slept, at his most vulnerable, the fourth persona had slipped in.

“But rather than hypnosis, it’s more like sleepwalking.”

This was the most reasonable explanation.

The sleepwalking of last night was not under Ji Li’s control; it was entirely orchestrated by the fourth persona.

Ji Li couldn’t fathom why the fourth persona had done this. He merely cast a long, steady gaze at the crude, grotesque doll, forcing down his nausea.

He turned and went downstairs, choosing to let this unsettling episode fade from his mind.