The real world's social order is, in fact, extremely vulnerable to supernatural powers.

Invisibility, intangibility, and shapeshifting abilities can render any security measures virtually useless. A low-level Charm Skill can cause massive destruction; not to mention unpredictable Witchcraft capable of killing from thousands of miles away, or even more direct abilities like summoning wind and rain or moving mountains and filling seas.

If billions of demons, each possessing bizarre abilities, were to swarm out, even the Special Affairs Bureau and the Global Occult Coalition would find it difficult to control the situation.

The scenes described by Xing Hechou were definitely not alarmist.

The atmosphere instantly grew oppressive.

Wanli Fengdao's fingers turned white as he gripped the hilt of his sword.

Liu Wu Dai furrowed his brow, remaining silent.

Li Ang rubbed his hands together, absorbed in thought. Billions of magical beasts, huh. If we could develop a PokeBall, and the entire seven billion people of the world could play a real-life version of Pocket Monsters, that would be quite a spectacle. What with things like those 'Garlic-Head Turtles' and 'Yellow Rats,' just the thought of it is thrilling.

...

A tic developed in the corner of Xing Hechou's eye. The ecosystem within the Demon Prison was extremely complex, with countless types of demons. This included some relatively docile species at the bottom of the food chain, which showed potential for domestication—several research projects in this area were slowly progressing.

Besides the low-level magical beasts that humans might utilize, the initial layers of the Demon Prison also harbor demons of higher intelligence. These beings have established small to medium-sized tribes in treacherous environments and could potentially be utilized by the Special Affairs Bureau.

As this information was irrelevant to the immediate situation, Xing Hechou didn't elaborate further, returning to the main topic: "The Demon Tide has been identified by us as the highest-level apocalyptic threat. Although we don't know when it will erupt, as long as the Demon Prison exists, it remains an ever-present threat to all humanity. Our colleagues stationed on the Demon Prison's outskirts are already prepared for a scenario of mutual destruction, ready to take any measures necessary to prevent the disaster."

Xing Hechou stated gravely, "Of course, before that happens, we must increase our exploration efforts within the Demon Prison and simultaneously find ways to enhance our own strength."

Li Ang squinted. "Let me guess, this method of enhancing our strength wouldn't be related to the current Shengnan King's Dream, would it..."

"Unfortunately, that's correct," Xing Hechou said with a bitter smile. "During an exploratory survey within the Demon Prison, the team encountered a bizarrely shaped demon. This demon possessed the body of a horse, the trunk of an elephant, the face of a lion, the forehead of a rhinoceros, the tail of an ox, and the feet of a tiger."

Liu Wu Dai instinctively said, "A tapir."

"That's right." Xing Hechou recited a passage from Bai Juyi's "Paean to the Tapir Screen," then said solemnly, "'The tapir, with an elephant's trunk and rhino's eyes, an ox's tail and tiger's feet, is born in southern valleys. Sleeping on its hide is said to prevent illness from miasma, and depicting its form is believed to ward off evil. Native to the southern lands, it eats nothing but metal.' The tapir. Also known as the Meng Si, or the Dream-eating Tapir. Its origins trace back to ancient legends, and any connection to the Shanhai Classics cannot be verified. In the Tang Dynasty, it was customary to depict the tapir on screens, which was said to prevent the owner from having nightmares or getting sick from the cold. This custom spread to the Japan Islands. There, locals interpreted 'avoiding nightmares' as the tapir's ability to devour misfortune, viewing it as an auspicious creature and adding their own secondary characteristics. The Meng Si that resided in the Demon Prison proactively approached the exploration team. It claimed to have been born during the Han Dynasty and imprisoned for over a thousand years, stating it wished to represent itself and cooperate with the Special Affairs Bureau."

"Wait a minute," Li Ang couldn't help but ask. "The prison's design means that the more powerful the demons, the greater the constraints they face, right? How can a Meng Si born during the Han Dynasty still maintain its lucid consciousness and ability to move freely?"

"According to that tapir, although it was born a long time ago, its powers are not strong. The Meng Si's innate ability is to drift between various dreams, feeding on them. Powerful Meng Si can even abandon their physical forms and construct their own reality using dreams."

Xing Hechou spread his hands. "Since the Mirage Dragon, the prison guard, suppresses demons using dream illusions, the Meng Si, which possesses a similar ability, can move freely to a certain extent. Such a long span of time was sufficient for it to deeply understand the Demon Prison's operational mechanisms. It could also occasionally exploit loopholes to project a part of itself into the real world, thereby absorbing dreams and gathering external information. We do not trust it, but the plan it proposed is very interesting. The core idea is to harness the inexhaustible Telekinesis of ordinary people in the real world to create artificial urban legends. These legends would then become stable, recyclable training grounds. This system would continuously provide players in the real world with experience, equipment, and items. If the plan proceeded smoothly, players wouldn't have to wait for anomalous events to slowly generate tasks. Instead, they could go directly to the training ground to level up, offering endless benefits."

Wanli Fengdao's eyes widened involuntarily. "Can that Meng Si really achieve this?"

"It definitely can't do it alone." Xing Hechou shook his head. "In fact, details it mentioned have also been found in the ancient records of the Heterodox Academy. Those Cultivators had long confirmed that 'Nen can affect reality.' However, due to various considerations and their confidence in the Heterodox Academy itself, they never promoted the creation of artificial legends."

Wanli Fengdao's brows furrowed deeply. "The King of Shengnan's dream, it couldn't possibly be..."

"It isn't." As if guessing what Little Brother Dao was thinking, Xing Hechou shook his head to explain, "The ancient Heterodox Academy's concern was that the collective thoughts of all beings were too complex and vast. Even attempting to consolidate them using legendary stories could easily lead to a loss of control. The Special Affairs Bureau internally held dozens of research meetings regarding the content suggested by the Meng Si. However, they never reached a decision on whether to conduct small-scale experiments. However, before we could reach a conclusion, urban legends about the King of Shengnan began to spread in the real world. And that Meng Si, which had been with the front-line exploration team since its discovery, also vanished without a trace."

Li Ang stamped on the ground, which felt extremely real under his feet, and asked in a grave voice, "Did it cause all this?"

"We cannot be sure at the moment." Xing Hechou shook his head. "The Heterodox Academy's assessment is that the Meng Si itself lacks the power to escape the Demon Prison's constraints and wreak havoc in the real world. Moreover, an urban legend necessarily requires an origin. Guiding it to become an anomalous event in such a short period definitely implies the existence of a driving force behind it."

At this point, Xing Hechou's tone deepened, and he said in a low voice, "The King of Shengnan has now become an anomaly of unknown threat level. As employees of the Special Affairs Bureau, we can't back down here, no matter what. I earnestly request everyone's assistance in finding the King of Shengnan's true form and exposing the manipulator behind all this."

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