A Core Ship From The Start Chapter 678

Chapter 678: Chapter 503: Guidance in the Dream_1 Chapter 678: Chapter 503: Guidance in the Dream_1 To Duanmu Huai, being a model wasn't a big deal. The only noteworthy thing was the reaction when he disrobed in front of the students; the female students' eyes sparkled and the male students alienated themselves… Well, it was understandable.

Duanmu Huai didn't have to do much throughout the session, he just posed and let his mind wander until the time was up. As for the students' renditions… well, he thought they should be the ones answering that question.

In general, it was a relaxed process. After the course, Duanmu Huai got along better with the students, and he explained his identity to them and handed out a pile of business cards – this was the main reason he came to Miskatonic University, after all, compared to other places, students and teachers of Miskatonic University were more prone to getting into trouble and thus more likely to commission assignments, weren't they?

Professor Osborne was very satisfied with the class and hoped Duanmu Huai would come back often… um, Duanmu Huai said he'd consider it. Once a week should be enough since he had his own job and couldn't possibly come here every day.

At Duanmu Huai's response, Professor Osborne was somewhat disappointed, but he also expressed his understanding.

After spending the afternoon at Miskatonic University, Duanmu Huai returned to his agency, ate dinner, watched some TV, and went to bed.

After all… anything could happen in dreams.

And Duanmu Huai's efforts were gradually beginning to take effect in some areas.

For Mark Layne, it was a difficult night.

Like right now, huddled in a shabby hut under a downpour, he was gripping a gun. His precision shooting skill was enough to accurately hit the eyes of any enemy who dared to rush into the room, but the deep-rooted fear still made him shudder uncontrollably.

Mark Layne was a retired soldier who had faced death on the battlefield and experienced countless life-and-death battles. But none of these had brought him down because, for Mark Layne, all he ever wished for was to end the war and reunite with his beloved wife back home.

And soon, Mark Layne's wish came true. He chose to go home after distinguishing himself on the battlefield. At that time, Mark Layne thought his wish was finally about to come true. He could go home and live an ordinary but warm life with his wife.

However, the reality was not so.

Mark Layne would never forget that afternoon, when he stealthily returned home to surprise his wife, he heard her screams. When he rushed into the bedroom, what he saw was something Mark Layne could never forget – his wife lying on the bed being torn apart from the inside, then a bizarre, terrifying creature crawled out of his wife's body, gave him a strange, evil smile, then broke through the window, and disappeared.

After that, Mark called the police, but they could not find any leads. They thought that Mark's wife was probably murdered, and the creature that Mark described emerging from her body was simply dismissed as a hallucination caused by Mark's post-traumatic stress disorder.

But Mark was reluctant to accept the police's conclusion. He was sure he did not hallucinate and decided to investigate on his own since the police were unwilling to help.

As an experienced veteran, Mark had unique skills in investigation and search. Soon, he found out that his wife seemed to be connected to a mysterious underground church. Although he could not understand the chaotic content described in his wife's diary, Mark could still tell that his wife was entangled with the people of the mysterious church a year ago. After that, she noticed being stalked every day, which made her extremely tense. She had called the police several times, but to no avail.

She thought, perhaps, things would get better when Mark came back.

But the reality was…

Mark wouldn't let these people off the hook. After finding out the address of the mysterious church, he rushed in with a gun. For Mark, there was only one thing he needed to do now – avenge his wife!

But what Mark didn't expect was that this underground church was not merely an illegal church. They even summoned terrifying and horrible monsters he had never seen before!

Faced with enemies that bullets couldn't kill, Mark wisely chose to retreat. However, after this, he finally realized the underground church was not as simple as he had imagined. But Mark didn't back down. Instead, he was increasingly convinced that his wife was indeed killed by these damn cultists!

So, he would never forgive these brutal murderers! And their grotesque God!

Although Mark didn't plan to let go of the mysterious church, they also didn't plan to let him go. In fact, Mark had been attacked and assassinated by them several times since then. But Mark was a professional in this regard, so far, those from the mysterious church had not succeeded.

But even Mark himself, didn't know how long he could hold on. He wasn't afraid of those people, but those monsters – of course, he didn't know what those grotesque creatures were, but it was clear that they weren't something he could deal with using bullets and explosives.

Moreover, Mark had been having nightmares every day since then. He could feel his mental state gradually declining. Every time he closed his eyes, he could feel a terrifying presence, as if some indescribable monster was hiding in the dark, ready to kill him at any time.

“Huff……”
Leaning against the corner, Mark held his gun tightly and sighed softly. He was in a roadside motel in the middle of nowhere. At least, Mark was sure that those cultists hadn't followed him. But he didn't slack off because of it. After all, those cultists could use strange spells, which he had not only witnessed but also personally experienced… in short, it's always better to be careful and cautious when dealing with these things.

With that in mind, Mark casually picked up the newspaper from the table to pass the time. Of course, his mind was not on the newspaper, but on the sounds from the corridor and outside the window while he flipped through it.

However, just then, he casually turned to the second page of the newspaper and saw a strange symbol.

It was a symbol of a war hammer crossed with a skull, and there was a line of big letters on it.

“Mysterious Detective Agency, solving problems for you!

What a load of nonsense.

Looking at the advertisement in front of him, Mark furrowed his eyebrows. Indeed, after discovering that those cultists really had some kind of magic-like ability, Mark also tried to find many channels, trying to restrain their power. But those churches were all swindlers, and they had no ability to fight back against the magic of the cultists. The gods they worshipped couldn't even muster a fart.

So when he saw such an advertisement, Mark's first instinct was to regard it as the propaganda of charlatans and toss it aside.

Then, he slipped hazily into sleep.

For Mark, dreaming had become a torture.

Every night, when he closed his eyes and fell into sleep, he went back to that day. He returned home, ready to surprise his wife. But just as he opened the door, his wife's scream came from upstairs. Hearing the scream, Mark dropped his gift and rushed upstairs, only to see his wife struggling painfully to her death, while the monster crawled out of her body, revealing its evil and eerie smile, then disappeared —- and he awoke from the nightmare, looking at his wife's distorted face.

What drove Mark to despair was that he couldn't change any of it. In his dreams, he was like a third party lodged in his own body, unable to struggle or resist, while his body was like a robot that acted on its own, repeating the same steps over and over again.

Tonight was no exception.

“No———-!!!!”

Watching his wife die in agony again, Mark cried out. He stared as the monster crawled out of his wife's body again, grinning at him with satisfaction, twisting, ferocious, and evil. It seemed to be mocking his powerlessness and playing with his fear.

At this moment, the rage deep inside Mark couldn't be suppressed any longer. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain on the back of his hand. The next moment, his body, which had lost control, was suddenly back under his command!

“I'm going to kill you!!!”

Mark roared as he reached out and grabbed the monster, choking it hard. The monster, unprepared for Mark's retaliation, stared wide-eyed, swinging its claws desperately to escape. However, no matter how it struggled, Mark did not let go. In his dreams, he had relived this scene hundreds, thousands of times. This time, he could finally get his revenge!

“Gah———-!!!”

In the end, accompanied by a low cry, the monster was strangled to death by Mark and then slumped down. Mark then watched as the body of the creature in his hand began to disintegrate, turning into a dust that disappeared into the air, as if burnt.

At the same time, the room he was in also gradually faded away. At this moment, Mark couldn't help but hold his dead wife's body on the bed and cry out loud.

When Mark opened his eyes again, the dawn had broken. His eyes were red and swollen, tears flowing down his face. However, at this moment, Mark felt a strange sense of relief. He reached out to wipe away the tears in his eyes, but just then, he noticed a pattern on the back of his hand and his action froze.

On the back of his hand, the symbol of a war hammer tangled with a skull appeared like a tattoo.

This is……….

Mark stared at his hand. He remembered clearly that last night, he felt a burning pain on the back of his hand. It was after that he was able to break free from the invisible chains and awaken from the nightmare.

And this pattern… Right!!

Thinking of this, Mark hurriedly picked up the newspaper and checked again.

Yes, it was the exact same pattern as the one on the newspaper ad.

What in the world is going on?

Staring at the pattern on the newspaper, Mark pondered for a moment, then got up.

Regardless, it seemed that he had to take a trip to Arkham City.

Chapter end

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