Michael's words were a revelation .

Nightmare Cat's eyes lit up when he said, "Yes, the laptop is his lifeline . Without it, he is nothing . "

He willed the disruption of all electricity and internet access in the dreamscape .

At last, something that he had done seemed to have flummoxed Zhao Yao, whom was staring at the blank laptop screen dumbly . This pleased him tremendously . He could not help but let out an enormous belly laugh .

"Hehehe . I wonder what you are going to do now . "

As if in response, Zhao Yao got changed and left the apartment .

"Hehe, are you heading out to find a working power source? It'll be futile, boy . I've cut off all the electricity . All of it . Your search will suck all the happiness and hope out of you . Enjoy your nightmare…"

Three hours later, Nightmare Cat was gawping at Zhao Yao with his mouth hanging wide open . It turned out that he had not left the house to look for a power source . He was looking for materials to make his own generator . It worked perfectly and he was now comfortably nestled in the covers, back at his game .

Nightmare Cat slumped forward, his paws holding clamping onto his throbbing head .

"How did he do that?" he wondered aloud .

Michael could not help but roll his eyes .

"You know," he started, "You could just make his laptop disappear . "

Nightmare Cat looked at him .

"Make his laptop disappear?" he repeated after him, venom dripping from his words, "That's not enough . I want everything to disappear . I want him to suffer . I want him to be stuck in a limbo of nothingness!"

He concluded his proclamation with a sinister chuckle .

He was still laughing when he crushed the very core of the dreamscape that he had created . The world around them began to crumble . Then, darkness swallowed it whole .

Michael watched the rapid decay in stunned silence .

"This…" he thought to himself, "He's just going to wipe the world out of existence? It's such a simple solution, but perhaps that's why it's the best one . "

His gaze fell on Zhao Yao, whom was curled up in the fetus position, completely alone . "

Michael let out a breath he did not know he was holding .

"He has no one for company . Even light and sound have abandoned him . Anyone would be driven insane . This will break even the strongest man . It's really just a matter of when . "

At that moment, Michael realized that he had underestimated Nightmare Cat's ability . Nothingness was a fate far crueler than any catastrophe that could happen in real life, but in the dream world, he could make it a reality .

While Michael was pensive and Nightmare Cat was cheery, Zhao Yao was not exhibiting much emotion at all . There was no trace of panic or fear in him . Calmly, he simply opened his mouth . A vortex warp appeared briefly . Then, he was gone .

"What happened?" Michael gasped, "Did he leave the dream?"

Nightmare Cat blinked a few times in surprise . He shut his eyes in concentration, obviously trying to find something . When he opened them, he said, "He hasn't left . He has the power to cross to another dimension . But don't worry, he may be somewhere else now, but he's still ultimately in the dream world . "

With that, he raised a paw and scratched the air .

It was as if they were in a play and Nightmare Cat had ripped the backdrop to reveal a brand new one . Both himself and Michael had left the darkness and entered the extradimensional belly . And right there, smack in the middle, was Zhao Yao, whose eyes were glued to the laptop screen, fingers flying across the keyboard .

He was playing a computer game . Again .

Nightmare Cat might have been defeated again, but he was not discouraged .

"Hmpf," he snorted dismissively, "I'll reduce this place to nothingness too . "

He waved his paw in the air and everything in the confines of the belly vanished .

"That should do," he said smugly .

This second disappearing act seemed to have done the trick . Zhao Yao simply sat there, still as a statue, as if he was recovering from the shock of being thrusted into nothingness once more . There could be nothing more pleasing to the Nightmare Cat's eyes .

"Well, it seems like I have finally succeeded," he declared with a bellow of laughter, "Do you see the true horrors of my power now?"

When Zhao Yao finally moved, it was to lie on the ground . There, he closed his eyes . It seemed like he had fallen asleep out of boredom .

"Really? You think that sleeping will help?" Nightmare Cat snorted, "It won't . No matter how many times you sleep and wake, you can never leave this dream . It will only worsen the disorientation and hasten your descent into madness . "

The cat tilted his head to the side . Yes, he wanted to hasten the process too so he could see what shape Zhao Yao would be in in the end .

He skipped forward one day in time, then decided to just go for it and jumped past a month .

Somehow, Zhao Yao was still lying on his side, fast asleep .

Nightmare Cat and Michael stared at his unmoving form, dumbfounded .

"He… He's still sleeping?"

A switch in Michael's mind flickered on .

"Hey, could he be dreaming within this dream?" he wondered aloud .

Nightmare Cat's answer was immediate and firm, "A dream within a dream? Impossible . Without my permission, n.o.body in here can dream . "

The cat's gaze lingered on the sleeping man for a while longer before he decided to find out what was going on in his mind . This was a cake walk for him . The thoughts of a person who did not recognize that he was, in fact, dreaming can only blossom from the subconscious . Accessing the subconscious was Nightmare Cat's forte . It was how he could create and control the dreamscape in the first place .

The cat waved his paw over Zhao Yao's head, drawing wisps of smoke . They hovered above Zhao Yao and fused into a cloud .  In its center, his thoughts were displayed for the two of them to see .

When they peered in, they were greeted with the sight of countless beautiful women, cats, and places that Zhao Yao had come across in his adventures around the globe . He was even acc.u.mulating riches and new superpowers in his legion of escapades .

n.o.body would have expected to see that Zhao Yao had single-handedly created a whole new world with just the power of his imagination .

Michael was utterly flabbergasted .

"This guy . . . " he thought to himself, "He can live vicariously through his imagination for so long?"

"This isn't just about living vicariously," Nightmare Cat interrupted, brows furrowed, "It's his superpower . He can create illusions of some sort . Whatever he can think up, he can actually experience . He is like his own server . He hosts every virtual game imaginable and he can play whatever he wants, whenever he wants . "

"Even so," he continued, "A normal person shouldn't be able to live in a virtual world for so long . "

"So how is he is doing exactly that right now? How can such a person exist? How can a virtual world satisfy you? Don't you have higher aspirations and expectations?!" he roared .

Nightmare Cat seemed to have hit his breaking point . He felt defeated . There was nothing he could do to break the man sleeping in front of him .

Michael was at a complete loss as well .

"We've failed completely," he thought, "Even on his turf, Nightmare Cat is unable to beat him . "

"There is nothing remarkable about his appearance, but he hides immense physical and mental strength beneath that facade . In fact, it is his mental capacity that is truly terrifying . His ironclad determination borders madness . "

"This man is an undefeatable psycho . "

Now, Michael felt quite unnerved as he looked into Zhao Yao's thoughts, where he was happily hopping from one adventure to the next .

Suddenly, a loud explosion rang through the air and Zhao Yao vanished .

"What was that? What superpower is it this time?" Michael asked .

"That's not it," Nightmare Cat said curiously, "He left the dream . How did he do it?"

"Left the dream?" Michael echoed, "Then you have to send me back out there . It'll be too late if we don't return right now . We can't hurt him here and neither he, us . It'll be different out there in the real world . "

There was a glimmer of light in Nightmare Cat's eyes as he made sense of Michael's words .

Michael 39 s words were a revelation . Nightmare Cat 39 s eyes lit up when he said, Yes, the laptop is his lifeline . Without it, he is nothing . He willed the disruption of all electricity and internet access in the dreamscape . At last, something that he had done seemed to have flummoxed Zhao Yao, whom was staring at the blank laptop screen dumbly . This pleased him tremendously . He could not help but let out an enormous belly laugh . Hehehe . I wonder what you are going to do now . As if in response, Zhao Yao got changed and left the apartment . Hehe, are you heading out to find a working power source It 39 ll be futile, boy . I 39 ve cut off all the electricity . All of it . Your search will suck all the happiness and hope out of you . Enjoy your nightmare Three hours later, Nightmare Cat was gawping at Zhao Yao with his mouth hanging wide open . It turned out that he had not left the house to look for a power source . He was looking for materials to make his own generator . It worked perfectly and he was now comfortably nestled in the covers, back at his game . Nightmare Cat slumped forward, his paws holding clamping onto his throbbing head . How did he do that he wondered aloud . Michael could not help but roll his eyes . You know, he started, You could just make his laptop disappear . Nightmare Cat looked at him . Make his laptop disappear he repeated after him, venom dripping from his words, That 39 s not enough . I want everything to disappear . I want him to suffer . I want him to be stuck in a limbo of nothingness He concluded his proclamation with a sinister chuckle . He was still laughing when he crushed the very core of the dreamscape that he had created . The world around them began to crumble . Then, darkness swallowed it whole . Michael watched the rapid decay in stunned silence . This he thought to himself, He 39 s just going to wipe the world out of existence It 39 s such a simple solution, but perhaps that 39 s why it 39 s the best one . His gaze fell on Zhao Yao, whom was curled up in the fetus position, completely alone . Michael let out a breath he did not know he was holding . He has no one for company . Even light and sound have abandoned him . Anyone would be driven insane . This will break even the strongest man . It 39 s really just a matter of when . At that moment, Michael realized that he had underestimated Nightmare Cat 39 s ability . Nothingness was a fate far crueler than any catastrophe that could happen in real life, but in the dream world, he could make it a reality . While Michael was pensive and Nightmare Cat was cheery, Zhao Yao was not exhibiting much emotion at all . There was no trace of panic or fear in him . Calmly, he simply opened his mouth . A vortex warp appeared briefly . Then, he was gone . What happened Michael gasped, Did he leave the dream Nightmare Cat blinked a few times in surprise . He shut his eyes in concentration, obviously trying to find something . When he opened them, he said, He hasn 39 t left . He has the power to cross to another dimension . But don 39 t worry, he may be somewhere else now, but he 39 s still ultimately in the dream world . With that, he raised a paw and scratched the air . It was as if they were in a play and Nightmare Cat had ripped the backdrop to reveal a brand new one . Both himself and Michael had left the darkness and entered the extradimensional belly . And right there, smack in the middle, was Zhao Yao, whose eyes were glued to the laptop screen, fingers flying across the keyboard . He was playing a computer game . Again . Nightmare Cat might have been defeated again, but he was not discouraged . Hmpf, he snorted dismissively, I 39 ll reduce this place to nothingness too . He waved his paw in the air and everything in the confines of the belly vanished . That should do, he said smugly . This second disappearing act seemed to have done the trick . Zhao Yao simply sat there, still as a statue, as if he was recovering from the shock of being thrusted into nothingness once more . There could be nothing more pleasing to the Nightmare Cat 39 s eyes . Well, it seems like I have finally succeeded, he declared with a bellow of laughter, Do you see the true horrors of my power now When Zhao Yao finally moved, it was to lie on the ground . There, he closed his eyes . It seemed like he had fallen asleep out of boredom . Really You think that sleeping will help Nightmare Cat snorted, It won 39 t . No matter how many times you sleep and wake, you can never leave this dream . It will only worsen the disorientation and hasten your descent into madness . The cat tilted his head to the side . Yes, he wanted to hasten the process too so he could see what shape Zhao Yao would be in in the end . He skipped forward one day in time, then decided to just go for it and jumped past a month . Somehow, Zhao Yao was still lying on his side, fast asleep . Nightmare Cat and Michael stared at his unmoving form, dumbfounded . He He 39 s still sleeping A switch in Michael 39 s mind flickered on . Hey, could he be dreaming within this dream he wondered aloud . Nightmare Cat 39 s answer was immediate and firm, A dream within a dream Impossible . Without my permission, n.o.body in here can dream . The cat 39 s gaze lingered on the sleeping man for a while longer before he decided to find out what was going on in his mind . This was a cake walk for him . The thoughts of a person who did not recognize that he was, in fact, dreaming can only blossom from the subconscious . Accessing the subconscious was Nightmare Cat 39 s forte . It was how he could create and control the dreamscape in the first place . The cat waved his paw over Zhao Yao 39 s head, drawing wisps of smoke . They hovered above Zhao Yao and fused into a cloud . In its center, his thoughts were displayed for the two of them to see . When they peered in, they were greeted with the sight of countless beautiful women, cats, and places that Zhao Yao had come across in his adventures around the globe . He was even acc.u.mulating riches and new superpowers in his legion of escapades . n.o.body would have expected to see that Zhao Yao had single handedly created a whole new world with just the power of his imagination . Michael was utterly flabbergasted . This guy . . . he thought to himself, He can live vicariously through his imagination for so long This isn 39 t just about living vicariously, Nightmare Cat interrupted, brows furrowed, It 39 s his superpower . He can create illusions of some sort . Whatever he can think up, he can actually experience . He is like his own server . He hosts every virtual game imaginable and he can play whatever he wants, whenever he wants . Even so, he continued, A normal person shouldn 39 t be able to live in a virtual world for so long . So how is he is doing exactly that right now How can such a person exist How can a virtual world satisfy you Don 39 t you have higher aspirations and expectations he roared . Nightmare Cat seemed to have hit his breaking point . He felt defeated . There was nothing he could do to break the man sleeping in front of him . Michael was at a complete loss as well . We 39 ve failed completely, he thought, Even on his turf, Nightmare Cat is unable to beat him . There is nothing remarkable about his appearance, but he hides immense physical and mental strength beneath that facade . In fact, it is his mental capacity that is truly terrifying . His ironclad determination borders madness . This man is an undefeatable psycho . Now, Michael felt quite unnerved as he looked into Zhao Yao 39 s thoughts, where he was happily hopping from one adventure to the next . Suddenly, a loud explosion rang through the air and Zhao Yao vanished . What was that What superpower is it this time Michael asked . That 39 s not it, Nightmare Cat said curiously, He left the dream . How did he do it Left the dream Michael echoed, Then you have to send me back out there . It 39 ll be too late if we don 39 t return right now . We can 39 t hurt him here and neither he, us . It 39 ll be different out there in the real world . There was a glimmer of light in Nightmare Cat 39 s eyes as he made sense of Michael 39 s words .