Chapter 157: Nightmare Generator (Third Update, Seeking Subscriptions)

After dealing with his mother, Zhang Chu took his phone and walked back to his computer desk. At that moment, a notification suddenly popped up on his screen: "Express delivery has been signed for."

A gloating expression suddenly appeared on his face. He figured that Tang Wanli must have received the lawyer's letter by now, and that mad dog was bound to be frightened and anxious for a long time.

This lawyer's letter was not something Zhang Chu redeemed from the system using points, but a service he genuinely paid for with RMB from the law firm cooperating with Dream Dragon Culture Media Company!

When he previously signed his literary work authorization agreement, it was the people from this law firm who provided various forms of legal support, so Zhang Chu, as a major client, simply had one of the lawyers draft a lawyer's letter on the side.

This was meant as a lesson for Tang Wanli. Even if it had no legal binding effect, it would surely scare him enough to keep him awake at night.

This lawyer's letter served as both a warning and preserved evidence, as he did not want to cause too much of a conflict on campus.

"I bet he's not having a good time right now."

Zhang Chu thought with a touch of dark humor, then shook the thought from his mind to focus on writing *Life of Pi*.

He could still tell the priorities apart. Tang Wanli was merely a passing guest in his life, and only these literary works could stand the test of time.

Fortunately, the system had a time-acceleration function; otherwise, Zhang Chu would never have had enough time to conceive this work. Now that his prestige value was burning away rapidly, it was all worth it.

Soft light music echoed from the speakers. Zhang Chu's eyes were fixed on the laptop monitor, while his fingers danced rapidly across the keys.

The word count in the Word document grew rapidly, and the first half of the novel gradually took shape.

...

After finishing the latest few chapters, Zhang Chu decided to take a short break to give his fingers, his brain, and the computer some time to rest.

After all, humans were not machines, and even machines needed maintenance and lubrication.

"It's a pity I can't see Tang Wanli's expression, nor do I know what he looks like after receiving the lawyer's letter."

That was indeed a bit regrettable. Zhang Chu checked the items in his system space. The unlucky laptop could be used one more time, and he hadn't gotten the chance to use the restoration flashlight, but the nightmare generator seemed like it could come in handy right now.

Since it could be used once a month, Zhang Chu also wanted to experience what it felt like to construct dreams in the style of *Inception*. The sensation of creating a world with his own hands must be exceptionally cool.

Right now, there happened to be someone available to test it on, and Tang Wanli had no idea he had become a guinea pig.

Items produced by the system were bound to be of high quality. The nightmare generator could even create corresponding dreams in the subject's mind based on Zhang Chu's imagination.

"Volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and earthquakes seem a bit too lenient for him." Zhang Chu cupped his chin and thought deeply. For someone who cared so much about his pride, their ultimate nightmare was definitely the moment they lost face.

Zhang Chu snapped his fingers. Since Tang Wanli had such a weakness, he would prescribe the right medicine for the illness!

Late into the night, the lights in the Peking University dormitory building went out one by one.

Yet Tang Wanli lay on his bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. The contents of the lawyer's letter he had received earlier kept echoing in his mind.

He was terrified—terrified of becoming notorious throughout the school in such a manner, of being sued while still a student. He had never regretted anything so much. He had thought that signing Zhang Chu up was just an insignificant little matter.

Various emotions swirled in his head. In a haze around 1:00 AM, Tang Wanli finally fell asleep.

Perhaps because of what he pondered during the day, he dreamt of it at night: the lawyer's letter he had hidden away before actually appeared in his dream!

On the sports field, inside the classroom, and in the cafeteria, the lawyer's letter could be seen everywhere. People around him were pointing and whispering, and even police officers appeared.

Tang Wanli shuddered and immediately jolted awake from his sleep. That dream had been far too realistic; could that be fate?

"It's all fake, it's all fake. It was just a dream." Tang Wanli wiped the sweat from his forehead and lay back down.

Barely a few minutes after falling asleep, the nightmare struck again!

In Tang Wanli's dream, he was being gossiped about in all sorts of public places. Whenever he tried to lean in to listen to the specifics, no sound would come out.

People with extremely high self-esteem feared making fools of themselves above all else. Even though it was just a dream, Tang Wanli was scared out of his wits; he didn't want to become the talk of the town and a laughingstock one day.

If he were taken away in broad daylight, he would probably wish he were dead.

After being startled awake repeatedly, Tang Wanli didn't dare close his eyes at all. The moment he closed them, he saw the sarcastic, contemptuous, and mocking gazes of his schoolmates.

He suddenly sat up, used his phone's flashlight to search, and found the document he had tucked inside his book.

Sleepiness washed over him, and his eyelids were drooping heavily, yet Tang Wanli dared not sleep. The moment he fell asleep, he would have the exact same dream.

...

"The first week is finally over. I'm almost dead tired," An Mi said with dramatic exaggeration. Having been accustomed to the lifestyle of three years in high school, he really couldn't adapt well to university life all of a sudden. Although everyone possessed decent self-discipline, the lack of anyone supervising made it very easy to slack off.

Zhang Chu yawned. Yesterday, he had pushed himself until past 1:00 AM to write the opening of *Life of Pi*, and now he could only rely on Red Bull to refresh his mind; coffee had no effect on him at all.

"Let's go mountain climbing together this weekend. I heard the red leaves at Fragrant Hills are turning red," Yang Ling suggested with excitement. They weren't the type to blindly memorize textbooks; they knew how to combine study with life.

Sun Ruiqi twitched his neck and nodded in strong agreement. "I've heard of the fame of the Fragrant Hills red leaves for a long time. We have to go!"

However, Zhang Chu could only helplessly spread his hands. "I can only miserably stay home writing code these two days. I don't even know if I can make the deadline."

The word count of *Life of Pi* was simply too massive. Even though Zhang Chu had pruned away many irrelevant details, he had also added many of his own elements to make Pi, the protagonist, more three-dimensional.

After all, this novel entirely revolved around Pi and Richard Parker—just one man and a tiger. The tiger's psychological state couldn't be written directly; it could only be observed and guessed through Pi's eyes!

Although he hadn't become a writer in his past life, his advantage as a bookstore owner who read widely still showed through. At the very least, his phrasing and wording flowed quite smoothly.

"Fine, we're expelling you from the student registry of Dorm 222," An Mi joked.

Yang Ling also understood Zhang Chu's tight schedule these days. He brandished his phone and said, "Tomorrow we'll send you lots of photos to make your mouth water."

Zhang Chu smiled smugly. "Make my mouth water when you guys go take pictures at the Great Wall instead."

Among the four of them, only An Mi was a Beijing local, while the other three had never visited the legendary Great Wall. Zhang Chu hoped that once he finished this book, he would have time to properly tour Beijing—too many things were left behind here.

Just as the roommates were talking, an unfamiliar figure suddenly appeared before their table.

Tang Wanli looked utterly exhausted, his mental state extremely unstable, and his eyes bloodshot.

He had tried it today: no matter how he tried to sleep, he couldn't shake off the nightmares brought by that lawyer's letter. Little did he know that it was a double-critical strike specially prepared by Zhang Chu.

"Who is he?" Yang Ling muttered softly, his vigilance instantly spiking. If this was an antisocial element, he needed to prepare to run or fight back.

Zhang Chu shook his head. He looked at the conflicted-looking Tang Wanli and asked, "Senior Tang, what brings you here? Which organization are you planning to leak my information to today?"

"I'm here to apologize to you. I shouldn't have used your name to sign up for that event. Now the photo with your phone number on it has been completely destroyed. Please forgive me."

Tang Wanli, who had previously possessed immense pride, was actually lowering his voice and begging for forgiveness. Zhang Chu was slightly surprised—could it be that the lawyer's letter combined with the nightmare generator pack such immense power?

"Man proposes, God disposes. If apologies were useful, what would we need the police for?"

Tang Wanli's eyes widened. Why wasn't this guy following the script?!

The normal routine should be that he apologized, Zhang Chu readily accepted, and then everything would be peaceful.

Yet this fellow directly rewrote the script, leaving Tang Wanli completely unable to respond!

"Classmate Zhang, I'm apologizing sincerely. Look, my call history still has records of calls to the essay competition committee. I really wanted to help you cancel this registration, but they said cancellation requires a personal phone call..."

An Mi curled his lips from the side. "Registration doesn't require the person themselves, but cancellation does. That's rich."

Faced with An Mi's sarcasm, Tang Wanli clenched his fists tightly. Apologizing in full view of the public was a first in his life.

"Alright, alright. Keep that lawyer's letter safe and let it serve as a reminder. Think twice before doing things like this next time. If you cross me again, it won't be a lawyer's letter, but a summons for a lawsuit."

Zhang Chu didn't want to make too much of a fuss or needlessly acquire a reputation for bullying others. By saying this, he wanted the people around him to hear clearly that Tang Wanli was in the wrong, not him.

Tang Wanli let out a sigh of relief, then turned and bolted away quickly. He had no intention of keeping that lawyer's letter; he just wanted to burn and throw it away as soon as possible, praying that he wouldn't suffer that nightmare again!

The students eating in this area certainly got a feast for their eyes. Was this really Tang Wanli?

"Interesting. Did anyone record that?"

"Tang Wanli actually apologized to a freshman? What's the background of this freshman?"

"Didn't Tang Wanli challenge Zhang Chu on the forum earlier? Why is he running over to apologize now? I don't quite get the truth of this matter."

"Stop eating for a moment; let's watch a good show first!"

"No way, is it over just like that? I was planning to see what Zhang Chu used to enter the competition."

Having accidentally become the center of attention, Zhang Chu and his companions sped up their eating, quickly clearing the food on their trays.

As soon as they walked outside the cafeteria, Yang Ling eagerly asked in a low voice, "Old Zhang, you're something else. When did you secretly send out a lawyer's letter?"

"Yeah, I thought this guy came to pick a fight, but it turned out to be an apology."

"We really shouldn't have forgiven him so easily."

Zhang Chu spread his hands and laughed, "I had no classes yesterday morning, so I went to sign the contract with Director Xu Ji and the others. Along the way, I had a lawyer issue a lawyer's letter, and then I mailed it myself via SF Express. I didn't expect the deterrent effect to be so strong."

"He really shouldn't have provoked you. You completely refused to play by the rules."

Yang Ling concluded with a summary. When a conflict arises between two college students and one directly deploys the legal card, it was pure bullying.

However, when you were the party in the right, this feeling of bullying someone felt exceptionally satisfying!