Chapter 54: Chapter 54 – Dark Dream
Nick arrived in Horua's room and saw that it was time to change Horua's clothing again.
By now, Nick had taken care of Horua for over two weeks, and he had gotten pretty good at it.
Over the past two weeks, Nick had searched for someone who could join as another Zephyx Extractor.
This time, Nick was very careful when it came to choosing someone.
After all, he didn't want to make the same mistake again.
Nick had painfully learned why all the Zephyx Manufacturers had such stringent and difficult tests before anyone could join as a Zephyx Extractor.
Just because Nick could interact with a Specter didn't mean that everyone could.
In fact, interacting with a Specter was one of the scariest things in existence.
Humans instinctually felt that the thing in front of them preyed on them.
After the incident with Horua, Nick decided to use the entrance exam he had undertaken in Ghosty's Lab as a guide for creating his own exams.
Except, Nick didn't have all the facilities for the tests.
So, the next best thing was to just hold an interview with someone while trying to gauge their abilities in a conversation.
Nick had interviewed over 20 people from the Dregs by now, but he hadn't been happy with any of them.
There always was some kind of problem.
Sometimes, Nick felt like they were lying to him, and Nick didn't like liars.
Sometimes, Nick felt like what the people were saying sounded unrealistic.
For example, someone once said that they would simply beat up a Specter if they ever saw one.
Luckily, Nick didn't find any of these problems with Jenny.
Jenny was very honest and easy to work with, but when she talked about someone she didn't like, she seemed very cold and distant.
The best thing was that she didn't show any fear, but Nick also didn't feel like she was simply putting on a front.
In a sense, Nick felt like Jenny had no fight-or-flight instinct but just a fight instinct.
Even more, Jenny had honestly said that she ran away from the Riker Strikers without any shame.
She was confident in her choice.
"Hey, Horua," Nick said with a smile as he grabbed a freshly cleaned pair of pajamas. "I finally found someone for the position."
Horua didn't answer.
"Her name is Jenny, and she seems to have quite a character."
Nick told Horua about Jenny while he cleaned up Horua's mess and changed his clothing.
When he was done, he also gave Horua a quick massage.
"Anyway, I told her it would only be 15 minutes, and I've been here for nearly 20. Sorry, Horua, but I gotta go. See you later!" Nick said.
After quietly closing the door, Nick left the hotel.
Jenny was waiting in front of the hotel, and when she saw that Nick had come out, she released a sigh of relief.
Apparently, she had been worried that Nick had stood her up.
"Sorry, took a bit longer than expected," Nick said with a helpless smile.
"Oh, it's fine," Jenny said with a polite smile.
"Anyway, let me show you where you will be working."
When Jenny saw that Nick simply entered the warehouse on the other side of the street, she became quite shocked.
Who held an interview in front of their company's building?!
But when Jenny saw the sturdy walls of the Containment Unit, she realized that this was not just a simple warehouse.
Compared to the walls of the warehouse, the walls of the Containment Unit had an incredible feeling of power to them.
Even more, there were many cables and contraptions scattered around the Containment Unit.
After two weeks, the company had also slightly redecorated its interior.
By now, there were a couple of pieces of art made of metal strewn around, and there were also far more desks and chairs.
On top of that, things had been cleaned up, and a couple of walls made of thin metal separated parts of the warehouse into a couple of rooms.
Basically all of this had been done by Pator at Wyntor's request.
Nick led Jenny to the door of one of the isolated rooms and loudly knocked on it. "Hey, Wyntor! I got someone!"
"Come in!" Wyntor shouted from behind the door.
Jenny looked nervously at the door.
Nick opened the door and led Jenny in.
The inside of Wyntor's office looked different from the rest of the company.
For example, his chair and desk looked much better than all the other ones, and he also had a huge bookshelf with many different books on it.
Almost all of the books were about Specters.
When Wyntor saw Jenny, a small gleam appeared in his eyes, and he stood up.
"Welcome," Wyntor said with a smile. "My name is Wyntor Melfion, and I am the president and CEO of Dark Dream."
Jenny blinked a couple of times. "Dark Dream?"
"Hasn't Nick told you about the name of our company?" Wyntor asked with a smile.
"No, I didn't," Nick said. "The NDA thing, you know?"
Wyntor just chuckled politely. "Of course."
Then, Wyntor turned to Jenny again. "So, you will be joining Dark Dream as a new Zephyx Extractor, right?"
"Y-yes, sir," Jenny said with nervousness.
For some reason, Wyntor felt much more imposing and powerful than Nick to her.
"Perfect!" Wyntor said before pointing at a chair. "Please, sit down. I want to ask you a couple of things and tell you a bit more about Dark Dream."
While Jenny sat down, Nick walked out of the door. "I'll get to work then. Tell Pator to take care of Horua."
"Of course," Wyntor said.
"Thanks," Nick said. "Should I leave the door open or closed?"
"Close it," Wyntor said.
Nick nodded and closed the door.
While Nick walked over to the Dreamer's Containment Unit, Wyntor looked at Jenny with a friendly smile.
For several minutes, Wyntor asked Jenny questions, and the more he heard about her, the more fitting she seemed to be for Dark Dream.
'Nick actually got a good one this time,' Wyntor thought.
While Nick was sleeping in the Containment Unit, Wyntor took out several sheets of paper for Jenny to sign.
After signing all of them, Wyntor smiled again.
"Thank you, and welcome to Dark Dream!"
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Chapter 55: Chapter 55 – Jenny and the Dreamer
By now, Nick had gotten pretty good at working with the Dreamer, and working with it no longer required special preparations.
While Nick was working with the Dreamer, Wyntor was telling Jenny everything relevant about Dark Dream, her future workplace.
From what Wyntor told her, their company was named Dark Dream due to their first Specter, the Dreamer.
When Nick had captured the Specter, he needed to brave the darkness and the Dreamer.
So, Wyntor had come up with the name Dark Dream.
When Jenny heard about how Nick had captured the Dreamer, her respect for him had grown even more.
Jenny had already respected Nick, but it was still difficult to feel true respect for someone who was still a teenager.
Naturally, Jenny also knew how impressive it was to fall under the Nightmare's influence so many times.
The more often it happened in a short timeframe, the more brutal the visions became.
Eight hours later, Nick walked out of the Containment Unit as he yawned a bit.
Even though he had just slept for eight hours, he felt very exhausted and tired.
The first thing Nick did after coming out of the Containment Unit was to check on the amount of Zephyx he had produced.
'Still seven grams. Except for that one change two weeks ago, nothing else changed. It's still seven grams,' Nick thought as he rubbed his chin in thought.
'With Jenny, I should be able to glean some more information.'
Nick looked around and quickly found Jenny.
Right now, Pator was showing her a couple of things in the warehouse.
"Hey, Jenny," Nick shouted as he came closer.
Pator and Jenny turned to Nick.
"Good work today, Nick," Pator said with a friendly smile.
"Welcome back, sir," Jenny said with a bit of nervousness.
"Sir?" Nick repeated with a chuckle. "Just call me Nick."
Jenny seemed a bit unsure. "Sure thing… Nick," she said with a bit of discomfort.
Nick just nodded with a smile. "Jenny, do you have somewhere to be in the next eight hours?"
"No," Jenny answered.
Nick nodded. "Today is your first day, but if you feel up to it, you can work with the Dreamer right now."
Nick didn't care that Pator was present. By now, Pator was also under an NDA, and he had already heard a lot about Dark Dream's secrets.
Jenny looked with a bit of excitement at Nick. "This means I would also get my first payment, right?"
"Sure. That's not an issue," Nick said.
"Then, I would like to work with the Dreamer right now," Jenny said. "Although, I need to inform my partner at home first. She hasn't heard from me the entire day, and she will be very worried if I stay until deep into the night."
"Pator can do that," Nick said before turning to Pator. "Right?"
"Naturally," Pator said with a smile. "I'll deal with it after visiting Horua again."
"Thanks, Pator," Nick said. "If everything goes as planned, I can take over in about an hour or so."
"Sure thing, Nick," Pator said before turning to Jenny. "Where's your home?"
Jenny gave Pator instructions on what to say and where to go, and Pator quickly left the building.
The next moment, Nick smiled at Jenny. "Then, let's go."
Jenny nodded and followed after Nick.
Both of them looked to be calm, but in truth, both of them were quite nervous.
Jenny had never truly interacted with a Specter. She wanted to seem fearless, but deep inside, she was still worried that the Specter's presence would be too much for her to handle.
Nick wanted to seem confident, but he was just as nervous as Jenny. The last time he had introduced someone to the Dreamer, that person had become catatonic.
Nick hoped that Jenny could resist the Dreamer better.
After opening the employee door, both of them walked into the Containment Unit.
As always, the Dreamer stood in its corner, looking at Nick expressionlessly.
Jenny stood diagonally behind Nick, and when she saw the Dreamer, her heart rate increased by quite a bit.
Jenny took a deep breath as her chest shook, but she managed to keep her composure.
Just as expected, the Dreamer's Aura was hard to bear for Jenny.
She felt like she was in contact with her natural predator.
Remaining here spelled nothing but death, and her emotions were telling her to run away.
However, Jenny's rationality kept her emotions in check, stopping them from dictating her actions.
She had already been informed about the Dreamer, and she knew what she had to do.
'Nothing will happen to me,' Jenny thought while taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself. 'I will not die. The only thing to fear is fear itself.'
The next moment, the Dreamer looked away from Nick and looked into Jenny's eyes.
Jenny's heart rate increased even more as she started to sweat coldly.
However, she just gritted her teeth and looked back.
When Nick saw her reaction, he smiled.
"Alright," Nick said, looking at the Dreamer. "This is Jenny. You will be working for eight hours after our sessions every day."
The Dreamer didn't react.
Silence.
"Well, seems like there are no issues," Nick said with a casual shrug.
Jenny wasn't put at ease by Nick's casual demeanor.
"Alright," Nick said, turning to Jenny. "Where do you want to sleep? I usually sleep with my back against the wall, but you don't have to do that."
Jenny took a deep breath. "I'd like to sit in a corner."
"Sure," Nick said.
The next moment, Jenny went to one of the corners and awkwardly sat down.
Nick nodded. "The Dreamer will now come to you and put you to sleep. Don't resist its influence. After all, we want you to sleep."
Jenny nervously nodded.
Nick looked over at the Dreamer. "You can start."
The Dreamer slowly turned to look at Jenny.
Clink. Clink. Clink.
And slowly walked up to her.
All of Jenny's being was telling her to run as far away as she could.
She was about to die!
However, Jenny managed to keep her emotions in check and kept forcing her eyes closed.
After a couple of seconds, Jenny started to feel tired.
She wanted to resist the influence, but once again, she managed to keep her emotions in check.
Eventually, she got too tired to even think about resisting.
And then, she fell asleep.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
444 Power
stone 
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