Doomsday Dealer

Chapter 3: The School Beauty's Nightmare

"Ahhhhh!!!"

With a piercing scream, Sophia Mitchell bolted upright in her bed.

Cold sweat had completely soaked through her thin, white nightgown.

Once again, she had awakened from the nightmare.

Sophia gasped slightly, her terrified eyes glistening with tears. Rain and gloom, hunger and cold, madness, cannibalism... the entire world had become a living hell. These nightmares had been repeating for nearly half a month now, each one incredibly vivid, with mountains of corpses and seas of blood right before her eyes.

Even the smells... were as real as reality itself.

If these were just simple dreams, that would be one thing.

Sophia's breathing began to tremble as she fearfully pulled back the curtains.

The sky outside was beginning to lighten, and she could faintly see the clouds above. The cloud layers surged like ocean waves, spreading out in layers with rhythmic order.

If it were daytime, such magnificent cloud formations would surely attract countless people to take photos.

But at this moment, Sophia was completely stunned.

The tears that had been accumulating in her eyes finally began to flow uncontrollably.

The scenes from her dreams were identical to reality. What started as peaceful daily life would gradually flash into apocalyptic scenes.

Since the third dream, she had begun to notice the abnormality.

The celestial phenomena in reality often matched the scenes in her dreams.

This time was no exception, and this time the cloud formations were very different from usual, making them particularly easy to recognize.

Sophia's thin shoulders trembled as she sobbed quietly, her right hand gripping the curtain having turned pale white.

According to her previous dream records... that terrifying day was not far away.

She had told others, told her parents, but no one believed her.

She was just a student. She had done everything she could. What should she do... what on earth should she do?

Just then, the bedroom door was pushed open.

Mary Mitchell entered and sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the crying Sophia with complete helplessness on her face.

Sophia turned her head and threw herself into Mary's arms, her crying involuntarily growing louder.

Mary sighed, "Another nightmare?"

"Mom! Really, everything I'm saying is true! The world is about to end! Today's cloud formations are exactly the same as in my dreams... everything matches up." Sophia lifted her head, tears streaming down her face. "Mom, just believe me this once. We need to prepare early... or maybe we should move, move to a place where there's no one."

Mary said helplessly, "Sophia... you're like this because you're under too much academic pressure. I've already asked the doctor about it. There's only one month left before exams. Don't think about all this other nonsense. Focus on your studies. If you concentrate, you won't have any pressure."

"Do more homework at school today, go to bed an hour earlier, and you'll be fine after a few days of rest."

"Mom!!!" Sophia was breaking down. The tears she had just stopped began flowing uncontrollably again. "Can't you just let me finish what I'm saying?!"

"Okay, okay, okay, go ahead and say it." Mary sighed, then added, "After you're done talking, hurry up and eat breakfast, then get to school early."

Sophia endured her distress and began describing her dreams.

Mary listened while shaking her head continuously.

Seeing her mother listening absent-mindedly, Sophia said angrily, "Mom, are you even listening?!"

"I'm listening. Isn't this the same as what you told me before?" Mary said dismissively.

"No!" Sophia's expression suddenly changed. "I haven't finished yet. This time is different... I saw a man, and I heard a voice talking to me..."

"What!" Mary's gaze suddenly became sharp, like a detective who had discovered the truth.

Seeing her mother's serious reaction and that she was finally listening to her seriously, Sophia felt a surge of joy.

Just as she was about to continue, Mary said sternly, "Sophia, you're not dating someone, are you? This isn't the time for you to be dating! Puppy love won't do you any good!"

"Mom!!!" Sophia completely collapsed. "Do you believe me or not?!"

"I believe you, I believe you... hurry up and get dressed for breakfast."

Mary completely lost her patience and got up to leave the room.

Sophia reached out and grabbed her mother, pleading, "Mom... can you give me some money?"

"Don't I usually give you money?"

"I want a bit more. I haven't been eating well at school these past few days, and I want to buy some workbooks."

"Fine, how much do you need?"

"...Five... five hundred dollars."

Five hundred... Mary was furious inside.

Something must be going on at school. Asking for five hundred dollars right off the bat - could she even spend that much?

"No way! Fifty dollars at most. Hurry up and get ready for school."

Mary left those words and quickly walked out of the room, leaving Sophia alone to nurse her wounded feelings.

Sophia wiped her tears, feeling both sour and bitter inside.

She had no voice in this house, couldn't get even a bit of trust!

If only she were older, if she could earn money, maybe then she could convince them.

After wallowing in her sorrow for a while, she got up and sat at her desk, beginning to write.

Outside the door, she could hear the news and arguing voices.

"Frank, you need to do something about your daughter! She just sits there watching TV as soon as she gets up! Call Teacher Williams and ask if Sophia is dating someone!"

"Alright... I know, I'll call later."

"Later, later, you just keep putting things off! You don't care about anything day after day, don't do any housework either. How did I end up with such a useless man!"

...

In the classroom, morning reading had already begun.

Sophia was absent-minded as she put down her backpack.

Her mind was still constantly replaying the scenes from her dreams.

The classroom was filled with noisy chatter.

Her deskmate noticed and asked, "Sophia... another nightmare?"

"Mm..." Sophia hesitantly nodded, then turned to her seriously. "Nina, everything I'm saying is true. The world is about to end... If it rains, you absolutely must not touch the rainwater. There's something wrong with that rainwater. You need to prepare food in advance and seal up the doors and windows..."

Nina nodded with a strange expression, then turned back around and secretly sighed.

She's completely lost it!

Once or twice, she thought Sophia was just joking with her, but this had been going on for more than just a day or two. Even her mental state was obviously problematic.

Her mom had contacted her early on to help keep an eye on things, and from the looks of it, the condition seemed to be getting worse.

Shaking her head, Nina took out a romance novel and began studying seriously.

The student in front turned around, glanced at the desk, and whispered, "Hey, why are you still reading that? Sophia went crazy from reading novels. Aren't you afraid something will happen to you? Take it easy. The school's been cracking down hard these past few days."

Nina glanced at the front desk student and whispered back, "This is a romance novel. If I go crazy from reading it, at least I'll be looking for men. Mind your own books!"

"Ah, lend it to me when you're done."

...

Before long, it was noon.

Countless students poured toward the cafeteria.

Sophia was also mixed in with the crowd, her gaze sweeping over each classmate.

Until she spotted someone, then quickly ran forward and tugged at his sleeve.

Peter Johnson was walking when he felt someone pull on him. He turned around to see Sophia standing nervously behind him.

Seeing that exquisite, pretty face.

He couldn't help but feel nervous.

Sophia was the school's famous beauty... no one knew who had given her that title, but she was definitely the school beauty. Many male classmates had tried to chat her up, all returning defeated.

Although she'd been acting mentally unstable recently and her popularity had declined somewhat, there were definitely still plenty of boys in class who secretly inquired about her!

He usually didn't even dare talk to her. How had the school beauty come looking for him?

Thinking about this, Peter nervously said, "Uh, is there something you need?"

Sophia bit her pink lips, staring at her toes, and said shyly, "Peter... could you lend me some money? I'll definitely pay you back next month!"

"O...okay, I guess. How much do you want to borrow? I only have about a hundred dollars at most." Peter asked, his mind racing.

He didn't really have much money himself, but when the school beauty asked... he couldn't refuse without losing face!

Hearing him agree, Sophia looked up and smiled brightly.

Peter's heart immediately started racing!

Borrowing money? Borrowing money was a good thing! She smiled at me and even pulled on my clothes. Does she have feelings for me?

With borrowing and repaying, wouldn't that mean two interactions?

"Then I'll borrow a hundred dollars."

...

Not far away, a pair of small eyes were staring intently at Sophia while talking on the phone.

"Mrs. Mitchell, Sophia is talking to a male classmate from our class right now... No, he's just some nerdy guy, definitely not a boyfriend. But her condition is really getting worse and worse. You should take her to see someone soon."