Chapter 60: Backup Plan

The Dream Eaters had lost the Dream Seed supporting them in that war, so this special task force had to be dismissed.

Some Dream Eaters were transferred to the other departments to continue serving the government.

However, most of the Dream Eaters were severely injured in Dark Souls. They were either lying in the hospital and couldn’t get up again or were dismissed because they were mentally damaged.

The Nightmare Dungeon of Dark Souls also became popular among invaders like them. The Dream Eaters had become a warning to others. If the invasion organizations wanted to do anything to that Lord of Nightmare again, they should look at how the Dream Eaters ended first.

However, the world of Dark Souls was actually quite fascinating. It still attracted many invaders to enter with the goal of “challenging” it instead of “destroying” it.

Of course, Herring was waiting for work at her home right now. She lived in an apartment in Queens, New York.

As one of the most powerful members of the Dream Eaters, Herring lived quite a wealthy life. Unlike usual girls, though, she spent her money either on buying equipment for fighting in dreams or figures and comics related to Dark Side.

So, her apartment was a bit dilapidated. Still, it was not like she had high demands for her living environment.

She was now wearing a casual knitted sweater, sitting on the sofa cross-legged, and playing on her laptop…

Looking at Herring’s lazy posture, her image was more like a sleep-deprived introvert. Nobody would connect her with the female assassin that frightened everyone in the dream world.

“I don’t need your rewards. You just have to tell me… when the personal movie of Dark Side will be released.”

During this period, Herring had been communicating with a user called “Cheems.” Cheems was the Dream Maker behind Dark Souls and was her investor now.

After Herring entered a contract with him, this Dream Maker opened the hidden dungeon of the world of Dark Souls, “Bloodborne,” to her.

While Herring was waiting at home, she visited Bloodborne every day to improve her combat strength as a hunter.

When Dark Side returned one day, she would have some new powers to fight alongside him.

However… she still hadn’t gotten any news after waiting for a long time. Cheems brushed her off every day, saying that he was “working on it.” He didn’t tell her anything concrete about the progress.

Herring even considered going into Dark Souls with a butcher’s knife and putting it on the neck of the Dream Maker, saying, “Write faster, or I’ll f*cking kill you.”

Herring didn’t get a definite reply from Cheems today either. When she wanted to probe further, her doorbell suddenly rang.

Herring immediately closed the laptop in her hands and hid it under the sofa.

She would never take her personal life to work, so almost none of the members of the Dream Eaters knew where she lived, not even her subordinates of Team T, whom she trusted the most.

Herring pulled her knitted sweater to cover her shoulders, which were exposed because the sweater had slid down. She then took out a shotgun from her closet and walked to the door carefully.

“Herring, it’s me!”

An extremely familiar voice came from outside the door. Herring recognized it as Maine’s.

Maine was a member of Team T with the same level as Herring. He was one of her few comrades who knew where she lived.

Herring opened the door of her apartment and looked at the man standing outside.

“What are you doing here?”

Herring still didn’t let down her guard. Even though Team T hadn’t been dismissed, Maine was recruited by the government, unlike Herring, who requested suspension and stayed home. She was showing her unwillingness to cooperate.

“I got some very interesting intel, and I need someone to do a big job with me. Are you interested?” Maine gave Herring a heavy folder through the gap of the door.

Herring opened it and had a look at the content of the document. This was… a copy of the script of “The Flash 2!”

“How did you f*cking get this?” Herring already knew how knotty this script was by just looking at the beginning!

The Flash was a new hero that Supernova Pictures put a considerable amount of resources into nurturing. The importance of this script was comparable to the classified military information of a nuclear arsenal.

Once Herring took this folder, she would be dragged into the water by Maine. If this was exposed, the two of them would be executed.

“I have my ways. There’s something interesting inside. Take a look first.”

Maine didn’t mind waiting at the door, and Herring didn’t plan to invite him inside either. Since she had already read the beginning, it didn’t matter if she read more.

Herring took out the thick stack of papers from the folder and glanced over them quickly. She found that there were a total of two scripts for The Flash 2.

One of them was a conventional sequel to The Flash. Supernova Pictures was very good at implementing styles that were suitable for families. The plot had a cracking pace. There were all kinds of big scenes throughout the entire movie and many moments that made people smile from their hearts in between.

It was a superhero movie that anyone could enjoy happily while eating popcorn. Nothing happened after that. The first script could only be used to kill time from Herring’s perspective. It was impossible for it to make even a bit of an impression.

But undoubtedly, if The Flash 2 was produced based on this script, it would definitely continue the glory of The Flash and become a box-office hit around the world.

The second script shocked Herring. Her first thought was, had Supernova Pictures changed? Why did they want to play with something dark?

The overall story development of this script was very dark, so much so that it was a bit cruel. This new superhero, the Flash, would lose the love of his life and his friends because of the villain. In the end, he had to fight with the villain and defeat him in pain.

This was a script that was a bit gloomy, deep, and cruel for Herring. The development of the plot was far-fetched.

Although it had a little depth, it made Herring a bit sleepy.

If the director and management personnel of Supernova Pictures were sane, they would choose to use the plot of the first script.

“Are you sure you didn’t put the second script inside just now?”

Herring even thought Maine wrote it himself. He didn’t really like those superheroes that were suitable for families.

“I don’t have any talent in literature. The second script is a backup plan prepared by Supernova Pictures,” said Maine.

“Backup? Backup for what?”

If Herring were in the management of Supernova Pictures, she would have directly used the first script.

Filming the movie based on the first script would undoubtedly get the popularity of the last movie. It would also attract a large number of fans who liked and followed the Flash.

As for the second script?

If they followed the second script, let alone attracting new fans, the diehard fans of the Flash would probably come out to swear at the whole family of the screenwriters, then yell, “How can you abuse my baby like this? Do you know how hard he works to maintain world peace every day?”

“The whole world is paying attention to the Dream Seeds that are about to arrive in Europe. The second script is… a backup plan, in case the Dream Seeds are nightmares that have already been contaminated.”

Maine gave Herring another piece of intel.

He didn’t steal this intel. He got it in a fair way as a member of the operation.

Herring had also participated in operations that ensnared Dream Seeds several times.

Simply put, they used the Dream Seeds they had to attract those newborn Dream Seeds that were about to arrive in this world.

If the newborn Dream Seeds were Nightmare Seeds, then the first script of The Flash 2, which had a plot development suitable for families, indeed couldn’t attract them.

That was why Supernova Pictures wrote a backup plan that had a dark development. Unfortunately, this plan wasn’t really good. Its plot and quality were inferior to the family version.

“What’s your plan?” Herring didn’t think Maine was inviting her to work for the government. He must have his own ambitions.

“When The Flash 2 is released in Europe, it can probably ensnare a few Dream Seeds. Why don’t we take this opportunity to get a Level S Dream Seed that belongs to us?” Maine voiced a bold idea that was akin to digging his own grave.

These two scripts didn’t only include the plot of The Flash 2, but also some plans and ideas the Dream Maker had when he designed the Dream Dungeon of The Flash 2.

Using an appropriate metaphor, this was like two thieves getting the blueprint and the distribution map of security facilities of an art museum. They even knew that a weapon arsenal was hidden inside the museum.

These two thieves were renowned in the thieves world. As long as they planned it well, they would be able to steal several world-class exhibits that were about to be put in an art museum.

A thief was already in action now. Because of the incident this time, Maine didn’t seem to want to work for the government anymore. He just came to see if Herring was willing to join him.

“What makes you believe that The Flash 2 can successfully ensnare those wild Dream Seeds?” asked Herring.

“What other productions can compare to our superheroes in terms of the performance at the box office and popularity? The fantasy productions from Europe? Or the flying monkeys in the Celestial Empire? Herring, I know that you’re looking forward to an exciting adventure.”

I’m indeed looking forward to an adventure but not in the world of The Flash 2.

While Herring was about to reject him politely, a text with a special notification suddenly appeared on her phone.

It was from Cheems.

“I think the new production that carries Dark Side has been released in the cinemas in your country. We had to spend a lot of effort to get some film row pieces. The movie name is ‘Batman Begins.’”

Batman… Bats, this new image indeed suited Dark Side.

“Take me to the nearest cinema,” Herring ordered Maine.

“Hey, I’m not in the mood for a date now. Besides, you’re not my type, Captain,” Maine said with disdain.

“You’re not my type either! It’s proper business! Drive me to the nearest cinema now.”

Herring didn’t even have time to do makeup. She was feeling very complicated. On the one hand, she was looking forward to seeing the new image and story of the superhero she admired on screen after he was reborn. She also wanted to find out what his entanglement with that clown in a purple suit and a green vest in the story was about.

But on the other hand, she was worried that the other party hadn’t filmed this superhero movie well. Either way, Herring could only go to watch it with determination…

This moment would determine if people would say “that’s it” to her after watching the movie, which would make her furious, or if they would run to her excitedly and say “you should’ve told me about it earlier” with a worshiping gesture when she recommended this movie to the others.

Herring always encountered the former situation. She had never experienced the latter…

As a diehard fan of Dark Side, she also wanted to experience the feeling of having other fans all around her instead of hiding at home and reading those unpopular comics alone.