Infinite Nightmares

Amid the chaos, Zhang Wenda and Saber faced off.

But Tang Xingxiong stopped them. The Crow next to her spoke up at once, "That’s enough! This isn’t the time for that! Attack together!"

After Tang Xingxiong intervened, the two stopped arguing and joined forces to deal with the Third Line members in the cavern.

As Saber and Zhang Wenda joined the fight, the last of the resistance crumbled. Flashlights shattered, their beams of light winking out one by one, plunging the entire cavern into utter darkness. All that remained was the sound of gasping breaths, pained groans, and miserable screams.

Looking at the brutal scene, Zhang Wenda began to have his doubts. ’Is this really a setup arranged by Bureau 507? Why does it feel so real?’

Suddenly, a light as bright as dawn illuminated the cavern. Tang Xingxiong, having coalesced back into human form, reached into her own nest of crows, fumbling for something. As she slowly raised her right hand, which was adorned with black nail polish, a miniature sun ascended from within the nest.

Zhang Wenda knew what it was—a sun. He just hadn’t expected Tang Xingxiong to have one too.

As the sun hung overhead, the cavern was once again brightly lit, revealing all the subdued combatants before Zhang Wenda.

Aside from a few who had been pecked full of holes, most had only been wounded and captured. Realizing they couldn’t win, they squatted obediently on the ground.

Zhang Wenda did a quick count. There were about fifty or sixty people.

"Are all these people for me to increase my power?" Zhang Wenda asked, approaching Tang Xingxiong with his blood-drenched scythe in hand.

"So? Am I good to you or what?" Tang Xingxiong said with a teasing tone, the battle now over.

"Boss! There’s a rabbit over here!"

When he heard Saber say those words, Zhang Wenda’s heart nearly stopped.

He whipped his head around just in time to see Saber reach under a piece of equipment, grab a pair of rabbit ears, and pull them out.

"Huh? It’s just an outfit?" Saber prodded it a few times and, realizing it was just a plush jacket, immediately lost interest.

But then he suddenly thought of something. He turned to face Zhang Wenda. "I remember you have a friend who wears a rabbit costume, don’t you? Talk! What’s your connection to the Third Line?!"

"Are you an idiot? Even Song Jianguo is smarter than you! My friend’s rabbit suit is purple! This one is fucking white! Are you colorblind?!"

As he argued, Zhang Wenda glanced over at the captives. It was obvious Teacher Rabbit hadn’t left. They had taken off their costume and were now hiding in the crowd.

They had told him about this trick before—if things went south, they could shed the costume and pretend to be someone else.

He just didn’t know how they’d managed to change its color.

He scanned the fifty or sixty people before him. There were men and women, old and young, with all sorts of different faces.

But Zhang Wenda had never seen what Teacher Rabbit looked like underneath the costume—he didn’t even know if they were male or female. He couldn’t pick them out from the crowd.

’Why is Teacher Rabbit mixed up in this? Shouldn’t they be back at Bureau 507 headquarters?’

’That’s right, their hands! I’ve seen Teacher Rabbit’s hands!’ Just as Zhang Wenda began scanning the captives one by one, Tang Xingxiong suddenly blocked his view with her body. "What are you thinking about? It’s your turn."

As she spoke, a crow pecked at a dignified-looking woman in her twenties, herding her in front of Zhang Wenda. Her hands were beautiful.

Seeing Zhang Wenda hesitate, Tang Xingxiong spoke. "Don’t just stand there. Get on with it. Use her to increase your power. The Third Line’s people are probably on their way here now."

Zhang Wenda slowly approached, but he could only see deep fear and unease in the woman’s eyes.

’This isn’t Teacher Rabbit. It can’t be.’ Letting out a sigh of relief, Zhang Wenda slowly raised his scythe, but he still hesitated. Even knowing she wasn’t his teacher, he couldn’t bring himself to strike.

Bullying the weak without any bottom line, let alone outright abuse and torture—it was something a normal person simply couldn’t do.

POP! Blood burst from the woman’s temple. Her body swayed for a moment before going limp and slumping forward into Zhang Wenda’s arms.

Holding the corpse, Zhang Wenda’s head buzzed. It had all happened too fast.

Just then, a blood-drenched Crow landed before Zhang Wenda. Tang Xingxiong’s voice, uncharacteristically cold, came from it. "Make your move. Once you’ve bloodied your hands, you’re one of us. Otherwise, I’ll start to think you’re hesitating for another reason."

Another captive, a thin man, was shoved in front of him. His hands weren’t ugly, either.

Just as Zhang Wenda reached out and cut a bloody gash on the man’s arm, there was another swift motion—WHOOSH—and a Crow shot through the man’s head.

"What are you doing?! I’ll do it myself!" Growing more and more agitated, Zhang Wenda glared viciously at the Crow.

More than Tang Xingxiong, he hated 2826 and the others right now. ’Did they even consider how many lives would be lost because of this infiltration mission?!’

"Too slow. We don’t have time to waste. The Third Line could show up at any moment. I’m here to help you, but if you don’t seize this opportunity, we’re under no obligation to wait."

This time, Saber shoved a fat man in front of Zhang Wenda. Seeing a Crow take flight nearby, Zhang Wenda had no time to check the man’s hands. With a single wave, he carved three gashes into the man’s body, so deep the bone was visible.

As the man shrieked in agony, Zhang Wenda’s body trembled violently, and he froze. ’Teacher Rabbit is watching everything I’m doing.’

The next second, the fat man’s head exploded, and his body crumpled to the ground. "I told you we wouldn’t wait for you."

When the next person was brought before Zhang Wenda, he froze. It was a stunningly beautiful woman with a beauty mark at the corner of her left eye and a remarkably elegant air about her. Most importantly, her hands were beautiful—one could even say they were identical to Teacher Rabbit’s.

Just then, Zhang Wenda met her gaze. It was incredibly gentle. She looked at him without a trace of fear.

The instant a Crow dove for the woman’s temple again, Zhang Wenda’s right hand became a blur, lashing out to intercept it at extreme speed.

A flurry of black feathers filled the air as the Crow’s head was severed, falling to the ground in front of Tang Xingxiong.

"I..." Zhang Wenda’s breathing grew ragged. He began to pace back and forth, his voice starting as a low murmur but gradually rising in volume.

"I’m not doing this. I can’t take this. I can’t take it."

Any one of these people could be his Teacher Rabbit, yet here he was, being forced to harm the person he cared about most—just like his parents. For him, this was the ultimate form of torture.

If he had to do monstrous things just to escape his identity as a monster, then he would rather not have that kind of "liberation."

"Do you hear me?! Do you understand?! I can’t take this anymore! I’m done!"

Zhang Wenda’s furious roar echoed through the cavern, directed at Tang Xingxiong, but also, it seemed, at someone else entirely.