Infinite Nightmares

Dinner that day was simple: just white congee and pan-fried fish. Afterward, Zhang Wenda went straight to sleep. The situation was urgent, but he knew he couldn’t afford to panic. ’I absolutely cannot give in to my instincts.’

The bizarre world outside the window gave Zhang Wenda a restless night. He felt like he’d dreamed of many things, but he couldn’t recall any of them.

Still in a daze, Zhang Wenda opened his eyes. A large face loomed over him, startling him so badly that his right hand gouged three claw marks into the wall to his left.

"Kiddo~! I’m here~!" a hulking figure in a red dress greeted Zhang Wenda with gusto, all while hoisting Song Jianguo up with one hand and viciously pummeling her own stomach.

"Aunt Flo?!" Zhang Wenda cried out in surprise. He hadn’t seen this coming. After a quick mental calculation, he realized Song Jianguo’s period was, in fact, due.

Watching Song Jianguo suffer with a pained expression on his face, Zhang Wenda couldn’t help but feel delighted. ’This is great! A really great thing!’

"Kid, where’d you and Mimi run off to? And what’s with your weird new look? If Mimi hadn’t told me it was you, I would’ve decked you one," Aunt Flo said, baffled by the giant computer outside the window and Zhang Wenda’s monstrous appearance.

Zhang Wenda briefly explained the whole situation to her. "So that’s the long and short of it. I didn’t mean to drag Jianguo into this mess, but they forced him on me. I had no say in the matter."

Aunt Flo set down the ashen-faced Song Jianguo. "So, I’m your free muscle again, is that it?"

"Not for free! If you help, you’ll get all the brown sugar water you can drink!" Zhang Wenda quickly promised.

In this perilous place, having an immortal, incredibly strong worker on his side was a huge boon. He couldn’t have been happier that Song Jianguo’s Aunt Flo had come to visit.

Besides, with Aunt Flo’s arrival, the once-desolate room instantly became much livelier. As she listened to Zhang Wenda and Song Jianguo recount the month’s events, she gasped repeatedly, her hand flying to her mouth in shock.

Just as a cozy atmosphere began to settle over the tenement, a crow landed on the windowsill, sobering the three of them up.

"You’re here? I’m all rested. Can we get down to business now?" Zhang Wenda asked the Crow.

"Why is there an extra person?" the Crow asked, eyeing the strapping figure of Aunt Flo.

"What, is one more person a bad thing? There’s strength in numbers. What’s our next move?" Zhang Wenda asked.

"First, let me introduce you to two new friends. Your partners for future collaborations." As soon as the Crow finished speaking, a scar-faced man clambered over the tenement’s concrete railing.

He was tall, nearly two meters, and stormed into the room cursing. The moment he laid eyes on Aunt Flo, his own eyes lit up.

He was followed by a short girl in a school uniform. Zhang Wenda couldn’t see her face, as everything from her nose up was hidden by a tinfoil pot.

"Introductions are in order." The Crow flew over and landed on the shoulder of the giant who was hitting on Aunt Flo. "This is a new life-form, Liu Jianming. He’s your temporary team leader."

The Crow then hopped onto the tinfoil pot, only to be shaken off before it could find its footing. "This is the Qi Gong Prodigy, Hu Maomao. Don’t underestimate her because of her size. She was in a special class for prodigies."

"I know you don’t like complications. From now on, you’ll operate with them."

"Me? With them?" Zhang Wenda sized up the pair, who looked even stranger than he did. ’I think the three of us are fine on our own. We don’t need to team up with strangers.’

A faint smile touched the Crow’s beak. "I know you have great potential, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re still a rookie. Our Big Circle is different from other organizations; we always operate as a team. Since you’ve joined the Big Circle, please act accordingly."

"Besides, without a guide, would you know where to get your missions or collect your pay? What precautions to take? How to handle an encounter with the Third Line’s forces? These are all things you need to learn from others."

"What’s the point of all this nonsense? You just want to keep an eye on me," Zhang Wenda said, cutting through the pretense.

"As long as you adapt to life in the Big Circle, you can think whatever you like." With that, the Crow blinked and vanished, seemingly having come for the sole purpose of making introductions.

Just as Liu Jianming was about to pester Aunt Flo to death, Zhang Wenda stepped between them.

"Captain, shouldn’t we be getting to work?"

Liu Jianming sized up Zhang Wenda, who was about his height, taking in the holes in his body and the scythe in his hand.

"What’s the rush? What’s the big hurry? You think you own the Big Circle? What’s wrong with me takin’ a little break?" The man’s thick, rustic accent was immediately apparent.

He then turned back to Aunt Flo, his voice turning syrupy. "Hey there, little sister, heh heh heh. I really dig you."

"Dude, what is wrong with your taste? Her? She’s not even a living person! She’s a period incarnate!"

"You think I need you to tell me? I got eyes, don’t I? Can’t I see for myself?" Liu Jianming puffed out his chest and got in Zhang Wenda’s face. "So the little sister is Aunt Flo. You know what I am?"

"What are you?" Zhang Wenda studied him, genuinely unable to guess.

Liu Jianming proudly bared his fangs. "I’m a Vampire! How ’bout that? Scared now, ain’t ya!"

"..." Zhang Wenda was speechless. He had no idea how to respond. ’I’ve never met anyone so shameless they could say something like that with pride.’

Peeking his head out from behind Aunt Flo, Song Jianguo retorted, "A Vampire? Why not just call yourself a sanitary napkin!"

"What’s that? Don’t believe me? Wanna go a round?"

Just as Liu Jianming was rolling up his sleeves to demonstrate his skills, the silent Hu Maomao spoke up. "Let’s go."

"Hmph. A big man like me isn’t going to argue with a little girl," Liu Jianming scoffed, turning to follow Hu Maomao out the door.

"Let’s go. I want to see what this clown is made of," Zhang Wenda said, quickening his pace to catch up.

A seven-seater van was parked below the tenement. It was clearly a vehicle from Thought Wave Two, but it looked modified. In place of tires, it had giant, spindly fingers that curled up like spider legs.

The silver van’s exterior was incredibly worn, with three large words painted on the side: HOUSE LEAK REPAIR.

"Little sister! C’mon, you ride shotgun. The rest of you, get in the back!" Liu Jianming called out, hopping into the driver’s seat.

The van was actually quite spacious, but with the addition of all of Song Jianguo’s cats, it felt incredibly cramped.

"Haozi, why don’t we just drive your house? This is way too crowded," Song Jianguo said, his head emerging from a pile of cats.