Infinite Nightmares

"Them?" Zhang Wenda recalled the people he had killed last night.

His emotions had been unstable at the time, completely lost in his own sorrow, so he hadn’t paid much attention.

’Thinking back on it now, something was definitely off. Why did those people suddenly attack me?’

Recalling their strange faces from that night, Zhang Wenda’s scalp tingled. People like that didn’t exist in the child’s world of Thought Wave One. They had come from another thought wave!

Connecting this to everything else that had happened to him recently, Zhang Wenda immediately thought of the people who had once stolen the sun. They were the most likely suspects.

"How is that possible? Could it be that after falling into the water, they weren’t killed by that rainbow?" Zhang Wenda couldn’t help but grow serious.

’If that’s true, and they’ve found me, then I’m in big trouble. They came at me with guns right away, clearly intending to kill me.’

This was different from other situations. These were truly evil people, a group capable of secretly committing crimes right under the nose of Bureau 507.

Thinking of all this, Zhang Wenda immediately went to the entrance of the treehouse and peered outside. The once-cozy morning now seemed fraught with danger, as if someone could leap out from any corner to attack him at any moment.

After pulling back inside, Zhang Wenda spoke seriously to the rabbit. "Teacher, this is beyond what we can handle. We need to find help."

Zhang Wenda then took out the old pager and sent a message to 2826, asking him to get in touch as soon as possible.

This wasn’t just about finding help. More importantly, 2826, as the undercover agent, had been a key factor when they dealt with those people before. The enemy wouldn’t just be targeting him; they would probably try to ambush 2826 as well.

If 2826 didn’t know about this yet, a surprise attack could easily be fatal.

The thought of their unknown numbers and uncertain strength left Zhang Wenda with no time to worry about anything else. He immediately began to calculate how many of them he could handle with his current power.

When he’d gotten the Blue Core from the black market, he had also learned a few new moves. But against those people, his three new skills might not be of any use.

First, there was the Three Jiao Light Vein Order, which could forcibly pull enemies from other thought waves into his current one. That was completely useless against these people. They could already cross between thought waves to hunt him down; he didn’t need to drag them over himself.

The second was the most basic ability gained from the Blue Core via the flashlight: a light-based pull. Since it was the most basic, it naturally wasn’t very strong and didn’t even have a name.

This move could only control one person at a time, and aside from tossing them around until they were black and blue, it couldn’t kill anyone.

For now, only the third skill seemed somewhat useful: Ziwei Furnace Refining. It used the Tri-Core to change things, allowing light to shine on his body and induce material transformation. For example, it could turn his skin into metal or his spilled blood into molten lava.

But even this most useful third skill was currently unavailable to him.

Zhang Wenda raised his hand and looked at his arm. Because of what happened yesterday, his Tri-Core was completely depleted. The red, blue, and yellow energies had only just recovered to 12 points—not nearly enough for a fight.

Without the rabbit and Song Jianguo to protect him, Zhang Wenda was in an extremely dangerous position.

’With an external enemy at the gates, I have to increase my strength as quickly as possible.’

"If that’s really the case..." Zhang Wenda looked up at the rabbit seriously. "Teacher, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"It’s about us... about our monster selves. I want to understand more," Zhang Wenda said, pointing to his own chest.

"It seems like this form can be switched on and off. Why did I turn into a monster back then, and how did I change back afterward?"

"I’m back with breakfast!" Song Jianguo walked in with a bun in his mouth, carrying two white plastic bags.

The rabbit took a bag of soy milk and took a sip. "Why do you ask?"

"I know, I know the feeling is awful, but there’s no denying I was incredibly powerful then. I was so fast, and the scythe in my hand could cut through iron like butter."

Zhang Wenda continued, recalling the sensation from yesterday, "We might be able to use that to fight our enemies."

After hearing Zhang Wenda’s explanation, the rabbit shook its head. "No, you don’t need to know about that. If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Don’t become the monster. If you do it for too long, you’ll truly become one, and you’ll never be able to change back."

"I know that, but isn’t this an emergency? If we’re really pushed into a corner, it could be a way to escape the crisis, right?"

"There won’t be a corner. I will be with you until this crisis is resolved."

"But what if there is?" Zhang Wenda was getting anxious. "I know you mean well, but isn’t turning into a monster better than dying?"

SLAP! Song Jianguo’s hand struck Zhang Wenda across the face.

Zhang Wenda was stunned. After a two-second pause, he forcefully punched the other’s arm twice. "Are you crazy?! What did you hit me for!"

"Damn! Didn’t you ask me to remind you?" Song Jianguo backed away, rubbing his numb arm. "You were getting triggered again."

"Was I? No, I wasn’t!"

"Yes, you were! You totally were!" Song Jianguo said as he continued to back away.

"I was not!"

Seeing the two were about to start a real fight, the rabbit swallowed the mouthful of its minced pork and vermicelli bun and stepped in to mediate. "Stop arguing, you two. Wenda, the situation isn’t that bad yet. Based on what happened yesterday, their strength isn’t so overwhelming."

"Let’s wait for your robot friend to arrive. After we find out what the current situation is, we can decide whether or not to use that ability. How about it?"

Hearing this, Zhang Wenda relented and nodded. "Okay, Teacher. I’ll listen to you."

Zhang Wenda couldn’t be sure about other things, but he was certain of one thing: the rabbit was genuinely looking out for him. There had to be a reason it didn’t want him to use that power.

"Teacher, you stood watch for me all night, you must be tired. While we wait for 2826, why don’t you get some sleep? We’ll keep watch for you."

The rabbit didn’t object. It just nodded lightly, leaned against the wall, and slowly closed its eyes.

Zhang Wenda watched its huge form drift off to sleep. He picked up a cat-themed blanket from the side and carefully draped it over the rabbit.

The rabbit seemed truly exhausted. It slept so soundly that it still hadn’t woken up by the afternoon when 2826 arrived.

"It’s no use calling me. Your background check didn’t pass, and that’s that. Rules are rules. We’re not going to let you join Bureau 507."

had just flown into the treehouse, the propeller on his head spinning, and immediately launched into a tirade at Zhang Wenda.