Infinite Nightmares

"Did you end up here by accident, like me?" Zhang Wenda asked the old man, voicing his suspicion.

"Impossible," the old man said. "Do you have any idea how many pasts there are? Every single minute is its own past world. How could it be such a coincidence that you all end up here with me? What do you think this is, a marketplace?"

Hearing Wang Daniu’s words, Zhang Wenda grew puzzled. ’Something’s not right with this group.’

’If it wasn’t an accident, and they couldn’t have come back out of nostalgia, then why return to this past world?’

"You wait here. I’m going to go check it out." With that, Wang Daniu charged outside, but Zhang Wenda hurriedly stopped him.

"Sir, sir, don’t! It’s not worth it! They have guns."

"Hah! So what if they have guns? Who do you think you’re looking down on? I used to be the captain of the militia!" With that, he tried to rush out again, and Zhang Wenda had to grab him once more.

After some struggling, Wang Daniu finally gave in to Zhang Wenda. He conceded, agreeing they would both go after dark so they could watch each other’s backs.

In truth, a sliver of hope flickered in Zhang Wenda’s heart. ’What if... what if those people know how to get back?’

Those people were definitely dangerous, but for him, this could also be an opportunity.

As the sky gradually darkened, the two carefully crept along the ridges between the fields.

When they got close to the concrete buildings, the two dropped to the ground and crawled slowly forward.

Watching Wang Daniu’s textbook-perfect crawl, Zhang Wenda realized the old man hadn’t been bluffing. He actually had some skills.

Suddenly, Zhang Wenda heard something and quickly pressed down on Wang Daniu, whispering, "Shh, sir, I hear something!"

After waiting quietly for a moment, the muffled sound of idle chatter came from behind some nearby trees.

"How much.... longer? This place is so..... boring, not even any bugs..."

"God knows. Just stick it out. Better.... to be stuck here... than... working the line...."

Just then, Zhang Wenda saw Wang Daniu start to move. He began crawling slowly along the ground, closing in on the source of the voices.

Zhang Wenda instantly tensed up. He tapped at the old man’s green canvas shoes, trying to get him to stop, but Wang Daniu had no intention of doing so.

As the sound grew louder, Zhang Wenda saw two small red dots under a tree. Those weren’t fireflies! They were lit cigarette butts. Someone was smoking in the woods!

In the dim moonlight, Zhang Wenda saw the two men. One had a third eye growing in the middle of his forehead. The other had a stud in his nose, and a fleshy rooster comb ran along the top of his bald head.

’It’s not surprising they look weird,’ Zhang Wenda thought. ’The adult world is full of freaks.’ The only thing different about these men was that they wore no shackles—not a single one.

In that short time, the two had finished their cigarettes. Grumbling, they ambled towards the distant concrete buildings.

The pair followed, slowly shuffling forward. They eventually reached the complex of concrete buildings built into the mountainside and saw a dingy yellow light spilling out from inside.

There were people inside. Not just one or two, but a whole group. When Zhang Wenda saw that every checkpoint was guarded, he immediately understood that the people here must belong to a single, tightly-knit organization.

Seeing the figures standing in high places—people with CCTV cameras for heads—Zhang Wenda knew they’d be spotted if they got any closer.

He quickly signaled Wang Daniu to retreat. This time, the old man didn’t refuse and slowly backed away.

As soon as they reached a safe place, Wang Daniu said, "Those bastards are definitely up to no good!"

"Sir, how do you know?"

"They’re all smoking opium!" Wang Daniu said decisively. "I’ve seen their kind back in the old society. Opium smokers have a certain look on their faces!"

After thinking for a moment, he said to Zhang Wenda, "Young man, I know what they’re here for. They’re definitely doing something that could get them executed!"

"They’re afraid of getting caught in the present, so they’ve secretly come to the past to do their dirty deeds!"

Hearing this, Zhang Wenda wasn’t scared at all. Instead, there was a hint of excitement in his voice. "So, sir, are you saying they have a way to get back to the future?"

"Still thinking about that nonsense? This is big trouble now. Who knows what shady business they’re up to, or how long they’ve been at it. I’m afraid they’ve already harmed a lot of people," Wang Daniu said worriedly.

Suddenly, as if he had made a decision, he waved his right hand at Zhang Wenda. "Come on! Follow me to the big dam up ahead. We’ll dig it out, make it collapse, and drown those bastards!"

"There’s a dam up ahead? How long will that take?"

"With the two of us, probably a few years."

Zhang Wenda quickly rejected this lengthy proposal. "Sir, don’t be hasty. Let me try something else first."

"What other way could there be? It’s just you against so many of them. Who do you think you are, Lü Bu? You think you can just charge in there?"

The thought that this group had a way to return filled Zhang Wenda with motivation. "I have my own way. How will I know if it doesn’t work if I don’t try?"

After saying this, Zhang Wenda ignored the darkness, pressed the Yellow Core, and ran in Song Jianguo’s direction.

When he shifted back to his usual perspective, he found Song Jianguo already lying under a cat-patterned blanket, snoring.

"Wake up! We’ve got a big job to do!" Zhang Wenda quickly shook her awake.

After a quick explanation, Zhang Wenda said, "In the adult world, that place is guarded like a fortress. Let’s see if we can find any openings from this perspective."

This was the plan he had come up with, and it was the only one he could try at the moment. It might be risky, but he had no other choice.

"This is the past world? And there’s an old man? For real? You’re not lying to me, are you?" Song Jianguo looked at Zhang Wenda with a face full of suspicion.

"Who has time to joke around in a situation like this?" Zhang Wenda then led them cautiously toward the concrete buildings built into the mountainside.

But as they walked, Zhang Wenda realized something was wrong. They seemed to be heading towards the other side of the town.

The concrete structure built into the mountainside in the adult world was, from this perspective, a sprawling complex.

The town was still the same, completely empty. But as they rounded a corner by a park, a footprint the size of a car appeared in front of them.

Now Song Jianguo and her aunt immediately understood that Zhang Wenda hadn’t been making things up. This empty place really did have other people, or rather, other living things.

"Shh! Let the cats go first!" Zhang Wenda, who had taken out a flashlight, gestured to Song Jianguo.

Soon, a number of small cats began to spread out, scouting the path for them.

The cats were small and made almost no sound as they walked. They quickly made a new discovery.

Led by the cats, they entered a vine-covered concrete trellis in the park. Zhang Wenda placed a hand on one of the pillars and peered carefully ahead, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

He gave the leading Black Coal a questioning look, only to see the small cat staring at his right hand on the pillar, its ears flattened back in fear as its body trembled.

When Zhang Wenda followed the pillar with his eyes, tracing it upward from his hand, his pupils instantly shrank to pinpricks.

This wasn’t a pillar at all! It was clearly one of the legs of a headless giant using the concrete trellis as a stool!!