Infinite Nightmares

Looking at the monster speaking softly in front of him, Wang Dayan thought for a moment, then said, "Yeah, they all have one."

Hearing this, Zhang Wenda’s heart skipped a beat. ’They’re really from the Third Line?’

Flashlights were a symbol of the Third Line. Only they could possess them on such a large scale.

Recalling what 2826 had told him about the Third Line and this child’s experiences, Zhang Wenda found it hard to accept.

Still, he suppressed his agitation and continued speaking to the boy in a gentle voice. "Dayan, can you tell me what you’ve been through, from as far back as you can remember? Don’t rush, take your time."

Glancing at Song Jianguo, who was staring down at his own body, Zhang Dayan began to speak softly. "I lived in a black box. They made me train..."

As Zhang Dayan haltingly told his story, the other pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place.

Dayan was still very young and had never been taught properly, so his logic was flawed, and his speech was jumbled.

But by combining the information from his story with what Zhang Wenda had already deduced about the boy from the rules of the ’tide of thought’—not to mention the boy’s ability to sustain his own small tide at such a young age—the full picture began to come into focus.

It was obvious that a four-year-old child couldn’t possibly possess the ability to sustain a ’tide of thought’ out of thin air, no matter how small.

Combined with the various out-of-control powers within his body, anyone who wasn’t an idiot could see that Wang Dayan was clearly an experimental subject.

Whether he was used to test the ’tide of thought’ or Qi Gong, the result was the same.

More importantly, Zhang Wenda learned from Wang Dayan that he wasn’t the only one like him; there were many others.

The reason he had escaped was that during their transport, a girl had suddenly gone berserk, using an ability that Wang Dayan’s limited vocabulary couldn’t describe to flip their vehicle.

Hearing this, the rest of the story became clear; he could guess the rest with a fair degree of accuracy. When the Big Circle learned that these high-value children had escaped, they immediately sent their people to capture them. And he was the backup they had sent to help.

Zhang Wenda had heard a saying that was very fitting here: if you see one cockroach in your house, it means there are countless more hiding in the dark corners.

What happened to Zhang Dayan probably wasn’t the first time, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last. Just thinking about what lay hidden beneath this tip of the iceberg was enough to make his blood run cold.

Zhang Wenda leaned against a tree, lost in thought. He used to think the Third Line might be too idealistic, but now it seemed they were even more pragmatic than he had imagined.

He could understand their desire to research the ’tide of thought’ and bring the world back to normal, but that was absolutely no excuse for doing things this way. This had crossed a line for him.

"What now?" Auntie asked, coming up to Zhang Wenda’s side.

Zhang Wenda shook his head. "I don’t know what to do next. I’m not even sure if I should continue this undercover mission."

Originally, things were supposed to be simple. He would complete his infiltration mission, return to join Bureau 507, and with their help, get rid of his monstrous body. Then, he would live a stable, secure life with a government job.

The work might be a bit dangerous, but the pay and benefits were good. He could have finally settled down here.

But now everything had changed. If the Third Line really dared to experiment on children, then to them, grunts like him were surely just as disposable.

"The hell? Who asked you about that? I’m asking what to do with this little brat!" Auntie walked over and gave Zhang Wenda an elbow, payback for making her bleed earlier.

"Him?" Zhang Wenda looked at Zhang Dayan, who was happily eating candy. ’The kid is innocent. Whether he’s caught by the Third Line or the Big Circle, he’ll face a fate worse than death.’

Even though he could barely protect himself, he couldn’t bear the thought of letting this little guy, who couldn’t even tell boys from girls, die.

But letting him wander around on his own was out of the question. With the immense power contained within him, it was no different from walking down the street carrying a giant gold bar.

Zhang Wenda thought for a moment before speaking. "Let’s take him somewhere with fewer people first. We’ll get him settled, and then we’ll see. At the very least, we have to correct his flawed logic."

"As long as his ’tide of thought’ is synchronized with the children’s tide from Number 1, he shouldn’t cause so much trouble in the future." With that, Zhang Wenda prepared to lead the others out of the woods and toward the concrete ground.

As for everything else, he could only take it one step at a time. He would have to wait until they got back before deciding anything.

But he had only taken two steps when he suddenly froze. "SHH! Be careful, that’s Liu Jianming’s bat!"

Seeing a small black shadow flash across the sky, everyone present immediately crouched down and held their breath.

After waiting a few minutes and seeing that the bat had disappeared, Zhang Wenda started moving again. However, he didn’t dare walk on the streets, instead leading the others through the fields and woods.

But they had barely taken a few steps before they all stopped. Right in front of them, a dense swarm of small bats was gathering, gradually coalescing into the burly, scarred form of Liu Jianming.

"Trying to hide from me? Then you’d better not be carrying any blood. I’m very sensitive to that stuff." Liu Jianming pointed a finger at the blood seeping from Song Jianguo’s neck, soaking into his cat-like fur.

"You were that scared of blood? How can you be sensitive to it?"

Hearing this, Liu Jianming immediately got worked up. "What about it? Is there a problem? No matter how I’ve changed, I’m still a Vampire! What’s wrong with being sensitive to blood?!"

"I’ll hold this guy off. You take the kid and go."

Zhang Wenda said, taking a step forward. He had never seen Liu Jianming use his full strength, but based on his gut feeling, he thought he should be able to stop him.

However, just as Song Jianguo and Auntie turned to leave, they saw Hu Maomao floating in mid-air.

Zhang Wenda’s gaze darted between them. The lines had blurred; enemies had become allies, and now, his allies had become enemies.

Liu Jianming didn’t seem to think much of it, but most of Zhang Wenda’s attention was now focused on Hu Maomao, with the tinfoil pot on her head.

She looked extremely weak, but she always gave him an inscrutable, mysterious feeling.

As if sensing Zhang Wenda’s gaze, Hu Maomao lifted her head slightly and asked coolly, "Why?"

"Why? Because this is just how I am. I see something good, and I can’t walk away. I fucking love to hog things for myself! I sell him on the black market, and I’ll be set for life."

Zhang Wenda spouted some nonsense to rebuff her. He knew that the moment he moved against Liu Jianming, the pretense was over between them. There was probably going to be a tough fight today.

Hu Maomao tilted her head back again, so far that Zhang Wenda could see the solid black eyes hidden beneath the tinfoil pot.

"Do you know why I wear a tinfoil pot?"

Then she answered her own question. "Because I’m hiding from the Mind-Controllers. They are dangerous. Very dangerous. Only a hat made of tinfoil can block their control over my brain."

As she spoke, Hu Maomao, in front of everyone, slowly reached up and took the tinfoil hat off her head.