Infinite Nightmares

Seeing that Zhang Wenda wasn’t using the Orange Light again, the creatures in the darkness crept ever closer.

"What do we do?! They’re about to surround us!" Song Jianguo said, his voice filled with anxiety. Even with Zhang Wenda dual-wielding flashlights, he couldn’t disperse the darkness encroaching from all sides.

As they drew near, Zhang Wenda saw it wasn’t just the shadows of Black Cats in the darkness. From deep within the gloom, countless hands, feet, and jointed limbs extended and retracted. Apparently, the shadows of every creature that had fallen into the depths of the dark web were now trapped here, regardless of what they were.

The various shadows roiled in the darkness, squirming and pressing against one another until, in that moment, they seemed to merge into a single, giant shadow monster.

Under the immense threat, Zhang Wenda’s body twisted and swayed in the flickering light and shadow, as if he were transforming.

’What are shadows afraid of? Light! But where am I supposed to get light from now!?’

Just then, an idea struck Zhang Wenda as his foot landed on the damp ground. He immediately pulled the Oil Bab from his pocket.

With a look of conflict in his eyes, he unhesitatingly threw the Oil Bab onto the ground. The unknown liquid on the floor quickly transformed into clear oil under the Oil Bab’s effect, and it began to spread rapidly in all directions.

The Oil Bab truly lived up to its name. Its assimilation speed was incredibly fast. Before long, the air was thick with the foul stench of gasoline.

"Forget about me! Take 2826 and charge forward, as far as you can!" As Zhang Wenda gave the order, Song Jianguo immediately and uncontrollably executed it.

Under Song Jianguo’s command, the cats formed a giant shield around 2826 and charged unflinchingly into the darkness. For a moment, the shadows completely engulfed them.

Just then, Zhang Wenda, still standing in place, raised his and 2826’s flashlights and smashed them together forcefully. A piercing screech of metal on metal rang out, and a few sparks flew.

When the sparks landed on the oil, there was a deafening BOOM. The fuel created by the Oil Bab instantly ignited in a flash fire. Bright flames tore through the darkness, and a brilliant ball of fire erupted across the bottom of the dark web.

The raging flames ran rampant. Before such a massive fire, the shadows had nowhere to hide and no way to resist. They were swiftly torn apart and disintegrated by the inferno.

This fire didn’t just devour the shadows; it also consumed Zhang Wenda, who stood at its center.

Pain. His entire body was wracked with pain. At that moment, Zhang Wenda had become a human torch.

His clothes were completely incinerated. The flashlights in his hands glowed red-hot. His eyes were seared shut, and all he could do was stumble painfully through the flames.

He shoved the two already-melting lollipops into his blister-covered mouth.

But even so, the candy’s healing properties were far too slow to keep up with the damage the fire was inflicting on his body.

All he could do now was endure, to keep enduring. His powerful tolerance for pain came into play here. No matter how much it hurt, he kept walking forward.

Just as he was about to collapse, his vision suddenly cleared. The fire was gone.

The cats, which had been waiting nearby, sucked up the water from the ground and sprayed it all over Zhang Wenda.

Zhang Wenda quickly dropped and rolled in the water, finally extinguishing the flames on his body before he could be burned to death.

"Finally... I’m finally alive," Zhang Wenda said with a laugh, sighing in relief as he looked up at the much brighter space above.

"Are you okay?" Song Jianguo asked, frowning as he looked at the completely naked Zhang Wenda, his clothes having been burned away.

"I’m fine, I’m fine. The candy is still working, so I shouldn’t die." As Zhang Wenda struggled to his feet, his eyes suddenly lit up. "The Oil Babs!"

In the bright light of the inferno, which was as large as a sports field, the Oil Babs that had been hidden in the darkness were now completely exposed, floating alone in mid-air.

Zhang Wenda searched the area and actually found three Oil Babs. Adding the one in the ceramic jar, he realized he had not only met his goal but had even gotten an extra one.

Although his body still ached, he couldn’t stop grinning. One extra meant another two hundred bucks. This trip had been a brush with death, but at least it wasn’t for nothing.

Noticing that the massive fire was starting to die down, Zhang Wenda didn’t dare search any longer, lest the darkness return and the shadows entangle him to death.

It was only then that Zhang Wenda noticed the floor at the bottom of the dark web was littered with corpses of all kinds. Shrouded in darkness, no one had ever known they died inside the Internet World.

"Let’s go. We’re getting out of here."

"How? You planning on flying?" Song Jianguo’s gaze shamelessly swept between his legs.

Zhang Wenda, whose skin was now mostly healed, took 2826’s shirt and draped it around his waist. "Use your cats. It’d be a waste not to use all this hot air."

The giant umbrella formed by the cats began to fill with the rising thermal currents, lifting them up toward the Floating Island above.

After landing on a Floating Island and seeing the dense network of cables and other Floating Islands above, everyone let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.

There was finally a path. From here, all they had to do was follow the network cables upward to get out. The rest of the way should be safe.

"Thanks. You worked hard on this one," Zhang Wenda said to 2826 with a smile. The guy had really come through.

"Yeah, especially hard," 2826 sighed, looking at his own injuries.

"Haha, that’s for sure. Guess it was your bad luck, getting dragged here by me for some excitement."

Zhang Wenda took out the four drops of Oil Bab from the ceramic jar and arranged them neatly in his hand, admiring his spoils.

’This wasn’t easy. Not at all. I almost died for these things. The money you risk your life for really is the best kind of payday.’

"Hey, buddy," Zhang Wenda said to 2826. "What’s your mission stipend for this trip?"

"Sixty," 2826 replied with an unexpectedly low number.

"That’s it? That’s so little! We risked our lives to get this intel on the bottom of the dark web! With this information, we could come down and collect Oil Babs anytime. Think how much we could make!"

Zhang Wenda was even thinking about partnering with 2826 to do this a few more times. Maybe, with this method, the two of them could achieve financial freedom.

It was as if 2826 had anticipated what Zhang Wenda would say. "You can’t make much. We’re in the 7th Thought-Tide Internet World. A core setting of the 7th Thought-Tide is that the network is dynamic. It’s constantly changing, always evolving."

"If you dare to use past experience in the Internet World to explore its current dangerous areas, trust me, you’ll die a very ugly death."

"Fuck," Zhang Wenda cursed. ’This place makes no damn sense.’

"There’s a reason Oil Bab is two hundred a drop, and why you can’t find it even if you have the money."

"Alright. But still, thank you," Zhang Wenda said, looking at him earnestly.

But 2826 shook his head, his gaze just as serious. "You don’t have to thank me. You saved me, gave me a sun. I helped you find the Oil Bab. Compared to friends helping each other, this was more like a transaction."

"In fact, from what I know about you, if I had truly helped you for free, you probably wouldn’t have accepted it."

"What do you mean by that?" Hearing the hidden meaning in 2826’s words, the smile on Zhang Wenda’s face slowly vanished, and his brow furrowed.

"You seem to reject help from others when it’s offered for free. You much prefer to accept a transaction."

"Rabbit offered to help you for free, and you refused. But you were willing to let me help. Is it because it was a transaction between us?"

Zhang Wenda’s head snapped up. He stared at 2826. "How do you know about Rabbit? Are you spying on me?"