Infinite Nightmares

The rear of the flea market, situated within the dense dog fur, was now a large, empty space due to the chaos.

In particular, many of the more worldly stall owners, upon seeing the two nearly identical faces—one big, one small—fearfully grabbed their wares and fled.

And now, in the very center of the clearing, Zhang Wenda stood in front of his younger self. He took a deep breath and, gazing fearlessly at the beast before him, began to charge.

Faced with the crackling of the ever-brightening arcs of electricity, he clenched his jaw. His expression was ferocious as he gripped his weapon, his pace never slowing.

As Zhang Wenda approached, Yang, not to be outdone, let blue-white arcs of electricity erupt from his scaled and sharp-nailed claws, CRACKLING as they coalesced into an ever-brighter orb of lightning.

The moment the red glow crashed into the blast of lightning, a powerful shockwave sent Zhang Wenda flying.

By the time he struggled back to his feet, the intense pain made his vision go black. He saw his left arm hanging limply at his side—it was clearly broken.

Seeing that Zhang Wenda was injured, the nearby instructors shed their apprehension. Led by Professor Yang, they began to close in on Zhang Wenda.

Just as it looked like the fight was about to become many against one, a cat’s meow rang out, and Song Jianguo arrived at Zhang Wenda’s side with Dayima.

The sudden arrivals made them hesitate, and they didn’t press the attack immediately.

"Thanks!" Zhang Wenda said, genuinely grateful to his friend. ’Truth be told,’ he thought, ’I didn’t think you’d actually come.’

"I hate owing people! That time in the library? Now we’re even!" Song Jianguo said, looking extremely irritated. "Besides, I’m risking my life for you here! When we get out, you have to get this collar off me!"

"Fine! You have a deal!" Zhang Wenda looked from side to side and asked, "Where’s Lamp God?"

Dayima, looking rather helpless, glanced at Song Jianguo before holding out a flattened enamel mug. "He said he couldn’t help with this. He’s ’just a legend,’ he said. Told me to give this to you before he left."

"Heh, can’t believe that guy—" Before Zhang Wenda could finish, a CRACKLE filled the air as a thick arc of electricity shot from the distance and slammed into him.

In the face of the surprise attack, he let out a strangled, pain-filled roar. He fought through the agonizing, paralyzing current shocking his system and forced himself to stand tall. Even as his hair began to smoke, he refused to fall again.

His bloodshot eyes looked past the rapidly forming wall of cats toward Professor Yang in the distance. "This feeling... It’s almost nostalgic. If I hadn’t been through this so many times back in the day, I’d never be able to withstand it."

The corners of Yang’s fang-filled mouth tilted upward into something that wasn’t quite a smile.

"Child, I don’t hate you. You’ve just fallen prey to internet addiction; that’s why you’ve become like this. The fault isn’t yours—it’s the internet’s, it’s online gaming’s. You need to be saved. You need treatment."

"Cut the fucking act! You don’t even have a face anymore! There’s no one here to interview you, so stop with the show!" Zhang Wenda retorted, carefully observing his opponent’s movements. ’He’s much stronger than he’s letting on.’

"So stubborn, little net addict." The last shred of feigned "pity" on Yang Yongxin’s face vanished, leaving only cold, murderous intent in his bestial eyes.

As he thrust his left claw into the air, five highly condensed, javelin-like bolts of blue-white lightning instantly formed. With a shriek that tore through the air, they shot directly at Zhang Wenda and Song Jianguo.

In that instant, Song Jianguo let out a piercing whistle. "Meeeow—!" The swarm of Black Cats surged forward, instantly forming a massive shield.

But the lightning arcs were too concentrated and ferocious this time. The moment they struck the shield of Black Cats, the cats’ fur poofed out, turning them into individual balls of fluff. Unable to hold their shape, the formation instantly dissolved into chaos.

Seeing this, the instructors on the sidelines closed in like hyenas on a carcass, ready to kick them while they were down.

Amid the chaos, Zhang Wenda, weapon in his one good hand, had already burst through the crowd. He sprinted toward Yang Yongxin, running along the towering strands of dog fur.

Neither of the combatants noticed that their surroundings were beginning to lag, the edges of their reality starting to pixelate like a low-resolution image.

When Zhang Wenda was just a few steps away, Yang Yongxin, who had been observing the chaos, suddenly snapped his head around to face him, the arcs in his hand flickering rapidly.

At the critical moment, Zhang Wenda didn’t hesitate. He slammed his hand onto the Yellow Core. As the Yellow Core flared with brilliant light, the world around them instantly collapsed.

The flea market vanished, replaced in an instant by an office with a computer sitting on a desk.

The powerful blast of electricity in Yang Yongxin’s hand shrank rapidly, and when it hit Zhang Wenda, he felt nothing more than a faint numbness.

THWACK! Zhang Wenda’s right fist smashed viciously into Yang Yongxin’s face, sending the man in the white lab coat staggering backward.

Zhang Wenda seized the man’s neck, squeezing with all his might. But in the next instant, a fierce wind kicked up, and scars began to blossom rapidly all over Zhang Wenda’s body.

Before he could even process what was happening, the sudden blossoming of scars threw him out of the "adult world," and he found himself back in the flea market.

"Haozi, look out!"

Caught completely off guard, Zhang Wenda was sent flying once more by a violent blast of electricity, slamming hard into the nearby dog fur.

Smoke rose from his scorched body, and his vision swam. Just as he tried to get up, a savage, bestial face appeared before him, mere centimeters away.

The crackling electricity in its claws illuminated the scene. "Did you really think you could defeat me? It’s useless! You can’t win against me."

Though he looked utterly battered, Zhang Wenda remained fearless. "Maybe not. But I had to try!"

"You just don’t get it. When adults say something is wrong, it’s wrong! We set the rules! If we say you’re wrong, you’re wrong!" With a flash of blue light, the electric arc shot toward Zhang Wenda’s chest, aiming to pierce it.

At that very last second, a youthful figure charged in from the side—it was his younger self!

The boy let out a heart-wrenching scream, charging forward recklessly. He had grabbed the fallen Light Saber and now thrust it viciously toward Yang Yongxin. "Yang Yongxin! I’ll fuck your mother!"

The boy’s voice was hoarse, cracking with puberty, yet it rang out with stunning clarity. Like a boulder thrown into still water, it sent new ripples through Zhang Wenda’s heart.

He glanced at the energy level of the Red Core on his arm, then lunged at Yang Yongxin alongside his younger self.

He grabbed his younger self’s hand, and together they gripped the hilt of the saber, driving it down with all their strength. Amid the sound of tearing flesh and a piercing scream, Zhang Wenda saw something stirring within Yang Yongxin’s body.