Infinite Nightmares

After listening to Liu Jianming’s wild explanation, Zhang Wenda looked at him with a skeptical expression.

"Are you serious? I feel like you’re just messing with me." What he’d said was so absurd that Zhang Wenda found it difficult to accept.

"What? You don’t believe I’m a Vampire?"

Zhang Wenda thought for a moment before replying, "It’s not that. I’ve seen crazier things. I just sense a flaw in your logic. If the concepts of blood and garlic are swapped in your brain, you shouldn’t like Auntie Flo. You should like garlic-headed turtles instead."

Liu Jianming tossed the empty bowl to the ground and shot Zhang Wenda a disdainful look. "You kids know nothing. Ever heard of feelings? Ever heard of love?"

Seemingly unwilling to bother explaining, he quickened his pace to catch up with Hu Maomao ahead.

"Wait, don’t go! I’m not done asking questions yet. Why is the Big Circle collecting dangerous Thought Waves?"

"Ask whoever you want. I can’t be bothered with you." Liu Jianming was apparently still upset with Zhang Wenda over their earlier exchange.

But Zhang Wenda didn’t give up. Having realized the guy was blunt and artless, he thought, ’I have to find a way to pry more information out of him.’

Seeing that Liu Jianming had fallen silent, Zhang Wenda suddenly had an idea. "How about this: you tell me why, and then I’ll tell you what Auntie Flo likes."

The moment Zhang Wenda spoke, Liu Jianming took the bait. "You’re the one who said it. What do you do with a little Thought Wave? Extract its energy, of course."

"Energy?" Zhang Wenda’s interest was piqued. He pulled the colorful, fluorescent chalk from the ceramic jar. "This? Was this created by a Thought Wave?"

"That’s Third Line stuff. People in the Big Circle don’t really use it. The Circle has plenty of capable people who can take disordered forms of energy and matter and reintegrate them into useful items and abilities."

As he spoke, he pointed to the shriveled head on Zhang Wenda’s chest. "That thing, for instance."

"To use that computer-head’s terminology, the world’s matter and energy are constant. The more dangerous a Thought Wave is, the higher its energy level."

"You can use them like that?"

Zhang Wenda stroked his chin, lost in thought. He recalled the factory that had existed in the past. It was clear that whether the Big Circle collected things from within Thought Waves or the Thought Waves themselves, it was all to convert them into usable energy.

’This world is bizarre,’ he thought, ’but humanity is still exploiting its weird phenomena the same way we exploit petroleum. It’s just that in my own world, all energy conversion ultimately comes down to boiling water. How they do it here, I have no idea.’

’Converting a Thought Wave into energy? How do you convert something you can’t see or touch?’

Just as Zhang Wenda was pondering this question, Hu Maomao suddenly stopped up ahead. The group immediately gathered around her.

"Did you find the Thought Wave?" Zhang Wenda asked, taking a step forward.

Hu Maomao said nothing, simply pointing to the trees at the roadside.

When everyone followed her finger, they saw a hen with its feet bound, lying in a bustling marketplace, up for sale.

"It’s a chicken. What about it? Is the chicken the Thought Wave?" Song Jianguo asked, his face a mask of confusion as he shouldered his long spear.

But Liu Jianming, Hu Maomao’s long-time partner, understood her meaning instantly. He strode over to the hen, raised his hands, and gave it a hard squeeze.

With a mighty squeeze and a series of CLUCKS, the hen burst. Its flesh, blood, and feathers instantly transformed into tiny chicks that scattered in every direction.

Watching this utterly illogical scene, Zhang Wenda understood immediately. "Looks like we’re inside the Thought Wave now."

"Well, duh. Ever see a hen in Thought Wave One get squeezed into a bunch of chicks?" Liu Jianming said, dusting off his hands.

At that moment, the three of them tensed up, quickly drawing closer to one another.

Though the surrounding scene was still a bustling town market and all the pedestrians were acting normally, to Zhang Wenda, it seemed fraught with hidden dangers.

’If it really weren’t dangerous, the groups before them wouldn’t have been lost here.’

"How do we find this Thought Wave? And how do we capture it?"

Hearing Zhang Wenda’s question, Liu Jianming knew it was no time for banter. He answered directly, "We find the person. The logic and rules inside a Thought Wave are sustained by a person. It’s like how Thought Wave One is sustained by children, which is why the world inside it is full of things that align with a child’s imagination."

At these words, Zhang Wenda’s heart skipped a beat. He pulled out the lollipop, and for a moment, he understood why the candy could heal wounds. ’It’s because only a child would think that way! The entire logic and all the rules of Thought Wave One are built on the imagination of children. That’s why there’s no death.’

Zhang Wenda shook his head, forcing himself to organize his thoughts. ’I can deal with all that later. The priority right now is the current situation.’

"Wait a second," he said. "Are you saying we need to find the host who is sustaining this little Thought Wave?"

"Yep. Knock them out, carry them off, and deliver them. Job done," Liu Jianming said with a nod.

"But you said a Thought Wave’s logic is determined by its host’s imagination. It’s reasonable for a kid to think a lollipop can heal you, but what kind of person thinks squeezing a hen makes it explode into chicks? A lunatic?"

The words were barely out of his mouth when his heart sank. He looked at the two men before him and asked, "Don’t tell me this is actually a lunatic’s Thought Wave."

The more he considered it, the more plausible it seemed. An ordinary Thought Wave couldn’t be this dangerous. ’But if my guess is right,’ he thought, ’I can’t even imagine what might happen in here.’

"Maybe, maybe not. What’s the point of thinking about it? Let’s just find them first. Whoever this person is, they have to be living inside this Thought Wave," Liu Jianming said, before plunging into the crowd to begin the search.

Seeing Hu Maomao sitting cross-legged in the middle of the street, seemingly in meditation, Zhang Wenda knew that no matter how dangerous this place was, he couldn’t just stand around and do nothing.

After a moment’s thought, he said to Song Jianguo and Auntie Flo, "Come on, we’re going too. But since this place is so dangerous, we should try our best not to split up."

"Where are we going? What are we supposed to do? You’ve all been talking so much, and I don’t understand a thing," Song Jianguo asked, completely bewildered.

"We’re looking for a person. Have your cat help."

Zhang Wenda began giving orders. "Our target is someone who looks... off. Someone who seems paranoid, muttering to themselves, constantly looking around. If they happen to be wearing a hospital gown and no shoes, then that’s almost certainly who we’re looking for."