Infinite Nightmares

"Completely vanished? We’ll never see them again?" When Zhang Wenda heard this, his heart sank.

He rushed outside, heading toward the surrounding shops and buildings. After searching them inside and out, Zhang Wenda discovered it wasn’t just the supply co-op.

The school, the breakfast stalls, the residential compounds, the park—at this moment, every place was completely empty.

A fist hammered down on Zhang Wenda. Song Jianguo furiously shouted at him, "I told you not to go! You just had to go!"

"What’s the use of saying that now?! Shut up!" As Zhang Wenda gave the command, the cursing Song Jianguo instantly clamped her mouth shut, only able to fume in powerless rage at his side.

Zhang Wenda looked around before heading toward a saucer-shaped water tower in the distance. It was the highest point in the area, offering a view of the entire town.

After climbing the rusty iron ladder to the top of the water tower, he had an unobstructed view of the entire town.

Honestly, the town’s scenery was quite nice, but it was too quiet. Far too quiet. It was as if they were living inside an old photograph from a long-ago summer.

Clearly, it wasn’t just the immediate area. The entire town was likely in the same state as the supply co-op.

’What on earth is this place?’ Zhang Wenda wondered as he stared at the scene before him. ’Everyone vanished overnight? How is that possible? A parallel world? Another dimension?’

He considered many possibilities, but none fit the current situation. The scene before him defied all common sense.

After a moment of thought, Zhang Wenda turned to the Auntie beside him. "Can you explain that paradox in more detail? The grandfather paradox? I helped my past self, so my present self no longer exists?"

"No, that’s not right. If that were the case, it wouldn’t match our situation. I still exist. I’ve just arrived in an empty place."

The Auntie frowned, rubbing her temples. "Damn, how am I supposed to answer that? This is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this."

"Let’s go. We’ll head down and check the edge of town. Hopefully, it’s just this town," Zhang Wenda said, starting down the ladder.

They walked down the empty main street, heading toward the edge of town. The whole way was silent. It was so quiet that their footsteps echoed through the streets.

As Zhang Wenda walked past a park, he saw a stone elephant slide inside through the iron fence. Suddenly, Song Jianguo became agitated, grabbing his hand and shaking it forcefully.

"Use your words. What’s gotten into you?" Zhang Wenda said, holding her still.

Freed from his command, Song Jianguo pointed at the stone elephant slide. "That’s wrong! There’s no elephant slide there! There’s supposed to be an airplane!"

"Really? Are you sure?" Zhang Wenda peered through the fence. To be honest, he couldn’t tell if Song Jianguo was telling the truth. He rarely visited places like this.

"I’m not wrong! I’m positive! Next to the airplane in this park, there’s also a sandbox for kids to play in. The cats always use it as a litter box. Ask them if you don’t believe me!"

"Really?" When Zhang Wenda turned to look, he saw a huge mass of pitch-black cats nodding at him in unison.

’A change in the details? What does that mean?’ Zhang Wenda suddenly stopped. He turned on his heel and headed toward his own neighborhood.

He might not have visited the park often, but he was very familiar with his own neighborhood. If there were any small changes there, he would definitely notice.

The Auntie patted Song Jianguo’s head. "Oh, Mimi, you can’t do that. It’s so inconsiderate. Just think, what if some kids were digging in the sand to build a castle and dug up cat poop?"

Song Jianguo looked up and nuzzled her head against the Auntie’s hand. "It’s fine. There’s a pack of stray dogs near the park. As soon as the cats finish their business, the dogs eat the sand-covered poop like it’s a glutinous rice cake."

"Oh? You know them that well? Are those dogs your friends?"

Song Jianguo shook her head vigorously. "They are not my friends. I don’t have friends who like to eat shit."

"Hurry up! What are you two doing, chatting idly at a time like this?" Hearing Zhang Wenda calling from a distance, Song Jianguo led the clowder of cats and followed him.

When they reached the familiar street, prompted by Song Jianguo’s observation, Zhang Wenda stopped looking for people and began carefully observing all the surrounding details.

When he reached the entrance to Fatty’s residential compound, he froze. He had also noticed a change in detail. ’Has this building always been this new?’

He looked up at the two rows of brand-new, red-brick buildings. He remembered very clearly that Fatty’s home wasn’t supposed to be this new.

His dad’s factory was an old one, and this residential building should have been built a long time ago. There was no way it could be this new.

As Zhang Wenda walked past the residential building, he noticed more and more discrepancies. Many of the old buildings in the area looked significantly newer.

The whole town looked like his old hometown, but the details were faintly and bizarrely wrong.

’What does this mean? Is it connected to the people who disappeared?’ Zhang Wenda felt a surge of confusion as he took in the strange scene.

He would rather face monsters like the one at the Youth Palace or that old man than deal with this incomprehensible situation. There were no clues, and he had no idea how to respond.

Zhang Wenda led them on a search for several hours, finally stopping at the edge of town.

Fields stretched out before them, all the way to the horizon. This place had everything—except people.

Sweating from the heat, Song Jianguo fanned her neck with her hand. "What now? Still nobody. Don’t tell me it’s really like you said, that there’s no one left in the whole world?"

Zhang Wenda squatted in the field, observing carefully. He noticed there wasn’t a single insect near the crops. He then looked toward a nearby creek and saw that beneath the unusually clear water, there was nothing but pebbles.

It wasn’t just the people. The insects, the fish—all life in this place had vanished.

Seeing this, Zhang Wenda felt there was no point in going any further. He feared the entire planet was like this.

His heart grew heavy, but Song Jianguo wasn’t burdened by such thoughts.

"I’m starving after all that walking." Song Jianguo reached down and pulled a cluster of sweet potatoes right out of the nearby soil.

Having found a sliver of a clue, Zhang Wenda took out his flashlight, preparing to start a fire with its laser. "Let’s get something to eat."

The firewood crackled brightly under a tree. Once a thick layer of dark red embers had formed, they tossed a few sweet potatoes in to slowly roast.

When the skin of a roasted sweet potato was peeled back, its golden flesh appeared before Zhang Wenda, steaming and fragrant. He popped a piece into his mouth; it was sweet and unbelievably delicious.