Infinite Nightmares

In the bizarre and fantastical Internet World, a purple-furred, red-eyed rabbit and a one-eared cat-girl were following a large black dog.

They were currently on the Aminos Great Prairie in the Internet World. As far as the eye could see, there was only grassland, and a gentle breeze made the green grass sway from side to side.

The sky above was no longer calm, constantly undergoing new changes, but having been inside for so long, they had long since gotten used to it and paid it no mind.

Her feet sore, Song Jianguo hung her head and sighed. While scratching an itch under her clothes with one hand, she spoke to the rabbit beside her, "Is it too late for me to back out now?"

"If you go back now, wouldn’t all this walking have been for nothing? There, there, good kitty. We’re almost there."

The rabbit pulled a White Rabbit creamy candy from its pocket and placed it in Song Jianguo’s hand.

Song Jianguo took the candy and, without even unwrapping it, tossed it into her mouth and bit down hard. She muttered curses, "Haozi, you son of a bitch! Making us run this far!"

"That psycho! Running off to the Internet World... why don’t you just go to the moon while you’re at it!"

"You just wait. I’m keeping score. When I get this collar off, I’ll settle all our scores, old and new!"

As she continued cursing, the big black dog, which was much taller than a person, lifted its head. With its tongue lolling out, it called to Song Jianguo, "MEOW MEOW MEOW~!"

"Ha! About damn time! We finally found him!" Song Jianguo pushed off the grass with both feet and leaped directly onto the big dog’s back. "Giddy-up!"

"MEOW MEOW!" The big dog’s four legs stretched out as it broke into a sprint. Finally, by the clear lake ahead, they saw a familiar figure.

It was Zhang Wenda. His scythe-like hands hung low, and his body, riddled with holes, stood there like a statue.

"You idio—" Just as Song Jianguo opened her mouth to yell, the rabbit clamped a thick paw over it.

The rabbit moved forward slowly, as if afraid of startling him.

When he got closer, the rabbit realized that Zhang Wenda had been staring at his own reflection in the water—staring at the monster in the reflection.

The rabbit slipped his hands under Song Jianguo’s armpits and lifted the bewildered girl in front of Zhang Wenda like a little doll. "Look, your favorite cat came to find you."

Seeing no reaction, the rabbit put Song Jianguo down. But just as he took a step forward, Zhang Wenda’s body flickered in a blur of motion and reappeared five meters away. "Don’t come near me!"

As if startled by his own roar, Zhang Wenda’s breathing instantly became ragged. He spoke to the rabbit, his voice almost pleading, "Teacher, please don’t come any closer, okay? I’m begging you."

"I don’t want to yell at you, and I don’t want to hurt you, but I can’t control it!"

Zhang Wenda raised his sharp hands, instinctively trying to hug himself, but other than mangling his own arms into a bloody mess, it did nothing.

"Calm down, calm down. We won’t come any closer. We’ll just stand right here," the rabbit said, seeing this, speaking to Zhang Wenda from six meters away.

Seeing that they weren’t approaching, Zhang Wenda was finally no longer so panicked. He looked at the two of them with deep helplessness.

"Teacher Rabbit, you tried to help me before, but I always refused. I used to think it was because I didn’t want to owe anyone any favors."

"But just now, I figured it out. I’ve actually always been afraid of forming relationships with people. Deep down, I’ve been terrified that I would hurt you the same way my parents hurt me."

Sensing the shift in his own emotions, Zhang Wenda quickly forced himself to calm down, trying not to fall into a stress response.

At that moment, the rabbit spoke. "Then what’s the use of running away to this place? The Internet World can’t help you with anything."

"At least everyone here is weird. No one treats me like a monster." Zhang Wenda gnawed hard on one of his scythe-hands, pacing back and forth nearby.

"I know I’m a monster, but I can’t change that. The only thing I can do is make sure I never hurt anyone else the way they hurt me."

The rabbit quietly took a step forward. "When we face a problem, we find a way to solve it. We don’t just surrender."

"I... I’ve already found a solution. Really. From now on, I just have to live alone. That’s all. Really, as long as I live alone and don’t have contact with anyone, I won’t hurt anyone. Just like in the past!"

"I don’t want any family ties, and I won’t have children and let this cycle continue!"

After speaking, Zhang Wenda bent his backward-jointed legs, preparing to spring away—away from anyone who showed him kindness.

Seeing that Zhang Wenda was about to run, the rabbit grabbed the glove on his right hand and yanked it hard, pulling off the furry rabbit-paw casing to reveal a terrifying, grotesque right hand. "Look!"

It was a hand as withered and decayed as a mummy’s, a purple bracelet wrapped around its wrist. The palm was covered in shriveled wounds, and its long, black fingernails were terrifying—even more so than Zhang Wenda’s scythe hands.

Zhang Wenda’s pupils trembled at the sight. He realized that all this time, "the rabbit" was just a disguise. He was in the same situation as Wenda himself.

"I’m a monster too, Wenda. I’m a monster too."

Then, the rabbit looked at Zhang Wenda, his voice firmer than ever before. "Even if we’re destined to be monsters, even if our true nature is beastly, we can still find a way to fight that nature!"

"We’re monsters now, but that doesn’t mean we have to be monsters our whole lives. I haven’t given up, and you absolutely cannot give up either!"

He held out the withered, decaying hand toward Zhang Wenda. "Trust me. There is a way. This world is so big; we can find a way."

"No matter how hard it is, I’ll be with you. We’ll find a way not to be monsters together, okay? Don’t give up on yourself." As he spoke, a hint of a plea entered the rabbit’s voice.

Zhang Wenda looked at the withered, ghastly hand, then at his own bloody, sharp scythes, and his heart suddenly stirred.

Listening to the rabbit’s words, he walked back, step by step. The moment he rested his scythe hand on the other’s decaying palm, the sharp blade gradually softened, finally turning back into slender fingers.

The rabbit’s other furry hand came over, pulling the shrinking Zhang Wenda into a tight hug.

As he felt his whole body completely return to its original form, a warmth spread through Zhang Wenda’s despairing heart. ’I can become human again.’

Feeling the fur all around him, Zhang Wenda said a trembling, "Thank you."

"Yes, that’s right. Just like that. Don’t be afraid of other people’s help. When someone helps you, all you have to do is give them a sincere ’thank you’."

After hugging Zhang Wenda tightly for a moment, the rabbit let go. "Go thank the little kitty. She was a big help in finding you."

Hearing this, Zhang Wenda, his eyes bloodshot, looked in surprise at Song Jianguo, who was scratching an itch nearby.

’From what I know of Song Jianguo,’ he thought, ’I’d have assumed she would have run far away by now. I never expected she would actually come looking for me.’

As Zhang Wenda walked over, Song Jianguo looked at him with a face full of disdain. "What?"

Zhang Wenda suddenly opened his arms and hugged her tightly.