Infinite Nightmares

"Do you know what we do? Don’t call it crime. Crime is how *they* define it. We don’t need their definitions. Crime or no crime, we do what we want. Here, we can truly be ourselves."

On the crowded street, Tang Xingxiong spoke as she smoked. The crow on the left in the bird’s nest inhaled the smoke, but the crow on the right was the one that exhaled it.

She was about to say more, but Zhang Wenda cut her off rudely. "I have no interest in hearing about your ideals or your ambitions. That has jack shit to do with me. I’m interested in your obscene profits. All I want to know is what I can do, and what I get paid after I do it."

"Good. It’s best you think that way. We need talented people just like you. Look, we’re here." Tang Xingxiong stopped in front of a solitary building, a simple tenement block with exposed red brick.

The tenement block looked a lot like his own home, only this one didn’t have neighbors on either side. It was just a single, lonely strip, with ugly brickwork exposed at both ends.

As the crows let out two CAWS, seven or eight black, malformed hands, each as thick as a utility pole, extended from beneath the tenement block.

The building, which should have been just a tenement block, now had feet, as if it had become a giant animal.

"TADA! A Big Circle Gang perk! Join us and get a free house! What do you think? No other organization has benefits like this, right?" Tang Xingxiong said energetically, but Zhang Wenda didn’t reply.

After they climbed up the curved hands, Zhang Wenda discovered that not only did the outside look like his home, but the interior decor was even more familiar.

"So? Do you like it?" Tang Xingxiong said with a smile. The deformed hands beneath the tenement began to rise, and the entire structure started to move slowly, like a giant elephant dragging a tortoise shell.

"See? How great is that? It can even move. Most importantly, it’s sort of a descendant of a Cavalier, so it can travel to other Schools of Thought, too. You’ll never have to find a new place to live every time you go to one. Don’t thank us. It’s the least we could do."

At first, Zhang Wenda thought it was pretty good. But when he touched the wall and felt certain details that only he would know, he immediately understood. This *was* his home! The Big Circle Gang had literally ripped his house out and moved it here.

"Are you insane? This is my house!" Zhang Wenda asked, his expression twisting into a snarl.

"Heh, who isn’t sick in the head when they join the Big Circle? I know it’s your house. Won’t you be more comfortable living in your own home?" As she spoke, Tang Xingxiong tossed something dark over to him.

Zhang Wenda caught it with one hand and saw it was a shrunken old woman’s head, the size of a fist. All its facial features were sewn shut with thread.

The thing was alive. It seemed to be in pain from where Zhang Wenda’s scythe had cut it, as its features were currently twisting as if it were silently cursing him.

"That’s your Yaga Granny. Press its left ear to go forward, its right ear for reverse, and its nose to stop. If it disobeys, just throw it on the ground and stomp on it a couple of times."

Zhang Wenda could tell that the Big Circle’s things were far more sinister than Bureau 507’s. He picked up the little trinket, examined it, and then stuffed it into a black hole in his chest. It was a perfect fit, not too big and not too small.

Tang Xingxiong then walked up to Zhang Wenda, reached out, and gently tapped the nose of the shrunken head. The swaying tenement block suddenly lurched to a halt.

Seeing Zhang Wenda’s lack of enthusiasm, she said, "You must be tired after walking all day. Get some rest today."

"Get out."

"If you need anything, just shout my name to the sky. I’ll hear you."

"Please get out!" Seeing that Zhang Wenda had practically spat the words out through gritted teeth, Tang Xingxiong nodded helplessly.

"Alright, alright. You’re the newcomer, so you get special treatment. Rest well today. We can talk about whatever it is tomorrow."

With that, she started to walk out. She had only taken a couple of steps before she turned back to Zhang Wenda and Song Jianguo. "Oh, and one more thing. To make your life more convenient, we’ve specially renovated the kitchen and bathroom. No need to thank us. Again, it’s the least we could do."

Once Tang Xingxiong had finally left, Zhang Wenda collapsed to the floor like a deflated ball.

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but Zhang Wenda felt his temper seemed to be getting shorter.

’It can’t be happening that fast. It must be my imagination.’ Under the circumstances, all Zhang Wenda could do was try to reassure himself.

He had a nagging feeling that Tang Xingxiong was just stalling for time, waiting for him to be assimilated by the monster, but he had no proof.

Meanwhile, the ever-optimistic Song Jianguo paid no mind to any of this. She was busy exploring their new territory with her black cats. "Haozi, this Big Circle is pretty great, huh? They even gave us a vehicle."

"Hah. Shrewd operators like them don’t do business at a loss. They’ll definitely get it all back from us in the future, with interest." Zhang Wenda walked over to the sink. He was about to wash his face when he noticed there were five faucets.

"Hm?" Zhang Wenda reached out and gave one a gentle twist. With a piercing SCRAPE of metal on metal, thick, steaming-hot white congee flowed out.

He turned it off and opened the next faucet. This time, water came out, but along with it were small fish and shrimp.

"What the hell?! What is this crap?"

Zhang Wenda turned the faucet off again. This was clearly the "renovation" Tang Xingxiong had mentioned. Looking around, he also noticed a door on the left wall. He opened it to find a newly installed toilet.

"This is great stuff! Much better than what Bureau 507 gives you," Song Jianguo commented from the side, looking quite pleased.

"If nothing else, with these changes, we at least won’t have to worry about food and drink inside this tenement block."

She excitedly turned on the faucet and used Zhang Wenda’s washbasin to catch the little fish and shrimp to feed her cats.

"That’s not the point. I don’t like it here. I hate it here," Zhang Wenda said, walking to the sink and staring at his reflection in the mirror.

Song Jianguo grabbed a live shrimp and popped it straight into her mouth. "There’s really no need for that. It’d be a waste not to take such good stuff. Besides, haven’t you noticed? Ever since you started turning into a monster, those ’rule scars’ haven’t appeared on you again."

"That’s because they’re scared now! They know I have the power to fight back! I was right before! Trying to reason with them is useless!"

Seeing Zhang Wenda muttering furiously, Song Jianguo quickly put down the fish. "Hey, hey, hey! Calm down, calm down. You’re getting worked up again."

Zhang Wenda closed his eyes, took a few slow, deep breaths, and opened them again. His previous agitation was gone.

He had to constantly be on guard against the assimilation. He had to correct it the moment he saw the slightest sign. To be honest, it was an awful feeling, but there didn’t seem to be a better solution at the moment.

"Let’s eat."