Infinite Nightmares

The streets were quiet tonight. No cars, no people. Only the moon in the sky kept Zhang Wenda company.

Zhang Wenda reached a crossroads under the moonlight. He stood in the center, unsure of which way to go.

It felt like he could go anywhere, yet nowhere at all.

Just then, a cat meowed. Zhang Wenda looked over and saw it was Black Coal, the little black cat.

He walked in that direction, bent down to pick up Black Coal, and headed east without a second thought.

After walking for about twenty minutes, Zhang Wenda arrived at the base of the telephone pole with the treehouse on it.

"Meow~" At Black Coal’s cry, Auntie poked her head out of the treehouse.

Zhang Wenda waved at her and said with a smile, "I’m homeless. Can you take me in?"

Song Jianguo, who had a single cat ear, popped out from behind Auntie. When she saw Zhang Wenda, she tilted her head toward the treehouse. "Come on up."

As soon as he got up, Auntie came over and gave Zhang Wenda a huge hug, squeezing him so tight he couldn’t breathe.

"I had no idea you had it so rough. My heart aches for you."

"I’m fine, I’m fine. I’d be even better if you let go."

Song Jianguo tsked softly, then also walked over for a perfunctory hug before quickly letting go.

Seeing this, Zhang Wenda’s heart instantly warmed.

That night, Zhang Wenda stayed over in Song Jianguo’s treehouse. The good news was that the cats didn’t reject him this time. He even got a small, short kitty blanket to cover his stomach.

Exhausted from the day’s ordeal, Zhang Wenda lost consciousness not long after lying down.

When he woke up the next day, it was because the "class" rule had jolted him awake with pain. The agony wracking his body made him curl up like a shrimp.

The black cats beside him formed a circle, their big cat eyes staring curiously at Zhang Wenda. They watched him writhe in agony, watched him until he finally passed out from the pain.

He wasn’t out for long this time. A moment later, the pain woke him again.

’It’s gotten worse. This isn’t my imagination, the rule is getting stronger!’ Zhang Wenda confirmed as he felt the pain coursing through him.

"Do you go through this whole routine every morning?" Auntie remarked from the side.

"No, I didn’t used to. Especially not today, since it’s a day off." But now that he fully understood the cause and effect, he no longer felt like explaining.

"I have to go to the Dark Web. Even if it’s dangerous, I must make the trip," Zhang Wenda said decisively.

"I will get rid of this rule on me, no matter the cost!"

Auntie sighed. "I knew you’d say that. Let’s wait. We’ll talk about it when Mimi gets back."

Zhang Wenda wiped the sweat and blood from his face. "Where is she?"

"She went to find a lollipop for you. I heard eating one will stop the pain," Auntie said, picking at her fingernails.

"Really? That’s rare." As Zhang Wenda struggled to lean against the wall, the cats immediately gathered around him, extending their little pink tongues to lick his wounds.

"Kid, Mimi isn’t really that bad. The main thing is I can’t stay by her side for long, so she just hasn’t had anyone to teach her."

"I know."

Hearing Zhang Wenda say that, Auntie continued, "See? She already considers you a friend. That collar around her neck... don’t you think you should take it off for her?"

Even though Auntie often elbowed Song Jianguo, she always saw herself as her elder and was genuinely looking out for her.

"Since I promised her, I’ll definitely do it. It’s just that this whole thing is a bit tricky."

Back then, to prevent Song Jianguo from breaking free of his control, he hadn’t left himself any way out—he’d tossed the key to the lock straight into the Youth Palace’s stomach.

Never mind whether I can even find that Youth Palace; I probably can’t even get into it anymore, just like with the library. Trying to get the key back now would be harder than climbing to heaven.

"Let’s wait. Once I’ve completely dealt with things on my end, then I’ll—" Zhang Wenda was mid-sentence when he suddenly saw Song Jianguo scramble through the entrance, her face filled with terror. "This is bad! Something terrible has happened!"

"Don’t be so dramatic. What’s wrong?" Zhang Wenda asked.

"The place where you buy candy... it’s empty."

"And here I was, wondering what the emergency was." Zhang Wenda climbed up from the floor. "It’s Sunday. The Supply and Marketing Co-op is probably closed. They’re public servants now, you know. They don’t have any of that ’the customer is always right’ nonsense. You’re lucky if they don’t beat you up when they’re in a bad mood."

"No! No!" Song Jianguo didn’t look like she was joking at all. "It’s not just the people, even the stuff is gone! The little building is just an empty shell!"

"What?" Zhang Wenda was stunned. He started to feel that things weren’t so simple. ’Even if they’re closed for the weekend, they wouldn’t pack everything up, right? Don’t they just lock it all inside?’

"Let’s go, we’ll take a look." Zhang Wenda grew serious. This could be a minor issue, or a major one.

He knew that candy could resist the rule’s punishment. If the Supply and Marketing Co-op was gone, he would really have no choice but to endure the pain with his own body every day.

When he led the others to the entrance of the Supply and Marketing Co-op, he was shocked to find that, just as Song Jianguo had said, there was nothing inside. The once dazzling array of snacks and candies was gone, leaving only empty shelves.

"Strange... what’s going on?" Holding a flashlight, Zhang Wenda vaulted over the counter with extreme caution.

He discovered that not only had all the merchandise been moved, but there wasn’t even a single trace left on the floor.

’What happened? Is it just this one Supply and Marketing Co-op, or are all of them like this?’ Just as Zhang Wenda was pondering this, he heard Auntie’s voice from outside.

"Kid, come out here a second. I’ve got a bad feeling. How come there isn’t a single person or car on the street?"

Zhang Wenda’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly ran outside. The once bustling street was now completely empty. Not a single person was in sight, and even the tall smokestack in the distance wasn’t emitting any white smoke.

"What on earth is going on today?" Song Jianguo said, frustrated.

"No, it didn’t start today. It started yesterday!"

Zhang Wenda instantly remembered last night. The street had been just as empty then, but he had assumed it was normal because it was late. He hadn’t noticed at all that something was wrong.

"Yesterday?" Hearing this, the color drained from Auntie’s face.

Although she didn’t say anything, Zhang Wenda felt as if he had already guessed her thoughts. He swallowed hard and asked, "Auntie, is this... is this the paradox you mentioned? The one that happens in the Internet World when you come into contact with your past self?"

Auntie had completely lost her earlier composure. "I... I don’t know! Don’t ask me! I don’t know what form the paradox will take! The only thing I know is that in the Internet World, anyone who encounters a paradox will disappear completely and never be seen again!"