Infinite Nightmares

It was the same jeep with the green canvas top. Zhang Wenda, Song Jianguo, and Auntie sat in the back, Saber was driving, and Tang Xingxiong sat in the front passenger seat.

Watching the three crows peck at the glowing trinkets in their nest, Zhang Wenda guessed that this time, Tang Xingxiong was genuinely going to help him.

Whether he was doing it to get on better terms or had some other motive, only Tang Xingxiong himself knew.

Besides, under the circumstances, refusing would be a clear admission that there was a problem with his identity.

He was the kind of person who would trade a child for intel, so to then turn down an offer of help would be far too suspicious.

"Where are we off to now? We barely got any rest..." Song Jianguo grumbled, leaning against Auntie.

Zhang Wenda glanced at her, then opened his hand to look at the folded piece of paper.

He didn’t want it, but agonizing over that was useless now. ’Better to just gather intelligence quickly and plan for what’s next.’

’I need to figure out a way to get the information from here to the Third Line.’

He placed the paper on his lap and carefully scraped it open with the edge of the hole on the back of his hand. A few simple sentences appeared before him.

"Primal Heart 361: You must share your pain within Thought Wave One or Thought Wave Four. Learn to use the bodies of others to bear your suffering. Recreate your experiences in them. The more you recreate, the stronger you will become."

With a SHLICK, the paper in Zhang Wenda’s hand was instantly sliced into strips.

Noticing Tang Xingxiong’s crow looking over from the passenger seat, Zhang Wenda slowly lowered his hand, suppressing his shock and pretending nothing had happened.

Yet the words on the paper sent his mind into turmoil. He had never imagined that this would be the condition for strengthening his monstrous Primal Heart!

"What’s wrong? You seem confused," Tang Xingxiong’s voice chimed in at just the right moment.

"I’m just curious. Who do you suppose compiles all this nonsense?" Zhang Wenda replied, feigning nonchalance.

"You have your strengths, and others have theirs." Tang Xingxiong’s crow tilted its head and hopped in front of Zhang Wenda.

Just as Zhang Wenda’s thoughts were a tangled mess, a large, furry hand landed on his shoulder. "Kid, I have to go."

When Zhang Wenda turned, he saw Auntie, now shrunk to about his size, looking at him apologetically.

"Do you have to leave right now? I’m kind of busy here."

"Ah, I can’t help it. It’s all up to Mimi. Stop the car, stop the car."

Tang Xingxiong seemed to realize what sort of being Auntie was, as he didn’t try to stop her from leaving.

Auntie gave Song Jianguo a gentle hug, then said to Zhang Wenda, "No matter what happens, protect her! And you, be careful."

"Well... It’ll be a whole month ’til I see you again. How about a hug for me, too? I’ll miss you," Zhang Wenda said, opening his arms.

"You?" Auntie gave him a hesitant, appraising look before stepping forward for a hug. As she did, she felt Zhang Wenda quickly tuck a tiny cat under her skirt.

Auntie understood at once and said nothing. Clamping her legs together to hold the cat, she stood by the road and, with a delicate, almost theatrical flick of her wrist, flagged down a yellow taxi van and climbed inside.

Watching the taxi disappear from sight, Zhang Wenda felt no sense of relief. Auntie’s departure only made an already grim situation worse.

But Zhang Wenda knew that in this situation, it didn’t matter if he ran or not; this was an ordeal he had to get through.

He had no idea if 2826 could find someone who could understand ’cat language’ to get the message from the kitten. ’All I can do now is try my best.’

"Quit stalling. Drive," Zhang Wenda said to Saber, who had one hand on the steering wheel. Then, he turned to Tang Xingxiong.

"It’s time. You can tell me now, can’t you? What exactly are we doing? And how are you going to help me get stronger?"

"Getting antsy, are we? I thought you’d be able to hold out for the entire ride." Tang Xingxiong lit a thin cigarette, placed it in the crow’s beak, and began to smoke.

"Your condition is a bit tricky. It has to be done within Thought Wave One or Thought Wave Four. Good thing I’m here to help. If you were on your own, it wouldn’t be so easy."

Quickly connecting this to his own mission, Zhang Wenda played along. "Thanks. I owe you one. I’ll pay you back."

"Remember what you said. Don’t forget."

"Right. So, where are we going to find enough people to ’share’ my pain with?"

"Our mortal enemies, of course. The Third Line."

At Tang Xingxiong’s words, Zhang Wenda fell silent. Hu Maomao had been right. The second mission really was designed to make him an irredeemable enemy of the Third Line.

It seemed the Third Line was in the clear, then. But this was no cause for celebration. A much bigger problem now lay before him: he was about to use the lives of his future colleagues as a pledge of loyalty to the Big Circle!

He had planned on asking Hu Maomao how she’d managed to get out of this part of the initiation when he got back to the Big Circle, but he never thought it would come up so fast.

"So what’s the plan, exactly? I can hardly wait," Zhang Wenda asked, pushing for details.

"There’s a hidden Bureau 507 stronghold in Thought Wave One. We’re going to take it out. You need people to practice on, so it kills two birds with one stone," Tang Xingxiong laid it all out.

"We’re that powerful? I thought we usually had to sneak around to avoid Bureau 507 for even the smallest illegal things. And now we’re just going to wipe out one of their strongholds?"

Catching the implication in Zhang Wenda’s words, Tang Xingxiong chuckled. "The past is the past. We used to hide, but not anymore. In fact, the bigger the scene we make, the better."

"Why?"

Tang Xingxiong ignored the question. "There are some things you don’t need to know yet. When you’re qualified, you’ll be told."

"Are you sure it’s a Third Line stronghold? I’d hate for us to be acting on bad intel. We’d be in serious trouble if we walked into a trap," Zhang Wenda pressed, trying to get more details.

"I’m very sure."

"Why?"

Tang Xingxiong remained silent, but Saber, who hadn’t spoken the entire time, answered.

"Because the Big Circle itself is a splinter group that broke away from the Third Line. We’re familiar with their typical layouts and habits. It’s not hard to find them if we do a little digging."

Zhang Wenda’s ears perked up. "What? The Big Circle came from the Third Line?"

Seeing Tang Xingxiong’s silence as tacit agreement, Saber continued, "Just a faction. After Bureau 749 was disbanded, some of the laid-off members went on to form the original Big Circle."