Infinite Nightmares

"We’ve got a job." Ouyang Shuangdian’s words made Zhang Wenda’s heart sink. He instinctively glanced at the wall, at the chess set now hidden behind a cute cat poster, recalling the move with which he had once sold himself out.

Zhang Wenda forced himself to remain calm, trying to keep any hint of distress out of his voice. "What kind of job? Where are we going? What’s the objective?"

"Are you my superior, or am I yours? What’s with all the questions? You’re in the combat group; all you have to do is obey orders. Your new ability will come in handy on this mission. Rendezvous at the airport in half an hour."

Zhang Wenda pressed down on Song Jianguo’s head as he leaned over curiously, then spoke again. "Wait, what exactly is the mission? Can I sit this one out?"

"Don’t you go making trouble for me. Don’t forget, I cleaned up your mess last time, and it took a lot of effort." After those words, which brooked no argument, the line went dead with a series of beeps.

Frowning deeply, Zhang Wenda slipped the phone back into his jacket, biting his thumbnail as he thought. ’This is probably going to be a real mess.’

Judging by Ouyang’s tone, he had no choice but to go this time.

It wasn’t the danger of the mission that he feared. It was the possibility that this was another one of Tan Yougen’s schemes to trade him—the knight—for one of the enemy’s cannons.

’I’m already a target for Qianxi, yet they’re sending me on a mission right now? The more I think about it, the more suspicious this whole thing gets.’

Zhang Wenda knew that a direct refusal was out of the question. For one, Ouyang Shuangdian wouldn’t let it slide. For another, Old Tan must have anticipated this and probably had a contingency plan ready for him.

’If I go along with their plan for now, at least I’ll retain some degree of control and can make my own preparations.’

After a moment’s thought, Zhang Wenda headed for the door.

A few minutes later, Zhang Wenda knocked on a familiar door. Hu Maomao, her face covered in cucumber slices, opened it and tilted her head back to look up at him, her tone full of annoyance. "You’re here every day? Why don’t you just move in at this point?"

"I’m not here to freeload a meal. This is actually urgent." Zhang Wenda glanced behind him, and only after confirming he wasn’t being followed did he hurry inside.

Once inside, Zhang Wenda looked at Hu Maomao with a very serious expression. "Auntie, can I trust you?"

Hearing this, Hu Maomao, who was floating with her legs crossed in mid-air, frowned. "Spit it out. What’s wrong?"

Seeing her no-nonsense attitude, Zhang Wenda gave her the short version of the entire situation.

"That can’t be right. Director Tan wouldn’t go to such lengths to deal with a junior member like you." Hu Maomao still sounded skeptical after hearing him out.

"He wouldn’t? Think about it, how many times has he screwed me over already? They say you learn from your mistakes, but how many times have I fallen for his tricks? I’d rather this be a false alarm, but I have to be prepared just in case."

"So why are you coming to me with this? Do you want me to plead your case to the higher-ups?" Hu Maomao asked.

"No. The moment you say anything, Tan Yougen will just change his plan. His schemes are always in flux." Zhang Wenda stopped abruptly and walked nervously over to the window.

"There’s no need for that. Have you forgotten what my old job was? No one can eavesdrop while I’m here."

That may have been true, but Zhang Wenda still went to the window and drew the curtains, causing the room to grow considerably darker.

Zhang Wenda walked back and said in a lowered voice, "I know your abilities make you an expert at gathering intelligence. I need you to help me keep an eye on things at the Bureau. If there’s any large-scale operation or any other unusual movements, you have to tell me beforehand."

"If Old Tan really is about to close his net, then I—the bait—can slip out before it’s too late."

Hu Maomao thought for a silent moment. As a veteran of Bureau 507, she finally said, "Wenda, I’m just saying... what if? What if Director Tan’s plan this time is pivotal to the entire war effort, and could even wipe out the Big Circle? Wouldn’t you want to do your part for that?"

"Even if that’s the case, it has to be my own choice, made after I know the full picture—not just being kept in the dark and played for a fool."

Hu Maomao studied the young man before her. ’The little kid I knew seems to have grown up so much without me even realizing it.’ "Alright, I’ll keep an eye on things for you here. If anything happens, I’ll share it with you telepathically."

"That’s great! You’re the best, Auntie! If I make it back alive, I’ll treat you to dinner!" After saying this, Zhang Wenda turned and rushed out the door.

Time was tight. By the time he and Song Jianguo got to the airport, their flight was already about to take off. The rotors on the gunship carrying Shuisheng, Wang Xiaohua, and the others were already spinning.

He had just gotten on board and was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he was surprised to see 2826 also sitting inside, dressed in full combat gear.

"What are you doing here?" Zhang Wenda asked in surprise.

"Do I not have the right to be here?" 2826 retorted.

"Yeah, you don’t." Hearing this, 2826 looked like he was about to faint from rage, his finger trembling as he pointed at Zhang Wenda.

At that moment, Wang Xiaohua quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "Wenda, I’m the one who invited him. He’s been applying to join the combat group, and we were a person short recently, weren’t we? So I had him join our team."

"Why did it have to be him? You’ve never worked with him before. He’s a liability we have to babysit. Get him off this helicopter, now."

"I told you, I’ve been working hard! I never slacked off! I went through the official review and passed the tests to join the front-line combat unit!"

Just then, Shuisheng, who had been on the side, also spoke up. "His Spectral Technique is actually pretty good. He knows a wide variety of them. And while he might be a little slow, some of the utility applications are a huge help in combat."

Hearing this, Zhang Wenda didn’t have much else to say. "Fine. Just stay in the back and provide ranged support later."

In truth, it wasn’t that he looked down on 2826; he just genuinely didn’t want him to be part of such a dangerous mission.

’With one of Tan Yougen’s plans, God only knows what unexpected twists there might be.’

Zhang Wenda sighed to himself. In a situation like this, all he could do was take it one step at a time.

"So, where are we off to this time?" Zhang Wenda asked.

In response, he saw Shuisheng raise a single finger. "Thought Wave One."

’What?!’ Just as Zhang Wenda thought he must have misheard, the world outside began to quietly change, as if they had passed through some kind of barrier.

The prefabricated city of the present began to fade away, as if a sunset filter had been laid over everything. A familiar scent filled the air, and all the things he had slowly begun to forget materialized once more before his eyes.

Looking down through the window, he saw them all reappear, one by one: the concrete elephant slide, the flat water tower shaped like a flying saucer, the old red-brick residential blocks, and the Youth Palace with music drifting from its walls.