Infinite Nightmares

"Who is it?" Hearing Song Jianguo, Zhang Wenda walked out of the room and immediately saw a woman standing outside the door.

She was a slender woman who looked as though a gust of wind could knock her over—a hundred pounds at most. Yet her sharp, intimidating eyes instantly gave her a commanding presence.

The woman would have been beautiful, but two burn scars on her face had completely ruined her features. Those gruesome scars, combined with her eyes, told Zhang Wenda at a single glance that this was no ordinary person.

The black combat uniform she wore, along with the Bureau 507 insignia, confirmed her identity. Below the insignia were three stars.

"Hello, who are you looking for?" Zhang Wenda came to the doorway, sizing her up.

"Zhang Wenda? Tan Yougen sent me." Her voice was ice-cold, devoid of any warmth.

Hearing this, a thought struck Zhang Wenda. ’Tan Yougen? Is this the person he found to help me pass Trial #2?’

’Looks like I was right. For the sake of his plan, Old Tan was unusually efficient. They got here so fast.’

Before he could figure out what to say, she walked assertively into the room without waiting for a reply and sat down on a stool.

Glancing at her watch, she spoke again. "I’m Li Chengying. I don’t have much time. You get three questions. Ask what you need to, and make it quick."

Hearing this, Zhang Wenda knew immediately that she wasn’t one for pleasantries. He promptly sat down in front of her. She was direct, so he wouldn’t dawdle.

"Alright. First question: I’ve recovered my blue, but I can’t figure out how to use it. I’d like to ask how you learned to control yours, so I have a reference."

"What did you gain after you acquired your blue?" she retorted coldly, looking at Zhang Wenda.

Zhang Wenda paused for a moment before answering, "Rationality? You could also say intelligence. And the problem I had with my red going out of control has been completely resolved."

"Your power is an extension of your blue ability. Look for your breakthrough from that angle." As Li Chengying spoke, she glanced at her watch again, seeming to be in a great hurry.

Zhang Wenda frowned slightly. "That’s it? So vague? Can you be a little more specific?"

’You call that a hint? I could have guessed that much myself.’

"Everyone’s path in #2 is different. I can only give you a general direction. If you’re really stuck, I can tell you the brute-force method: go through all the abilities you possess, one by one, and see if anything about them has changed."

’Well, that’s a marginally useful hint,’ Zhang Wenda thought. ’All that time I spent shooting the breeze with Tan Yougen wasn’t a complete waste after all.’

"Hold on a second, let me try." Zhang Wenda stood up. His fingers rapidly elongated as he began testing his abilities one by one, starting with his control over red, feeling for any subtle differences.

He didn’t have that many abilities, so running through all of them only took a few minutes. However, he didn’t find anything unusual with any of them.

He gave Li Chengying a suspicious glance, wondering if she was just messing with him.

’That’s impossible,’ Zhang Wenda quickly decided. ’The situation is far too grim. Tan Yougen wouldn’t have the time or inclination to play games with me.’

He calmed himself and started testing everything again, one by one, not overlooking even the most unlikely details.

Just as he was about to take out his key and visit his Inner Self Island to search for clues, his hand froze in front of his forehead. "Huh? Where’s my key?"

Ever since the scalpless Soviet had given him the key, it had always floated between his eyebrows, visible only to him.

But now, the key that could open his Inner World was gone.

As Zhang Wenda realized this, scenes from his past flashed in reverse, finally stopping on the moment he left the hospital and came into contact with his blue self. The small, blue version of Zhang Wenda had a key hanging around his neck!

Zhang Wenda remembered that key. When he was little, he was afraid of losing it, so he wore his house key on a string around his neck instead of keeping it in his pocket like the adults.

But the key he wore around his neck as a child wasn’t blue.

The moment Zhang Wenda remembered the blue key around the young Zhang Wenda’s neck, blue starlight began to gather, and the image in his mind gradually materialized before him.

A key, identical to his childhood house key but colored blue, spun slowly as it floated in front of Zhang Wenda.

When Zhang Wenda touched the blue key with the sharp sickle of his finger, the sky-blue key melted like a hot knife through butter, fusing with the sickle and turning it blue.

Seeing this, an idea sparked in Zhang Wenda’s mind. He raised the blue sickle and swiped it gently through the empty air beside him. The pink island appeared before him once again.

The Little Black Cats by the island saw Zhang Wenda and greeted him happily. He could see they had rolled down their sleeves and pant legs; they weren’t hot anymore.

Zhang Wenda stared thoughtfully at the blue sickle. He didn’t think it was this simple. It couldn’t be that after all this trouble, its ability was the same as the old key’s—only able to open his own Inner World.

This time, Zhang Wenda had a better idea of what to do. He once again used the brute-force method, continuously testing the blue sickle. After a few quick experiments, he aimed it at Song Jianguo, and something different happened. A new island appeared before him.

Zhang Wenda could tell this island was new, and not his own, because its surface was significantly flatter.

It was only then that Zhang Wenda finally understood his blue ability. His key could now not only open his own Inner World, but it could also open others’! This was the true power he had gained from his blue.

Instantly, countless ways to use this ability against his enemies flooded Zhang Wenda’s mind.

For example, he could destroy someone’s Prefrontal Strait to give them total amnesia. Or he could kill their Little Black Cats, making them lose control of their emotions. Or he could capture the black dog from his own island and throw it onto someone else’s.

Other applications popped into his head one after another. This blue ability was different from his red one. It didn’t just enhance his combat power; it was a delicate tool that required intellect. Used correctly, it would be immensely powerful.