Infinite Nightmares

Hu Maomao wasn’t particularly surprised after Zhang Wenda finished explaining everything.

"This is a good thing. You’ll have a stable job at the Armory Department, and I won’t have to worry about your safety anymore."

Hearing this, Zhang Wenda angrily slammed his rice bowl down on the table. "Can you stop treating me like a kid? For all you know, I’m stronger than you are now."

When he saw Hu Maomao reach up and take off her tinfoil hat, Zhang Wenda immediately backed down, pressing his palms together in a placating gesture.

"Auntie, I was wrong, okay? Auntie, I was wrong! I’m not talking about the job. I’m saying this business with Old Tan feels wrong."

Zhang Wenda hesitated for a moment before continuing, "It’s like... it feels like someone forced him to do it. Knowing his personality, he would never waste a heavy-hitter like me on a desk job."

"Don’t think so poorly of Uncle Tan. It’s perfectly normal for him to want to help you. After all, you have combat merits. No one can ever figure out what he’s thinking, but he has genuinely given his all for the Third Line." Hu Maomao picked up a piece of meat and placed it in Song Jianguo’s bowl.

"Him? Hah. I don’t buy it."

Zhang Wenda shook his head as he ate. ’This isn’t over. I have to get to the bottom of this. In any case, there’s no way I’m accepting that job.’

’If I’m really stuck in a cushy job like that for a year or two, forget about getting stronger—my combat experience will probably atrophy to nothing.’

"Don’t get ahead of yourself. I’ll ask around and see if anything can be done."

Hearing Hu Maomao’s offer, Zhang Wenda looked at her gratefully. "Thanks, Maomao."

His gratitude was genuine. To be blunt, she wasn’t really related to him at all—at most, she was a friend of his late uncle. Yet she always went out of her way to help him with everything.

"It’s ’Auntie.’ And if you really want to thank me, you shouldn’t show up at people’s doors during dinner. Or at the very least, bring a gift when you do."

"No problem. I’ll remember that."

Just as Zhang Wenda and Song Jianguo finished their meal and stepped outside, they saw 2826 waiting at the door. "What are you doing here? I’ve been looking all over for you. Come with me."

"What is it now?" Zhang Wenda asked, surprised.

"That Double Fish Jade Pendant of yours is extremely dangerous. Come with me to the armory at once. It needs a full inspection, and we have to establish protocols for its use."

"It’s always something," Zhang Wenda muttered, but he glanced at the file in his hand and decided to follow him to the armory.

’Since I’m part of the Armory Department now, maybe I can score something good over there. After all, I’d never believe for a second that Bureau 507 doesn’t have any amazing stuff.’

"By the way, are you Old Tan’s personal surveillance camera or something? How does he know everything that happens on my end?"

"Is that a bad thing? The Director is just concerned about you."

"Ugh, spare me. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have brought you along last time."

As the two of them were talking, they arrived at the noisy main hall of the Third Line, and a wave of sound washed over them instantly.

Most of it was just noise, but then, the voices of two people walking past caught Zhang Wenda’s ear.

"Hey, did you see them? Those two from this morning were so weird. They were conjoined."

"The ones with scythes for fingers? Keep it down. They seem to have some kind of special clearance. They got to meet with Director Tan directly."

Those two sentences struck Zhang Wenda’s mind like a pair of sledgehammers, freezing him in place. An irrepressible rage surged up from deep within, incinerating every last shred of his reason.

He tried to suppress it, but the thought of that conjoined, monstrous creature with scythes trying to control his life once again was too much to bear.

In the blink of an eye, 2826 realized Zhang Wenda had vanished. A white gale shot down the intersecting corridors, heading straight for Tan Yougen’s office.

With a loud CRASH, the wooden door was smashed open. Tan Yougen and a portly old man who was speaking with him both looked up at the same time.

"Was it them? Was it THEM?! Did they come and tell you something? Is that why you’re sending me to the Armory Department?!" As Zhang Wenda’s killing intent flared, long spikes uncontrollably burst from his white rabbit fur.

Tan Yougen glared at Zhang Wenda, his face a mask of displeasure. "Do you know how to knock? I have no idea what you’re talking about. And can’t you see I’m in a meeting? Now, get out!"

SLAM! Zhang Wenda threw the file in his hand onto the desk.

"They’ve tortured me for half my life! What more do they want?! Now they’re trying to control my job, is that it? Whoever the fuck wants this desk job can have it! Fire me if you want, I don’t care!"

"I’ll kill them! I’LL KILL THEM!" With that roar, Zhang Wenda blurred into an afterimage and vanished on the spot.

Utterly unfazed by Zhang Wenda’s outburst, the portly old man accepted the cigarette Tan Yougen offered him. "So, this is the one you were telling me about?"

"Mhm," Tan Yougen nodded. "The kid’s got spirit. Reminds me of Old Zhang back in the day."

"He’s Old Zhang’s kid. Isn’t this going a bit too far? Do you really need to play mind games with a junior?"

The portly man took a drag from his cigarette. "If you didn’t want his parents to know he was in mortal danger, would they have come here to raise a fuss? If you really wanted to keep their visit a secret, do you think the kid would’ve ever found out?"

"I never intended to hide it from him. The kid’s sharp. Once he cools down, he’ll figure it out on his own."

The portly man pointed at Tan Yougen with the lit end of his cigarette. "You and your schemes... So what if he figures it out? He still fell right into your trap in the end, didn’t he?"

Tan Yougen just smiled. "I’m helping him. If he kept bottling this up, it would have caused major problems sooner or later. Better for me to help him lance the boil before it bursts."

"Right, right, you’ve got an answer for everything. No one can ever win an argument with you. It’s no wonder I’m your only friend." The portly man shot him a sideways glance and snatched the half-empty pack of cigarettes from his hand.

"Seriously? You, the Director, have the nerve to snatch cigarettes from me, your Deputy Director? Isn’t your salary a pay grade higher than mine?"

After taking another drag, the portly man narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Tan Yougen. "Old Tan, we’ve confirmed it. That high-ranking Big Circle officer you killed... the one who led the raid on Bureau 507 headquarters... was your second son."

The hand Tan Yougen was using to hold his cigarette trembled slightly. His mouth opened as if to say something, but then it closed again. He turned to look out the window. "Oh. I see..."

The portly man reached out and gently patted his old partner’s shoulder. Without saying a word, he turned and left.

Tan Yougen remained staring out the window, lost in some memory, until the cigarette burned down to his fingers, scalding him back to the present.

He calmly placed the cigarette butt in the ashtray, then picked up the landline on his desk and dialed.

"Hello? It’s me, Tan Yougen. Have Unit 01 keep an eye on Zhang Wenda. Don’t let him get into any real trouble."

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