Infinite Nightmares

"Where are they?! Where are they?! Where the hell are they?!"

Zhang Wenda became a blur, darting across the inverted island at incredible speed, searching.

His red rabbit eyes were bloodshot and filled with killing intent.

Under the mushroom’s influence, the Wai began to appear around him, helping him with his frantic search.

However, these rabbits were no longer transparent. They had turned a deep, rich red, their eyes brimming with savagery. Only a sliver of rationality barely kept them from attacking others.

As Zhang Wenda scrambled chaotically through the inverted city of Shanghai, he suddenly froze, perched on an upside-down tree.

His eyes were locked on a bus dangling in the distance, and on the two blurry, hole-ridden figures inside it.

Even though they were far away and indistinct, he recognized their forms instantly.

"I’ve finally found you!!" Zhang Wenda said, grinding his teeth so hard they audibly creaked.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he drew Kopan’s Sacrificial Knife. This time, he could not let them escape. He absolutely would not.

As Zhang Wenda leaped across the telephone poles in pursuit, a black shadow suddenly pounced, landing on him. It swung its right arm in a wide arc, aiming a blow straight at his rabbit head.

SHING! The scythe in Zhang Wenda’s hand snapped open, but when he saw who his attacker was, he simply flung her away with a powerful toss.

Like Tarzan, the airborne Song Jianguo grabbed a long cat leash and swung between them, blocking Zhang Wenda’s path to the bus.

"Get out of my way! This doesn’t concern you!"

Song Jianguo glanced at the Sacrificial Knife in Zhang Wenda’s hand, her brow furrowed. "How does it not concern me? Weren’t you the one who begged me to snap you out of it if you ever had an episode? I’m just fulfilling my duty."

Zhang Wenda had no time for talk. He became a blur and shot toward the distant bus. He’d barely taken a few steps when a massive net woven from countless Black Cats descended upon him.

"Form a ball! Trap him! Black Coal, bite his leg!" Song Jianguo commanded from the side.

But Zhang Wenda wasn’t fighting alone. A flood of endlessly cloning Wai Rabbits surged forth, stretching the net to its breaking point.

While the Black Cats were overwhelmed, Zhang Wenda’s Red Core flared for an instant, and he easily slipped out of their encirclement.

Just as Zhang Wenda broke free and was about to charge forward, a cry from Song Jianguo rooted him to the spot.

"Have you forgotten what your uncle told you? You promised him—you promised you wouldn’t go down his path! Do you want to disappoint him? He’s watching you from the stars right now!"

While Zhang Wenda was frozen in place, Song Jianguo ran up to him, panting. Staring him down, she said, "Haven’t we grown up? Why are you still acting like this? You’re like a lunatic!"

SMACK! She finally landed the slap she’d been itching to deliver.

Zhang Wenda didn’t say anything, but the savage light in his eyes slowly faded.

Seeing that he wasn’t responding, Song Jianguo walked over, tugged at his rabbit paw with a look of distaste, and said with feigned nonchalance, "Hey, come on, let’s go. Time to head back."

The Black Cats also gathered around, rubbing against Zhang Wenda’s legs and meowing.

When Zhang Wenda still didn’t move, Song Jianguo forcefully let go of his rabbit paw. "Fine, don’t come back. I can’t be bothered with you."

With that, Song Jianguo stomped off with her Black Cats in a huff. But she didn’t get far before she turned to look back at Zhang Wenda.

After a long moment, Zhang Wenda finally moved, walking briskly toward the Bureau 507 headquarters.

"Hey, where are you going? Hey!" Song Jianguo yelled after his retreating figure. When he didn’t stop, she broke into a run to catch up.

It was half an hour later when Zhang Wenda once again arrived at Tan Yougen’s office.

"What? You want to resign?"

Tan Yougen stared at Zhang Wenda in surprise. This was completely outside his calculations; the situation was veering off-script.

"Have you forgotten how hard you fought to join Bureau 507? Don’t you want to avenge Biaozi anymore?"

Zhang Wenda ignored his persuasion, his gaze fixed on the brown wooden floorboards. "Stop the act. I don’t know what you’re planning, and I can’t guess. Either way, I’m done."

"Don’t be so childish. Your parents are just trying to do what’s best for you." Tan Yougen took a drag from his cigarette, studying Zhang Wenda’s micro-expressions through the veil of white smoke.

"For my own good?" Zhang Wenda let out a bitter laugh. "Back when I hadn’t been out in the real world yet, I used to think strangers were terrifying. But after being out there and seeing things for myself, I’ve realized that compared to my own parents, everyone else is a saint!"

"The worst other people will do is exploit me or look down on me. They won’t try to forcibly control my life!"

"Even Tang Xingxiong, even Qianxi! They at least don’t attack me while hypocritically claiming it’s for my own good!"

Tan Yougen leaned back slightly, pulling away from the rising volume of Zhang Wenda’s voice.

He waited until Zhang Wenda had finished before speaking in a grave, earnest tone. "To be honest, I was in the wrong here. I didn’t tell you right away. I shouldn’t have kept it from you."

Tan Yougen ran a hand through his white hair, as if he’d just made a momentous decision. "Alright. If you don’t want your parents controlling your life, then fine. That assignment in the Armaments Department—I’ll turn it down for you. There are eight departments in Bureau 507. How about you take your pick from any of the others?"

Seeing Zhang Wenda shake his head, Tan Yougen quickly added, "Furthermore, I guarantee I won’t allow them to enter the Third Line’s territory from now on. And I will have absolutely no contact with them."

"And I promise, if the Bureau makes a move against Qianxi and Tang Xingxiong, I’ll make sure you’re part of it. How does that sound?"

Hearing these terms, Zhang Wenda finally relented and dropped his insistence on resigning.

’I can’t be impulsive. I have to think rationally. No matter what Old Tan is planning, I can’t leave the Third Line right now. If I want to avenge my uncle, I have to use the power available to me.’

After their conversation, Zhang Wenda lost all interest in staying. He turned to leave but was stopped by Tan Yougen.

"Wenda, do you know what the ’three lines’ of the Third Line are?"

Zhang Wenda frowned at him. Tan Yougen then pulled up his sleeve, revealing three colors.

"Red, blue, and yellow. It’s best if these three lines are kept in balance. It’s not a good thing if any one of them is too long or too short. The same is true for people."

As he spoke, he glanced at the three colored lines on Zhang Wenda’s rabbit fur. The obviously overgrown red line looked disharmonious next to the blue and yellow.

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