Infinite Nightmares

Once he returned to his place, laden with gains, Zhang Wenda eagerly began a new round of self-training.

Constantly controlling his thoughts was incredibly difficult for Zhang Wenda at first. A person’s mind generates all sorts of ideas at every moment, but now he had to do everything he could to stop them. It went against all human instinct.

When he first got back, Song Jianguo thought Zhang Wenda had been beaten stupid. He was completely dazed, and he’d walk straight into walls with a blank stare.

Zhang Wenda trained day and night. Outside of essential activities, he spent all his time controlling his consciousness. Even his meals were bought by Song Jianguo, who couldn’t bear to watch him any longer.

While he was eating, Song Jianguo seemed to be saying something with a look of complete dissatisfaction. Zhang Wenda was about to listen to what she had to say. Fortunately, he immediately crushed that thought in his mind with a splash of red, so he hadn’t delayed his training. ’I’m so brilliant.’

Under these conditions, Zhang Wenda made rapid progress. The periods he could maintain a clear and empty mind grew longer and longer, and in sync with this, his Blue Core was also slowly expanding.

With such great results, Zhang Wenda really couldn’t understand why Ouyang Shuangdian thought this training could drive someone insane.

As more and more time passed, Zhang Wenda’s perception of it grew increasingly vague.

He had no idea how long this went on, but Zhang Wenda was jolted out of his training by a phone call. "Answer the phone. Answer the phone. Don’t think about anything else. Answer the phone. Hello? Who is this?"

"It’s me," came Ouyang Shuangdian’s voice from the phone. "Since you’ve been with the Security Department for a while now, isn’t it about time you got to work?"

"Besides, this is what the Old Russians want. Training on missions is more effective than being cooped up at home all day."

"My teacher’s idea?" Zhang Wenda was a bit skeptical. He suspected she was just annoyed he was getting a free paycheck and wanted to find something for him to do.

However, Zhang Wenda didn’t refuse. After all, a salary of 120,000 a month was high no matter where you were. You have to do the job you’re paid for. Bureau 507 wasn’t going to let him lie at home and collect a free salary.

"Fine. I’ve had enough rest anyway. What does the department need me to do?"

"Go to the Depot and find Shuisheng. For now, you’ll be working with his team. Your cousin is on that team too."

"Wait, why would you put me on the same team as her? Right now, she and I are—" Before Zhang Wenda could finish, she cut in with a "No need to thank me" and hung up.

She clearly didn’t know about the conflict between Zhang Wenda and Wang Xiaohua. She probably thought she’d done him a real favor.

Listening to the dial tone, Zhang Wenda helplessly put down his phone. He could already imagine how awkward things were about to get.

He stuffed his phone into his pocket and said to Song Jianguo, who was lying on the bed, "Let’s go, temp. Time to get to work."

Song Jianguo, who had been sprawled out on the bed like a corpse, shot up three feet in the air. "Finally, something to do! I was bored to death! Where are we going? Who are we killing?"

Back when she was catching mice, Song Jianguo used to love having time off. But these past few days of doing nothing, just watching Haozi act like a lunatic at home, had left her so pent-up she felt like she was going to die.

Zhang Wenda didn’t know where this so-called Depot was, but Song Jianguo did. She had explored nearly the entire area during this time.

In a spacious building with people on both the floor and the ceiling, Zhang Wenda saw Wang Xiaohua in formation, along with the captain who had once slapped her—the middle-aged man with prominent smile lines, Wanli Shuisheng.

The team had eight members in total—three women and five men. All of them had human heads. They wore sleek black combat uniforms and stood in a single line, listening to Shuisheng lecture them with his hands behind his back.

After a moment’s thought, Zhang Wenda walked over, pulled Song Jianguo into the line with them, and was immediately met with strange looks from everyone.

"You’re Zhang Wenda, right? The Director told me about your situation. You can be at ease; you don’t need to stand with them." Wanli Shuisheng’s tone was neither distant nor enthusiastic. All in all, it was fine.

"Alright then." To be honest, Zhang Wenda wasn’t quite used to this militaristic style. He led Song Jianguo to a chair on the side and sat down to listen.

However, the other man stopped talking and instead had Wang Xiaohua and the others begin checking their equipment.

Watching the eight of them, with their multiple vials of Liquid Death and various bizarre weapons and gear, Zhang Wenda asked again, "Is this mission going to be dangerous?"

Shuisheng glanced at Zhang Wenda, then at Song Jianguo. "It’s fine. Not dangerous. Just stick with me when the time comes. We’ll move together."

Through the glass, they saw a helicopter with two human legs slowly descending. Everyone fell into formation and began walking toward the exit to board it.

Once they were on the aircraft, Shuisheng began to shout his briefing again over the roar of the rotors. From their conversation, Zhang Wenda gathered that this was clearly a combat mission.

But that made sense. This was a combat team, so of course their missions would primarily involve engagement.

As for who or what organization they were supposed to attack, they didn’t say, and no one explained it to him. The more Zhang Wenda watched, the more he felt something was off.

They were polite on the surface, not making him stand in formation or listen to the lecture, but they didn’t treat him as one of their own.

They were comrades who relied on each other for their very lives, while he was just a temp brought in to fill a slot.

Glancing at Wang Xiaohua’s profile, Zhang Wenda thought he understood why. He had royally pissed her off; it was impossible to expect her to put in a good word for him with her teammates.

He looked down at the rabbit fur on his head and the cat ears on Song Jianguo’s, then at their standardized combat uniforms. He and his companion clearly didn’t fit the same aesthetic.

When Shuisheng went up to the cockpit, the atmosphere in the cabin became less tense. Some people even started speaking in low voices.

Still, no one spoke to Zhang Wenda. They didn’t even glance his way, talking only within their own Small Circle.

Zhang Wenda had no intention of trying to cozy up to people giving him the cold shoulder. If he couldn’t blend in, so be it. He told Song Jianguo to wake him when they arrived, then closed his eyes and slowly began to crush the stray thoughts in his mind, resuming his training.

Perhaps it was because he was on an airplane, but Zhang Wenda’s training session went exceptionally well this time. He maintained a state of complete mental emptiness for a very, very long time.

When he came to his senses again, the helicopter’s vibrations had stopped. Everyone else was gone from the cabin, leaving only the two of them and a group of cats.

Zhang Wenda looked down at Song Jianguo, only to find her half-buried in his rabbit fur, fast asleep. Her mouth hung open as she drooled, sleeping as soundly as could be.

"Jianguo! What’s going on? Weren’t you supposed to wake me? Where is everyone?" Zhang Wenda grabbed her arm and shook her awake.

Rubbing her eyes, a disgruntled Song Jianguo turned to the Black Cat beside her and said, "Blackie! What’s going on! Weren’t you supposed to wake me? Where is everyone?"

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