Infinite Nightmares

At Zhang Wenda's words, Shuisheng and the others looked confused. However, they had built up a trust in him over several missions, so even though they didn't understand, they stopped what they were doing.

Pan Dongzi, however, had no intention of listening. He immediately spun around to run, but in the next second, Zhang Wenda was blocking his path. Trying to keep his tone even, he said, "Dongzi, I'm really here to save you. Come back with me right now, and I'll explain everything later."

"No! I'm not going back!" Pan Dongzi roared hysterically, causing Zhang Wenda's brow to furrow.

'What's with this guy? He's completely out of control. He won't listen to a word I say. Trying to get through to him is exhausting.'

He glanced at 2826, who had hurried over. "You guys go get the door open. I'll deal with him."

'If he won't listen to reason, then I guess it's time for some action.' Zhang Wenda's arms rapidly transformed into a pair of sharp claws that glinted coldly.

In the next second, Zhang Wenda became a blur, lunging forward. By the time he was in front of Pan Dongzi, he had fully transformed into the sickle monster—only this time, his body was whole, without the holes from before.

As Pan Dongzi swung his arm, Zhang Wenda leaped up, planting a hand on the incoming limb. He bent his right leg and brought his knee crashing down viciously on Pan Dongzi's head.

With a dull THUD, Pan Dongzi's head snapped back, but he'd somehow taken the blow. Zhang Wenda hadn't expected that.

But he had only just managed to take it. Getting serious, Zhang Wenda kicked out with his right foot.

Pan Dongzi's whole head snapped upward from the force of the blow, and a spray of blood and several teeth flew through the air.

After everything he'd been through, and empowered by the vast amount of red that fortified his body, Zhang Wenda was far beyond what a rookie like Pan Dongzi could ever hope to resist.

The kick knocked Pan Dongzi senseless. Zhang Wenda whistled to his left, and a giant net woven from the Black Cats fell over his friend.

As Zhang Wenda pinned him down with a sharp-clawed hand, the Black Cats quickly bound Pan Dongzi, tying him up securely.

He glanced around. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Zhang Wenda breathed a small sigh of relief. 'Okay, we still have a little time.'

The door to Thought Wave Two was open. Zhang Wenda single-handedly dragged Pan Dongzi toward it.

Seeing the door draw nearer, Pan Dongzi's eyes filled with profound terror, and he began to struggle frantically.

"Be good. Listen to me. Once we're back, I'll help you sort this out. Don't worry, the adult world isn't as scary as you think," Zhang Wenda tried to soothe him, but it was no use. Bound by the Black Cats, Pan Dongzi only struggled harder.

Zhang Wenda gave up trying to reason with him and just hauled him toward the open door.

"Wenda, why did you say Thought Wave One was so dangerous? This mission seems really simple," Wang Xiaohua asked from the doorway, a little confused.

"Let's get back first. We can talk then. And tell the helicopter to get out of here, fast," Zhang Wenda said as he continued to drag Pan Dongzi through the door.

Only when Zhang Wenda saw the familiar city of prefabricated people and the grotesque adult world once more did he finally let out a small sigh of relief.

'Good. No matter what, at least I'm back. As for whether Old Tan managed to capture their 'cannon' in the end... that's not my problem.'

"Wenda! Quick, look!" At Song Jianguo's cry of alarm, Zhang Wenda spun around to see Pan Dongzi's cat-bound mouth spraying blood, his face a mask of agony.

The battle-hardened Shuisheng, standing nearby, immediately knew what was happening. "He bit his own tongue! He's trying to commit suicide!"

Zhang Wenda froze. He couldn't believe it. Pan Dongzi would rather die than return to the adult world!

He quickly knelt, reaching for Pan Dongzi to try and distribute the injury among all the cats. "What are you doing?! I'll guide you! The rules of the adult world are easy to get used to!"

But then, to everyone's astonishment, Zhang Wenda's hand passed right through Pan Dongzi's head.

Then, his eyes filled with despair, Pan Dongzi's body turned transparent and vanished completely from sight.

"He's slipped from Thought Wave Two," 2826, the expert on Thought Waves, explained. "He's slipped into another one."

"Which one did he slip into?" Zhang Wenda demanded anxiously. 'He was just trying to kill himself! His life is in danger!'

"I don't know," 2826 replied. "Do you know him? Did he ever tell you any details about his job?"

"Details about his job? His job?" Pan Dongzi's words and his desperate refusal to return flashed through Zhang Wenda's mind.

"I get it now! His 'adult world' isn't Thought Wave Two! It's Thought Wave Six!"

Thought Wave Six, the one where only work gives life meaning. The adult world Pan Dongzi described was actually Thought Wave Six!

Riding in an armed helicopter, Zhang Wenda returned to the teeming ocean of people that was Thought Wave Six. From his vantage point, he could see that the densely packed buildings were covered in people.

It was morning rush hour in Thought Wave Six. The crowd surged like a liquid, moving in endless waves.

Subway Line 2 and Line 6 swam freely through the human tide. A few smaller subway cars followed in their wake—their children, the Line 26s.

Recalling his own experiences with switching between Thought Waves, Zhang Wenda called out to the pilot, "Head for the spot we were just at! When you switch between Thought Waves, you should materialize in the same relative location!"

Due to the surging morning rush hour crowd, the helicopter couldn't land. It simply hovered in mid-air.

Without a moment's hesitation, Zhang Wenda leaped down, taking Song Jianguo with him. They plunged into the sea of people with a SPLASH. "Tell the cats to find Pan Dongzi! He's bleeding!"

"Got it!"

The Black Cats began to scour the human sea, while Shuisheng and the others aimed their flashlights down from above, searching for Pan Dongzi.

But finding him wasn't easy, especially since the human sea was constantly shifting. Anxious, Zhang Wenda raised his right hand high, then clenched it into a fist. In that instant, he drained all the red from the surrounding area.

For hundreds of meters in every direction, the swaying sea of people froze. Bodies toppled over one another, slumping to the ground like corpses. Without the red inside them, they stopped working, giving up completely and lying there without a spark of life.

This made searching much easier. A moment later, a plaintive meow sounded, and Zhang Wenda hurried toward it.

After pushing his way through the crowd, Zhang Wenda could hardly believe his eyes. The man before him, wearing a suit and sporting a haircut nearly identical to everyone else's, was his childhood friend, Pan Dongzi.

The boy who once had a light in his eyes, who used to argue with his friends over whether airplanes were cooler than tanks, was now lying on the ground, his eyes dead and empty, like a corpse long since passed.