Infinite Nightmares

’Run! Get as far away from him as possible!’ Everything before Zhang Wenda’s eyes receded in a blur. At this breakneck speed, he could even run sideways along the walls.

He had already escaped his opponent’s line of sight at an incredible speed and was quickly leaving the Tower of Babel region.

But even so, Zhang Wenda didn’t dare relax in the slightest. He had been to his opponent’s Spiritual World; he knew just how powerful his former teacher was.

His speed was immense. Just as Zhang Wenda was about to burst out of the Tower of Babel’s ruins, he suddenly screeched to a halt at the very edge.

The path was gone. The Internet World, which should have been wide open, had completely vanished, leaving only a vast, pitch-black void.

Zhang Wenda’s heart skipped a beat when he saw this, and a feeling of dread washed over him as it plummeted.

CLACK... CLACK... CLACK... The once-familiar sound of footsteps had become a death knell, growing louder and louder behind Zhang Wenda.

Breathing heavily, Zhang Wenda whipped his head around to look behind him, at the man emerging from the ruins. It was Lakov.

Seeing that escape was impossible, Zhang Wenda’s breath quickened, and he gritted his sharp teeth.

Even though he knew he would most likely lose, he had no intention of going down without a fight. "You two, it’s time to go all out."

No one spoke. Empowered by the Jade Pendant, the Black Cat began to split continuously, its numbers multiplying rapidly.

As for Hu Maomao, she pulled out a test tube, tilted her head back, and downed its contents. Blue veins bulged on her skin, throbbing rapidly across her forehead.

Though he knew it was a long shot, Zhang Wenda still decided to try reasoning with him. "Lakov, do you have any idea what kind of people you’ve joined in the Big Circle? They’re a gang of vile animals who do whatever they damn well please! They experiment on children! They use everyone!"

This time, his opponent finally stopped ignoring Zhang Wenda’s words. "Evil? You’re too young to understand. We are at war, and in war, there is no right or wrong. The only ones who are wrong are the ones who lose—just like my country."

"History is written by the victors. No matter what the winning side does, there will always be someone to justify their actions."

After he spoke, his expression darkened for a moment. Just when Zhang Wenda thought he might have an opening, Lakov’s face became impassive again.

"I don’t care if I go to hell. As long as they can bring my country back, I will sacrifice anything for it—including my conscience."

As Lakov tilted his head up slightly, three colossal Angels, each over ten meters tall, materialized in the air above Zhang Wenda and the others, bearing down on them with oppressive force.

With a bloodcurdling caterwaul, a gigantic Godzilla-like monster formed from the Black Cats lunged at the colossal Angels. As Hu Maomao threw her hands up, the eyes of one Angel instantly glazed over, and it turned to crash into another.

At the same time, Zhang Wenda lunged at Lakov without a shred of hesitation, filled with a do-or-die resolve. At that very moment, he unleashed every power he possessed.

But then, a brilliant white light flared to life, crashing into Zhang Wenda like a tidal wave and sending him flying.

A Jesus-like puppet with arms outstretched and a look of piety slowly rose from behind Lakov. Bathed in the Holy Light, Lakov’s lost hand, foot, eye, scalp—everything—was reforged from the brilliant white radiance.

As his brilliant white hair swayed, Lakov slowly raised his luminous right hand and smashed it forward. Space-time seemed to ripple and fold as the distance between them vanished in an instant. Zhang Wenda crashed violently right into the fist.

With a sickening CRACK, Zhang Wenda’s spine and ribs shattered.

Lakov struck again, and his fist tore straight through the Black Cat Armor, ripped through Zhang Wenda’s flesh and clothes, and punched clean through his body.

Coughing up blood, Zhang Wenda desperately swung his right hand at Lakov’s body. The blow landed with the sound of metal striking stone, not leaving so much as a scratch.

"You are far from understanding this path. You have no idea what a vast gulf there is between a normal person and a being who possesses their own personal ideality." Lakov withdrew his fist and reached for Zhang Wenda’s head.

Just as he was about to use his absolute power to finish him off, Zhang Wenda rapidly transferred his injuries, distributing them evenly among all the Black Cats on his body. In an instant, his mobility was restored.

This time, however, he didn’t attack. Instead, he used his superior speed to dash to the left.

When Lakov also glanced to the left, he was surprised to see a door opening, revealing a gray island within.

Zhang Wenda had known from the start that he was no match for Lakov, so from the very beginning, his true target was his opponent’s Inner World!

Naturally, Lakov wasn’t about to let Zhang Wenda succeed. With a pulling motion of his hand, the door that had been within arm’s reach for Zhang Wenda instantly receded into the far distance.

"Jianguo! Slingshot!" Zhang Wenda was flung away again. Despite the immense distance, he crossed it in the blink of an eye.

The sky darkened as the massive palm of the Jesus construct descended upon him. Fortunately, there was a hole in its palm, allowing Zhang Wenda to shoot through it like a cannonball and dive into the door.

Gazing at the nearby forest and the brown bears within it, which were busy munching on plants and wild grass, Zhang Wenda’s eyes lit up. He had finally torn an opening in this fatal predicament; he had found a way to deal with Lakov.

Whether it was the Prefrontal Strait, the circus, or the Hippocampus...

...if even one of these things in the Inner World went missing, it would have a major impact on his mind.

With this in mind, Zhang Wenda rushed out without hesitation and began to attack the brown bears, which were clearly analogous to the Little Black Cat.

The bears had thick hides and tough flesh, but they were clearly no match for Zhang Wenda.

With a single, effortless slash, a huge bear’s head tumbled to the ground.

The other bears saw this and scattered in a panic. Zhang Wenda swiftly gave chase, hunting them down.

However, the dense forest hampered his speed, allowing most of the bears to escape. They were clearly more familiar with this place than he was.

Zhang Wenda had no time to waste. He went straight for the Hippocampus.

As he moved left, following the path from his memory, he suddenly heard a noise.

When he emerged from the last stretch of woods, the scene before him made him freeze in astonishment.

A Godzilla with cat ears was locked in battle with a grotesque Angel. Who could that be but Song Jianguo?

Meanwhile, Lakov stood perfectly still, as if he had anticipated this all along.

He looked at Zhang Wenda with his luminous eyes and said, "As your teacher, I will teach you one last thing: every person’s Inner World is, in itself, their personal ideality."

"Everyone has an Inner World. The difference between us and normal people is that we can allow our Inner World to manifest and influence others. This is what we are. This is Threshold Realm 03."