Infinite Nightmares

Inside the small stone cave, the atmosphere between Zhang Wenda’s trio and the newcomer grew incredibly tense as the man’s suspicion mounted.

Just as another fight was about to erupt over their failure to provide the countersign, Hu Maomao suddenly spoke up. "One strike, two drills."

The moment she spoke, the man visibly relaxed. The code was obviously correct.

"Since you knew the countersign, why didn’t you say so earlier? You scared the crap out of me. I thought I’d run into people from the Big Circle."

Noticing Zhang Wenda’s surprised glance, Hu Maomao gave him a subtle wink.

Seeing this, Zhang Wenda understood immediately. Hu Maomao must have used her ability again to rifle through the man’s mind and find the countersign.

As expected, an ability like Hu Maomao’s was practically a cheat code for undercover work.

Hu Maomao subtly gestured toward the man with her chin. Zhang Wenda immediately took the cue and said to him, "Sorry, we were just a little thrown off. One second you’re saying you’re one of us, the next you’re demanding a countersign. It just caught us off guard."

"There’s no helping it. The Big Circle is full of all kinds of people, and faking an appearance is child’s play," the man said with a sigh. "Besides, even with a countersign, you can’t be a hundred percent sure."

"Enough about that," Zhang Wenda said. "What’s your name?"

"Zhang Jiahui. What did you run into that made you request support?"

After a quick, silent conference with Hu Maomao, Zhang Wenda explained, "We ran into Lakov."

"What?!" Zhang Jiahui stared at Zhang Wenda in utter disbelief. "You ran into him and you’re still alive?"

’This was Lakov, after all! His power was considered top-tier in all of 03. They’d run into him and somehow escaped unscathed. Just how strong were these kids? More importantly, they didn’t even look seriously injured.’

"What point would there be in lying at a time like this? But never mind that. How is Tan Yougen’s situation right now?"

Zhang Wenda quickly steered the conversation back to the matter at hand. "When we stumbled upon Lakov, he was hunting Tan Yougen’s secretary. He ended up killing her. Our assessment is that he’s preparing to move against Tan Yougen next, but he hasn’t located him."

Hearing this, the man crossed his arms and rubbed his chin. "Isn’t Tan Yougen one of yours, from Bureau 507? Why are you asking me—someone from Bureau 702—about it?"

"Stop wasting time. What’s the overall situation in here? Is this really the time to get hung up on trivial details?"

Zhang Jiahui frowned deeply in thought before finally speaking. "I’m not from your bureau, so I don’t know where your Tan Yougen went. All I know is that Bureau 702 has received solid intelligence that the Big Circle is carrying out a plan with a Level 6 hazard rating."

"So, we’re helping the other bureaus with a joint mission to corner and disrupt their operations in this area."

Zhang Wenda glanced at Hu Maomao, wondering, ’Within the Third Line, how severe is a "Level 6" hazard?’

’About 600 times the explosive force of a nuclear bomb.’ The answer made Zhang Wenda’s heart lurch. ’If that’s true, then it’s no wonder Old Tan was willing to act as bait. This is practically an apocalyptic-level threat.’

’But on second thought, something felt off. This didn’t align with the game on Tan Yougen’s board. Old Tan was here to be the bait, to lure out one of the enemy’s generals, not to sabotage some other plan by the Big Circle.’

’Besides, he’s a pure strategist. What’s a non-combatant like him doing on the front lines?’

’At least in terms of motive, Bureau 702’s objective was different from Old Tan’s. Then again, maybe this was also part of Old Tan’s plan.’

"What about you guys? What’s your mission?" Zhang Jiahui’s words interrupted Zhang Wenda’s train of thought.

"Our mission is classified. We need to find Director Tan Yougen to decrypt it." Lies like that came easily to Zhang Wenda.

Hearing this, Zhang Jiahui didn’t seem suspicious, but he eyed the three of them with open disdain. "I knew it. You people from Bureau 507 are all alike, saving all your clever little tricks for your own allies."

As he spoke, he pulled out his phone and took a photo of the trio. He let go of his last shred of doubt only after confirming their appearances and names matched the Third Line database.

"Well, since you’re all okay, I’ll be going. I still have a mission to complete. Your people are covering the east and south. You should be able to find them if you head in that direction. As for your director, you’re better off asking your own side."

With that, he turned to leave, but Zhang Wenda immediately blocked his path. "Hold on. Are you sure it’s safe to go alone? Don’t forget, Lakov is prowling around here somewhere. If you run into him, are you confident you can get away in one piece?"

The man’s expression soured at his words. Zhang Wenda pressed on, "How about we travel together for a while? That way, we can have each other’s backs if something happens."

Zhang Jiahui thought about it for a moment, then finally nodded. "Alright, fine."

After reaching an agreement, the four of them decided to set off together. The first priority was to get out of this dangerous area where they could run into Lakov at any second.

Exiting the cave, the four of them remained on high alert in the treacherous terrain. Zhang Jiahui, in particular, raised his brick-like, green-screened phone, using it to scan their surroundings.

Zhang Wenda glanced over and saw a number on it, jumping back and forth between 79 and 83.

"What is that thing?" From Hu Maomao’s question, it was clear that Bureau 507 hadn’t had anything like this device before.

"Observer Radar. It scans the substantiality ratio of an area. Right now it’s 81, which means this area is 81% pure logical matter. The closer to 100, the more logical and normal a place is. The lower it is, the weirder and more distorted."

Hu Maomao glanced at it, then looked away. Her voice dripped with sarcasm, a clear rebuttal to his earlier jab at Bureau 507. "You people from Bureau 702 are as stingy as ever, huh? Always keeping the good stuff to yourselves. Won’t even let others have a peek. You’re like a bunch of children."

Zhang Wenda remained silent at the side, observing quietly. Listening to them, he thought, ’Don’t tell me there’s a pecking order among the different bureaus in the Third Line?’

Hearing Hu Maomao’s words, Zhang Jiahui shot her an annoyed look. "What does a little kid like you know? This is just a new-generation prototype from our R&D department. After we finish our internal testing and confirm there are no risks, we’ll naturally release the tech to the entire Third Line, free of charge, just like we did with those flashlights."

"Hmph." Hu Maomao didn’t say another word, but that single sound was dripping with so much scorn that Zhang Jiahui’s face immediately flushed red.