Infinite Nightmares

To cross over, to be able to return to a normal world—a world with nothing weird or peculiar.

This was an incredibly tempting prospect for Zhang Wenda, especially after everything he had been through.

After a brief conversation with Hu Maomao, Zhang Wenda now had a new goal in mind besides avenging his uncle.

He wasn’t sure if he could find a way back, but he still wanted to give it a try.

Honestly, a world where terrorist organizations were constantly trying to bring about the apocalypse, where you could slip into another Thought Wave at any moment... Even just considering the living conditions, it was far too unstable. It was completely unsuitable for habitation.

And you weren’t even qualified to stay in Thought Wave Two without a job. Who could put up with that?

Lying on the cat boat, Hu Maomao stared at the back of Zhang Wenda’s head. All his thoughts surfaced in her mind, and her expression grew complicated. "Is that all you think about? Yourself?"

Zhang Wenda glanced at her. "Relax. If I actually find a way back, I’ll definitely take you with me. In terms of age, we’ll be peers by then, little sis."

"Have you ever thought about helping others? People are still suffering out there. Like those prefabricated people? Or anyone else?"

"Why the hell should I care? It’s not like I’m the one who caused it. Let a huge official organization like the Third Line handle world-saving affairs. Why does everyone keep trying to dump this crap on me when it’s not my responsibility? I’m just a nobody. All I want is to live my own life in peace."

Hu Maomao looked like she wanted to say more, but in the end, she said nothing, rationally deciding to keep her mouth shut.

Trying to get someone like Zhang Wenda to think about others or consider the bigger picture was, quite clearly, like talking to a brick wall.

Just as Zhang Wenda’s thoughts concluded and he refocused his gaze on the distant dust, he realized something wasn’t right.

"Jianguo, what’s going on? We’ve been at this for a while. Haven’t we paddled out of here yet?"

By all rights, we should have reached the outskirts of the Tower of Babel by now. Why hasn’t the dust from the explosion settled yet?

"How should I know? We’ve been heading in this direction the whole time, haven’t we?"

"Could we be going the wrong way?" Zhang Wenda asked, surprised. He glanced down through the transparent water, realizing they were now at least seven or eight meters above the bottom. It felt like they were floating in mid-air.

"No way. This is the right direction."

"Really? At this speed, we should have been out long ago." Zhang Wenda hesitantly pulled out his radar. The number on the display made his heart skip a beat: -21.

He had no idea why the number could be negative, but one thing was certain: the direction the cat boat was heading was definitely not the way he’d come. They had gone the wrong way!

"Stop! Stop right now!" Zhang Wenda’s tense command made the other two look at him. "Go back! Turn back, now! Hurry!"

However, after the cat boat reversed for a moment, the number changed to -12. Seeing the number increasing gave him a brief sense of relief, but before he could even take a breath, the number on the radar bizarrely began to decrease again.

"What the hell is with this place? Don’t tell me it’s constantly moving!"

But just as he said that, a struggling, shadowy form about seven or eight meters long burst from the dust cloud, writhing as it swam up from beneath the cat boat.

It looked like a living creature, but its body was covered in pixelated mosaics, and it would frequently glitch, stutter, and suddenly jerk backward.

The sight was disturbingly familiar to Zhang Wenda. He had seen this before—it was the effect of being infected by one of Qianxi’s computer viruses.

"Qianxi?" Zhang Wenda’s heart began to pound, especially when he saw more pixelated shapes floating up from the depths.

It was obvious Qianxi was up ahead, fighting someone—most likely an entity on par with the Third Line’s 03.

He became even more certain when he saw television static spreading through the clear water.

In the past, even if Zhang Wenda knew Qianxi was right ahead, he would have known better than to charge to his death.

But when he recalled the weapon he’d just acquired—one that could attack an opponent’s Thought Wave—an idea surfaced in his mind. ’Is there a way I can get the drop on him? What if...’

’Last time, even without the Red Spear and without getting Blue back, I still managed to work with Big Circle Leopard to hand Qianxi a major defeat. There’s no reason I can’t do it again!’

At Zhang Wenda’s command, the cat boat beneath him automatically glided forward.

As they drew closer, muffled sounds began to emerge, growing louder and seeming to shift from left to right and back again.

Given the strangeness of the area, Zhang Wenda didn’t fuss over the shifting directions and simply followed the sounds.

Soon, the sounds grew louder still, and a colossal, blurry figure appeared in the distant dust. Its square head was so familiar that even though the shape was indistinct, Zhang Wenda recognized it in a single glance. It was Qianxi.

When he saw various thought-clusters beginning to erupt uncontrollably from behind him, Zhang Wenda knew instantly that he was now inside his opponent’s personal Thought Wave.

"Maomao, stay put!" Zhang Wenda leaped onto the thought-clusters and charged into the dust. With a quick crook of his finger, Song Jianguo and the Black Cats fused into a cloak that swiftly enveloped him as he pressed forward.

As he broke through the mist, he immediately saw the mountain-sized Qianxi controlling a sky full of white mouse cursors, all of them clicking at two figures in the air.