Infinite Nightmares

Chapter 315: Chapter 312: The Method

Zhang Wenda glanced at his own Yellow. “Is this the time to talk about that? I don’t care how she dies. The most important thing right now is to kill her!”

While Qianxi was attacking Old Tan, Zhang Wenda quietly raised the blue scythe and slashed toward her. However, it only left a faint white streak in the air. Qianxi, now possessing 1999, was far harder to affect than before.

In the distance, Tan Yougen had already engaged with Qianxi. Or rather, a combat team from within his shadow had engaged with her, while Tan Yougen himself hadn’t made a move. For now, Zhang Wenda couldn’t figure out what abilities the man had, or if he could hold his own.

The only thing Zhang Wenda could do now was to keep slashing forcefully at the fissure, trying to pry open the gate to Qianxi’s Inner World. As he swung with all his might, the situation seemed to take a turn. The white streak was gradually deepening.

Suddenly, he sensed something. When he turned his head, he saw one of Qianxi’s copies standing right behind him, staring him down. “Having fun?”

She raised her right foot and stomped down on him. At that critical moment, the ground cracked open, and the Youth Palace’s gaping, bloody maw swallowed Zhang Wenda whole, allowing him to dodge Qianxi’s attack.

As the Youth Palace rapidly descended, Zhang Wenda, who had been in constant peril, was finally safe for the time being.

Still shaken from the close call, Zhang Wenda patted the inner wall of the Youth Palace, which was adorned with portraits of famous people. “Thanks, friend,” he said.

Although he had temporarily escaped with the Youth Palace’s help, Zhang Wenda knew he had to find a way to help, and fast. Old Tan was still out there.

‘Faced with a Qianxi who can’t even die, even Old Tan and the others are no match for her at all!’

After much thought, Zhang Wenda decided his initial judgment was correct. ‘Against a nearly invincible Qianxi, breaking in through her Inner World is the only way!’

Zhang Wenda strode to one of the Youth Palace’s windows and peered out into the utter darkness. “Can you surface a bit farther away?”

Soon, the Youth Palace burst through the ground. Zhang Wenda saw Qianxi attacking Old Tan, and he once again raised the blue scythe and slashed toward her. As before, it only produced a faint white streak.

But Zhang Wenda had barely made his move when the distant Qianxi noticed him. Three of her clones instantly snapped their heads in his direction.

The Youth Palace tried to descend again, but the same trick no longer worked on Qianxi. A moment later, it was forcibly ripped from the earth. A window on the Youth Palace shattered, and Qianxi crashed through it, her golden head first. “Having fun?”

“A blast!” Zhang Wenda immediately spun around, smashed through another window, and jumped out. He kept slashing at Qianxi through the air as he ran.

Seeing Qianxi relentlessly pursuing him this time, Zhang Wenda knew he had guessed correctly. ‘Even a deathless Qianxi is afraid of this!’

Zhang Wenda fled frantically, as if the previous scene was playing out all over again. But the outcome seemed to have been fated. After just a few minutes, Qianxi once again slammed him violently to the ground.

“Wait!” Zhang Wenda held up his right hand in front of him. He asked, unwilling to accept his fate, “Wait! This isn’t fair! I just want to understand something before I die! How exactly did you get the power of 1999?”

Countless arrows once again filled the sky. This time, Qianxi decided to finish him off for good. “Do you really take me for some long-winded villain? You want to know? Ask me in your next life!”

But in that instant, Zhang Wenda, who had been frowning intently, suddenly broke into a smile. He looked off into the distance to his left. When Qianxi followed his gaze, she saw a large blue rabbit raising its paws and frantically clawing at the air in her direction. A sizeable rift had already been torn open in mid-air!

From the very beginning, Zhang Wenda had only been the bait. The one who was really supposed to open Qianxi’s Inner World was his Blue!

The rain of arrows began to fall on Zhang Wenda, but it was too late. In an instant, Zhang Wenda switched places with his Blue. Before Qianxi’s shocked eyes, he appeared before the rift and dove straight through without hesitation.

The moment he stepped inside, Zhang Wenda felt something was wrong. This place was different from other people’s Inner Worlds. There was no forest and no Hippocampus, only a mist suffused with a hazy golden light.

Zhang Wenda tried to summon his scar-weapon to test the ground, but nothing appeared. ‘Strange, this is different from before. Can 1999 affect the Spiritual World, too?’

Not daring to be careless, Zhang Wenda proceeded into the mist with utmost caution. As he walked, the sound of his footsteps changed. A brown wooden floor began to appear underfoot.

The slender back of a figure appeared in the distance. She was wearing a white dress and seemed to be hunched over a desk, writing something. When Zhang Wenda walked closer, he saw a young woman’s delicate face.

“Qianxi?” Zhang Wenda glanced at the writing on the desk. The name written there was Tan Siqian.

Just then, the young woman seemed to sense something. She turned her head, and her bright eyes lit up. “Dad!”

Just as Zhang Wenda thought she was calling to him, Qianxi leaped joyfully into the arms of a man wearing an olive-drab military uniform.

‘These are memory fragments,’ Zhang Wenda thought. ‘In that case, this must be Qianxi’s Prefrontal Strait.’

He reasoned that even if some things had changed, its fundamental function was likely the same.

Zhang Wenda walked briskly forward, and more fragments of Qianxi’s past appeared. Most of them were heartwarming, and it was clear that Qianxi had once been very close with Tan Yougen.

But this wasn’t what Zhang Wenda was looking for. He desperately needed a tangible target to destroy, not these useless memories.

Zhang Wenda broke into a run, trying to push through the mist.

“Is what you say true?” A strange voice made Zhang Wenda stop in his tracks. He looked to his left and saw a Lizard Person with brown, vertical pupils standing face-to-face with a square-headed Qianxi.

“Yes, that’s correct. We of Freemasonry are willing to cooperate with you of the Big Circle to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome.”

“The stakes are high. I need to go back and discuss this,” Qianxi said.

The Lizard Person chuckled. “No need to put on an act for me. The Third Line has you all gasping for air. If you don’t cooperate with us, you won’t last six months. I know you’ll agree.”

Qianxi remained silent, thinking for a moment before speaking again. “Let’s set that aside for now. Speaking of which, you also find this situation strange, don’t you? The emergence of the ‘thought tide’ supposedly has several different causes, which is illogical. Every organization must be investigating it secretly. I’m sure yours is as well. Can you tell me what you’ve found?”

Hearing this, the Lizard Person’s expression changed instantly. He turned on his heel and left. “No comment.”

The memory froze at that point, becoming enveloped by the mist once more.