Infinite Nightmares

Chapter 318: Chapter 314: Chess Piece (Part 2)

Upon hearing this, Tan Yougen smiled—a smile of profound relief. “You’re willing to help me? Even if it means sacrificing your own life?”

“It’s the end of the world! Cut the fucking crap! Just tell me what to do!”

Tan Yougen nodded and glanced back up at the Golden Ball. Then, he pulled something from his clothes and handed it to Zhang Wenda.

Zhang Wenda took it and saw that it was a bloody thumb. A glance at Tan Yougen’s hand confirmed it was his.

“You need to get to my office as fast as you can. There’s a secret door behind the second bookcase. The fingerprint lock uses my thumb, and the password is 24523214.”

“Inside, there’s a red button. You have to press it with a three-short, two-long rhythm. That will activate the Third Line’s final trump card in sync with us! Hurricane Three. This is our only chance.”

“What’s that?” Zhang Wenda planted his feet firmly on the ground.

“A weapon still in the experimental phase. 1999’s body isn’t purely physical. It’s a fusion of the physical and mental planes, so…”

The moment Zhang Wenda pushed off with his feet, Tan Yougen’s words were forgotten. He became a red blur, speeding toward the headquarters.

‘This is no time for a detailed explanation. That can wait until this is all over.’

He was now racing against the golden light. In what felt like a single step, Zhang Wenda arrived at the Bureau 507 headquarters.

Peeking through a window, Zhang Wenda saw that wherever the golden light touched, it left behind a living hell of unimaginable horror.

But he couldn’t worry about that now. He had to activate the special weapon before the golden light could destroy it completely.

He kicked down Tan Yougen’s door, rushed to the second bookcase, and fumbled around its surface. With a CLICK, a secret door slid open.

It had a keypad and a fingerprint scanner. ‘Faster, faster! Dammit! What was the password again?’

Overwhelmed, Zhang Wenda felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Hippocampus, holding out the memory from just moments ago.

He quickly entered the password from the memory and pressed the thumb to the scanner. The secret door slowly swung open.

But just as Zhang Wenda prepared to rush in and press the button in the specified rhythm, he froze on the spot.

There was no button inside. No device of any kind. There was only a single, folded piece of paper.

Zhang Wenda quickly unfolded the paper. In addition to being covered in writing, it held an exquisite insignia: three bars above two stars.

He’d seen many people wear it, but he never really knew what it meant, only that it was some kind of status symbol within the Third Line.

He quickly began to read the note.

“Sorry, I lied to you again. There’s no special weapon. We know far too little about 1999. With our current methods, we have no idea how to fight an entity that can so easily change the entire world.”

“But even knowing we have no chance of winning, we are unwilling to give up.”

“What we old-timers can do is try our best to attack it while collecting as much information on 1999 as possible. We don’t know what the result will be, but if we fail, remember to retrieve our bodies. They will likely hold all the detailed records on 1999.”

“Remember, even in this illogical world, even without science, humanity’s fate must remain in our own hands. Even if the price is bashing our heads in until they bleed, it’s a price we’re willing to pay. At least we can finally figure out just what kind of existence is influencing our world.”

“As for you, Zhang Wenda, I have a more important mission for you. From this moment on, you, Zhang Wenda, are the director of Bureau 507. Our flame will be passed on through you.”

“I’m sorry I lied to you again. But I promise, this is the last time. Can you forgive this old man’s twisted sense of humor?”

Zhang Wenda looked in disbelief at the director’s insignia in his hand, then looked through the window at the growing golden sun in the distance. “Tan Yougen! Fuck you—”

Before he could finish, the surrounding golden light violently contracted, then expanded in a blinding flash. Amidst an apocalyptic scene of the world collapsing, Zhang Wenda and the entire Third Line headquarters were blasted off the inverted island.

Though still inside the room, Zhang Wenda could feel everything outside shaking and shifting. All his friends from his Inner World worked together to keep him from being crushed into a meat pie by the collapsing walls.

An unknown amount of time passed. When everything finally fell silent, a dust-covered Zhang Wenda let out a sigh of relief. He pulled out a flashlight and switched it on, illuminating the completely unrecognizable devastation before him.

The office was a disaster. Everything was toppled over, and the room itself was crushed and warped. If he hadn’t been bracing the walls, the place would have caved in completely.

He didn’t know what had happened to Tan Yougen and the others, but the Third Line’s final strike must have been staggering. The world outside had surely undergone a cataclysmic transformation, though Zhang Wenda had no idea if it was for better or for worse.

But just as he was about to leave, a red Chinese chess piece at his feet caught his eye. It was a Knight.

Staring at the red Knight, Zhang Wenda stood frozen as a flood of thoughts washed over him. He walked over, bent down, and picked it up, planning to keep it as a memento.

But as he held the Knight in his hand, he noticed the back wasn’t smooth. He turned the piece over and saw that the reverse side was engraved with the character for General.

“Heh…” Zhang Wenda said nothing more and turned to leave.

But after only a few steps, a thought struck him. He spun around and began searching for more pieces, quickly finding other red ones.

Yet when he turned them over, he discovered that every single one—whether it was a Soldier or another piece—had the character for General on the other side.

Seeing this, Zhang Wenda almost laughed out of pure fury. “Of course. I knew you were full of shit. You pull this on everyone, don’t you? Was this insignia you gave me mass-produced in Yiwu? Just hand one out to anybody who shows up? I had no idea Bureau 507 had so many directors.”

Just then, Zhang Wenda spotted a dust-covered red piece lying in the corner. He walked over, shone his flashlight on it, and saw that it was a red General.

Zhang Wenda sighed and turned to go, but then he suddenly stopped and came back.

He reached out and picked up the General piece that represented Tan Yougen. With a gentle flick of his thumb, he flipped it over. At last, the red General had become a red Soldier.