Infinite Nightmares

Chapter 322: Chapter 318: Home

‘The evening news?’ Zhang Wenda listened to the familiar voice, the familiar accent, and the familiar theme music, feeling a momentary daze. He’d lost count of how many times he’d heard it.

But at some point, it had become a sound he hadn’t heard in a long, long time.

This time, he didn’t need to send anyone else. He went straight to the window where the sound was coming from and slid it open. An empty living room appeared before him.

Forget a TV—the floral cloth covering where a TV should be hadn’t even been touched.

The moment he slid open the window, the sound vanished instantly, exactly like the aroma of food from before.

“‘Sir, there’s a sound over here as well.'” A consciousness entity, having floated up to the fourth floor, pointed at the adjacent wall as it spoke.

Zhang Wenda didn’t go to check. After what had happened twice now, he knew opening it would likely yield the same result.

He started walking through the sprawling residential complex again. Gradually, the once deathly still neighborhood began to fill with signs of life.

The aroma of food, the sound of conversation, the laughter of children, and even the music for square dancing.

Having gone through this twice already, Zhang Wenda wasn’t jumpy anymore.

Perhaps because he was getting used to it, everything around him, while still very strange, didn’t seem as frightening.

After all, a few sounds and smells were nothing. They hadn’t caused him any physical harm, which was a trivial matter compared to what he’d experienced before.

‘What does all of this mean?’ Zhang Wenda thought, sitting down on a concrete barrier of a green space not far from his own building.

Everything pointed to people living in this complex, yet there was no one to be found.

Zhang Wenda was a seasoned veteran, having traveled to all sorts of bizarre worlds, but he’d never encountered a place as strange as this.

After sitting for a while, Zhang Wenda even began to feel as if everything around him was becoming familiar.

Just as the sensory details of the world around him were growing richer, they suddenly hit a certain point and came to an abrupt halt. The sounds, the smells, the lights—everything vanished in an instant.

Immediately after, the surrounding blue hues began to fade. The familiar drone of cicadas and the bright sky all returned. Day had broken.

“Hippocampus, how long?”

“One hour until nightfall.”

Zhang Wenda sighed. ‘How am I supposed to handle this?’ he thought. ‘I don’t have a single clue.’

“Hey, what are you thinking about?”

Hearing the question from beside him, Zhang Wenda shook his head. “I’m thinking about how to get out of here.”

“Why would you want to get out? There’s nothing out there.”

Zhang Wenda glanced at his childhood friend and neighbor, who was standing on a playground rocker with both feet. “Have you no manners? Stop standing on that, will you?”

She stood high up, wearing a loose white dress that swayed gently as she moved.

Her head was perfectly aligned with the sun, which was so bright it was blinding. When Zhang Wenda looked at her, all he could see was a hazy smile against the glaring light.

“I’m done listening to your nonsense. I’m going to the little store to buy soy sauce.” His friend hopped down from the rocker and ran off into the distance.

Zhang Wenda paid her no mind, consumed with figuring out how to escape. But then, a moment later, it suddenly hit him.

‘Wait! A little store? Since when did this neighborhood have a little store?’

He stood frozen for two seconds before scrambling to his feet and chasing after her. “Wait! Let’s go together! Where’s the store? I need to buy something to eat!”

He’d been here for so long without a single drop of water to drink.

Following the back of his friend’s head, Zhang Wenda wound through the complex a few times before finally finding an old-fashioned little store on the ground floor of a residential building. Next to it sat a kiddy ride with peeling paint.

All sorts of lollipops, Mimi Shrimp Strips, and gummy candies hung from the ceiling like vines, covering the inside. His friend dove straight in and vanished from sight.

Zhang Wenda quickly ducked inside, licking his dry lips. As if he owned the place, he belted out, “Hey, boss! Where are the drinks?”

“To your left!” The shopkeeper’s muffled voice came from amidst the blare of a television.

He pushed aside the “vines” of snacks and hurried over, eventually finding a freezer covered with a padded cotton jacket. The freezer was old and whirred endlessly.

Zhang Wenda didn’t waste a second. He slid open the freezer door, grabbed a glass-bottled, ice-cold Coke, and pried off the cap with his teeth before GULP, GULP, GULP-ing it down.

There’s nothing more satisfying than chugging an ice-cold Coke when you’re dying of thirst. At that moment, Zhang Wenda felt like every pore in his body had opened up. “Ahhh, that’s the stuff!”

After he finished drinking, however, he patted himself down and felt a pang of embarrassment. He had no money.

Ever since arriving in Thought Wave Two, all his money was digital, stored on his phone. This place, however, was clearly different. The money he’d earned in the Third Line was useless, and he had no idea what kind of currency they used here.

Just then, as if sensing Zhang Wenda’s predicament, the shopkeeper’s voice called out again. “Don’t worry about it. Aren’t you the kid from the second son’s family? Just settle up at the end of the month.”

“Thanks, Uncle.” Zhang Wenda was about to leave, but then he figured since he was running a tab, he might as well grab a few more.

He then bent down, grabbed five or six more bottles of Coke, and tossed them straight into his Inner World. He had the Little Black Cats find a place in the forest to store them for later.

By the time he walked out, Zhang Wenda had also grabbed some “Old Beijing” brand instant noodles, just in case.

With food and drinks secured, Zhang Wenda felt a great deal more at ease.

“Don’t eat too much junk food, or your grandma will chew you out,” the shopkeeper called out with a friendly reminder as Zhang Wenda walked out and headed for home.

The glaring sun, the drone of cicadas, and the faint smell of burning weeds in the air made Zhang Wenda take a deep, satisfying breath. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of contentment.

Vague, human-like silhouettes began to appear before him. There was Granny Zhao, on her way to the market, and Third Uncle, off to practice with his sword. He knew them all by name.

A few aunties he recognized were chatting and laughing as they carried out quilts, hoisting them onto clotheslines to air out in the sun.

It all felt like a scene he’d watched a thousand times before. But that was normal, wasn’t it? After all, he’d lived here for a long, long time.

‘This isn’t so bad,’ Zhang Wenda thought lazily. ‘Maybe I should just stay here. No need to leave.’

The sun baked him in a pleasant warmth, making him feel a bit drowsy. ‘Maybe I’ll just close my eyes for a bit before heading home,’ he thought. ‘It’s still early, after all.’

As a deep sense of relaxation washed over him, Zhang Wenda felt himself growing lighter and lighter, as if he were about to float away.

And this lightness was a tangible thing. An emptiness began to spread up from his feet, his body growing transparent, fading away.