Infinite Nightmares

Faced with Zhang Wenda’s blatant expectation for him to do everything, 2826’s hands trembled with rage. Still, he pulled a flashlight from his pocket and snapped, "Stand back!"

He then turned on the flashlight. As his fingers moved, the light switched between the red, blue, and yellow of his Tri-Core, displaying a spectrum of colors.

Then, as he repeatedly flicked the switch, lights of various colors flashed in the air in some sort of pattern.

’Why do I get the feeling this guy is... casting a spell?’

Zhang Wenda couldn’t quite comprehend the scene before him. A guy with a drone for a head, waving a flashlight around to cast a spell? ’How bizarre is this?’

Zhang Wenda couldn’t tell what he was doing, but from the looks of it, the other man was using the flashlight as a medium and the Tri-Core as an energy source to perform some kind of ritual.

Zhang Wenda glanced at his own wrist. He realized he hadn’t even begun to tap into this thing’s potential. Its abilities definitely weren’t as simple as just enhancing his body and switching his mindset.

Thinking back to the light that could pass through walls and the light that could be used for climbing, he figured people in the Third Line had probably long since mastered these three energies and developed all sorts of creative uses for them.

’Oh, Grandpa, Grandpa,’ Zhang Wenda thought. ’You brought back a flashlight, so why couldn’t you have brought back a user manual, too?’

Still, he made up his mind right then and there. If 2826 knew how to do this, then he could definitely find a way to learn it somewhere else.

As 2826 flashed the light, the beams didn’t vanish. Instead, they accumulated on the wall, eventually forming a shimmering, multicolored doorway.

Noticing Zhang Wenda’s burning envy, 2826 promptly tucked the flashlight away into his sleeve.

"Let’s go. Inside is the Dark Web. Remember, if anything happens on the way—at the slightest sign of trouble—stop everything immediately. As long as you don’t move, they can’t see you."

Seeing 2826 step through the multicolored doorway, Zhang Wenda pulled out his own flashlight and waved Song Jianguo over. "Let’s go. Keep up."

"Running off to court death in another dangerous place. This is exhausting," Song Jianguo grumbled, his face a mask of displeasure.

"When we get back, I’ll give you a day and a half off every week."

At these words, the displeasure on Song Jianguo’s face vanished without a trace. He happily followed, cat in tow.

With the utmost caution, Zhang Wenda followed 2826 through the multicolored doorway. A bizarre, kaleidoscopic scene instantly unfolded before his eyes.

Inside the Dark Web, there was no ground in the traditional sense. Countless Floating Islands of various shapes and sizes hung suspended in mid-air, interconnected by a massive, twisted web woven from digital static and glitch artifacts.

In addition, all sorts of inexplicable things floated amidst this bizarre scenery, such as the rotting, half-eaten carcass of a whale.

They now stood on one such floating island, a barren outcrop of black rock. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but a sea of other floating islands of all shapes and sizes.

"Something’s off with the gravity here," Zhang Wenda said. He gave a small hop and found himself feeling much lighter. After a quick estimation, he figured the gravity was only about a third of what it was outside.

"Like I said, anything can happen here. The only rule of the Dark Web is that there are no rules."

Before 2826 could finish, a wave of heat surged from beneath their feet. A deafening explosion and a thunderous roar sent them flying.

"A trap in the rock! We’re being ambushed!"

Sent flying into the air, Zhang Wenda glanced down at his mangled, bloody feet and quickly shoved a lollipop into his mouth.

He then kicked off the bloated, floating whale carcass and shot toward the figures below who were charging at 2826 and Song Jianguo.

Sensing someone above them, the figures all looked up at once. The sight gave Zhang Wenda a start—they were less human and more like pseudo-humans.

Some had eyes where their noses should be, others had ears three times their normal size, and one even had eyes growing on its shoulders.

Whatever they were, Zhang Wenda was already swinging the Light Saber in his hand.

But as the Light Saber passed through them as easily as cutting tofu, the pseudo-humans’ bodies dispersed like smoke.

"Watch out! They’re decoys!" As 2826 shouted, he raised his flashlight and shot a spiral beam of light in Zhang Wenda’s direction. A blurry figure that had been approaching Zhang Wenda was gradually revealed.

It was a monster, half-human and half-beast, with deformed joints. It had the head of a goat, and from having spent too long in the darkness, a thick layer of cobwebs was strung between its horns.

With a powerful swing of his right hand, Zhang Wenda sent an arc of red light flashing past. Even though the creature dodged, half of its head was still sliced off. A thick mass of spiders immediately crawled out from the wound and swarmed toward Zhang Wenda.

Just as Zhang Wenda was about to retreat, a beam of blue light shot out, enveloping the spiders and the goat monster. As 2826, in the distance, moved his flashlight, the blue light lifted the monster from beside Zhang Wenda and moved it into the empty air nearby.

When the beam of light retracted, the goat-headed monster, along with the spiders, plummeted into the endless void below.

Zhang Wenda looked around warily, but was surprised to find there were no follow-up attacks. It was as if the goat monster’s ambush had been a solo act.

"It’s fine now," 2826 said as he walked over. "They recognized me as a member of the Third Line. They won’t deliberately cause trouble.

Even in a dangerous place like this, a Third Line identity serves as a special kind of protection. Most people won’t risk provoking us."

"Which way now?" Zhang Wenda asked.

"Down. Something like an Oil Bab could only exist in the lower levels."

Under their guide 2826’s direction, they carefully made their way along the massive webs, using one Floating Island after another as stepping stones to descend.

Perhaps 2826 had been right, because for a while, no one else attacked them.

Once things seemed to have calmed down, Zhang Wenda looked curiously at the flashlight in 2826’s hand. "You’re something else. Having powerful backing really makes a difference. By the way, was that technique you used to move the monster an ability of the Blue Core?"

In response to Zhang Wenda’s question, for once 2826 didn’t claim it was confidential. Instead, he looked down at him and asked, "How about it? Do you want to possess that power?"

"Huh? You’ll teach me for free?" Zhang Wenda asked, completely surprised.

"Of course. All you have to do is join Bureau 507. It’s not just that ability; you can have all the abilities I’ve demonstrated. Plus, once you’re part of the Third Line, ordinary people wouldn’t dare to attack you, just like what happened earlier."

Hearing this rapid-fire pitch, the penny finally dropped for Zhang Wenda. He looked 2826 up and down with a new, hesitant suspicion.

"So your motives for helping me weren’t so pure after all. No wonder you were so eager to help, constantly showing off all your abilities in front of me. You were on a mission this whole time, weren’t you?"