Chapter 220: Maze

Seeing the rain in the sky stop through the combined efforts of the Little Black Cats, Zhang Wenda felt like he was finally getting a clue.

'The Little Black Cat said the rain was really heavy before, and now it's light. Plus, there was that old woman's appearance... does that mean the weather here represents my emotions? And the "heaviest rain" they mentioned—was that when I was standing at the entrance of the old residential complex?'

Zhang Wenda thought it over carefully. The more he thought, the more certain he was that he was on the right track.

'But if the weather on this island is my emotions, then what are these Little Black Cats that regulate them?'

Although he seemed to have figured some things out, even more new questions had popped up.

He absolutely refused to believe that a group of talking Little Black Cats actually lived inside his brain.

Zhang Wenda didn't want to guess blindly, so he just asked them directly.

However, the Little Black Cats were clueless. "What are emotions? We just don't want our fur to get wet. We hate the rain."

"What old woman? There's no one in the sky. We only saw the rain."

Looking at how clueless they were, Zhang Wenda couldn't help but sigh. 'It doesn't matter, I suppose. I should focus on what's important.'

Zhang Wenda slowly crouched down and asked the Little Black Cats in front of him again, "Are you all very familiar with this place?"

This time, he finally got a clear answer. "Yep! We were born here, we live here, so we know it best."

"Then have you seen me before?" Zhang Wenda asked again.

But after he said it, Zhang Wenda felt his description wasn't quite right and added, "Someone like me, or... a ferocious monster with a scythe, a rabbit, or maybe a child?"

"Nope, never seen any of them." The Little Black Cats shook their heads in unison.

Just when Zhang Wenda thought his efforts had been a complete waste, a Little Black Cat with white whiskers spoke up. "If you want to ask questions, you can go across the bridge and find the Hippocampus."

'Hippocampus?' An image flashed through Zhang Wenda's mind: the monster holding a pen and paper. "Hello, consciousness. I am the Hippocampus."

The other cats immediately agreed with this Little Black Cat. "Right, right, right! It knows everything that happens on the island."

"But it doesn't like to come out. It always stays by itself on the other side of the bridge."

"Yeah, it doesn't come over here very often. It's all alone. We tried to go play with it, but it made a maze so we couldn't find it."

Hearing that this so-called Hippocampus knew everything, Zhang Wenda, who had been completely aimless, suddenly felt his thoughts clear up.

"So, do you know where it is? Can you take me there?" Zhang Wenda asked.

"Sure! Follow us! Follow us!"

With the Little Cats pulling him this way and that, Zhang Wenda entered the forest again.

They led Zhang Wenda to the edge of a long, deep chasm. A rickety-looking bridge connected the two sides.

"The Hippocampus is over there. But be careful! It doesn't like to be disturbed, so it lives in a maze. You have to be really careful when you cross, so you don't get lost."

'A maze?' Zhang Wenda mulled the word over in his mind.

He wasn't afraid of a simple maze. He was thinking about something else.

'If the Little Black Cats are here to regulate my emotions, then what is this so-called Hippocampus?'

With this question in mind, Zhang Wenda stepped onto the swaying suspension bridge. As the Little Black Cats waved goodbye, he slowly made his way to the other side.

After getting off the suspension bridge, Zhang Wenda found himself in another pink forest, much like the one on the other side. A small path snaked its way deeper into the woods.

'Where's the maze?' Zhang Wenda was on high alert as he headed into the forest.

He scanned his surroundings carefully but saw no sign of a maze for the time being.

Zhang Wenda followed the path endlessly. He didn't know how long he'd been walking, but he was starting to feel exhausted and drowsy.

'Can't I just take a break?' Just as he was grumbling to himself, the trees around him began to thin out, and human-made structures started to appear.

As Zhang Wenda continued walking, the buildings became more numerous and densely packed, until finally, the main gate of Bureau 507 appeared before him.

"Huh?" Zhang Wenda turned to look behind him. He found that besides a busy road with traffic and pedestrians, there was no trace of the forest he had just left.

Zhang Wenda pushed open the door, stepped into the elevator again, and arrived in a lobby bustling with people. He walked down the corridor to his dorm room and turned the doorknob.

"Where'd you run off to so early in the morning?" Song Jianguo grumbled at Zhang Wenda from his spot in front of the TV.

'Holy crap?! I'm really back? What's going on?'

'I actually walked right out of the Spiritual World and into Thought Wave Two?'

Sensing something was wrong, Zhang Wenda immediately went to find the Soviet. After listening to Zhang Wenda's questions, the man nodded slowly. "This is nothing to be alarmed about. All thought waves should have a spiritual component. Your thought wave has begun to link with the outside world."

"Then how do I get back? I haven't found my true self yet," Zhang Wenda pressed.

The man thought for a moment before speaking again, his voice calm. "I need to return to my home country for a while. You can start again when I get back. In the meantime, don't stop your Meditation."

Hearing this, Zhang Wenda felt a pang of reluctance, but he ultimately nodded. "All right. I'll wait for your return."

Then, Zhang Wenda left. As soon as he stepped out, he saw Shuisheng looking for him. "We've got an urgent mission. Are you in?"

Zhang Wenda was a little surprised by the sudden offer, but he nodded nonetheless.

"Okay, let me get ready. I'll bring Song Jianguo and meet up with you."

For a time, Zhang Wenda did missions within the Third Line while he waited for his mentor to return.

The days turned into weeks. At first, Zhang Wenda was anxious, wondering why his mentor hadn't returned. But gradually, that intensity within him faded.

He didn't know when it happened, but his desire for revenge against Qianxi was quietly washed away by the tides of trivial matters.

By the time Zhang Wenda snapped out of it, his hair was streaked with gray, and he was sitting in Tan Yougen's chair.

"Time to eat." Song Jianguo walked in, carrying a lunchbox.

Zhang Wenda nodded, sat down at his desk, and began to eat.

"About time to retire, don't you think?" Song Jianguo asked.

"Yeah. Next month," Zhang Wenda confirmed with a nod.

But as he ate, Zhang Wenda glanced down at his hand—his human hand—and froze.

'When did my hand become human? Wasn't it a rabbit's paw?'

The moment that thought popped into his head, Zhang Wenda instantly realized something was wrong.

As that feeling of wrongness grew stronger, the forgotten emotions and memories came flooding back into his mind.

Utterly shocked, Zhang Wenda shot to his feet, a sudden realization dawning on him.

'This isn't a maze in the conventional sense at all. It's a labyrinth of the mind!'