Chapter 64: Ho
“Dad... Mom.” When Zhang Wenda said these words, it felt as if his heart stopped at that mont.
He stared straight at the monsters before him, at their hollow bodies, and at the scythes gleaming with a cold light.
He had seen these grotesque monsters before, and he already knew of the many bizarre adult forms in the Adult World.
But he had never imagined that these monsters would be his own parents—and compared to the other adults, they undoubtedly looked even stranger, even more terrifying.
In fact, back when he experienced the Youth Center, he had already known that beneath every rule, there was always a kind of logic.
But what he never expected was that behind the logic of these tornting rule-bound tales, it was actually his own parents!
Especially when he recalled how they had crawled out of Yang Yongxin’s corpse.
At this mont, Zhang Wenda couldn't help but feel a splitting headache; as the pain intensified, it beca so sharp it felt like his head was about to explode.
With a pained expression, he dropped to one knee, thrust his hands into his hair, and pressed inward tightly, trying to relieve the pain.
Just then, a sharp scythe reached out, hooking Zhang Wenda’s forearm, attempting to pull him up from the ground.
But even though it was ant to help, the sharp blade shredded his arm into a bloody ss.
Zhang Wenda suddenly flung his right hand away, glaring viciously at them, staring up at the two towering heads before him.
“Why! I want to know why!!”
His voice echoed through the old room.
“It’s one thing not to be late, but why was I not allowed to ask others questions! Why wasn’t I allowed to help others! Why did you attack for no reason!”
His voice grew louder and louder, until at last he roared, almost shaking.
“Why did you send to the Internet Addiction Camp!!”
When Zhang Wenda cried out those words he had never spoken even in a past life, a ringing sound echoed in his ears, growing louder and stronger.
But at that mont, he didn’t care about the ringing in his ears.
He simply craned his neck upward, staring fiercely at the two monsters in front of him, watching as their two hollow mouths slowly opened, speaking a muffled phrase from within.
“Because... we... love you.”
Hearing such a ridiculous response, Zhang Wenda suddenly laughed inexplicably.
Sotis, when people face sothing unbelievable, they can only laugh helplessly.
Since coming to this world, he had encountered far too many strange and senseless things—so many that he thought nothing could surprise him anymore.
But whether it was the Youth Center, the Library, or the Network World, all of it paled in comparison to this one sentence.
Everything he had experienced put together wasn’t as grotesque as this one sentence.
They had tornted him repeatedly, sent him to a place of tornt—and the reason turned out to be love?
Zhang Wenda shook his head firmly.
“No, you don’t love . You never even saw as a person. You just wanted an obedient tool to care for you in old age. Anything that went against you was rebellion, was unfilial!”
“You’re always right! In your eyes, I was just a punching bag! Any negative emotion could be vented on without restraint! Because I’m your son! I couldn’t escape!”
“Do you even know what my nickna was at school? Huh? Do you?”
“You don’t know!!”
Zhang Wenda jabbed his right index finger into his chest, his voice trembling.
“My nickna was Mouse! Do you know why? It wasn’t just because I was small and thin when I was little! It was because every ti you beat , I curled up and fled like a rat! That nickna ca from the kids who saw like that!”
“I finally understand now—Yang Yongxin can never truly be killed. As long as there are fake adults like you in this world, when one Internet Addiction Camp falls, another Yuzhang Academy will rise!”
“Where there’s demand, there’s a market. You’re the ones giving them money. You’re the ones creating that market! It’s you!!”
Zhang Wenda pointed his finger straight at them.
“You’re the ones who kept them alive. You’re the foundation that built that despairing hell of humiliation, beatings, and electric shocks!”
In the face of Zhang Wenda’s accusations, the scythe monsters let out low, angry growls, mixed with scattered, single words.
At that mont, the hollows all over their bodies seed to buzz, echoing the roars from their mouths.
They seed to be saying sothing, trying to explain—but Zhang Wenda couldn’t understand.
Right now, he and his parents felt like two entirely different species, as if even their languages no longer aligned.
The more they spoke, the more agitated they beca.
The scythes in their hands began to swing again, slashing fresh wounds across Zhang Wenda’s body.
But when those familiar wounds reappeared, and the inexplicable negative emotions surged back up, Zhang Wenda suddenly understood where those irrational feelings had co from.
They ca from the fear and helplessness he felt as a child, beaten without knowing why or what he’d done wrong.
Back then, he had no idea what mistake he’d made.
But now, he finally understood—he hadn’t done anything wrong.
They were the ones who were wrong!
A scythe with a lingering afterimage slashed toward him again, and Zhang Wenda reached out, gripping it tightly in his palm.
Blood dripped from the base of his thumb.
Zhang Wenda held the scythe firmly, staring at them with resolve.
“I won’t do it anymore. I never will again!”
Just as the four scythes were about to pierce Zhang Wenda’s chest again, the yellow core was completely exhausted.
Everything around him quickly faded.
The bodies of the scythe monsters turned rapidly transparent.
Within just a few seconds, he returned once again to the old tube-shaped apartnt.
He was back.
Zhang Wenda looked around at everything, at the nostalgic ho.
He stood frozen in place, unmoving even as night fell.
Only he knew what he was thinking at that mont.
Just as the room was plunged into darkness, with a click, the television turned on.
The antenna, holding a bundle of greens, slowly drooped down, and the noisy TV sounds broke the silence.
Suddenly, Zhang Wenda moved.
He stood up.
He took a flashlight from his bag and calmly walked toward the door.
As he approached the doorway, he saw a bowl of noodles placed on the open folding table, steam still rising from it—it looked freshly made.
Zhang Wenda stood at the door, paused in thought, then turned back.
He picked up the bowl of noodles and flung it hard onto the ground.
With the shattering sound of ceramic, he turned and walked toward the door without hesitation.
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