Chapter 15: Chapter 15: The Guards
A flicker of joy crossed Zhang Wenda’s face as he felt fear welling up inside him.
’This proves I’m in the right place. This is the brain of the Youth Palace!’
’Its fear also means that this is its fatal weakness!’
He stared at the triangular mass of flesh and spoke. "Scared? Do you know you’re about to die? You have to. You have to die so we can live."
Just then, the fear began to intensify, and the surrounding walls of flesh trembled as if they, too, were afraid.
The fear was so intense that it almost stopped Zhang Wenda in his tracks.
’But I’ve come this far. There’s no reason to stop now.’
Zhang Wenda gritted his teeth, clenched a fist, and slammed it against his own head several times.
Pushing through the interfering emotions, he forced himself forward, step by step, until he was beside the brain. He stared at the fleshy mass, took a deep breath, and said, "It’s either you or us. My life has just begun. I refuse to die here."
With that, Zhang Wenda grabbed a sharp spike and, without a moment’s hesitation, shoved it in. The next second, the transparent mass of flesh spurted more fluid, and a pain so intense it felt like his head was being torn in two forced him to let go. He collapsed to the ground.
’Pain. So much pain.’ Zhang Wenda had expected it to hurt, but he’d never imagined it would be this agonizing.
As he gritted his teeth and tried to get back up, a loud BANG echoed. A massive force sent Zhang Wenda flying, and he slammed hard against the wall.
If the walls hadn’t been made of flesh, he probably would have broken several bones.
When Zhang Wenda shakily pushed himself up against the wall, he saw a hazy, translucent membrane of flesh had formed between him and the triangular mass. Dangling from it were black game pieces sprouting centipede legs.
These were clearly the guardians of the Youth Palace’s brain. Before Zhang Wenda could even figure out how they’d appeared, another tremendous force struck, sending him flying again.
While Zhang Wenda was being relentlessly attacked, a small black dot squeezed through a crack in a nearby wall. It was the Black Cat, and it was carrying half a sheet of paper with Old Ding’s picture on it in its mouth.
The little cat lowered its head and placed the paper on the ground. Then it lifted its tiny paws and began to gently knead the paper, like a kitten making biscuits, pressing it down into the flesh and blood.
The very next second, the cold floor began to return. Black-and-white tiles spread out, replacing the flesh and covering the ground. The entire chamber gradually transformed into a classroom.
And Zhang Wenda could finally see his enemies clearly: a plaster bust, a globe, and a large wooden triangle ruler of the kind used by math teachers.
Seeing them in this other form, Zhang Wenda felt a surge of anger instead of fear. ’You think I’m afraid of this?’
He spat a mouthful of bloody saliva, tightened his grip on his flashlight, and charged forward without a second thought. He plunged into a chaotic battle with the globe, the triangle ruler, and the plaster bust.
The two sides closed in on each other rapidly. The globe was the first to attack. The heavy sphere whizzed through the air, aimed squarely at Zhang Wenda’s midsection!
Zhang Wenda slid sideways in a flash, pressing himself against the cold, newly-formed blackboard. The globe whistled past, brushing against his clothes before crashing violently into the nearby lectern.
Before he could even catch his breath, Zhang Wenda sensed something cutting through the air above him. He snapped his head up to see the giant wooden triangle ruler!
It was coming straight down, its sharp wooden edge aimed for the top of his skull! The attack was as precise and merciless as a mathematical formula, seemingly determined to drill abstruse mathematical knowledge straight into his brain!
"CLANG—!"
As a faint red light shone from Zhang Wenda’s forearm, the violent impact between the hardwood and his flashlight produced a piercing crack. Sparks flew! The immense recoil tore open the webbing of his thumb, and blood gushed out. His only good hand went numb.
But his immense strength gave him an advantage in that moment, knocking the triangle ruler far away.
With one less enemy to worry about, Zhang Wenda switched from defense to offense. He seized the brief opening as the clumsy globe was righting itself.
Ducking under a plaster fist from the bust, he slid across the cold floor, ending up at the globe’s lower-left side.
Zhang Wenda saw his chance. Using all his might, he swung his flashlight and smashed its heavy base into the metal axis supporting the globe!
The red light flared again. "CRUNCH—CRACK!"
The sickening sound of rending metal echoed through the room! The globe let out a piercing screech. Its copper surface was dented, its lines of longitude and latitude twisted, and it rolled uselessly on the floor like a dead planet.
With another enemy down, the pressure on Zhang Wenda eased considerably. He sidestepped another of the triangle ruler’s "mathematical attacks" and, with a roar, charged the plaster bust.
The red light on his arm had nearly faded, but Zhang Wenda didn’t care. He channeled all his remaining power into that arm, concentrating hundreds of pounds of force into a single point.
The blow was immensely powerful. The plaster shattered on impact with the metal flashlight, and the entire bust collapsed.
Zhang Wenda was covered in wounds, but with two enemies defeated, the outcome of the battle was certain.
When the triangle ruler swung at him again, he dodged and seized it with one hand. Pinning it to the floor to brace its right-angled shape, he raised his foot and stomped down hard.
After several hard stomps, the ruler’s handle and a large chunk of wood near the grip were snapped off. The triangle ruler let out a sharp, humming vibration, and what was left of it trembled violently before falling and sticking into the floor at an angle, lifeless.
Zhang Wenda panted heavily, his body stained with a mixture of sweat and blood. His left arm throbbed with pain, and the torn webbing of his right thumb burned.
He’d sustained more injuries, but in the end, he had won.
He glanced toward the corner. The Black Cat was still tirelessly kneading the paper with Old Ding on it. With every press of its tiny paws, it seemed to be forcing more "reality" into this space, pushing back against the encroaching flesh.
It was only then that Zhang Wenda understood. Rabbit had used Old Ding from the guide to transform this bizarre creature from underground into the Youth Palace. ’No wonder he had to hand out the guides before pulling back the curtain.’
Mr. Ding’s Guide to the Youth Palace. Only with Old Ding could you get through the Youth Palace. Without Old Ding, there was no Youth Palace.
Having destroyed the globe, the plaster bust, and the triangle ruler, Zhang Wenda could finally face his true enemy: the Youth Palace itself.
When Zhang Wenda looked forward again, he saw that the triangular, transparent mass of flesh was gone. Floating in its place was a colorful crayon drawing of a house with a rainbow archway.
Zhang Wenda could see a small tear in the drawing’s top-left corner, as if a piece had been ripped away. As that familiar, resonant fear washed over him once more, he understood what the drawing represented.
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