RNP Chapter 52 Zhang Jie and A Nightmare on Elm Street 2
Chapter 52 Zhang Jie and A Nightmare on Elm Street 2
"Brothers."
Those two words, tinged with a hint of hoarseness and awkwardness, acted like a key, suddenly breaking through a frozen atmosphere and prying open a dusty door deep in memory.
Zheng Zha's body trembled almost imperceptibly. He stared at the familiar yet unfamiliar face, at the electronic eyes that churned with complex emotions within their crimson hues. His Adam's apple bobbed, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he only let out a heavy "Hmm!" from his nose, as if using all his strength. Ba Wang grinned, wanting to laugh, but the smile he managed only formed a slightly stiff arc. Li Shuaixi gripped the hilt of his knife, and Zero's action of wiping his sniper rifle paused for half a second. Zhan Lan's eyes were slightly red, Ming Yanwei seemed lost in thought, and Zhao Yingkong's gaze lingered on Zhang Jie's face for a moment longer. Chu Xuan pushed up his glasses, and the data stream behind the lenses accelerated silently.
After the initial shock, Wang Lin's face slowly revealed a peculiar expression, a mixture of relief, realization, and a hint of... mischievousness.
He looked Zhang Jie (let's call him that for now) up and down—his white guide uniform, his still-upright but subtly less "mechanical" figure—before his gaze finally settled on his eyes. His mental matrix told him that his teammate (who couldn't yet be fully defined as a "guide") exhibited extremely complex mental fluctuations. At the core was a vast, cold, and rigorous flow of rule data, like a boundless glacier. But on the surface of this glacier, a relatively weak layer of consciousness, filled with "human" warmth and chaotic colors, rippled like a thin mist. These two fluctuations weren't clearly distinct, but rather existed in a subtle, dynamic state, sometimes clashing, sometimes merging.
"Oh……"
A soft chuckle broke the silence. Wang Lin shook his head, looking at Zhang Jie/ZJ-7341, his tone carrying an almost absurd sigh: "I say, Lao Zhang, this 'maintenance' of yours... did the main god send you back to the factory for repairs and add some 'nostalgia patches' on the side?"
He paused, and under Zhang Jie/ZJ-7341's slightly raised eyebrow (a gesture that seemed particularly "vivid") gaze, he slowly, in a tone that only the veteran members of the Zhongzhou team could instantly understand, added that earth-shattering joke:
"Or is it that the God of War thinks that when you were scratched by that nightmare claw of Freddy in this 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' instance last time, leaving you in a 'semi-guide' state, your skills weren't up to par, leaving 'aftereffects'? So this time, He specially sent you back to let you experience it again at the 'crime scene,' so that he can give your 'humanity' part, this 'half-finished product,' a 'factory calibration'?"
As soon as the words were spoken, the air under the dim streetlights of Elm Street seemed to freeze for a moment.
Zheng Zha's eyes widened suddenly as he looked at Wang Lin, then at Zhang Jie/ZJ-7341, his face filled with shock, "Holy crap, it can be interpreted like this?!" Zhan Lan covered her mouth, Ba Wang and Li Shuaixi exchanged bewildered glances, and even Chu Xuan stopped his data analysis, his sharp gaze behind his glasses fixed on Wang Lin and Zhang Jie.
"A Nightmare on Elm Street"... "Attacked by Freddy"... "The Half-Guide"...
These keywords, like pebbles thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirred up a tidal wave in the hearts of all the veteran team members! They were the most crucial and tragic secret and turning point concerning the character Zhang Jie in the original novel "Infinite Terror"! They were forbidden information hidden deep within their memory databases, known only to those who "knew the truth"!
At this moment, Wang Lin actually pointed it out directly in such a mocking way, even with a hint of "rubbing salt into the wound"! Moreover, it precisely matched Zhang Jie/ZJ-7341's vague self-description of being a "half-newcomer" and "finding something," as well as the main god's prompts of "emotional suppression module adjustment" and "non-standard fluctuations in behavioral logic"!
This isn't a joke at all! It's like using the most casual tone to tear down the bloody barrier between "the present ZJ-7341" and "the past Zhang Jie"!
The moment Wang Lin uttered the words "A Nightmare on Elm Street," "Freddy," and "Semi-Guide," Zhang Jie/ZJ-7341's body suddenly stiffened! It wasn't a physical stiffness, but rather the faint, nascent flow of "humanity" around him abruptly intensified and became chaotic, like water in a pool churned by a boulder! The complex crimson light in his eyes flickered wildly, the conflict between data streams and fragments of emotion almost overflowing from his eyes!
For the first time, a distinct and uncontrollable distortion appeared on his face. It was no longer an awkward attempt, but a genuine, instinctive reaction stemming from a violent upheaval deep within his consciousness—pain, bewilderment, horror, and a fragmented, terrifying remnant of memories forcibly retrieved from the depths of data: "claws," "nightmares," "a sense of tearing," and "the forced injection of cold rules"!
"You...!" He let out a short, hissing sound, a mixture of electronic noise and human pain, and instinctively took a half-step back. His left hand shot up to his temple, as if trying to press down on the "head," which was suddenly throbbing intensely and not in a physical sense. Beneath the white Guide's uniform, faint, chaotic energy shone through.
"Wang Lin!" Zheng Zha roared, taking a half-step forward to stand between Wang Lin and Zhang Jie/ZJ-7341. Although he himself was shaken by Wang Lin's words, his instinct to protect his teammates (regardless of their condition) prevailed. He stared nervously at Zhang Jie/ZJ-7341, whose condition was clearly off.
"Data analysis..." Chu Xuan's voice rang out, cold and rapid, "Target unit energy reading disorder increased by 300%, logic loop self-check alarm occurred, emotion simulation module overload... Warning, high load conflict may trigger protocol protective shutdown or unpredictable behavior."
"I'm not provoking him, I'm anchoring him!" Wang Lin's voice rang out urgently in the mental matrix. Instead of retreating, he met Zhang Jie/ZJ-7341's chaotic gaze with another step forward, his eyes sharp as knives, as if trying to pierce through the crimson layer and look directly at the sealed soul beneath. "Old Zhang! Listen! This is Nightmare on Elm Street! The place that dragged you into nightmares and turned you into this ghostly figure! Freddy is still here! He's definitely already watching us! Those 'instruction manuals' and 'other things outside the user manual' that are running wild in your head right now are the 'gifts' he left you, the 'hidden dangers' that the Main God either didn't completely fix or deliberately left as 'fuse'!"
He spoke rapidly, each word like a nail, hammering into Zhang Jie/ZJ-7341's turbulent consciousness: "You said it yourself, you feel like a 'half-newcomer,' having regained something! What is that 'something'? It's what you lost here! It's your fear, your struggle, the damn evidence that you lived as 'Zhang Jie'! The Supreme God sent you back this time and even adjusted your 'emotional suppression'—you think it's being kind and giving you psychological counseling? Bullshit! It's using Freddy's hand, using the rules of this 'old place,' to detonate the contradiction between the 'humanity virus' that wasn't completely cleaned from you and its 'guide antivirus software' all at once! Either completely format you, or… force out a new 'stable version' that it can accept!"
Wang Lin suddenly pointed to his head, then to Zhang Jie/ZJ-7341: "My mental matrix, Chu Xuan's calculations, Zhan Lan's stability, Zheng Zha and the others' fists, and that 'brothers' you just shouted—this is the 'anchor' we can give you! It's the 'rope' to help you fight against the God's 'formatting,' against Freddy's scum's 'contamination,' and to pull your 'half-human' out of this murky water! But you have to grab it yourself first! You have to recognize whether you are the God's '7341-ZJ,' or our 'Zhang Jie'! Or... do you fucking want to become a monster that doesn't even know what it is, torn apart by both sides?!"
These words struck like a thunderbolt, resounding in everyone's hearts, and also echoing in the turbulent depths of Zhang Jie/ZJ-7341's consciousness.
The crimson light in his eyes flickered violently, sometimes as cold as data scanning, sometimes as chaotic as an emotional storm. The muscles in his face twitched, as if countless voices, countless memories, and countless contradictory commands were battling in his mind. The absolute rationality belonging to "Guide 7341-ZJ" was frantically alarming, demanding immediate blocking of interference, execution of the protocol, and suppression of the anomaly. The awakened, shattered emotions and memories belonging to "Zhang Jie" were screaming, in pain, in bewilderment, yet stimulated by the familiar and terrifying name of "A Nightmare on Elm Street," and called by the term "brothers," a faint but tenacious desire to grasp at something arose.
"I..." he began again, his voice terribly hoarse, the electronic noise even louder, but the trembling of a "human" voice within it growing ever clearer, "I am not... a tool... nor... complete..."
He suddenly clutched his head, his body hunching over, letting out a low growl of pain. Beneath his white uniform, chaotic energy flickered erratically, and tiny sparks, like those from an overloaded circuit, danced across his skin.
"Zhang Jie!" Zheng Zha couldn't help but shout, his fists clenched tightly.
Just then—
"Hehehe..."
A faint, hoarse laugh, seemingly coming from a very distant place yet also sounding as if it were right next to someone's ear, filled with a malicious pleasure, echoed eerily in the quiet Elm Street without warning.
The moment the laughter broke the silence, everyone felt a chilling, rusty, and acrid sensation creep up their spines. The streetlights seemed to dim for a moment, and countless eyes seemed to flash across the darkness in the windows of the surrounding houses.
Almost simultaneously, the cold, authoritative voice of the Supreme God echoed in everyone's minds:
[Enter the world: A Nightmare on Elm Street.]
[Main Mission 1: Survive for seven days on Elm Street. Mission successful: Each survivor receives 3000 reward points and one C-rank side quest. Mission failed: Elimination.]
[Main Quest Two: Uncover the truth about "Freddy Krueger" and obtain at least one "token" or "credential" related to his origins. Successful completion of the quest grants the entire team one B-rank side quest and 5000 reward points.]
[Main Mission 3 (Optional): Completely destroy the nightmare source of "Freddy Krueger," or permanently banish him from Elm Street. Upon successful completion, each participant will receive one A-rank side quest and 8000 reward points.]
[WARNING: This world is governed by a powerful "Dream Erosion" rule. Falling asleep may result in being dragged into Freddy's Nightmare Realm. Death in the nightmare will also kill your physical body in reality. Stay awake, or prepare to fight within the nightmare.]
[Special Note: A special unit (Guide 7341-ZJ) has been detected in the team, and its status has been marked as "High Resonance Risk". This unit will become Freddy's priority target for corruption, and its dream stability will greatly affect the overall safety of the team.]
The moment the notification tone ended, the hoarse laughter seemed to become clearer and more malicious, surging in from all directions like a tide, accompanied by the harsh sound of metal scraping against metal, and... faint noises of children crying and women screaming.
Freddy... has arrived. And, just as Wang Lin predicted, he immediately "smelled" the most delicious "feast," full of "cracks" and "contradictions"—Freddy, who had just returned, was in an extremely unstable state, and whose body was filled with a fierce conflict between "humanity" and "divinity"...
Zhang Jie/ZJ-7341.
In the dim light of Elm Street, the members of the Central Continent Team stood back to back, weapons in hand, their mental energy fields fully activated, vigilantly watching every inch of the writhing shadows around them. Meanwhile, in the center of the arena, Zhang Jie/ZJ-7341 slowly released his hands from his head and straightened up.
The crimson light in his eyes still flickered, but the level of chaos seemed to have... decreased slightly. In its place was a deeper, more profound sharpness, a blend of icy resolve and the fierce edge that belonged to "Zhang Jie."
The awkward expression on his face had vanished, leaving only an almost numb calm. But everyone could sense that beneath that calm lay a monstrous wave that had just been forcibly "anchored" and temporarily suppressed by Wang Lin's words, and beneath that wave, something more essential—something that had been stung, enraged, and awakened.
He turned his neck, making a slight "click" sound, like metal parts meshing together, and his gaze swept over his teammates who were on high alert, finally settling on Wang Lin's face.
"Wang Lin..." he began, his voice still hoarse and electronic, but much calmer, even carrying a faint, almost sinister smile that belonged to "Zhang Jie".
"You fucking...you're right."
He raised his hand, not to his forehead, but to gently press it on his left chest—the location of the energy core beneath the Guide's uniform, but also where...a human heart once beat.
"This is the crime scene."
"That bastard Freddy owes me."
"That damned God isn't up to any good either."
He lowered his hand, his crimson electronic eyes scanning the dimly lit street, past the shadows of the houses that seemed to be snickering, and finally, looking at his teammates.
"this time……"
"I'm going to get it all back, with interest!"
The moment his words fell, the last trace of absolute peace belonging to a "guide" vanished completely from his eyes, replaced by an almost tangible killing intent mixed with the cold, data-driven rage and the boiling fury of humanity—
Fighting spirit!
The nightmare of A Nightmare on Elm Street officially begins with Zhang Jie/ZJ-7341's long-suppressed, pained, and resigned growl, drawing back the bloody curtain. And this time, the identities of hunter and prey may have been blurred from the very beginning.