Bloody Butcher

"?"

The Butcher's daughter, isn't she already dead?

To be honest, Xiao Xiao was indeed startled by the Butcher's sudden appearance. At the same time, countless questions arose in his mind, such as how the Butcher appeared on the battlefield of the Rotten Kingdom? From his perspective, were the events he experienced the same as what he saw? And where did his intense anger and bloodlust come from?

However, he felt a little hesitant to ask.

The events that occurred in the Rotten Kingdom are still vivid in my mind.

The cause of this whole thing should be myself, right?

When his chest was filled with anger, he had the urge to kill everything in that Rotten Kingdom. It was then that he gave that order without thinking for the first time.

Therefore, it wasn't just the Enchanting Record Player and the Pain Hound that received the order.

There are also Butcher.

It was in this Xiao Xiao margin of error that the Butcher was summoned to the battlefield.

But he was supposed to be just an ordinary person...

Even if he's holding a chainsaw...

But that's not the case at all. In Xiao Xiao's eyes, the Butcher was simply like...

... a demon.

From the moment he appeared, or rather, from the moment the chainsaw began to tear apart the body of the first twisted creature, an unexpected change occurred: his increasingly tall body, and the chainsaw that seemed to have an insatiable thirst for blood...

... Unlike the Pain Hound, he did not transform from an ordinary destructive hound through enhancement.

And the essence of it is this kind of distorted existence.

It's as if he didn't need any enhancement; he summoned himself to that battlefield, which in itself represented a certain meaning.

The meaning of tearing away his superficial disguise to reveal his terrifying true nature.

In a flash of thought, Xiao Xiao took out his phone and stuck the information card on the back of the phone.

Immediately, a message appeared on the dark red screen:

[Special Dangerous Item: Bloody Butcher]

[Danger Level: Class B]

[Ability Description: The flames of vengeance constantly lick at his heart. When he loses his target for revenge, he is plunged into an endless purgatory of torment, forever enduring the scorching heat of those flames. Upon being summoned again, he found his true self.]

[Warning: Didn't I tell you not to release the demon? (Hands on hips) What should we do? (Shrugs)]

[Suggestion: Since it's already been released, why not try strengthening it again?]

[Secondary Enhancement Cost: 10,000 points]

[Friendly reminder: After undergoing a second enhancement, he will be promoted to the rank of Hellbringer, which is extremely ferocious...]

[...]

Xiao Xiao felt a chill run down his spine as he read this, then suddenly noticed there was more content below:

"Safety recommendations..."

"..."

On a whim, I quickly swiped down, and then the face of the elderly man on the subway appeared:

[Safety advice: Haha, just kidding. This thing doesn't have any safety advice, only danger...]

But perhaps, when you completely lose control of him, try calling him 'Dad'?

[...]

"What the hell are these things?"

Xiao Xiao was so enraged that he almost smashed his phone.

Why does this introduction sound like it's gloating?

The Butcher was indeed strengthened, but this is where Xiao Xiao's biggest grievance lies... It doesn't seem like he strengthened himself.

I swear on my conscience.

Furthermore, the Butcher shouldn't have absorbed the Pain Substance to strengthen himself after killing those rotting creatures.

Xiao Xiao remembered clearly that the Butcher completed his enhancement the instant he swung his chainsaw at the first Aberrant Creature...

Previously, the Butcher required 1000 points to upgrade.

In other words, he needs 1000 points worth of Pain Substance to complete the enhancement.

But why is it that the enhancement is completed simply by summoning him?

Xiao Xiao's mind raced. The keenness brought by the Insightful Path made him constantly recall various details and speculate:

Perhaps, the moment the Butcher picked up the chainsaw again, a flood of memories came flooding back?

The moment he returned to the battlefield, he generated that massive amount of Pain Substance within himself, thus completing his self-reinforcement.

These are all possibilities, but other aspects...

Class B!

Xiao Xiao clearly remembered that even after being upgraded, the Pain Hound and the record player were only at Class C.

Why did the Butcher jump directly to Class B?

Can this thing skip grades?

Furthermore, why did the City Will directly give the name of the next stage of the Butcher's enhancement?

Hellbringer...

Is it just that they will become very ferocious?

There's also that safety advice...

... Isn't this some kind of will standing by with its hands on its hips, waiting to see itself make a fool of itself?

... Compared to others, the Butcher is more dangerous to me, isn't he?

"I guess I'm still just a newbie after all..."

All these thoughts, whether clear or complex, left Xiao Xiao feeling somewhat bewildered and confused.

Unable to understand and explain all of this based on the information he had, he could only shake his head helplessly.

Previously, Ruan Ruan was assigned to Yang Jia's side as a reinforcement designer, probably to guide her and help her gradually understand everything. However, at the beginning, Ruan Ruan's training of her was done in the same way as that of an ordinary newcomer from another place.

But later, even Mingming she hadn't taught much, she inexplicably felt that she didn't need to be trained anymore.

No, I still have to fight for this right.

After peeling out the last piece of intestine and giving it to the pitiful-looking count, Xiao Xiao returned home.

In any case, this experience made him realize his current abilities. Apart from his own Insightful path and one-third of the Strong Soul element, both the Pain Hound and this seemingly dangerous and uncontrollable Butcher had been of great help to him. As a gambler... no, as someone who had one foot in the Collectors's path, it was quite good.

Only that Enchanting Record Player still made him feel uneasy.

"In the pitch-black night, the sounds of low breathing echoed all around. As their strength waned, they were covered in a light sweat..."

"..."

But just as Xiao Xiao was thinking this, he was about to open the door and go inside when he suddenly heard a soft and delicate voice in his ear.

Xiao Xiao was initially startled, but then he quickly recognized that it was the style of Old Record Player.

Although it was the first time he had heard this woman's voice, the subtly playing background music was all too familiar.

"Touching that rounded protrusion, the delicate feel traveled to my brain, making me eager to explore downwards."

"Finally, I touched that forbidden zone filled with anticipation. Thinking that only mine could enter, a smile involuntarily crept onto my lips as I felt a surge of satisfaction and expectation. My other hand gently lifted that thing, hard as a rock, and slowly slid it towards that forbidden zone..."

"..."

Just as he was thinking, the delicate voice kept ringing in Xiao Xiao's ears, which immediately made Xiao Xiao's brain blood vessels throb.

Holy crap...

What's this?

Is this Old Record Player for real?

No, I have to stop her. I can't let her do this. Although I was a little annoyed with her for not trying hard enough just now, this...

"Finally, I entered that long-lost forbidden zone, and it smoothly reached the deepest part without any resistance..."

"They're a match made in heaven for me..."

"I couldn't help but quicken my pace and pull hard..."

"..."

Xiao Xiao listened, his ears burning with embarrassment, and he decided to give her a stern reprimand and stop her immediately.

Then I heard her tone suddenly become relaxed:

"The door is open..."

"The power was out in the stairwell, and it was so hard to climb ten floors in complete darkness and fumble for my keys to open the door..."

"..."

"Swish..."

Xiao Xiao almost tripped and fell, and the door lock in his hand opened at that moment.

What the hell is this?

He turned his head angrily to look at the second-floor window with the white curtains fluttering, and felt like he wanted to curse out loud.

"Whee..."

Faint, indistinct laughter could be heard.

Just as Xiao Xiao angrily warned and persuaded the Enchanting Record Player "doing this is wrong," Yang Jia drove back to her apartment alone. She sat in the car, silently finished a menthol cigarette, and then slowly dialed a number.

"Mister Ye, the problem of the Rotten Kingdom has been solved."

"Congratulations."

A gentle electronic voice whispered, "I've always believed you can do it."

"I believe it too."

Yang Jia answered softly, paused for a moment, and then said, "But there are still some things I don't understand. The plan to resolve the Rotten Kingdom was something we both prepared for a lot, but why did such a loophole still occur in the end? Why was the target I initially understood to be just a slightly stronger Rotten Leader, and why was the true core of the Rotten Kingdom..."

"... They actually ran right up to him?"

"..."

A gentle electronic voice said softly, "Even we, in our information gathering, might..."

You want to tell me it's a coincidence?

Yang Jia interrupted him, unusually, and said Mingming, "It was Mingming me who put the most pressure on the Rotten Kingdom. Even if I had targeted the wrong core of the Rotten Kingdom, it should have been attracted to me. But instead, it ended up with Xiao Xiao, who should have been the least confident in resolving the crisis. And yet, the person who was least confident in resolving the crisis solved it in the most perfect way."

She paused slightly, then said softly, "If all of this is just a coincidence, then there are far too many coincidences..."

The gentle electronic voice fell silent.

After waiting for a while, Yang Jia said, "Mister Ye, you were originally the person I trusted most besides the Old Chairman."

A gentle electronic voice spoke up, "You can still trust me now."

"But you are, after all, a member of Dante Organization..."

Will you stay in Black Gate City?

I had to go through a long review process to write this joke...

Note: The joke was provided by a fellow reader [Darksun]. Thank you! We are still looking for spooky or unique music and jokes. Music with lyrics is preferred; instrumental music doesn't quite live up to the hype.