Second Enhancement

"They want to kill me, but they won't even tell me why they want to kill me..."

"Just say, 'I'm willing'?"

Even in the midst of fierce battles, Xiao Xiao often felt like he couldn't control his thoughts and was having all sorts of wild ideas.

Of course, this does not mean that he still has the strength to spare. In fact, he has been cornered. The overwhelming power of the swift and powerful Strong Soul Master has left him struggling to defend himself, and his mind is stretched to the limit. However, from the strange mist that appeared behind him, a pale and strange hand suddenly reached out and grabbed his neck, carrying a chilling aura.

Xiao Xiao suddenly lowered his shoulder, not only dodging the grab, but also dodging another swift attack from the Strong Soul Dagger.

He twisted his body abruptly and fired at the other person.

But the bullets struck nothing as they pierced the fog; all that could be heard was a chuckle, and the other party had vanished.

"A mysterious fog that ignores physical attacks?"

Xiao Xiao's heart sank.

The Enhancement Element that Ruan Ruan had shown him before flashed through his mind. They were all strange items that were indeed powerful, but either for one-time use or too expensive. Under normal circumstances, few outsiders would choose these. But now, they were readily available on the Silver Bullet Family members, as if they were worthless.

How could they be so strong?

Or rather, how does one appear so wealthy?

But the situation didn't give him a chance to process his confusion and shock. The powerful warrior behind him missed with his stab and immediately swept his leg across. Xiao Xiao, whose body was forced to the limit of his dodging, could only raise his arms to block the kick. Instantly, his body was sent flying.

He stomped his feet on the ground, almost plowing a furrow, and after a brief silence, he suddenly gushed out a mouthful of blood.

"Is that all you've got?"

A towering, powerful figure and a ghostly silhouette, their Ghost Shadow appearing and disappearing in the eerie mist, advanced simultaneously, their voices mocking:

"What happened to the method you used to kill the Ghost Man?"

"This seems to contradict all the legends about you in Black Gate City..."

"..."

They laughed and joked, but were unwilling to waste any time, quickly lunging forward.

Woof woof...

But behind them, Ghost and Erha roared and charged out of the crowd. They were grabbed by the locals who were holding them in place from time to time. Their bodies were covered in bloody wounds, and they looked like flesh was being torn apart and blood was flowing freely. But they still did not give up chasing the two people. Especially when they saw Xiao Xiao in danger, they roared and charged towards them.

"Bang!"

But the powerful being simply raised his hand and waved it, and the ghost instantly flew out, crashing into the wall with a sound of bones shattering.

The Erha, rushing towards the Ghost Shadow in the mist, inexplicably passed through the mist, but a huge wound was instantly cut open on its body, almost splitting its entire spine open, and then its body fell uncontrollably towards Xiao Xiao.

Xiao Xiao reached out and hugged it, but the impact caused him to vomit another mouthful of blood.

But his hands were trembling, afraid of hurting the Erha.

This dog, which is usually very annoying, seemed to have lost all its strength all at once, stuck out its tongue and licked him.

Xiao Xiao's heart suddenly started to contract uncontrollably.

"Ha ha..."

The powerful being and the Ghost Shadow in the mist both let out excited laughter, leaped high into the air, and struck Xiao Xiao with a heavy blow.

Xiao Xiao suddenly looked up at them.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

Everything happened too fast. From the appearance of the Silver Bullet Family to now, it has only been less than fifteen seconds. In those fifteen seconds, Xiao Xiao has not had a moment to catch his breath, not even a few words. But in Xiao Xiao's mind, everything was too slow, so slow that he thought about many meaningless questions.

He felt the life of the big yellow dog, Earl, slip away slowly, second by second, and then he saw the severely injured ghost and the Erha.

His slow pace led him to a new insight into his usual tendency to overthink.

Facing these two people is really stressful...

Constantly teetering on the edge of death, constantly feeling anger, pain, and helplessness.

When I was facing Ruan Ruan and Little Four, I felt a lot of pressure, but I didn't feel this way.

Why doesn't it work now?

What is the biggest difference between them and Ruan Ruan and Little Four?

Yes.

It was malicious.

The other party's blatant, unreasonable, and rampant malice came crashing down on me, suffocating me.

He finally realized why the attitude of the Silver Bullet Family felt familiar. It was because it was the same kind of despair that Black Gate City had experienced before. During the Black Gate Mist Incident, the Hell Organization that descended from the sky brought to the strangers of Black Gate City —a kind of uncontrollable malice that required no pity or bottom line, only unrestrained indulgence, and the inflicting of one's own malice on others.

All members of the Silver Bullet Family carried this malice.

Xiao Xiao hated this malice.

So what should we do...?

Not far away, Little Four, who was in the shadows, noticed Xiao Xiao's danger and was eager to crawl out of the shadows to rescue him, but was grabbed back by a hand in the shadows. The two rolled around in the shadows, and the sound of blades cutting flesh could be heard from time to time.

Three streets away, Ruan Ruan's hands and feet were bound by the prisoner's chains.

She struggled with all her might to break free, but to no avail. Behind her, a man holding a silver revolver appeared, smiling as he aimed at her Ruan Ruan, bound body. Suddenly, he flicked his finger, and bloodthirsty Silver Bullet shot out of the barrel.

"Then I'll return the malice to you..."

At the same time, Xiao Xiao faced the powerful warriors and mistmen who leaped into the air and charged fiercely towards him.

He silently thought to himself, then looked up at the city and uttered an order:

"Enhance, Pain Hound!"

"..."

Strengthening special items is dangerous, especially in battle, because over 95% of special items will instantly collapse and mutate upon strengthening, turning against their owner immediately. However, Xiao Xiao still decided to do it. After all, he felt the three Pain Hound's lingering affection for him and sensed their impending death. He couldn't help but do something else at this moment...

Even after being strengthened, they might still die, and I would have wasted my points.

Perhaps after being strengthened, they will instantly mutate and turn against themselves.

But does that mean I should just do nothing?

I am certainly not a gambler.

But who hasn't had the experience of fighting for that tiny bit of hope?

There are no gambling addicts in this world, only pathetic gamblers unwilling to give up even the slightest chance of success...

"Whoosh!"

At the same moment Xiao Xiao uttered the word "enhance," the city, which had ceased functioning under the influence of a mysterious force, seemed to be suddenly awakened. In the center of the city, amidst towering buildings, a gaze suddenly turned menacingly toward this place.

The gaze was so intense and terrifying that even the leaping Powerful Souls and Mistmen were instantly startled.

"Is this guy planning Pain Substance -destruction?"

They were clearly experienced people; they answered immediately upon seeing it.

Conflicts among strangers are frequent, and there are also cases of desperate people resorting to all sorts of tricks to take their opponents with them. Some of them deliberately strengthen their special items in the midst of fierce battles, not only to seize that tiny bit of hope, but also because their hatred for their opponents exceeds their desire to die, and they want the Aberrant Creature to take both themselves and their enemies with them.

Now they assumed that Xiao Xiao was doing the same thing, so they slowed down their actions.

The city's gaze then fell upon the three Pain Hound.

This included the Erha Xiao Xiao was holding, the ghost that had been hit hard against the wall, and the count lying not far away.

As their gazes fell upon them, a torrent of terrifying, Pain Substance poured into their dying bodies.

Their bodies suddenly convulsed violently, and their dark red flesh churned and twisted little by little, like deformed monsters.

At the same moment, in the old street where Xiao Xiao's family lived.

The neighbor's little girl, Nuo Nuo, is in the study, eating snacks while doing her homework.

The wounds and bruises on her body had disappeared, and her life at school had become much more stable than before. Some of the girls who used to bully her had dropped out of school, while others had become more settled. But sometimes, Nuo Nuo felt lost, remembering that she had some interaction with them, and it happened in a dark alley...

What happened back then?

She would occasionally think about these things and feel lost.

It seemed to be a few stray dogs foraging for food in the alley, which were somehow provoked and bit the women.

So, dogs are really great...

As she thought about it, she couldn't help but look out the window at her three dogs.

Although my dogs are a bit silly, they really make me feel safe and have been there for me through the most difficult days.

Oh, and there's Xiao, the neighbor's Xiao-gege. He lent me two thousand yuan and never pressured me to pay him back.

A happy smile appeared on her lips. She didn't feel any pain or anything because she suddenly remembered the days when she was bullied. On the contrary, she was in a good mood and hummed a song as she did her homework. Her only worry was... she ate a lot of snacks today. Would she gain weight?

Congratulations! Enhancement successful!

[A Specially Dangerous Thing— The Thorn Hound]

[Danger Level: Class B]

[Ability Description: We become stronger through suffering. We are not grateful for the things that brought us pain, but we are grateful for the version of ourselves that endured that pain. That is the resilient version of ourselves, protecting our lives.]

[Note: Damn! Dogs not only have poison, but also thorns!]