The Ten Edicts of the Outsider (Four Thousand Words)

"Is this what I received after inheriting the Old Chairman's position?"

In an instant, everyone's attention was focused on what Xiao Xiao was holding.

To outsiders, it seems they have no idea what just happened.

They had just placed their hands on Xiao Xiao, silently expressing their inner will, when suddenly they felt a subtle sense of disorientation, as if they were standing in a room filled with flickering incandescent light. They were then jolted awake from their daze, and a gentle force within Xiao Xiao's body abruptly pushed their hands away. It was all over.

The whole thing took less than half a second, but when you looked again, you could see that Xiao Xiao already had a scroll and a key in his hand.

It's like magic; you have no idea how it appeared.

But deep down, I suddenly felt concerned, and looking at those two items, I felt a little excited.

"You haven't seen these things before?"

Xiao Xiao was also momentarily lost in thought, and turned to look at them.

"No."

The Serpent Sisters and the others immediately shook their heads. "From the moment we awoke, it was the Old Chairman who guided us in Black Gate City. After that, there has only ever been one guild master in Black Gate City. No one else has ever experienced the process of inheriting the guild master's contract..."

"I see."

Xiao Xiao suddenly realized what was happening and immediately dismissed the idea of asking them what had just happened.

After a moment's hesitation, he simply placed the scroll on the tea table beside him, slowly unfurled it, and spoke in a low voice:

"I think the ceremony went smoothly, and I am now indeed the president of Black Gate City."

"..."

As the scroll in his hand was unfurled, he saw lines of writing that resembled terms and contracts.

After everyone turned their attention to the contract, their expressions became somewhat bewildered.

The Ten Edicts of the Outsider?

"..."

As their expressions hardened, Xiao Xiao's gaze swept over the words above, and his brows furrowed slightly.

He saw the contents of the scroll:

The First Edict of the Outsider: Abandon weakness and learn to play the role of a strong person.

[The Second Commandment for Strangers: Enjoy the False, Experience the Real]

The Third Commandment for Strangers: Respect the City, Have Faith in Your Own Heart

The Fourth Commandment for Strangers: Feel Pain, Seek the Mysterious Source

The Fifth Commandment for Strangers: Cherish your fellow human beings, and always keep secrets.

[...]

[...]

"Is this something Yang Jia told me before?"

When Xiao Xiao saw these crooked, yet mysteriously written words, his heart stirred slightly. The first sentence, in particular, suddenly reminded him of the First Edict of the Outsider Yang Jia had given him when he first learned the truth about this world, "Don't let yourself look weak." So, what she told him actually came from this.

In addition, Yang Jia's relationship with the indigenous people, especially his relationship with his mother, also seems to be related to the Ten Commandments.

Enjoy a fake life while experiencing real emotions?

She even warned herself not to trust others too much, perhaps similar to the fifth commandment in the Ten Edicts of the Outsider.

What is this, the survival rule for strangers?

As he pondered this, he glanced at Yang Jia beside him, his eyes asking a question.

However, Yang Jia's expression seemed somewhat cold and hard at this moment. But as an observer, one could sense the subtle tenderness and softness beneath this subconsciously exposed hard shell. Even, deep in her eyes, there was a hint of nostalgia and pain.

"These are things that the Old Chairman always taught us and required us to abide by."

Yang Jia noticed Xiao Xiao's gaze, paused for a moment, hid her soft emotions, and said softly, "These things can help us learn to get along with this city and keep our lives from losing their center. Everyone who awakens in Black Gate City has learned these ten rules, and even followed them for a time... It seems that you have indeed gained the Old Chairman's approval."

"It's probably not just about acquiring..."

Xiao Xiao thought to himself, then turned his gaze back to the scroll and whispered, "But if..."

"... He always followed these rules, so why was the rest crossed out?"

"..."

That's exactly what he was curious about.

The first five commandments of the Ten Edicts of the Outsider are very clear, as if they were just written down.

It catches the eye at first glance and is unforgettable.

But starting from Article 6, large areas of bloodstains appeared, along with some incomprehensible and strange influence. The clear handwriting was smeared or became crooked and illegible as if it had gone out of control.

Article 10, in particular, looks like it has been scribbled over many times.

Even Xiao Xiao, who possesses the ability to discern handwriting amidst chaos, could not make out the contents of the text.

But for some reason, he felt something was off.

Subconsciously, he released the Eye of the Seer, and then the three eyes slightly overlapped.

In his eyes, the continuously scribbled writing presented a phantom image of receding characters, leaping and then recombineing. After countless transformations, a clear line of writing suddenly leaped into his field of vision, flashing by in an instant:

The Tenth Commandment of the Stranger: There is always an end, and we can all escape.

[...]

Xiao Xiao's heart skipped a beat. "Isn't this exactly what Yang Jia has been sticking to all along?"

Even Yang Jia's return to Black Gate City was because she deeply believed in this theorem and was deeply grateful to the Old Chairman who brought hope to everyone. Therefore, she did not want to see the Old Chairman's influence in Black Gate City erased, so she spared no effort to clean up the mess in Black Gate City. But why was the Old Chairman's contract altered like this, as if it was done on purpose?

"I don't know either..."

While Xiao Xiao pondered, even using the Eye of the Seer to examine the contents of the tenth commandment, Yang Jia also frowned slightly. "We've never seen a scroll like this before. In fact, the so-called Ten Edicts of the Outsider are simply a wisdom that the Old Chairman master summarized and taught us. It's neither a contract nor a written decree, so it doesn't need to be written on a piece of paper at all..."

"It's one thing for you to inherit the Old Chairman's contract regarding the City Will, but why is this scroll being given as a bonus?"

"..."

"That's right, Yang Jia also doesn't know the process of inheriting the Old Chairman's contract..."

Xiao Xiao suddenly understood.

Only I witnessed the process of inheriting this contract, and perhaps Mister Ye also saw a part of it.

Therefore, to outsiders, he had merely communicated with the will of the city, received its permission, and been promoted to a lord-level contract in Black Gate City, inheriting the Old Chairman's legacy. As for the Old Chairman... in their eyes, the Old Chairman was long dead, Mingming dead, and of course, they could never see Old Chairman, let alone communicate with this already dead person...

In fact, Xiao Xiao remembered it very clearly.

I just saw an Old Chairman, though in pain and despair, was still alive.

Although the old man's condition was strange, in my own perception:

He is alive!

Moreover, they were in a state of severe despair and pain!

Therefore, he could not help but take this altered contract seriously and wonder if it represented anything.

Xiao Xiao slowly exhaled, calming himself down.

With his keen insight, he vaguely sensed that things might not be so simple.

But with so many people around, he couldn't ask in front of so many people, so he just glanced at Yang Jia silently and nodded slightly.

This matter needs to be discussed with Yang Jia afterwards, or even asked Mister Ye.

On the surface, he stopped mentioning it and instead looked curiously at something else, whispering, "What is this?"

Without his prompting, countless people around had already turned their gaze to the key.

Some people even stared at the key with extremely tense expressions, their hands and feet seemingly moving forward uncontrollably.

However, Xiao Xiao was right beside her.

Or rather, Yang Jia was standing right next to Xiao Xiao, so he didn't dare to touch her.

"The Old Chairman's key..."

As Xiao Xiao asked the question, the Red Eyes Ling Ping couldn't help but get excited and whispered, "Before the Old Chairman passed away, he lived in a small building in the Downtown District. He even used some Enhancement Element to modify that building. Some of his inheritance and that mysterious safe were also placed in this building. However, after his death, the building mysteriously disappeared..."

"The Hell Organization returned empty-handed because they hadn't anticipated this."

"Sometimes we even have to suspect that the Old Chairman might have had a premonition of something, which is why he prepared in advance to hide that small building with the help of the City Will after his own death. No matter how strong the Hell Organization is, it can't fight against a city, so they could only leave in resentment. But now... you have the key to the Old Chairman's house, isn't that right..."

"... Finally, we can rediscover that little building and go inside?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, regardless of whether they were greedy or not, everyone's pupils dilated slightly and their Adam's apples bobbed.

Everyone knew in their hearts that this key represented the Old Chairman's legacy.

In particular, among the inheritance was a safe.

Inside the safe was something that would shock even the entire community of strangers.

S-grade special item.

And another function of this special item:

Road permit!

"How interesting. Mingming the entire Black Gate City has been ruined by this thing, they are still so tempted."

"They were Mingming to make this thing disappear, but now that they see a chance for it to reappear, they can't suppress their greed anymore... Mingming 're all smart people, so why are they so stupid sometimes?"

Xiao Xiao noticed the subtle expressions and intentions of everyone around him.

But he pretended not to see any, and simply picked up two keys in his hand before suddenly handing them to Yang Jia:

Here, take it.

"..."

Yang Jia was suddenly taken aback, almost losing control of her expression, and exclaimed in surprise, "Give it to me?"

"Yes."

Xiao Xiao said, "I even took the position of the Black Gate City Guild Master for you, so naturally this should also be given to you."

How you handle it is your business.

"..."

"Damn, this kid's really going all out..."

Leaving aside Yang Jia, even Red Eyes Ling Ping were almost collapsing. They looked at Xiao Xiao with disbelief, and it took almost all their strength to control themselves from reaching out to grab the key... That was the Old Chairman's legacy, and it even represented the first right to control the item in the safe. We did all this before precisely to prevent Yang Jia from taking the item and leaving.

You actually handed it directly to Yang Jia?

"This kid is too good..."

The Serpent Sisters standing nearby both had strange looks in their eyes. "Did he learn some skills at the bar?"

"Hiss..."

Ruan Ruan, who was standing beside her, was also extremely moved. "Are classmates really this close?"

"I really shouldn't have beaten up the principal and been expelled back then..."

"..."

Little Four, standing at the back of the crowd and peering in on tiptoe, was also speechless, muttering to himself:

"A cunning and ruthless person like Brother Xiao must have a hidden meaning in everything he does. Could it be..."

"... He actually wants both the things and the people?"

"..."

Yang Jia was also slightly surprised. Amidst the flashing lights and hoarse music in the bar, she looked up at Xiao Xiao.

Seemingly having seen through something deeply, a slight smile suddenly appeared on his face, "You really trust me that much?"

Xiao Xiao laughed and said, "Besides you, who else can I trust?"

Seeing them talking so nonchalantly, Old Zhou Under the Bridge had a sinister look on his face and couldn't bear to listen anymore.

After a slight surprise, Yang Jia suddenly smiled, placed her hand on Xiao Xiao's palm, and held the key in his palm. She said softly, "I appreciate your kindness, but the things that the Old Chairman has hidden are probably not something that can be easily obtained with just one key. You'll probably have to open the safe in that building yourself."

"But you don't need to worry about any danger. I will go with you."

"..."

The others were stunned, and only then did they breathe a slight sigh of relief.

However, this almost completely wiped out the excitement of having just received the key to the inheritance.

Ultimately, it is Xiao Xiao who needs to obtain this inheritance.

Judging from his generosity, the inheritance probably ended up in Yang Jia's hands as soon as it was handed over.

Damn it...

This belongs to Black Gate City, it's not your betrothal gift...

Seeing Xiao Xiao also put the key away, saying indifferently, "So troublesome."

"So what should we do now?"

"..."

"Now..."

Yang Jia slowly raised her head, seemingly lost in thought, the surrounding lights illuminating her delicate face.

But a pair of eyes were hidden in the darkness.

It can vaguely convey a sense of determination, as well as terrifying pressure.

"Gentlemen, Black Gate City now has a new guild leader."

Her voice gradually rose, and her gaze fell upon the Red Eyes Ling Ping, the Serpent Sisters, and Old Zhou Under the Bridge:

"Then, it's time to pick up what was once established by the Old Chairman but was later abandoned by us."

"From this day forward, those sneaky things should no longer be seen."

"Because now that the rules are back, it means I can act without any burden..."

"... They eliminated the Anomalies and killed people!"

"..."

Everyone was horrified, as if their hearts had suddenly been squeezed by a giant hand.

The noisy environment had somehow become quiet, as if even the music in the bar had taken on a hidden fear.

Updates will resume tomorrow.