The Answer Pointing to the End (Five Thousand Words)

When accepting the Lord Pact, was the person you saw real or fake?

Even now, Xiao Xiao finds himself unable to give a firm and unwavering answer.

Because the deceased Old Chairman was someone he met in a situation where he couldn't distinguish between reality and illusion, if it was fake, the feeling he experienced when communicating with him was too real. As an observer, he couldn't doubt what he saw and heard. If it was real, it overturned too many things from the past. Xiao Xiao didn't feel he had the right to question all of this.

Everyone else believes this is a foreign land, but I'm going to disagree?

Perhaps it's just that I know too little.

Simply put, he still suffers from a lack of self-confidence and fear.

Thinking this through, he decided not to tell Yang Jia for the time being, at least not after he had seen what was in the Old Chairman's safe. Moreover, he vaguely felt that if he wanted to talk about these things, he might need Mister Ye to be present and talk to Yang Jia together.

This Mister Ye. Ye must know something.

Silently pondering all this, Yang Jia had already driven Xiao Xiao to a residential area near the eastern part of Black Gate City.

Dilapidated low-rise buildings, abandoned residential areas, dimly lit and desolate shops, and crowds of people wandering around like lost souls began to appear in the surrounding area. This desolate and eerie atmosphere made even Xiao Xiao feel a little awkward when he first arrived.

"The Old Chairman lives here?"

Xiao Xiao frowned: As the president of the Black Gate City Strangers Organization, he could be considered one of the most powerful people in the city, right?

From a mystical perspective, one could even remove the word "one of".

Why would someone like this, who could easily choose the best environment in the city, end up choosing this place?

"We don't understand it either."

Yang Jia smiled and explained, "But the Old Chairman has his own principles."

"He always believed that the closer one gets to the grassroots of a city, the more one can understand the true nature of the city."

"..."

"That makes a lot of sense."

The two walked into the residential area while talking.

Immediately, I sensed a chilling xenophobic atmosphere. This city was too real, so real that it was like a mirror of the real world. Everything that exists in the real world also exists here. The more remote and desolate a place is, the more likely it is to have such xenophobic people. When the two of them came in, everyone's eyes were immediately fixed on them, watching their every move without any attempt to hide it.

Especially Yang Jia, who is beautiful and has an outstanding temperament, felt like she was being treated as prey.

Xiao Xiao even noticed that several young people sitting on small stools in the community, or wandering along the edge of the building smoking and drinking, would light up when they saw Yang Jia. They would exchange glances with greedy and mocking looks on their faces.

They grew bolder and began to consciously or unconsciously gravitate towards them.

Some elderly people who were looking after children in the community seemed to sense what was going to happen and carried their children back into the building.

Xiao Xiao was somewhat helpless. Suddenly, he drew his Silver Revolver and fired a shot into the air.

"Bang!"

Like a thunderclap, the young people around the neighborhood were stunned and retreated in fear.

The old lady, who was holding the child, suddenly picked up her grandson and ran off in a flash.

The invisible pressure vanished instantly, replaced by a profound sense of security.

"This damn gun needs to be fired every now and then."

After Xiao Xiao until the gun barrels cooled down a bit, he put them back in his belt and explained to Yang Jia apologetically.

Yang Jia had already heard his explanation, but at this moment, her expression couldn't help but become a little strange. "Who gave you this gun?"

"Ruan Ruan..."

Xiao Xiao said, "It can be considered as spoils of war seized from the Silver Bullet Family."

"She really knows how to pick things..."

Yang Jia sighed helplessly and said to Xiao Xiao, "So you plan to take it and fire a few shots every now and then?"

"Yes..."

Xiao Xiao said, "Compared to what you've been talking about, these side effects are relatively minor, aren't they?"

"It's just firing blanks now and then, which is much better than the Silver Bullet Family having to catch a few people and kill them all the time."

"..."

"Really."

Yang Jia seemed to want to say something, but seeing Xiao Xiao's satisfied expression, she simply kept quiet.

As long as you're happy.

She led Xiao Xiao to a building at the end of the residential area.

It was a dilapidated high-rise building. About a third of the windows on the upper floors were lit up, and some people could be seen peering out of the windows, seemingly startled by the gunshots. As Xiao Xiao and Yang Jia approached, several people who had been playing outside hurriedly returned to their seats. However, while they entered the building with electronic cards, Xiao Xiao had a key.

Which floor does he live on?

Xiao Xiao turned to look at Yang Jia, puzzled.

Yang Jia said, "In fact, the Old Chairman used to live in a solitary building, right here in the current location."

"This..."

Xiao Xiao was surprised. "They've demolished it?"

"That doesn't make sense either. This building looks like it's at least several decades old."

"..."

Yang Jia was also thinking silently, then said to Xiao Xiao, "Take the key upstairs and try it first."

Xiao Xiao agreed and approached the building with the key, but he felt somewhat awkward. Although the building was dilapidated, it was clearly designed with various technologies when it was built. Entering the building required a card, and there wasn't even a place to insert the key outside. At this moment, Xiao Xiao, holding the key, stood in front of the building, feeling out of place, like a fool trying to buy chicken legs with game tokens...

But just as the key in his hand touched the building wall, a bizarre scene suddenly unfolded.

Suddenly, the lonely building became soft and melted, losing its outer structure and transforming into a huge mass of flesh and blood. This flesh and blood then rapidly wriggled, causing the people inside to collapse and then quickly rise again, transforming into a completely different appearance.

A dark, three-story villa appeared before Xiao Xiao.

There is a keyhole on the top door of the lowest level.

"Every time I try to accept this world as real, it tells me it's just a lump of clay..."

Xiao Xiao turned to look at Yang Jia, his eyes questioning, and Yang Jia nodded in response.

Without further hesitation, Xiao Xiao inserted the key into the lock and turned it gently.

"Click"

The wooden door opened with a click, and a sense of emptiness and desolation rushed out.

The dark building opened its mouth wide, the thick darkness like the deepest abyss.

At this moment, Xiao Xiao's heart was slightly excited.

Not only him, but even Yang Jia behind him was clearly excited. He paused for a moment, then walked towards the front of the building.

Xiao Xiao waited until she came to his side before pushing open the door, which was only slightly ajar, and stepping inside.

At that moment, it seemed as if only the empty, sealed room was interacting with the outside airflow. A faint sigh could be heard in their ears. Then, in the pitch-black room, the sound of crackling electrical sparks suddenly rang out. Immediately afterward, a dim light bulb lit up, followed by a second and a third, revealing the interior of the small building.

Just as Xiao Xiao was adjusting to the change in light, he was suddenly confronted with a face appearing in front of him.

Just like that, without warning, the lights appeared and suddenly closed in.

Even Yang Jia, upon seeing the face that suddenly appeared, abruptly took a step back and raised his hand.

Xiao Xiao, possessing Mind Burst abilities, spotted the person in the blink of an eye. Although wary, he didn't lose his composure. Furthermore, using his insightful abilities, he sensed the person meant no harm, so he simply observed him silently, then smiled.

"Hello, may I ask you...?"

"..."

"Uncle Chen..."

But at that moment, Yang Jia suddenly called out the other person's name, his face clearly showing surprise and doubt.

"Know?"

Xiao Xiao looked at the strange old man in front of him with some curiosity.

His expression was blank, and it was hard to tell whether he was alive or dead. He stood still in the center of the living room. Because he had been silent and blended into the room like a piece of wood, I hadn't noticed him at first. But although his aura was like that of a dead man, he was clearly alive now. His cloudy eyes swept from me to Yang Jia.

"He was the Old Chairman's personal butler."

Yang Jia explained in a low voice, "The Old Chairman doesn't like using points to buy the services of the natives. This Uncle Chen is the only one. When I woke up, he was already by the Old Chairman's side. I originally thought he had also died in the Black Gate Fog..."

"It was you, Jiajia..."

Just as Yang Jia was explaining, the old man suddenly spoke in a low voice.

At first, his voice was unpleasant, wooden and mechanical, but gradually it became more and more skilled and came to sound more human.

A smile even appeared on his face as he nodded gently, "You've grown up."

"Yes, Uncle Chen, I've come here..."

Yang Jia nodded slowly, then tried to explain the purpose of her visit.

But before she could finish speaking, Uncle Chen suddenly interrupted her, "I know why you came, but you can't."

Yang Jia was stunned for a moment, then looked up in confusion.

As if a puppet were being brought to life, Uncle Chen slowly began to explain, "I am here to guard the things that the master left behind. Only the person with the key is allowed to come in. I originally thought that you would be the one with the key, but now it seems that you do not meet the criteria. Therefore, please wait outside the door. The only person qualified to see that thing is him."

As his gaze fell upon him, Xiao Xiao suddenly felt somewhat embarrassed.

Why would there still be such a rule?

He immediately waved the key in his hand and said to Yang Jia, "How about I give you this key?"

Yang Jia's gaze sharpened slightly, but before she could speak, Uncle Chen Bo's dull eyes suddenly turned towards Xiao Xiao:

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

"..."

"?"

Xiao Xiao was puzzled, thinking to himself that the natives were actually quite agile.

Yang Jia, as if she had thought of many things in an instant, suddenly nodded, slowly backed away, went outside the small building, and said to Xiao Xiao:

"It's okay, you go in, I'll wait for you outside."

"..."

"..."

"Tsk, Yang Jia really trusts me..."

As Xiao Xiao watched the wooden door of the small building close before his eyes, shutting Yang Jia out, he couldn't help but sigh.

Could a mere gatekeeper really make Yang Jia leave on his own?

In terms of strength, Yang Jia could probably demolish this small building directly, right?

Furthermore, because Xiao Xiao knew relatively little about the Old Chairman, she wasn't certain of his strength. However, she always felt that Yang Jia's current strength might not be lower than her teacher's. Therefore, her willingness to follow the gatekeeper's advice and wait outside indicated two things: First, she respected her teacher. Second, she genuinely wasn't worried about embezzling the contents of the safe.

"Shall we go then?"

As he thought about it, he took a step forward.

My gaze slowly swept over the furnishings of the small building. The interior was quite old, with almost no luxurious decorations or traces of women's lives. It was clear that the Old Chairman was also someone who lived a solitary life in a foreign land.

This is very rare.

As a stranger in a foreign land, anyone with a few points can find a beautiful woman as a life partner.

Of course, Indigenous couples may be more inclined to use inflatable dolls in their nature.

The most common thing in the building was books, all kinds of books, from geography magazines to high-end scientific research reports, all of which were everywhere. There were even a lot of handwritten notes and some best-selling novels. Xiao Xiao even saw a few inspirational books on the desks on the first floor, which surprised him. "Even in this world, the Old Chairman hasn't forgotten about the involution?"

"The master has been studying everything in this world."

At this moment, Uncle Chen, who was following Muna, suddenly spoke up to explain, "Scientific research, physics, and even entertainment books written and published by the indigenous people, he always believed that the deeper the research, the more he could see through the underlying logic of this world, and the easier it would be to find the bugs in this city and deduce the way to leave this world. These were the things he did most during his life."

As he listened to him, Xiao Xiao's heart stirred slightly, and he asked, "So, what is your feeling about the changes in this world?"

"I mean, before and after you were bought by the Old Chairman?"

"..."

This was actually a question Xiao Xiao had always wanted to ask, but since he had only bought the Butcher, it was difficult to ask this question.

"Before being bought by the Old Chairman, I was a researcher at the Black Forest Biological Laboratory."

Uncle Chen slowly began to speak, "I have never doubted the falsehood of my life, nor have I doubted my own nature. But the moment I was bought, my understanding of this world underwent a tremendous change. I began to realize that everything I saw was based on a false logic. So I trusted and admired the master, believing that he would definitely find a way out."

Xiao Xiao in surprise, "Why do I feel like I've been brainwashed?"

But in a short time, it's difficult to discern the details, yet I know what's most important right now.

He then asked Uncle Chen directly, "Where is the safe?"

Uncle Chen said, "On the left."

Xiao Xiao was startled and turned around abruptly, only to see a dilapidated iron cabinet placed in the corner.

Before he told me, I thought it was a shoebox.

"This..."

He couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement, and examined it closely. After all, this contained the legendary...

However, just as he had this thought, his mood suddenly sank.

As his attention focused on the safe, the Eye of the Seer began to overlap with his subconscious, and the three eyes converged in one place. The things in front of him began to appear transparent. Thus, his gaze saw some documents, a few coins, and a toy doll in the safe, but he did not see the thing he was expecting.

The legendary S-class forbidden item, also a guide pointing to the end.

Although I've never seen it before and don't know what it looks like, I'm pretty sure it's not something from a safe.

He can still tell whether something is ordinary or not.

"Are you looking for that thing that points to the end?"

Just as he was wondering, Uncle Chen, who was standing behind him, suddenly spoke in a low voice.

Xiao Xiao was startled, but turned to look at him without making a sound and nodded slightly.

"That's precisely why I had to ask you to come in alone."

Uncle Chen Bo looked at Xiao Xiao with blank eyes and said in a low voice, "As the successor, only you know the arrangements and plans that the old master made before his death, and only you can decide what to do next and where to lead Black Gate City..."

Xiao Xiao frowned as he listened, beginning to vaguely sense that things might not be as simple as he thought.

What he was even more uncertain about was that he no longer intended to hide it from Yang Jia.

But he deliberately let me in alone, as if he wanted to tell me some secret. Did he want me to help them hide something and secretly accomplish something? Xiao Xiao, who could enter a state of Mind Burst at any time, would never fall into such a trap. Everyone said that the Old Chairman was a good person, but even so, what could he do? He didn't even know him.

Should we hide the truth from the person we've decided to trust because of a complete stranger?

I can't do it, and it's precisely because I can't do it that I'm getting a little impatient.

If you tell me a secret that only I can know, how am I supposed to handle it?

However, just as he was hesitating about whether to reveal these things, he heard Uncle Chen slowly say, "What the master found points to the end of this world, and is also something that is close to the Mysterious Source. It's just that others have always wondered why the master still died at the hands of the Hell Organization, since he has found such a powerful thing."

"..."

This sentence immediately caught Xiao Xiao's attention.

He had thought about this question before. Everyone said that the things in the safe were powerful, and the Old Chairman was killed because he found the things in the safe. So why didn't he use the things to fight back when the Hell Organization attacked?

Is it because the time given to them was too short, and they hadn't yet figured out how to use things?

But if he hasn't figured it out, how can he be sure that this thing is the legendary thing?

"It's actually very simple."

Uncle Chen said in a low voice, "After the master confirmed the function of that item, he used it immediately."

"Because it was of great importance, they didn't even tell anyone else in Black Gate City."

"..."

"Used?"

Xiao Xiao was immediately taken aback, and even more confusion welled up in his mind. "Where was it used?"

Uncle Chen and said softly, "That thing probably has many magical aspects, but as a guide, its greatest function is to point to the end. But in what form it points to the end, and what kind of answer it will give, we don't know. The master used this thing before the Hell Organization invaded, but he never got the answer before he died."

Xiao Xiao felt increasingly uneasy, and had countless questions he wanted to ask, but Uncle Chen interrupted him again:

"Until now, I have seen the answer for him."

"..."

As he spoke, his gaze remained fixed on Xiao Xiao, his voice wooden yet seemingly possessing a chilling power:

"It's you."

"You are the answer that points to the end."