Mysterious Boundary (Six Thousand Words)

[Special Dangerous Item: Enchanting Record Player]

[Level: Class C]

[Ability: She possesses the ability to bewitch people and distort the emotions of specific individuals or even groups. She can easily turn a calm person into an enraged one, and from an enraged one into a sad one. Most importantly, she's actually been working hard to learn dirty jokes...]

[Secondary Enhancement Cost: 3963 points]

[Note: She's such a responsible working person...]

[...]

After reviewing the enhancement points of the Record Player Miss again, Xiao Xiao felt very satisfied.

Previously, her upgrade cost was 5,000 points, but after working hard for a period of time, she has successfully saved more than 1,000 points. It seems that once she has fully completed her upgrade, leveling up will be just around the corner.

Since the last time Xiao Xiao carried out the special training mission given to him by Yang Jia, he had discovered that this bar, under the influence of the Record Player Miss, had gradually developed a mysterious atmosphere. For example, it could attract many people with Pain Substance or even potential mutations. Of course, there was a lot of overlap in their types, but the overall number was quite considerable.

"Potential violent individuals, people with severe panic attacks, and individuals with paranoia..."

Xiao Xiao couldn't help but sigh to himself, "How did such a nice bar end up like this?"

But then again, if the people attracted by the Record Player Miss are all crazy and perverted, then...

How come the bar is still doing so well?

Perhaps this is the kind of person that this city has no shortage of?

In addition, he had also observed carefully that it was no coincidence that these repressed and crazy people were attracted to the Record Player Miss. It seemed that whenever they came here and vented in this strange and crazy atmosphere, the Pain Substance accumulated in their hearts would be reduced accordingly, which was equivalent to reducing their Pain Substance and providing them with corresponding spiritual comfort.

Meanwhile, Record Player Miss herself absorbed a certain amount of Pain Substance during this process, reducing the amount of enhancement required.

What kind of phenomenon is this?

If these people are like plants cultivated in the city, waiting for their Pain Substance accumulation to bear twisted fruit.

Isn't that Record Player Miss basically exploiting the city?

But with so many types of Pain Substance showing signs of decreasing, she couldn't understand how she could transform them into what she needed.

In response, Xiao Xiao simply nodded to the Record Player Miss as a matter of routine, to show his approval.

I can't show too much admiration, lest she become arrogant.

Deep down, Xiao Xiao had already thought about it carefully, "Could the Arcane Compass in that safe be her?"

She is very similar in many unusual qualities.

But Xiao Xiao also had a vague feeling that if it really Arcane Compass, then it was already an S-level forbidden item, and its score level was probably tens of thousands, which was beyond his imagination. So how could it still need to earn points and upgrade little by little?

Therefore, it's unlikely.

Suppressing his thoughts, he reviewed the Thorn Hound's enhancement information again:

[Special Dangerous Item: Thorn Hound]

[Danger Level: Class B]

[Three upgrades cost: 9000 points]

[Ability Description: Possesses the ability to release and pollute the environment, creating painful thorns. Walking among the dark red thorns, anything with feelings and memories will be attacked by painful past memories, as if seeing a former weak version of oneself.]

[Note: Look at us back then, we looked like dogs...]

[...]

"These three dogs have become more expensive too..."

Xiao Xiao couldn't help but sigh, "Back then, you could get them for just 10 points..."

However, these three were the items he had strengthened the most times and spent the most points on. When faced with the attack from the Silver Bullet Family, he had no choice but to spend money to strengthen them, which cost him a full thousand points!

One thousand!!

Afterwards, Xiao Xiao did feel bad about it, and he refunded the price of the sausages he bought for them.

It wasn't that he didn't have the money; it was just that Xiao Xiao wanted them to understand how much emotional value he had invested.

And if we do it again, it will cost 9000?

That's really unreasonable...

9000 points is enough to strengthen a third-stage powerhouse, but I'm going to spend it on three dogs.

Pressure explodes!

Of course, the Record Player Miss and the Thorn Hound are not the most numerous; the most numerous are the Butcher.

I already knew this; it's 10,000 points.

In other words, if you want to improve your skill level to the next level, you'll need to prepare at least tens of thousands of points.

Where am I supposed to get that many points? Even if I sold myself, I wouldn't be worth that many.

Xiao Xiao couldn't help but think helplessly: If only I could go somewhere and make another fortune...

"Are you busy with anything today?"

Having ensured that there wouldn't be any problems with the Record Player Miss at the bar, Xiao Xiao and Little Four walked out of the bar. Xiao Xiao took out a pack of cigarettes from the bar counter, and just as he tore open the packaging, thinking of giving one to Little Four, he saw that Xiao Si had already squatted down next to the trash can, picked up a cigarette butt from the ground and put it in his mouth. Xiao Xiao shook his head helplessly and put the cigarette pack back in its place.

"That's quite a lot..."

Little Four said while puffing on his cigarette, "A young lady's toilet is broken, and she asked me to fix it."

"There was another one who had been blackmailed and asked me to fight him."

"..."

"?"

Xiao Xiao was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously asked, "You're planning to go?"

"I'm not going..."

Little Four took a deep drag, extinguished the cigarette, and put it in his pocket to save for later, saying, "I don't know how to fight."

"So what are you going to do? Reject her?"

"No..."

Little Four shook his head and said, "I'll go kill that guy first, that way we can avoid a group fight."

"That makes so much sense..."

Xiao Xiao could only sigh that Little Four was actually much busier than he was now.

As for my work among the natives, the bar's operating mechanism was already well-established. The Pink Gang members were very good at running the business, so I didn't need to get involved at all. I could just honestly collect my money. As for the outsiders, everyone was working in an orderly manner under the arrangement of Mister Ye and Yang Jia. The entire Black Gate City was returning to the good state it was in when the Old Chairman was there.

For example, Old Zhou Under the Bridge was in charge of intelligence work for Black Gate City.

This old guy has always been shrouded in mystery. The Red Eyes Ling Ping, the Serpent Sisters, and even the Silver Bullet Family, which has been completely wiped out, all have their own fixed locations, which can be understood as small gathering bases for their members.

Old Zhou Under the Bridge was the only one who didn't; he didn't even want to tell anyone his address in Black Gate City.

He often appeared under a bridge piled with garbage in the Black Gate City, wearing a black top hat and silently cleaning up the trash. However, his spies were all over the city. Whenever new garbage was delivered, it meant that he had obtained new information. Yang Jia once described him as. "Wherever there is garbage in this city, there are Old Zhou's spies."

As for the Serpent Sisters, they recently reportedly bought a large dog farm, and it's unclear what they're researching.

However, what interested Xiao Xiao the most was Red Eyes Ling Ping.

His current responsibility is to find new recruits and mentor them within the Black Gate City area.

Xiao Xiao is currently burdened by some kind of shadow in his heart, and therefore he is very interested in this aspect.

Besides adapting to my own abilities, the only thing I'm interested in is taking a look at this job of mentoring newcomers.

"In that case, arrange the car, I can go there myself."

"It was all arranged long ago..."

"..."

The two talked as they walked to the roadside. Xiao Xiao was quite satisfied with Little Four's ability to get things done.

This assistant is quite good; at least she's diligent and gets things done promptly.

Then, as he was thinking about this, he saw a red three-wheeled motorcycle parked on the side of the street.

A slight black line appeared on his face. "This is the car you found for me?"

"Yes..."

Little Four said smugly, "It's convenient, cheap, easy to park, and there's no traffic jam."

"I only treat myself to this once in a while after I've accomplished something really big..."

"..."

Xiao Xiao remained silent. "Little Four is truly a good kid who stays true to his own way of life..."

He ducked into the three-wheeled vehicle and drove straight to the agreed-upon neighborhood to find Ling Ping others.

They had previously discovered someone here who was about to awaken, and were about to guide them.

When Xiao Xiao arrived, he saw an empty coffee shop.

All pedestrians have been cleared away, and even the entrance has been marked with a sign that reads "Closed Today".

"Sir, this place has been booked out and we are not serving customers..."

As Xiao Xiao got off the tricycle and entered the coffee shop, the staff rushed forward to stop him.

Xiao Xiao quickly explained with a smile, "I made an appointment with the person who booked this place."

The shop assistant looked at Xiao Xiao with disbelief, tilting her head to look at him. Just then, a girl came down from the second floor, waved to the shop assistant, and then said politely to Xiao Xiao, "Hello, Chairman. I saw you coming from the second floor."

The girl looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. Her name Yunyun, and her complexion was still a bit childish. Xiao Xiao remembered seeing her before.

In the Silver Bullet incident, the people under Red Eyes Ling Ping were purged, suffering heavy casualties. Even one of the three men he had specially trained died. Now, he only has four people left under his command, and this girl is one of them. She is a girl who has only been awakened for a year. She previously had only a few hundred points of strength, and now, after being given some special treatment, she only has a thousand.

"Alright, take me up there!"

Xiao Xiao smiled and nodded at the girl, who quickly lowered her gaze, not daring to look directly at him.

As he climbed the stairs to the second floor, he found it empty. A few people were sitting there, but they all stood up and cautiously greeted Xiao Xiao. Only Red Eyes Ling Ping remained sitting by the window on the second floor, waiting for him.

"These old people are so arrogant..."

Xiao Xiao thought to himself as he walked over, but before he could even sit down, Ling Ping suddenly said:

"Why did you come here in such a thing?"

"..."

Xiao Xiao paused for a moment before laughing and said, "It's convenient, cheap, easy to park, and there's no traffic jam."

Ling Ping turned to look at Xiao Xiao, his Red Eyes revealing undisguised disdain, and said, "You're the president, after all, representing the face of the outsiders in Black Gate City. You should have the proper demeanor. Find a car that matches your status later."

"Just like you?"

Xiao Xiao glanced at the empty coffee shop and said, "You just came here to spy on us, didn't you?"

"Is it really necessary to book such a large store?"

"..."

Ling Ping merely glanced at him indifferently and said succinctly, "I have money."

Xiao Xiao: "..."

What are you showing off? I'm rich too, I have a huge bar...

However, this reason is truly irrefutable.

Ling Ping paused for a moment, noticing that his men seemed nervous hearing him speak to the guild leader like that. He sighed and said, "We're already trapped in this hopeless place, why not make ourselves more comfortable? The first thing I taught these people who follow me was to learn to enjoy life."

"Eat the best, wear the best, and play the best games."

"That way, even if I die one day, at least I won't feel like I've suffered too much, right?"

"..."

Xiao Xiao a slight tightness in his heart, feeling that these words were somewhat similar to the way Hell Organization operated.

However, he had no right to comment, so he just smiled and asked, "Where is the person you said is about to awaken?"

"Across the street, there's a gift shop."

Red Eyes Ling Ping, raised his chin and pointed, then pushed a document over.

Xiao Xiao glanced at him and saw that he was a young man in his early twenties, including his identity, profession, and recent experiences.

He put down the file and looked toward the gift shop. His Eye of the Seer immediately brought the man into his field of vision. He saw an ordinary-looking man with a silent demeanor. He was wearing the gift shop's apron and was quietly arranging things, sometimes cleaning the shelves, sometimes sweeping the floor. However, the shop manager still scolded him from time to time.

The more he was scolded, the more nervous he became. He accidentally knocked over a cup, and the shop staff and customers immediately glared at him angrily. The female shop manager, in particular, with her high cheekbones, was full of vicious and humiliating words.

He was immediately at a loss and retreated to a corner, pressing himself tightly against the wall.

I glanced at another girl in the store and saw that she was also smiling and talking to another male employee.

With his keen insight, Xiao Xiao could easily determine that he seemed to have different feelings for that girl, but he clearly couldn't sense anything in her, not even the slightest bit of sympathy or pity...

There was only mockery, schadenfreude, and indifference.

His face immediately turned even redder, and something seemed to be about to well up in his eyes.

Xiao Xiao withdrew his gaze, frowned, and asked Ling Ping, "How did you find him?"

"Law."

Ling Ping explained calmly, "In this city, whenever the proportion of outsiders falls below a certain threshold, more and more pitiful souls begin to be dragged into this world. We don't know how the City Will does it; perhaps it's physical transfer, or perhaps it's just mental projection. In any case, every time an outsider appears, the city loses one native..."

"And these indigenous people are often subjected to malicious exclusion by the city."

"We can easily find these outsiders simply by detecting and filtering out such malicious distributions."

"..."

Xiao Xiao was slightly startled as he listened. "Then why do you think these are strangers brought from the original world?"

"Is it possible that he is just an awakened indigenous person?"

"..."

Upon hearing the question, Red Eyes Ling Ping, slightly turned his head to look at Xiao Xiao, and after a while, suddenly laughed:

"Are you asking whether we are essentially no different from indigenous people, but have only undergone changes in cognition and mentality?"

"..."

Xiao Xiao.

He never understood when these strangers began to have the concept of "foreign land".

Why are they so certain that they come from another world?

"I never imagined that I would need to discuss such basic things with a chairman."

Red Eyes Ling Ping, smiled and said, "As for this matter, Yang Jia should have told you, right? She doesn't think of herself as just a stranger, but rather that there have always been unknown monsters devouring the people of this world. We, who have awakened, only have the right to remain conscious temporarily with the monsters' permission. But doesn't this kind of thinking make us too desperate?"

"We, the strangers of Black Gate City, have always firmly believed since the Old Chairman that we are from another world."

"In fact, the Old Chairman once showed us evidence."

"..."

Xiao Xiao was immediately taken aback, though he didn't show it on his face, his eyes narrowed slightly. "What evidence?"

Ling Ping didn't answer immediately, but instead looked at Xiao Xiao:

"You should have already inherited the Old Chairman's legacy, haven't you seen it yet?"

"..."

Xiao Xiao frowned slightly, gave Ling Ping a deep look, but did not answer the question.

Ling Ping smiled and said, "This world has boundaries."

"The Old Chairman once joined an expedition of the Dante Organization. They left the city, traversed countless other cities of flesh and blood, Xiao Xiao, and the Mist Sea was perpetually filled with dark red blood mist, and could see the boundary of this world. There, there were only thick crystal walls and gnarled skeletons, no stars, no outer space, and no real moon or sun..."

"If our world was devoured by monsters, then even if we admit that such monsters do exist, they certainly wouldn't have the power to devour the entire starry sky, nor could they possibly have the power to devour the sun and the moon, would they?"

"..."

As he spoke, he looked at Xiao Xiao and said, "The evidence that the Old Chairman showed us was a piece of bone from the border."

"This skeleton confirms the existence of the boundary, which in turn confirms the falseness of this world."

"Now that we've determined this is a fake world, the real world we remember must exist."

"Isn't that so?"

"..."

"Is this the kind of logic they follow?"

Xiao Xiao frowned.

Perhaps due to the side effects of the Insightful One, he always felt that this logic was somewhat strange.

But Ling Ping's unwavering demeanor also influenced him to some extent. Ling Ping was a cunning old fox. If such a person hadn't actually seen the evidence and carefully considered it many times, how could he easily believe these things?

Perhaps I really should go back to the Old Chairman's small building and take a look at his research?

Just as I was pondering this, I heard a sudden commotion below.

The male waiter, who had been scolded, seemed to have reached his breaking point. He forcefully ripped off his apron, which marked him as a shop assistant, and was about to rush out the door when he suddenly saw something terrifying. A terrified scream burst from his throat. He found himself trapped in the gift shop by the manager, with all the shop assistants and customers slowly approaching him.

They all wore eerie smiles, and cracks began to appear on their skin.

Dark red tentacles tentatively slithered out from beneath their skin.

He was trapped in a nightmare, and even his terrified screams were barely audible, becoming hurried and scattered.

Go!

Ling Ping gently tapped his cane on the ground and turned to look at the girl named "Yunyun".

The other person nodded slightly, their eyes glowing slightly red, then walked to the window, raised their hand to support themselves, and lightly jumped down.

"Wouldn't it be better to use the door?"

Xiao Xiao frowned slightly as he looked at it.

Red Eyes Ling Ping, gave Xiao Xiao a deep look, then nodded and said, "Understood. I will teach them how to be elegant later."

Xiao Xiao found this a bit strange. "Hmm?"

"The president's personal charisma always subtly influences other outsiders in the city."

Ling Ping said, "And the formation of this kind of temperament is beneficial to us as a whole, so should we teach some dance?"

"What does this have to do with dance?"

Xiao Xiao thought silently, and saw that Yunyun had already walked to the gift shop and gently knocked on the door.

The person who had just been gathering around the young man and was about to experience the "Shedding Skin" phenomenon suddenly snapped back to normal, then walked Yunyun into the gift shop. To everyone's surprise, she took the hand of the young man who had fallen to the ground in fright, and slowly walked out. Before leaving, she suddenly smiled, took out a few banknotes, and placed them on the counter.

"This is the money for the cup; he doesn't owe you anything now."

She smiled, her red eyes looking at the group. "And you, shouldn't you apologize to him?"

"Is this all?"

Xiao Xiao looked at Red Eyes Ling Ping with some surprise and said, "Is bringing him out all that's needed?"

"Certainly."

Ling Ping said, "Tell him the truth about this world afterward, teach him how to face it, and how to earn points. Also, according to past practice, we need to give him ten points so that he has time to adapt to all of this before facing the Aberrant Creature."

"That's quite a thorough consideration..."

Xiao Xiao thought to himself, "But why was the first thing I learned to do murder?"

While thinking, she looked up at Ling Ping and said, "Then let me add one more suggestion!"

"Before they come into contact with the Aberrant Creature, let's give them some military training first."

"..."

As the president, is it unreasonable for you to make this request?