Eternal Hell (Five Thousand Words)

"So..."

As Xiao Xiao analyzed the situation, the man with the note stuck to his face quickly sized Xiao Xiao up. His eyes were filled with a mocking light, but he didn't show too much hostility. Perhaps it was the confidence brought by his strength, or perhaps he was surprised by Xiao Xiao's initiative and composure, but at this moment, he even looked at Xiao Xiao with a bit of admiration.

From Xiao Xiao's perspective, it was because he discovered this person and had no other choice but to come down.

But in his view, it was Xiao Xiao who took the initiative to find him, then calmly came downstairs and came over to talk to him.

It was as if he had already discovered him and deliberately waited until everyone else had left before coming over.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Xiao Xiao with a half-smile, and said, "So you're the young guild leader of Black Gate City who loves feeding people to dogs, is skilled in dancing and anatomical surgery, and once dismembered no less than a hundred Aberrant Creature in one go?"

"..."

It's all slander...

Xiao Xiao thought to himself, but he had no intention of explaining.

His face remained calm as he smiled and said, "They're just talking nonsense. My dissection techniques are quite rusty."

The man with the note stuck to his face immediately brightened up, his expression one of great admiration.

He suddenly leaned forward slightly and whispered, "Brother, how about considering joining our Hell Organization?"

"?"

Xiao Xiao was completely bewildered. What kind of development was this?

Shouldn't they be hostile forces? What's with this sudden job offer?

However, no matter how shocked he was, he wouldn't show it on his face. He remained calm and polite, and every word he spoke was carefully considered, yet he appeared very natural and casual. He smiled and said, "I haven't been awake for long and don't know much about this world, but the style of your Hell Organization doesn't quite fit my habits..."

The other person was immediately surprised and sat up straight again, saying, "What's wrong with our style?"

Do you know what the most awesome thing in the world is?

"You've fallen, brother..."

"..."

"And then you just keep going down this path of depravity?"

Xiao Xiao looked him straight in the eye and said with a smile, "Even the best food and women, wouldn't you get tired of them after ten or eight years?"

"What about twenty years, or a hundred years?"

"..."

"We usually don't live that long; our organization has a very fast turnover rate."

The person with the note stuck to their face smiled and said, "But since you asked, let's chat. I have to say, sometimes it can be a bit boring and tedious. Fun things just keep getting scarcer. But the problem is... instead of working hard like us to find some fun for ourselves, you're like us, willingly letting the will of this city control you like a dog?"

Sensing the amusement in his eyes, Xiao Xiao also showed an expression of great interest.

He crossed his arms in front of him and smiled, "But as far as I know, they've always been thinking about leaving one day."

"Don't think about it, bro."

The person with the note stuck to their face suddenly laughed and said, "There's no such thing as a foreign land or a hometown."

"Everything we've experienced, our world, is nothing more than the work of Mysterious Source. Look at these ordinary people around you, don't you think they're just puppets controlled by the city's will? But what's the difference between you outsiders and them? You just feel good about yourselves, thinking you're different from these puppets, but in reality, aren't you still being controlled by this Mysterious Source?"

"The end? Leaving?"

"..."

He suddenly laughed and said, "That's just something to fool children..."

"Our world has been devoured by Mysterious Source —or you could say, an omnipotent monster beyond our level of existence. Our world has become like this, yet you still dream of escaping? I ask you, even if someone tells you you can return to your original world, how do you know it won't just be a bigger city?"

"..."

"..."

Xiao Xiao's heart suddenly trembled violently.

He had no other choice but to come and talk to this person, hoping to get some information out of him.

Unexpectedly, after only a few sentences, this person's words deeply moved him.

His face showed no shock or panic; instead, he appeared quite interested and slowly said, "But they all believe in the existence of their homeland, and have even found evidence to prove that this world is false, so..."

"The indigenous people also do not believe that their city is a living monster."

The person with the note stuck to their face slowed their voice and chuckled, "Aren't we all just as fanatical? In the end, we are all controlled by Mysterious Source. When we obtained extraordinary power and Pain Substance, we were already under the control of this Mysterious Source. Only by believing in this Mysterious Source can we control this power and survive..."

"So, do you think they genuinely believe in the existence of a homeland, or is Mysterious Source that makes them believe?"

"..."

"The Mysterious Source..."

Xiao Xiao had heard Yang Jia mention the Mysterious Source a long time ago.

But now, it was only through a conversation with members of the Hell Organization that the Mysterious Source was revealed.

During this period, he was already deeply immersed in a kind of doubt about the world and an invisible fear. Now, through these few words of conversation, he was actually shocked by an indescribable feeling. It seemed that many things were close to the answer.

He took a deep breath, his expression seemingly excited, looked up at the person with the note stuck to their face, and smiled:

"What's your name?"

"..."

The other person seemed to be enjoying the conversation and laughed, "Hell, White Devil."

Xiao Xiao hesitated for a moment, then suddenly extended his hand towards him and said with a smile, "Xiao Xiao."

"Nice to meet you."

"..."

The man called White Devil's eyes lit up, and he looked at Xiao Xiao with even greater appreciation, extending his hand as well.

The air seemed to become tense at that moment.

But they really only shook hands briefly before withdrawing them.

"Bring me a bottle of wine."

Xiao Xiao snapped his fingers and said to the waiter next to him, "If you really want it, it's on me."

His sincerity clearly surprised the man named White Devil.

However, he did not refuse, but just looked at it with a smile.

The drinks were brought out, and the waiter skillfully opened them after Xiao Xiao gave him a nod of approval.

Then two glasses filled with ice were placed in front of them, and each person was poured half a glass of wine.

The golden liquid looked beautiful under the light.

Xiao Xiao glanced at White Devil and reached for the cup opposite him.

Suddenly, White Devil reached out and blocked Xiao Xiao's hand, laughing, "Brother, no need..."

Xiao Xiao looked up, his hand still extended. "Aren't you afraid I'll poison you?"

"Of course I'm afraid."

White Devil suddenly laughed and said, "However, at least I didn't see any signs of poison in the drink just now. My personal intuition also doesn't think you would poison it. Especially since you're willing to treat me to a drink and I've agreed, wouldn't it seem too dishonest to act so cautiously and keep changing the drink? Wouldn't that be a bit disrespectful to your sincerity, brother?"

These words surprised Xiao Xiao: "Would you take such a big risk just to save face?"

"Ha ha..."

White Devil laughed, picked up the cup in front of him, and said, "Being happy right now is the most important thing. What does it matter if we die or not?"

"Call..."

Xiao Xiao was also amazed. He picked up his glass and said, "Cheers!"

The two clinked glasses and drank it all in one gulp.

A slight blush appeared on Xiao Xiao's pale face. His Mind Burst ability could eliminate many unnecessary emotions, but it couldn't eliminate the effects of alcohol. He held the glass in his hand, a slightly curious look on his face, and looked at the person whose face was covered with notes. He suddenly said, "You just said that we all believe in the Mysterious Source and are controlled by him. So, what about your Hell Organization?"

"Aren't you the same?"

"..."

"It's not just the Hell Organization, it even includes those pirates from the Mist Sea."

The White Devil smiled and said, "We do not believe in any source. Of course, there are countless sources in the Mist Sea. They are all a level below a powerful life form like Black Gate City and cannot compete with it, so they were banished to the Mist Sea. Their size and status are not enough. We can borrow power from them, just like you... But we do not believe in them. It is just a transaction."

Xiao Xiao's eyes flickered, and he said, "But you are blatantly killing people, making no attempt to hide your malice."

"Malice?"

The other party suddenly burst into laughter, looking at Xiao Xiao excitedly. "Brother, the battle at the Mysterious Source is the most brutal."

"At least we believe in ourselves, but you believe in the will of Mysterious Source, willingly becoming the minions of those higher-dimensional beings, cleaning away the rotten parts of their bodies, and clearing away Anomalies disobedient and out-of-control things..."

Is what you consider living truly living?

"Think about it carefully, in this world, who among us is truly free?"

"The mindset, memories, and perceptions of indigenous people can all be distorted, erased, and replaced at any time..."

"Then, aren't we, who are controlled by the Mysterious Source, also like that?"

"If your memories and perceptions have been distorted many times, are you capable of discerning the truth?"

"..."

He seemed to get more and more excited as he spoke, his eyes gleaming with a ghostly light.

"There are no indigenous people, no strangers, no hometown, and no road back..."

"We are merely souls controlled by a colossal life form, demons imprisoned in hell. We live in hell, without even the right to be ourselves. In such a place, if someone keeps talking about hope..."

"Then believe me, brother, he's definitely the biggest liar!"

"..."

These words had a resounding, thought-provoking quality.

Xiao Xiao had never heard such crazy words before, but for some reason, he was inexplicably moved.

He looked up at the man and whispered, "You say you don't believe in the path of return, yet you're still fighting over that thing..."

"Of course we have to grab it."

The White Devil laughed and said, "Because this thing is said to point to the end, isn't it?"

"You said it yourself, decadence is pleasurable, but it's also easy to get tired of it, so why not go and see the end?"

"Look at this bizarre and hopeless place, what kind of tricks can they possibly pull off..."

"..."

"..."

Hearing this, Xiao Xiao couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

He didn't know if this was the Hell Organization's usual brainwashing rhetoric or something else, but as an observer, he didn't sense any seduction or enticement from this person. In other words, regardless of whether what he said was true or false, he himself firmly believed that this member of the Hell Organization was truly opening his heart to discuss things with him.

"Logically speaking, I should be wary of you, hate you, and even do anything to kill you."

Xiao Xiao sighed softly and said to the person in front of him, "But I don't know why, I actually like you a lot."

The other person smiled and said, "To be honest, I also think you're different from those people."

"Aren't you serious about joining us?"

"..."

Xiao Xiao smiled and shook his head, gesturing for the waiter to pour the wine again. Then he looked up at him and said:

"There is one more thing I need to say."

"..."

The other person raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

Xiao Xiao looked into his eyes and suddenly said, "I see what you're trying to convey through that corpse."

The person with the note stuck to his face seemed to frown slightly, but just looked at Xiao Xiao quietly without saying a word. He seemed to disbelieve what Xiao Xiao said, and his enthusiasm just now seemed to have faded after Xiao Xiao made such a boast.

"The focus is not on the design, but on the person."

Xiao Xiao looked at him and slowly said, "You dressed that person up to look very tasteful and noble, but he should actually be just a homeless person. Whether it's his skin, his hands that are still rough even though they have been carefully washed, his skin that can no longer be cleaned, the scabs in his hair, or the sorrow on his face, it all shows that he was originally just a poor homeless person."

"He was skin and bones, which means he probably doesn't even have a full meal every day."

"But his expression was one of joy and contentment, which means he died at the most happy and joyful moment."

"You must have been very careful when you killed him, afraid of ruining his good mood?"

"..."

He casually revealed these details. As an observer, his attention to detail far surpassed that of ordinary people. Xiao Xiao easily revealed the true identities of these homeless people. If he wanted, he could even reconstruct more details about each homeless person.

The person on the other end was listening attentively, their expression seemingly becoming serious.

"How could such a happy and content expression appear on a homeless man's face? Was it given to him by you?"

Xiao Xiao continued, "You satisfied him first, letting him experience enjoyment he could never experience in his life, like his belly was filled with flowers that should not have belonged to him, and then you killed him when he was happiest, even preventing him from experiencing fear and pain. If this homeless man's fate was to live a miserable life, you gave him a beautiful dream."

"You killed him in his dream, thus keeping him forever trapped in that dream."

"..."

He paused slightly at this point, then gave his answer:

"You believe that everyone in this world is just a demon imprisoned in hell, destined to endure despair and pain forever, unable to escape, and eternally controlled. So you sent this homeless man into a beautiful dream and left him there..."

"You are using this method to go against the true nature of this world."

"..."

Suddenly, the surroundings became quiet, as if all the noise and swaying figures in the bar had disappeared.

In the blurry light and shadow, only Xiao Xiao and the person opposite him were clearly visible.

Xiao Xiao quietly held his wine glass, looking intently at the demon from hell before him, and said softly:

What do you think of this answer?

"..."

The man with the note stuck to his face was also looking at Xiao Xiao. The smile on his face had completely faded, the ease and mockery from before gone. He just stared at Xiao Xiao quietly, even with a hint of sadness in his expression. He remained like this for a long, long time before suddenly looking up at Xiao Xiao and whispering, "Brother, you're really different from those fanatics..."

"I really like you."

"..."

As he spoke, he seemed to have made up his mind and suddenly stood up.

Such a sudden action, in this atmosphere, was extremely oppressive, but Xiao Xiao just watched calmly.

Then he saw the man with the note stuck to his face suddenly stretch out his arms to him.

Xiao Xiao couldn't help but laugh.

"Help! Help!"

As Xiao Xiao went downstairs and walked towards the man with the note stuck to his face, Little Four was so nervous that his heart was pounding. He was rushing through the city. The others had already left after their discussion, but Little Four was different. He worked here, so he saw the man with the note stuck to his face through Xiao Xiao's eyes and realized something was wrong. He quickly slipped away.

He rushed to get help, fearing that if he was too late, the person he was clinging to would be gone.

Upon hearing this news, the other strangers in Black Gate City were also filled with panic. Some rushed to the rescue as if they had been electrocuted, while others were completely bewildered and wanted to find a safe place to hide as soon as possible...

But whatever their intentions, someone quickly arrived at the bar.

An invisible panic gripped my heart, and dark clouds gathered overhead.

Fearing the sight of a carnage, and Xiao Xiao's corpse in the middle of it, they were stunned the moment they entered the bar.

What came into view shocked them like never before.

They saw Xiao Xiao embracing that guy from the Hell Organization in the bar.

Enthusiastic excitement.

It felt like seeing a good friend I hadn't seen in years.

It's even less than 10,000, how can there be no tickets? I refuse to accept this!!