The End of the Corridor (Four Thousand Words)

"Our Old Chairman has always lived in this small building, studying these things every day?"

Xiao Xiao returned to the vanished building, took out his key, opened the door, and slowly entered, sighing softly.

This is really different from the Hell Organization...

The Hell Organization treats this world as a nightmare, so they indulge themselves without regard for any rules or bottom lines, as if they have fallen into a dream. And we know it is a dream, so who would let go of this naked beauty in front of them?

Of course, if it's a nightmare and you don't know what strange things are hidden beneath that beautiful exterior, then that's a different story.

However, it is also possible that someone could still do something even if they didn't know what was under the skin.

They were even more excited...

In short, Xiao Xiao could understand the corruption of the Hell Organization, but he couldn't quite understand the Old Chairman.

Compared to his first cursory visit to the building, where he only wanted a general answer, this time he was much more serious. He carefully examined the items stored inside, only to find piles of documents and blueprints, maps and models covering the walls, and bookshelves filled with scientific research, art, and even world history books and documents.

The enormous map was even divided into two walls.

On one wall, there is a world map and the location of cities as seen by the indigenous people.

On the other wall, from the perspective of a stranger, are the locations of unknown life forms in the Mist Sea.

Like an eerie scene, they complement each other perfectly.

Xiao Xiao could imagine the old man helping the city clean up the Aberrant Creature, managing the affairs of Black Gate City, and even enduring the immense absurdity and distortion, while still diligently researching in this lonely little building every night.

What is he after?

Xiao Xiao sighed helplessly and strode forward.

To truly understand this Old Chairman, perhaps one needs to sit down seriously and read through all the materials he has researched.

But Xiao Xiao was not interested in this.

The only thing that interested him was the Noah's Ark project left behind by the Old Chairman.

This entire plan, as you can see, already has many ideas, which are neatly collected and stored on the desk.

The last time he came, he only listened to Uncle Chen talk about the Old Chairman's idea and left without learning more. Perhaps it was a side effect of the insight, but he was always a little suspicious. He didn't like the feeling of being designed and arranged by others, and he was even less sure whether what the Old Chairman and the others believed in was true. So, he subconsciously wanted to stay away from this so-called plan.

But now, he has come to a realization.

My friend from the Hell Organization is right. Since the end is right there, why not go and look for it?

To put it bluntly, no matter what, the Old Chairman was just one of those who were searching for the end. However, compared to the Hell Organization and the Dante Organization, his thoughts were simpler, or rather, his ambitions were greater. "The guides to the end have been appearing one after another. Eventually, the end will appear before us, and we must build this great ship to take everyone away."

"Lead them out of the nightmare and into a real, hopeful world..."

"..."

All plans are for this purpose.

Xiao Xiao picked up a drawing at random, looked at the dense data and design on it, and then quickly put it down.

I originally intended to just go through the motions, but I found that even putting on a show was difficult when faced with these things.

Mind Burst can help you do many things, but there's one thing you can't solve: math problems. No matter how much your ideas explode, you still can't solve them.

It can help you analyze your surroundings and the dynamics of your opponents, but it cannot analyze such sophisticated designs.

It gives me a headache just looking at it.

So he simply turned his head, looked at Uncle Chen who stood beside him like a puppet, and said with a smile:

"So, if I'm willing to join his plan, I can inherit his legacy, right?"

"..."

"You already possess the master's estate; from the moment you entered the small building, you became the heir."

Uncle Chen Bo said in a dull tone, "If you're willing, everything in this small building is yours."

Xiao Xiao smiled, not disliking being eagerly offered things, but he still raised an eyebrow and asked a question:

"Is my approval or disapproval that important to you?"

"..."

Uncle Chen replied in a low voice, "This is very important to the master."

"I, and even the Master, may not have known that you would be the one who came. However, the Hidden Compass has a vision that is superior to all of us. Since it has guided you here, it means that you will be the most important link in the Noah Project. The Master is powerless to continue pushing this plan forward, and his followers are powerless as well, because they do not know what the most crucial link is."

"But the Arcane Compass points very clearly, and that is you."

"..."

"Being secretive is really unpleasant."

Xiao Xiao shook his head helplessly and left the small building again, silently thinking to himself, "But it doesn't matter anymore."

"No matter how many mysteries or questions there are, can't we just solve them ourselves?"

"..."

The Hell Organization's friends only told Xiao Xiao one thing: they themselves didn't understand it.

Having stepped into this mysterious and twisted world, Xiao Xiao had been waiting for someone to give him an answer, but neither Yang Jia nor the Shepherds could convince him of their answers. They themselves were stubbornly convinced, which also made him lose confidence. But the Hell Organization pushed this chaos to the extreme, to a point where everyone was confused and deceived...

... Well, there's nothing I can do then; I can only trust myself.

Find the answer yourself.

After all, curiosity is also one of the side effects of being an observer...

Who would have thought?

It was after Xiao Xiao left the small building that a low sigh suddenly rang out from the building, which would sink into the city and disappear from the world once he left. It was Mister Ye's unique mechanical voice.

However, inside the small building, this voice surprisingly carried a touch of humanity:

"Persuading him was the hardest step, but I didn't expect him to make a decision so quickly."

"..."

Uncle Chen's hands fell to his sides, as if he were about to fall asleep along with the small building, but upon hearing this, he slowly opened his eyes and whispered:

"Actually, I disagreed with this decision before you made it. It is indeed a world full of mysterious powers, but as a researcher, I only believe in things that I can control and understand the principles behind. I don't understand why we should place our hopes on someone we don't even know the details of, especially since you don't seem to have investigated his affairs properly until now."

"..."

"I've already found some information."

Mister Ye said softly, "He has already sensed something and is arranging for people to look for his father."

"I cut off those people's search so that they wouldn't know the truth."

"But once the Hell Organization issue is resolved and the plan truly begins, I will tell him what I have found out."

"..."

"..."

"Qinghu Sanatorium in the western suburbs."

After leaving the small building, Xiao Xiao got back into a taxi and told the driver his destination.

Having agreed to join the Old Chairman's plan, I need to protect the hidden compass, even though I don't yet know which one it is.

Logically speaking, as the new president of Black Gate City, he also has a responsibility to protect this item, but to be honest, he really didn't have the motivation to do so before, and it was only because he didn't know in what form the Arcane Compass existed around him.

Otherwise, it really will be handed over.

Now that we've decided to board that big ship and go to the end to see what's to come, it's essential to keep the compass.

Therefore, we must also think of ways to counter the Hell Organization.

The taxi drove through the brightly lit city, the glittering neon lights forming a huge cloud, and above that cloud were stars that looked like illusions. Xiao Xiao silently watched everything in the city and the busy crowds, but he still couldn't see the plastic texture in it. It was really a very uncomfortable thing...

Whether you perceive the real as fake or the fake as real, it's unsettling.

Soon, the vehicle arrived in front of a tall and imposing building with gray-white walls. The walls were covered with barbed wire and shards of glass stuck upside down. The rusty iron gate was tightly closed, and armed security guards stood on both sides of the entrance.

"Is this a sanatorium or a prison?"

Xiao Xiao muttered to himself, gave the money to the taxi driver, and even gave him a little extra.

Tell him to wait here so he won't be unable to get a taxi when he goes back.

Standing before this towering building, he tilted his head and surveyed it. Clearly, it wouldn't be easy for him to openly enter and find someone. However, he did have quite a few options for gaining access to such a building...

Using the Record Player Miss's seductive abilities, she lured the security guards to open the door for her.

Using his exceptional physical abilities, he jumped over the wall and then used his insightful abilities to find the patient.

Or simply summon the Butcher to kill them all...

... The third option is clearly not a good choice; it costs 100 points per person, which is too expensive.

After a moment's thought, Xiao Xiao raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

An invisible force surged forth, and the rusty iron gate of the sanatorium suddenly opened silently in front of him.

Even the two armed security guards instantly went dazed, as if they had turned into two mindless plastic dummies.

"Mister Ye's abilities are truly amazing..."

Xiao Xiao couldn't help but sigh inwardly, and at the same time became more and more certain that this guy was indeed spying on him non-stop.

After straightening his clothes, he entered the sanatorium and found it eerily quiet. Staff members and even patrolling hunting dogs could be seen everywhere, but they all stood quietly in place, as if time had stopped. After he passed by, the iron gate opened with a click, and he entered the innermost ward as if it were empty.

"Right in this corridor?"

Xiao Xiao stopped and glanced into the building.

"Yes, it's at the end of the corridor, but from now on, you need to be careful."

A guard standing guard by the corridor suddenly spoke, startling Xiao Xiao.

This ability to project thoughts is too bizarre...

As he nodded, he thought to himself that what he was seeing was that Mister Ye could project his spirit onto any native at any time. Didn't that mean that he could temporarily transform into anyone in this city?

Whether the other person is in the bathroom, eating, or doing that.

In order to satisfy their desires, outsiders have often done things like buying local people as inflatable dolls.

But this Mister Ye is truly remarkable...

If he wanted, wouldn't all the men and women in this city be his harem?

As he was thinking about these things, he had already walked into the corridor. After taking only a few steps, he suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

The corridor was lit by pale incandescent lights, making it feel oppressive and dim. Behind the thick plastic doors on both sides, there were patients with strange appearances. Some stood upright and blankly in the middle of the room, looking up at the ceiling; some clung to the windows with their hands, staring blankly outside; and some spread their arms, maintaining an amusing pose as if they were airplanes flying around in the room.

In fact, not everyone stopped moving under Mister Ye's influence.

Xiao Xiao even saw a patient's eyeballs moving constantly, and their gazes even met his own.

Are there strange people here, and even Mister Ye can't completely control them?

He didn't know why, but he was affected by the atmosphere in the corridor. He felt his mood getting worse and worse, and he vaguely felt that everything was meaningless. A sense of frustration was rising, and he felt that he couldn't muster any interest in doing anything.

For a moment, he even had a sudden change of heart and wanted to turn around and leave.

But he knew what he was there to do, so he persevered and walked forward step by step.

Unconsciously, that feeling of frustration was getting worse and worse, as if a gray color was being painted on his mental world, causing all the vibrant things to lose their original color. He felt the emptiness in his heart growing more and more severe, and his mind gradually became unable to concentrate. He even began to be unable to recall specific things and was unable to think effectively.

A strong sense of frustration is surging from the depths of my heart, while my good mood is being completely absorbed by an invisible sponge.

Xiao Xiao was almost entirely driven by instinct, walking forward little by little.

But this emotion did not disappear; instead, it became even stronger and surged into his world.

Before he knew it, he had walked halfway down the corridor, and the end of this short corridor seemed to be right in front of him.

Xiao Xiao suddenly stopped, even though he was Mingming a few steps away from his destination.

A thought inexplicably arose in my mind, "I really want to die..."

There will be more later