Black Dress (Four Thousand Words)

"What?"

The moment this thought crossed Xiao Xiao, he suddenly woke up, breaking out in a cold sweat.

For the first time in his life, he was incredibly slow-witted, yet after realizing what was happening, he panicked and entered a state of Mind Burst, quickly analyzing his current mental and psychological state, and then becoming increasingly shocked. "Why did I suddenly have such a thought? Just like that, suddenly, I had this idea that perhaps only death could solve all the problems..."

My mood had sunk to its lowest point, and I even felt that death was the only thing that still had color.

"Am I being influenced by something?"

"Is it this influence that has caused my current emotional changes?"

"Is this the kind of power that can make me lose all my happiness, liveliness, and joy, leaving me only with a gloomy mood?"

"..."

Xiao Xiao quickly analyzed the situation in his mind, even hesitating for a moment about whether to continue forward.

Just then, his phone suddenly rang. He had to muster a lot of energy to pick it up, as if he knew the message on the phone was important but was too lazy to look at it, because he felt there was nothing in the world that he needed to care about or pay attention to. "You have entered the radiation range. Please proceed with caution."

"You can exit if necessary."

"..."

Xiao Xiao then noticed that there were no living people left in the wards on both sides of the room.

It seems that this is why Mister Ye cannot communicate with himself through other people's mouths, but can only send messages.

Do you want to quit?

Xiao Xiao hesitated for a moment, but continued walking forward.

He was also aware of the terrifying power of this radiation, but his ability to Mind Burst could help alleviate it somewhat.

The power of this emotional outpouring is like staining a blank sheet of paper.

Xiao Xiao had discovered long ago that his Mind Burst, like endlessly stretching out a blank sheet of paper, preventing it from being completely covered.

So he tensed up and went deeper and deeper, clearly feeling his emotions sinking into an endless abyss.

Gradually, even though he had come to his senses and had begun to consciously fight against this invisible pollution, he still felt increasingly depressed. Everything he could perceive became gray and pale, and everything was tasteless. Instead, it piled up into a thick, terrifying cloud that blocked out all sunlight and rain, leaving only a gloomy grayness pressing down on his heart.

Death became the only temptation.

It felt like being locked in a dark, airtight room, where every second felt like an eternity.

Death is the only key to leaving this dark room.

After taking a few steps, he even stepped back, took off his Silver Revolver and dagger, and placed them in the corner.

I dared not carry these things any further, fearing that the urge to die would drive me to shoot myself.

And so, he endured the endless oppression, fighting against the "desire for death" that had become his only real desire, and slowly walked toward the end of the corridor. Before this, he could hardly understand that "death" could become as intense as "hunger" and "sexual desire", occupying the most important place in his soul, as if it had formed a meaning of "redemption".

The gloom that had been building up in my heart had turned into utter darkness.

He felt that every movement was so difficult, as if his body had been taken over by darkness, stiff and cold.

Even the body yearns for death, yet the spirit continues to endure the agony and torment...

Blood slowly began to flow from the nose.

This is a phenomenon where Xiao Xiao has used his Mind Burst ability to the extreme.

If it weren't for his Mind Burst ability, he didn't know how long he could have held on; he might have already shot himself.

But just when he had exceeded his limit, he finally reached the end of the corridor.

I turned around stiffly and saw an empty room on my left, with a person sitting in the center of the chair.

The ward door was not open, or rather, it had been removed.

The room was open and empty except for a plastic chair, where the figure sat quietly.

He was wearing a black dress, but strangely, Xiao Xiao was certain that he was a man.

His slender arms rested on his knees, covered with knife marks.

[Forbidden Things: Those Death-Favored One]

[Danger Level: Class A]

[Note: In a bleak and monotonous world, death becomes the only sweet candy.]

[...]

"Class A?"

Xiao Xiao was slightly shocked.

This was the first time he had ever seen Class A special item.

No, it's not the first time. It seems the little girl from the Rotten Kingdom I met before was also Class A.

But for Xiao Xiao, when he first saw the little girl, he didn't understand her, so his fear was insufficient. The impact she had on him was far less than the deep sense of oppression and bleak despair emanating from the man in front of him.

"This is the woman you were talking about? But he's Mingming a man..."

He muttered to himself, asking Mister Ye.

Just then, the phone rang. Being so close to the woman, the ringtone sounded unusually dull and sluggish, as if heard from across an ocean. Xiao Xiao clumsily picked up the phone and finally heard Mister Ye's words:

"Yes, that's her. That's the right name."

"He is the only Class A Aberrant Creature to have appeared in Black Gate City in recent years that has not been eliminated."

"..."

"Class A Aberrant Creature?"

Xiao Xiao was even more surprised. "Even the Rotten Kingdom is only a Class B aberration."

"Yes."

Even though the microphone Mingming right next to his ear, Mister Ye's voice seemed to come from afar. "The Old Chairman and I discovered her a long time ago, but we didn't get rid of her. Due to some special circumstances, she controlled herself and didn't release the aberration effect. But because of this, she has become the biggest threat in the entire Black Gate City. She not only threatens us, but also the Hell Organization."

"However, she is too uncontrollable, so I am not able to use her threat."

"..."

Xiao Xiao let out a deep breath and said, "So, you want me to give it a try?"

Mister Ye said, "You are the chairman, and you have the right to decide whether to use her or get rid of her."

Xiao Xiao remained silent for a moment, countless thoughts flashing through his mind, before making a decision in a very short time.

They remained silent, but their Eye of the Seer quickly glanced at the man.

The Insightful One's abilities were on full display at this moment. With the observation of his three eyes, and then the overlap, he saw a trace of spiritual power released under the man's enormous emotional radiation. He then began to analyze this spiritual power, as if a dual flow of space and time had begun within this man, but without the same pressure.

Under normal circumstances, Xiao Xiao would experience a tremendous burden and pressure when using this ability in reality, or at the city level, because he is retracing the time and space of the entire city. However, for an individual, the burden and pressure are much less.

One of the abilities of the third stage of the Insightful One might be called: Mental Profiling?

Looking back at the city level, I was portraying the spiritual strength of that city; now, I am portraying the individual.

Everything around him suddenly became unreal, Xiao Xiao saw segments of life:

This somewhat outdated sanatorium often receives special patients, including a middle-aged man who can always hear hallucinations and delusions, and a woman who can never control her temper. But the caregivers at this hospital are used to it, especially a girl who is always smiling and seems to be bathed in sunshine, who is the most patient with them.

This girl always smiled at everyone, especially at that young boy.

For some unknown reason, the boy fell into deep depression. He was brought here by his family because of repeated wrist-cutting or overdosing on sleeping pills. The hospital's responsibility is to take good care of him, cure him, and prevent him from actually committing suicide one day.

The young female caregiver took good care of him, chatting with him, bringing him small gifts, and talking to him about movies.

The boy knew she was trying to evoke his will to live. He calmly explained to the girl his gloomy inner world and that there was nothing in the world worth caring about anymore. He wasn't being dramatic; he could only feel this gloom. He had tried everything, but he just couldn't make himself happy. He was just depressed.

"It's too painful, I just want it to end."

He explained everything calmly, without even expecting her to understand.

"I understand."

The girl smiled and replied, "Depression is like this. As long as you take your medication on time, you can always cure yourself. After you've cured yourself, you can feel happy again. All these dark emotions and the tide of despair will disappear."

The boy remained silent, without any hope.

Even after he came to the hospital, he had attempted suicide several times, so the hospital treated him as a troublemaker and kept a close eye on him. After trying to persuade him a few times, the girl had no choice but to use her trump card. She pitifully held his hand and said, "Now you're under my control. You can't hurt me. If you die, my hopes for a promotion and a raise will be ruined."

The boy silently closed his eyes; he truly couldn't bear to ruin her future.

Because this sunny girl has a clear plan for her life: she wants to work, earn money, marry a very handsome husband, have three children, raise a dog and a cat, and live the happiest and most wonderful life...

He envied this warm and bright life, and couldn't bear to ruin it.

So he endured it, even though the desire for death would always creep into his mind silently.

I can't let this girl down; she's always been so good to me.

However, this kind of endurance is futile. The world is becoming increasingly gloomy, so gloomy that it makes it hard to breathe. The gloom gradually settles and even begins to turn into darkness, an intense and impenetrable darkness that controls one's body, making one so stiff and numb, as if even breathing has become a luxury, as if every second of despair weighs a ton and is constantly accumulating.

Death became the only sweet candy.

That allure gradually overwhelmed everything else, making him eager to pursue it.

He tried again, and almost fell into a peaceful sleep, but was still discovered and brought back to life.

Lying in his hospital bed, he saw the girl again. She had changed into casual clothes, wearing a black dress, and her face looked very pale. It was only after seeing her that he realized he hadn't seen her in a long time; she had become thinner.

"Why do you want to die again?"

She held his hand, her expression angry. "So many people want to live, why do you insist on dying?"

He was powerless to explain, because he had lost the desire to explain.

Then, seeing his expression, the girl suddenly reached out and took off her hair.

She, who once had thick, beautiful hair, was now bald. Tears welled up in her red eyes. "I want to live. I haven't gotten married yet, I don't have any children of my own. All I know is working overtime every day. I haven't even had a dog of my own. But I'm going to die. The doctor said my illness is incurable. I'm going to die..."

He hadn't felt shocked in a long time; his emotions were like a stagnant lake, never rippled.

But then, an uncontrollable ripple appeared, and he incredulously leaned forward, looking at the girl.

"How I long to live..."

The girl held his hand, tears of fear streaming down her face. "But I have no chance to live anymore."

"You have a chance to live, but why won't you take it?"

"This is the last time I'll come to see you, please promise me?"

"Stop trying to kill yourself. Just consider it as fulfilling my wish to live, okay?"

"..."

"..."

He never saw the girl again after that.

I asked other caregivers, but all I saw were expressions of regret.

But whenever the overwhelming despair of the night surged, he would always see the girl's red eyes, see her crying and begging him to let him live her part of the life. He felt an unprecedented pressure and could only endure it.

Living is painful, but I have no right to end this pain.

Because he had made a promise to that girl, he could only keep his promise and live in this world in her place.

The sanatorium saw a turning point. "The most troublesome one in the sanatorium, the guy who would think about suicide all the time, as if he was living only to commit suicide, seems to have become well-behaved now. Before, he would always cause trouble every now and then, making it impossible for everyone to guard against him, but now it's better. He asked the doctor for a little black dress, and he wears it every time he has an episode."

"Then he will stop having suicidal thoughts and just sit there quietly, waiting for the urge to die to pass."

"That little dress is more effective than restraints..."