We're the Crazy Ones (4,500 Words)

Xiao Xiao probably didn't even realize that he was furious at that moment.

He harbored extreme resentment towards this suddenly appearing member of Dante Organization. He had chosen a scumbag, and this scumbag could grant him an even more powerful weapon. In fact, such a scumbag was practically a perfect sacrifice.

It can effortlessly send the Butcher to the next enhanced standard sacrifice...

But this guy, who appeared out of nowhere, ruined the opportunity.

Where did the Butcher was just ready to upgrade go?

In the brightly lit underground parking lot, the Butcher's shadow was no longer visible.

Could it be that he was sent back to his butcher shop by some unknown means?

Xiao Xiao couldn't help but worry. The Butcher's accumulation of Pain Substance was not about devouring, but about being moved by the scene. He had just seen this scumbag, which caused his emotions to fluctuate and gave him the opportunity to break through. Could he do it again?

Just like when a person is in a state of high emotional intensity and has suicidal thoughts, once they are interrupted, their will to live takes over.

Is the promotion of Butcher also like this?

If so, the Butcher may completely lose this opportunity, and it's uncertain when he will be promoted again.

So...

"... Damn it!"

A surge of intense dissatisfaction welled up within him, and the three Eye of the Seer, which had just shrunk due to the blinding light, suddenly snapped open again, forming a triangular angle and simultaneously casting their cold gazes upon the other party.

An invisible pressure permeated the underground parking lot.

"Slap!" "Slap!" "Slap!"

Suddenly, one by one, the bright lights in the underground parking lot shattered, and the dazzling light dimmed considerably.

It was as if, in this parking lot, darkness was reclaiming sovereignty from the light.

"You..."

The man in the white robe was also taken aback, seemingly not expecting Xiao Xiao to exert so much pressure.

He couldn't help but take a step back, and said in a deep voice, "Control yourself."

"You are being affected by a special item and are on the verge of spiraling out of control..."

"..."

"Out of control?"

Xiao Xiao frowned, feeling annoyed, and the pressure emanating from him grew increasingly terrifying.

Even from somewhere nearby, the sound of steel being twisted could be heard, and a series of sparks flew across the parking lot ceiling.

His eyes, as if bleeding, stared at the Dante Organization member before him, closing in step by step. "I don't care about losing control..."

"I'm just curious, why are you stopping me from cleaning up a piece of scum?"

"If you stand with scum, does that mean you are also..."

"..."

As he spoke, the Silver Revolver tucked into his lower back trembled violently.

The bullet was automatically chambered, as if even the gun sensed his repression and hatred, and a strong desire to release it arose.

Xiao Xiao even had a gut feeling:

With just a slight thought, the Silver Revolver would jump into his hand and shoot the enemy.

But just as his suppressed anger reached its peak, the man in the white robe suddenly whispered:

"President Xiao, listen to your own voice. Who is speaking?"

"..."

"Um?"

The sudden reminder startled Xiao Xiao.

After all, he possesses the ability to Mind Burst, and his mind is never completely consumed by emotions.

His anger at this moment was simply because he was annoyed that this person had suddenly appeared and interrupted his plans. He couldn't control the rising of his emotions. But when he was reminded, he suddenly recalled the events and was somewhat surprised.

He's Butcher!

The way I spoke just now, and the tone of my voice, didn't belong to me.

It's the Butcher speaking through his own mouth.

Why did his voice come out of his own mouth?

"Why would Black Gate City choose someone like you who knows nothing to sit in the position of guild leader?"

Upon seeing Xiao Xiao's seemingly slight change in emotion, the man in the white robe also looked at him with a deep gaze and a low voice:

"You don't even know what special items mean to strangers?"

"That is your mental projection, which is also a kind of Enhancement Element. According to the indigenous people's theory, it is just because you saw something in reality that touched you and left a deep impression on you. Under the intertwining of fantasy and your own mental power, this impression is transformed into a special power, just like a creature living in a fantasy world."

"You can summon it from the fantasy world at will, as if it really exists."

"But in reality, he is merely a projection of your mind!"

"..."

He spoke in a deep voice, seemingly growing calmer with each word; his voice was steady, yet carried a powerful and impactful force.

"From the perspective of strangers, we see it as existing independently, simply unconditionally loyal to us."

"But in reality, he is also a part of your spiritual world."

"It's the embodiment of your alternate personality."

"And when you let this part of your personality grow unchecked, it will become stronger and stronger until it has enough power to influence your dominant personality, to take its place, or to drive you crazy in this state of indistinguishability, until you break down forever."

"..."

Xiao Xiao heard all of these words.

Even though his thoughts were somewhat confused at this moment, his insightful nature prevented him from missing a single byte.

For a moment, a strange sense of confusion arose in my heart.

He had heard similar words and explanations before, but...

... I couldn't help but look up at the person in the white robe in front of me:

"You say you come from the Dante Organization, but why do you speak like a native?"

"..."

Seeing that Xiao Xiao seemed to have calmed down, the man in the white robe, or rather Lin Bo, breathed a sigh of relief without making a sound.

He said in a deep voice, "The Dante Organization has always been dedicated to finding explanations for any phenomenon."

"We will explore and study based on whichever explanation can best explain everything."

"So, we are indeed all outsiders, but our internal research has various different factions."

"Some people explore all of this from the perspective of the indigenous people, while others explore it from the perspective of outsiders."

"Our opinions and results often contradict each other."

"But we believe that whichever interpretation ultimately helps us find the final answer, it is in line with our principles."

"..."

Xiao Xiao frowned.

In Lin Bo's eyes, Xiao Xiao's reaction seemed frighteningly fast.

Almost immediately after giving his explanation, he retorted, "So, you're a researcher from an indigenous perspective?"

"Yes."

Lin Bo immediately admitted, "Everything that I and my mentor have studied is about doubting ourselves."

"Doubt everything we see and know as strangers."

"In our eyes, the whole city and the whole world are fake. All the natives are already part of the monster's control. Their cognition, memory and emotions are manipulated, like puppets on a stage. But who can be sure that it is not us, who call ourselves outsiders, who are actually controlled by this illusion... or Mysterious Source?"

"..."

As if to prove something, he stared into Xiao Xiao's eyes and slowly explained:

"Perhaps, we are simply influenced by a mysterious source of power that has given us the power of fantasy and the power to corrupt others through spiritual influence, but at the same time, it has also kept us submerged in illusions for years..."

"The Enhancement Element and special items we purchase are merely projections of fantasy power. There are not that many distorted things in this world, nor will we buy any distorted things. The problem lies with ourselves. Our spiritual world has been distorted and fragmented under the influence of the Matrix, forming one fantasy creature after another."

"And these fantastical creatures carry the risk of backlash."

"We can control and drive them normally, but we must never indulge them."

"The more they are indulged, the greater their power becomes, and the greater the threat they pose to the dominant personality, until they become completely unbalanced..."

"You were already under serious threat just now."

"Do you think you're controlling something to kill people?"

"It was you all along, you were the one killing people, you were the one being controlled by the fantasy creatures to kill people!"

"..."

"..."

Such remarks caused Xiao Xiao to fall silent, as he seemed to be slowly savoring everything that had just happened.

The person in the white robe seemed to finally feel a little relieved.

Looking into Xiao Xiao's eyes, he slowly said, "And this is precisely why we set rules not to interfere with the operation of real society. Because we live in a fantasy world for a long time, we cannot be sure whether what we see, hear, and understand is true or false. In such situations, no matter what we do, no matter how certain we are in our hearts, we may hurt innocent people."

Only then did Xiao Xiao regain his composure and look at him. "So, you mean..."

"It's us."

The man in the white robe said calmly, "I also have my mentor, as well as researchers in our school of thought. The core is very simple."

"It's easy to call someone crazy."

"But what if we're the ones who've gone mad?"

"..."

"..."

"Dante Organization has arrived at Black Gate City!"

Just as Xiao Xiao and Dante Organization's Lin Bo were having this conversation in the parking lot, the news quickly spread throughout Black Gate City. First, Mister Ye immediately shared the news with Yang Jia: "An abnormal mental barrier appeared next to the chairman, blocking my vision. Only the most mysterious people behind the Black Forest Biological Laboratory could do this."

"Or perhaps it's the Skeptic School of Dante Organization."

Yang Jia immediately made a judgment. "According to the previously agreed time, they should be arriving soon, but..."

"... Why didn't these lunatics inform us so we could contact him directly?"

"..."

Mister Ye said, "In my understanding, the Dante Organization will never appear as an adversary."

"Indeed not."

Yang Jia bit her lip slightly. "But it's possible that he will appear as a savior who saves fools."

"They are all too clever and are used to seeing the indigenous people, or even ordinary strangers, as fools. So they always have an arrogant and conceited attitude. Most importantly, they are used to using their self-righteous reasoning and truth to deceive others. But because they themselves deeply believe in those so-called 'truths,' the people who are being deceived cannot even realize that they are being deceived."

"Especially him, he was at a crucial stage of his development, and he was on the most suspicious and insightful path..."

"Once he is shaken, the Enhancement Element, with their various side effects, could easily drive him into madness..."

"..."

While they were exchanging these thoughts, Little Four, who had secretly slipped out, brought more definitive information.

Yang Jia's expression was cold and suspicious, and he was already somewhat angry.

Also in the underground parking lot, Xiao Xiao seemed to have been persuaded. His eyes were unfocused as he looked at the person in the white robe. He felt that the person was standing in the still bright underground parking lot and seemed to be surrounded by a holy radiance, making people afraid to look directly at him.

An indescribable sense of guilt welled up from the bottom of my heart.

Yes, we treat indigenous people as monsters who are bound and manipulated every day.

But what if we're the ones who go crazy?

I used to think that the things happening around me couldn't be explained by the ridiculous theories of the indigenous people. But if we really are all crazy, and crazy in exactly the same way, then what kind of things can't happen? In the eyes of truly crazy people, what kind of absurdity, strangeness, horror, and distortion can't appear, or what kind of irrationality is impossible?

"I know you still have many questions in your mind, come back with me first!"

Lin Bo looked coldly at Xiao Xiao and said, "Yang Jia has been in Black Gate City for so long, but she has not brought you enough understanding. Members like her, who are simply chosen and absorbed because of their power, are a disgrace to the Dante Organization."

Xiao Xiao nodded, as if preparing to follow him.

Behind them, the stiff-looking man in the sports car had somehow woken up.

He opened his eyes wide and stared at the two thin and mysterious figures under the pale light, without uttering a word.

My phone started buzzing at some point, and the caller ID showed: Mrs. Sun.

Just as Xiao Xiao and Lin Bo turned around, seemingly about to leave, Xiao Xiao, who had already taken a step, suddenly turned back, a silver pistol appearing in his hand. The action was so abrupt that it looked as if the pistol had jumped into his hand on its own. As he grasped it, terrifying flames suddenly erupted from the muzzle.

"Bang!"

The man sitting in the sports car stared blankly at his chest, where a large hole had been torn open.

He looked up blankly, as if he wanted to say something.

But then, a series of loud "bangs" rang out as his body exploded into puffs of blood mist.

It was almost completely destroyed.

"You..."

Lin Bo suddenly turned around, his white robe shimmering with a white light, like burning flames of anger.

"What are you doing?"

"..."

"I'm doing what you just interrupted me about."

Xiao Xiao looked at him calmly, his previous confusion completely gone.

The quick realization is that the momentary confusion he showed was never there; it was something he deliberately created to fool others.

"I've figured it out..."

He laughed and said, "What you just said seems to make a lot of sense, but..."

"... What does this have to do with me killing this scumbag?"

"..."

A pleased smile even appeared on his face, "Furthermore, according to your theory..."

"If he's in my mental world, then killing him would be no different than a fantasy creature killing him, right?"

"..."

The man in the white robe stared intently into Xiao Xiao's eyes. In those eyes, he saw two completely different emotions: calmness and madness, even a hint of mockery. But he didn't see what he wanted to see. A deep sense of defeat suddenly welled up inside him. Even at this moment, he didn't know what he had done wrong...

After a long silence, he spoke in a low voice, asking only one question, "Aren't you afraid you might have killed the wrong person?"

Xiao Xiao smiled, looked directly into his eyes, and said slowly, "Wrong is wrong..."

"Anyway, it's not illegal for a madman to kill, is it?"

Losing weight is so painful, my life is collapsing.