Pandora's Box (4,500 Words)

It was unclear whether there was a hint of deliberate revenge in his words. After speaking, he glanced at the other two captains, and suddenly all three of them burst into laughter. The mist that had been slowly seeping into Black Gate City suddenly accelerated, like a huge tide, and instantly surged towards Lin Bo. The clanging and clattering of chains could be heard incessantly within the mist.

"Hold!"

Lin Bo was instantly alarmed. Suddenly, his white robe unfurled and collided with the surging mist.

But then, the white robe was torn to pieces by the impact of the mist. Strange and mysterious forces collided in mid-air, creating huge chaos. Even everyone's vision was distorted at this moment. They could only vaguely see a man wearing only red underwear quickly disappearing into the tall buildings below amidst the bright lights.

[Special Element: Rule Exemption]

[Rank: Class B]

[Type: Disposable consumable]

[Ability Description: Possesses an absolute immunity power below the S-rank law. This immunity can be used to dodge a fatal bullet, or simply to avoid an embarrassing moment caused by diarrhea, or to avoid the inconvenience of queuing, or even to grant the ability to survive a nuclear explosion.]

[Note: He was honest and upright throughout his life, never overstepping the bounds. As a child, he dared not be beaten for angering his parents, nor did he dare be reprimanded by his teachers for skipping classes. Even as an adult, he did not know how to bribe his superiors to gain opportunities for further promotion.]

[Thus, he watched his younger brother, who dared to cry and make a fuss, receive the love of his parents; he watched his classmate, who skipped class, fought, and even dared to argue with the teacher, win the heart of his deskmate; he watched his colleague, who didn't take projects seriously but was good at communicating with the leaders, become his boss; he watched his wife take his salary card and all his bonuses, and finally move into his house with a released hoodlum.]

I've followed the rules my whole life, so why am I such a failure?

Are the rules meant to protect me, or to harm me?

[...]

[...]

"Damn it..."

Wearing only a pair of red shorts, Lin Bo fled for his life, cursing angrily as he did so:

"This is a reward I received when I ascended to godhood, a special element that gives me an extra life..."

"Are all our colleagues in Black Gate City this unethical?"

"..."

"..."

"Master, to West Suburb Green Lake Sanatorium!"

At the same time, while Lin Bo was cursing the strangers of Black Gate City and fleeing for his life, Xiao Xiao was getting into a taxi.

He had already formulated a plan when he issued that order.

Of course, you should hide now, but you don't need to appear too anxious.

The Insightful One's ability can be understood as having invincible defense.

How can a person ensure that he/she is not eaten by a hungry and strong tiger?

The answer is to avoid encountering it.

Now that he has reached the third stage of the Insightful Realm, the entire city is almost completely undefended in his eyes, except for a few forbidden areas. This naturally includes the Hell Organization that are preparing to invade Black Gate City. Using his Insightful Realm abilities, he can almost evade all the Hell Organization members who have entered Black Gate City. Theoretically, it would be easy for him to evade them for three hours.

Therefore, the Butcher cannot be strengthened for the time being, because strengthening him would inevitably cause a huge commotion and a significant impact on his abilities.

It will attract the Hell Organization.

Despite his extremely confident ability to hide, Xiao Xiao was also making other plans in his mind.

"The Hell Organization isn't brainless; they're just playful..."

"You can tell from their first reaction after the bet was signed that they can be very scary if they get serious."

"Therefore, in addition to hiding well, other preparations are needed."

"I promised that poor man I would help him escape this endless suffering, and now is my chance?"

"..."

"Was the decision to detonate that bomb made from the very beginning?"

The taxi driver in front suddenly spoke in a low voice, and in the rearview mirror, I saw that his eyes had changed to those of a different person.

"Mister Ye."

Xiao Xiao looked into his eyes through the rearview mirror and smiled, "Can I make this decision?"

"Certainly."

Mister Ye, speaking through the taxi driver, said, "You are the president of Black Gate City, and you have already proven your reaction ability. I just realized that it was just a hoax by the Hell Organization, but I couldn't stop Yang Jia and Ruan Ruan in such a short time. You handled it better than I did, so I believe you will use that weapon at the best time."

Xiao Xiao nodded slightly, but did not speak.

No, I just wanted to detonate it; timing was secondary.

Just like in a game, is unleashing a powerful attack to secure victory?

Mingming just to see the effect of the ultimate move.

"This friend from the Dante Organization is quite generous, using up such a precious element so easily..."

Meanwhile, above Black Gate City, thick fog began to rise slowly but quickly, rapidly engulfing the Black Gate City. The streetlights and the lights on the high-rise buildings appeared to have a mysterious, hazy quality. The television began to broadcast a news report: the smog that had severely affected Black Gate City a year ago had returned, and residents were urged to stay home and avoid going out.

And in this thick fog, mysterious figures, one after another, jumped down from the sky.

They landed on the city's high-rise buildings, streets, or speeding cars, their faces showing excitement.

On the rooftop of the city's tallest building, the three captains of the Hell Organization silently looked down upon the city.

His expression held a hint of helplessness. "They've really hidden very well. It seems the only way to find him is to execute the second plan..."

Hearing the White Devil's sigh, the other two looked solemn.

After a long pause, he finally said, "When did we formulate a second plan?"

"Just coming up with a plan for this bet has already taken a lot of brainpower..."

"..."

White Devil looked slightly bewildered, though the note obscured his expression. He paused for a moment before laughing, "The second plan is to let everyone do their own thing and find out whoever does it. Whoever does it will take the lion's share of the bet. How about it?"

"You can do that?"

The scarred bald man next to him said, "Logically speaking, the president sponsored the most points, so he should get the lion's share..."

"Pooh!"

The woman in the black dress immediately objected, sneering, "Don't you know who usually does all this dirty work?"

"He has a lot of points, but weren't all those points stolen from him and given to him as tribute?"

"..."

"Right!"

White Devil said, "The guild leader is a damned capitalist. This bet is our chance to fleece the capitalists."

Who would refuse?

"..."

The three immediately reached a consensus. They exchanged glances and stopped hiding their intentions. The woman in the black dress reached under her skirt, rummaged around for a while, and pulled out a box with dark red patterns. After confirming with the other two, she smiled and gently tossed the box down towards Black Gate City. During the process, the box was quietly opened.

Nothing unusual could be seen coming out of the box, but as the box fell, the air in Black Gate City began to distort.

A faint, invisible scream appeared around the box and then spread outwards.

The wider the ripples spread, the clearer and louder the cries and howls became. As the box gently landed, the radiating ripples centered on it spread throughout the entire street and the whole area, making the cries deafening.

The eyes of the Black Gate City natives, affected by the cries, began to turn blood red.

They stood frozen, their bodies trembling. Some closed their eyes in pain, while others looked down at their trembling hands.

A few seconds later, an expression of extreme excitement suddenly appeared on their faces.

The once intact skin on the body began to develop tiny, bright red cracks, with granulation tissue growing inside.

[Special Dangerous Item: Pandora's Box]

[Rank: Class A]

[Ability: Unleash the shackles of reason and reveal your most insane side]

[Note: He was always seen as a good person by others—gentle, restrained, considerate, and always willing to apologize after arguing with colleagues. He always completed his supervisor's assignments without complaint. He seemed like someone without personal desires, and no one needed to care about his thoughts. Until one day, he suddenly suggested that he wanted to see a performance by a circus in the city.]

The circus has a magical box containing a devil. Once opened, the devil possesses the nearest person, taking over their body and revealing their deepest, most wicked thoughts and secrets until the box is closed again, resealing the devil. But family isn't interested, and colleagues don't understand why someone so old would believe such a ridiculous hoax.

He returned home dejectedly, only to find a box that looked exactly like a circus box. He didn't know where the box came from, but driven by intense curiosity, he opened it. In the next moment, his eyes suddenly turned blood red. Without a word, he silently went to the kitchen, selected the finest knife, and then killed his constantly arguing neighbor.

[Back at the company, he killed his supervisor and colleague who had been bullying him, then called his wife, wanting to go see her.]

Covered in blood, he was being arrested by the Guard Hall when he suddenly saw the news: the circus box was just a magic prop, and all the possessed people were shills hired by the circus. Only then did he realize that the box he had seen was different from the stolen box from the circus. But he couldn't understand: if the box was fake, where did the demon possessing him come from?

[...]

[...]

"Beep beep beep—"

Within five minutes of Pandora's Box being thrown into Black Gate City, the monitoring devices of all the outcasts who had hidden suddenly went off simultaneously. Hundreds of Class D aberration events occurred in every district of Black Gate City, affecting the entire city.

"Was it done by the Hell Organization?"

The emergence of a large number of Aberrant Creature was naturally noticed by the Black Gate City outsiders. The Black Gate City knights, who had just hidden under Xiao Xiao's orders, sensed this panic-inducing change and could even perceive that the entire city was being affected by the large number of mutated phenomena. Due to their own discomfort, they began to send signals to the Black Gate City outsiders.

"They'd do something like this just to force the chairman to come out?"

"Do they know how many native inhabitants of Black Gate City will be affected and killed by this action?"

"..."

"It's no use, the Hell Organization doesn't care about these things at all."

At the Red Eyes Club, Ling Ping stood by the window, watching the crazed and twisted monsters that had appeared under the streetlights outside. He took a deep breath and suppressed it. "They are not contractors of Black Gate City, so the City Will will not directly retaliate against them. These natives who have been affected and killed will turn into the city's wrath and retaliate against us."

"Although it doesn't deduct as many points as if we killed someone ourselves, it will still affect us as a result of mistaken identity. And this kind of distortion that affects the entire city will exceed our limit in less than three hours, at most ten minutes!"

"The Hell Organization acts without any bottom line or consideration for the consequences!"

"Even with this bet, it's still the same..."

"..."

He and several other knights held an emergency discussion, contacting Mister Ye and Yang Jia, but they couldn't reach a conclusion in a short time. At the same time, on the first floor of the Red Eyes Club, Ling Ping's follower Yunyun, along with a group of newcomers, hid there. They were anxiously watching the increasing number of abnormal phenomena on the streets, but without orders, they were somewhat confused and helpless.

When she saw a group of Rat-Man scurrying up from the sewers, preying on some of the indigenous guests at the Red Eyes Club, and even lunging at their backs, the girl finally couldn't help herself and gently turned her hands over.

Invisible threads danced in the air, instantly slicing the two attacking Rat-Man into chunks of flesh.

"Miss Yunyun is amazing..."

The shortest time these newcomers have been awake is only two days. They are still in a daze and haven't even completed the most basic strengthening.

Standing before these twisted and hideous Rat-Man, I felt only disgust and fear.

Suddenly, they saw Yunyun make a move and easily kill the two Rat-Man. They were both surprised and delighted, and they all clapped and cheered.

Yunyun had always been a newcomer, following Ling Ping. This was the first time she had felt the awe and worship of the newcomers. Her face flushed with excitement. She had just retracted the silk threads she had released and hadn't thought of how to answer when suddenly a black iron hook flew in from outside the window, smashed through the window, and pierced straight through her body.

It was a hook tied to a rusty iron chain. The moment it pierced her body, it hooked her again. Then the chain rattled and pulled her directly out of the Red Eyes Club, her body convulsing as she was lifted into the air.

Everyone fell silent at the same time, staring blankly at the tall figure slowly emerging from the thick black fog outside the club.

It was a strange man with many stitches on his body, standing four or five meters tall. He was wrapped in rusty iron chains, while Yunyun was suspended in the air by iron hooks, blood gushing from his mouth and nose, his eyes gradually becoming unfocused.

All the newlyweds were stunned. Red Eyes Ling Ping on the third floor, sensed something was wrong and looked out the window.

Her eyes met those of the strange man, and she froze.

The man grinned, but he didn't have a tongue in his mouth, so he couldn't speak.

But as he carried the little girl Yunyun, he savored the feeling of her life slowly fading away, and grinned, letting out a silent smile.

Those who voluntarily enter into a bet must choose to accept the consequences.

Ling Ping felt as if his heart was being violently squeezed by a giant hand; he opened his mouth wide, but couldn't inhale a single breath.

"I hope my good friend can understand..."

In the middle of the city, standing amidst countless twisted monsters, the White Devil gently blew on the note that obscured his view and chuckled softly:

"Our Hell Organization takes this bet very seriously..."

Actually, I often add extra chapters, and the word count is quite high, but I don't break them into separate chapters, so people don't give me votes...