People Caught in the Cracks (4,600 Words)

"The Pioneer Project?"

Xiao Xiao never expected that she would be so calm when he talked about these issues.

He even deliberately concealed the pressure his Eye of the Seer exerted on others, appearing only indifferent and quiet, staring intently at the man he should call his father, his pale and hesitant expression conveying the past bit by bit.

"Yes... yes, the name is the Pioneer Project."

Facing Xiao Xiao, whose face remained expressionless, Xiao's Father felt immense pressure. He didn't feel like he was facing his own child at all; he even felt as if Xiao Xiao were a mannequin, someone who only had the appearance of his child but knew nothing about him. Therefore, the tension lingered. "But specifically, I... don't really understand. I only know the Shepherd's simple explanation..."

"He said that our world is under a powerful threat."

"It is a phenomenon of a high-dimensional, mysterious force that we cannot understand invading and devouring our world. As ordinary people, we do not know the nature of this force, its source, or how to fight against it."

"All we know is that this invasion will thoroughly, from the inside out, completely corrupt our world. This invasion is more thorough than any invasion in history that we understand. It will not only occupy our territory and our resources, but also our bodies and our spirits. It greedily devours everything, and it is something that guns and bullets cannot stop..."

"Even our will, which we often take pride in, is insignificant in the face of such an invasion."

"..."

Xiao Xiao frowned slightly; he had heard this argument many times before.

The Shepherds was the most fanatical and steadfast believer in this view, and he himself had known this for a long time.

But hearing these words coming from my own father still feels a little strange.

He raised an eyebrow slightly, looked at him, and said, "And then?"

"Then... then they proposed the Pioneer Project..."

Xiao's Father looked flustered, avoiding Xiao Xiao's eyes. "This plan means, before that invading force completely devours our world, to actively send our people into the sphere of influence of that force..."

"Go... explore, gather, and seek hope for success."

"..."

"Whoosh!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xiao's eyes suddenly flickered, and he abruptly looked at his father.

Even the three Eye of the Seer beside him suddenly flipped up uncontrollably, staring intently at his father.

"Send into a hallucination?"

How should I deliver it?

"..."

Under his direct gaze, Xiao's Father trembled almost to his very soul.

His body was like a puppet, out of control, and he could only say what he knew, "Through a kind of medicine."

"The Black Forest Biological Laboratory has been developing various drugs that can improve the genes of ordinary people, giving them power beyond the limit. But according to Mr. Shepherds, what the Black Forest is really researching is a drug at the mental level. They have developed a new type of drug that can cause mental distortion, giving people the ability to sense and even control invading forces."

"In other words, when faced with the invasion of the Mother, this drug is used to actively send a person into the Mother..."

"..."

Xiao Xiao's pupils were already frozen, but he remained silent, listening quietly to what he had to say.

"That medicine is... very magical."

Xiao's Father hesitated before speaking, his instincts seemingly preventing him from saying these things, but the pressure emanating from Xiao Xiao compelled him to reveal everything. "However, the side effects are severe. The Black Forest Biological Laboratory has always lacked sufficient experimental subjects, so, so they once conducted a secret genetic test on the entire population without the public's knowledge."

Ultimately, only a very small number of people were selected and... fortunate enough to try this drug.

"The Shepherds man... that's when he came to me!"

"..."

Xiao's Father instinctively resisted telling these stories, but he had no choice but to.

Xiao Xiao's ability to read his Xiao's Father's emotions without him noticing, to judge whether what he said was true or false, and even to see the details that he tried to hide and did not honestly tell, thus filling in the gaps in what he said.

So he became even more silent.

I don't know how to describe my feelings at this moment, but the events of four years ago seem to flash before my eyes.

At that time, there was a large-scale blood test at the school, seemingly to prevent some kind of infectious disease. At that time, at least in my memory of that period, everything was normal. There were no cities with writhing flesh and blood, no natives that could split open and extend tentacles, and no abnormal people walking in cities of flesh and blood, dealing with Aberrant Creature and Enhancement Element...

But soon everything changed.

During that period, my father's business seemed to be going very poorly. For a while, he would often lose his temper at home. Later, he seemed to fall into silence and struggle. When eating dinner, he would always look at me, as if he wanted to say something but held back.

She even thought that he just wanted a divorce but didn't know how to tell her.

After that, my father rarely came home. He almost always stayed with that woman, letting my mother cry and vent her emotions.

My headaches started to appear, and I was suffering from a constant sense of mental torment every day.

The doctor said he was fine, but when he said this, he didn't seem relieved; instead, he looked somewhat disappointed.

Is that person in the white coat sitting in the room full of high-tech equipment really a doctor?

In that instant, his mind was almost completely filled with all sorts of details and crazy ideas. If he didn't have the ability to have Mind Burst, and if he hadn't gotten used to this feeling, he wouldn't know if his head was about to explode.

"Them..."

He only realized his voice was a little hoarse when he opened his mouth. He paused slightly, adjusted his voice, and continued:

What benefits did they give you?

"..."

"I..."

Xiao's Father suddenly tensed up and tried to explain, "I had no choice, I had no options, they..."

"Just say it."

Xiao Xiao, with a lazy air, said, "Among those people involved in this deal, don't I have the right to know about these things?"

Xiao's Father panicked immediately.

After a long pause, he said, "I really had no choice at the time. The Black Forest is not something that small business owners like us can fight against. However, later, the Black Forest did give me some business in return and even let me join the Black Goat Club... The Shepherds said that as members of this club, we would all be protected by them in the face of that kind of power."

Xiao Xiao let out a slow sigh, his eyes looking somewhat tired.

Xiao's Father hurriedly said, "More importantly, he assured me at the time that the chosen person would not necessarily be in trouble, and most likely would not be. Once you get through that period, you will become like a normal person, and you might not even remember these things."

"High probability?"

Xiao Xiao suddenly laughed and said, "So there's still a certain probability that they'll die directly or suffer a mental breakdown?"

Looking at his smile, Xiao's Father's face showed a look of horror, completely at a loss.

Now that he's been asked so many times, Xiao Xiao can tell from his father's face that he's told him almost everything he knows. Combined with some details he learned before, he's starting to piece together the whole process in his mind... So, the reason he had that feeling four years ago was because of that so-called psychotropic drug developed in the Black Forest Biological Laboratory?

Why did nothing else happen for four consecutive years, and why did the Black Forest not reappear?

Is it because their reactions after the drug trial were different from what they expected, so they were just observing from the shadows?

So, what about four years from now?

Why did I start encountering their people four years later, and even meet that Shepherds was grazing in pain?

The answer was quite simple: four years later, he became a stranger in a foreign land.

Could it be that what they initially wanted to see was for themselves to become strangers, only they were four years late?

But did they conduct such a massive experiment just to make themselves strangers?

What about Yang Jia? And Ruan Ruan, Little Four, Mister Ye ...

They were drug test subjects just like me, and they went through the same things as me?

Having learned some things, an even greater mystery arose in Xiao Xiao's mind. He felt a throbbing pain in his temples, a dizzying sensation, and an endless stream of emotions welling up inside him, vying for release but unable to be released. With a strange smile, he asked his father, "Why did you leave the family?"

He wasn't sure if his expression was one of sneer or pain, but his voice was deliberately lighthearted:

"You know why I was in pain four years ago, but you fled from that home as if you were running away..."

Why?

"..."

"I..."

Xiao's Father stammered, unsure how to explain.

He used to be able to explain that he and Xiao's Mom had a bad relationship and that's why they separated, but now he can't say those words anymore.

"Because you feel guilty?"

Looking at his expression, Xiao Xiao suddenly understood and shook his head, saying, "No, so you were afraid."

"You know I might go crazy, and you're worried that this madness will hurt you."

"..."

Xiao's Father was speechless, unsure what to say, but Xiao Xiao suddenly said, "You're very good to your younger brother..."

"You insist on letting them leave before discussing this, are you worried it will affect your image in his eyes?"

"..."

Xiao's Father suddenly became worried and stared blankly at Xiao Xiao.

Xiao Xiao laughed happily and said, "Oh, I understand now. You know my son is already ruined. Although he wasn't completely ruined in those four years, he's basically ruined. So you're rushing to have a child to replace me. Compared to him, am I inferior to him in every way? Have you turned all your dissatisfaction and worries about me into love and care for him?"

Seeing Xiao Xiao's emotions almost spiraling out of control, Xiao's Father was at a loss for what to do.

There was only endless worry, fearing he might say something threatening.

"You sold me out..."

Xiao Xiao smiled and looked at his Xiao's Father, saying, "We didn't even get a very good price..."

"They didn't give me a single penny..."

"..."

In his voice, which was neither clearly expressing joy nor anger, but rather a deep unease, cold sweat beaded on Xiao's Father's forehead. Even his vision blurred, and in his daze, he seemed to suddenly see three dark red eyes floating behind Xiao Xiao. He also saw the sofa, tables, chairs, and walls around him writhing, revealing a crimson essence.

"Monster..."

He lost his composure, knocked to the ground by the enormous impact, and cried out in a hoarse voice, "You're a monster..."

"Sizzle..." "Sizzle..."

In another part of Black Gate City, in a dark room, the Shepherds stared at the surveillance footage before him. When Xiao Xiao's expression turned strange, the entire image began to distort, as if subjected to strong electromagnetic interference. He sighed softly:

"He must be in so much pain..."

"Having witnessed the twisted and terrifying side of the Matrix, we find that reality is even more twisted and terrifying..."

"..."

Why should he know this now?

Beside him stood a woman in a suit, frowning as if she didn't understand. "In the initial design, he was sent into this illusion to help us find the Mother. Now that we've told him all this, if he develops a rebellious attitude, it will greatly affect our plans, and may even threaten the safety of the Black Forest."

"Your understanding of the mother body is too superficial."

The Shepherds chuckled softly and said, "The Pioneer Project was my idea, and it's the one I understand best. This project isn't just about sending people in; it's about giving them higher-level access to the Matrix. At least from what I know now, the Matrix's access has four levels, from low to high, and he's already at the fourth level."

"The first level consists of ordinary people whose minds have been corrupted by those inside the mother body. These people exist as servants, merely their assistants or stewards, or rather, their puppets and slaves, just like that unfortunate fat man from earlier..."

"Under certain circumstances, one can become a true stranger, but the probability is extremely small."

"The second level of authority is for those who have truly 'awakened.' These people have the power to communicate with the Matrix and trade with it in the form of points to obtain the power to Enhancement Element. They are the tentacles of the Matrix's power distributed throughout this city, carrying out its will. They are completely different from us on a spiritual level, deeply trapped in illusions, and can utilize the power of the spiritual level."

"The third level of authority is that of the knights, who have the ability to replicate their own spiritual power and radiate it to others."

"The fourth level is the lord."

"They possess the ability to dominate other mentally unstable individuals within a city, and are at the core of mental radiation."

"..."

He explained slowly, his smile mysterious and confident, "I know the people in the Black Forest are dissatisfied with me, and even call me crazy."

"But believe me, what you call an undercover operation is not the real Pioneer Project."

"Those people in the Black Forest are old and constantly afraid. So when they discovered that Subject Zero hadn't completely failed but had successfully entered the Matrix illusion, they still wanted to tell him the truth, to get him to agree to cooperate with the Black Forest, to accept experiments, and to gather intelligence within the Matrix... What kind of pioneers are they? This is the dumbest method imaginable!"

"But I, I can represent the true core of the Pioneer Project."

"That is, to help him, even force him, to gradually gain higher access to the Matrix!"

"Even higher than lord-level authority!"

"The Matrix is a vast and mysterious power of fantasy that can be shared by all. They all reside in that ocean of fantasy. The higher one's authority, the more one can utilize the power of this fantasy. But I do not merely want him to help me see what is in that ocean. I hope that one day, he can possess that ocean for us!"

"Explore, and conquer!"

"This is the true Pioneer Project!"

"..."

"..."

Yes, this is the truth I've been unable to tell you.

At the same time, despite Yang Jia's increasingly terrified expression, Mister Ye's voice remained gentle and calm. "He is now the president of the Black Gate City Strangers' Guild, and has even earned the respect of everyone in Black Gate City, but in reality..."

"... He is an indigenous person!"

"A person who was forced into a life of perfection, caught in the cracks!"