Mister Du's Invitation (Six Thousand Words)

"The plan regarding Noah?"

Xiao Xiao looked at Yang Jia, who was smiling at him, paused for a moment, and nodded.

He stepped forward, got into Yang Jia's car, into the passenger seat, and fastened his seatbelt. He turned to look at Yang Jia, his eyes seemingly questioning. Yang Jia, however, acted as if nothing was amiss. After closing the car door, she silently took out a pack of menthol cigarettes from her pocket, lit one, started the car, and, looking straight ahead, said:

"The Noah Project is just an unrealistic ambition."

"In fact, the stranger should have thought of this long ago. On the forum and within the Dante Organization, there have been people who have proposed this idea. All the city messengers call themselves strangers because they live in a world that is incompatible with them. This sense of alienation is too severe, much like strangers living in unfamiliar cities. But this does not mean that a hometown exists."

She spoke in a calm and unhurried manner, displaying an unusual level of composure.

The car was also slowly accelerating, heading straight towards the edge of Black Gate City. Outside the window, the lights were like a tapestry, rushing past quickly.

"The so-called hometown is just a comforting hope in the hearts of strangers."

Yang Jia didn't need Xiao Xiao's reply, and said to himself, "Since it's just a hope, it's fine for everyone to keep thinking about it in their hearts. But it would be too foolish to actually put in a lot of energy and resources to carry out such a vague plan. What kind of blow will these hopeful strangers suffer when they find that the hometown they yearn for does not exist?"

Xiao Xiao nodded silently.

Yang Jia raised a very real problem, one that he had already considered.

But upon hearing Yang Jia's words, he didn't rush to agree or say anything. Instead, after waiting a while, he suddenly turned to Yang Jia with a smile and said, "I just talked to the Shepherds about a lot of things and understood some of the natives' understanding and seriousness about this world. So I'm also a little curious... If the Mysterious Source is so powerful, why does it need outsiders?"

Yang Jia remained expressionless, simply looking ahead, seemingly unaffected by the question.

Xiao Xiao continued, "The Mysterious Source itself possesses unimaginable power, but it seems that no matter what they do, they need to go through strangers... And if their relationship with strangers can still be called a contractual relationship, using points as a means of communication to complete a mission and strengthen the relationship, then what is the difference between the Branders and ordinary strangers?"

After saying that, he turned his head and looked at Yang Jia very seriously.

Yang Jia remained silent, her foot pressed firmly on the accelerator, causing the white SUV to accelerate faster and faster. After a moment of silence, seemingly unable to find a reason to refuse to answer the question, she slowly said, "Ordinary outsiders are chosen, executed, and then given Enhancement Element in exchange. But those Branders are chosen a step further, even bound together..."

"The power of the Branders is innate. They can usually directly receive the blessing of powerful elements, or rather, their power has exceeded the scope of Enhancement Element and belongs to authority. However, through the branding, they can directly control the power of the Mysterious Source, which also means that they have always been directly influenced by the Mysterious Source, making them extremely powerful..."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xiao nodded slightly and asked, "How powerful?"

"Is it possible to achieve the level of will distortion experienced by an ordinary person who has been bought by a stranger?"

"..."

Yang Jia paused for a moment, then replied, "It's even better."

"So..."

Xiao Xiao listened for a moment before slowly speaking, "Even you could be influenced and come here to lie to me..."

"... even kill me?"

"..."

Yang Jia suddenly fell silent. After a long while, she slowly turned her head and stared intently at Xiao Xiao.

Xiao Xiao smiled at her and said, "You've already quit smoking, haven't you?"

"Besides, I'm an insightful person, and this path makes me quite difficult to deceive..."

"..."

Yang Jia's face was expressionless. At this moment, the car had already reached the edge of Black Gate City. A wide main road could be seen, like a sinister and twisted python, winding its way towards the mysterious and unknown outside the city. This white SUV, on the other hand, seemed like a fish swimming against the current, stubbornly shaking off the city behind it and speeding towards that mysterious area.

Yang Jia spoke after a moment of silence, "Mister Du asked me to invite you to meet him outside the city."

Xiao Xiao smiled at her and said, "Let him come into the city. Not only can I meet him, but I can also treat him to a meal."

Yang Jia paused for a moment, then said, "Mister Du doesn't like being rejected."

As she said this, she suddenly raised her hand and grabbed at Xiao Xiao's neck.

Yang Jia wasn't wearing black gloves at this moment, but her movements were even more ruthless than when she was wearing them. Her fair and slender fingers contained astonishing and terrifying power. In an instant, she grabbed Xiao Xiao's neck, as if she wanted to snap his neck or forcibly control him to prevent any accidents from happening while she was driving away from the city.

Xiao Xiao seemed unfazed by her attack, only letting out a slow sigh.

"If you have the chance, leave me some clues to save you..."

"..."

As he spoke, his body suddenly fell backward. In his Mind Burst state, every movement he made was exceptionally precise. This backward movement not only allowed him to dodge Yang Jia's palm, but also allowed him to gather strength in his back and smash the car door open. Then, his right hand quickly rose upward, and the Silver Revolver in his hand pulled the trigger sharply from below.

Bang!

The seatbelt was snapped by the shot, and the bullet flew upwards, hitting Yang Jia's hand that was still reaching for his neck.

Yang Jia frowned slightly and withdrew her hand.

Xiao Xiao had already taken the opportunity to get out of the car, and his body quickly spun around to dissipate the force of his fall from the car. In the darkness, he looked like a black spinning top. After spinning, he stopped and looked up at the white SUV.

Creak.

The white SUV suddenly stopped, and after a while, there was a loud bang inside the car.

Yang Jia burst through the roof of the car and looked up at Xiao Xiao. It seemed that a sad and painful expression could be vaguely seen in her eyes, but her movements were without hesitation. With her legs slightly bent, she instantly covered a distance of more than ten meters.

In Xiao Xiao's slow-motion vision, Yang Jia's expression was cold and indifferent, like a work of art sculpted from ice.

Bai Xi clenched his fist and slammed it hard against his own face.

At this moment, Xiao Xiao couldn't help but frown. In his eyes, Yang Jia had always been mysterious and powerful. But as he strengthened himself and mastered more and more Enhancement Element, Xiao Xiao began to wonder if the gap between him and Yang Jia had narrowed. Only now did he realize that Yang Jia was still terrifyingly strong...

She is Branders, but her strength and close-quarters combat skills seem to be no less than Ruan Ruan's.

That terrifying power gave Xiao Xiao a suffocating sense of oppression.

"Swish" "Swish"

Xiao Xiao retreated several steps, his movements appearing strange and light, dodging Yang Jia's successive attacks and grappling attempts.

The combination of his Mind Burst ability and insightful observation skills gives him an almost precognitive precision in close combat. Even if his opponent is several times stronger than him, he can easily evade them by dodging and predicting their movements.

Of course, it only looked relaxed on the surface, but inside it was extremely tense.

This is probably a side effect of his abilities, making it seem like Xiao Xiao with others when he fights with them.

But Xiao Xiao was clearly very serious.

Yang Jia missed several times in a row, and Xiao Xiao seemed like an illusory shadow in front of her.

He even had an expression that resembled a smile on his face.

This enraged her; her pupils constricted sharply, and she raised her right hand forward, but instead of attacking, she seemed to be grasping at thin air.

But before she could react, Xiao Xiao had already retreated abruptly, hissing in a low voice, "Thorn Hound."

"Woof woof woof..."

Suddenly, three tall, ferocious, dark red canine shadows appeared in the empty air around them. They were extremely fast, circling around Yang Jia in an instant. Wherever they passed, dark red thorns crisscrossed and cut through the air. Centered on Yang Jia, the area within a dozen meters around her was instantly filled with dark red thorns, like a gloomy hell.

While doing all this, Xiao Xiao didn't dare to delay for a moment and immediately summoned in his mind. "Record Player Miss!"

He didn't dare summon the Butcher, after all, that guy smelled too much blood.

If Xiao Xiao wanted to kill the enemy, then summoning him would be fine. But now the opponent is Yang Jia, so he can't go all out. If he summons the Butcher, he won't be able to control him. The Butcher will definitely not show any mercy and will kill anyone he catches.

Therefore, Xiao Xiao only hoped that the Thorn Hell combined with Record Player Miss's abilities could trap Yang Jia.

After all, one can overwhelm someone with painful memories, while the other can influence someone's will and behavior; both have a restraining effect.

But he quickly realized it was no use.

I was overthinking it.

Or rather, they underestimated Yang Jia.

After the dark red thorns completely trapped Yang Jia inside, Yang Jia seemed to pause for a moment. Her movements appeared somewhat mechanical, as if she herself was resisting this command. But after only a slight pause, shockwaves suddenly exploded in the air around her. This was a phenomenon similar to a mental force impact, only it was terrifyingly powerful.

The thorn forest was instantly shattered by the impact, with dark red fragments scattered all over the ground.

Even the three Thorn Hound tucked their tails between their legs and glanced resentfully in Xiao Xiao's direction.

It was as if they were saying, "Brother, are you still going?"

"We have no problem with you forcing us to participate, but where are you going to find dogs as good as us again..."

"..."

Xiao Xiao immediately dismissed the idea.

There wasn't even any intention to let Erha go up and test Yang Jia's strength at this time.

She could only retreat quickly, hoping that the power of the Record Player Miss would come in, because she could clearly sense that the Record Player Miss had come as promised. Her power seemed to be higher than that of mental impact. At this moment, Yang Jia used mental impact to prevent the surrounding mental power from getting close to her, but the power of the Record Player Miss went against the current and reached her side.

Only...

... Yang Jia was completely unaffected.

Xiao Xiao could sense that she frowned slightly when the power of the Record Player Miss approached.

But that's all...

Feeling helpless, but also aware of the problem.

The main function of the Record Player Miss is to break down someone's defenses and weaken their strength. An extremely angry person will not feel pain and will not hesitate at all. Their attacks will be full of ruthlessness, instantly boosting their combat power to the extreme.

But if he's in this state, his mind is suddenly filled with a melody like "kajimi kajimi".

This state of anger immediately broke down.

... Although it may be a little inappropriate, the principle behind Record Player Miss's ability is roughly like this.

But this was useless against Yang Jia at this moment; her will was completely under her control.

At this moment, she was like a machine carrying out a mission, and no external factors could affect her at all.

Instead, she used this brief moment to quickly manipulate the air, creating a semi-transparent doorway roughly the size of a person in front of her. Her indifferent face appeared behind the doorway, her gaze seemingly becoming even more somber and empty through it. She slowly raised her hand, reaching out to grab Xiao Xiao, who was rapidly retreating dozens of meters away...

"Holy crap..."

Xiao Xiao had seen Yang Jia use this ability to deal with others before, but this was the first time he had experienced it firsthand.

In that instant, he felt himself and the world around him being grabbed. Neither his ability to Mind Burst, nor his ability as an observer, nor the power brought by the enhanced Violence Factor of the second stage, could resist Yang Jia's grab. He was almost powerless and was instantly pulled into the air, flying uncontrollably toward Yang Jia.

That door.

In his perception, the semi-transparent door seemed to lead to the entrance to hell.

I felt like my whole being was being suppressed and controlled, and I was completely unable to resist.

It was a door that could bear all power. He was on this side of the door, so no matter what kind of power or Enhancement Element he possessed, they would be weakened and rendered useless when transmitted to Yang Jia through that door. Meanwhile, all of Yang Jia's power, will, attacks, or grabs would be amplified countless times through that door...

Passing through this door, he now faced Yang Jia just as he had faced Ruan Ruan when he only had ten points.

They were utterly powerless to resist.

"Are we really going to summon the Butcher?"

At that moment, Xiao Xiao's heart skipped a beat with nervousness.

He didn't want to summon the Butcher to fight Yang Jia, but the power Yang Jia was showing at this moment was too strong. He even had a feeling that even if he summoned the Butcher, he would still be far from being a match for Yang Jia. This intense struggle and worry made his heart sink.

It wasn't an adjective; he genuinely felt a sudden, sharp jolt in his heart.

Thump!

As his heart pounded, Xiao Xiao felt his body, which had been lifted into the air, suddenly plummet downwards.

As the feeling of solid ground came over him, Xiao Xiao instantly felt as if he had merged with the entire city. He was not just himself, but a whole with the road beneath his feet, the surrounding buildings, and even the tall buildings, people, and vehicles in the distance. The power of the entire city merged with his own, making his body feel incredibly heavy.

Yang Jia could easily seize power through that door, but he was still somewhat inadequate against the power of the city.

After all, we are still in Black Gate City, and the power of that gate cannot be fully unleashed.

Currently, it is only Yang Jia's personal strength that is fighting against Black Gate City.

"Crack crack crack..."

Xiao Xiao vaguely noticed that the door had become somewhat fragile, and there seemed to be cracks appearing on it.

"President, don't worry..."

At that very moment, Mister Ye's gentle voice rang in my ears.

Accompanying the gentle electronic sound was an exceptionally terrifying power. Behind Yang Jia, two towering buildings, each over thirty stories high, instantly melted into two sticky, twisted tentacles that rapidly coiled towards Yang Jia. The diameter of each tentacle was dozens of times greater than Yang Jia's height, resembling chains from hell.

"What exactly happened?"

"That person... doesn't he look like Jiajia-jie?"

"..."

Immediately afterwards, the roar of a motorcycle rang out, Ruan Ruan charged into the battlefield. Little Four appeared not far behind Yang Jia.

Later, Red Eyes Ling Ping, the Serpent Sisters, and Old Zhou Under the Bridge all appeared in various places.

When Xiao Xiao got into the car, he had already used his lord authority to issue instructions to them to follow Yang Jia out of the city. One reason was to observe Yang Jia at this time to see if she could give him any confidence. The other reason was to wait for these people to arrive so that he could set up a net-like force to keep Yang Jia, who was obviously in trouble, in Black Gate City.

After all, Xiao Xiao wasn't arrogant enough to truly believe that his current strength was enough to keep Yang Jia by himself.

And as it turned out, calling them over was useful.

"Smack..."

As Mister Ye made his move and Ruan Ruan and the others quickly approached the battlefield, the struggle between the door and the city behind Xiao Xiao seemed to have reached a critical point. The faint door frame finally showed a clear crack and then suddenly shattered. Xiao Xiao saw Yang Jia suddenly take a few steps back, and his indifferent face suddenly showed anxiety and tension.

This delighted him, and he quickly moved forward to speak.

"Wait..."

But he didn't expect that as soon as he showed any intention to step forward, Yang Jia would suddenly raise her hand to stop him.

The next moment, the road beneath her feet suddenly collapsed, and a huge, black behemoth covered with eerie eyes and human arms appeared, as if it were a combination of a giant python and a centipede. Yang Jia was lifted up by this giant python and instantly rose into the air, dodging Mister Ye's blood-red tentacles from entanglement. The huge, strange monster then instantly merged with the blood-red tentacles.

During this process, Yang Jia maintained his fighting stance, but his expression turned anxious as he looked at Xiao Xiao:

"The power of the imprint remains."

"But just now, the power of Black Gate City overwhelmed his will, so I can speak with you for now..."

"The door has its eye on you, you'd better watch out..."

"..."

"Is she still under control?"

Xiao Xiao frowned sharply, and was about to give the order for everyone to take action and leave Yang Jia in Black Gate City.

But Yang Jia seemed to know what Xiao Xiao wanted to do, and her voice sounded somewhat painful, "It's no use. As long as the power of the mark is there, I can't escape. But you must remember, those words just now were not what I wanted to say. The Noah Project must continue no matter what."

"It's too painful, Xiao Xiao..."

"A world full of monsters, a life without hope, a will that can be controlled at any moment..."

"This is not our world, nor is it our life."

"Therefore, the Noah Project must continue; we must find a way to escape..."

"Even dying on the way to escape is better than being buried in the deepest part of a nightmare..."

"... That's exactly what I wanted to tell you!"

"..."

"..."

Hearing her words, Xiao Xiao suddenly lost his composure.

It seems that Yang Jia, amidst the confrontation between two high-level forces, managed to gain a slight opportunity to express her will. Yet, she actually used this brief chance to say these things to me... Was she genuinely worried that, while under control, her words urging me to abandon the Noah Project would affect me? So, she chose to seize this rare opportunity to say these things?

His feelings were suddenly very complicated, but his Mind Burst ability made him not waste any time, and he asked loudly:

Tell me, how can I save you?

"..."

That's the key. Xiao Xiao needs to be prepared. Even if he can't keep Yang Jia this time, at least he should know how to save her.

But as Xiao Xiao uttered those words, Yang Jia's body, lifted by the monstrous python, broke free from the two blood-red tentacles and rapidly swam towards the deep fog Black Gate City. The distance between Yang Jia and Xiao Xiao widening quickly, and Yang Jia, standing on the python's back, silently turned to look at Xiao Xiao, and slowly, heavily, shook her head:

"There's no other way..."

"Those Branders cannot escape the will of the Mysterious Source..."

"I originally wanted to escape before that day actually came, but I didn't expect that day to arrive even sooner."

"Next time you see me, please don't hold back..."

"..."

"..."

With a deafening roar, a massive surge of mental energy erupted the instant the monstrous python burst forth from the city.

Xiao Xiao's body, having only undergone the second stage of enhancement by the Violence Factor, was unable to directly confront this turbulent current and was forced to stop.

He looked in the direction where Yang Jia had disappeared, where broken blood vessels and torn pieces of flesh were writhing.

Suddenly, I felt empty inside, and a sense of powerlessness welled up inside me.

I originally planned to update yesterday, but I went back to my hometown and got a bit of heatstroke. Plus, I was in a rush to get back to Qingdao and was drowsy all day, so I couldn't write anything. So I'll resume updating today.