This Time, He Lost Big (5,500 Words)

"So, Mister Ye, he really intends to hunt down the Mysterious Source?"

After leaving the Iceberg Bar, Old Zhou Under the Bridge and Red Eyes Ling Ping sat down in a small bar.

One of them was dressed in a sharp, expensive suit, leaning on a cane, his hair neatly combed. If you ignored his eyes, which always seemed to gleam with a faint red light, he would look like an old-fashioned Sapp heavily influenced by Western culture. The other, however, was wearing a black top hat and drab gray clothes, looking like a vagrant.

But when they walked into the bar, they acted as if they were the owners.

It wasn't that no customers noticed the strange behavior of the two of them; some waiters even tried to stop Old Zhou Under the Bridge from leaving the bar. However, with a slight red light swirling in Red Eyes Ling Ping, everyone quietly returned to their original seats.

Do what you were doing just now.

Some chatted, some drank, and some continued rubbing their thighs under the table.

Even those who originally wanted to go to the toilet were influenced by a strange will and sat back down, flirting with the dignified and elegant woman across the table with a smile. However, their bodies couldn't hold back, and a wet patch appeared in their crotch, which gradually spread.

"Even now, I sometimes find our abilities very strange..."

Old Zhou Under the Bridge, asked the bartender for a glass, and poured in the Erguotou liquor he had brought with him.

"After all these years, aren't you used to it yet?"

Red Eyes Ling Ping, only ordered a glass of whiskey. At the same time, he glanced disdainfully at Old Zhou Under the Bridge, maintaining an air of superiority. He casually swept his gaze over the locals in the bar and said softly, "Our abilities aren't our own; they're just permissions granted to us by this city. Everyone is fake, just monsters in human skin. So what's so strange about what they do?"

"The problem is only..."

Old Zhou Under the Bridge, then said calmly, "This is how we see the indigenous people."

"Are we seen this way in the eyes of the City Will?"

"..."

Red Eyes Ling Ping, paused, a look of extreme surprise flashing across his face. "Weren't we here today to discuss that new president?"

"It was just something I felt compelled to say."

Old Zhou Under the Bridge shook his head slightly and changed the subject. "When is he coming?"

"I have already sent a request to his email address, and he will come when he is ready."

Red Eyes Ling Ping, silently picked up his glass and drank, then gestured to the waiter to bring him a fine cigar. Old Zhou Under the Bridge, watched him with some discomfort, and after a while, he couldn't resist taking out some tobacco from his pocket and rolling it into a cigarette.

The two were worlds apart, and they were usually the least comfortable with each other. But now they could only sit together and wait for Mister Ye to arrive. In Black Gate City, Yang Jia had an accident, and the guild leader's temperament was a bit special, making people afraid to speak freely. Among the remaining knights, the only ones who could sit down and have a proper chat as normal people were the two of them.

Unfortunately, there are currently eight Black Gate City Knight Pact and with similar identities.

Aside from Yang Jia and Mister Ye, there were only the two of them, the Serpent Sisters, Ruan Ruan, and Little Four. As for the Serpent Sisters, we couldn't call them out to discuss things. Those two women were completely insane. They were insane before because their faces were cut off, but after they got their faces back, their mental state didn't improve. Instead, they became even more insane.

I don't know if it's contagious.

As for Ruan Ruan and Little Four, these two are rising stars and have always sided with the new president, so there's no point in discussing them.

Besides, he's also insane...

Therefore, realizing the seriousness of the problem, the two of them had no choice but to sit down together and invite Mister Ye over.

"I think the president has already made himself very clear."

Just as they were each lost in their own thoughts, without warning, the waiter in front of them suddenly spoke in a low voice.

The face was completely unfamiliar, but the voice that came out was that of Mister Ye, a voice that was familiar to everyone.

"He does indeed want to hunt down the Mysterious Source, and he has already begun preparations."

"..."

"But how could something like that possibly succeed?"

Red Eyes Ling Ping, couldn't help but frown and said, "Are we really going to go crazy with him?"

Old Zhou Under the Bridge didn't speak, but he clearly raised his eyebrows, showing that he agreed with the Red Eyes Ling Ping.

To their surprise, the person behind the bar, who believed their concerns were normal and reasonable and should resonate with the usually rational Mister Ye, only looked at them with a slightly strange expression.

"Do you intend to rebel?"

"Just like the Silver Bullet Family of yesteryear?"

"..."

"No..."

Red Eyes Ling Ping, and Old Zhou Under the Bridge both changed their expressions drastically and immediately shook their heads vigorously.

Are you kidding me?

Everyone has seen the fate of the Silver Bullet Family, not to mention that Black Gate City is now even more powerful than it was back then. These two were just veteran knights, and as two of the few people in Black Gate City who weren't crazy, expressing their concerns about something that was theoretically impossible, and trying to understand the new chairman's thoughts in a tactful way, to see if they needed any advice.

"Mister Ye, please don't misunderstand. We absolutely have no other intentions and are very satisfied with the current situation in Black Gate City."

Old Zhou Under the Bridge, spoke a few more words than usual, "Yang Jia been kind to our Black Gate City... None of us want anything to happen to her, but we also know that the Mysterious Source is not something we can fight against. Only a madman like the Hell Organization would think of such a thing..."

"So, who gave you the misconception that Black Gate City is less daring than the Hell Organization?"

Mister Ye, contrary to his usual behavior, interrupted them.

Seeing the two men's visibly stunned expressions, Mister Ye's voice rang out calmly. "You both followed the Old Chairman, yet you didn't understand Old Chairman. He was always the kind of person who was resolute, and when resoluteness reaches its extreme, it's just madness..."

"But even someone like the Old Chairman hesitated during his lifetime, fearing that he didn't have enough willpower to carry out his plan. So when this new chairman was chosen, I was also very surprised. I couldn't figure out his thoughts, nor did I quite understand why his hobbies were so...unique! But I was also very sure that he was indeed the person the Old Chairman had been waiting for."

"Therefore, I will choose to believe him."

"After all, if you weren't willing to trust him, why did you choose him in the first place?"

"..."

"..."

Old Zhou Under the Bridge and Red Eyes Ling Ping under the bridge were both dumbfounded. They came here today to find out what was going on, how did it turn into a show of loyalty?

Mister Ye sighed softly, conveying the sigh in a mechanical voice, which sounded very strange. Then, his voice rang out again. "I understand your thoughts. You think you are rational, so you can't accept such a crazy plan. But have you not thought that Black Gate City has always been the initiator of the craziest plan?"

"Therefore, please heed my advice and make your decision!"

"If you decide to leave Black Gate City, I will help you persuade the new guild leader to grant you the freedom to transfer."

"Otherwise, you shouldn't be sitting here questioning his decision."

Instead, she used all her strength to find ways to help him achieve his goal...

"..."

Under the astonished gazes of Red Eyes Ling Ping and Old Zhou Under the Bridge, Mister Ye paused for a moment and slowly began to speak:

"Just like what Miss Ruan Ruan and Mr. Little Four are doing now."

"..."

"..."

Regardless of what people are thinking, Black Gate City is indeed showing some unusual changes.

Having left the Iceberg Bar, Ruan Ruan returned to her rented apartment. She kicked off her shoes, jumped onto her computer chair, and excitedly pulled over her keyboard, starting to send messages to the forum. "Family members, does anyone know anything? Our guild leader, you know, that dog lover who's good at dancing, he's actually thinking of hunting down the Mysterious Source now...!"

So, do you have any good ideas?

[...]

The post quickly garnered numerous replies, indicating its popularity.

[Nine-tailed Master: The Old Auntie is online...]

[Ghost Emperor TM: The poster is here on the forum again, bragging.]

[Thousand Bone Emperor's Lament: You upstairs probably have no idea what a monster the guild leader of the poster's family is!]

[Drama Emperor: My family has a Mysterious Source method for hunting gods, passed down through generations. I'm willing to make this decision, which goes against our ancestors, for you, but I hope you won't be so ungrateful... Could you perhaps share a few pictures of her jade feet?]

[...]

[...]

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, in an empty, abandoned building, Little Four climbed over the railing to his secret base. He threw down the dinner he had just rummaged through the trash can, sat down, and carefully searched through the phone he had just stolen. "Brother Xiao said I can spend those points now, so the Ghost Princess that I've been wanting to redeem should be here by now, right?"

"You really want to exchange for the Ghost Princess element?"

Suddenly, a voice rang out from his waist, and the head on the belt was clearly startled.

"Yes..."

Little Four said, "I've accumulated enough points."

"Holy crap..."

The human head on the belt looked somewhat constipated. "Have times changed?"

"Several tens of thousands of points, and you, a silly, clueless kid, just casually accumulated them?"

"..."

Little Four found the belt's reaction a bit strange. "Isn't it normal?"

"He's got hands and feet, knows how to take what he wants, and if he follows Brother Xiao, he'll accumulate points very quickly..."

"..."

"..."

Xiao Xiao was unaware of the psychological changes the people of Black Gate City were experiencing after he issued this order. He simply followed his own conjecture and first told Lin Bo that he wanted the Dante Organization to provide him with detailed information about the "Gate". In addition, Yang Jia was a member of the Dante Organization, and he wondered if the Dante Organization had time to send reinforcements.

Lin Bo felt somewhat uncomfortable listening to this. He was already the reinforcement, so sending more people would just be redundant.

After that, Xiao Xiao asked Mister Ye to forward an email to White Devil of the Hell Organization. After all, White Devil left in such a hurry that the two forgot to exchange contact information, but Mister Ye was all-powerful and should be able to contact him.

When the email arrived on White Devil's phone via Mister Ye's forwarding, he was deep in the Mist Sea, in a small town with a population of less than 100,000, completely fleshed out. He was holding a deck of cards, his legs crossed and shaking incessantly. Although his face was covered with notes, he was excitedly shouting, "They bullied Night's End City? I believe it's true."

Seeing the incomprehensible looks on his fellow card players, he slapped his thigh hard. "Seriously, no matter how outrageous it is, if someone else said they beat up the City Will of Night's End City, that would definitely be an exaggeration, but if it's my brother, don't worry, it's definitely true!"

"You haven't seen him, he's capable of anything..."

"..."

"Oh..."

The card player opposite him sneered, "I do believe you guys suffered heavy losses before, but was it because you lost so badly that you deliberately exaggerated his abilities? The mighty White Devil has come to work on my ship, and you still want to regain your face? Stop talking about bullying this city or that city. If you're really that good, why don't you just invite him to sit in our guild president's seat?"

"That's impossible..."

White Devil waved his hand. "Our guild leader has at least killed the Mysterious Source. Who can match that achievement?"

"It's good that you know..."

The person on the other side snorted coldly, preparing to throw a bomb.

Just then, White Devil's communicator suddenly rang. He picked it up casually and immediately froze.

"What's wrong?"

The person opposite him urged him to play his card quickly.

White Devil's throat trembled slightly as he said, "You were serious when you said you wanted to invite him to be the guild leader, weren't you?"

"He just messaged me, saying he heard our Hell Organization killed the Mysterious Source, that was pretty fun..."

"... So, he also wanted to kill one."

"..."

"..."

When White Devil received the news, he was both surprised and delighted, just as Xiao Xiao returned to the alley where he lived.

He took a deep breath and considered the information and resources he currently possessed.

Thorn Hound is only upgraded to the third stage, which is incredibly easy. But Butcher, on the other hand, needs another upgrade, which would require 100,000 points. To be honest, although I have enough points now, I'm a little hesitant to use them all this time.

As for the sensible Record Player Miss...

Xiao Xiao's heart skipped a beat, and he first retrieved her information:

Special Item: Enchanting Record Player

[Rank: Class B]

[Secondary Enhancement Points: 1 point]

[Note: It's not impossible. Well, working in a bar every day seems like a lot of fun, but there are some things I'm not comfortable taking the initiative with. Men are all jerks, and I'm not the kind of person who'll push their luck!]

[Note 2: Hmph!]

[...]

"?"

Xiao Xiao was completely stunned when he saw this information.

Why are you still one point short?

Last time I checked, there were only 33 short. Logically, after these few days, that should be enough. Why is there still one short? Also, the nickname this time seems increasingly awkward. It gives me the feeling that he's being subtly and sarcastically called a scumbag...

"That's so inconsiderate..."

He was even a little heartbroken. "Now I'm being hunted down by the Mysterious Source, now I have the Fourth Element but I don't know how to use it, now my high school beauty has been stolen and I don't know how to get her back... As a special element, even if you don't help me share the burden, you shouldn't be causing me trouble at a time like this, right? Is it easy for a man to work hard outside? Aren't points earned one by one?"

Because from the very beginning, the roles that Thorn Hound and Butcher could play were obvious and clear, but the record player was always shrouded in mystery, and it couldn't even be taken outside the city, so Xiao Xiao's expectations for it were already very low.

I know she might have some amazing abilities, but I don't need them. Am I supposed to keep licking her boots?

Feeling lazy, I might as well continue waiting for the Dante Organization's information and the Hell Organization's case studies. Why waste time here?

One point, right?

Not a single point!

Let's think about how to strengthen the three Thorn Hound first!

With that, he raised his hand and shooed the document out of his mind, then walked towards the three dogs in the yard.

But to his surprise, just as he had this thought, after taking a few steps, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him, and the information he had just dismissed reappeared in his mind, like a page popping up from a screen:

Special Item: Enchanting Record Player

[Rank: Class B]

[Enhancement Cost: 1 point]

[Note: It only costs 1 point! Just one point! You won't lose out or be cheated with just one point...]

[...]

This situation had never occurred before, and even Xiao Xiao was surprised.

With a slight unease, he raised his hand to dismiss the page and stubbornly walked toward the dog.

But the page popped up again:

[Enchanting Record Player, upgrade cost: 1 point]

[Note: Haha, you won't even give me a single point, huh?]

[...]

Xiao Xiao felt that the opportunity had come, and he really had to seize it. He made his own decision and continued to move forward.

It was as if this attitude finally conveyed a certain will; a cold "humph" seemed to echo in my ears. The next moment, the page suddenly popped up, like a download bar, and the final 1% actually completed.

Special Item Name: Enchanting Record Player

[Pain Substance detected are increasing. Strengthen/Decline?]

[Enhancement Cost: 0 points]

[...]

[...]

"She finally bowed her head and admitted her mistake..."

Xiao Xiao felt a surge of joy, as if he had won a contest. His expression relaxed slightly, and he nodded gently. "Strengthen."

As he uttered those two words, Xiao Xiao vaguely felt as if something had touched his heart. Then, he suddenly looked up at the city and seemed to sense some kind of profound change in the city's tremors. In that instant, the city was completely silenced, its voices completely withdrawn, leaving it in a state of utter stillness.

The next moment, the sound returned, covering the entire city, but there seemed to be some imperceptible change.

[Congratulations, enhancement complete!]

The page popped up quickly, as if nothing had changed at all.

For some inexplicable reason, Xiao Xiao actually felt a cold sensation from these words.

Special Item Name: Wish-Granting Record Player

[Rank: Class A]

[Note: As the soul of the entire city begins to awaken, certain powers must be returned. The beautiful and mysterious Record Player Miss will appear before those who need her and respect her (emphasis added). As long as you are willing to pay the corresponding price, she will, within the duration of a song, twist the rules for you and fulfill your wishes... many unexpected wishes are possible!]

[Wish Amount: Free (crossed out) - 10,000 points]

[Note: Well, let's just do it by official procedures then!]

[...]

"Holy crap?"

Xiao Xiao suddenly stopped in his tracks, staring at the brand-new documents, his entire face contorted in a frown.

Wish-Granting Record Player?

Can the corresponding rules be distorted within the duration of a song?

It was supposed to be free?

"Thump" "Thump" "Thump..."

Xiao Xiao felt his heart pounding unusually hard. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found it difficult to speak.

He thought about it for a long time, but in reality, time flew by in a state of Mind Burst.

He suddenly looked up and shouted, "I was wrong!"

Only the night breeze blew by, and no one paid any attention to him...