The Hunt Begins (Five Thousand Words)

"So, these are the only feasible plans at the moment?"

I don't know if Black Forest has a bunch of people working overtime, anyway, it's already so late, but after I gave them the information I got from Dante and the Hell Organization, the Shepherds quickly gave me feedback. A Mysterious Source hunting plan under the name of "suggestion" appeared in Xiao Xiao's email in no time, and there was even his signature at the end of the plan.

"It was Mingming your plan, so why is my name on it?"

Xiao Xiao found it somewhat unbelievable and subconsciously replied via email.

The Shepherds's reply was very practical, "Don't forget that you are now a member of the Black Forest, and a senior investigator at that."

"You may not care about it now, but these kinds of large-scale operations are actually very important."

"You're just a figurehead now. Once the plan succeeds, it will be a significant boost to your qualifications, and you'll be eligible for internal rewards."

"It's very beneficial for housing allocation and promotion..."

"..."

Xiao Xiao thought about it for a moment and found it absurd, even ridiculous.

But for some reason, I felt a strange sense of DNA being touched, and I just accepted it.

His eyes quickly scanned the steps of the plan, and he felt slightly relieved.

Then he clicked send, and the plan was forwarded to Mister Ye's email. Xiao Xiao then leaned back in his chair.

After a long silence, he murmured to himself, "It always has to start."

"He agreed?"

In a highly secretive operations conference room in Black Gate City, the liaison officer in front of the computer was so shocked by Xiao Xiao's feedback that his face contorted in disbelief. "He actually agreed to such a crude plan?"

"Of course."

The Shepherds remained seated on the sofa, holding a glass of red wine, and smiled, "Isn't it a perfect plan?"

"I was already very satisfied when he handed over his ideas..."

"..."

"But his idea was simply to lure its Mysterious Source over, trap it, and kill it..."

The Suit Man found it hardest to accept, muttering to himself.

"Isn't that the essence of it?"

The Shepherds laughed and said, "Truly worthy of being chosen by our Pioneer Project, you know how to grasp the key points."

"Such a scientifically based plan, we only need to add a few details, and it will become perfect in an instant."

"..."

"..."

Also in Xiao Xiao's bedroom, Mister Ye replied quickly, "You've decided to proceed with this plan?"

Xiao Xiao nodded, not even bothering to type a word.

Anyway, he noticed that the old camera in his bedroom, which hadn't been turned on for years, was now flashing a faint red light. This meant that Mister Ye was looking at him through the camera, so he spoke directly to the camera, "You know my purpose. If you want to achieve this step that I need most, you have to follow this plan."

Mister Ye remained silent for a long while before lines of text appeared on the screen in front of Xiao Xiao.

"I will help you assign the plan, but when do you think it can be implemented?"

"..."

"Now."

Xiao Xiao said in a low voice, "After all, judging from Yang Jia's habits, she's probably already preparing to make her move, right?"

"My old classmate, although she's beautiful, has always been a bit reckless in her actions..."

"..."

"..."

"The best way for us to carry out Mister Du's orders is to lure that guy out of the city."

At the same time, outside the city, in the Mist Sea, the group of Branders had already confirmed the commander's identity all wore cold expressions. Many of them were discussing in hushed tones. "If we were in the city, that person's home turf, he could easily hide and cause us a lot of trouble... Don't forget, even the Hell Organization suffered a great loss in Black Gate City."

"We have reason to believe that some kind of terrifying weapon is hidden in Black Gate City."

"..."

"Actually, I'm curious too..."

Hearing the murmurs around him, the man in camouflage smiled at Yang Jia, who was standing atop the pile of corpses, and said, "Because I'm not familiar with the people of Black Gate City, after receiving the mysterious order, I only had a strong urge to kill the target. But you seem to know him very well, so perhaps you have some hidden thoughts about helping him?"

Yang Jia listened to his words, but only said coldly, "You'll understand how it feels if you put yourself in his shoes."

Do you have a wife and children?

"..."

The man in camouflage shook his head. "No."

Yang Jia Jiawei paused for a moment, then asked, "Do you have anyone in this world who cares about you?"

"I only have one mother."

The man in camouflage laughed and said, "Although she is just an indigenous person and I bought her a long time ago, I can no longer hear her nagging and cursing me. Now she only thinks about me all day long, and every time I come home she cooks my favorite food... just like an intelligent nanny robot that has lost its soul and only revolves around me."

"But I still care about her a lot. If anyone dares to touch her, I will fight them to the death."

"..."

Yang Jia nodded and said, "Then, what if Mister Du wants you to kill her?"

The man in camouflage paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.

Yang Jia said, "Once Mister Du's mysterious instructions enter your mind, you will no longer like her. On the contrary, you will hate her and despise her, and you will want to make her disappear from this world with all your might..."

"... This is how I feel right now!"

"..."

She paused for a moment before turning to look down the mountain and said, "You just want to kill this stranger."

"Because I already knew him, after thinking about killing him, I even felt a strong sense of disgust."

"I know this is because my personal emotions and reason have been distorted. The more I hate him now, the more I would care about him when I was normal. Although that is the principle, my current feelings are real. This is why I volunteered to be the commander. Among our current forty-seven Branders, I am undoubtedly the one who wants to kill him the most."

"Now, do you still doubt me?"

"..."

The man in camouflage paused for a moment, then shook his head and smiled, "You are indeed the most suitable one."

"In addition, I would also like to express my sympathy for you."

"If that target were really my mother, then after the mission is completed and my emotions are readjusted, I..."

"... It will definitely be extremely painful."

"..."

As they talked, those Branders had been whispering but had still taken their positions as instructed by Yang Jia turned to look at Yang Jia. Yang Jia did not change his mind and simply nodded silently. Then, starting with the first person, arms were raised one by one, palms facing forward, and illusory door-frame-shaped ripples gradually overlapped.

Starting with dozens of small ripples, they merged into a huge door frame.

Moreover, unlike a typical door frame that is transparent and allows you to see the shapes on both sides, this one gradually reveals a dark, hollow quality as the ripples grow, as if leading to some mysterious world.

Yang Jia sighed and looked in the other direction of the ripples.

Faintly, one can see some neon-like colors gradually emerging on the other side of the door frame.

The sign for "Iceberg Bar" is faintly visible.

The man in camouflage breathed a sigh of relief and slowly moved his hands and feet.

By combining the abilities of the Branders, a gate can be opened directly to Black Gate City. At that time, all the Branders can enter Black Gate City through this gate to find their targets. However, this also means that if they can find the target as soon as possible, that's fine. But if the target hides, then they will be in a very passive position.

"Hidden force field fluctuations detected!"

At the same time, in the war room where the Shepherds was located, someone suddenly gave a tense reminder.

On the giant screen in front of him, near the Iceberg Bar, network ripples appeared, and a red light alarm sounded.

"Has the other side started making a move?"

Another person spoke urgently, while simultaneously displaying a surveillance video.

Strangely, the surveillance footage was capturing the entrance to the Iceberg Bar, which was Mingming empty, yet a large number of passersby had gathered there, all looking on with surprise, pointing and staring at the Iceberg Bar as if something bizarre was happening there. Among the crowd, you could see people occasionally startled and others filming with their phones...

The Shepherds sighed softly, stood up with his wine glass in hand, and said, "The time has come for our people to make their move."

"Notify all departments to be ready to cooperate at any time."

"..."

"..."

"What exactly is that thing?"

"Strange, why can't the phone capture this? Is it a 3D projection?"

"This bar is awesome..."

"..."

More and more people gathered in front of the Iceberg Bar, all looking at the door that had appeared on the Iceberg Bar's wall. At first, it was just a few wriggling, inconspicuous blood vessels, outlining and intertwining like vines clinging to the wall. Then, these blood vessels grew and intertwined little by little, eventually forming a monster pattern resembling a door frame.

A strong smell of blood emanated from it, and more and more blood streaks were growing on it.

Gradually, it began to take the shape of a door, with a dark, gaping hole inside and a faint red mist visible.

Who is it?

"Who dares to cause trouble at Iceberg Bar?"

"..."

The security personnel at Iceberg Bar were anything but ordinary; they rushed over, carrying steel pipes and machetes.

But when I saw this strange thing, I was completely dumbfounded.

He put down the steel pipe in a daze, picked up his phone, and started filming the object.

However, what they could see with their own eyes could not be recorded on their phone screens, and many people were trying to take pictures of their phones.

"Make way."

At that moment, a deep voice sounded, and a slender figure walked over.

These security guards, or the bar patrons who loved watching the excitement, were not easy to mess with, but when they turned around, they were all startled. Their arrogance vanished instantly, and they stood at attention obediently, greeting him respectfully. "Mr. Xiao."

The person who came was Xiao Xiao. He slowly walked through the crowd and arrived at the door.

Waaah...

A roar of a motorcycle engine filled the air, Ruan Ruan arrived on her tall, modified motorcycle, looking excited.

"President, I just thought of a solution..."

"..."

Xiao Xiao nodded to Ruan Ruan, interrupting her for the time being. "I'll talk about it later."

A stir ran through the crowd as another group approached. Red Eyes Ling Ping and walking stick, exuded a powerful aura. As he passed by, people in his path parted to the sides without him saying a word. Behind him followed a dozen or so people with bewildered or childish expressions. They came to Xiao Xiao's side from the left and whispered, "President, we're ready."

"Can."

Xiao Xiao nodded to him and then said, "Newcomers don't need to come over."

Ling Ping was slightly taken aback, but he still turned around and ordered the newcomers behind him to leave.

Immediately, a group of people dressed in tattered clothes, but each wearing a brand-new black top hat, emerged from the crowd.

He greeted Xiao Xiao, "President."

Lin Bo and the others, who had just been having a working lunch at the bar, also came out with their boxed lunches, looking tense.

"President Xiao..."

"..."

"Giggle giggle..."

Before anyone could say anything, a strange laugh rang out, and a commotion suddenly broke out in the surrounding crowd. Many people's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as a long, luxurious sedan pulled up in front of the crowd. Two tall women stepped out, their faces completely covered by masks, but their bodies practically bare, and they approached with giggles.

"Hello, President..."

They greeted them very politely, then feigned curiosity. "Has someone provoked Black Gate City again?"

Qun Qun of strange people appeared. Some were elegant and gentlemanly, while others were dressed in tattered clothes but had a formidable presence. Some even rode on a tall motorcycle despite their short legs. This bizarre scene immediately attracted the attention of the onlookers and customers in the Iceberg Bar, who all curiously turned their gazes to Xiao Xiao.

"President?"

"Just who is this person?"

"The president of the Black Gate City Strange and Weird People Association?"

"..."

"..."

"The door is open. Get ready."

Outside the city, Mist Sea, seeing that the gate had stabilized, Yang Jia slowly stepped down from the pile of corpses, his expression cold and resolute. "Remember, our target is the leader of the Black Gate City's Outcast Organization. Use any means necessary, any method, to kill him, or capture him without any ability to resist, and bring him out of the Black Gate. As for the others..."

"... Try not to provoke them, and there's no need to go on a killing spree in Black Gate City."

"..."

Everyone around was prepared, when someone suddenly spoke up, "But what if others stop us?"

Yang Jia turned to look at him before slowly saying, "In our plan, we don't intend to harm anyone outside of our target group. But if anyone obstructs our plan, we can kill them on sight to ensure the mission's success."

A surge of energy rose from the crowd, and everyone held their breath, ready to rush toward the open door.

But at that very moment, they suddenly sensed an unusual aura, turned their heads sharply, and their expressions changed drastically.

"It's time..."

At the same time, in the Iceberg Bar of Black Gate City, most passersby, although they did not understand why such a door of flesh and blood would appear, felt a kind of intuitive tension as they saw the door gradually complete. They knew that something was going to happen, and a vague sense of tension quietly emerged. Some people's throats were slightly dry, and some people subconsciously clenched their fists and stretched their necks.

Xiao Xiao was already standing in front of the door, waiting patiently.

Finally, his phone vibrated slightly in his pocket, and Xiao Xiao took it out and swiped to open the screen.

I saw a message from Mister Ye: "All ready."

Xiao Xiao nodded, put away his phone, then turned to look at Ruan Ruan, Ling Ping, and the others, and whispered:

"The plan begins."

"..."

The next moment, he suddenly leaped up and rushed into the door.

Immediately afterwards, Ruan Ruan, Ling Ping, Old Zhou Under the Bridge, and others gritted their teeth and rushed in one after another.

"Has he gone mad?"

In the Mist Sea, the group of Branders were just about to pass through the door and enter Black Gate City to hunt their targets when they suddenly sensed a strange fluctuation of spiritual power. Startled, they looked up and saw a slender figure emerge from the door. Xiao Xiao walked in from the other end of the door, his features strange and otherworldly, and slowly raised his head.

"It was him?"

Some people were incredulous and even rubbed their eyes.

He immediately became excited. "It's him, it really is him..."

It's hard to describe the feelings in everyone's hearts at this moment. They were already somewhat dissatisfied with Yang Jia's plan to storm into Black Gate City, but they never expected that the moment the door was completed, their target would actually appear in front of them.

Holy crap, did I win the lottery?

"Was this also part of your plan?"

Even the man in camouflage next to Yang Jia was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but look at Yang Jia in surprise.

Yang Jia's expression was clearly stunned. She slowly shook her head, her expression showing a hint of surprise. "Why is this happening?"

At this moment, Xiao Xiao stepped outside and immediately turned his gaze to Yang Jia.

His Mind Burst ability had already taken effect. He didn't deliberately say anything to Yang Jia at this moment, since Yang Jia couldn't communicate with him normally anyway, so saying anything would be pointless. Therefore, he quickly analyzed the situation and made the most reasonable, decent, and beneficial move for the development of certain things afterward...

He bowed slightly to those present, a polite smile on his face, and said softly:

Good evening, everyone.

"My name is Xiao Xiao, the 'Xiao' in 'arrogant'."

"My person is here with you. I've come to take her back."

"Because I anticipated that someone would try to stop me, you might all die at my hands later."

"So, in advance, I'd like to say: I'm sorry."