Yang Jia's Confession

Xiao Xiao's polite greeting caused a brief silence in the room.

Suddenly, one of the Branders laughed, followed by laughter from many others.

At this moment, they truly found it difficult to describe their feelings. They simply couldn't understand why, when all of them, the Branders, had come together, they already possessed the power to destroy a city. Yet, their long-sought target wasn't obediently hiding in the city to evade pursuit; instead, they had actively left the city and come right before them. This was simply...

... Are you crazy?!

"I must say, Chairman Xiao is quite polite..."

Amidst the laughter, someone suddenly shouted, "I accept your apology, so..."

"... I wouldn't feel guilty about killing you, would I?"

"..."

"Whoosh!"

As soon as he uttered those words, someone in the crowd suddenly jumped up. His body had clearly been enhanced, and he leaped high into the air, reaching a height of four or five meters. While still in mid-air, he raised his hand and threw a glittering light. It was a black-handled short-bladed throwing knife, which, as if possessing a strong bloodlust, instantly pierced through the air and arrived in front of Xiao Xiao.

In Xiao Xiao's view, the throwing knife was almost still.

He could clearly and three-dimensionally see the overall shape of the throwing knife, its flight trajectory, and even sense the fluctuations of spiritual energy emanating from it from time to time, as well as the flickering and vigilance in the eyes of the Branders threw the knife.

Therefore, he knew that the throwing knife was actually a test.

It may seem reckless and bold, but in reality, it is very important to first understand one's own strength.

It turns out not every Branders is as reckless as Yang Jia...

With these random thoughts swirling in his mind, Xiao Xiao silently recited a name, and then suddenly stretched out his hand.

Slightly spread your five fingers and press down gently.

At the same time, the air behind him suddenly distorted, and a tall black shadow emerged. As Xiao Xiao pressed his palm forward, a sharp, blood-red chainsaw suddenly extended from within the black shadow. As Xiao Xiao pointed his palm, the saw teeth spun rapidly, tearing through the air and thrusting forward fiercely!

The throwing knife was only the size of a palm, but the chainsaw seemed to extend indefinitely, reaching a length of seven or eight meters.

The two collided instantly; the throwing knife was struck by the chainsaw and shattered, then the chainsaw continued to extend forward.

"Laugh!"

The Branders, who was still in mid-air with his hand in the posture of throwing a flying knife, stared blankly down.

He started from the chest; the rest of his body was gone.

Only one arm, half a chest, and a head remained, which were steadily held atop the chainsaw.

"Splash..."

Blood fell like rain from mid-air.

The Branders had been laughing in the room suddenly stopped laughing and looked up at Xiao Xiao.

Xiao Xiao, however, maintained the posture of pressing his palm forward, meeting everyone's gazes with slight surprise:

"What's wrong?"

"He just accepted my apology..."

"..."

Every one of the Branders felt a chill run down their spine. "Are you fucking serious?"

"Sizzle..."

But Xiao Xiao didn't mince words. He wanted to have a good chat and be polite, but he also needed to put in the effort. As he spoke, he subtly flipped his hand, and the Butcher behind him moved in unison. As his hand moved, the chainsaw tilted and swept across the crowd from left to right, carrying a strong, nightmarish smell of blood.

Get out of the way!

The Branders reacted swiftly; suddenly, someone shouted loudly, and a group of figures leaped into the air.

The sharp chainsaw seemed to slice through a flock of birds, seemingly sweeping across the area, but it didn't cut a single person. The group of Branders clearly demonstrated their strength, scattering in an instant. Among the chaotic, scattered shadows, there were also many quick-reacting experts who, while dodging the chainsaw, used the momentum in mid-air to rush towards Xiao Xiao.

The Branders was instantly killed did not cause them any real damage.

Firstly, through that Branders, they indirectly observed Xiao Xiao's strength and got a general idea of it.

Secondly, there is inherently little affection between those Branders.

On the contrary, every one of the Branders dislikes their fellow branded individuals.

One person should die if possible, ideally until only you are left.

If it weren't for the constraints of the Mysterious Source, these Branders would kill each other. There's a rumor in the outsider community that when all the other Branders die and only one remains, a magical power will descend upon that person.

Despite holding this thought, the mysterious instructions in their minds prevented them from being negligent.

Everyone wanted to be the first to kill Xiao Xiao as quickly as possible.

"Splash..."

In the instant the crowd dispersed, at least four people stepped forward. Some held a dagger in each hand, one in mid-air with their hands outstretched, and faint ripples appeared in front of them. Another suddenly pulled a huge rocket launcher from his backpack and aimed it at Xiao Xiao in mid-air. Yet another tore his white shirt to shreds, revealing a dragon and tiger tattoo.

The three eyes floating around Xiao Xiao instantly absorbed every detail of their bodies into their minds.

By comparing the information with Mister Ye. Ye had previously collected, he immediately confirmed the identities of the four people who rushed towards him.

The vast majority of the Branders have been discovered and recorded. For example, Yang Jia, as a "gate" type Branders, is extremely well-known and has the title of "Black Hand." The Dante Organization has recorded forty-one branded Branders of the same type. Although it is not complete and there are some hidden ones, it is enough for Mister Ye to help Xiao Xiao find the information of these forty-one individuals.

Only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you have a chance of winning.

He had already taken control of the most capable and famous members of this group.

Red Heart Knight An Guiyi, the third most important figure in City of Rest, is the Red Heart Knight.

Bai Qiwu, the leader of the Mist Sea Deer Hunting Pirate Crew.

Tao Moran, the Vice Captain of the third ship of the Hell Organization.

Li Weizhen, the former Grand Knight of the Former Lost City, has already chosen to retire into seclusion.

To put it bluntly, each of these Branders holds a certain status and position in their respective fields.

Some of them are no less than Xiao Xiao, the leader of the Black Gate City Guild.

This is also the current situation in the outsider community. All organizations both love and hate the Branders because they are powerful and useful, and can easily hunt down many troublesome Aberrant Creature. However, these organizations also understand that these Branders can never be truly loyal to them. Once the Mysterious Source gives them an order, they will betray them without hesitation.

Waaaaah...

In fact, everything happened in an instant. Although the information Mister Ye handed over was extremely detailed, only Xiao Xiao could decipher it.

For most people, at this point they only saw a group of fierce and menacing figures, and couldn't tell who was who at all.

But just as these four men were coming at Xiao Xiao with great force, each attacking him, a violent motorcycle crash suddenly sounded behind Xiao Xiao. The next moment, An Guiyi, the number three figure in City of Rest, the Red Heart Knight An Guiyi was holding two sharp daggers and had rushed in front of Xiao Xiao, suddenly saw a blinding high beam of light on his head, and then a motorcycle crashed into him.

On the motorcycle, Ruan Ruan was full of excitement, holding the handlebars with one hand and raising a huge metal wrench with the other.

And around her, chains that had been wrapped around her appeared out of thin air, covering the sky and the earth.

"Smack!"

The Red Heart Knight was extremely strong. Although the motorcycle came suddenly, she stomped her foot hard and kicked the motorcycle, using the opportunity to flip backward and look for an opening. Her target was Xiao Xiao, and she did not want to waste her time on other people.

However, just as she managed to escape, Ruan Ruan Ruan jumped off the motorcycle as well.

If you ignored the wrench in her hand, she looked like she was asking An Guiyi for a hug, and she pounced on him.

The next moment, the chains around her automatically wrapped around her, locking her and Ruan Ruan together tightly.

"Xiao-gege, is this one of the experts you mentioned?"

Ruan Ruan shouted Ruan Ruan, her voice tinged with excitement. "I can't be of much help this time, but I'll help you with the one with the highest looks, okay?"

"This is troublesome."

Xiao Xiao looked at her and nodded gently.

But in her heart she was thinking to herself, "Ruan Ruan's judgment is not very good. Among this group of Branders, Yang Jia is Mingming the most good-looking."

But this could also be due to Ruan Ruan's usual personality.

People assume someone is good-looking just because they have long legs.

Seeing that Ruan Ruan had gotten entangled with An Guiyi, Xiao Xiao felt somewhat relieved.

He had carefully analyzed the information Mister Ye had provided. The strength of these Branders varied, but the Red Heart Knight of City of Rest should be among the top five. However, no matter how strong she was, once she was entangled with Ruan Ruan, she would have no choice but to fight Ruan Ruan to the death. Previously, in order to fight that perverted squad leader in the Hell Organization, Ruan Ruan ate a person...

A member of the Silver Bullet Family who exchanged for the Prisoner Chains.

Therefore, Ruan Ruan possessed this ability to lock herself to anyone using chains.

Once locked, no outsider can intervene, and it can never be unlocked.

Those who are locked on are forced to engage in a life-or-death duel with Ruan Ruan. Only by killing her or being killed by her can the chains be broken.

So, Ruan Ruan is quite remarkable; she took care of an opponent right away.

At the same time, as the Branders panicked and took the opportunity to attack Xiao Xiao, one figure after another quickly appeared from the door behind Xiao Xiao, blocking those who were attacking him. Among them was Red Eyes Ling Ping man with a walking stick and wearing a tailcoat, who had the air of a noble butler from an old movie, and Old Zhou Under the Bridge wearing a black top hat.

Their appearance threw the Branders' camp, which was about to surround Xiao Xiao, into chaos.

The moment the Red Eyes Ling Ping appeared, he was already in front of Xiao Xiao. At the same time, four or five Branders attacked him simultaneously. They did not hesitate to kill anyone who stood in Xiao Xiao's way.

But facing the murderous crowd, the Red Eyes Ling Ping simply raised his head silently.

His red eyes were bloodshot.

It was as if an invisible force had twisted the will of those around them; these people, who had Mingming attacked them, suddenly stopped moving.

They were clearly struggling, but they couldn't break free.

"He leveled up?"

Xiao Xiao noticed this part of the battlefield and felt a little relieved.

Ling Ping's eyes were transplanted from a mutated native in Black Gate City. They possess the ability to bewitch people and hypnotize natives. However, these eyes are much less effective when facing outsiders. Moreover, he is not a gambler who is good at winning, so he has never dared to upgrade these eyes, fearing that the upgrade will fail and he will suffer a backlash.

But now it seems he has found the right way to improve himself.

A deck of cards with a black cover was being flipped around in his hand with ease; he played with one hand more skillfully than others with two.

Special Item: Reversal Poker

[Rank: Class B]

[Function: In a deck of twelve cards, each card represents the last card held by a cheating gambler after they are caught. They may have their hands chopped off or be sealed in cement. These cards become symbols of their desires and the key to changing their fate. Therefore, each of the twelve cards has different abilities, such as temporarily upgrading one's own abilities or distorting the rules to a limited extent.]

[Note: Entrusting your fate to Xiao Xiao playing cards? Haha!]

[...]

"Red Eyes Ling Ping now possesses strength that ranks in the upper-middle tier even within the lord's domain..."

As Xiao Xiao pondered this, he looked towards another spot. After Old Zhou Under the Bridge, he immediately entered the battlefield before him. In this chaotic and distorted scene, his entire being seemed somewhat blurry, except for his black hat, which appeared exceptionally clear. Accompanied by his four assistants, he immediately protected the door behind Xiao Xiao.

Although the door was built by the Branders, Old Zhou Under the Bridge is determined to protect it.

This relates to a crucial part of the subsequent plan.

On the other side, the Serpent Sisters seemed somewhat helpless, and they followed along laughing and joking.

But he was a little stunned by what he saw.

Xiao Xiao looked at them, speechless. These two were acting crazy, clearly having made no prior preparations.

And what about Little Four...?

Even with Xiao Xiao's keen insight into the battlefield and his Mind Burst thinking, it took him quite a while to finally find Little Four's trail. In an inconspicuous corner of the chaotic mountain of corpses, there was a trash can, unattended and uncared for, looking pitiful. Little Four, with his head on the lid of the trash can, was silently squatting inside, secretly watching the battlefield.

He made a casual move, slitting someone's throat in an instant, then crawled back into the trash can to continue secretly observing.

Black Gate City has indeed become powerful.

The initial exchange yielded results that greatly satisfied Xiao Xiao, giving him a little more confidence in his future plans.

For strangers, points are everything.

With points, the strength of each of the companions in Black Gate City can increase dramatically.

As for the Branders, they are indeed very powerful in normal times.

However, at this moment, they were too close together and there were too many people. With so many people crammed together, the power of the mark had been severely weakened. Therefore, when they made their move, they mostly relied on their own Enhancement Element other than the power of the mark. Some of them relied too much on the power of the mark and neglected other enhancements, so their performance was not as good as that of the elites in the 1,000 to 10,000 points range.

"The Shepherds's advice was indeed useful."

Xiao Xiao couldn't help but think, "Instead of waiting for the Branders to attack, it's better to launch an attack in advance."

"When the Branders gather in one place, it is their strongest time, but from another perspective, it is also their weakest time."

"Of course, that's just on the surface."

"But that's enough for me to move this plan forward."

"..."

Every detail flashed through his mind, and Xiao Xiao, having gathered his thoughts, stepped forward.

He walked through the chaotic crowd, the Butcher's chainsaw cutting through the battlefield behind him, splattering blood everywhere. In stark contrast to the Butcher, he was unusually quiet, his gaze indifferent. When he saw Yang Jia standing on the mountain of corpses opposite him, his gaze softened slightly.

Why do something so stupid?

In contrast to Xiao Xiao, Yang Jia's eyes were filled with indifference, even deep disgust.

She didn't rush to make a move, but stared at Xiao Xiao and said coldly, "If you hide in Black Gate City, Mister Du's power will be affected by the will of Black Gate City and will not be able to descend completely. But once you come out, there will be no power from the Mysterious Source to protect you. Moreover, Mister Ye, as one of the most powerful members of Black Gate City, will also be unable to help you outside the city."

"What you're doing now is tantamount to suicide in my eyes."

"..."

As the commander of the Branders, she needs to understand the intelligence and analyze the battle situation, which is why she is not in a hurry to take action.

But now his tone clearly carries a sense of probing for information.

Looking into her eyes, Xiao Xiao suddenly smiled and said, "Because only in this way can I be most confident in saving you!"

Yang Jia was slightly taken aback, and then an indescribable sense of disgust appeared on her face.

Xiao Xiao looked closely at her expression and suddenly felt a surge of excitement, even laughing involuntarily.

He said, "I saw in the files left by the Old Chairman that those Branders are bought or controlled by Mysterious Source will have their emotions distorted greatly. Right now, you and I should have a simple killer-slayer relationship, without any additional emotions. But you show that you hate me and despise me. So, this explains another problem..."

He paused slightly, then suddenly smiled and said, "You like me."

Yang Jia's expression suddenly froze for a moment. "?"

Xiao Xiao laughed even more heartily and said, "It means that you like me without your feelings being distorted."

"Normally, the more you care about me and like me, the more you will feel disgust and hatred after your feelings are distorted."

"So..."

"... So this counts as you confessing first?"

"..."

Yang Jia's cold and ruthless expression was starting to crumble; perhaps from anger, her cheeks were even a little red.

"Then I'll prepare to make my move."

Xiao Xiao slowly put away his smile, looked at her seriously, and said, "It might be a bit heavy, but it's to get you back."

"My mom said she wants you to come over for a meal."

"..."

The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned tense, and Xiao Xiao pursed his lips.

It's time to begin the second step of the plan to hunt down the Mysterious Source: trap it here.

The line "This plan is more likely to save you" was originally written in the previous chapter, but I suddenly realized that it would be better to leave it in this chapter so that the two of them can say it face to face. So I am revising it and deleting the part from the previous chapter.