The Mysterious Source's Descent (4,500 words)

Is it really possible for such a plan to succeed?

Meanwhile, in the unknown battlefield within this Mist Sea, where the fighting had reached its climax, the atmosphere in the temporary command room for special operations in the Black Forest within Black Gate City was unusually heavy and oppressive. Even with the air conditioning turned up to the maximum, it was difficult to dispel the heat and anxiety. Rows of information staff stared wide-eyed at the screens, unable to do anything.

The man in the wrinkled Brazilian suit looked at the Shepherds sitting on the corner sofa, holding a wine glass. He was already getting impatient. Moreover, he could tell that not only was he nervous, but the Shepherds was nervous too. At first, he held the red wine glass with a calm and elegant demeanor, but soon he switched to beer, and then directly to plain water.

He always presented himself as if he had everything under control and was completely confident.

But that crossed leg, for some reason, has been sitting there shaking.

"Of course it can succeed."

Anyone could see he was nervous, but the Shepherds insisted on pretending not to be. "Anyway, we have to take this first step eventually, right? Right now, the only one who can capture the Mysterious Source is probably this Special Investigator, isn't he?"

"But there's only one investigator like that..."

The Suit Man said blankly, "You were able to come back and take charge because of his presence, right?"

"If he passes away during this first step, you'll most likely still have to face the issue of early retirement, right?"

"... even my pension is gone."

"..."

The Shepherds froze for a moment, then his legs trembled even more violently.

After a long pause, he finally mumbled, "At least in theory, this plan has no flaws, right?"

Elsewhere in Black Gate City, in the room where that lonely brain was kept, there was only a flash of electricity when the Serpent Sisters released the dogs from the dog farm; otherwise, it remained silent, silent, a repressive silence.

In the alley where Xiao Xiao lived, the second floor with its white curtains fluttering was equally silent.

The noisy Iceberg Bar was attracting even more people, who were curiously staring at the door and pointing at it.

"Although it's risky, at least so far, everything is progressing reasonably!"

Meanwhile, Xiao Xiao was also comforting himself. He had risked failure to enhance the Thorn Hound, achieving unexpected results. This made the first half of his plan progress very smoothly. You see, he had originally planned to risk his life to attract the attention of these Branders, so as to create space for the plan to proceed smoothly.

Now, I don't have to work so hard for the time being, but the pressure in my heart is getting bigger and bigger.

The biggest variable is that guy from the Hell Organization.

His unusual calmness compared to others cast a shadow over Xiao Xiao's heart.

Are all those Branders affected by the mysterious brand in their minds, making it difficult for them to remain calm when they see themselves?

Also, what happened to Yang Jia?

She Mingming appears to be the commander of these people, but that guy doesn't listen to her orders?

No matter how much he thought about it, he could only temporarily stop thinking about it and let himself see the entire battlefield. But strength was a natural limitation. As for the two most crucial points, he could only hope that he could win this gamble.

"I need to find two people, but unfortunately I can only command one right now..."

At the same time, the Vice Captain of the Hell Organization split into two and headed in two different directions, quickly searching for the two people who had disappeared on the battlefield. Through his observation of the changing battlefield situation, he had already determined the identities of the two missing people: one was Red Eyes Ling Ping, and the other was Old Zhou Under the Bridge, both of whom were former veteran knights of Black Gate City.

As he prepared to leave the battlefield, he split in two and embarked on two different paths.

When he encountered another crossroads, his body split again, then split into four, and then into eight.

This allowed him to quickly search the entire fog-shrouded, unknown area. He then spotted Red Eyes Ling Ping and a walking stick, and Old Zhou Under the Bridge, wearing a black top hat, at two locations three or four kilometers apart. Both men appeared to have just done something and were walking back quickly with serious expressions.

"So, what did you put here just now?"

Two identical men, dressed in camouflage, appeared in front of them at the same time.

With a curious tone, I asked them.

How could that be?

Both of them were startled and looked forward in disbelief.

How could someone find you at a time like this?

The plan is that all the Branders shouldn't be frantically hunting down the guild leader and completely uninterested in others?

"I'm a little different from other people."

The man in camouflage seemed to sense their surprise. He smiled and said calmly, "I've always had a severe case of decision paralysis. Whenever I'm faced with more than two things, I find it very difficult to make a decision. So, even if there are instructions from Mysterious Source in my mind, I still subconsciously struggle with them. For example, I don't know whether I should compete for the position of commander."

"I don't know whether I should rush to attack your guild leader or stay behind to reap the rewards..."

"Because I am only facing a difficult choice, not rejecting the mysterious command, the power of the mark will not conflict with me. However, because I really cannot make a choice, during this period, I can actually show some resistance to the command..."

"..."

He smiled gently and shrugged, "This has given me the opportunity to come and find out what you're all doing."

Red Eyes Ling Ping and Old Zhou Under the Bridge both changed their expressions drastically and took a step back.

They were blocking the intersection, seemingly trying to stop the person from moving forward, but it also undoubtedly showed that what they were blocking was right behind them.

"Tell me, or let me destroy them."

The Vice Captain smiled faintly and said, "You should be able to see that you are no match for me."

"As you know, our orders are simply to kill Chairman Xiao, so if you cooperate, I won't harm you. But if you really can't understand why you're willing to lose your lives for that young and insane chairman..."

"..."

He simply smiled faintly, and a dense and intense mental energy field began to surge around his body.

The expressions on the faces of Red Eyes Ling Ping and Old Zhou Under the Bridge both changed.

Strangers don't necessarily have to actually fight to judge the difference in strength between each other. When they have the corresponding Enhancement Element, they only need to use the Enhancement Element to release their mental power, and people can roughly judge their strength level. And now, this Vice Captain of the Hell Organization has clearly shown a terrifying level of strength, far exceeding their level.

"I am Branders with 54,000 points."

At this moment, the Vice Captain also laughed and slowly introduced himself, "I know about the duel between the Hell Organization and your Black Gate City. Perhaps because the three captains lost, the people of Black Gate City have developed a distorted perception of the strength of our Hell Organization members. But I think, as veteran knights of Black Gate City, you should be able to understand this gap..."

"Also, although I am the Vice Captain, it's because I made a mistake at the time and didn't compete for the official captain position."

"Moreover, the power of the brand is returning..."

"..."

As he spoke these words, faint ripples in the shape of a door frame began to appear slowly in front of him.

The expressions on the faces of Red Eyes Ling Ping, and Old Zhou Under the Bridge changed even more drastically.

As veteran knights, they had experienced the Black Gate Mist Incident and their fear of the Hell Organization was innate. In addition, judging from their enhancement points, they were already inferior to this person. Moreover, this person could use the power of the imprint, which meant that they were facing Yang Jia, facing a formidable opponent whose strength was even greater than Yang Jia's!

So...

Faced with this smiling person, they were momentarily distracted.

"Here we go..."

At this moment, Xiao Xiao also felt the pressure.

He could sense that these Branders, whom he had just killed like chickens, were beginning to exhibit a strange aura. Their mental energy fields were slowly increasing, as if they were being charged. When they encountered attacks that posed a threat to them, he could even see faint, door-shaped ripples appearing silently.

The power of branding is making a comeback!

Most of the Branders present had already been killed, but the remaining ones seemed to be growing increasingly terrifying.

Those Branders do not care about the death of their companions.

"Did you notice?"

Yang Jia also keenly sensed the resurgence of the brand's power. She slowly looked at Xiao Xiao, her eyes filled with a mixture of disappointment and worry, and whispered, "I told you you performed very well, but you still underestimated the Branders. You killed many of our people, but no one will feel sorry for their deaths, because their deaths will only allow the remaining people to gain even greater power..."

"But your biggest problem is that you chose to leave Black Gate City..."

"..."

I don't know if she was thinking about how Xiao Xiao left Black Gate City for her sake, but I could vaguely see the pain deep in her eyes. "You left Black Gate City and ended up in the No Man's Land. Mister Du, you can descend directly here..."

"As it gets closer, we will be able to control an unprecedentedly powerful imprint..."

"And because the number of people has decreased due to you, the power of the mark that each of us controls will exceed its limit..."

"You are creating nine opponents for yourself whose strength has reached the forbidden level!"

"..."

"Nine!"

At this moment, Xiao Xiao also suddenly felt an immense pressure surge into his heart.

It was as if an endless mountain, or rather, half the sky, was crashing down from above. He was momentarily stunned and instinctively looked up, only to see that the sky above this Mist Sea was already covered with dark clouds, and every inch of air was filled with distorted ripples. In the dim light, it seemed as if a huge shadow was looking down on him...

It was incredibly tall, its shadow seemingly able to block out half the sky.

He was indifferent, desolate, and twisted, yet possessed an unshakable will, obscuring the sky and looking down upon himself.

But he seemed to be in a different space from himself.

Therefore, he cannot directly harm himself. However, because he is too close to him at this moment, or rather, he has already arrived on this battlefield, all the Branders, including Yang Jia, are now enveloped by his power. These remaining Branders are receiving all of his power and are raising their limits without restriction.

What Yang Jia said is true.

Xiao Xiao was able to support and even dominate this battlefield with the combined forces of the Branders because he exploited a weakness of the Branders: when they gathered together, they influenced each other, which was equivalent to being stripped of their most powerful branding power. But now, because of the arrival of the Mysterious Source, these Branders have gained the ability to use their branding power simultaneously, and each of them has returned to their peak condition.

What's even more terrifying is that these Branders have killed far too many of them.

They had less than a quarter of their original number left, so everyone's strength was once again pushed to its limit.

Even under normal circumstances, Xiao Xiao did not consider himself a match for two Yang Jia.

But now, he is facing nine Yang Jia, and they are all Yang Jia together, even more powerful than before.

How can we fight then?

Let alone myself, even if you add the Butcher and Cerberus, Little Four and Ruan Ruan, and Mister Ye...

... and there is absolutely no possibility of resistance!

That's why Yang Jia said Xiao Xiao was wrong, terribly wrong.

If he had stayed obediently in Black Gate City, he wouldn't have been forced into this situation. Because being in Black Gate City, Mister Du, as the Mysterious Source, couldn't directly descend, otherwise he would become entangled with the power of Black Gate City, causing mutual annihilation and devouring.

And because he cannot descend, the power of the Branders will not rise to such a terrifying level...

"You are the origin of the door mark?"

As the huge shadow loomed overhead, Little Four quietly shrank back into the trash can, closing the lid extremely tightly. Ruan Ruan was also taken Ruan Ruan, weighing her metal wrench in her hand, but quickly realized her limitations and obediently hid behind the trash can. She originally wanted to open the lid and crawl in herself, but Little Four had pulled the lid too tight.

The Serpent Sisters huddled beneath the three-headed hellhound, clinging to each other and trembling.

Cerberus also trembled, and at some point it crouched down, its two heads shaking with terror.

Only the one on the far left looked up at the sky with a rather unconvinced expression.

At this moment, Xiao Xiao was being watched by nine Branders whose doors had already been opened in front of them. Each of them had a clear door-shaped ripple in front of them, and they stood behind the doors, exuding a cold, mysterious, powerful, and exceptionally terrifying aura...

Every Branders who has opened the door possesses the strength to take things seriously.

But now, he faces nine...

But Xiao Xiao calmed down instead, and the relaxed smile on his face disappeared.

He simply stood calmly, his foot resting on the Erha's raised head, and looked steadily up at the enormous shadow:

"So you're the Mister Du who tried to kill me?"

"..."

The black shadow remained silent, as if this high-dimensional being disdained to speak with Xiao Xiao, or as if Xiao Xiao was incapable of hearing his reply. However, the surrounding Branders sensed his will, and suddenly the door frame in front of them opened even wider, with hands raised, ready to pass through the door frame and pull out Xiao Xiao's heart.

The air seemed to freeze completely at that moment.

Facing that indifferent shadow, Xiao Xiao suddenly broke into an excited smile:

"Since you're here, don't leave!"

"..."

"..."

"Quickly, quickly, get them to sign immediately!"

At the same moment, when a clear signal appeared on the computer screen in the special operations conference room in the Black Forest, the Shepherds jumped up as if he had been electrocuted, shouting, "Immediately bring the designated area under the jurisdiction of Black Gate City!"

"Once they sign the papers, that battlefield will belong to Black Gate City."

"That Mysterious Source is essentially trapped within Black Gate City, unable to escape!"

"This is the key to our hunting plan!"

Crimson Moon won the "Tianma Literature Award", so she's going to Shanghai to receive the award tomorrow. She probably won't be able to update more chapters tomorrow or the day after. She had a day's worth of drafts saved up, but she thought that would be too disjointed, so she's updating more chapters today.