Hell's Passport (Rounding Up to Ten Thousand Words)

Different perspectives lead to different views, just like strangers and natives living in the same world but having vastly different understandings of it.

But if we forget the differences in appearance and only consider the internal logic, they fit together like gears.

Now, what Xiao Xiao and Yang Jia see is also different. But after returning to the office, a private verification revealed some chilling truths.

Yang Jia has just revealed the truth she glimpsed: she became the sole Branders one by chance, even trapping the Mysterious Source within her body. Her spiritual power intertwined with the Mysterious Source, allowing her to glimpse many secrets. Xiao Xiao, on the other hand, through the Unquenched Heart, gradually saw many truths entering his spiritual world while parasitizing Black Gate City. One from the perspective of the world's origin, the other from the perspective of the Mysterious Source, both simultaneously witnessed the core truth of that complex, bizarre, and intricately interwoven strange world.

Yang Jia has now confirmed that the Mysterious Source from which he has taken power is an outsider.

They are invading this world, devouring it.

Xiao Xiao had previously met a mysterious little girl in Night's End City. She was the embodiment of Night's End City, and she also said that she had been invited there.

As for Xiao Xiao, he already had a rough understanding of the Mysterious Source.

The world of the indigenous people, or rather, the world they inhabit, can be understood as a huge spiritual entity constructed by all the people in the world. From the perspective of outsiders, this spiritual entity can naturally be understood as a huge flesh and blood monster. But now, this flesh and blood monster has been targeted by countless Mysterious Source. They parasitize this flesh and blood monster, divide it, distort it, and cause it to grow countless fruits, and then harvest these fruits.

However, the very origin of this world was unwilling to be devoured forever. It gradually awakened and began to save itself.

This will to save oneself is the origin of the twelve Mysterious Guidepost.

However, Xiao Xiao still had some questions: If the twelve Mysterious Guidepost represent the will of the world, then why were the road guides that appeared before hidden away?

Furthermore, Yang Jia's ability to uncover these secrets is inextricably linked to himself.

The fact that he was able to help Yang Jia and glimpse these things during the process of parasitizing Black Gate City was Unquenched Heart.

Unquenched Heart is merely a parasite.

Normally, during the parasitic process, there would inevitably be resistance. But why does it feel like Black Gate City is intentionally guiding its parasitism, or even deliberately revealing these secrets to it?

The knights of Black Gate City present also looked confused after hearing Yang Jia's explanation.

The impact of this news was simply too great for them.

Especially Red Eyes Ling Ping and Old Zhou Under the Bridge, their faces were tense, and even their breathing seemed to have become heavier.

Ruan Ruan and Little Four, on the other hand, seemed not to have understood much of what Yang Jia said. They tilted their heads, looking at Xiao Xiao and then at Yang Jia, seemingly pondering something.

The other one was crouching behind the sofa, almost blending in with the money tree next to it.

This made Xiao Xiao feel a little emotional. Logically speaking, his relationship with Ruan Ruan and Little Four in Black Gate City was clearly better than that with Ling Ping and Old Zhou.

But no matter how good their relationship is, they have to admit that these two are not as reliable as Ling and Zhou.

How can someone who dozes off or loses focus during meetings be entrusted with important responsibilities?

As for the Serpent Sisters...

... The situation became even more awkward, as the two sisters were neither close to him nor as steady and reliable as Ling Ping and Old Zhou.

... They actually get along quite well with Cerberus.

"If that's the case..."

In the ensuing silence, Red Eyes Ling Ping, suddenly hesitated before speaking, "Then what about our Noah Project..."

"That's right."

Yang Jia replied in a low voice, "It was only after I glimpsed these secrets that I understood the true purpose of the Old Chairman's Noah Project."

"He had only told us that he was going to build a big ship to take us all away from this strange world and back to our familiar, safe homeland."

"In a sense, this is not wrong."

"Noah Project is Mysterious Guidepost, one of the instructions from the origin of the world. The key to carrying out this project is to save our world, which is now on the verge of despair."

"And when the world is saved, we can indeed be freed from this endless, bizarre curse."

"..."

"But if that's the case..."

At that moment, Old Zhou Under the Bridge suddenly became alert and asked a crucial question, "Then aren't we fighting against Mysterious Source?"

"We are strangers in this land. We were awakened by Mysterious Source. We became powerful because the Mysterious Source exchanged Enhancement Element for us. So, if we follow the instructions of the Mysterious Guidepost, wouldn't that mean..."

"..."

Yang Jia remained silent for a moment when asked about this.

She has always been a staunch "escapee," firmly believing in the falseness of this world and therefore determined to return to her hometown.

But after this incident, she became the first person to glimpse this core secret from the perspective of the Mysterious Source, and realized the true role of the Mysterious Guidepost.

But according to her current understanding, following the instructions of the Mysterious Guidepost is tantamount to making an enemy of the Mysterious Source...

This is what she fears: all the cities and all the strangers are almost all under the control and drive of the Mysterious Source. What right does Black Gate City have to fight against all these Mysterious Source?

After she glimpsed these secrets, her first feeling was despair, and that was the reason.

I really can't beat them...

"In a sense, it is indeed about confronting the Mysterious Source."

At this moment, Xiao Xiao, who had been silently waiting for Yang Jia to explain everything, suddenly spoke slowly, "But we shouldn't be."

"We, or rather you, have actually been rebelling for a long time."

"..."

Countless surprised gazes turned to Xiao Xiao, who paused slightly and said in a low voice, "Now, I'm increasingly feeling that there are some things about the Old Chairman that others can't understand."

"His persistent search for a way out is actually quite irrational."

"It is reasonable for a stranger whose cognition has been distorted and driven by Mysterious Source to have the idea of leaving, because it is based on fear and anxiety, and on a mindset that cannot accept the world after it has been distorted."

"But the Old Chairman fled simply to rebel."

"Normally, the Mysterious Source would not allow such thoughts to exist for a long time, let alone actually begin to prepare for them. But in fact, he has not encountered any obstacles and has even found one of the twelve Mysterious Guidepost."

"Therefore, I have a very strange idea: our Black Gate City should be somewhat different from other cities."

"..."

"This..."

Xiao Xiao's words caused the people around him to fall silent.

I vaguely felt that this guess made some sense, but it was hard to believe him out of thin air.

"Perhaps what we need to discuss now is the next step of the Noah Project, what should we do next?"

Just as everyone was processing all of this, a gentle electronic voice suddenly came from the telephone next to them.

Everyone was startled at the same time: That's it!

What Xiao Xiao just said was indeed a guess, which made people uneasy. They wanted to believe it, but they didn't dare to believe it completely.

But in fact, this is not unverifiable.

If there is only one person in the world who truly understands the past changes and truth of Black Gate City, then that person must be Mister Ye.

Xiao Xiao hesitated for a moment, looked at the telephone, and said softly, "Mister Ye, what do you think we should do?"

"We have completed the most difficult step."

Mister Ye's voice rang out calmly from the telephone, which hadn't even been picked up. "We already have the Dragonbone to build Noah, so the rest is naturally very simple."

"Continue to complete this great ship and sail towards the end point where all mysteries can be solved."

"This was our long-established goal, and it's the plan we've been implementing step by step. The truth of this world, the meaning of the Mysterious Guidepost, whether we're fighting against the Mysterious Source or following its guidance—none of these things have actually changed for us. The surface changes may seem complex and varied, but the underlying logic remains the same. I simply want to ask everyone here: now that you've taken another big step towards escaping this world, are you not going to continue the journey?"

"..."

Hearing Mister Ye's words, Red Eyes Ling Ping and Old Zhou Under the Bridge were suddenly startled.

The two of them were the most senior members of Black Gate City besides Mister Ye, but they were also the ones who followed the Old Chairman and were the most committed to leaving this goal.

For the two of them, there was no loyalty to Xiao Xiao, only fear; they were not even loyal to the Old Chairman.

Their loyalty is only to their ship tickets!

Now that Mister Ye had pointed directly to the core issue, they were immediately a little nervous. They exchanged glances, then slowly nodded, suppressing their unease and doubts.

"Mister Ye..."

At this moment, Xiao Xiao suddenly looked at the telephone and said, "The first step has indeed been completed, but there are still many things to do before proceeding with the next few steps."

Mister Ye's gentle voice rang out. "Yes, that's why I plan to invite the chairman over to discuss this matter in person."

"An interview?"

The unexpected remark caused a slight surprise among everyone present.

Even the distracted Ruan Ruan and the dozing Little Four suddenly looked up in surprise at the telephone.

Mister Ye is the most mysterious outsider in Black Gate City.

Everyone knows of his existence and has dealt with him many times, but no one has ever seen his true face, or rather, has never had the chance.

Given his current state, how can he possibly have a Xiao Xiao?

"Very good."

Upon hearing Mister Ye's invitation, Xiao Xiao hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding, "I'll come find you after I finish my late-night snack."

The discussion could only go so far. Black Gate City was deeply shocked to learn that Yang Jia was not dead and that the truth about the Mysterious Guidepost had been revealed.

Of course, the most important thing is that they have now heard Mister Ye confirm with their own ears that the first step of the Noah Project in Black Gate City has been completed.

What follows requires more careful preparation, which is not their concern right now.

Moreover, after learning such an astonishing secret, they also needed to adjust their mindset. Ruan Ruan and Little Four, on the other hand, were already quite anxious about the meeting because they had other things to care about and couldn't wait for it to end.

Even Xiao Xiao found it strange to see that after the meeting, Red Eyes Ling Ping and Old Zhou Under the Bridge both looked serious, the Serpent Sisters looked confused, and Ruan Ruan and Little Four looked eager.

Seriousness and confusion are understandable; they're just a little too steady and a little too crazy.

What are those two so nervous about, and what are they rushing to do?

"I know you're under a lot of pressure after finding out what happened, but it was so hard to quit smoking..."

After having a late-night snack with Yang Jia, Xiao Xiao planned to go to Mister Ye's invitation. While packing up his lunchbox, he casually mentioned it to Yang Jia.

Yang Jia remained calm and said indifferently, "I've already quit."

"That's good."

Xiao Xiao smiled, picked up the menthol-flavored women's cigarettes from under the coffee table, put them in his pocket, and said, "I'd like to smoke a few."

"Whatever."

Yang Jia didn't even glance at him, as if he didn't care at all.

After Xiao Xiao left the office, she sat for a while before suddenly standing up. She then pulled out another unopened package from the crack in the sofa next to her and slowly tore it open.

However, when she opened the drawer, her expression suddenly changed slightly:

That guy took the lighter!

Should I go downstairs and find another one myself?

But right now, I need to appear in front of as few people as possible in order to ensure that I can hide and not be discovered!

"Yang Jia is currently in a period of mental restructuring, and some bad habits cannot be picked up again!"

After going downstairs and getting into a taxi, Xiao Xiao took out cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket, lost in thought.

Yang Jia is in a period of mental reconstruction. The key issue isn't the bullet wound to her head, because her rebirth through downloading consciousness from the city is different. Her rebirth refers to the fact that the moment her brain was shut down by the bullet, she used the power of the resurrection coin to heal her wound and reactivate her consciousness. So, she herself hasn't actually changed. However, before, there was Mysterious Source of consciousness in her mind, an external consciousness that held an absolutely dominant position over her.

This awareness usually lingers, but it still occupies a part of her mind.

Now, this part of her consciousness has been extracted, and Yang Jia has returned to her true self. However, she has regained the authority of the Mysterious Source and needs to be reintegrated and reshaped.

If I start smoking again now, it might be hard to quit later...

So, forget about lighters, Xiao Xiao had already taped up all the electrical wires outside the office window that were always sparking due to unstable voltage.

"Mister Ye, is your place far away?"

After thinking for a moment and figuring out that he hadn't left any clues, Xiao Xiao lit a cigarette in a good mood and looked up at the middle-aged man in the driver's seat.

"It's not far."

The taxi driver's expression seemed to become somewhat blank, and his voice sounded a bit mechanical.

As soon as Xiao Xiao left the bar and was about to hail a taxi, the taxi stopped right next to him, and Xiao Xiao knew that Mister Ye's consciousness had been projected onto him.

Having arranged to meet Mister Ye, Xiao Xiao could have asked for the address and then used the method of transferring flesh and blood to go directly to Mister Ye's current location. However, Xiao Xiao knew the importance of this meeting, so he chose to take a taxi there.

Show some respect.

Mister Ye. Ye was very polite; he even projected his consciousness over to help Xiao Xiao drive, as a sign of respect.

Before long, the taxi drove through the bustling, secluded city and stopped in front of a complex building surrounded by darkness, with menacing barbed wire fences covering the tall walls.

Xiao Xiao got out of the taxi and saw the taxi driver with a blank expression, stretching out his arm and pointing in a direction.

"Thanks."

Xiao Xiao took out a hundred yuan and put it into the car through the window.

Then, following the direction the taxi driver pointed, he walked forward, with dense flower bushes on both sides. He walked quite a distance and reached the end of the path. Just as he was wondering which direction to go, several other pedestrians appeared beside him.

Their expressions simultaneously turned blank, and they mechanically stretched out their hands, pointing in one direction.

"Thanks."

Xiao Xiao thanked them and continued forward, passing through a small door and entering what appeared to be a large military-industrial complex. Various signs then lit up around him.

He entered a dark elevator, and the moment he entered, the elevator indicator light lit up, and it slowly ascended.

Finally, after passing through a group of armed security personnel who looked like clay sculptures and wooden figures, several encrypted iron doors, and countless instruments with shiny films that resembled some kind of signal enhancement system, Xiao Xiao finally arrived in front of a sealed room.

At the entrance, a cabinet containing three protective suits lit up, and then one of them was slowly pushed out.

"You need to wear protective clothing to see me?"

Xiao Xiao laughed and said, "Is this meeting really that dangerous?"

"It's not to protect you."

A loudspeaker at the end of the corridor blared. "It's to protect me."

Xiao Xiao didn't find it troublesome. Instead, he carefully put on the protective suit and followed the regulations to ensure proper sealing. He then waved to the camera.

Laugh!

The heavy tempered glass door in front of him slowly opened under the push of the hydraulic system, and Xiao Xiao slowly stepped inside, his eyes wandering among the complex lines, his eyes gradually becoming surprised and suspicious.

"No wonder you never show your face..."

"..."

Xiao Xiao's final gaze fell upon the brain, which had been exposed to countless pipes and was stored in a glass tank.

His ability to Mind Burst allowed him to process the shock of that glance. He sighed softly and said, "Is there still hope of finding you a new body?"

"When I decided to join this project, I had not yet advanced to the Knight Pact, so this city has no memory of my body."

In the room, a soft electronic speaker started playing. Mister Ye's voice was almost exactly the same as the one he had heard on the phone, without any emotional fluctuation.

Xiao Xiao was still somewhat surprised by what he saw. He had heard Yang Jia and others mention it before, that Mister Ye seemed to have no hands, no feet, and not even a face. But it was only now that he understood the truth.

Mister Ye doesn't even have a body.

This brain, all alone, is housed in this building filled with cold, metallic instruments, connected to countless pipes, overlooking this vast city.

Countless questions flashed through Xiao Xiao's mind, but in the end he only whispered, "Is it worth paying such a high price?"

He could ask Mister Ye why things turned out this way, and what his purpose was in doing so, but he felt it was somewhat pointless, so he only asked the most crucial question.

"It depends on how you interpret it."

Mister Ye said in a gentle electronic voice, "For some people, power is an absolute pursuit, so they are willing to give up everything in exchange for power."

"For some people, freedom is an absolute pursuit, so they will spare no expense to build Noah's Ark."

"And I..."

"..."

He paused slightly and said, "I am a curious person. I believe that secrets are my greatest pursuit, so in order to uncover some truths, I voluntarily joined this project."

"Hehe..."

The electronic voice suddenly jumped twice, mimicking a person's laughter. Mister Ye seemed to be trying to make the electronic voice more lively and relaxed. "Mr. Xiao, you are not the only insightful person in Black Gate City."

"I was the first person before you to complete the third stage of the Insightful Enhancement, and I've taken another small step forward."

"Of course, I was able to take this step not because of the Fourth Element."

"Instead, it's some technology."

"..."

He was able to reach the forbidden level by relying on the Fourth Element, namely the ability of the Unquenched Heart.

Xiao Xiao had witnessed Mister Ye's actions many times before and could only tell that the power he used was similar to the City Will, but he did not expect that he was actually an insightful person in essence.

"So..."

Xiao Xiao asked with slight curiosity, "Does the path for us Insightful Ones require us to gradually move towards merging with the City Will?"

"That's not how it should be understood."

Mister Ye said slowly, "The insightful are simply closer to the secrets than others."

"People are easily overwhelmed by secrets, and I am one of them. So when I first saw that you chose this path, I was worried about you."

"In your conversation with Yang Jia just now, you mentioned the secrets of this world. But for me, this is just the most basic perception. All the outsiders and natives are entangled in which side of the world is real. But I have long felt that the two worlds are essentially the same. Because for me, this world no longer contains matter. Everything I can perceive is just a vast ocean of spiritual power and some programs outlined by code..."

"Of course, you started later than me, but you've grown much faster, for example..."

"..."

He paused slightly, then said softly, "Mr. Xiao, you've already seen that door, haven't you?"

"Yes."

Xiao Xiao nodded. "I also fought with what was inside."

"You've already seen the corpse of the Mysterious Source, and the arm left behind by some creature from that door, haven't you?"

"..."

"That's amazing..."

As Mister Ye sighed softly, Xiao Xiao saw that, in the glass tank, as Mister Ye's emotions fluctuated, there seemed to be imperceptible ripples on the surface of his brain, carrying a kind of eerie and mysterious visual impact.

"Perhaps that's why the Mysterious Guidepost chose you!"

"Back then, the Old Chairman and I both found it hard to imagine that anyone could confront that door head-on, or even defeat it."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xiao was certain that his previous guess was correct; Mister Ye indeed knew more than he had imagined.

He paused for a moment, then said, "So, now you can tell me how Black Gate City became like this?"

After hearing Xiao Xiao's question, Mister Ye seemed to be silent for a moment before he said softly, "Mr. Xiao, your insight surpasses mine, and your perception is also correct."

"Black Gate City is indeed different from other cities."

"Because Black Gate City is the only city that has activated the Mysterious Guidepost, which means it represents the will of our world."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xiao's expression gradually turned serious. He slowly said, "Mister Ye, I hope you can tell me more, because I feel that these answers will be very important."

"The more complex the problem, the simplest the answer is often the one that is most complex."

Mister Ye slowly said, "Actually, the answer to all of this is simpler than you can imagine. Chairman Kuang is a very persistent person. He, me, and the others who decided to find a way out together back then, all lived very painful lives in this world. Therefore, we were also the first to hear the world's cry for help. At first, we thought it was just some Mysterious Source bewitching certain people, until we discovered that what was calling us was actually the source of everything, the consciousness of our world..."

"The consciousness of the world?"

Xiao Xiao frowned slightly and asked about all the issues that he and Yang Jia hadn't clearly discussed in their conversation:

"Does this world truly possess its own consciousness? Then why didn't it resist the invasion of the Mysterious Source from the beginning? Why did it wait until it was torn to pieces before choosing to cry for help?"

"..."

"Because our world was not in this state of existence at the beginning."

Mister Ye said softly, "From the perspective of the Mysterious Source, our world originally had no consciousness. It was like a highly advanced civilization arriving in a barbaric world, a world rich in resources but without any civilized race. So, the Mysterious Source began to pollute and devour this world. But in the process of devouring, they also polluted our world. Thus, our world became like theirs and began to resist these invading forces..."

"The Mysterious Guidepost started to appear around this time."

"And it was at that time that the Mysterious Source began to have its opponent, which was the source of the world."

"I don't know what others did after obtaining the Mysterious Guidepost, but I can confirm that Black Gate City is not the first to obtain Mysterious Guidepost."

"But we were the first to activate the Mysterious Guidepost."

"It was when I activated the Mysterious Guidepost that I chose to enter this plan."

"The Mysterious Guidepost is the will of the world, and the will of the world can only be activated when it gets close to the origin of the world. At that time, I served as a fuse. Of course, after completing this step, I was already discarded."

"Originally, in our plan, I was supposed to be in the role you are now playing."

"But the Old Chairman later told me that I was not suitable because I had taken the wrong path."

"..."

"Wrong way?"

Xiao Xiao's emotions fluctuated slightly.

He could hear the logic in this: Mister Ye was only told that he had gone down the wrong path after he had devoted himself to the project and given up all material desires.

"I don't blame the Old Chairman."

Mister Ye seemed to sense Xiao Xiao's thoughts and said softly, "Because we are all tentatively moving forward, no one can guarantee that we won't make mistakes."

Xiao Xiao remained silent for a moment, not pursuing the matter further.

Instead, he asked, "So, what should the right direction look like?"

"The one who can enter hell and find the singularity."

Mister Ye paused for a moment and slowly said, "You have already seen the Gates of Hell and what came out of that gate. Our Noah Project is actually very simple: it is to enter that gate and go to the deepest part of the spiritual world."

"The singularity is right there."

"The singularity is the key to all these changes. If we can reach the singularity and shut it down, we can end all of this."

"I thought that by abandoning all material perception and using the purest spiritual perception, I could enter that door, but I was wrong."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xiao's eyes flickered slightly. "What kind of person can enter hell?"

"A person who has a pass to hell."

Mister Ye said slowly, "You can also understand it as: a drug test subject."

"Drug testing?"

Xiao Xiao recalled everything he had learned from the Shepherds, and his pupils began to dilate in shock.

"The three generations of test subjects have all found their place in this world."

In Mister Ye's electronic voice, there seemed to be a faint sigh as he softly said, "Some of them became summoners, some became builders, but not one of them has become someone willing to bring hope..."

"Summoner? Builder?"

Xiao Xiao suddenly remembered that the Shepherds had also said that the Pioneer Project, which was the Test Subject Project from five years ago, had been revived.

That also means that there were already trial participants.

"Are they still alive?"

"..."

"Still alive, and enjoying this world, or rather, hating the world they used to live in."

Mister Ye said in a deep voice, "The earliest batch of drug testers summoned these Mysterious Source to devour this world. The later drug testers tried to create a new world that they envisioned. They all had their own purposes and ideas."

"And that's why the Old Chairman's plan, Mingming so simple, couldn't be implemented."

"There's only one reason why strangers can't escape this nightmare: not everyone wants to escape it!"

"..."

Xiao Xiao fell silent. Having asked this much, many things were already clear. "If they don't want to escape, then what do they plan to do?"

Night had fallen deep in Black Gate City.

At first glance, this world seems to be no different from the previous one.

Some people are working overtime, some are enjoying themselves, some are taking the last bus home at midnight and feeling intense loneliness, and some are sleeping soundly by a garbage dump on the street, clutching a tattered rag doll.

Of course, some people were excitedly looking at the footage they had captured, proudly typing away on their keyboards.

Lin Bo and his group were in the worst situation. Because they needed to come out to greet someone, they couldn't stay at the Iceberg Bar to have a working meal and drink red wine, nor could they stay in the hotel room that Yang Jia had booked for them to watch TV and play cards. They could only stand at the crossroads in the cold, drizzling night, shivering as they waited for the person with the worst temper to arrive, not knowing how the old man who had just received that tragic news would vent his anger.

"Bang!"

A slight sound was heard, and then the streetlights suddenly went out.

Immediately following, the lights inside the buildings on both sides went out, and then the vehicles on the road suddenly disappeared.

The surroundings were plunged into complete darkness, and even the sensation of the light rain on his face felt unreal. Lin Bo subconsciously wanted to use his abilities to summon a ray of light to illuminate the area in front of him.

But before he could make a move, he suddenly smelled a strong stench of blood.

Hiss hiss hiss...

A faint sound, like flesh being torn apart, rang out. Lin Bo and the others opened their eyes wide, staring at the darkness before them, as if a gash had been ripped open.

They saw that the ground of the city, which had been so real, was collapsing, and beneath the collapsing ground, a long, bottomless staircase was faintly visible. A figure was slowly walking up the stairs, step by step.

The surrounding city surged, as if flesh and blood were trying to squeeze in and fill the collapsed area.

But an invisible force was relentlessly tearing at the city, and he forcibly opened a passage, slowly walking into the city.

"Doctor Anti ..."

Lin Bo and the others felt as if every pore of their bodies was filled with a chilling aura. They hurriedly lowered their heads, trembling, and dared not look up at the person who had come from the hidden world.

Where is Yang Jia?

The person who emerged from underground slowly stood in front of Lin Bo and the others. The collapsed ground beneath their feet slowly healed, but the surrounding darkness remained and seemed to be growing even stronger.

Lin Bo trembled, unwilling to speak, but his teammates secretly pinched him, forcing him to talk.

He could only whisper, without daring to raise his head, "... dead... dead."

"Um?"

Lin Bo could feel the weight of Doctor Anti's gaze, as heavy as a mountain.

In a panic, she tried to comfort him, saying, "Don't be too sad. After all... after all, she died because of love..."

"I heard that although the ceremony was a bit rushed, it was still very romantic..."

"..."

"Boom..."

Before he could even finish his sentence, he was suddenly blasted away by a tremendous force. Mister Anti's voice was filled with rage. "How could she be dead?"

"She has the resurrection coin that I personally gave her."

"I had thought about this day long ago: ordinary Knight Pact could be resurrected through the city's memories, but they, the Branders, could not. That's why I specially found this coin for her."

"With this coin in hand, how could she possibly die?"

"..."

"This..."

Lin Bo clutched his chest, feeling a splitting headache, and even a sense of grievance.

I'm not your student, so why are you hitting me?

But faced with the furious old man, he dared not say such things, and could only say hesitantly, "We don't know what accident happened..."

"But Yang Jia is really... really dead."

"She died at the same time as the Mysterious Source controlled her, and we just held a small memorial service for her among her colleagues..."

"..."

"Call..."

Doctor Anti's anger simmered within him, finding no opening. He could only grit his teeth, slowly exhale a breath of stale air, and ask in a deep voice:

"Then, where is the body?"

"..."

"Ah?"

Lin Bo and the others were stunned for a moment, looking at her with some incomprehension.

Although the Dante Organization is primarily a research-oriented organization, the deaths of its members are common, and due to limited resources, they do not have the habit of recovering corpses.

"She is my student."

Doctor Anti said in a deep voice, "So if she lives, I will take her away."

"If she dies..."

"..."

He paused slightly, then coldly surveyed the deep city. "Her corpse, too, must leave with me!"

Nine thousand seven hundred words, is that enough?