Black Gate City's Reverse Invasion (Seven Thousand Words)

"The Black Gate City Wish System?"

"Isn't this just Enhancement Element rental mode?"

"..."

At this time, Xiao Xiao, the newly appointed president of the Black Gate City Outsider Association, was already spreading like wildfire in the Strangers' circle. The news that he had hunted down the secondary Mysterious Source, Mister Du, was already unbelievable.

In particular, Black Gate City had just recently experienced the Black Gate Mist Incident, making it a synonym for weakness and vulnerability in the public's mind. However, this seemingly weak city, shortly after the new chairman took office, made headlines for winning a bet with the Hell Organization, extorting 300,000 points from Night's End City, and launching a large-scale hunt for the Mysterious Source. Furthermore, without even knowing how it all happened, he pursued the infamous Black Hand Yang Jia and then shot him dead...

How did he manage to do all these unbelievable things?

The more renowned Xiao Xiao is, the stronger everyone's desire for the answer becomes.

Of course, it must be admitted that Xiao Xiao's reputation is not very good these days. There are countless Old Auntie who call him cruel, perverted, and ungrateful, and who clamor to teach him a lesson if they meet him. I can't even like all of these comments.

However, when the wish-granting mechanism was introduced, everyone suddenly realized the truth.

Just as many people hated the arrogant Black Gate City before, just as many now want to become that guy.

Of course, there are also many problems.

First of all, the limit of 20,100 points is simply outrageous.

Even after deducting the handling fees and referral fees charged by the Old Auntie on the forum, a single wish would still amount to a full 20,000 yuan.

What does 20,000 points mean?

It was enough to allow two newly awakened strangers to leap into the level of lord-level powerhouses.

These points, enough to create two lord-level powerhouses, are only used to make a wish here, to gain the right to use a song's worth of time on an S-level special item?

That's outrageous, how could anyone possibly agree to that?

Even Ruan Ruan initially thought so, but feeling guilty, she had no choice but to help Xiao Xiao post this advertisement.

But she was quickly overwhelmed by countless replies, with a massive influx of messages every day asking her all sorts of questions:

"Can I make any wish? Can I wish to become the most powerful stranger in this land? Can I wish to have a hundred wishes?"

"What if you take the points but don't let us use them?"

"How long is a song? Is it 'Beibei' or 'Super Alloy Song'?"

"Can I make a wish so that Old Auntie can come and wash my feet?"

"..."

Ruan Ruan responded uniformly to this, "Letting Old Auntie wash her feet and send her the address is a no-go if you're trying to exploit a bug!"

However, after Xiao Xiao patiently explained the wish-granting mechanism to Ruan Ruan then released the detailed rules for making wishes again, which gradually made people understand.

They even cut out several clips from Xiao Xiao's previously filmed videos to make commercials.

As a result, everyone gradually came to understand the truth behind this wish-granting mechanism and the rental principles for those special elements.

A growing sense of dread crept into his heart. "Is it really possible to obtain the highest level of special elements through making a wish?"

It should be noted that S-grade Enhancement Element often cost hundreds of thousands of points, which is a high-level thing that most outsiders would not even dare to dream of or even glimpse.

Twenty thousand points is a lot, but then I thought about the power of those things...

... and people couldn't help but count on their fingers which of their opponents could last for the duration of a single song.

... Even if the song is "Beibei"!

This, in turn, sparked a frenzy among even more people, who began to frantically inquire about the details of Black Gate City's hunt for the secondary Mysterious Source, asking whether that battle was truly as miraculous as it seemed, and whether the new guild leader of Black Gate City was really that powerful. Ironically, quite a few people had been paying attention to or even monitoring that battle through various means. Hearing so many strange and unusual comments, they could only nod cryptically, though they felt most of the questions were unreliable, yet it seemed that the truth was indeed as described...

More than forty Branders, including some powerful ones, were indeed all killed.

Of course, I don't quite understand why so many Branders, when they joined forces, acted like a disorganized mob throwing their lives away.

And the only Branders was indeed killed by the new guild master of Black Gate City.

Although as an observer I don't quite understand why they had to dance and propose before the killing, making the atmosphere so ambiguous...

In addition, some high-level outsiders could indeed sense that Xiao Xiao, at a certain time, displayed strength far exceeding their own level.

As for whether it was due to specific Enhancement Element, they weren't entirely sure.

Some outsiders even went so far as to ask the outsiders in Night's End City, just to verify whether Xiao Xiao was really that terrifying. "Was the Mysterious Source of your Night's End City really bullied by that Chairman Xiao?"

After a moment of silence, the stranger from Night's End City said, "Give me three thousand points, and I'll sell this information to you."

Points are precious, but when faced with these ridiculous questions, some people are willing to spend them in exchange for a reliable answer.

So after receiving three thousand, the people of Night's End City answered very sincerely, "Yes, even the City Will of our Night's End City has been bullied."

"We also lost at least 400,000 points! Don't you think that if it weren't for our 400,000 points, how could he have been able to deal with a powerful secondary Mysterious Source?"

"..."

This answer further confirms that everything Xiao Xiao said was true, and proves the power and terror of the wish-granting mechanism.

The real turning point came three days later. Ruan Ruan was a very diligent girl, and she always considered herself an expert in Enhancement Element in Black Gate City. Although she wasn't particularly interested in the wish-granting mechanism at first, she gradually became interested after discovering that far more people came to her to inquire about it than she had imagined. She began to transform from being resistant to becoming a professional salesperson. She realized that the reason so many people were asking questions was because they didn't really trust the wish-granting mechanism.

What should we do in this situation?

Of course, it's best if someone makes the first move and shows others the effect.

So she put in a lot of effort and found the president of the City Strangers Guild in her private messages, named Blood Eye, and said sincerely, "Even after all this, you're still not tempted?"

"In the entire circle, who doesn't know that Bloodshot City and Mirth City are sworn enemies?"

"The feud between the two cities has been unresolved ever since your former president bought the wife of the current president of Mirth City as his slave. Over the years, you have fought back and forth countless times, but the two sides have always been evenly matched."

"Now that you've taken office and are facing such a mess, don't you want to end it as soon as possible?"

"I know you're negotiating, and you even plan to hand over the former chairman's daughter to the other chairman as a gesture of goodwill... but what's the point of negotiating if you just take the other side out of the water?"

"Wouldn't it be better to keep the former chairman's daughter for myself?"

"Furthermore, the president of the Mirth City, upon seeing that your former president's daughter weighs a full 300 pounds, didn't want to talk to you in the first place, and his hatred for you has only intensified..."

"Now you have a chance! An S-class weapon, you can take it for 21,000 points!"

"I'll even waive the handling fee for you since you're number one on my list, you can take the 20,000 directly!"

"..."

The new president of the Blood-Eyed Guild was indeed tempted, and then gritted his teeth and said, "The former president's daughter still needs to be sent away... but this is not something that can't be considered."

Ruan Ruan was very pleased with herself, knowing that after all her flirting, it was only a matter of time before the other party spent the money, and she even went to Xiao Xiao to show off her success.

After careful consideration, Xiao Xiao said to Ruan Ruan, "Send a message to the people in Mirth City as well, tell them that Bloodshot City is preparing for points, and ask them what they plan to do."

Ruan Ruan was immediately taken aback, her mouth agape.

Xiao Xiao patted Ruan Ruan's head with a sigh. Although Ruan Ruan was more experienced than him, she was still young.

For arms dealers, profiting from both sides is the key to success!

So, after Ruan Ruan's tireless persuasion, Bloodshot City and Mirth City, which hadn't clashed for over a year, suddenly erupted into a major battle. Originally, these two cities were roughly on par with Night's End City, usually engaging in minor skirmishes. When the Hell Organization came, they would voluntarily hand over their points and the most beautiful slaves in their cities. However, the battle between these two cities turned out to be unexpectedly massive, with the frenzied mental turbulence nearly destroying half of each city...

Black Gate City issued a statement immediately, saying that this has nothing to do with us.

We do not support people making wishes and then using them for combat. We would rather everyone make a wish, feel the sadness of the S-level Enhancement Element, and find positive meaning in it.

But of course, that's useless.

Suddenly, countless people became interested in the wish-granting mechanism, and it was being discussed everywhere.

Not only were people discussing it on the forum, but even those on Black Gate City's own side, such as Red Eyes Ling Ping, Old Zhou Under the Bridge, and the Serpent Sisters, were shocked and came over to ask questions.

"The wish-granting mechanism is real."

Xiao Xiao explained to them, "Not only outsiders can do it, but naturally, people from Black Gate City can too."

"In addition, it is reasonable to earn some points from outsiders, and it is also in preparation for our Noah Project in Black Gate City."

"But there's no need to earn points for our own people."

"So, if you need it too, just give me 15,000 points."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Red Eyes Ling Ping, Old Zhou Under the Bridge, and the Serpent Sisters were all deeply shocked and felt a strong sense of gratitude towards Xiao Xiao.

At the same time, they also looked warily at the other two parties. "You have 15,000 points?"

Facing each other's scrutinizing gazes, the three of them simultaneously shook their heads firmly. "Of course not, how could there be so many?"

What they didn't explicitly say was that, within the outsider community, war was the fastest way to earn points compared to hunting Aberrant Creature.

Black Gate City has been embroiled in far too much warfare lately.

In particular, they won every single one of their matches.

They were all a little cautious, afraid that Xiao Xiao would discover the thousands or tens of thousands of points they had accumulated. They dared not reveal it to Xiao Xiao, let alone let Xiao Xiao's assistant, his lackey Little Four, find out.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Xiao and Little Four were even more cautious than they were.

The promotion of the wishing mechanism went exceptionally smoothly, but Xiao Xiao was not in a hurry to rent out all the S-class weapons.

Those outsiders weren't stupid either; no one would be crazy enough to throw all their points in without any knowledge of the situation. Most of them were observing and learning little by little.

Xiao Xiao wasn't in a hurry, and instead continued to have Ruan Ruan promote the establishment of the "Wishing House".

This relates to a problem with the wishing mechanism: not all strangers, in their own cities and under the watchful eyes of their City Will, can make a wish to the Record Player Miss.

The immense spiritual energy did not significantly influence or even permeate the ritual, so Xiao Xiao suggested that these strangers first select a suitable building in their own city, then send them the coordinates and address. After Black Gate City verifies the location, a wishing altar can be built in their city. "Perhaps you don't need to make a wish yet, but it's better to be prepared. Building a wishing altar first should be fine, right? That way, if you encounter a serious problem, you won't be caught off guard and have to panic..."

"Three thousand!"

"Just send me your address and pay 3,000 points, and the Wishing Altar will be built and activated!"

"..."

"You expect people to pay for a wishing altar?"

Ruan Ruan listened with great surprise. "We need to invest in building this thing?"

"Yes, we need it!"

Xiao Xiao thought to himself: Now that he had obtained the other party's coordinates and address, he was going to send them to the Shepherds. Wouldn't that incur phone charges and data usage?

"I always feel like I'm doing something really wrong, but I don't know what the problem is..."

"..."

Ruan Ruan was a little puzzled by this question, but she could only obediently do as Xiao Xiao said.

As a result, although not many people actually had their wishes granted in the early stages, and most people appeared shrewd and unhurried, wishing altars sprang up like mushrooms after rain.

Looking at the densely packed coordinates, Ruan Ruan could hardly believe it. "What is this?"

"It will be very useful."

Xiao Xiao looked at the coordinates and was quite satisfied. He recorded them and forwarded them, letting out a long sigh of relief.

It's done.

"We now know the whereabouts of three of the seven components needed for the second step of the Noah Project. Shall we start planning how to acquire them?"

While Xiao Xiao and Ruan Ruan were pushing this wishing altar to various cities, Mister Ye and Yang Jia were not idle either. One of them was trying to make the Noah's Dragonbone and find out about the seven components of the second phase, while the other was studying the data in the Old Chairman's small building to supplement the Noah Project. The results were also very good. In less than a month, they had already obtained three addresses.

Strangers in other cities are eager to find a way to use Black Gate City's S-level elements, but Black Gate City also needs these seven S-level special items.

However, while others are just renting, Black Gate City wants to actually take possession of these things.

Unfortunately, these seven components are scattered in various cities or in the hands of private individuals, and are very well hidden. Mister Ye used all his abilities but only managed to find the whereabouts of three of them.

If we could utilize the intelligence networks of Dante Organization or Hell Organization, we could probably find these S-class elements much faster. Unfortunately, both of these organizations have already subtly reduced their reach.

Dante Organization, including Lin Bo's squad, has already left Black Gate City with Doctor Anti.

"Now that we have a location, we should get our hands on it as soon as possible."

Xiao Xiao silently looked at the three S-level forbidden items recorded on the list given to him by Mister Ye, and nodded silently. "Nightmare Iron Anchor, Barren Sail, Eternal Helmsman".

There are not many descriptions of these three S-class special elements, but they do record in detail the traces of their past appearances and the information of their last owners. Among them, the Barren Sail is still in a museum in a certain city and has not been redeemed.

The other two, however, already have owners.

"Things are likely to get a bit complicated."

Mister Ye said, "Any S-grade special item is extremely important, and no one will easily give it up. If we want to get it..."

"Since the information is already so detailed, why do we absolutely have to take it?"

Xiao Xiao smiled and said, "We're not the only two people in Black Gate City. There are other capable and ambitious people here. Why don't we ask them to make the trip?"

Immediately, under Mister Ye's astonished gaze, he invited Old Zhou Under the Bridge, Red Eyes Ling Ping, and the Serpent Sisters to the other two parties, and sincerely told them about the importance of these parts, and also shared the information with them.

They promised that Black Gate City would be responsible for the points for these items, as long as they could be obtained, but someone would still need to make the trip.

This is an S-class forbidden item...

Red Eyes Ling Ping, Old Zhou Under the Bridge, and the Serpent Sisters were all somewhat astonished.

They were Knight Pact of Black Gate City long ago. Even after the Old Chairman died, they remained Knight Pact. However, initially, their Knight Pact were only worth a few thousand points. But after the Old Chairman's death, they gained power in Black Gate City, hunted Aberrant Creature, and traded with the city, which boosted their strength. From then on, they, along with the now-extinct Silver Bullet, were actually close to, or even vaguely exceeded, the level of ten thousand points, reaching the lord level.

But Xiao Xiao later became the new president, and the opportunities he brought were surprisingly plentiful.

In a short period of time, the points in each of their hands had increased tenfold, and some of them were already close to reaching the threshold of 100,000.

But even so...

... This level is still a long way from S-level!

"Yes, Black Gate City has accomplished a lot of great things, but what does that have to do with us?"

"We're all just slacking off..."

"..."

"The president trusts us a lot..."

In the ensuing silence, after Xiao Xiao finished explaining and didn't rush to speak, Red Eyes Ling Ping was the first to slowly raise his head and smiled, "I understand."

"The Noah Project doesn't belong to any one person, but to Black Gate City. As the three most senior knights in Black Gate City, we naturally have to shoulder some responsibility..."

"At least it was worth the ticket."

"I've accepted this mission. I've met the former owner of Nightmare Anchor before, and I'll go and talk to him."

"I can't guarantee success, but I will at least do my best."

"..."

Since he spoke first, Old Zhou Under the Bridge and the Serpent Sisters under the bridge could no longer remain silent. Old Zhou Under the Bridge spoke and accepted the task of finding the Eternal Helmsman.

The Serpent Sisters exchanged a blank look. "To be honest, we have absolutely no confidence, but we have this feeling that if we don't do something now, we might be kicked out of the game..."

"Let the two of us go and trade with the Barren Sail. If all else fails, we can even offer ourselves up and ask them for a discount..."

"..."

Xiao Xiao was delighted to hear this and agreed with a smile, but he still specifically instructed, "Forget about offering yourself up. Our Black Gate City also has its pride. You don't need to sell your body."

The Serpent Sisters agreed, but secretly thought to themselves, "Didn't you start out by selling your body?"

After three more days of preparation, Ling Ping, Old Zhou, and the Serpent Sisters, each with a few trusted assistants, left Black Gate City.

Black Gate City, after hunting down the secondary Mysterious Source, experienced a brief period of silence. However, as the wishing mechanism became known to more and more people, wishing altars began to reappear in major cities. Throughout the world of strangers, or rather, not just within the stranger community, but the entire world, including various cities and the Mist Sea, a certain undercurrent was subtly stirring, gradually creating huge waves...

"I originally thought that after hunting down the Mysterious Source, Black Gate City would be besieged, imprisoned in a corner, and forced to struggle for survival..."

Meanwhile, as this series of events unfolded in Black Gate City, stirring up undercurrents throughout the world, two unexpected individuals arranged to meet on a small island in the Mist Sea.

Among them, an elderly man wearing a white and gold robe and round glasses held a tablet in his hand, scrolling through the forum content. The more he looked, the lower his glasses drooped, and he couldn't help but smirk.

"Unexpectedly, they made the first move..."

"..."

"I already told you..."

A middle-aged man, dressed in a tattered black suit and bearing the obvious signs of travel, yet exuding an extremely elegant air, lay lazily on a wicker chair. Beside him were enormous fleshy creatures with two eyes growing from their tails, occasionally piercing through the thick fog. He said with a half-smile, "Young people don't know how to play dumb. They try to deal with problems as soon as they discover them, which will eventually cause us some trouble... Perhaps we should have brought him into our camp from the beginning."

"Can't pull it out."

The old man in the platinum robe said calmly, "This world is too small to be divided among. Besides, if he wants to divide it, he is destined to take a large piece."

The middle-aged man in the black suit laughed and said, "Since you're so stingy and don't dare to stop him, what can you do besides watch him make a scene?"

The elderly woman in the platinum robe kept swiping the screen, watching all the information and videos about Xiao Xiao at each stage. She even followed the ID of "Sitting on the Ground Sucking on the Soil Old Auntie" and liked a photo of her beautiful legs that she posted a year ago.

His face grew increasingly worried. "I just feel uneasy..."

"Has he always been this daring?"

"..."

The Suit Man suddenly turned cold and said in a deep voice, "Do you know how powerful the real Matrix is!"

"And he is like the mother's own son."

"Especially now, he has already gained one-twelfth of the World Will's approval... Speaking of which, why does the World Will seem to be getting dumber and dumber?"

"Is being handsome really an advantage?"

"..."

The old man in the white and gold robe ignored his tangent and pondered for a while before asking, "Then do you think City of Rest can stop him?"

"I don't know, but in this situation, only City of Rest can step forward."

The Suit Man sneered and said, "This young prince has grasped the weakness of the Mysterious Source. Although those Mysterious Source are all invited, they are not from the same faction. He has set up wishing altars in various cities, ha..."

"Is that really a wishing altar?"

"He's laying out his own landing anchor point in advance!"

"Just like what he did when dealing with Mister Du, all the wishing altars will be assigned to the territory of Black Gate City in the real world."

"Then, once his parasitism on Black Gate City exceeds 70%, he will be able to use his flesh-and-blood transfer ability to easily descend upon any wishing altar in the blink of an eye."

"How is this different from a real god?"

"..."

The old man in the platinum robe also whispered, "So, this is indeed a reverse invasion of the Mysterious Source, but the nature of the Mysterious Source determines that it cannot truly reduce its dimensions to stop it, but..."

"But City of Rest will make a move."

The middle-aged man in the black suit said calmly, "City of Rest is the largest city and the most loyal to the Mysterious Source."

"The Mysterious Source won't act personally, but they've already received mysterious instructions and have begun gathering other cities to form an alliance against Black Gate City..."

"Given the strength of City of Rest, I think the moment this alliance is formed will be the day of Black Gate City's demise."

"..."

The old man in the platinum robe became somewhat agitated upon hearing this. "I don't fight as often as you, so my judgment in this area isn't very accurate... Anyway, you really believe that City of Rest can solve this problem, right?"

"That's exactly what I think..."

The middle-aged man in the black suit was silent for a moment before saying, "But we must admit, the stakes regarding Black Gate City are high..."

"I have indeed lost many times!"

7,000 words today is indeed a bit short, but I haven't finished the detailed outline yet, so I'll stop here for now. I'll work on the detailed outline tonight.