The Shepherd of God (8,500 Words)

"City of Rest truly lives up to its reputation as a top-tier metropolis..."

As Gao Lie traversed the hazy sky and arrived at the platform of City of Rest under the watchful eyes of countless eerie beings, Xiao Xiao gazed into the distance and couldn't help but sigh.

Black Gate City had sometimes impressed him with its vastness, but now, having just arrived in City of Rest, he felt a deep sense of awe.

The boundless buildings, the bustling crowds, and even various realities he had never seen before in Black Gate City all assaulted Xiao Xiao's vision, even giving him a sense of oppression.

A city that is too large possesses its own will and weight, which can make people feel suffocated and subconsciously want to submit.

The City Will here doesn't even refer to things that live in the spiritual world, but simply to the inherent character of this city, a huge city.

"Brother Xiao, where are we going?"

Ruan Ruan slung her backpack over her shoulder, and her two short legs made a rustling sound as she took a step.

Following Xiao Xiao's side, she resembled a junior high school girl going to school, and her behavior was also somewhat like that of a junior high school girl. Looking at the vast city, she seemed a little lost and turned to Xiao Xiao for a question.

"We've reached our destination, haven't we?"

Xiao Xiao comforted her, then looked up and smiled, "We are guests, City of Rest is the host, so we don't need to worry about these things. Surely they don't even know how to treat guests?"

"Look at our Black Gate City, it may be a bit small, but we treat the envoys from Dante Organization with great courtesy..."

"..."

Ruan Ruan opened her mouth, unsure how to answer.

However, just as Xiao Xiao had said, when she and Xiao Xiao walked out of the Gaolie platform and looked out, they soon saw a sign held high in front of them, which was very eye-catching in the bustling crowd.

The sign only had three characters: Black Gate City.

The person holding up the sign was a young man wearing rimless glasses and a sharp dark suit.

A black, extended, expensive sedan was parked next to him, and in front of and behind it were four more cars, forming a convoy of five that stood imposingly at the station entrance. Pedestrians passing by all gave way in awe.

"Is this where we're being picked up?"

Ruan Ruan glanced at it and couldn't help but freeze for a moment.

Xiao Xiao, however, had already walked forward. In the real world, there were many travelers between Black Gate City and City of Rest, but probably no one was worthy of being directly represented by the three words "Black Gate City".

Besides, the only people who came on this high train with Ruan Ruan were the two of them.

"President Xiao? Ms. Ruan Ruan?"

The young man holding the sign saw Xiao Xiao and Ruan Ruan approaching and immediately put the sign down. His intuition as a stranger in a foreign land told him that he must have recognized Xiao Xiao at first glance, but he still asked politely.

Then he bowed and shook hands with Xiao Xiao, then Ruan Ruan his back and shook hands with Ruan Ruan before getting up and helping them open the car doors. The convoy slowly started and headed towards the vast and almost boundless city of City of Rest.

"The City of Rest is so well-organized..."

This performance surprised Ruan Ruan.

It's not uncommon for strangers to visit each other, but it's rare to see such a grand display.

In the eyes of ordinary people, strangers are a group of lunatics living in their own fantasy world, and their usual behavior really does resemble that of lunatics.

But in City of Rest, there was no such feeling at all. When Xiao Xiao and Ruan Ruan arrived here, they were treated like honored guests. They were picked up by a motorcade, with a clearing in front and bodyguards behind. The atmosphere was serious, solemn, and extremely formal.

"What do you mean by 'formal'?"

While listening to Ruan Ruan's sigh, Xiao Xiao thought to himself, "City of Rest is really a bit extravagant. It's nothing like how down-to-earth we are when we entertain guests in Black Gate City."

"That..."

After getting into the car, the atmosphere became silent. Ruan Ruan couldn't contain herself any Ruan Ruan. After looking around for a while, she turned to the young man driving and said, "Your Red Heart Knight information card..."

"No need to rush."

Before Ruan Ruan could finish speaking, the young man driving the car said Ruan Ruan, "President Xiao, Ms. Ruan Ruan, I am only responsible for picking you up. The rest of the matter will be handled by our President of City of Rest or the Knight."

Ruan Ruan was slightly taken aback and had no choice but to stop asking questions.

Xiao Xiao seemed somewhat curious and asked, "You seem to be quite strong as well, yet you're just a pick-up person?"

"It's still a long way off."

The young man driving the car said politely, "In our City of Rest, besides the guild leader, there are three Grand Knights and thirty-six lesser knights, and I am just the least ranked of the lesser knights."

"My mission this time is simply to pick you two up and take you to the hotel to rest, and to arrange all your accommodations and travel in City of Rest. As for other important matters, either our guild leader will come and discuss them with Guild Leader Xiao personally, or one of the three Grand Knights— Grand Knight Spade, Grand Knight Yin Qing, Grand Knight Clover— will come... After all, you two are essentially sending our Grand Knight Heart home, and in terms of scale, I am not qualified to accept this information card..."

"..."

"Three Grand Knight and thirty-six lesser knights?"

When Ruan Ruan first heard this, she couldn't help but feel a little startled.

As expected of City of Rest...

Even at its peak, Black Gate City only had one guild leader and twelve knights, while City of Rest not only had more knights, but also had knights divided into two levels: large and small.

Normally, if you have accumulated over a thousand points and have led the resolution of Class B aberration incident, you can obtain Knight Pact.

What makes City of Rest remarkable is that not only do they have a large number of knights, but they have also selected four outstanding knights from among them.

Of course, the sheer number of their knights also reveals just how much experience the City of Rest has in dealing with aberrations, having formed an extremely large and exceptionally professional team.

When she heard him mention the Red Heart Knight in the second half of his sentence, Ruan Ruan couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

People with strong willpower often have a short temper. Short-tempered people tend to make decisions quickly, but afterwards they feel uncertain about their decisions.

After careful consideration, she realized that killing the other party's Red Heart Knight was perhaps an unavoidable choice. However, now that she understood the prestigious status of the Grand Knight of City of Rest and thought about how such a person had died at her hands, she felt a little uneasy.

Xiao Xiao, on the other hand, sat down next to Ruan Ruan, seemingly sensing the change in her mood.

He chuckled and patted her head, then turned to the young man driving in front and said, "Yeah, your Grand Knight Heart really didn't deserve to die..."

"This also precisely illustrates the distortion and horror of the Mysterious Source."

"But you don't need to be too sad. I have already avenged your Grand Knight Heart. We are all strangers in this land, so you don't need to thank me too much."

"..."

The young man driving the other car paused for a moment, nodded, and then fell silent.

Ruan Ruan looked at Xiao Xiao's profile with some surprise, and found that after he said those words, his expression was still very calm.

I secretly admired him, but my initial apprehension did indeed lessen considerably.

Yes...

Black Gate City has no grudge against you. It was your Grand Knight Heart who was instructed by Mysterious Source to come and cause trouble for us first. We had no other choice but to kill her. What difference would it make?

We're keeping our promise as strangers and came all the way here to return her information card; that's already very polite of us.

Is City of Rest such a large city that it doesn't even understand this basic principle?

Besides...

She took another deep look at Xiao Xiao's sharply defined profile, her heart gradually calming down. She even leaned back in her chair, ready to get some rest.

"I brought such a crazy president with me, do you think I'm afraid you'll cause me trouble?"

"..."

The convoy brought Xiao Xiao and Ruan Ruan to the city center of City of Rest, to a towering building where a room had been prepared in advance. The precious furnishings in the suite, the polite waiters, and the strict security outside the building all indicated that the place was of a high standard. However, apart from the young knight Zhou Zhen who brought the two of them, the president of City of Rest, or one of the three Grand Knights, had not yet shown up.

"I told you that City of Rest is inferior to our Black Gate City, didn't I?"

Xiao Xiao walked around the room, looked at Ruan Ruan who came to him curiously, and laughed, "When we entertained the Dante Organization's envoys, they even knew to treat us to a meal that night!"

Before he could finish speaking, the young knight who had driven them over brought the hotel manager over and said politely, "President Xiao and Ms. Ruan Ruan can dine on the fifth floor of the hotel, or you can have your meal served in your room."

"I have already consulted the chairman, and he said that Mr. Xiao and Ruan Ruan. Ruan Ruan have had a long journey and should rest for the time being today."

"He will host a banquet for the two of you tomorrow."

"..."

Ruan Ruan immediately glanced at Xiao Xiao, her eyes asking a question.

Xiao Xiao smiled and saw them off before saying to Ruan Ruan, "It's still not as good as our Black Gate City. At least we personally entertained them back then..."

"When Dante Organization's Lin Bo group arrived in Black Gate City, they ate boxed lunches for the first few days, right? Before Jiajia-jie booked a hotel for them, they even slept on the sofas in a bar for two days..."

Ruan Ruan couldn't help but wonder, "But what's with the president's strange competitive spirit?"

But whatever happens, we'll make the best of it.

Ruan Ruan was somewhat surprised by the thoughtfulness and attentiveness of City of Rest's arrangements. Not only was there a full dinner in the guest room, but she could even take a bubble bath with the water prepared by a dedicated person. She gradually felt at ease and happily enjoyed herself. However, although Xiao Xiao said this, he really felt a little strange. He felt that City of Rest's arrangements were meticulous, but he always felt that there was something wrong. However, he did not say anything, but just let it be and let the other party arrange things for him for the time being.

After dinner, someone knocked on the door. It was the young knight who had come to pick him up during the day. "Mr. Xiao, you're new to City of Rest. Would you like to take a stroll around the city?"

They even offer shopping companion services?

Xiao Xiao was a little surprised, but he agreed. However, when he called Ruan Ruan, she wasn't interested; she preferred bubble baths.

So Xiao Xiao followed the young knight out the door, accompanied by the same caravan, allowing him to travel through this bustling city. Soon, he saw many things about City of Rest that were different from Black Gate City.

The underlying nature of Black Gate City has always been chaos, cruelty, and violence; otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to nurture a monster like the Hell Legion.

However, the City of Rest gave Xiao Xiao a feeling of order, tranquility, and safety. As Xiao Xiao walked down the street, he even saw an unusual fluctuation of spiritual power suddenly appear in a certain place three blocks away. But as a stranger, the little knight accompanying him ignored it and simply ordered the caravan to approach. Then, Xiao Xiao saw a group of people dressed in black robes appear beside the Aberrant Creature in a very short time, easily deal with it, and then disappear into the crowd.

Even the onlookers seemed unfazed, and one of the police officers on duty even offered a cigarette to a man in a black robe.

Xiao Xiao asked curiously, "Can the original inhabitants of City of Rest see Aberrant Creature?"

"Of course not."

The little knight chuckled, "But they know we're protecting them, so they're not surprised."

"Whenever an anomaly occurs in City of Rest, we always know about it immediately because the Guard Hall will pass on the information to us."

"..."

Xiao Xiao stopped asking questions and let him take him to see many places before going back to rest.

"If Chairman Xiao has any questions, he can ask me. Not only tonight, but also tomorrow, I am always willing to be your guide if there is a place you would like to see."

When they parted, the young knight was very polite.

Xiao Xiao smiled and agreed, then turned and went upstairs.

If you want to see something, why bother wandering around the city? Why need someone to take you?

Of course, since we've come to City of Rest, it's quite necessary to learn City of Rest it...

So, Xiao Xiao, who turned around and went upstairs, did not return to his room, but went straight to the top floor. The building where he lived could be said to be one of the tallest buildings in City of Rest. Looking down from the top, you could even see the clouds floating above the neon lights.

Since it's high up, the view is naturally excellent.

Xiao Xiao took a deep breath, leaned against the railing, and three eyes gradually split off from his body.

As it spun around, everything in this vast, boundless city was suddenly and frantically pulled into his field of vision.

Those streets, those crowds, those buildings, those faces with all sorts of expressions, and those events that happened in this city, whether overt or covert.

Whether it's what's being reported on television or what many people keep hidden in their hearts.

At this moment, as Xiao Xiao's insightful vision opened up, everything, like a pure flow of information, entered his mental ocean.

"Whoosh!"

But at that very moment, several gazes suddenly appeared around the massive City of Rest, startled and crossing the streets and neon lights, passing through buildings and crowds, instantly arriving before Xiao Xiao.

"Reaction that fast?"

The moment those gazes appeared, Xiao Xiao abruptly withdrew his own.

His expression showed no sign of anything happening, and even the three Eye of the Seer silently retracted into his body.

She simply smiled, nodded slightly in the direction from which the gazes were directed, and then calmly and lightly returned to her room.

"...call!"

The city remained bustling as ever, but in the perception of some, the moment their gaze, or rather their mental power, intersected with Xiao Xiao's, the whole world seemed to freeze for a moment. They watched as Xiao Xiao returned to his room, but their minds remained uneasy for a long time.

After a long silence, someone whispered, "What is this madman trying to do?"

"You've already been wandering around the city for so long, isn't that enough? You want to explore some more on your own?"

"Or perhaps he still doesn't quite believe what he just saw?"

"..."

"It was permitted by the president, so letting him take a look doesn't seem like a big deal..."

"You can't think like that!"

"Although he has already arrived in City of Rest, and it is now certain that he was able to hunt down the Mysterious Source thanks to the power of the Mysterious Guidepost from Black Gate City..."

Another voice replied in a low voice, "But anyone who has stepped into the forbidden level should not be underestimated, especially one who has done so many crazy things."

"Ha, a person's name is like a tree's shadow; this guy's reputation is truly terrifying..."

"..."

The whispered discussions yielded no results.

In the end, he could only sigh softly, "In any case, there's nothing he can do in City of Rest, and he doesn't seem to want to do anything either. Everything will be easier to discuss tomorrow!"

Returning the information card is an embarrassing thing.

Since they've come to return the card, it means someone on their behalf has died at their hands, whether it was a revenge killing or an accident, so they won't be in a good mood.

Therefore, when organizations return cards to each other, they usually send envoys. Even if a chairman comes in person, the recipient will not be too polite. They will either take the card and leave immediately, or they will have heated words and agree to meet again.

Xiao Xiao, however, seemed quite different from the others this time.

City of Rest treated him and Ruan Ruan with utmost respect and courtesy, but unfortunately, none of City of Rest's truly important figures showed up.

If he came to return the information card with apologies, then Xiao Xiao should thank City of Rest for its thoughtful hospitality.

If he came here as the president for exchanges, he would probably be throwing a tantrum now.

However, Ruan Ruan was young and a strong person, so she didn't think things through so thoroughly. Xiao Xiao, on the other hand, had stayed at home for four years after high school and didn't know much about etiquette. He just silently sorted it out in his mind and then stopped thinking about it.

They simply let City of Rest arrange everything until the afternoon of the next day, when someone came to pick them up and invite them to the banquet hosted by the president of City of Rest.

Xiao Xiao and Ruan Ruan didn't even know to change their clothes. After all, the only people in Black Gate City who knew these things were Red Eyes Ling Ping and Yang Jia. But these two didn't have time to accompany them during training, so they just got into the car clean and tidy.

Another convoy, with cars leading the way and guards following behind, passed through streets and arrived at a lush, garden-like courtyard in the City of Rest. A steward-like person then cordially invited them to enter the courtyard.

"It was bought..."

"It was bought again..."

"... In this courtyard, all the bodyguards, servants, and butlers were all bought?"

"..."

Along the way, Xiao Xiao carefully observed the surroundings, and couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

Many outsiders spend points to buy the locals to serve them, some even buying minor celebrities, but Xiao Xiao was surprised to find that everyone in this courtyard had been bought.

The number is far more than a hundred.

Even the cheapest option, which costs 100 points per person, would probably still require over 10,000 points, right?

He wasn't surprised by the points, since 10,000 points wasn't much to him, but the fact that he bought so many natives to be his servants was indeed a bit unexpected.

"President Xiao, please come in!"

Upon arriving in the middle of the courtyard, before an exquisite Chinese-style wooden door, the butler who had led the way respectfully opened the door. "President An is already waiting for you inside."

Xiao Xiao nodded politely to him, pushed open the door and went in. He immediately saw the old man in a gorgeous robe across the huge round table in the room.

The room was large, and the round table was also large, but only one person was sitting there—the old man. Even the young knight who had picked up Xiao Xiao and the others yesterday stood aside, serving them like a servant. The old man was dressed in a magnificent robe like that of a medieval priest, and his face was covered with deep wrinkles, but he was in good spirits. When Xiao Xiao entered, his deep eyes immediately looked up at him. For a moment, Xiao Xiao felt as if he were facing a huge black hole at close range.

The information that Mister Ye had given him Xiao Xiao came to mind.

The Old Chairman of the Outsider Association of City of Rest originally had the surname An, but for many years no one has called him by his name.

Everyone respected him as Old Man An.

He has held this position in the Outsider Association of City of Rest for at least forty years.

He is one of the most senior and mysterious outsiders. On the forum, many people speculate that he may belong to the earliest batch of outsiders.

The next day, I met this legendary stranger, who treated me to a meal with great courtesy, which seemed more than enough...

However, Xiao Xiao was somewhat puzzled. There were three Grand Knights and thirty-six Junior Knights in City of Rest, so why did he only see one Guild Master and one Junior Knight now?

"President Xiao, please have a seat."

As Xiao Xiao was thinking, the Old Man An spoke in a low voice and nodded to Xiao Xiao.

Despite his advanced age, his voice was loud and clear. He smiled and said, "Don't look down on my humble appearance. This old man hasn't entertained guests like this for many years."

Xiao Xiao smiled and sat down opposite him. Ruan Ruan cautiously glanced at the old man opposite her, and then sat down next to Xiao Xiao.

Are there only a few of us?

Xiao Xiao glanced around and said directly, "I've heard that City of Rest has a strong and well-equipped population..."

"There are indeed many people in City of Rest, but they also bear a lot of responsibility."

Old Man An smiled and said, "We outsiders are all the same kind of people, so naturally we should stand together and share weal and woe. In the surrounding cities, whether they encounter abnormal events, have disputes, or are threatened, they will all seek help from City of Rest. So our people also have to leave from time to time to help them solve problems, mediate, and sometimes even use force to suppress things that are not conducive to the outsider community. It is rare to be able to get everyone together, especially recently, when we have encountered such turbulent times..."

Xiao Xiao listened, then suddenly looked at him and said, "Is City of Rest that good?"

"Why didn't City of Rest help us when Black Gate City was attacked by the Hell Organization and was in a mess by the Rotten Kingdom?"

"..."

Seemingly surprised by Xiao Xiao's direct question, the old man in the magnificent robe paused slightly before laughing, "Don't you know the reason?"

"I used to be a close friend of your Old Chairman Kuang Juemin, and we stood together through thick and thin. Unfortunately, we later disagreed on our ideals and eventually parted ways. Since then, he has refused all my assistance..."

"..."

"So it's the Old Chairman again?"

Xiao Xiao thought to himself, this Old Chairman has taken the blame for a lot of things for me, but he's also caused quite a bit of trouble...

However, this also shows that the old Old Chairman actually had many other options besides dying in the Black Gate Mist Incident.

He smiled and said, "Although I inherited a lot from our Old Chairman, I never met him, so I'm not very familiar with what happened before."

"You inherited a lot from him?"

The Old Chairman smiled and glanced at Xiao Xiao, saying, "Including his naive ideas?"

Xiao Xiao paused for a moment, looked up at him, and slowly repeated, "Childish?"

"Yes."

The old Old Chairman paused slightly, met Xiao Xiao's gaze, and said, "I'm not talking about him behind his back because he's dead. In fact, I did say those things when he was alive."

Xiao Xiao seemed somewhat surprised. "Why?"

The Old Man An couldn't help but laugh, but instead of answering directly, he turned to Xiao Xiao and said, "President Xiao, you've become quite famous lately, and Black Gate City has also performed exceptionally well. But what do you think of our City of Rest?"

"Very good."

Xiao Xiao paused for a moment before saying, "I haven't seen many cities, only Black Gate City and Night's End City, but compared to those two cities, City of Rest is the largest and most orderly city I have ever seen."

"It seems that here, there is no room for Aberrant Creature to survive."

"Indigenous people and outsiders can actually cooperate and coexist like old friends."

"And the power of the outsiders in City of Rest is the greatest I've ever seen. Even our convoy can control the traffic lights at will, as if the entire administrative body is at your service..."

"By the way, we didn't pay for the hotel we stayed at yesterday, did we?"

"..."

Hearing Xiao Xiao's words, Old Man An couldn't help but laugh, "That's City of Rest's property, of course it doesn't cost any money."

Ruan Ruan, who was waiting to return the information card, couldn't help but widen her eyes slightly. "When did Xiao-gege see these phenomena in City of Rest?"

"That's right, these are exactly what I wanted to say to Chairman Xiao."

After laughing, Old Man An turned to Xiao Xiao and said, "Kuang Juemin is an old friend of mine. He is a stubborn man who has always insisted on his idea of escaping and has always wanted to get rid of the nightmare. But who can say that this world is really a nightmare?"

Xiao Xiao didn't rush to answer, but looked at him seriously.

Old Man An said softly, "The awakening of strangers often involves this process: first, they believe that this world is fake, that it is just a nightmare, and they want to escape and find that so-called reality."

"But people always have to face reality. What do you mean by strangers or natives?"

"It's simply a matter of seeing things differently; it's a stubborn belief that what you see is the truth, and what others see is false..."

"But only fools stubbornly try to prove themselves right."

"Whether what the indigenous people see is real or fake, what does it matter to us?"

"..."

He spoke slowly, always looking into Xiao Xiao's eyes, making his words seem particularly sincere, or rather, beyond question.

"Strangers are the chosen ones."

He spoke slowly and deliberately to Xiao Xiao: "We possess the power to dominate and control everything, so the strangeness or distortion of this world is actually unimportant."

"The important thing is that we can transform the world into whatever we want it to be, if we want to."

"We can possess the most supreme power in this city, and we can change everything that is unreasonable in this city at will."

"Even when Kuang Juemin was alive, the City Will he hated the most, the Mysterious Source that influenced his cognition and changed his behavior, was not unchangeable. He only said that he was unwilling to be controlled and unwilling to live as a puppet. But when we have the power to influence the Mysterious Source in reverse, to appease it, to feed it, and to let the Mysterious Source exist in the form we want, then who is the puppet and who is controlling it?"

"..."

"Ah?"

Ruan Ruan was immediately taken aback and looked up in disbelief.

Some of the things the Old Chairman said were hard for her to imagine: reverse control of the Mysterious Source?

She knew of City of Rest's power, but it seemed that she heard something astonishing in what Old Man An had said.

City of Rest even believes that they already possess the power to control the entire city?

... Or perhaps, it's not just him who thinks so, but that they have already done it?

"If that's the case..."

Xiao Xiao pondered for a moment, then looked at Old Man An and asked, "So, what do you consider yourself to be?"

"I don't want to talk about gods or monsters."

Old Man An stared intently at Xiao Xiao and said slowly, "But I want to say that we have absolute advantage and power over this city."

"If we treat reality as a game, then we have the ability to modify the game through programming. We have absolute control over reality; we are the masters of the game."

Why would a master flee his home?

"..."

"..."

Xiao Xiao easily understood what the Old Man An meant. He paused for a moment, then slowly said, "But have you ever heard of this saying..."

"Those things, parasitic on this city, that gave us power, are actually outsiders..."

"They are devouring the world, and they have already devoured most of it."

"So, if one day they really do completely devour this world, what will we, the masters of these cities, face?"

"..."

When he asked the question, Xiao Xiao remained calm, showing no intention of refuting or objecting, but rather genuinely inquiring.

He didn't doubt everything City of Rest had done, but he was just asking the question. Previously, Yang Jia had also become more determined to support the Noah Project after discovering these secrets.

Old Man An's answer surprised Xiao Xiao: "I've heard Dante Organization mention this idea before."

"However, we are the chosen ones, so we possess this power, just like the world's former rulers and conglomerates. The world chose them, which is why they could be so high and mighty..."

"If they could be so at ease back then, why can't we?"

"Or, Chairman Xiao could consider those churches..."

"..."

He paused for a moment before slowly saying, "Because of God's existence, the church possesses absolute power in the secular world."

"We are like believers, shepherding the whole world for God."

"So, as long as we can shepherd the world, that's enough. What does it matter to us who sits in God's seat?"

I'll update with two chapters first, I'm having some writer's block.