Limb by Limb: Dismantling a City

What do you want?

Seeing the mysterious smile on Xiao Xiao's face, everyone around him was suddenly terrified.

Just now, when Xiao Xiao was sitting still, he put immense pressure on them. Now that he has suddenly stood up and said that whatever he does is not excessive...

So, what outrageous thing does he intend to do?

Only someone planning to do something outrageous would use such words to comfort themselves!

Even Old Man An suddenly contracted, and he slowly took a step back, preparing to face Xiao Xiao's terrifying counterattack.

He had tried several times before but failed to hurt Xiao Xiao, which made him think Xiao Xiao was incredibly terrifying. Now that this guy was going to retaliate, how could he not be nervous?

He even ignored the order from City of Rest urging him to resolve the anomaly within the city at this moment.

However, to his surprise, Xiao Xiao didn't even look at him. Instead, he suddenly smiled coldly, his brows furrowing as he whispered, "There are too many things blocking my way. Cut them open for me!"

"Sizzle..."

As soon as he spoke, the Butcher immediately brandished his chainsaw.

The Butcher's current height is only four or five meters. Although he has broken free from the restraints imposed on him by City of Rest, the three eerie black shadows are still confronting him. No matter how you look at it, the Butcher's strength is not enough to directly eliminate these three shadows. However, with Xiao Xiao's command, the floor beneath the Butcher's feet suddenly melted, and endless tentacles rose from it, one after another, writhing like giant pythons, wrapping around the Butcher's body, causing his body to become larger and larger.

The chainsaw in his hand, wrapped in countless bloody threads, stretched out little by little, quickly reaching ten meters, twenty meters, thirty meters...

30% parasitism.

If City of Rest is a vast ocean of spirit, then originally there was only one creature in this ocean, growing freely and searching for the food it needed, like a sovereign overlord.

But now, Xiao Xiao has invaded this ocean and gained 30% control.

Now, Xiao Xiao is fully utilizing the 30% control he has gained to empower the Butcher, helping him increase his power.

Of course, due to the different properties of Pain Substance, this 30% of the city's original power was not fully utilized by the Butcher; most of it was simply wasted. However, 30% of the city's original power was simply too much.

No matter how much was wasted, the Butcher's power grew to an unimaginable limit at this moment.

The terrifying saw teeth spun wildly and suddenly swung forward. In an instant, the mirror-like surface formed by the surrounding space was shattered by the saw teeth. The next moment, the huge building was also cut to pieces by the chainsaw, which was already over a hundred meters long. Facing this crazy, nightmarish weapon, Old Man An was so frightened that the wrinkles on his face twitched wildly. In an instant, he moved his body and flashed dozens of meters away, only to find that the Butcher did not see him at all. What he wanted to cut down now was only the city where he was.

Even Xiao Xiao, facing the building section cut open by the chainsaw, simply walked forward indifferently.

He only glanced briefly at the panicked Old Man An out of the corner of his eye, a cold smile playing on his lips, as if mocking his wishful thinking.

"He didn't even consider me a rival?"

"..."

Old Man An understood the meaning behind that cold smile, and for a moment he couldn't tell whether he felt relieved or angry.

However, Xiao Xiao does not currently regard him as an opponent.

Now, Xiao Xiao's parasitism on this city has reached 30%, which means that the nature of this confrontation has changed.

It could be said that he entered this spiritual ocean and was vying with another creature for control of it; or it could be said that he was leading a Hell Legion, a terrifying henchman, to City of Rest to seize territory.

The Mysterious Source that parasitized City of Rest was the boss of this territory.

The strangers, including Old Man An, were all underlings of this boss, and the museum was the arsenal of this group.

The original owner of City of Rest had a rather rich arsenal.

Unfortunately, their underlings were scattered to other places, leaving only Old Man An and a small fry, and they failed to kill Xiao Xiao when he was at his weakest.

This allowed Xiao Xiao and his thugs to move freely as if they were in an empty place.

Now that he had gained some influence, he no longer paid attention to minor figures like Old Man An and directly launched an attack on the city and the Mysterious Source of City of Rest.

"Laugh..."

On the surface, Old Man An was surprised to find that he wasn't being targeted, but the terrifying shadowy figure wielded sharp, serrated blades, rapidly slicing through the city behind him. Countless buildings were sliced open with sparks flying, massive structures collapsed one after another, and bustling streets were cut in half. Even some of the original inhabitants of City of Rest experienced hallucinations, as if they saw a giant chainsaw slowly slicing across their heads...

"Oh no..."

At the same time, monitoring personnel in the administrative hall of City of Rest also saw dark red serrations rise high at the other end of the city and then cut down.

He slapped himself twice to break free from the hallucination. When he looked up again, he didn't see any giant chainsaw stretching across the sky; he could only feel a nameless panic in his heart.

"Another group of madmen is attacking our city..."

"Judging from the current situation, it seems... it seems that this group of lunatics in our city is at a serious disadvantage..."

"..."

In the administrative hall of City of Rest, there is a group of calm, even mad, rulers.

They had already become aware of the world's changes when the global political system was in chaos, and cities began to govern themselves and deal with crises.

They knew that in every city, there was a group of crazy people who looked just like ordinary people, but lived in a world of fantasy.

But ironically, this group of people, who can't even distinguish between reality and falsehood, always manage to do some amazing things.

For example, they can easily turn a normal person into a madman, and make them loyal to them, willing to give up their wealth or their life without hesitation, as if they had lost their minds.

For example, although they are a group of lunatics, they sometimes have amazing performances.

Even the most skilled agents, if they were to secretly follow them, would be easily discovered. And afterwards, the agents themselves analyzed the situation and were surprised to find that they didn't even know how they had been discovered without showing their faces.

For example, among this group of madmen, some are incredibly strong and cannot be subdued by three or five people, while others are particularly good at hiding and can disappear in the blink of an eye.

What shocked them most was that once when they were hunting down a madman, the man was not afraid of bullets and charged forward. They hit the madman in the head, but he did not die immediately. Instead, he bit the agent to death.

But is it really possible for someone to survive a gunshot wound to the head?

That wasn't the case. The guy who was shot in the head died quickly, and no one buried him; he was thrown into a nearby ditch.

But not long after, another guy appeared, who was completely different from the madman in appearance, age, and even gender, and insisted that he was the madman.

Ironically, he could also reveal things that only the dead knew.

It was as if he were possessed by a ghost; the guy who had been shot in the head was strangely reborn in another person's body.

These chaotic and disorderly phenomena are alarming.

But the administrative hall of City of Rest made a crucial decision at this most panicked moment: they tried to ally with and cooperate with this group of madmen.

Whether they are insane or not, the magical power they wield is real.

It was precisely because of this decision that City of Rest stood out among the chaotic cities. They were the first to restore order and the first to establish a close cooperative relationship with those madmen. They began to conquer and devour the surrounding bewildered cities and various forces. They even drove the forces of the Black Forest out of City of Rest long ago, making the City of Rest Administrative Hall a truly independent polity that could control the city and was not subject to the constraints of others.

This partnership lasted for many years, and the City of Rest grew ever larger, more unique, and more ambitious.

They also discovered that other cities had many similar mad organizations, but some were at odds with the local government, while others were confused and clueless.

The City of Rest became the most unique existence.

The administrative hall, relying on the mysterious power of the madmen, expands its influence in reality, while the madmen of City of Rest, in turn, use the power of the administrative hall to establish order for themselves, their roots penetrating into every corner of the city.

This led the City of Rest Administrative Hall to become ambitious, even wanting to compete for the highest power center.

It wasn't until this moment, when they suddenly saw the chainsaw that had, in a fleeting moment, sliced the entire city in two, that they realized what had happened:

"Oh no, am I going crazy too?"

"..."

Their understanding of strangers was clearly not as thorough as that of the Black Forest, but years of cooperation had taught them that another mad organization had begun to infiltrate City of Rest.

This time, the madmen of City of Rest seem to be at a disadvantage...

"Ding-a-ling..."

Suddenly, the phone rang in the Chief Executive's office. The ring was sharp and jarring, but it was hung up after only three rings.

The governor of City of Rest watched surveillance footage from various key locations throughout the city. He saw that the city's residents were exhibiting countless bizarre and incomprehensible behaviors. Homeless people, who usually huddled in the sewers and were content with half a loaf of bread, suddenly emerged from all over the city, indiscriminately attacking pedestrians. Workers who were usually repressed and obedient, working fourteen hours a day and living like docile machines, suddenly began vandalizing factories.

Some urban white-collar workers, who are usually dressed in bright clothes, tore their clothes at the intersection and danced in the traffic while holding their high heels.

A middle-aged, balding man, who was usually very frugal and only bought two crabs at a time—one for his son and one for his wife, while he himself ate only one claw—went into a restaurant and ate heartily, tears streaming down his face as he ate.

This city has gone mad.

It was as if some kind of insane contagious disease had begun to cause the city, which had been operating like a meticulous machine, to suddenly collapse, and more and more people were turning mad.

The governor of City of Rest had two telephones in front of him. One was for contacting the madmen with mysterious powers in his group, and the other had just rung.

He finally picked up the phone that had just started ringing and dialed it back.

The phone rang for a long time before being answered. The other party seemed to be doing it on purpose; as soon as they answered, a somewhat smug voice could be heard:

"Moshi Moshi, I am the representative of the Black Forest Biological Laboratory, codename Shepherds. Now, I am here to represent the Black Forest in dialogue with City of Rest."

"..."

The governor of City of Rest took a deep breath and got straight to the point. "There's an unexplained riot happening in City of Rest. Was it instigated by your Black Forest?"

The other party's answer was surprisingly straightforward, "Of course."

His voice carried a hint of amusement. "It all started when one of our Black Forest Special Investigator entered City of Rest on a mission and was treated unfriendly. He was young, had a bad temper, and a bad reputation."

"That's probably why you had a dispute with some people in your City of Rest, right?"

"Logically, we could try to persuade him, but as you know, City of Rest is very hostile to the Black Forest, and our people can't get in..."

"..."

The governor of City of Rest ignored his obviously mocking explanation and suddenly roared, "You're declaring war!"

"You are attacking our City of Rest with forces that you cannot even control."

"..."

His anger was palpable, but to his surprise, the other party seemed completely unconcerned. "Come on, who are you going to talk to about saving face?"

"If I were someone who was good at these kinds of social niceties, I wouldn't be in such dire straits that I'm almost losing my pension."

"As for now, I am only representing the Black Forest to issue a formal note to your City of Rest. City of Rest needs to return the three forbidden laboratories that the Black Forest City of Rest detained, as well as the relevant documents and experimental subjects, and then fully cooperate with the Black Forest's instructions."

"Otherwise, we'll double that Special Investigator's bonus to make him happier..."

"..."

These blunt and undisguised words sent a chill down the spine of the highest-ranking official of City of Rest. He asked incredulously, "Do you intend to destroy City of Rest?"

"How could that be?"

On the other end of the phone, the guy codenamed Shepherds laughed and said, "The City of Rest will continue to exist, but you, that's not necessarily the case."

"So he was..."

All the allies who had been forcibly summoned by Old Man An were completely terrified by Xiao Xiao's actions at this moment.

They were still wondering what exactly Xiao Xiao meant by "excessive things," until this moment, when, through the power of the contract, they saw a giant chainsaw relentlessly swinging across City of Rest, saw towering buildings turned into flesh and blood and forcibly torn apart, and saw the Butcher's shadow swelling to the size of City of Rest itself. Only then did they finally understand just how excessive these "excessive things" were. "... He actually wants to dismantle City of Rest!"

Sometimes, things really do go beyond our comprehension.

Just like what the young guild leader of Black Gate City is doing right now, forcibly dismantling a city.

Everyone knows you like to do interesting things, but you can just have two people have some fun. A city can be dismantled, too.

Facing the same scene, Old Man An felt the city's painful struggle and screams. He felt his heart clench tightly, and the unprecedented fear made him finally realize the difference in their levels.

I am a believer in God, and my lifelong goal is to build God's kingdom for herding.

And this mad guild leader of Black Gate City... he's actually dismembering his own God!

Is this what he really meant by the two sides not being on the same level?

... Who the hell would have thought that these words weren't meant to scare the opponent, but were actually spoken literally?

"Kill him! Everyone, attack together and kill him..."

Disregarding everything, Old Man An roared in fury, forcefully urging the other cities that had signed the alliance to act. He no longer cared about saving face; he only wanted to force them to take action. "Kill this madman..."

The power of the contract was at work; the presidents of those cities all felt the unseen constraints.

If they don't take action, they will pay a heavy price.

Then...

... They were furious and started cursing. "You old dog, we've all been tricked by you!"

"Of all people to mess with, why did you have to provoke him?"

"..."

Although they cursed loudly, signifying the formal collapse of the City of Rest Alliance at this moment, the binding force of the contract still filled them with fear and unease.

If we don't intervene, the price we'll pay is too high. But if we do intervene, this guy who's powerful enough to dismantle a city is someone we can't afford to mess with.

Who is to blame for this situation?

Of course, it's that shameless old geezer who promised to lead us to build a divine kingdom, but instead he's dragging us down to hell...

At that very moment, Xiao Xiao suddenly stopped. He was now standing between two buildings that had been split in two, surrounded by massive ruins and clumps of flesh that had been cut up and were writhing desperately. Due to the contract, the spatial fragments around him still existed, each fragment like a mirror, reflecting the expressions of the presidents of the various city Outsider Association— some gritting their teeth, some furious, some weeping with tears streaming down their faces...

Xiao Xiao noticed their dilemma, and his expression suddenly became very friendly. "You don't have to be at odds with me!"

"I'm actually a person who loves making friends, so there's no reason for anyone to become my enemy, right?"

"..."

"You..."

Caught off guard by the smile on Xiao Xiao's face, these people were completely taken aback, hardly believing their eyes. Their minds went blank for a moment before someone finally stammered:

Are you sure you won't eat your friend?

"..."

How could that be?

Xiao Xiao smiled kindly, "I only eat food from people I like..."

The presidents all gasped in surprise, examined themselves, and realized they didn't have many qualities that made them likable, which put them at ease.

Only one still-attractive female president glanced down at her ample bosom, then gritted her teeth, drew a knife, and slashed her face twice before feeling a little more at ease.

"That..."

One of the association presidents, his voice trembling, asked, "What should we do?"

He looked like a deceived person lamenting, "We've been cheated by City of Rest. We're bound by a contract. Our abilities and the city are being forcibly pulled apart..."

"It's okay."

Xiao Xiao smiled and said, "I advised you to build a wishing altar before, I don't know if you listened to me?"

Old Man An, standing next to him, could no longer contain his excitement. What was going on?

These guys, even after signing a contract, all want to betray the City of Rest Alliance?

They were so terrified that they were considering admitting the enormous loss rather than provoking this guy from Black Gate City.

Since it was an alliance, the terms of the treaty presented by City of Rest weren't so harsh as to mean they would lose their lives if they disobeyed City of Rest's orders. However, City of Rest had always been very powerful, so the contents of the treaty were quite substantial. Some would lose their most powerful weapons, some would have a portion of their city divided up by City of Rest, and some would have their wives and children automatically become the wives and children of City of Rest knights, and so on...

That's enough force...

But they actually considered accepting this punishment and didn't dare to stand on the same side as City of Rest?

Aren't they afraid that the City Will will punish them?

Old Man An wasn't sure about these things, and he couldn't even get a word in edgewise until Xiao Xiao asked this question, at which point he suddenly burst out laughing, "A wishing altar?"

"You miscalculated after all..."

"Your so-called altar is certainly not for good purposes. No one in our City of Rest, or any of the cities that have joined the Rest Alliance, has ever built such a thing as you wish..."

"..."

He was genuinely afraid that Xiao Xiao could use the Wishing Altar to weaken the power of the contract in his hands, turning his allies into his enemies.

Fortunately, I had considered things thoroughly and issued strict orders from the very beginning.

However, he never expected that as soon as he finished speaking, the presidents of the various associations in those cities all showed joy on their faces and hurriedly raised their hands:

"It's built, it's built..."

"Although we've allied with City of Rest, it's always good to have a backup plan..."

"Our city not only built one, but three..."

"..."

Old Man An was completely stunned. Xiao Xiao turned his head, looked at him with some sympathy, and helplessly spread his hands slightly.

"Old Man An, it's not that I'm criticizing you..."

"At your age, how can you still be so trusting of others..."

There was a misunderstanding yesterday. The app released a trailer saying that "The Mysterious End" was nearing its end, but that's not true. There's still a lot of content to be added!