World Upgrade Project (Six Thousand Five Hundred Words)

When Yang Jia entered the room, she saw Xiao Xiao lounging on the sofa, holding a remote control and aimlessly switching between TV programs. Occasionally, when a picture of a woman in a swimsuit flashed by, he would linger for a few seconds longer than on other screens.

"?"

Now is the most critical moment for the Noah Project, and also the time when chaos has already emerged in cities around the world.

You really just stayed home watching TV?

At this moment, Yang Jia couldn't help but raise her eyebrows. Of course, amidst her anger, she couldn't help but sigh a little, "This world is so unfair..."

Some people are busy and tired, while others are at home watching TV.

Some people risk their lives for incredibly difficult tasks, while others solve them with just one trip.

Some people lie on the sofa like a lump of mud, while others strike a pose like Ge You, but somehow it looks quite good...

"What's wrong with you?"

She walked into the room, glanced at Xiao Xiao, and saw there was still a seat available. But being shy, she only pulled up a chair opposite him, sat down, and frowned as she looked at him.

Xiao Xiao remained silent for a long while before finally saying, "Didn't Mom already tell you?"

Although he was too lazy to even use his Insight ability now, he could still hear the two women chatting politely in the courtyard.

"Is there really such a woman?"

Yang Jia's expression suddenly became strange. She looked deeply at Xiao Xiao. She hadn't intended to add anything, but for some reason, she suddenly blurted out, "What's your relationship with me?"

"A very close relationship..."

Xiao Xiao also sighed softly, but as soon as he spoke, he noticed the subtle change in Yang Jia's eyes. He paused, then added, "The same goes for you."

"With me?"

Yang Jia did indeed have a moment when her expression wasn't very good, but upon hearing Xiao Xiao's additional sentence, she couldn't help but pause slightly:

"Is it Ruan Ruan?"

"..."

"Of course not, who could bully her?"

Xiao Xiao took a deep breath, looked up at Yang Jia, and although he knew it was a very important secret, he didn't hesitate to tell her frankly, "It's the singularity."

"I think I've heard this concept before in your Dante Organization, or in the plans left by the Old Chairman."

"This woman is the Singularity."

"..."

"Singularity?"

Before Yang Jia could even get angry, she heard Xiao Xiao give this answer frankly. Her own state suddenly shifted from a somewhat subtle one to a serious one, and she said in a deep voice, "You've already begun to explore this kind of question?"

"Mister Ye said that after you finished things in City of Rest, you immediately began preparations for the third step of Noah's plan. I didn't quite believe it..."

"But the result is that you've even started researching the endpoint of the Noah Project?"

"..."

Since seizing power from Mister Du, Yang Jia has been hiding in the Old Chairman's small building, studying the Noah Project. She is serious and meticulous in her work, and she became a stranger four years earlier than Xiao Xiao. Moreover, she has been staying in Dante Organization for the past four years, and her knowledge and experience are much richer than Xiao Xiao's. Therefore, her understanding of the Noah Project left by the Old Chairman is even deeper than Xiao Xiao's. Now, when she suddenly heard him mention the singularity, she was shocked and her pupils even flickered slightly.

If the Noah Project needs to be roughly divided into four steps, the first step is to build a sturdy Dragonbone capable of withstanding the eerie force field deep within the Mist Sea.

This step has already been prepared through the body that Mister Du voluntarily offered.

The second step is to gather the seven major components. These seven components are the result of the Old Chairman's research over many years. He is very certain that they can complete the creation of Noah and ensure that the passengers will not get lost in the depths of the Mist Sea.

The third step was to clear the flight path. Mister Ye admired most about Xiao Xiao was his foresight and domineering approach in this matter.

The fourth step of Noah Project is undoubtedly the most crucial: finding and closing the singularity.

Even in the materials left by the Old Chairman, there was no detailed description of the singularity. However, Yang Jia knew that if he knew nothing about the singularity, then no matter how well the Noah Project was prepared, the success rate would be terrifyingly low.

She originally wanted to discuss this with Xiao Xiao and explore how to obtain more information, but she didn't expect that Xiao Xiao had already started researching it.

"... Is there?"

Xiao Xiao was surprised that Yang Jia suddenly praised him.

Mister Ye said he completed the third step of the Noah Project ahead of schedule. When did this happen?

I haven't even considered the third step of the Noah Project yet...

However, seeing Yang Jia's serious expression, he sighed helplessly and felt an even greater sense of pressure.

Noah, it's Noah again.

For Yang Jia and the others in Black Gate City, all they cared about was the Noah Project, and they faithfully carried it out and believed in it. But did they really understand the Noah Project?

Then, considering that Yang Jia had been sorting through and analyzing all the information about the Noah Project during this time, and that her sudden visit to his home seemed to indicate that she had also discovered something important...

After a moment's thought, he skipped the pointless conversation and asked directly, "What do you think of the Noah Project?"

"What do you mean, how do you see it?"

Yang Jia couldn't understand what Xiao Xiao meant by asking this question out of the blue. After a slight pause, she said, "During this period of time, I have carefully studied every document and every conjecture left by the Old Chairman, as well as Noah's route, but I feel... there are many awkward things."

"Without a doubt, Noah is necessary. According to the Old Chairman's speculation, only in this way can we reach the end of mystery, glimpse all the secrets, and solve all the problems."

"The problem is that I discovered the information left by the Old Chairman is incomplete. He left a considerable portion missing, or rather, deliberately made it vague. For example, the most critical issue we are facing now..."

"Mysterious Source, they will grow."

"They will become increasingly intelligent, develop their own desires and wills, and become more and more like humans. This also means that they will actively come to obstruct us, and the Mysterious Source that come at us will increase."

"This means that we don't have as much time as we thought, yet the Noah Project doesn't mention it at all, which is simply outrageous."

"After all, if we want to carry out the Noah Project, we are destined to be their enemies. But the Old Chairman left behind so much information, yet he didn't tell us about the greatest enemy we need to face..."

"..."

"It's probably not just about competing with them..."

Xiao Xiao took a deep breath.

His insight into the world situation is now at its clearest.

But ironically, it was also the time when he was most confused.

The more he understood things, the less determined he became to push forward the Noah Project as firmly as before.

However, he had to admit that he had obtained these secrets directly from the Hell Organization and the Dante Organization, from the fragments of the world's will.

However, Yang Jia arrived at this understanding by analyzing the data left behind by the Old Chairman, combined with certain fragments of truth she glimpsed after taking control of the Mysterious Source, which is quite remarkable...

How did this woman manage to combine recklessness and intelligence so perfectly?

Just as Xiao Xiao was lazily complaining in his heart, he heard Yang Jia speak slowly, her voice gradually lowering, as if she had made up her mind, before suddenly saying:

"And the most crucial thing is... I think I should find that thing..."

"..."

Xiao Xiao, who was secretly complaining to himself, was taken aback by Yang Jia's sudden change in mood and subconsciously asked, "What?"

Yang Jia took a deep breath. "Where did that terrifying feeling come from..."

"Fear..."

It was only then that Xiao Xiao suddenly sat up, his expression becoming somewhat serious.

After killing Mister Du, Yang Jia took over the power of the Mysterious Source and thus glimpsed many secrets. This made Yang Jia afraid and forced her to hide. As for Xiao Xiao, he had to bear the infamy of murdering someone during a marriage proposal in order to cooperate with her. The most crucial thing is that this infamy was later upgraded to the point of being accused of cannibalism during a marriage proposal. Of course, after learning so many secrets, Yang Jia's sudden mention of this matter was indeed one of the questions that Xiao Xiao was still interested in.

What is it?

Xiao Xiao had previously thought that Yang Jia was uneasy because of something the Dante Organization was hiding, which was why she had gone into hiding.

But judging from her expression at this moment, it doesn't seem like that.

Yang Jia had now decided to tell Xiao Xiao this question, but it seemed difficult to describe. After pondering for a while, she suddenly asked, "Have you ever thought about this: where are the remaining Mysterious Guidepost?"

"The Old Chairman once obtained a Mysterious Guidepost, Dante Organization also has four, and Hell Organization also has three."

"Without a doubt, the Mysterious Guidepost is the most mysterious thing in our world, and it can also be understood as the most special element of the highest level in the world..."

"... After all, even the most powerful ordinary special elements are nothing more than personal suffering."

"But the Mysterious Guidepost, in a way, represents the awakening of the World Will, and is a symbol of the world's suffering..."

"..."

Xiao Xiao listened to her words, he vaguely realized something, and his expression gradually became serious.

Yang Jia lowered her voice slightly, seemingly worried about being overheard, and her expression gradually became serious. "This is what puzzled me from the very beginning. The Old Chairman Mingming proposed the Noah Project because he obtained a Mysterious Guidepost. In any case, he should have understood how important the Mysterious Guidepost was. However, in the materials he left behind, he derived countless information and proposed various different ideas, but he didn't mention the Mysterious Guidepost at all. Those Mysterious Guidepost that haven't even been born yet, he didn't mention them once..."

Xiao Xiao listened to her story, he suddenly understood what she meant. "The Old Chairman is deliberately covering up these secrets?"

"Not just the Old Chairman."

Yang Jia slowly said, "I also discovered this problem within the Noah Project left behind by the Old Chairman. After comparing it with what I knew, I gradually discovered another problem..."

"The Dante Organization is also trying to cover up these secrets..."

As she spoke, her expression grew serious. "I clearly remember that when Dante Organization learned that Black Gate City had obtained a Mysterious Guidepost, they were very nervous and wanted to take it back."

"Later, the Old Chairman died, and I returned to Black Gate City. They had the same purpose, which is why they sent Lin Bo..."

"But why is it that when I was with Dante Organization, I saw them researching countless projects and exploring all sorts of secrets of this world, yet not a single project team existed specifically to find the Mysterious Guidepost?"

"..."

Hearing her say this, Xiao Xiao understood and nodded slowly.

Yang Jia then slowly revealed her guess. "The Dante Organization and the Hell Organization say they want to find the remaining Mysterious Guidepost, but in reality, they have never done anything to look for them."

"There is only one explanation: the Dante Organization may have known all along where the remaining Mysterious Guidepost were."

"Even those Mysterious Guidepost have been activated."

"The strange thing is that, because of this, our Black Gate City activated a Mysterious Guidepost and devised the Noah Project, which almost led to the destruction of Black Gate City."

"The place that can activate the remaining four Mysterious Guidepost must be a terrifying and extraordinary place."

"But the Dante Organization and the Hell Organization, and even our Old Chairman, have all chosen to hide this place from everyone in the world. What is the reason for that?"

"..."

Xiao Xiao listened and sat up straight.

He was somewhat tired and too lazy to think about these issues, but now that Yang Jia brought them up, a few strange moments suddenly flashed through his memory.

For example, the mysterious woman in the white dress claimed to be Patient Zero's greatest enemy, the World Will.

But she always had a special feeling about herself.

For example, he vaguely remembered that when he inherited the Old Chairman's Lord Pact, he had glimpsed some illusions, the truth of which was unknown, and saw the Old Chairman shouting at him in pain and despair:

"Wrong, all wrong..."

"..."

The Old Chairman Mingming have been dead by then, so why did he appear in my hallucination?

Most importantly, the illusion had too much autonomy, so it didn't seem like a real illusion.

These fragmented and meaningless guesses echoed in his mind as he whispered to Yang Jia, "So, have you figured out where those things are?"

"I can't."

Yang Jia shook his head and said, "However, the Mysterious Source authority that I control contains memories of this aspect."

"Or rather, it's an instinctive fear."

"..."

She paused here, seemingly wanting to describe this feeling more clearly to Xiao Xiao: "I am not Mister Du, but I inherited its authority and glimpsed fragments of its memories remaining within that authority. Sometimes, I even experience mental confusion, sensing things it once went through, and these things are the reason for my past fear. I originally had no way to find the specific form of this fear until I deduced some things about the Mysterious Source in the plan left by the Old Chairman..."

"As a result, some fragments were activated in my mental world, and I began to have some guesses."

"..."

She exhaled slowly, looked into Xiao Xiao's eyes, and said slowly, "Lost Island."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xiao couldn't help but blink. He quickly searched his memory to make sure he hadn't missed anything, which meant that this was the first time he had heard this name.

"Never heard of it?"

Yang Jia slowly said, "I've never heard of this before, and that's precisely what we should be most afraid of."

"Because we should all be very familiar with these three words..."

"This was once the Black Forest, the site of the largest biological laboratory, and the source of all the mysterious events..."

"..."

Unbeknownst to Yang Jia, she had gradually gotten closer and closer to Xiao Xiao: "But I didn't see the name of this place in the information left by the Old Chairman, and I didn't even hear its name when I was in the Dante Organization."

"On the contrary, it was Mister Ye who helped me find some information in the real world and pieced together its original appearance: This island was once the headquarters of the Black Forest. Because the Black Forest originally started from a laboratory, and because the Black Forest had such a great influence on this world, every move it made affected the fate of this world, so they bought this island. After they bought the island, they tried to erase all relevant information about the island in the world, which is why it is called the Lost Island."

"The most important experiments in the Black Forest were all conducted on this island, and almost all the high-level secrets are also related to this island."

"But ironically, everyone is concealing the existence of this island."

"Only the lingering fear in Mister Du's instincts vaguely pointed out some of the island's peculiarities."

"Not only it, but also many other mysterious creatures of the same level. They all have a deep-seated fear of this island, as if something terrible would happen if they got close..."

"..."

"The Lost Island..."

Xiao Xiao listened carefully, and a sense of dread gradually crept into his heart. "A place feared by a secondary Mysterious Source?"

"That's amazing..."

At the same time, at the Black Goat Club, the Shepherds, along with his staff including Senior Investigator Mr. Wild Dog, was opening champagne while looking at the impressive report before him. Wearing sunglasses, he grinned broadly, revealing large, blackened teeth from years of heavy smoking. Gone was the composed, commanding presence he usually displayed when dealing with bizarre phenomena; instead, he was gesticulating wildly, clapping repeatedly. "Our Special Investigator is simply amazing..."

"Look at this, how should I write this report?"

"..."

He flicked the printed paper in his hand forcefully. "Overnight, the largest parasitic mother in the parasitic Mysterious Source of City of Rest was cleared out, and it even caused chaos and infighting in the circle of dreamers."

"And the experimental data that our Black Forest had seized from City of Rest during the emergency evacuation phase has also been successfully retrieved..."

"Tsk tsk, I have no idea how our superiors will reward us after we submit this report?"

"Are they going to upgrade me to a shareholder of Black Forest?"

"..."

He was so excited that he danced around, but the people in front of him, including Mr. Wild Dog, looked at each other blankly, completely unable to feel happy.

What's there to be happy about?

Had he forgotten that it was precisely during this incident in City of Rest that the Black Forest successfully experimented with using the "Dreamers" to spy on the world of strangers? So, on that day, they also witnessed a vast world of flesh and blood churning and rolling, saw a gigantic black shadow, hundreds of meters tall, wielding a dark red chainsaw, dismembering a city, and saw countless crazed beings, bizarrely appearing in City of Rest from other cities in an instant, wielding knives, forks, chopsticks, and butcher knives, devouring a massive city...

Some phenomena they could understand, and they could interpret them as certain impacts within the spiritual ocean world.

Some things are simply incomprehensible; I just treat them as nightmares.

One thing is certain: they used to think these strangers were just people with some kind of mental ability that could influence others. Although it was strange, they could still kill them with guns and weapons.

But what about now?

The events at City of Rest, whether it was the world of strangers they glimpsed or the layers of mental radiation they detected that far exceeded the limits, all pointed to one fact.

The strangers, those madmen, their power is growing ever stronger.

They've gone beyond simply turning ordinary people into their slaves without a sound. Now, they can even easily influence an entire city, driving its inhabitants mad, angry, or sad. They can also easily make the entire city flow like a tide to a certain place, only to suddenly forget everything and return to the normal course of life. That's a city, the order of a city—how could they destroy it so easily and then rebuild it?

If strangers always feel insecure because they are afraid of the world.

For ordinary people, a sense of security comes from order.

But now they see that the order they were so proud of is utterly powerless against those madmen.

In this situation, no matter how fruitful the task is, it's hard to feel happy.

Why do you look so worried?

Looking at their strained faces, the Shepherds chuckled and said, "The unknown is what's truly frightening. You were afraid because you didn't know what they were capable of."

"Now you've at least begun to witness their true power and are starting to understand them better. This means we're getting closer to success. Shouldn't we be happy?"

"..."

"Us..."

Mr. Wild Dog couldn't help but swallow, his voice sounding somewhat strained. "How can we win against such a crazy guy?"

How to win?

The Shepherds looked at the fear hidden in his face, then suddenly wiped the smile off his face, leaving only a chilling curve at the corner of his mouth, and chuckled softly, "Don't you know how the Black Forest made its fortune?"

"It all started with researching these incomprehensible and terrifying forces..."

"Ever since discovering that extraordinary Patient Zero, Black Forest has set a very ambitious goal..."

"... World Upgrade Project."

"..."

"World upgrade?"

Mr. Wild Dog was suddenly startled. The more senior people around him also changed their expressions immediately, and even subconsciously looked around, afraid that someone might have heard them.

This plan is the root of global change and has always been a taboo in the Black Forest.

"That plan..."

Mr. Wild Dog, being bolder, met the Shepherds's enigmatic smile and mustered his courage to speak, "Haven't we already... failed?"

"It's a failure!"

The Shepherds chuckled, "Because of an accident that triggered a horizontal spiritual resonance affecting the entire world, many incomprehensible Mysterious Source have appeared, along with many madmen. The Black Forest was forced to relocate, and the higher-ups have collectively gone into hiding..."

"But..."

He paused slightly, then smiled even more broadly, "Failure doesn't mean giving up..."

"Do you know what the most important part of the data we brought back from City of Rest is?"

"..."

As he spoke, he patted several large boxes next to him, which contained some old computers and several encrypted hard drives.

"The Black Forest has never stopped working on the World Upgrade Project."

"And now, we have gradually completed and updated that failed plan, which means we can try again..."

"Of course, this plan has another name among strangers..."

"Noah Project!"

Did you two go on a date today?

I've made plans, hehe.