Key Element

"Let's get out of here quickly; the Guard Hall will probably be here soon..."

Little Four subconsciously took a step away from Xiao Xiao before looking back at the chaotic street and whispering, "You go first. I'll stay behind to cover our tracks and see if there's anything else that needs cleaning up."

"Don't worry, I'm very experienced in shaking off the Guard Hall..."

"..."

Actually, at this moment, Little Four had many things he wanted to ask.

Like, what was the deal with those three monster-like, ferocious, and loyal dogs that were squatting beside Xiao Xiao, guarding him so closely?

Like, wasn't the experiment of seeing if bullets still had stopping power after passing through a human body a little unreasonable?

But he didn't dare to ask.

And Xiao Xiao, at this moment, also had many questions he wanted to ask.

Like, why did his three dogs get a free upgrade, and what exactly was Pain Substance?

But after all, he was a newbie, and the veteran had made arrangements, so how could he disobey?

Of course, his impression of this companion named Little Four was quite good, but what was with him saying he was experienced in shaking off the Guard Hall?

Did he do this often?

After agreeing to split the mission points equally, Xiao Xiao quickly left the coffee shop.

Although many people had survived in the surrounding area, most were still in a state of memory confusion. They came and went, and almost no one noticed, nor did they leave any traces.

After arranging for the three dogs to return, Xiao Xiao circled back to the street where he had been resting with his two coworkers.

However, there had just been a serious riot here, and the two coworkers had long since disappeared. The cargo truck was still abandoned there.

Xiao Xiao thought for a moment and ignored the truck, leaving the street with some panicked crowds. Because he looked so calm, even the officers setting up the perimeter didn't suspect him.

Turning into the subway station, Xiao Xiao didn't plan to return to the docks but instead took the subway in the direction of home.

"Buzz..."

As the subway began to travel through the city, the chaotic lights outside the window stretched into distorted dotted lines, Xiao Xiao's phone rang.

Opening his phone, he saw an email quietly sitting in his inbox.

The sender was still the person named "Ye."

[Temporary Mission: Despair Vines]
[Level: D]
[Number of People Saved: 109]
[Mission Points: 60]
[Additional Reward Points: 545 points]
[Number of Accidental Kills: 1]
[Reward Point Deduction: -100]
[Note: Of the 505 points earned, half will be transferred to the partner's account]
[...]

"So, 253 points?"

Xiao Xiao thought silently, put away his phone, and looked up.

At this moment, the subway had just emerged from the dark tunnel and was traveling on the elevated tracks in the middle of the city. The bright and dazzling lights in the distance were like vivid oil paintings in his eyes.

Xiao Xiao looked at the silent and dark buildings under the neon lights, as if he saw them slowly moving, drawing out huge tentacles, and wriggling their massive bodies.

He seemed to see an eye slowly opening deep within the city, coldly meeting his gaze.

This city was a huge monster, so were the various people he saw in this city part of it, or puppets controlled by it?

Ye seemed to have very clear principles, encouraging Outsiders like himself to save those who might be submerged when faced with those strange and spreading disasters. To this end, Ye even gave high rewards. For every person saved, one could get 5 points, but more importantly, Ye valued the Outsiders' protection of the natives. Saving a person was worth 5 points, but killing a person deducted 100 points.

Was it because every native was part of it?

Xiao Xiao knew very well that he hadn't accidentally killed anyone just now; it had been intentional.

But even with the deduction of 100 points, he still didn't regret it.

He still found it difficult to clearly understand the relationship between Aberrant Creatures, Pain Substance, natives, Outsiders, and this huge monster city.

Was it really as Yang Jia had explained before: that the Outsiders were just helping the city clear away some diseases?

But why did he always feel a huge barrier towards these protected natives, while the Aberrant Creatures could always instantly strike his heart?

He pondered for a long time before gently shaking his head and looking up. The neon lights flashed, and the buildings were silent and stable, never moving.

"In any case, I have more points now..."

"I haven't had time to use the previous 300 points, and now I've earned another 253 points, so I'll soon have 600 points..."

"Easy money..."

Xiao Xiao thought, perhaps in this city, he shouldn't waste his energy thinking about those unanswerable questions, but should consider how to improve himself faster?

Meanwhile, back near the coffee shop where the incident occurred, the Guard Hall personnel were swamped. They were frantically making calls, constantly communicating with their superiors, and repeatedly trying to calm the chaotic crowd. After a good ten minutes, they finally welcomed the "bomb disposal experts" specially invited by the Guard Hall. However, these people in white protective suits were not what they had imagined.

Not only did their suits bear the logo of the Black Forest Biological Laboratory, but the equipment they carried didn't look like it was for bomb disposal either.

"Pull up all the surveillance footage."

The man leading them wasn't even wearing a protective suit. Dressed in a rumpled suit, he had a cigarette dangling from his mouth as he waved his hand dismissively. "And go get me a takeout while you're at it."

The Guard Hall people stared blankly at this guy who clearly didn't consider himself an outsider.

They really didn't want to deal with him; he wasn't even one of them.

However, remembering the call from their superiors, they obediently handed over authority to these mysterious investigators.

After a while, the man sat on the curb across from the coffee shop, smoking and eating his takeout. Beside him was a laptop connected to the surveillance system, its screen flashing with countless images.

The gruesome corpses scattered around didn't seem to affect his appetite. He wolfed down his food and reviewed the video.

Finally, the footage focused on a hooded figure passing through the crowd.

"Hmph..."

He stubbed out his cigarette in the takeout container, tossed it aside, and then muttered as he pulled out his phone, "Nothing to investigate. Those lunatics are still carrying out what they believe is justice."

"However, Subject Zero did appear at the scene and seems to have played a significant role."

"You guessed right. He's been assimilated by those lunatics and is now a new member they've brought in. But it shouldn't be for long..."

"..."

The person on the other end of the line seemed displeased with his attitude, speaking sternly.

But the man impatiently switched the phone to his other hand and said, "Heh, don't expect me to solve this problem. I'm only responsible for the investigation."

"Even you're afraid of them, aren't you?"

"I've heard that mental illness can be contagious..."

"No matter what, I'm not going. If you really want to deal with him, go find the people at the Red Eye Club."

"Haven't they been bought off by the Black Forest?"

"Only madmen can deal with those psychopaths in this city without any reservations..."

"..."

"..."

Stepping out of the subway station, Xiao Xiao's mood had become very calm.

He first went to the convenience store to buy three sausages before quickly heading to his neighbor's yard.

Sure enough, the three dogs that had disappeared earlier were now perfectly fine in the neighbor's yard, having arrived faster than him on the subway.

Truly amazing...

A reasonable appearance?

Heh!

This time, Xiao Xiao hadn't expected to not only help his neighbor's little sister but also give those three dogs a free upgrade.

However, looking at the three dogs now, he found that they didn't seem to have changed much on the surface. The fur they had lost had grown back.

The terrifying image of explosive power seemed to have been just an illusion.

The silly one was still silly, the dumb one was still dumb, and the clever one still had a glint of intelligence in its eyes.

But he could clearly sense that their bodies seemed to contain a powerful force. They had already adapted to the changes brought about by the enhancement and were excitedly running around the yard.

"Although gambling is bad, it seems I've won this time?"

"..."

After careful observation, confirming that the three dogs showed no signs of turning into strange creatures, Xiao Xiao felt a faint excitement in his heart.

According to the Collectors' standards, these three dogs should already be considered special entities, right?

At this point, he still knew very little about this bizarre world, but he had already understood that their free enhancement seemed to be related to the Pain Substance they had consumed?

Extrapolating from this, perhaps the enhancement points were originally the money to buy Pain Substance?

If he helped them enhance out of thin air, then the hundred points spent were actually just used to buy Pain Substance from the city's will.

This time, the three of them were first summoned by him to teach those bullying little girls a lesson for their original owner... or rather, his exclusive dog trainer, and they consumed a portion of Pain Substance.

Then they experienced the Despair Swamp, accumulating enough to enhance.

At this point, they would either mutate under the influence of the Pain Substance or become enhanced life forms coexisting with the Pain Substance.

This leads to the conclusion that Pain Substance is the core element of enhancement and mutation.

The law of conservation of energy still exists in this world