Seeing Ruan Ruan, who was usually so cheerful, with her head lowered and her lips bitten until they bled, Yang Jia let out a soft sigh. She reached over and stroked Ruan Ruan's head, saying gently, "There really isn't any good way to deal with the Hell Organization. They take pleasure in plundering points. Actually, it isn't only them. Even some outsiders with few restraints often turn their eyes toward other weaker outsiders, depriving them of everything, or even enslaving them, indulging their own desires..."
"When we face them, there's practically no logic to speak of."
"When the weak try to reason with others, it's almost a joke in itself."
"..."
These words placed a heavy pressure on Xiao Xiao's heart.
He was in a foreign land, surrounded by malice.
Monsters that might shed their skin and eat him at any moment existed all around him. Even the city he lived in was a gigantic, bizarre living creature.
Outsiders were pitiful wretches who were fundamentally incompatible with this world. They lived beneath watching eyes, and when faced with this enormous world, they could barely obtain even the slightest sense of reality or security. Yet even so, there was actually violence and slaughter among outsiders as well?
A huge black ship had come with the thick fog. Hideous demons had leaped from the ship and begun slaughtering everyone indiscriminately...
There were no rules to protect them, nor any morality to restrain anyone. There was only naked violence and malice...
The more Xiao Xiao thought about it, the more he felt a chill run down his spine.
This had happened only half a year ago...
If he had awakened just a little earlier, would he have encountered that disaster as well?
Yang Jia sighed softly and said to Xiao Xiao, "That's everything you need to know."
"Because of that massacre by the Hell Organization, the outsider organization in Black Gate City has become nothing more than a name."
"The Old Chairman and those loyal to him were almost completely slaughtered!"
"The survivors lost their courage. They severed ties with the Black Gate and with my teacher. They didn't even dare mention his name anymore, much less stand up and represent Black Gate City. They simply muddled through each day, counting every day they survived as a blessing."
"And I returned here to inherit my teacher's will and rebuild the Black Gate organization..."
At this point, her expression had grown solemn. "My teacher once said that all of us are pitiful wretches abandoned by the world. If we can't support one another, how are we supposed to oppose this nightmare so vast that it makes people despair?"
"It's just a pity that the only ones who dare stand up and support me now are Ruan Ruan, Little Four, and Mister Ye."
"..."
"This really is..."
Xiao Xiao turned to glance at Ruan Ruan and saw her with red-rimmed eyes and her head lowered.
He couldn't say it aloud, but inwardly he grumbled, What a powerful organization. They even have two substitutes for playing Dou Dizhu...
Still, Yang Jia's words stirred something in his heart.
He understood the feeling of being tormented for four years without being understood, with no one to confide in.
He also remembered the fear and confusion he had felt after returning to this world, surrounded by immense, omnipresent malice.
People needed companions.
He had always hoped to find more outsiders, and even to join an organization.
Now...
...Well, there were fewer people, but at least there were enough for a game of Dou Dizhu.
"Phew, I didn't expect to tell you so much all at once."
In the somewhat oppressive atmosphere, Yang Jia suddenly smiled and said, "It's good for you to understand our current situation."
"But dealing with the problem you encountered is the most important thing right now."
"..."
"Deal with it?"
Xiao Xiao raised his head, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes.
He reacted quickly and immediately realized the crux of the matter. He hadn't come here to listen to a story.
That red-eyed man belonged to the Red Eyes Club. This meant that more than one person harbored malice toward him in the shadows.
Why had that man wanted to kill him?
It couldn't be that he had simply wandered down to the docks while out shopping. There had to be someone behind him giving orders.
A thousand-point veteran from the Red Eyes Club had already caused him to suffer badly, frightening him so much that his heart was still beating rapidly.
What would he do if several more came?
Thinking of this, he felt immense pressure and looked up at Yang Jia. "Then what do we do?"
"Outsiders have always dealt with matters very simply."
Yang Jia raised her hand. It looked slender and delicate in the sunlight, exceptionally beautiful, as if she were admiring it.
"Whether they believe me and refuse to help me is one thing."
"But attacking you and provoking us is another."
"..."
After speaking, she suddenly smiled, took a pair of black gloves from the drawer, and slowly put them on.
She chuckled softly. "There's no logic in the foreign land, but within my field of vision, they must follow logic!"
Beside her, Ruan Ruan became visibly excited when she saw Yang Jia put on the black gloves.
When Xiao Xiao saw those gloves, he was inexplicably startled as well. An unknown horror seemed to rush toward him.
He thought...
Aren't doctors' gloves usually white? Why are hers black?
Still, Yang Jia's smile at that moment made him look forward to what was coming.
The weak had no right to reason with others...
...But it seemed that his female high-school classmate had quite a lot of confidence in reasoning with people!
...This was truly reassuring.
"Brother Xiao, don't worry. I've already dealt with everything."
Just as Xiao Xiao was beginning to feel expectant, Little Four, who had stayed behind at the docks to handle the aftermath, returned as well. He crawled out through an air vent, wearing a silly grin, and respectfully handed Xiao Xiao a card still stained with blood.
"This is his identity card. I checked it. There are still more than eight hundred points inside. I didn't embezzle a single point..."
"Oh, all right..."
Xiao Xiao felt uncomfortable with his courtesy. He accepted the card casually, then suddenly froze. "More than eight hundred?"
Yang Jia had just said that points could be plundered, right?
"That's right."
Little Four answered loudly, once again assuring him, "I didn't embezzle a single point."
"So..."
Xiao Xiao felt somewhat excited. "They're all mine?"
"He came for you, and you were the one who killed him. According to our usual practice, you can keep the points yourself."
Yang Jia saw the excitement in Xiao Xiao's heart and explained, "Of course, when something like this happened before, one-third would have to be handed over, since everyone would need to help you bear the burden of the aftermath. But there are only five of us now, and you're precisely at the stage where you need points, so we'll waive that this time. As for Little Four, he helped you deal with the corpse, so you can give him a hundred points."
"...All right!"
Xiao Xiao was so immersed in his excitement that he immediately agreed.
But before he could say anything, Little Four had already shouted, "No need. It was just a small matter for Brother Xiao. It's nothing."
"?"
Xiao Xiao was even more surprised. He looked at Little Four approvingly. "This little brother really knows how to behave..."
Under Xiao Xiao's gaze, Little Four immediately felt uneasy.
He had been the one to handle the corpse personally, so he knew even better how miserable the red-eyed man had been.
A deep shadow had already taken root in his heart, and he couldn't help thinking:
That man was clearly a veteran of the Hunter path, yet Xiao Xiao had dealt with him so easily. Little Four couldn't understand how he had done it, but the other man was a Hunter, and he was a Hunter too. If Xiao Xiao decided to deal with him, wouldn't that mean...
...Thinking of this, his gaze toward Xiao Xiao gained a few more traces of friendliness.
These points had come out of nowhere, though they were practically the equivalent of being picked from a corpse and weren't conducive to unity among outsiders.
Even so, Xiao Xiao accepted them immediately.
More than eight hundred... That was more than all the points he currently had combined.
He also asked about it, and only then understood why the red-eyed man had possessed just one thousand points while more than eight hundred had remained unused on his card. After Yang Jia explained, he learned that this was caused by outsiders' habits when it came to strengthening themselves.
The red-eyed man had already completed the second stage of strengthening on the Hunter path. He had even additionally strengthened one unit of the second stage of Violence Factor. This had already reached the limit his body could withstand. If he continued and strengthened a second unit of the second stage of Violence Factor, his body and mind would be unable to bear it. Thus, the only choice before him was the Hunter's third stage.
But a single unit of the Hunter's third stage cost two thousand points.
He was still far from reaching that amount, so he could only keep saving. That was why there were more than eight hundred points left on his card.
It was just like Xiao Xiao.
Counting the strengthening he had actually completed, including the free benefits, he had only used three hundred points, yet there were more than four hundred points sitting unused on his card.
If he had been killed by that man, the other party would probably have sighed as well:
"This damn handsome guy had only strengthened himself with three hundred points, yet he had so many points saved on his card..."
"..."
His mood relaxed somewhat, and he looked toward Yang Jia to ask how they should handle the matter.
Then he saw that Yang Jia also seemed to be in a rather good mood. She looked at Little Four and asked, "You handled the corpse cleanly, right?"
Little Four answered firmly, "Extremely cleanly."
"?"
Xiao Xiao suddenly grew curious. "How did you manage that?"
He was a newcomer, so he had to learn about all kinds of useful skills. He might need them in the future.
"It was simple..."
Little Four looked somewhat proud. "I packed it up and mailed it to the Red Eyes Club."
"?"
Xiao Xiao's heart suddenly lurched.
Yang Jia, however, chuckled and said, "Very good. Since we've already sent them our regards, we might as well go over there directly."
Before you continue