Chapter 163: The Storytelling Session

That feeling of being locked onto by some terrifying fate finally vanished.

Wen Xishu did not know what had happened during this process.

But one thing was certain: his encounter with Wen Zhaohua would likely require ample preparation.

For now, Wen Xishu began to focus on his own story.

"Apologies for keeping everyone waiting so long."

"Actually, my second story is very simple. I imagine many in the audience are curious: since only true events can be told here, how exactly did I get two second-generation heirs to give up their billions in family assets?"

Wen Xishu even paused for a moment.

"I certainly cannot reveal the secret here, but perhaps you can find the answer in the next round of the accident segment."

"There was once a person who, under my suggestion, killed his colleague and close friend, and abducted his neighbor's daughter."

"I told him he would become a monster, yet until the very end, he had no idea who I really was or what I had done. He was even very grateful to me."

【It won't be like last time, where after the accident happens... the two of them end up on friendly terms, right?】

【I think so too... but this sounds truly perverted. Killing friends and colleagues, and abducting a neighbor's daughter—he really has become a twisted monster of human nature.】

This was the effect Wen Xishu wanted. After pausing for a few seconds, he recalled the situation last time in the Slaughter Tower and modified the scene:

"Later, during a chance outing, he seemed to realize who I was and where I came from; I was completely exposed. At the same time, he also learned how many people had their original fates altered by me."

"He expressed a desire to find me. They even encountered one of my classmates and scared the poor person half to death while trying to pry information out of me."

"Yes, he is still alive."

"That is my story."

It was all the truth; Jack and Jennifer had indeed encountered Wen Xishu's senior.

And that student had indeed been terrified at the time.

It was also that student who later proved that Jack's next-stage form, along with Jennifer behind him, possessed extremely powerful strength.

Of course, in Wen Xishu's words, it sounded as if Jack had awakened and finally realized he had been mentally controlled.

Then Jack began to frantically search for Wen Xishu, wanting revenge.

【I don't believe that even after saying all this, the accident cabin will remain unscathed!】

【I want to see rivers of blood!】

【Poor guy. This person is definitely the most terrifying storyteller I've seen so far. I'm worried that person will be fooled again!】

【But if that happens, we'll also be able to see how he did it!】

【Once the magician's trick is revealed, his expectation value will drop significantly!】

Wen Xishu looked at the bullet comments, very satisfied with their effect.

His expectation value for this round was not low either: 200 points.

Second only to the Brat.

And unlike that chef, Wen Xishu's audience perversion value did not increase.

He himself had also focused on storytelling techniques.

Seeing Wen Xishu's high score, the Snake-Tongued Woman's eyes grew increasingly dim...

"The next one... the next one must be lower than mine! It must be lower than mine!"

Next, it was the chef's turn.

The chef was somewhat helpless because his audience perversion value had increased.

The audience wanted to see even more bizarre programs.

He had no choice but to bring out one of his trump cards ahead of schedule.

"I once met a guest who came to my restaurant to eat, and he complained that our chicken breast was cooked too dry."

"I explained that chicken breast is naturally drier."

"He felt that this texture was not worth the price."

"So, I invited him to come back tomorrow, and I would treat him to the highest-quality meat."

"The next day, he came."

"He ate what he considered the most delicious meat of his life."

The chef did not provide any further narration.

He seemed to have realized the value of leaving things unsaid and building suspense. So, for the final segment of the story, the chef said this:

"Not long after, I left that city, because it could no longer contain me."

"That man, after attending his wife and child's funeral, swore to find me."

【Holy crap! Why do I feel a bit creeped out!】

【Think about it and it's terrifying! This is basically saying the best meat the man ate was his wife and child's, right?】

【What a beast!】

【This man will definitely kill him! I can finally see rivers of blood!】

The chef's story ignited the bullet comments. Compared to cannibalism, something even more cruel is indeed feeding someone their own loved ones as ingredients...

Even Wen Xishu felt this person was a bit too much of a Hannibal. His expectation value reached 233 points.

"Could it be that he is the mastermind of this storytelling session?"

In fact, Wen Xishu had been thinking about how to find the invitation...

Among the storytellers, who was the key qualified person?

But for now, he still hadn't found them. Because many people here were quite thoroughly evil.

The Snake-Tongued Woman was actually the relatively best one. At most, she broke up families or was a homewrecker.

But in the end, no one died.

The things the Brat did were evil enough; although not serious, he was definitely a bad seed.

Not counting those who died, among the living, the Lecturer PUA'd women, leading them to commit suicide... a pure beast.

What about the Fool?

Following the Snake-Tongued Woman, the Brat, the Chef, and the Lecturer, after Wen Xishu finished his story—

It was now the turn of the last person in this round of the storytelling session: the Fool.

The Fool had performed extremely disgusting acts in the previous round, but also greatly satisfied some special audience members.

But some things, just like the Snake-Tongued Woman's seduction, once seen, are no longer fresh, and people lose interest.

Just as everyone was wondering what other stupid things the Fool could do.

The Fool suddenly said:

"There is actually a kindergarten in the small town, a kindergarten for the disabled, where there are many people with physical or intellectual disabilities."

"People often die there. The deceased are stripped naked, their bodies exposed, and their brains hollowed out."

"There is always a note inside the head, describing their stupidity and the foolish things they did. The murderer seems to be... a very vicious person."

"He believes that stupid genes don't deserve to survive in this world. The last sentence on the note always reads: I have contributed once again to the disappearance of inferior genes from this world."

"So the agents all think it was done by some extremist who hates the mentally disabled or disabled groups."

The Fool's eyes suddenly turned evil, and the corners of his mouth no longer drooled.

His entire temperament changed completely.

"They would never guess... that I am the murderer!"

【Ah? A big twist? How did he suddenly become smart?】

【One is more of a beast than the other: one abuses dogs, one eats people, one kills the disabled! No, where did they find so many beasts!】

【Damn, was he faking it before!?】

【No, to fake being a fool, he deliberately ate shit? This person is indeed ruthless enough.】

【No matter how clear your eyes are now, it can't cover up the fact that you've eaten shit!】

Expectation value 194.

The Fool's expectation value was also higher than the Snake-Tongued Woman's.

Well, that's that. The Snake-Tongued Woman really became the one at the bottom.

Current expectation value ranking—

First place, Brat 295 points.

Second place, Chef 233 points.

Third place, Wen Xishu 200 points.

Fourth place, Fool 194 points.

Fifth place, Lecturer 145 points.

Sixth place, Snake-Tongued Woman 97 points.

The Snake-Tongued Woman began to tremble.

Unless she could perform vigorously in the accident segment next and cause a huge expectation value misalignment among the others—

Otherwise, she could not survive.

In the eyes of a prostitute, men are all fickle. At this moment, she became even more convinced of this idea.

"Why! Men are all like this! They clearly loved me to death in the last round!"

She seemed unable to understand the difference between love and desire.

Wen Xishu also felt a bit of emotion... the audience after their desires are satisfied is truly realistic.

"At least... someone has to die this round, right?"

"There should be more additional rules in the third round. In that case... perhaps more people will die."

"Since I can't find any clues for now, I'll win the game first!"

This was Wen Xishu's thought.

Soon, everyone followed the statue's guidance and headed to their respective cabins again.

The accident began.

Unlike last time.

When Wen Xishu pushed open the door, he did not appear in the original scene, but instead... headed to a familiar place.

Jack's old building.

He had come to Moen City!

Wen Xishu recognized this hallway immediately.

"Strange, last time they visited me... this time it has become me visiting them."

"Is it... because the An brothers are wanderers?"

"Because wanderers do not possess their own territory, so... they will be invited over."

Wen Xishu was still thinking.

But the next instant, he suddenly felt an extremely dangerous aura coming from behind him.

Sharp steel claws had already landed on Wen Xishu's shoulder.

The girl's laughter came:

"Are there more stinky rats coming, how annoying, Uncle."

This laughter came from all directions, making it impossible to tell the location. Wen Xishu only felt that in the next second, he would be torn to pieces.

But he was not panicked.

【Jack, I've come to see you.】

Releasing the emotional fluctuations between life and death, this extreme fear, while internally controlling the content of the bullet comments...

This precise operation left Jack, who was about to shred the enemy with his scissor hands, slightly dazed.

The next second, Wen Xishu turned around:

"It's been a while. You haven't forgotten me, have you?"

"It's you! Wen Xishu! How are you here?" Jack was shocked.

"Wen Xishu? Wen Xishu!" Another female voice came. Not even a blink of an eye after the voice fell...

A girl appeared from behind Jack.

At this time, Jack's appearance had become extremely terrifying, but the girl's appearance was endearing.

The girl sat on Jack's shoulder, her eyes full of excitement:

"It's really you! Wen Xishu! It's really you!"

The girl jumped over directly.

Wen Xishu opened his arms and hugged the girl.

"Yeah, Jennifer, you've gotten heavier."

At this very moment, the bullet comments were stunned, all having the feeling of being deceived by this person again.

【No way? Is this a meeting of enemies?】

【This little girl is really pretty. Isn't she much better looking than the Snake-Tongued Woman?】

【The one behind... is a monster, right? Can humans grow this huge? And on his face, is that... stitched with other people's faces?】

【Although I feel deceived again, I still think it's very interesting. This monster and this little girl... how do they live together?】

Wen Xishu's expectation value dropped somewhat, but Wen Xishu didn't care.

He knew that the one whose expectation value dropped the most was definitely not himself.

In the next round, he would continue to deceive the audience.

For now, Wen Xishu asked a very critical question:

"Jack, Jennifer, sorry for the uninvited visit. You can understand this as an attempt of mine."

"Not long ago, I met with the An brothers. About ten minutes ago."

The An brothers?

Weren't they in Whatever Longxia? Half a planet away... is it that casual?

But the Wen Xishu in front of them... couldn't be seen to have such strength at all.

To Jack, Wen Xishu seemed to have become a bit stronger, but that was about it.

Wen Xishu said:

"It's actually a manifestation of my consciousness. My true body is in a distant ancient castle."

So that's how it is...

Jack suddenly understood.

"It seems that after that time, you've experienced a lot, and your strength has advanced by leaps and bounds!"

Jennifer said happily:

"Then can you help us deal with the stinky rats nearby?"

Perhaps this was the mission to formally recruit them?

Unfortunately, Wen Xishu couldn't do it right now.

He shook his head and said:

"Sorry, I can't help you right now. I am currently just a weak avatar of power."

"But if you encounter trouble you can't solve in the future, you can head to Wind City. That is my territory."

Jack was slightly moved.

Wen Xishu actually had a city as his territory?

He said:

"What do you need us to do? You must have a purpose for coming this time, right?"

Wen Xishu really did.

"Regarding the spiritual bullet comments, Jack, the kind of power you bestowed upon me... I want to know, do you know about Tower Power?"

Jack shook his head:

"Never heard of it."

Wen Xishu was actually not surprised:

"So... launching bullet comments and making them manifest, can you do that at any time?"

Jack nodded:

"As long as I have enough emotion, but even so, the consumption is huge."

Wen Xishu's reaction remained calm.

Because he had guessed that this might be the result.

"Jack and I... are not the same qualification."

"No, to be precise, Bunker people and qualified people do not use the same system!"

"For qualified people, launching ultimate moves does not require Tower Power. But for Bunker people, although Bunker people can change many things and view qualified people as NPCs... Bunker people need to collect Tower Power to launch certain ultimate moves!"

"This is the only reasonable explanation."

Wen Xishu said:

"Jack, thank you for the gift back then. I have already learned what I wanted to know."

Jack didn't quite understand:

"Coming from thousands of miles away... no, from ten thousand miles away, just to ask this? With your ability, you could just use mental intrusion, right?"

Did he need to come in person for something that could be asked during that chat last time?

Wen Xishu knew that at this time, he needed to remain mysterious:

"I said, this is an attempt. Finally, good luck to you, my lovely Jennifer, and generous Jack. Remember, Wind City always welcomes you. Of course, if I find a suitable opportunity, I will come to Moen City again."

"I should go back."

Wen Xishu's accident had ended.

The accidents in other rooms had actually ended as well.

The audience's bullet comments were almost all ellipses.

They couldn't understand the relationship between Wen Xishu and these two people. According to the rule that stories must be true, Wen Xishu had indeed done what he described...

But it was strange that these people were very grateful to Wen Xishu.

Of course, they also seemed to see that Wen Xishu was not an ordinary person; in the eyes of that monster, Wen Xishu seemed very powerful.

The sense of mystery, combined with the authenticity required by the rules, caused Wen Xishu's expectation value to drop a bit, but not by much.

Soon, Wen Xishu's door was knocked. The surrounding scene began to change.

"Goodbye, Jack, Jennifer."

He had already asked what he wanted to know from Jack. After a polite farewell, Wen Xishu disappeared.

Jack and Jennifer looked at each other.

Jennifer was a bit reluctant, but also very curious:

"It seems Brother Wen Xishu has really become very powerful. Perhaps he is already one level higher than the Red House?"

Jack nodded:

"Jennifer, have you ever thought about leaving here?"

Jennifer had of course thought about it:

"I have, Uncle. I haven't seen the world outside yet. Outside... there must be more to eat than just rats, right?"

Jack hadn't been to many places either; his life hadn't taken him out of Moen City either.

Jack was thinking that perhaps he should abandon this old building and take Jennifer to Wind City for a visit.

But Jennifer said the next sentence:

"However, even if I want to leave, I must... kill those stinky rats before I leave!"

Jennifer's expression was ferocious, like a little witch:

"Hey, Uncle, I will definitely kill that stinky rat!"

In Jack's hand, needle and thread appeared. While stitching the human skin on his face, he said:

"You will."

The storytelling session, third round begins.

Originally, there were six people left in the second round of the storytelling session.

But by the third round, after the accident segment... the thing that surprised Wen Xishu the most happened.

The Chef died.

The largest statue in the distance said:

"It's a pity, another contestant has been eliminated. His story was bizarre and perverted enough, but he died in the accident segment."

The Chef had originally thought he wouldn't die.

The reason he told that story was because although he looked fat, in reality, his combat ability was very strong.

It's just that... the Chef didn't expect the opponent not to engage in hand-to-hand combat at all. The story victim simulated actually had a gun. Under an American-style quick draw, the Chef died directly.

The reason Wen Xishu was surprised was because he felt that someone with the Chef's Hannibal attribute had the flavor of a great evil villain.

He guessed... the Chef might be the mastermind behind the scenes, the planner of this storytelling session.

Or rather, the Chef was that key qualified person.

But now, Wen Xishu found he was wrong.

"I didn't expect the Chef to be a bit player. Then the mastermind this time couldn't be a dead kid again, right? Another Aquarius mission?"

The Brat survived.

This naturally led to a wave of dissatisfaction from the bullet comments; they really longed to see this Brat bitten to death by a few dogs.

But the Brat didn't die.

Actually, Wen Xishu wasn't surprised. Wen Xishu had once heard a story. In his previous life, when traveling by boat, he heard someone tell a past event.

That person's hometown was in a mountain village. That person was originally a soldier. After retiring, he returned to the mountain village and met a Whatever Longxia rural dog named Laifu.

Laifu was quite large, the kind of big spotted dog. The man returned from being a soldier and thought about eating some dog meat.

The big spotted dog had actually been raised by their family for seven or eight years.

It also recognized this man. After the man returned, the big spotted dog kept wagging its tail.

Until the man picked up a kitchen knife and slashed the big spotted dog's neck. The big spotted dog whimpered and whimpered, on the verge of death.

The man thought this slash would definitely kill the big spotted dog, but the big spotted dog took advantage of the man going to urinate and actually erupted with vitality and ran away.

The man regretted it endlessly, thinking about how he didn't get to eat the dog meat. The man's actions were scolded by his old father, scolded very miserably.

He originally thought this matter had ended like this.

But after several days, the big spotted dog actually came back. It had a shocking, scabbed wound on its neck.

Seeing the man, the big spotted dog began to wag its tail again. The big spotted dog meekly approached, letting the man pet it.

It still regarded this man as a member of the family. It just thought it had done something wrong and was punished by its master, but the master hit it too hard, so it ran away.

The man also seemed to understand Laifu's thoughts, his eyes turned red, and tears flowed down.

From then on, the man never ate dog meat again. He didn't care if others ate it, but he himself didn't eat it anymore.

The Brat's luck was very good. What he harmed were those kinds of dogs that were very kind and didn't have a violent lineage.

In the accident segment, the Brat touched the heads of these dogs, looking proud.

His demeanor actually caused his expectation value not to decrease, but to become even higher.

Wen Xishu's expectation value dropped from 200 to 161. The Brat broke through 300, reaching 305.

The most miserable one was still the Snake-Tongued Woman.

For a moment, the Snake-Tongued Woman relied on extremely vigorous performance—causing her expectation value to reach 150, once surpassing the Lecturer.

But next... 150 only lasted for ten seconds or so, and then began to fall wildly.

Expectation value 20.

The Snake-Tongued Woman was in despair.

At first, even if she did nothing, she could have an expectation value of 70 or 80, but now, having exhausted all her means, the audience was just bored with her.

After the second round, the expectation value fell even more miserably than the first round.

The Lecturer and the Murderer faking being a fool were still alive.

The expectation values of both had not changed much.

For the Lecturer, it was nothing more than PUA-ing for another round. For the Murderer faking being a fool, the accident was full of people who were truly disabled in the real sense...

He was nothing more than killing them again.

"According to convention, the person with the lowest expectation value will die."

"This is truly a pity."

As the voice fell, the Snake-Tongued Woman's terrified eyes were frozen, and a huge knight's greatsword pierced through her delicate body.

The Snake-Tongued Woman was killed in action.

That huge statue continued to say:

"Next is the third round of the storytelling session. In the third round of the storytelling session, you can stop choosing more powerful victims, but you must... be larger in scale. In other words, this time in your story, there must be multiple victims for the story to be considered qualified."

"You will have three minutes to tell the story."

Currently alive, there were still Wen Xishu, the Brat, the Lecturer, and the Murderer disguised as a fool.

Wen Xishu checked the attributes of others and found that everyone's favorability had not changed at all...

"In other words, they actually don't have anyone observing me. At least this group of people won't be interested in me because of the story I told..."

"Are they all participants in the game, just hoping to survive?"

Among the contestants, there was no real mastermind.

Then the mastermind... where would they be?

The third round of the storytelling session begins.

The knight behind Wen Xishu emitted a blinding light from its eyes, and Wen Xishu's heart skipped a beat.

"It seems... in the third round, I will be the first."

The second round required victims stronger than the first round.

The third round required a larger number of victims.

For a moment, Wen Xishu really couldn't think of any evil deeds he had done that had affected many people at the same time.

Could it be that he had to piece several stories together?

He was a bit annoyed by this kind of temporary rule-adding behavior.

But suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed Wen Xishu's brain!

Wen Xishu's thoughts surged instantly...

"I was wrong... this rule came too well! It came just in time!"

"I shouldn't have focused my attention on competing with these people."

"These people are all bit players!"

The Brat, the Lecturer, the Chef, the Murderer faking being a fool, the prostitute, and even the bald man and the thief-eyed man...

None of these people were the real "protagonist."

"First, this game requires you to tell of past sins..."

"But in this process, sins are actually divided by perspective."

"As long as you can make it up, you can tell good things from the past as bad things, just like I did."

"Of course, you can also tell of sins truthfully in this game. Tell of those rotten things you've done. Just like... all the bit players in this game."

"But these are not important! What's important is that you cannot think that your opponent is in the storytelling session..."

"My gaze cannot be limited to winning the storytelling session... but to find the true meaning of the storytelling session! And if limited to the storytelling session, I might not be able to pull more expectation value than these beasts in the final round!"

Yes, facing the Brat, the perverted Murderer faking being a fool, and the Lecturer who toys with women...

Wen Xishu might be able to hold on for another round, but in the end, he hadn't done many bad things.

Compared to these people who really had quite a few evil deeds, if he wanted to defeat the enemy by relying on stories, it would be very difficult.

And now, Wen Xishu had found the key.

"I hadn't reacted in the first and second rounds, but in the third round, I realized it!"

Wen Xishu realized that the key was not in the participants, but in the audience!

These audience members who sent bullet comments were the ones Wen Xishu really needed to care about.

"I've been thinking about who the qualified person is! I've been thinking about how to get the invitation. I was narrow-minded. It turns out the answer to the game was told to me in the first round!"

"In the first round, the storytelling session appeared in the form of an accident!"

"That means that in the ancient castle, you can make stories become reality."

"This is the answer!"

One minute passed, Wen Xishu sorted out his thoughts, and he suddenly said:

"There is a group of fools who have always wanted to see me covered in blood, always longing to get the method of mentally controlling others from me."

"But they are always deceived by me."

"They clamor in the bullet comments, having been deceived by me twice, teased by me, but unable to find my loopholes because according to the rules, everything I say is the truth."

"They are puzzled, just like... a group of losers who only know how to send bullet comments."

"They will continue to be deceived by me, right?"

Wen Xishu's story was finished.

After he finished speaking, the three participants all looked at Wen Xishu in unison.

"This... is he talking about those audience members?" The Brat was shocked.

"Is he mocking the onlookers? Is he crazy?" The Lecturer also didn't expect Wen Xishu to actually do this.

The Murderer was also puzzled:

"Is he not afraid that the expectation value will decrease?"

Wen Xishu smiled:

"My story is finished."

He indeed deceived and teased the audience, and the audience indeed met the characteristic of being "large in scale."

Therefore, although not evil enough, Wen Xishu's story met the requirements.

Moreover, the expectation value did not decrease.

Wen Xishu's expectation value was unprecedentedly high.

Because the bullet comments were angry.

【Is he talking about us?】

【Damn, so he's been playing us all along?】

【So arrogant! I want to teach him a lesson!】

【Let's kill him together!】

【I was actually scolded? I'm watching a storytelling session and I was actually scolded by the idiot telling the story?】

【Oh no, I've become a victim!】

Countless bullet comments floated by, and Wen Xishu's expectation value broke through to 405 points. Currently, and throughout the entire game process, the highest expectation value.

So, a story doesn't have to be wonderful, but as long as you know how to stir things up, you make the audience realize that you are insulting them... then in this interaction, the effect might be unexpectedly explosive.

Wen Xishu was now being constantly denounced, but he didn't care...

This was what he wanted to do.

"My goal is not to win the storytelling session, but to find the cause and effect, to find the origin of the storytelling session!"

"To get the invitation."

An expectation value of over 400 was enough for Wen Xishu to be proud in this round.

And Wen Xishu also began to look forward to what he would see in the next accident segment.

"With the power of the storytelling session to make stories descend into reality, the best thing I can do..."

"Is to put the guests into my story as well. In this way, everything becomes a story, and I will naturally be able to know what happened to these audience members."

"Coincidentally, my performance in the first two rounds met the authenticity of my story! I indeed teased them. In a sense, I indeed did evil to them."

"Come on, let me see what this storytelling session originates from!"

(End of chapter)