Chapter 231: Soul Concentration Camp

Wen Xishu had roughly sorted it out, and it was indeed very close to the truth.

Xiao Jin was an extremely noble and mysterious existence.

Xiao Jin was originally inclined toward evil and belonged to the people of the Three Towers battlefield; at the very least, he absolutely should not have been a Bunker person who would come to the Bunker.

Mr. Jin had brought Xiao Jin here by playing tricks on Capricorn and paying a great price himself.

Albert also seemed to vaguely understand.

"Why did you, two times in a row... use your grandson to put me off when I asked you to come out of retirement?"

"So it wasn't putting me off, but you truly felt that this child could help me?"

Evelyn had naturally come into contact with the Twelve Zodiacs as well, but she had not expected Wen Xishu to be so knowledgeable about them.

Wen Xishu continued:

"Actually, if you were to relay what I said to Mr. Jin, I am sure he would be very surprised."

"But looking at it now... I fear that even you have no way to make Mr. Jin come out."

"He is being watched."

This was something Wen Xishu had not mentioned before, and Albert could not help but ask:

"Watched? Who would watch him? And make him not dare to step a single foot out of the Healing House?"

Wen Xishu said:

"It is highly probable that Mr. Jin does not dare to enter the Three Towers; in fact, it is not that he does not dare to leave the Healing House."

"But it is hard to say; perhaps that Healing House has other abilities?"

"All of this is just my speculation. Among the Twelve Zodiacs, there are also a few whose characteristics I do not know... for instance, I still do not know the style of conduct of Taurus."

"I am also unclear about Sagittarius. In Xiao Jin's memories, I heard Capricorn say—his elder brother would not let Mr. Jin go."

"So I suspect that this might be referring to Sagittarius."

"If my guess is correct, then I think that let alone Mr. Jin, I fear that even you, Principal, would be afraid if you were watched by such an existence."

Albert did not fear these Zodiacs; in terms of individual combat ability alone, he had actually touched the edge of a "god."

Even Cancer would not have complete confidence in being able to take down Albert.

But in Wen Xishu's context, it was as if Sagittarius could easily kill Albert.

Albert did not believe there was anyone in this world who could easily kill him.

He frowned and said:

"You believe that Sagittarius masters some kind of rule?"

Wen Xishu nodded:

"Yes, I believe that if you were to face him in a duel, he might not easily defeat you."

"But what if you were separated from him by a vast distance?"

"In Xiao Jin's memories, I felt a sense of oppression I had experienced before. It was the feeling of one's fate being locked onto by someone."

"I suspect that is the ability of Sagittarius."

Evelyn suddenly spoke:

"Principal Wen, do you think there are alliances among the Twelve Zodiacs?"

Wen Xishu nodded:

"I always feel that Scorpio and Gemini are on the same side. And Aquarius and Pisces are on the same side; now it seems Capricorn and Sagittarius are also on the same side."

"Capricorn is responsible for smuggling. So-called smuggling is moving people who belong to one world into another."

"For example, we are Bunker people. At this stage, we do not belong to the Three Towers war world. We can only intervene in the Three Towers war by climbing the towers and changing the past to influence the future."

"And Capricorn, in order to prevent the past from being changed by some extremely powerful people, will invite us to head to the Three Towers battlefield once he senses us."

"And he will even give us various benefits. But once a contract is established with Capricorn, one can never return to the Bunker."

Albert and Evelyn looked at each other, not expecting Wen Xishu to be so clear about these things.

"Mr. Jin must have agreed to Capricorn. Judging from the dialogue in Xiao Jin's memories, Mr. Jin fooled Capricorn by going to the future Three Towers battlefield to experience it for a few days first."

"Actually, I suspect that during those few days... Mr. Jin was searching for Xiao Jin."

"After finding Xiao Jin, during the ritual to reverse the 'visa,' Mr. Jin defrauded Capricorn. I don't know how he did it, I can only say... he is truly remarkable to have actually played tricks on Capricorn."

"Mr. Jin was supposed to change from a Bunker person to a person of the Three Towers battlefield."

"Xiao Jin originally still belonged to the Three Towers battlefield..."

"But in the end, Mr. Jin still belongs to the Bunker people, while Xiao Jin, with the help of Capricorn's power, reverse-smuggled from the Three Towers battlefield into a Bunker person."

After a slight pause, Wen Xishu looked at the unconscious Xiao Jin and said:

"I do not know what Xiao Jin's identity is, but it can be said that this is an existence Mr. Jin bet his own fate to bring back to the Bunker."

"In Mr. Jin's eyes, once Xiao Jin becomes kind, as long as he can realize his potential, he is more powerful than he himself is."

Albert was silent. Listening to Wen Xishu's account, he began to recall the past.

Was Old Jin doing all this when he was at the ninetieth floor?

Wen Xishu's various adventures were in the Trick Tower; there was not much information in the Slaughter Tower, just pure combat.

So how did Old Jin know of Xiao Jin's existence?

Even Evelyn, who climbed the Desire Tower, did not know Xiao Jin's identity; why did Old Jin dare to bet everything on Xiao Jin?

In Albert's knowledge, Old Jin had never climbed the Trick Tower.

He thought of an answer that even he found incredible.

Old Jin was very strong; when he first entered the Bunker, Old Jin was already very powerful.

At that time, Albert was not as good as Old Jin; he had chased him down bit by bit by relying on talent that surpassed Old Jin's.

So Albert knew very well that Old Jin had a past and a story. It was just that Old Jin never mentioned it.

Now it seems, Xiao Jin... was very likely already in existence before the Bunker appeared, when humanity was still fleeing the apocalypse.

And Old Jin... very likely had already come into contact with Xiao Jin since that time.

Old Jin's frantic tower climbing was most likely to attract Capricorn's attention.

Perhaps Old Jin even knew a thing or two about the origin of the Bunker.

This guess and deduction gave Albert the urge to find Old Jin again.

Even if he had to use violence, he would go find Old Jin to get to the bottom of it.

Wen Xishu said:

"Mr. Jin paid a price for playing tricks on a god. He was targeted by Sagittarius."

"Although Capricorn's smuggling ritual was defrauded, I fear it was at least somewhat effective."

"Although Mr. Jin can enter the Bunker now, I suspect his status is incompatible with both."

"Once he leaves the Bunker, I estimate the login device will not be able to let him return."

"And once he enters the Three Towers, I fear it will also attract the attention of Sagittarius."

"The situation might even be worse than I expected, which is why he does not dare to leave the Healing House at all."

"Moreover, this might also involve some other things."

Albert asked:

"Continue."

Wen Xishu had actually always suspected—that the seventieth to ninetieth floors of the Bunker were a vacuum, with no one else there; was it because of Albert, Mr. Jin, and the Five Elders?

He looked at Albert and Evelyn:

"I fear that a certain floor after the seventieth is a catastrophe."

"I want to know, when you two climbed to the ninetieth floor back then, before Senior Wenren and Senior Xun had grown up..."

"Had anyone climbed to the sixtieth floor?"

Albert did not expect Wen Xishu to be talking about this; he was slightly surprised.

He remembered that Old Jin had once said not to let his disciples—Xun Hui and Wenren Jing—climb too fast.

At this moment, Albert gradually understood a little.

"Actually, there were some at the time. As you said, I also had many old friends."

"They did not survive; they almost all died on the seventy-something floors."

"William, Luo Feng, Liu Zhizai, Ma Xiu—they were different; they had followed Old Jin for a long time after all."

"And I only met Old Jin after the Bunker existed."

"Actually, at the beginning, they were all ahead of me; it was only when I reached the sixty-something floors that I caught up to Luo Feng and the others."

"It was only when I reached the seventy-something floors that I began to surpass them."

"By the eighty-something floors, there were only Old Jin and me."

"And those old friends who struggled with me back then were still on the fifty-something or sixtieth floors."

"By the time I reached the ninetieth floor, Old Jin's progress was behind mine. But Old Jin was no longer obsessed with climbing the tower; instead, he began to focus on bringing Luo Feng, Liu Zhizai, and the others into the ninetieth floor."

"My old friends were around the sixty-eighth or sixty-ninth floors."

"I thought at the time... the progress growth after the ninetieth floor was so slow, perhaps the gap in everyone's levels would narrow."

"Later on... Old Jin went into seclusion, and the other elders also went into seclusion."

"And on the Slaughter Tower's ladder ranking, my old friends fell one by one on the seventy-something floors."

These things had passed for many years, but recalling them, Albert still felt great regret for the fate of those people.

They were certainly not peerless geniuses like Albert, but they could have been the backbone of the Bunker.

Wen Xishu could imagine that perhaps it was precisely because of the death of those old friends...

Only then did Albert become more focused on tower climbing; he and Mr. Liu Jinsen, for various reasons, stopped managing the bunker, which led to the bunker becoming the chaotic mess it is today.

Wen Xishu added:

"Headmaster, I think perhaps it is not that your friends were not capable; they were very capable. Even if they were not as good as you, they could still have followed in your footsteps to higher levels by taking steady, solid steps."

"But they all died at the seventy-something floor, and now... between the seventieth and ninetieth floors, there is no one."

"Regardless of the younger generation or the older generation."

"Hidden within this, there may be some kind of conspiracy."

Albert also came to his senses:

"Old Liu... for the sake of that child, Little Jin, he has paid a tremendous price."

Wen Xishu sighed:

"That is all for my deduction. The Fraud Constellation succeeded, which is remarkable, but it may not have truly gained that much of an advantage."

"At the very least, at this stage, I cannot see any special traits in Little Jin."

"It is very likely that Mr. Liu Jinsen knew many secrets before entering the bunker."

"But all of this is no longer something I can know."

Wen Xishu turned around:

"Headmaster, from here on, it is up to you to solve the mystery. Go find Mr. Liu Jinsen. The amount of information from today might make him realize that concealment is meaningless; as the exploration of the Strange Tower and Desire Tower continues, some things will eventually surface."

Albert also made up his mind; even if he had to torture Old Liu, he would get to the bottom of it.

Evelyn said:

"This time, I am not standing on Old Liu's side. Albert, I also support you in uncovering the truth."

Albert nodded:

"Alright, everyone disperse. Also, Dean Wen, you can arrange more of the scenarios you have experienced for the students to experience, so they can train in your way of thinking."

Wen Xishu said:

"Just these past two days... the Tower Spirit has offended quite a few people from the Desire Tower Academy."

Albert shook his head:

"If they are offended, so be it. Is this some kind of normal social system we have? In a world where strength speaks, what is dignity worth?"

Albert also turned and left.

Getting the whole truth out of Mr. Liu Jinsen would likely not be a matter of a single day or night.

Wen Xishu actually thought about it; in the time turbulence of the Pisces constellation, the future is not necessarily unchangeable.

If...

If the old headmaster could persuade Mr. Liu Jinsen to come out of retirement, and if he himself had a way to resolve the Sagittarius mark—

When entering the Scorpio invitation in the future, and when confronting the Leo constellation, would there be one more headmaster-level chess piece?

He hoped the headmaster would have success.

But for someone who had not moved for decades, even if there was a real possibility of being persuaded, it would not be easy, and it likely would not happen in a short time.

Wen Xishu decided: might as well climb the tower first.

Perhaps after climbing the tower and returning, he would be able to know—Little Jin's true identity.

He hoped it would be information explosive enough.

After instructing the Tower Spirit, making a series of arrangements for the Strange Tower, and summoning many exclusive teachers of the Strange Tower Academy such as "Tang Rui," "Jack," and "Shoe Woman," Wen Xishu returned to his office with satisfaction.

Regarding the students of the Strange Tower Academy, Wen Xishu's idea was simple—if you're bad, just practice more.

Anyway, they wouldn't die, so just start them off with a Red House set meal.

Now, Wen Xishu didn't need to avoid anyone; he enjoyed the quiet and eerie atmosphere of the Strange Tower Academy and activated the login device.

"I hope this time, I can come into contact with more information regarding certain constellations."

The familiar loading sound appeared in his mind.

The familiar voice of the Inverted Dice emerged.

Wen Xishu was very familiar with these procedures. And the numbers he rolled this time were ones he had rolled before.

Two, three, four.

This time there were six options in total.

[1: Good things come in pairs. (Triggered when at least two of the three dice show even numbers. Effect: Option +1. And this option does not consume an option count.)]

[2: Smooth. (Triggered when the three dice show consecutive numbers. Effect: Your actions in the Three Towers will become exceptionally smooth. Manifested as: combat skill consumption in the Slaughter Tower is halved, combat skill release speed is increased. No need to light campfires to reduce slaughter value in the short term. Magic resistance requirement is significantly reduced, luck value is significantly increased.)]

[3: Three begets all things. (Triggered when at least one of the three dice shows a three, and the sum is a multiple of three. Effect: When the number of items you have equipped is three or a multiple of three, their effects will be amplified. Includes special items, ineffective items; item count is determined only by the number of slots used.)]

[4: Two-stage chain. (Triggered when the three dice show consecutive numbers and two of the numbers are even. Effect: You can use the rules of any two tower systems simultaneously.)]

[5: Quality upgrade: (Triggered when the three dice contain two prime numbers. Effect: When calculating completion rewards, if there are items, sequences, or facilities, one of them will trigger a quality upgrade, increasing its quality grade.)]

[6: Minimalism. Provided by the previous round's Inverted Dice result, remaining uses: 2.]

[Reunion. When you roll a previous result for the second time, you will gain two additional options.]

Rolling a straight again brought Wen Xishu great joy.

Because counting the reunion and good things come in pairs, Wen Xishu was effectively choosing four out of five options.

The buff effects this time were far richer than he had anticipated. And "Three begets all things" could also be put to use this time.

Because Wen Xishu happened to have nine item slots.

In the end, Wen Xishu's choices were: quality upgrade, which would boost his settlement rewards.

Three begets all things, to boost item attributes. Two-stage chain, to add extra tower system sequences and abilities.

Since he had confidence after boosting his item attributes, this time, he chose minimalism instead of smooth.

This was undoubtedly a gamble; among the five options, minimalism was the only one that increased the risk of the challenge.

But he had a deep impression of the high returns brought by minimalism last time. So Wen Xishu chose minimalism.

In the end, Wen Xishu's four options were: quality upgrade, three begets all things, two-stage chain, and minimalism.

And the Scorpio knife, strengthened by "Three begets all things," provided Wen Xishu with a brand-new game option this time.

[The orange item you hold will provide you with the following function throughout this round of tower climbing:]

[Function name: Great Tribute (Can only be unlocked after favorability reaches the first stage).]

[Function description: People always love to pay tribute to certain great works. In the upcoming challenge, you will discover some special things in certain places, which could be enemies, friends, items, or even cheat codes. They come from various different games.]

It had to be said, the ability brought by the strengthened Scorpio knife this time was quite interesting.

Even with minimalism, under the support of various items, he surely had ways to save his life when facing certain scenarios.

"No 'three highs' this time; I am climbing the tower naturally. Let's see what level the Three Towers positions me at now."

Due to policy reasons, more and more people are climbing the Strange Tower, and the leaderboard now includes a Strange Tower leaderboard.

The person ranked second has already reached the 27th floor.

The person ranked first is Wen Xishu, currently at the 63rd floor of the Strange Tower.

The gap is similar to the gap between Albert and Xun Hui.

However, everyone does not know that the level assessment range for Wen Xishu's normal tower climbing is far from reaching the sixtieth floor.

When the surrounding scene changed and Wen Xishu arrived at the Strange Tower rest area... he glanced at the mission description and felt a bit more relaxed:

"Not bad, thirty-fifth floor. I am currently fluctuating between the thirty-third and fortieth floors."

"The Three Towers didn't push me too high... things like 'three highs' should not be touched casually again."

Looking at the Strange Tower rest area, which now had a popularity almost comparable to the Desire Tower rest area, Wen Xishu was very satisfied.

He even heard the hawking he once heard in the Desire Tower rest area.

"Any Strange Tower walkthrough for Miyazaki Intestines? Begging for it! This is the Strange Tower, I don't dare to anal him."

The target should be on the ninth floor of the Strange Tower. Although Wen Xishu was in the Tianyuan area, because the Strange Tower was still in the pioneering stage, he could hear these shouts very clearly.

Wen Xishu couldn't help but find it funny. Of course, he admired everyone willing to risk their lives to come to the Strange Tower.

However, he soon couldn't laugh anymore after looking at his mission description.

[Mission description: You know, a long time ago, a war occurred in this world. In the war, some prisoners were locked in a place awaiting execution. People usually called that place a "concentration camp." In the beautiful future, in an era of peace, people thought "concentration camps" no longer existed. But many people have been sent into new-style "concentration camps," and the world has become accustomed to this. That place is jokingly called by some a "soul concentration camp." Have you guessed what kind of place that is?]

[Mission requirement: Please survive in the new "soul concentration camp" and escape from the concentration camp.]

(End of chapter)