Chapter 244: Strength Brings Prosperity to All Fortunes

Wen Xishu felt very uncomfortable.

After bidding farewell to Old Zheng, Wen Xishu was in his own Trick Tower campus area, preparing to rest.

He prepared some food by himself, then enjoyed the meal alone.

In truth, he hadn’t been in this world for long, but he truly felt now... as if his previous life was already a very, very long time ago.

Yet the rhythm of his own life had undergone a massive change.

The current Bunker’s level of acceptance toward him was completely different from when he had first arrived.

In fact, at this very moment, if Wen Xishu were willing to stay in the Bunker more, he would find that he seemed to possess everything.

In his previous life, the trauma suffered in childhood made him crave certain things.

Now, he had it all.

He had reliable partners; Old Zheng’s character, the strength of Xun Hui, Wenren Jing, and others... all could be said to be extremely reliable.

He also had teachers worth learning from and chasing after.

Of course, there was no romance in the Bunker, but Wen Xishu pondered that he didn't seem to need it either.

As for supplies, Wen Xishu had climbed the Trick Tower twelve times so far and had already brought back countless supplies for the Bunker; if one were to talk about financial freedom... well, financial freedom had not been achieved.

Wen Xishu could be considered the person in the Bunker least likely to starve to death; he had brought back many supplies, but he was certainly not the richest person in the Bunker.

Yet, he felt life in the Bunker was very boring, even with things like power and money that were worth chasing and striving for.

At this moment, reflecting like this, Wen Xishu understood the Old Principal a little better.

"The Old Principal and I are probably truly the same kind of person. These things in the Bunker, in the face of the Three Towers War, seem truly uninteresting."

As he thought this, the Campus Spirit brought news again.

"Principal, I am very sorry to disturb your meal. Before you enjoyed your food, I had already crammed knowledge of the Bunker. I had an exchange with Jia Baer and learned about the current political ecology of the Bunker."

"Now, the Young Master of the William family, William Huokena, wishes to visit you."

"Trick Tower Academy? Here?" Wen Xishu was a bit curious.

"Yes, he has already arrived at the Trick Tower Academy."

The William family, one of the Six Great Families. They could be considered the family best at business among the six.

Wen Xishu was not interested in things from the Bunker; if it were anywhere else, he wouldn't see the guest.

But since this Young Master of the William family could actually find the Trick Tower Academy, he became a little interested.

"Let him in."

The Campus Spirit went to greet him immediately. Before long, William Huokena, dressed in simple attire that was completely inconsistent with the William family name, appeared before Wen Xishu.

Wen Xishu saw William Huokena’s badge at a glance, which indicated that William Huokena was still a student currently enrolled at the Desire Tower Academy.

"Principal Wen, my idol, I have finally met you. I didn't expect a big shot like you would actually cook for yourself; it looks truly delicious."

Wen Xishu held a... subtle, disdainful attitude toward most students of the Desire Tower Academy.

This disdain was uncalled for, and he knew it shouldn't be there, but he still felt it, just like how you know some behaviors aren't politically correct, but you can't change it.

"Get straight to the point." Wen Xishu did not accept the pleasantries.

William Huokena’s smile did not diminish in the slightest:

"I came here mainly to admire Principal Wen’s demeanor. Honestly, the way you made that kid from the Miyamoto family look foolish last time, I found it so satisfying."

William Huokena sat down opposite Wen Xishu quite familiarly.

Wen Xishu chewed his food slowly, watching William Huokena’s smile.

Generally speaking, this kind of gaze could freeze a person’s smile, but Huokena didn't at all; he even smiled more brightly. That joyful smile of seeing an idol didn't look like it was acted at all.

At this, Wen Xishu felt this kid was a bit interesting.

In his previous life, the separation of government and business was basic, but in the Bunker, collusion between government and business was common. Under the William family’s control were countless trading firms. The Bunker’s Bureau of Industry and Commerce was also managed by the William family.

It could be said that people from the William family only needed to operate the Bunker, and even without climbing the tower, they could live very well.

Not to mention there was a Five Elder above them—William Gordon.

That a Young Master of such a family could flatter so well, and could make a fake smile look so realistic and sycophantic, Wen Xishu found it amusing.

"Get to the point." Wen Xishu still didn't give him a good look.

William Huokena said:

"Principal Wen, as my idol, I am very clear about your deeds. You have climbed the tower twelve times, and every single time, you started with a Level 6 completion rate."

"You know, normal tower climbing, the survival rate of climbing the Trick Tower is already a life-and-death gamble. And to return alive while maintaining such a high completion rate... the probability is just too low. One in a thousand? One in ten thousand? I don't know, but I know one thing: out of a thousand or ten thousand people, there might not be one who can bring back a Level 6 completion rate."

Still flattering; flattery never fails.

Although Wen Xishu emphasized getting to the point, William Huokena still didn't get to the point.

But Wen Xishu had to admit... he did feel very comfortable listening to these words. This was exactly the feeling William Huokena wanted.

Everyone loved Principal Wen, and the people below all praised Principal Wen, but William Huokena had truly put in the effort to study him over these past few days.

It could be called burning the midnight oil. He used the William family’s power to collect all kinds of information on Principal Wen.

"But do you know what you’ve done? You’ve completed such a miracle twelve times in a row. My god, twelve times!"

William Huokena’s expression was exaggerated enough that if an outsider looked, they would think it was too over-the-top and the pandering was too deliberate.

But if you were the one being pandered to, you wouldn't think so.

William Huokena said in a tone that was once again shocked by intense emotion:

"This... is truly an unrepeatable miracle. I cannot imagine that there is really someone in this world who can achieve what is only theoretically possible, something that only one in a billion... no, one in a quadrillion could achieve."

"Do you know? Your deeds are a miracle! You are a god!"

Wen Xishu’s expression gradually became impatient. Although it felt great to hear—like a believer of the Xishu Divine Sect seeing their faith—it really felt great, but he had to let this kid from the William family know that he didn't care that much about these things.

William Huokena had been observing the whole time. Seeing Wen Xishu’s expression turn from happy to angry, he immediately transitioned smoothly to the main business:

"I never dared to believe in my life that I could do business with a great legend like you."

Sure enough, he was here for business.

Wen Xishu was not interested in things inside the Bunker:

"I refuse."

William Huokena pretended not to hear and said:

"I have taken a fancy to your sea area, and all the facilities you brought back... whether it’s the Shipwreck Cabin, the hospital, or your Safe House, all sorts of things like that..."

"Especially that sea; there are too many business opportunities. Principal Wen, I implore you to give me a chance to cooperate with my idol. I am willing to do a 30-70 split."

Wen Xishu’s habit of making jokes flared up:

"Why am I only getting 70 percent?"

He originally thought William Huokena would say: 70 percent is what others get.

But William Huokena said:

"Then how about 75 percent for you?"

This time, it was Wen Xishu’s turn to be a bit stunned. Was he really going to take the lion's share?

"You are actually that willing?"

Huokena could feel that he hadn't grasped Wen Xishu’s pain point, so he continued to press:

"There is one more point, Principal Wen. I can help you solve the enrollment rate problem."

Wen Xishu had to admire him; he was worthy of being from the William family. He said faintly:

"How are you going to solve it?"

William Huokena said:

"I only have one ability—throwing money at it."

"I will invest a huge amount of money and expend a lot of manpower to make the Trick Tower Academy luxurious. Of course, I will also configure psychologists to do the work for every Trick Tower Academy student before and after class."

"At the same time, the cafeteria for the Trick Tower Academy students will be provided by the William family. I can guarantee that apart from when they are experiencing the Trick Tower and feeling terrified... every minute and every second after class, they will be able to receive the ultimate enjoyment."

"Principal Wen, you must know that what the William family does is exchange supplies for various resources, and we have also accumulated quite a few resources. No matter how many Merit Points you have, you need a place to use them, right?"

"In the past, although supplies were abundant, they were all controlled by the upper class. The older generation really wasn't good; they liked to use supplies to drive the people at the bottom."

"But now, a great existence like you has emerged. The people at the bottom don't care about supplies anymore. Once supplies are abundant, people no longer live just for food and warmth, but for emotional value."

"Those facilities of yours are just too full of life."

"If you let me come in, I can guarantee that the students of the Trick Tower Academy will have extremely high motivation to climb the Trick Tower."

This really moved Wen Xishu.

Wen Xishu said:

"You are paying so much, and you only take that little?"

William Huokena was not greedy at all:

"My great idol, Principal Wen, what do you mean by me paying so much? I only did a few insignificant things; it is you who are bestowing charity upon me~"

"I am taking a lot already; after all, that sea is a huge business opportunity. Not to mention there are so many magical facilities I can use for business."

"Taking a step back, even if there were no profit... being able to make a familiar face with you, my idol, makes all of this worth it."

Impressive.

The Bunker really had all kinds of talent.

This speech by William Huokena made Wen Xishu very impressed.

"After you draft the contract, let me see it."

Whether it was William Huokena’s theory of emotional value after the abundance of supplies, or increasing the academy’s enrollment rate, Wen Xishu was actually quite interested.

Huokena’s posture was set very, very low, completely different from the Miyamoto family.

Wen Xishu felt it was not bad.

Huokena was overjoyed:

"Rest assured, my grandfather and the others made the wrong choice, but I will not."

Wen Xishu was puzzled:

"What does that mean?"

Huokena patted his chest and said:

"Dean Wen, actually, I have always been puzzled as to why our family's patriarch chose another bunker legend instead of the old principal."

"The William family rose through business; business people value foresight above all else, and it's the same principle as investing. In the end, the patriarch didn't choose the old principal, which I consider an extremely failed stance."

"Although the bunker is a safe haven, humanity will eventually walk out one day. Only those who can climb the tower are the true masters of the bunker."

"People like you and the old principal are the William family's most important reliance for the future."

"I hope that in the future, whether inside or outside the bunker, I can cooperate with you and serve you."

He certainly had vision.

It had to be said that among the six great families, there were truly few fools. Huokena’s perspective was quite far-reaching. Regardless of whether these words were true or false, they were spoken beautifully and were pleasant to hear.

Wen Xishu had no reason to refuse.

Not long ago, he was thinking that he wasn't the wealthiest yet, and then... money automatically came knocking at his door.

If you are strong, everything goes smoothly; this is the bunker.

Therefore, choosing Albert and siding with Wen Xishu was the most correct and wise decision. Huokena believed he would absolutely not misjudge, and he indeed had not misjudged.

……

……

After dinner, the ceiling began to simulate the scenery of dusk.

Wen Xishu was not idle; since he had not yet received a summons from the old principal and Mr. Jin, he decided to handle a small matter.

That was to apologize and provide treatment.

The student who had been driven mad by the Weird Tower Academy was a resident of the seventh level of the bunker; those who could live on the seventh level were indeed people of status.

However, Wen Xishu personally coming to apologize still greatly surprised that official.

The child who had gone mad was named Xue Mingye.

Wen Xishu had originally thought that this student would be living in immense pain and feeling fear at every moment, which was why he had become deranged.

But he hadn't expected the reality to be... Xue Mingye wasn't crazy, but manic.

"I want to climb the Weird Tower! I want to see Jennifer! I want to see Jennifer! I want her to torture me, to whip me!"

"Hehe, Jennifer is so cute, hehe, hehehe."

As soon as Wen Xishu entered the Xue residence, he heard these delirious, manic words.

"Goddess Jennifer, please let Lord Jack tear off my face and stick it onto his head, so I can see you every day!"

Wen Xishu had considered many possibilities, even thinking about personally taking this student to climb the tower.

To let him eliminate his fear of the Weird Tower and help him regain his self-confidence...

He hadn't expected to hear such manic ravings.

Xue Mingye's father, named Xue Fan, was an official in an agency under the bunker's Government Affairs Bureau. Seeing Wen Xishu visit in person, he appeared somewhat flustered despite being the victim's father.

After Wen Xishu understood the situation, Xue Fan wiped his forehead and felt somewhat embarrassed instead:

"Dean Wen... you've seen a joke. My son has gone mad like this, sigh, it's quite shameful. Originally, I was thinking that after he graduated from the Weird Tower Academy, I would have him marry the daughter of a colleague of mine."

"Now that he's like this... how could he possibly marry anyone, eh!"

Wen Xishu observed for a moment and found that this matter was quite easy to resolve.

Xue Mingye was indeed a bit mad, but there was also a sense of pining for Jennifer to the point of illness. It felt quite like he wanted to be a dog for Jennifer.

This was much easier to treat than being scared out of his wits.

"Mr. Xue, I will handle this matter. Rest assured, I will definitely return a healthy son to you. Once I go back and make some arrangements, I will have student Xue come to the Weird Tower Academy again; I believe... he will recover his health."

Wen Xishu was still somewhat interested in Xue Mingye; this kid... seemed to have symptoms of "pain addiction"?

This might just be good material for climbing the tower.

At the Weird Tower Academy, Wen Xishu didn't really want to recruit those who followed the rules; if possible, Wen Xishu wanted to cultivate a large group of... freaks.

After bidding farewell to the Xue family, Wen Xishu finally had nothing else to do. After returning to the Weird Tower Academy, he finally received a call from the principal.

"Tomorrow morning, we will go see Old Jin. He also wants to see you. There are many questions that are troublesome to guess back and forth; we will just ask him directly then."

(This chapter... is a bit filler, I accept the penalty. It’s mainly because I feel like climbing the tower immediately would really cause fatigue, so I'll slow down a bit. I also need to sort out the concept for the 'fish-frying' arc. But the next chapter will switch back to the main plot.)

(End of chapter)