Chapter 247: My Combat Power is Five Hundred and Thirty Thousand

It certainly has that feel to it.

Wen Xishu felt that, at this moment, Mr. Jin truly wanted to go to his death.

Regardless of anything else, Mr. Jin was the first person to enter the Bunker, and he also allowed countless people to survive.

If not for Mr. Jin at the very beginning, the people of the Bunker would have definitely had a very difficult time climbing the Slaughter Tower.

Wen Xishu was grateful to Mr. Jin.

This man truly had the bearing of the Bunker’s number one person, and he possessed a transcendent, sage-like aura. He also looked far younger than Albert.

Yet for some reason, Wen Xishu also felt a massive sense of dissonance.

Regarding Little Jin—he still did not know Little Jin’s identity.

Regarding the origin of the Bunker—he still did not know what it was all about.

Mr. Jin kept saying: If there is anything you want to know, just ask.

But after asking, he still knew nothing at all.

He only knew now that Mr. Jin was going to his death, and that Mr. Jin was going to... pave the way for the next generation.

If you have any questions, go climb the tower...

It was truly a fine saying, and also truly a load of nonsense.

It was also at this moment that Wen Xishu suddenly thought of a possibility, which made him unable to help but feel a sense of fear in his heart—

What if Mr. Jin knew everything? What if he himself, just like the old Principal, had merely been deceived?

At the beginning, Mr. Jin had deceived the old Principal, saying that Little Jin was a twin.

But Mr. Jin had also explained it, yet Wen Xishu felt this explanation was very far-fetched.

He had seen many of Little Jin’s forms; why was it necessary to deceive the old Principal by saying he was a twin?

There were many more doubts.

A person who had avoided karma for decades, how did he suddenly become enlightened?

This was also a point that Wen Xishu felt was unreasonable; all these years, the old Principal had been regretful that old Jin had not appeared.

And because Mr. Jin had not appeared, the old Principal began to bear all the pressure alone, and began to attempt to climb to the highest level by himself.

This also led to the old Principal basically ignoring the operations of the Bunker.

He had only one requirement for the Bunker—that there be enough people climbing the tower.

For decades, the Bunker had become a foul, chaotic place. Those who did difficult tasks had lower status, while those who did easy tasks exploited those who did the difficult ones.

All of this was because Mr. Jin never appeared.

Everything Mr. Jin made Wen Xishu feel was good, but Wen Xishu was a person who liked to look at the essence of things.

He did not have the filter the old Principal had for Mr. Jin; he only felt that, judging solely by his actions...

Everything was very strange.

Mr. Jin provided answers, but the more he answered, the more confusing it became. Mr. Jin’s sudden epiphany was also far too smooth.

But Wen Xishu could not say anything.

The amount of information Mr. Jin provided was the type that whetted the appetite, but it absolutely never touched upon the answers.

Wen Xishu also could not say there was absolutely no information.

After that line, "Go climb the tower and let the Three Towers answer you," Wen Xishu could also tell that this conversation had already ended.

He just didn't know how long it would be before Mr. Jin started climbing the tower.

Would he really start climbing the tower?

The Bunker, on the elevator.

When the five elders had basically left and only Evelyn remained, Albert finally began to ask:

"Can you tell me what old Jin said to you?"

The massive elevator began to descend slowly, heading toward the eighth level.

Wen Xishu nodded:

"I can tell you everything, but it will only bring more confusion. Also, there is one thing I cannot tell you, regarding the superior strategy."

Of the superior, middle, and inferior strategies to break the Archer, Albert and the others had only heard the inferior and middle strategies.

The superior strategy had been cast out.

Albert shrugged:

"I respect old Jin’s thoughts. Hahahaha, I’m still very happy today; I suddenly have the urge to drink."

The Principal was indeed an old child; his joy was never hidden.

Wen Xishu said:

"I learned some details from back then. Mr. Jin is a person of high moral character. When I was climbing the Ghost Tower, I encountered some people who had interacted with him in the past."

"I even met someone who was close to him, and they all spoke very highly of Mr. Jin."

"Principal, when Mr. Jin was still managing the Bunker, how were his achievements?"

Albert said:

"Excellent. At that time, the people of the Bunker were all filled with burning passion."

"Everyone longed to perform meritorious deeds and build a good environment suitable for human survival."

"His greatness needs no words; he is the true number one person of the Bunker."

Wen Xishu was not surprised to get this result.

He was also thinking that perhaps he really was being a conspiracy theorist... perhaps Mr. Jin really had just awakened.

Out of the blue, Wen Xishu suddenly thought:

"Has Mr. Jin been in contact with other latecomers?"

Albert said:

"I’ve heard of it, but he hasn't been in contact. Back then, your older brother, Wen Zhaohua, did express to me that he really wanted to see old Jin."

"But at that time, old Jin wouldn't see anyone."

Wen Zhaohua?

Wen Xishu had not expected that Wen Zhaohua would also want to see Mr. Jin.

He felt it was increasingly strange. The facilities of the Bunker originated from the Three Towers.

Climbing the tower could earn rewards, and Mr. Jin was the first to enter the Bunker...

And in the old Wen family residence, and even in other places like the Ghost Tower Academy, there existed things that required high Magic Resistance values to decipher.

Was Mr. Jin not curious about these things at all?

During the process of him climbing to the ninetieth level, could it be that no similar facilities had appeared?

Albert was very happy and said to himself:

"I can feel that old Jin seems to be about to do something big, which makes me feel very comfortable."

"Regardless of what your superior strategy is, as long as the Archer’s lock is resolved, I can climb the tower with him!"

Wen Xishu could understand this feeling of a close friend from many years ago finally overcoming their fear and being willing to fight side-by-side again.

Perhaps in the future, when he met Horn, he would have similar emotions?

But Wen Xishu still had to ask:

"Principal, I have one more question."

Albert said:

"Ask, go ahead and ask."

Wen Xishu did not hold back:

"Over these years, you should have tried to communicate with Mr. Jin many times, right? How long ago was the last time you communicated?"

Evelyn felt this question was a bit off, and she gave Wen Xishu a faint look.

Wen Xishu immediately felt his state of mind become peaceful.

His tone then appeared more casual and indifferent.

Albert laughed:

"That happened too many times. The last time was about two months ago, after you took back your name; I chatted with him for a while."

"But his attitude was still very firm; he refused to leave that place."

Wen Xishu could not help but think, if the superior strategy... was true, and Mr. Jin really sacrificed himself in a righteous manner.

The Principal would be very upset, right?

Wen Xishu’s attention quickly shifted to the main point:

"Principal, that is to say, two months ago, Mr. Jin was still in a state of absolutely refusing to leave?"

Albert nodded: "Yes, I have to thank you for that. I don't know why, but he suddenly figured it out."

"Perhaps this is also related to the clues you provided, which made him recall some missions from the past."

The clues provided...

Wen Xishu had mentioned the Archer, Capricorn...

Not long ago, Capricorn had even appeared directly in front of him.

Was there some connection at this point in time?

Something is wrong.

Wen Xishu felt more and more that something was wrong; none of this information could make a person suddenly achieve a great awakening.

But all Wen Xishu could do now was climb the tower, using the Three Towers to seek answers.

"Alright, I understand, Principal... If Mr. Jin leaves that facility and is truly killed by the shooter, what... what will you do?"

Albert’s smile gradually faded:

"I would be very sad, and feel pity for my old friend... but I would also be proud of him."

"He did not evade his fate; that is greatness."

Wen Xishu felt relieved.

He was thinking that perhaps the old principal knew what the best strategy was, or had some guesses.

But regardless, in the old principal's view, living while hiding in a bunker was not as good as standing and dying on the path of pioneering the future.

……

……

Wen Xishu soon returned to the Weird Tower Academy.

At this time, it was still morning.

Zheng Zai had already been waiting for a long time; seeing Zheng Zai, Wen Xishu knew his intentions.

Mr. Jin needed to prepare before climbing the tower, and... once Mr. Jin entered the Slaughter Tower, if it were truly as Mr. Jin said, that he was going to accept his fate—

Then there was a high probability that Mr. Jin would not be able to return within seven days.

The current situation was that it was best for him to climb the tower, because without clues, it was better to stop thinking and go find them.

Zheng Zai had come at just the right time.

Wen Xishu also felt that it had been a while since he climbed the tower, and his tower-climbing addiction could no longer be suppressed.

Zheng Zai said:

"Hehe, Brother Wen, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time."

Wen Xishu said:

"No problem, the matters on my end are mostly handled. Old Zheng, let’s act together."

Zheng Zai said:

"According to the guide, since both our names are on the admission ticket, we just need to start the login device directly."

"Brother, I don’t know what kind of competition the Weird Tournament is... but looking at the description, we will encounter many levels, and there might be dangers that transcend our current tiers."

Hmm... Old Zheng is right, so this time, the effect brought by the Dice of Reversal must absolutely not be set to Minimalism.

He had to preserve his strength.

After all, climbing the tower was a life-or-death gamble, and he still had to protect Old Zheng.

Wen Xishu said:

"Don't worry, Old Zheng, I won't underestimate the enemy or be careless."

Zheng Zai had already taken out his login device, and Wen Xishu took his out as well.

"I hope that when we return from this journey... we can see Mr. Jin climbing the tower."

Deep down, Wen Xishu still hoped Mr. Jin would climb the tower.

He felt ashamed of his innate conspiracy theories regarding Mr. Jin; after all, this was a man who had brought a future to humanity.

But if Mr. Jin ultimately did not climb the tower, and did not go to meet his death heroically...

Then those dark speculations of his might just come true.

Wen Xishu did not want that; if possible, he hoped the hero would expand the trajectory of fate in a hero's way.

Wen Xishu also activated his login device.

……

……

【Welcome to the Three Towers game.】

【Special invitation detected—about to head to the Weird Tournament.】

【Special item "Dice of Reversal" detected.】

There was an extra piece of information in the familiar prompt, but Wen Xishu didn't pay it much mind.

This time, Wen Xishu rolled a brand new number: 424.

The Dice of Reversal also provided Wen Xishu with the following options—

Coincidence: Triggers only when the number is even. When the number of teammates is even, after they obtain a reward, you can also obtain an extra reward identical to theirs (if the other party obtains a unique sequence, the sequence will be stripped by you).

Good Things Come in Pairs: (Triggers when at least two of the three dice show even numbers. Effect: Option +1, and this option does not consume an option count.)

Minimalism: (Result from the roll two rounds ago.)

Flying Wing to Wing: (Triggers when the numbers are 212, 424, or 636. Effect: You can designate one tower system's attribute as the base. You will not receive any rewards related to this tower system this time, and the base attribute value will be reduced to half of its normal value. Correspondingly, the other two tower systems will receive double the improvement, and the attribute panel values will be doubled.)

This was a brand new option.

Flying Wing to Wing.

Wen Xishu looked at it carefully for a while and figured out the trick.

Simply put, if he chose the Weird Tower as the base... then correspondingly, the Weird Tower attribute, Magic Resistance, would drop to half of its original value.

But his Slaughter Tower attribute and Desire Tower attribute would be doubled.

And the Weird Tower attribute would not have any improvement this time, but the attributes of the other two towers would have double the improvement.

Wen Xishu was delighted...

Originally, being with Zheng Zai meant they would head to relatively lower levels; now, if he used the Slaughter Tower attribute as the base, he could trade for double the Weird Tower and Desire Tower attributes.

And the final experience settlement would also be doubled.

This made Wen Xishu feel it was very interesting.

In the rest area, Wen Xishu and Zheng Zai...

Were not even in the Heavenly Origin Zone.

This was a rare experience for Wen Xishu, heading to the Weird Tower and not being in the Heavenly Origin Zone.

Zheng Zai touched his head: "Brother, for you, this is basically the same as going to a newbie village, right?"

Very strangely, the Weird Tournament did not prompt a level.

But based on his current location, Wen Xishu judged that the level of the Weird Tournament was likely below the twentieth floor, around the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, or eighteenth floors.

The mission prompt was as follows—

【As a participant in the Weird Tournament, you will compete with strange individuals from all over the world. Good luck, please obtain at least one ranking, and—don't die inside.】

It was that simple.

"Not necessarily, you still have to be careful even at low levels. After all, this is the Weird Tower, and the Weird Tower doesn't reason. Old Zheng, you and I must be careful."

Wen Xishu would still not underestimate any challenge.

If he had no information, and was asked to head to the seventh floor from back then, he couldn't say for sure that he would definitely pass.

Zheng Zai nodded:

"Don't worry, Brother, I will definitely be cautious, cautious, and even more cautious, hehe."

With Wen Xishu there, Zheng Zai felt very at ease.

The two did not linger in the rest area, but tacitly activated their login devices.

The surrounding scene changed.

Zheng Zai was still a bit unaccustomed to it, but Wen Xishu was too familiar with this feeling; it was like returning home.

Before long, the world of the two had completely changed.

The prompt that appeared in Zheng Zai's mind emptied more than half of his sense of security:

【Welcome to the Weird Tournament. To ensure the fun of the tournament, all your abilities, all your items, and all your attributes... will be reset to zero. Of course, this is limited to this tournament.】

【But please rest assured, we will not negate your previous efforts; your cleared abilities and items will be converted into points. This is your wealth.】

【You can use points to draw cards from different card pools. They will help you deal with the upcoming rounds of the tournament.】

【I wish you a good ranking, because the ranking will allow you to obtain more points. Points will allow you to have more cards.】

Zheng Zai's initial points appeared.

With his sequences, runes, Magic Resistance, and items all gone, Zheng Zai's initial score reached as high as 254 points.

Zheng Zai appeared in a huge lounge at this time.

The style of this lounge was somewhat similar to the rest area, with many display stands and many people.

Zheng Zai and Wen Xishu were both in the "outer ring" area.

Because the two arrived relatively late, and also because both were purely human.

In terms of weirdness, compared to the various participants, they were not weird at all.

In the huge lounge, Wen Xishu even saw a van... but it was a weird creature that had grown twenty-four centipede legs.

Just from their appearance, they had already lost a step.

And such bizarre creatures were everywhere.

They were all participants from various realms.

The appearances of these participants made Zheng Zai lose his sanity.

"Hey, kid, why do you look like you haven't evolved?" a huge, burning candle said to Zheng Zai.

"Newcomers from the outer ring... looks like the points won't be very high. Without points in this game, there's no way to get good abilities and items," a woman who was winding around said.

But the woman had no face; this woman... Wen Xishu and Zheng Zai both had an impression of her.

They had met at the Slaughter Tower.

However, in the rest area of the Weird Competition, the woman had no desire to attack; she was even, for the first time ever, actually capable of communication.

"Do you see that cockroach in the inner ring area? Its score is as high as 900."

It was a cockroach that walked upright, wearing a pink hair clip and heavy makeup, giving off quite a feeling of a pure yet hot-blooded cockroach.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Zai thought: 900 points?

Now he felt the pressure... If this represented combat power, he and the other party were simply not on the same level.

I only have 254 points.

The weird creatures seemed very interested in the fact that humans could participate in such a competition.

But before long, once they were sure the two humans posed no threat, they began to gather other information.

No one cares about the weak.

After the gazes gradually dispersed, Wen Xishu said:

"Old Zheng, what is your score?"

Zheng Zai lowered his head in embarrassment:

"254... Brother Wen, we must be on our guard with 120,000 percent of our focus. You heard it too, that cockroach has over 900 points..."

Wen Xishu said:

"What is the unit? Old Zheng?"

Zheng Zai did not understand and looked at Wen Xishu, somewhat confused:

"Huh? Brother, what unit?"

Wen Xishu said:

"Hmm... It's just that back in my hometown, many people like to refer to tens of thousands as 'units.' You have 254... you don't really only have 254, do you?"

"Look at that cockroach, over 900 units; it is indeed worth being wary of."

Zheng Zai was even more bewildered:

"Brother, I have 254 points... I really only have 254 points. I feel that although I'm not great, we shouldn't have such a massive gap with that cockroach, right?"

Zheng Zai had understood a little; Wen Xishu actually thought that cockroach had a score of nine million?

How could that be possible?

How would one even play then?

He roughly understood that points were for drawing cards, and the cards determined abilities used to cope with various stages of the competition.

The other party having over 900 points meant they might be able to draw from an extremely rare card pool.

Therefore, Zheng Zai had a premonition that this competition would likely be very difficult.

Wen Xishu fell silent:

"You mean... he only has 900 points, and you really only have 254 points? The numbers you are talking about, there are no other units?"

Zheng Zai nodded:

"Brother... how much do you have?"

Wen Xishu suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable. Because his score was a bit too outrageous.

Honestly, he had never fought such a wealthy battle, nor had he ever encountered such an outrageous matchmaking mechanism.

He had originally thought that since he and Old Zheng were competing together, these opponents being matched against him... would be like a lightweight amateur boxer being matched against Tyson.

But now, he realized he had been conservative; this wasn't being matched against Tyson, this was being matched against Taro.

"My items are a bit too valuable."

Wen Xishu gave a wry smile.

Old Zheng said:

"Brother... is your score very high?"

Wen Xishu said:

"Hmm, it's quite reasonable; my combat power is 530,000."

(End of chapter)