Chapter 3

"Name."

"Wen Xishu."

"Age."

"Eighteen."

"Gender."

"Bottom of the version."

"What the hell?" The clerk at the Three Towers game distribution office was stunned for a moment.

"I mean male. Isn't it obvious from the appearance?" Wen Xishu answered with a smile.

"No, no, no. There are currently twenty-nine known genders in the Bunker... If you are male, you'd better clearly state that you are male."

The clerk was the same one who had interviewed Park Yingshuang not long ago.

Thirty years old, very similar to the big corporate interviewers in Wen Xishu's memory—a bit greasy, smiling very kindly, but having a sense of numbness when keeping a straight face.

"In the normal process, shouldn't we first be assigned to which tower?" Wen Xishu asked.

The clerk said quite gently:

"Students from the Tower of Desire Academy and the Slaughter Tower Academy are assigned directly according to their academy."

"As for others, generally speaking, for the first tower ascent, we will have the tower climber fill out some questionnaires."

"Those who are warlike or have great insight into combat, we will let them enter the Slaughter Tower."

"And those who make people feel comfortable, we will arrange for them to enter the Tower of Desire."

Wen Xishu added with a smile:

"And those who are 'gifted'?"

The clerk held his forehead and said:

"Yes, every once in a while, I see different sizes of..."

"On the dopamine secretion pleasure ranking, the third place is smoking, with a value of 220; the second place is paying off debts, with a value of 225."

"But the first place, men and women loving each other, has a value of 550. The pleasure obtained is a gap ahead."

"This has also led people to generally believe that this is the most direct way to please Three Towers people and let them obtain love."

"So all sorts of people think they are suitable for entering the Tower of Desire."

"Uh, the most critical thing is that the Bunker's upper levels think this is very reasonable."

"Indeed, many men and women have brought back abundant supplies from the Tower of Desire... which can also be considered as having made quite a few contributions to humanity."

"This has also led to me becoming a 'handle-appraisal expert' at a young age."

This clerk was very talkative.

Generally speaking, clerks were impatient and serious.

For example, the previous Korean Bunker citizen who applied to transfer from the Slaughter Tower to the Tower of Desire, Park Yingshuang, had made him very impatient.

But Wen Xishu was different, not because he was kind or handsome.

The real reason was—the higher-ups had sent word.

A few hours ago, Wen Xishu had undergone interrogation.

Perhaps because the higher-ups were afraid that Wen Xishu would enter a state of madness again, the interrogation intensity was actually not high.

At least, things like truth serum that would damage the brain were not used on him.

This was also thanks to Wen Xishu's performance of being half-crazy and half-sober. Facing the interrogation, he always had only one answer:

"I have to enter the Mysterious Tower to recall the clues about Wen Zhaohua."

This was, of course, a delaying tactic, and a very clumsy one at that.

But Wen Xishu was very sure that things could only unfold in two ways:

One: The Bunker's upper levels were not that stupid and didn't believe Wen Xishu's nonsense at all.

So he didn't live to see Chapter 4, and the protagonist died. The end of the book.

Two: Wen Zhaohua was extremely important.

In order to find Wen Zhaohua, the Bunker's upper levels could take any risk.

Even for a lame excuse like "I can only recall clues if I enter the Mysterious Tower," they were willing to believe it might be true and take a gamble.

Wen Xishu chose the second one.

Anyone who could leave those three strange "dice" in the mind of a mentally disabled younger brother was definitely not an ordinary person.

He had bet correctly, but that didn't mean his situation had become safe.

Not long after the interrogation ended, a high-ranking cadre in the Bunker Security Bureau found Wen Xishu.

That was a man with a particularly cold and stern appearance, a burly figure, and quite a military temperament.

In that cramped, dim room, this cold-tempered cadre said:

"From today on, your affairs will be my responsibility. My name is Liu Jinsen; you can call me Liu sir."

Liu sir got straight to the point:

"To get rid of death, you have to do two things."

"First, survive in the Mysterious Tower. Otherwise, you're just changing the place where you die."

"Second, Bunker citizens can only stay in the Three Towers for a maximum of seven days."

"You have to recall the clues about the heinous criminal Wen Zhaohua within seven days."

"I don't believe a person like Wen Zhaohua would leave clues on you."

"But my leader's attitude is tough. Since that's the case, I hope you really can have clues."

Wen Xishu didn't dislike Liu Jinsen, this temporary superior. At the very least, the other party's two suggestions were clear and logical.

Wen Xishu didn't waste the opportunity either:

"If, and I mean if, I refuse to provide clues about Wen Zhaohua, will I die even if I successfully explore the Mysterious Tower?"

Liu Jinsen was not surprised that Wen Xishu said the words "refuse to provide clues about Wen Zhaohua."

In fact, he was certain that Wen Xishu knew nothing and just wanted to gamble for a chance at survival by exploring the Mysterious Tower.

"That possibility is over ninety-nine percent."

"The remaining one percent is that you bring back very important items."

Wen Xishu asked:

"For example?"

Liu Jinsen was still as cold and hard as before, but he was not stingy with his answer:

"Diseases are rampant in the lower levels of the Bunker recently, and there is a severe shortage of medicine. If you can achieve a Level 4 reward, then you will be able to survive no matter what."

Wen Xishu pursued the question:

"Level 4 reward?"

Facing such a question that was almost common sense, Liu Jinsen was silent for a second:

"It seems you have never ascended the tower."

Wen Xishu shrugged.

Liu Jinsen recited like a textbook:

"Exploring the Three Towers will yield different levels of rewards based on your performance."

"Level 1 completion: you will get basic rations and supplies that can maintain a 'family of three' for three days."

"Level 2 completion: you will get basic rations and supplies that can maintain a 'large family' for three days, and it includes some daily necessities."

"Level 3 completion: on the basis of the first two levels, it brings some items, equipment, and facilities."

"Level 4 completion: you will bring back basic supplies that satisfy a 'residential community' for seven days, and obtain some high-level civilization items, equipment, and facilities."

"Level 5 completion: on the basis of Level 4, bring back certain epoch-making 'technologies' or items, facilities, and equipment."

"Level 6 completion: you will get supplies sufficient to satisfy a certain survival time for the entire 'Bunker level'."

"And bring items or technologies and facilities sufficient to trigger a revolution for the human Bunker civilization."

"As for obtaining skills, attributes, and props within the Three Towers, that is a different set of evaluation standards."

"Actually, there is also a Level 7 completion, but that must be achieved in the Three Towers of a limited level."

"You are a newcomer to the Three Towers; your initial level will not be too high."

Liu Jinsen paused slightly:

"If you cannot provide clues about Wen Zhaohua and want to survive, then you can't count on one life for one life; you have to trade one life for a hundred lives."

"Or even more."

Wen Xishu thought of a certain Su family brother, where the younger brother was the prime minister in the imperial court, the older brother was desperately causing trouble, and the younger brother was desperately patching the holes.

Right now, he had a feeling of his own brother courting death while he, the younger brother, had to pay the bill.

He had to at least be able to bring back enough supplies to sustain the survival of hundreds of people and save hundreds of people to survive.

Of course, there was also a shortcut, which was to fabricate clues about Wen Zhaohua.

But the higher-ups were not fools; the credibility of his own statements couldn't be overdrawn many times.

And with so many experts on the Heavenly Ladder Ranking, they hadn't changed the status quo of the poor life of the people in the lower Bunker...

This meant that a Level 4 reward was definitely not easy for experts to achieve either.

To survive in the Mysterious Tower and achieve a Level 4 reward as a newcomer—it seemed like a fantasy.

Wen Xishu found Liu Jinsen more and more pleasing to the eye.

On one hand, this person was very reliable and answered every question for a death row inmate.

On the other hand, this Liu sir actually thought his winning chance was as high as one percent.

Three Towers game distribution office.

The clerk's words pulled Wen Xishu's thoughts back.

"You look quite good; appearance is actually more important. You are very suitable for entering the Tower of Desire."

"If you can come back alive from the Mysterious Tower, I can change your body data in the files."

"People who are looked after by big shots have this privilege, as long as some data isn't filled in too outrageously."

"Just like that Officer Wang from the Bunker Industrial and Commercial Bureau, his son is 1.58 meters tall, but I wrote 1.80 for him in the relevant value, and he even complained it wasn't enough."

Cadre children getting a free pass to the Tower of Desire? Ordinary masses going to the Slaughter Tower to be beasts of burden? The corruption in the Bunker is very serious...

However, cleaning up the Bunker's atmosphere was not something Wen Xishu needed to consider at the moment.

He interrupted this talkative clerk:

"Arrange for me to ascend the tower first. I want to make a contribution to the Bunker people today."

(End of chapter)