Chapter 3: Level 4 Completion

"Name."

"Wen Xishu."

"Age."

"Eighteen."

"Gender."

"Bottom of the version."

"What the hell is that?" The clerk at the Three Towers game assignment office was stunned.

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

"No, no, no. There are twenty-nine known genders in the bunker... If you are male, you had better explicitly 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 corporate interviewers in Wen Xishu's memory—a bit greasy, smiling kindly, but with a sense of numbness when his face went blank.

"Standard procedure, do I get assigned to a tower first?" Wen Xishu asked.

The clerk replied quite gently:

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

"As for others, generally speaking, for a first-time tower climber, we have them fill out some questionnaires."

"Those who are bellicose or have great aptitude for combat, we send to the Slaughter Tower."

"And those who make people feel comfortable, we arrange for the Desire Tower."

Wen Xishu smiled and added:

"And those who are 'gifted'?"

The clerk rubbed his forehead and said:

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

"On the dopamine 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, love between a man and a woman, has a value of 550. The pleasure gained is far ahead of the rest."

"This has led to the general belief that this is the most direct way to please the Three Towers people and make them feel love."

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

"Uh, the most critical thing is that the bunker's top brass thinks this is reasonable."

"Indeed, many men and women have brought back abundant supplies from the Desire Tower... which can be considered a significant contribution to humanity."

"This has also led to me becoming an expert in 'judging gifts' at a young age."

This clerk was very talkative.

Generally speaking, clerks were impatient and serious.

For example, the previous bunker citizen from Korea who applied to transfer from the Slaughter Tower to the Desire Tower, 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 an interrogation.

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

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

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

"I must enter the Ghost Tower to recall clues about Wen Zhaohua."

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

But Wen Xishu was very certain that there were only two ways things could unfold:

One: The bunker's top brass were not that stupid and did not believe Wen Xishu's nonsense at all.

Then he would not live to see Chapter 4, and the protagonist would die. The end of the book.

Two: Wen Zhaohua was extremely important.

In order to find Wen Zhaohua, the bunker's top brass could take any risk.

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

Wen Xishu chose the second option.

Whoever could leave those three eerie "dice" in the mind of his mentally disabled brother was definitely not an ordinary person.

He had bet correctly, but that did not mean his situation had become safe.

Shortly after the interrogation ended, a high-ranking cadre in the bunker's Anquan Bureau found Wen Xishu.

That was a man with a particularly cold expression, a burly build, and quite a military air.

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

"From today on, I am responsible for your affairs. My name is Liu Jinsen, you can call me Liu sir."

Liu sir got straight to the point:

"To escape death, you need to do two things."

"First, survive in the Ghost Tower. Otherwise, you're just dying in a different place."

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

"You must 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 superiors have a tough attitude, so since that's the case, I hope you really have clues."

Wen Xishu did not dislike Liu Jinsen, his temporary superior. At least the other party's two suggestions were clear and logical.

Wen Xishu did not waste the opportunity:

"If, and I mean if, I refuse to provide clues about Wen Zhaohua, will I die even if I successfully explore the Ghost 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 Ghost 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, and there is a shortage of medicine. If you can reach a Level 4 reward, then you will survive no matter what."

Wen Xishu pressed:

"Level 4 reward?"

Liu Jinsen was silent for a second when faced with such a common-sense question:

"It seems you have never climbed the tower before."

Wen Xishu shrugged.

Liu Jinsen recited like a textbook:

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

"At Level 1 completion, you will receive basic rations and supplies to maintain a 'family of three' for three days."

"At Level 2 completion, you will receive basic rations and supplies to maintain a 'large family' for three days, including some daily necessities."

"At Level 3 completion, on the basis of the first two levels, you bring back some items, equipment, and facilities."

"At Level 4 completion, you will bring back basic supplies to satisfy a 'residential complex' for seven days, and receive some high-level civilization items, equipment, and facilities."

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

"At Level 6 completion, you will receive enough supplies to satisfy the survival of an entire 'bunker level' for a certain period."

"And bring items, technologies, or facilities capable of triggering change to the human bunker civilization."

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

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

"You are entering the Three Towers for the first time, so 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 cannot count on a life for a life; you have to trade one life for a hundred."

"Or even more."

Wen Xishu thought of a certain Su family of brothers, 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 and himself footing 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 a shortcut, which was to fabricate clues about Wen Zhaohua.

But the higher-ups were not fools, and the credibility of his own statements could not be overdrawn many times.

And with so many experts on the Heavenly Ladder Ranking, they still hadn't changed the reality of the difficult lives of the people in the lower bunkers...

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

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

Wen Xishu found Liu Jinsen increasingly agreeable.

On one hand, this man was very reliable, answering every question a death-row inmate had.

On the other hand, this Sir Liu actually thought his odds of winning were as high as one percent.

……

……

Three Towers Game Assignment Office.

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

"You look quite good; appearance is actually more important. You are very well-suited to enter the Desire Tower."

"If you can return alive from the Trick Tower, I can modify your physical data records for you."

"Those looked after by big shots all have this privilege, as long as some of the data isn't filled in too outrageously."

"Just like that Officer Wang from the Bunker Bureau of Industry and Commerce; his son is one meter fifty-eight tall, but I wrote down eighteen for the relevant value, and he still complained it wasn't enough."

Cadre children get guaranteed entry into the Desire Tower? While ordinary masses go to the Slaughter Tower to be beasts of burden? The corruption in the bunker is quite severe...

However, cleaning up the atmosphere of the bunker 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 people of the bunker today."

(End of chapter)