Chapter 69: The Truth of the Inverse Seven

Although he had a conclusion in his heart, Wen Xishu didn't know what to do next.

After all, the points magnified for these seven households hadn't been figured out yet.

Wen Xishu followed this household on tiptoe.

When he heard the sound of the security door closing, he slightly quickened his pace and, following the source of the sound, walked to the door of Room 49-3.

"My neighbor is 14-1. Amiao's neighbor is 35-13, Elder Wen's neighbor is 7-5. Xiaowu's neighbor is 28-11, Wu Xiangjiao's neighbor is 21-9."

"The pattern here... seems very easy to find. The remaining two people who will die in six days are either a 49-3, 42-7 combination, or a 49-7, 42-3 combination."

"Currently, it seems... this 49-3 is very likely one of the seven mission targets."

Standing at the door of 49-3, Wen Xishu did not knock. The time was now 12:47.

He had to go back.

"Previously, when interacting with neighbors, the mission was forcibly ended in about an hour, making me return to the room... I must go back now. If the time is up, my body will be forcibly controlled by the strange power."

Wen Xishu was not sure if, when his body was forcibly controlled, he would die in the elevator during the process of returning to the 14th floor.

He arrived at the elevator entrance. When the elevator opened, that "staff member" was once again completely back-to-back with Wen Xishu, standing in the corner inside the elevator.

After having the experience of the first time, Wen Xishu immediately summoned the attribute mirror.

The elevator began to move towards the fourteenth floor, and the "staff member" never moved.

Wen Xishu also absolutely did not have a whim to touch the other party or talk to the other party.

"There is no need to verify things that bring danger to oneself but are useless."

Wen Xishu successfully returned to the room he was in.

Yin Junchi next door was still constantly revising his manuscript. From time to time, he would utter:

"There are more and more typos, damn it, Yin Junchi, you can't make such low-level mistakes!"

"Yes, yes, yes, right here, right here. If I write it like this, readers will definitely leave comments here, right?"

"Can they guess my arrangement?"

Yin Junchi kept muttering, the sound was not loud, but not small either. It was just because the whole floor was too quiet, and the other residents were all like dead people...

So it resulted in Wen Xishu being able to hear Yin Junchi's voice very clearly as long as he got close to the wall.

"Truly energetic... just like me."

Wen Xishu couldn't help but complain.

He was actually still unsatisfied. If it weren't for the fact that today was obviously more dangerous than yesterday, he would have intended to forcibly explore until the strange power took over his body.

It was past one o'clock now. After 50 Action Points were deducted, Wen Xishu was still energetic and had no sleepiness at all.

He sat by the bed, listening to Yin Junchi muttering constantly, and found it quite interesting.

But suddenly, Wen Xishu realized something was wrong.

"No, it shouldn't be like this."

After Wen Xishu took a few deep breaths, he calmed himself down:

"My energy is a bit wrong. This is not me in a normal state."

"I should have noticed it yesterday. After the meeting ended, logically speaking, it should be time to rest, but I had no desire to rest at all."

"In a situation where Action Points are limited, the most correct thing I should do is to empty my brain and rest well first."

"But I had absolutely no desire to rest!"

It is difficult for a workaholic to let himself rest voluntarily.

"I have also been influenced by something!"

When this thought appeared, a slight sense of fatigue finally struck.

Wen Xishu opened his mouth wide, closed his eyes, and yawned.

Before this yawn was finished, a light flashed across Wen Xishu's mind.

He stood up abruptly.

The act of yawning actually became the key for Wen Xishu to string everything together.

When yawning, he closed his eyes, but because he was eager to continue exploring, he felt that he should open his eyes again.

Under the influence of just such a thought, Wen Xishu suddenly understood one thing.

"It's not a hallucination... it's not an auditory hallucination! That was yawning, yawning with eyes open! The terrifying scene described by Yin Junchi was actually yawning."

In Yin Junchi's description, as long as Yin Junchi closed his eyes, he would see hundreds of faces opening their eyes wide and opening their mouths wide looking at him.

This action, when performed, is an expression of extreme fear, and Wen Xishu had thought in this direction from the beginning.

But just now, he suddenly realized that this was actually yawning.

Because the magnified desire to work caused Yin Junchi to refuse to close his eyes, and then because his body was too tired, he was extremely eager to relieve fatigue by yawning and closing his eyes.

But the strange thing is, mentally, he resisted closing his eyes. So under the projection of his subconscious, what Yin Junchi saw was a group of people yawning with their eyes open...

The reason he looked crazy and made that action towards himself was actually not because he was possessed, but because he subconsciously began to yawn—yawning with his eyes wide open.

It was exactly the same as those people in Yin Junchi's hallucinations. The "ah" sound made was also exactly the same.

"He has already... been unable to close his eyes. Influenced by some strange power, he now simply does not allow himself to have any resting actions."

"With the passage of time, this influence will be magnified, and fear will deepen this influence."

"So, as his neighbor, I have also been influenced by this power. I have also, because of thinking too deeply, perceived various strange things in this building, and deep in my heart, there is actually a slight fear."

"Similarly, with the passage of time, this influence on me will continue to deepen, and if I feel fear during this process... then the influence will deepen further."

"I will be unable to sleep, extremely excited, eager to work, and hallucinations will appear when I close my eyes. I was still thinking before, how could a bestselling author with a desire to create die?"

"Now I understand... he died of sudden death."

The fear in Wen Xishu's heart deepened by a layer.

He was not a monster that completely lacked negative emotions or the ability to perceive fear.

The deeper one contacted this building, the more terrifying it became.

"Amiao's neighbor, joy has been magnified... this looks like a good thing for the time being."

"But if he also dies, that is 'joy turning into sorrow.' This kind of fate is very likely to appear on Amiao as well."

"Then what about Wu Xiangjiao? He can be considered to be in a better state than me. This guy is brainless, and his brain isn't particularly good, so he didn't feel anything wrong."

"But the states of Xiaowu and Elder Wen are very bad."

Wen Xishu forced himself to close his eyes.

He had already begun to feel that it was easy to think of some things that made him feel annoyed when he closed his eyes.

For example, the fire that made him lose his foster parents.

"It seems that this kind of fear is irresistible. I can only delay its influence on me, but I cannot stop it."

Wen Xishu opened his eyes and began to learn from Yin Junchi, finding paper and a pen.

He began to draw the structural diagram of this building.

"Don't rush, don't rush. Currently, my mental state is still okay, just tired, but my body can hold up."

Wen Xishu is, after all, a student of the Slaughter Tower Academy, so his physical foundation naturally goes without saying.

"But in two or three days, I might be like Yin Junchi next door, starting to have hallucinations. I have to speed up."

"Stay calm, stay calm. Stay calm..."

Wen Xishu whispered, accompanied by slow and long breathing, the anxiety in his heart gradually disappeared.

His eyes were always open, so he wouldn't lose his mind because of seeing past events that made him annoyed:

"Not bad, eager to work and resisting rest. In the short term, this can even be regarded as a positive buff."

"Xiaowu encountered a lawyer. Based on what is known, this lawyer has severe mysophobia. Because the room is too dirty, he doesn't want you, Xiaowu, to go."

"But Xiaowu has also become very eager to shower, as if he has contracted mysophobia."

"Wait... Xiaowu mentioned this sentence—he must be an excellent lawyer, there are many trophies in the room."

"Would an excellent lawyer feel inferior? Xiaowu has been emphasizing that he wants to shower..."

"Inferiority, mysophobia, inferiority, mysophobia... delaying updates, urging manuscripts, desire to work, inferiority, mysophobia..."

Wen Xishu repeated it several times, and he suddenly narrowed his eyes and said to himself:

"Perhaps this is not mysophobia, but because Xiaowu feels that he is too dirty. Due to inferiority, he wants to be clean before dealing with us!"

"That lawyer is the same! Great, I completely understand!"

"I finally know the meaning of seven! I finally know! Why such a luxurious building would only charge such low rent!"

Regarding what the seven represent, Wen Xishu completely understood.

But the problem now in front of him is—

How he is going to crack it.

……

……

Second day, early morning.

Wen Xishu did not sleep all night.

Amiao had a beautiful dream, in which she was undergoing surgery with laughter.

The doctor told her that the surgery didn't go very well and the cancer cells had spread. She laughed "hahaha," scaring the doctors. Then she woke up.

And Wu Xiangjiao didn't feel anything; he just felt a bit annoyed inside.

Xiaowu's skin was red and swollen.

He wiped his body frantically with a bath towel until his skin turned red, and only then, under the sweep of sleepiness, did he put on a bathrobe sprayed with disinfectant and fall asleep.

Elder Wen slapped himself several times in the kitchen.

The meeting was initiated by Amiao.

For Amiao, Action Points were not that important anymore, as if wasting Action Points was also an irrelevant matter, not worth being anxious about.

When four screens appeared in front of Wen Xishu...

Wen Xishu discovered that except for Wu Xiangjiao, the other three all had some problems.

This was only the second day.

Admittedly, there was no monster chasing in this building, no rules that would kill you immediately... but if you couldn't find the key point, living here, you would die without knowing it.

Wen Xishu thought of this point and finally made the idea of saving these people as much as possible.

At least, before finding the invitation letter, he still needed the help of these people.

"Everyone, yesterday I actually wanted to hide it to slow down the erosion of fear on you..."

"But today, perhaps some of you have already noticed something wrong with yourselves."

The meeting began, and Wen Xishu spoke directly.

"Next, I will state the conclusion first."

"We are in a building that has a lot to do with seven. As we mentioned earlier, this is a sacrifice."

"Now new clues point to the fact that the content of the sacrifice is related to the Seven Deadly Sins."

Wu Xiangjiao was puzzled:

"Seven Deadly Sins? Wait, is it greed, pride, wrath, lust, gluttony, sloth, envy? Are you talking about these Seven Deadly Sins?"

"Where can you see that? These things don't match us or our neighbors at all!"

Wen Xishu said:

"Don't rush, let me speak slowly."

"My neighbor is named Yin Junchi, pen name 'Three Days Two Living Banana Pei Jia'."

"He should be a very slothful author. The kind who, as long as he doesn't lack money, doesn't want to type half a word, and perhaps his readers even think something happened to him."

"Although his computer is expensive, there is very little content, and the most calls his phone receives are manuscript urging calls."

"Such a person must be a very slothful person."

"But what you can't imagine is that he is now diligent to death, literally to death."

Wu Xiangjiao summarized:

"Does he correspond to sloth?"

Wen Xishu nodded:

"Then on the 49th floor, I encountered a mother and son. The mother dotes on the child very much, and no matter what he does, she is very tolerant."

"But according to what the child said... his mother wasn't like this before."

"Not long ago, I happened to hear a friend tell a tragic story. Her parents made her go to a tutor to study because her parents were vain and liked to compare with other people's children."

"Such parents are actually not in the minority. When other people's children are excellent, they will feel—"

It was still Wu Xiangjiao who answered:

"Envy!"

Wen Xishu nodded. I have to say, Wu Xiangjiao, who was the only one not yet influenced, or rather, not significantly influenced, was very suitable as a foil for this meeting.

"Now, she has completely lost envy and has been twisted into a kind of love without any constraints. She has no urging for the child, only unprincipled indulgence."

Wen Xishu paused slightly, then said:

"Next, let's talk about Xiaowu. According to what you said, Xiaowu, your neighbor is a lawyer and is very excellent. You saw many trophies."

"You might not know that if a lawyer is really excellent, that kind of confidence comes from the bones. Because confidence is a momentum. If a person is not confident, how can he win repeatedly when in court?"

"I was misled by the lawyer's mysophobia earlier, but in fact, his problem is not mysophobia. Just like Xiaowu, do you think your problem is mysophobia now?"

Xiaowu was timid. Being said so by Wen Xishu, he seemed to be freed from a certain special state, but only for a short while.

"Because he is afraid that his home is not clean and he will be disliked by others... essentially, it is not mysophobia. Mysophobia is the rejection of dirt. He doesn't reject dirt; he is afraid of being disliked."

"Just like you, Xiaowu."

Wen Xishu looked at Wu Xiangjiao. Wu Xiangjiao said "Oh" and realized:

"It's inferiority! He corresponds to pride, but now, he has become abnormally inferior!"

Wen Xishu nodded:

"That's right, congratulations on getting it right!"

"Speaking of which, I think everyone understands, right? Elder, and Xiaowu, you should understand, what exactly has been taken away from you."

(Still 10,000 words, continue tomorrow.)

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 70 =====