Chapter 7

Jennifer doubted she had misheard; this big brother actually wanted to run to Uncle Jack's room.

However, Wen Xishu was really very steady, and this calmness gave Jennifer some strength.

The hallway had become a loop building, ghost hitting the wall, so the real exit might be in one of the rooms on this floor.

Wen Xishu wasn't sure either, until a hint appeared.

"There are many rooms on this floor; searching them one by one is likely to cause a stir and waste time, but if combined with Jack's words, the correct option is very obvious."

"As always, Jack's words are actually very clear hints."

Jack's room was indeed on this floor.

And it wasn't very far from Jennifer's house. This also made Remian, who lived upstairs, very jealous.

The door was unlocked, presenting a half-open, half-closed state, and a strange, cold aura emanated from the room, making people afraid to approach.

Jack had indeed been a very good person.

Before turning into a monster, he trusted the people here very much; the door wasn't locked, just to make it convenient for others to find him for help.

There is a kind of person in this world; although they are poor themselves, they can still find happiness in helping others.

Wen Xishu didn't delay any longer and walked in with Jennifer.

The two entered the door, and "Jack" appeared in the hallway right after.

Its face could not be seen clearly because its face was covered by the faces of several other residents.

It had torn off their faces and pieced them onto its own face, as if it were half a mask.

Four eyeballs, two crooked noses, and four strangely angled ears were sewn together with black thread.

Only the mouth was its own, still emitting manic laughter.

This laughter seemed to have some kind of strange power, spreading to every room.

Only its own room was not affected.

Sunlight shone into the room, but it didn't make Jack's room look bright and warm.

On the contrary, this bit of light made the gloomy room look quite decadent.

Bare, somewhat damp walls stood silently. Two old, decaying chairs placed in the room were swaying slightly on their own without anyone touching them, making a teeth-aching creaking sound.

There was actually a refrigerator in the room, but the smell emanating from the refrigerator made people want to vomit.

That was the smell of blood.

Jennifer shivered. Wen Xishu held her small hand, and the warmth from his palm gave her a backbone.

Until this moment, Wen Xishu hadn't spoken, just typed calmly:

"It seems this is the auditorium prepared for us."

Wen Xishu sat down directly; at this moment, he felt like he was lying in an ice cellar, with a coldness that invaded his marrow.

The surrounding scene also changed color, covered with a layer of faint scarlet. In his mind, a huge laughing face appeared from time to time.

Wen Xishu remained unmoved, still beckoning to Jennifer, encouraging Jennifer with a smile full of security.

So, Jennifer also sat on the chair.

The performance began.

The scene Wen Xishu saw was very strange.

A huge laughing face covered a city.

But everyone in the city seemed not to have noticed this laughing face covering the sky.

The laughing face was not ferocious, even making people feel somewhat healing. Beneath the laughing face was a city named Moen.

This was a young city, and Jack, who was not young, was in the Moen City Hospital.

Since he was a child, he had been taught to face others with a smile, to be polite, and to be a person who could bring joy to others.

But the medical record for advanced stomach cancer made him unable to smile anymore.

Approaching death, no matter whether you play the role of a beast of burden or a salted fish in society, you will realize—you are actually a person.

At the end of his life, Jack wanted to be a person again, to be a good person.

He held the medical record and returned to that old building with heavy steps.

The room was simple beyond words: a water kettle, a bed, two chairs. And a refrigerator that no longer refrigerated, which had already become a pure storage cabinet.

He took out an old notebook and wrote down his wishes.

"As a colleague, I really don't like Remian slandering me behind my back. But I think, it must be that life has made him have to be mean."

"This world has many kinds of outer coats; some can keep warm, some can prevent being hurt by others."

"Remian is perhaps wearing the latter."

"I also have my outer coat; I hope it is like what Mom said, it can make people happy."

"I should go and make peace with Remian; after all, we are neighbors and colleagues. At the end of life, I don't want anyone to hold a grudge against me."

"I just want to be evaluated as a good person in the tombstone, in memory."

Jack let out a long breath, and a slight smile appeared on his face.

"I like being with little Jennifer, although Yulia always says that men now dislike her having a child, and men are all realistic and mean."

"But in my heart, little Jennifer is really cute; she is one of the few people who likes my performance."

"The meaning of my life is to bring joy to others, it's just that in front of many people, I am meaningless."

"But little Jennifer is not... I made an appointment with little Jennifer to watch my new rehearsed performance at my home tomorrow."

"The troupe is getting worse and worse, I think, perhaps I should add some stand-up comedy while performing acrobatics."

"I am getting less and less able to keep up with the punchlines of young people, but Jennifer is even younger than young people."

Thinking that little Jennifer was coming to watch his performance, Jack's smile was even more warm and healing; even with clown makeup on, it wouldn't make people feel gloomy, terrifying, or ferocious.

"And my good friend, Anderson, I saved a sum of money, I think I have no chance to use it."

"Anderson is a good person; in this building, only he often talks to me, although he is very busy, he will still take time to accompany me when he is busiest."

"My money is just a waste if used on myself. I should leave some money for him... perhaps it can make him live better."

"Finally, it's my mother, it's a pity, I might have to go before you..."

"Mom, I love you very much, very much, I hope you can be healthy and live a long life, although you are also tormented by illness..."

"What makes me even sadder is that I am afraid I have no way to work hard to earn money. My time is not enough."

"I have been listening to you, I have been eating well, my stomach disease is definitely not caused by hunger, definitely not. I don't know how it came about either."

"I have been living quite well, it's just that I suddenly got sick."

"But I will try my best to tidy myself up to be healthy and see you one last time."

Regarding this part about Mom, Jack was somewhat insincere. He was afraid that after he died, Mom would feel that it was because he didn't eat well that he got stomach disease, and thus blame herself.

In fact, he did often go hungry and was skinny. But he didn't want Mom to think so.

Just like what he had always done, reporting only the good news and not the bad.

The confidante little Jennifer, the beloved Yulia, the colleague Remian, the good friend Anderson, and his mother.

These people constituted Jack's life today.

So there wasn't even a door in his room that could be closed, and he never went to fix it.

It seemed that if the door was open, these people would walk in and chat with him.

Even if it was asking him for help, adding more trouble to his life that was already piled up with trouble, in his view, it was also happy.

Life is not a mirror; it may not necessarily respond to a smile with a smile.

After writing the long, farewell-to-the-world note, Jack was dazed for a while before setting off toward upstairs.

He was looking for Remian.

Soon, he apologized to Remian; he didn't mind Remian forgiving him from a high position.

As long as there was no one in this building who hated him anymore.

He should have left then, but he suddenly thought that he should make it clear—he was about to die, how could a dead person still pursue the person he loved?

He hoped Remian knew that Miss Yulia wouldn't take a fancy to someone like him, and after he died, that house could be given to Remian.

He wanted to support and bless Remian, and encourage Remian to pursue love. Even if Miss Yulia would likely not like people in this building.

So Jack turned back to look for Remian.

Remian was on the phone.

"Yulia, please believe me, Jack's poverty goes without saying, but he is also very lazy, and his heart is very bad."

"You know his performance always makes people disgusted, and he is no longer limited to making adults feel sick."

"Last week, he suggested going to school to perform..."

"How vicious he is! Those children are so pitiful! His ugly appearance will leave psychological shadows on how many children? I will let everyone know his true face."

"Do you know? He doesn't love children! He actually hates children very much."

"I heard he also wants to invite Jennifer alone to watch his performance, God, please be sure to let Jennifer stay away from him too. She will have nightmares!"

Jack stood at the stairwell, the smile on his face already stiff.

In fact, such scenes had appeared more than once.

Sometimes it was to the circus troupe leader, sometimes it was to Yulia; Remian always liked to speak ill of people behind their backs.

There is no such thing as a protective color; some people are just purely bad.

The huge laughing face in the sky revealed a trace of evil.

Anderson was Jack's good friend.

All along, Jack felt that it was not bad to have one good friend in life.

He wanted to say goodbye to Anderson properly, and incidentally give him a sum of money.

But when he returned home and was about to take out this money, Anderson and his girlfriend were in Jack's room.

"This place has a moldy smell; why do you put money here?"

The woman said with disgust.

Anderson said as a matter of course:

"This broken house is my piggy bank, no... it's my money tree."

"Jack, this idiot, always puts money in the interlayer of this broken refrigerator. Except for me, no one really knows there is money hidden inside."

The woman didn't understand:

"Then you take his money, doesn't he know it's you who took it?"

Anderson chuckled:

"Of course, but it doesn't matter. I'll just make up a lie, for example, I'm sick, and this idiot will believe what I say."

"He will even be very worried, ask if it's enough, and sometimes when there is no money, he will say let me wait, he will go do odd jobs to earn it."

The woman was even more surprised:

"There is such a person in this world?"

Anderson's smile was even more unscrupulous:

"He is a person who claims to be able to give up everything for a friend, and I am his friend."

"So this money is actually mine originally; God saw that I was too hard-working, so he arranged a living piggy bank for me to be a friend."

"Let's go, honey, tonight I'll take you to eat something good, and then let's go open a room!"

Anderson put his arms around the woman's waist. The woman faintly felt that something was wrong.

Anderson then said:

"In this world, some people offer tribute to love, and of course, some people offer tribute to friendship. I gave him imaginary friendship, so he gives me money, very reasonable, isn't it?"

The woman nodded, and their laughter covered the sound of tears dripping outside the door.

The laughing face in the sky had become ferocious, with strange scarlet in its eyes, and the clouds were also dyed red.

Jack hid somewhat embarrassedly. He wanted to roar hysterically, but he didn't in the end.

He just waited for Anderson to leave, and silently took out the remaining bit of money.

The banknotes in his hand stared silently at his sad face. It seemed to be thinking, who will this man give me to?

In this world, rich people have many ways to express love: smiles, greetings, posting on Weibo to thank the world...

There will be countless people fighting to praise them.

But the way poor people express love seems to only be money. When you have no money, everything you do seems to be an outdated performance in a circus...

It won't make people laugh, only make people disgusted and mocked. It shouldn't be like this.

But Jack still took the money, preparing to give it to Jennifer and Yulia.

He called Yulia, wanting to say, Yulia, if you are very busy, I will go help you pick up Jennifer from school, okay?

But Yulia rejected the call. Calling again, Yulia's phone indicated it was turned off.

He walked toward the school, and along the way, Jack clutched his stomach, having a pain after the world collapsed, gathering in his stomach, rolling, cramping.

At the school gate, he saw Jennifer, and also saw Yulia.

Yulia seemed to have gotten off work relatively early today.

Perhaps because of Remian's phone call, Yulia looked at Jack with extra vigilance.

Jack didn't know how to face Yulia. He could only look at Jennifer:

"Little Jennifer, you will come to watch my performance, right?"

"Jennifer has no time tomorrow; she has to take remedial classes." Yulia looked at everyone in this building with equal disgust.

She considered herself a beautiful woman, and only a handsome white rich man was worthy of her.

Her falling into the slum was only temporary, just like Cinderella would eventually be found by the prince.

The overbearing CEO will definitely fall in love with me, a divorced woman with a child.

"Then... the day after tomorrow is also fine."

"Also have to take remedial classes the day after tomorrow."

"The day after that? Is the day after that okay? A few days later is also fine..."

"No time, no time! All have to take remedial classes, and also, Jennifer and I are moving out soon. Stop harassing us! Jennifer, let's go."

Yulia took Jennifer away.

Jack had originally been trying his best to endure, but in the end, he couldn't endure it, the pain made him half-kneel on the ground, and he began to retch, but didn't really vomit anything.

He wanted to apologize to Jennifer, he shouldn't have let this child see him so embarrassed.

But Yulia had already taken Jennifer away, as decisively as shaking off a plague.

Jennifer actually really wanted to turn back to hug Jack; there were tears in her eyes, but Yulia's hand held Jennifer, and she shouted sharply:

"Jennifer, don't turn back!"

This was the last sentence of Yulia that Jack heard.

Subsequently, there was finally laughter around, but it wasn't a happy sound; it was mockery. Jack began to wail.

A grown man kneeling and crying attracted the mockery of a group of children.

Jack suddenly wanted to give up struggling, lie on the ground to rest, but at this moment, a phone call came in.

"Mr. Jack, we are from the Moen City Fourth Nursing Home; your mother had a little accident not long ago."

"We... we have already tried our best. Why don't you come to the nursing home?"

The mobile phone fell to the ground, and the screen, already full of cracks, had another crack. But it didn't make any sound; the world seemed to become static at this moment.

All the beauty and hope in life died earlier than his life.

The huge laughing face in the sky had become terrifying and distorted, the red light in its eyes illuminated the world, and the whole world was covered with a layer of blood red.

Those mocking sounds stopped abruptly, but another manic laughter rose faintly.

Under huge pressure, the person who wanted to bring joy to the world seemed to be still alive, but seemed to be dead.

What Jack didn't know was that he had long been chosen by the tower. His fate would not stop here.

The two chairs stopped swaying.

Wen Xishu and Jennifer woke up at the same time. Jennifer's eyes were full of tears, not knowing if it was fear or sadness for Jack's experience.

Wen Xishu was calm, his attention falling elsewhere.

On the bare wall, two blood-red numbers appeared.

97, 61.

Wen Xishu frowned slightly, then revealed a smile.

Notes appeared in his eyes, but because the magic resistance was too low, they were still garbled.

However, he still guessed the meaning of the numbers.

As an audience, watching Jack's desperate day, Jennifer got 61 points, a passing score. A score suitable for an NPC, neither high nor low.

And Wen Xishu got 97 points.

The reason he was so sure was because although Wen Xishu couldn't parse the garbled notes, he received another hint.

【You have had the same thoughts as Mysterious Jack several times. Throughout the viewing process, you did not pity Jack, but instead generated a desire for slaughter, and you only had disagreements in one place. You are simply a confidant of Mysterious Jack.】

【Obtained prop: Invitation Letter · Happy Jennifer.】

【Mysterious Jennifer's favorability increased.】

Simply put, while watching Jack's desperate day from a special perspective, Wen Xishu didn't cry like Jennifer, sighing at Jack's pitifulness.

He even thought, boring, why cry, I want to see blood flow like a river, fast-forward to blackening ten times stronger, and then kill to his heart's content.

Thinking that Jack really went crazy and slaughtered in reality later... he even felt very cool during the viewing process.

Wen Xishu didn't expect that this would actually get an incredible high score:

"I am a kindred spirit with a pervert, so I got a special prop?"

There was really an invitation letter with a strange texture in his pocket. He opened the invitation letter and saw:

【Jennifer in the Moen City slum is not happy recently; perhaps you have a way to make her happy.】

【Press your handprint on the invitation letter to interrupt and pause the Mysterious Tower progress, enter the corresponding level of the Tower of Desire to obtain important props, and unlock hidden plots of the Mysterious Tower and the Slaughter Tower.】

Wen Xishu was shocked.

He realized that the invitation letter might be something that only a very small number of people could trigger.

In his limited memory, it seemed that no one had ever mentioned this thing.

This thing could actually ignore the logger restrictions and forcibly transfer to another tower?

What surprised Wen Xishu even more was that the invitation letter not only mentioned the Tower of Desire but also mentioned the Slaughter Tower. The connection between the Three Towers was tighter than he thought.

He thought of the differentiated notes of Mysterious Jennifer and Desire Jennifer; could it be that there was also Slaughter Jennifer?

Little Jennifer suddenly spoke, interrupting Wen Xishu's thoughts:

"Big brother... look, the stairs have appeared!"

(End of chapter)