Chapter 73: Team Up for the Desire Tower

The second day, night.

With only twenty-five points of action power remaining, A-Miao initiated another meeting.

When her face appeared on the screen before everyone, everyone in the Wen Xishu Divine Sect was concerned for her.

"A-Miao, what happened to you!"

Xiao Wu was actually in worse shape than A-Miao.

His skin was scalded, covered in many blisters and pustules from the burns, but he was the first to snap out of his self-loathing and immediately ask about A-Miao's condition.

"Damn it, A-Miao, Xiao Wu, what the hell is going on with you two? Did the bastard next door bully you?" Wu Xiangjiao asked furiously.

Although Wu Xiangjiao had begun to loathe women, he did not loathe A-Miao; he understood how difficult things were for her.

Wen Xishu hadn't appeared for long, only a few days, but people willing to exchange their sordid pasts always easily become friends.

Just like what Wen Xishu did with Tang Rui, exchanging pasts would cause their relationship to warm up rapidly.

"A-Miao! Don't hurt yourself! Even if these injuries aren't brought back, dying in the Weird Tower means dying in reality! You aren't alone; you still have us!"

Wen Xiange felt deep heartache.

Wen Xishu even saw the mental barrage floating above Wen Xiange's head.

He was truly quite surprised.

Because this character, who seemed like a pyramid scheme leader, was so vastly different from the image he had anticipated.

This person genuinely cared for these people.

A prisoner who had finished his labor reform, a woman trapped by a terminal illness, a loafer who engaged in petty theft, and a lecturer who was down on his luck but truly possessed great love in his heart.

These people had actually become each other's support in times of despair.

Wen Xishu suddenly felt that it was somewhat unreal.

The people he met in the last Weird Tower rest area could be called villains, one and all. Even Zheng Zai had somewhat perverted attributes.

He felt that was reasonable; that was the face a Weird Tower climber should have.

But there was actually a group of people in the bunker who, despite their bitter fates, retained a fundamental goodness.

They were truly weak, so weak that as long as someone showed them a shred of kindness, they could reignite the hope to live.

When the epidemic broke out on the first and second floors of the bunker, the higher-ups chose to cut off the access passages; at that time, many people could only wait for death.

Wen Xishu wasn't actually aiming to save people; he was aiming to save himself, but even so, when everyone learned they would survive, they still thought of him. They even took him as their faith.

A-Miao said:

"It's fine, it's fine... Don't worry about me. Hey, I successfully persuaded that person to leave the apartment; this is something worth being happy about. By the way, I have a question: do you all know about an invitation letter?"

Wen Xiange, Xiao Wu, and Wu Xiangjiao all shook their heads, looking at A-Miao with some confusion.

Only Wen Xishu felt a ripple in his heart:

"You... obtained an invitation letter?"

"A-Shu, do you know about the invitation letter?" A-Miao looked at Wen Xishu.

Wen Xishu nodded:

"Yes, I know. With an invitation letter, you will receive an additional mission, but correspondingly, you may also unlock higher-level rewards; it counts as a good thing. You'll know the specific situation once you get the invitation letter."

Wen Xishu had a rough idea now.

A-Miao had actually succeeded in sending away her neighbor just like him, and she had done it perfectly.

At the same time, A-Miao's neighbor, that comedian, also had the potential to evolve into a Weird-prefix character.

This truly caught Wen Xishu by surprise.

Not Venerable Wen, not Xiao Wu, and not Wu Xiangjiao... A-Miao, who he thought had the lowest ability in the team, had actually performed a highlight act at a critical moment.

This was truly unimaginable to Wen Xishu.

The original plan was to use this meeting to identify the remaining two people with Weird potential out of the seven.

There were three invitation letters, and he wanted them all. Now it was different. The situation now was that A-Miao had already found one of the two remaining people with Weird-prefix potential.

At the same time, he had to face a possibility: would A-Miao go to that Desire Tower rest area with him? Teaming up to go to the Desire Tower was truly a first-time experience.

Would this expose more of his secrets? Should he... find a way to let A-Miao die here?

This thought flashed by, but was quickly dismissed by Wen Xishu.

Because all four of them were doing the same action: they were pressing their palms together, whispering their gratitude to Wen Xishu.

The lord who blessed them.

Although that was just a concept, an idol without any specificity, and not the real him.

Yet Wen Xishu still felt a very slight fluctuation:

"Forget it. Tonight, after the action power recovers at twelve, I'll give A-Miao a small test... If she can pass it, I'll help her once."

Wen Xishu said:

"Xiao Wu, Xiangjiao, Venerable, did you three have success?"

The three began to recount their situations. The first was Xiao Wu, because Xiao Wu's skin had many pustules, which was the reaction after the burns.

Xiao Wu expressed that he found it very difficult to overcome that sense of inferiority and needed to constantly wash himself and purify himself.

After listening, Wen Xishu knew that this person was already unusable. Extreme inferiority was even more terrifying than arrogance.

"Xiao Wu, all your actions are canceled. From now on, you are only responsible for one thing: initiating the meeting at a fixed time every day. All your action power will be used to open the meeting to save time for others."

"You are ugly... Your current appearance makes me feel disgusted. If you continue to wash with hot water and let your body change in the slightest, I will consider persuading everyone to abandon you."

Wen Xishu's tone was extremely cold.

Wu Xiangjiao was initially a bit angry, but then, Venerable Wen also said:

"Yes, what A-Shu said is what I wanted to say."

Venerable Wen spoke very briefly, because he also couldn't bear to treat Xiao Wu this way. But sometimes, inferior people simply cannot listen to others' encouragement, because any amount of encouragement feels undeserved.

But they pay special attention to others' criticism and blame.

Xiao Wu didn't say anything, just nodded.

Wen Xiange and Wu Xiangjiao also began to recount their experiences, and both had failed. Wen Xiange's experience made Wen Xishu feel the stench even through the screen.

Wu Xiangjiao's account made all the men present feel an involuntary pain in their lower bodies.

"Sorry, I failed too... Honestly, I was scared at the time. That posture, it was self-mutilation, it was making himself castrated. His calm appearance really made me want to escape quickly." Wu Xiangjiao was somewhat dejected.

Wen Xiange also said:

"If only... if only I could have endured it. I don't even dare to enter that room now."

Wen Xishu said:

"Alright, I know the situation. Venerable, you and Xiangjiao still have action power. Try to swap later. Don't interact with the neighbors anymore, but choose to explore this building instead."

"And Xiangjiao, you go to the neighbor's house that the Venerable is responsible for... You'd better wear a mask or something."

"Venerable, go to the neighbor's house that Xiangjiao is responsible for."

Wen Xiange and Wu Xiangjiao thought about it...

It was actually possible; perhaps the person they couldn't handle could be easily handled by the other.

Wen Xiange sighed again that A-Shu was truly a good teammate. Wen Xishu finally added:

"A-Miao, don't consume any action power tonight. With the invitation letter, your action power is exceptionally precious."

A-Miao nodded:

"I know, I'll listen to you."

This meeting concluded here.

Wen Xishu no longer had action power, and A-Miao had also initiated two meetings and had no action power left.

The two could only wait.

Miracle Building. The third day of the seven-day survival.

Everyone invaded by the Weird was also becoming more extreme.

A-Miao stroked her wounds, thinking of that dream where she was operated on without anesthesia, and the doctor told him the cancer cells had spread.

She let out a laugh, scaring the doctor. At this moment, she truly let out a laugh, stroking her face that was still bleeding.

Wen Xiange began to feel nauseous; the events of the day had become an inescapable shadow.

Wu Xiangjiao kept thinking about the phrase, "A-Jiao, let's complete the purification."

This was only the third day, and some people had already reached the point of obsession. Conversely, the increasingly inferior Xiao Wu kept looping Wen Xishu's words and that look of disgust in his mind, fearing being even more disgusted.

But fortunately, everyone still had the ability to think. The distorted traits could not yet suppress their desire to survive.

Wen Xishu couldn't fall asleep, and since he couldn't do anything else, time passed somewhat slowly for him.

And Wen Xishu was also very clear that with an invitation letter, there was a possibility of completely rewriting the dungeon's source code.

So his action power should not be wasted. Therefore, he could only wait patiently for the 24-hour countdown to end.

In the somewhat agonizing wait, he finally received the invitation letter.

[Obtained item: Invitation Letter · The Chaebol's Youngest Son.]

When Wen Xishu received this prompt, he jumped up instantly. His dark circles were somewhat obvious, and the bloodshot eyes were a bit exaggerated, but the excitement on his face showed his physical condition was still quite good.

He quickly tore open the invitation letter.

[On the road to playing a loser, he has always been very diligent, always thinking that his grandfather could see his true inner thoughts. But is there really no family affection in a chaebol family? He doesn't like his current name. All of this started from the moment his grandfather came into contact with that person who called himself Scorpio. Perhaps you can help him find happiness.]

[Note: This mission involves clues to unlock fragments of other levels with seven-level completeness. Even in the Desire Tower, you may encounter danger. Please allocate luck points at your discretion.]

Wen Xishu's eyes lit up instantly.

Scorpio?

He is currently sensitive to Seven, but also sensitive to constellations. A completion rate of level six will invite the gaze of certain special existences.

The first time, he was subjected to the gaze of the Weird Gemini.

The second time, he encountered the gaze of the Weird Virgo, as well as the gaze of Gemini.

This is the third time climbing the tower; Wen Xishu thought about it carefully...

Suddenly, he found a bit of a pattern.

"Gemini, perhaps it means that in the Three Towers game, there exist two people who are mutually attracted, just like Jack and Jennifer, mutually attracting one another. This is Gemini."

"Virgo, perhaps it means that in the Three Towers game, one will encounter a female who was originally supposed to be very pure, but who will undergo a drastic change leading to complete distortion."

"Then what about Scorpio?"

Wen Xishu actually doesn't pay much attention to constellations. His greatest understanding of constellations comes from Saint Seiya.

However, this special manifestation of the Weird Tower this time, this action point mechanism... perhaps indicates that Scorpio is related to the game.

Wen Xishu has read quite a bit of obscure knowledge; William Higinbotham, who is known in history as the "Father of Video Games," was a Scorpio.

Among the stereotypes on major websites, one trait of Scorpio is "loves to play and loves to mess with opponents."

"So, does Scorpio mean that if there are many gamified attributes, then in the Three Towers game, this area is very likely to be gazed upon by Scorpio?"

All of the above are Wen Xishu's guesses; it is very likely that the rules truly corresponding to constellations like Virgo, Gemini, and Scorpio have absolutely nothing to do with what he has guessed.

However, Wen Xishu is still very interested, because previous missions did not mention these constellations, but this time, the mission actively mentioned them.

At the same time, there is a new mechanism this time: luck value allocation.

Wen Xishu is not clear on what that is about; he figures he will only know after entering the Desire Tower.

Xiao Wu's video conference arrived on schedule.

A Miao had also already received the invitation letter, and she couldn't care about much else:

"A-Shu, this... this thing mentions going to the Desire Tower?"

Wen Xishu nodded. A Miao's reaction made him feel it was very reasonable. She truly had no defenses against anyone.

"It also mentions a level seven completion rate... fragments. I don't understand these things; they feel so far away from me. But it seems like another opportunity," A Miao said.

The others listened, all showing expressions of shock.

Level seven completion rate?

Wasn't that something that could only be reached at specific levels? It is said that the level seven products in the history of the bunker were achieved through the joint efforts of Albert, Mr. Jin, and several other powerful existences who have already disappeared from people's sight, each working from different towers.

In the entire bunker, there are only a few level seven facilities in total.

They all suspected they had misheard; how could they start discussing such ethereal things in a level seven Weird Tower?

Just at this moment, Wen Xishu really wanted to ask A Miao:

"A Miao, the invitation letter brings opportunities, but if you can't grasp them, wasting the chance will cause a great loss."

"If you trust me, you can give the invitation letter to me."

After he finished speaking, he carefully observed A Miao's reaction. A Miao did not smile; clearly, she was truly aware of how rare this thing was.

But in the end, she still nodded:

"A-Shu, your brain is very good. I've seen it these past few days; every exploration you make is an effective one. Giving the invitation letter to me... would very likely waste important clues."

"I will consume action points to find you later! And give this thing to you."

Actually, Wen Xishu had already thought of this answer, but when he truly heard A Miao say it, he was still somewhat surprised.

Wen Xishu smiled involuntarily:

"I was joking. A Miao, go change into a long-sleeved shirt. In ten minutes, activate the invitation letter. We will meet in the next area; there are some things I need to instruct you on."

A Miao was stunned:

"You... aren't you afraid I'll ruin things?"

Wen Xishu shook his head with a smile. The Desire Tower world is so big, what could she ruin? His favorability rating with all members of the Xishu Divine Sect is still relatively high right now.

Wen Xishu said:

"The invitation letter has already taught you how to use it; we will meet in a moment. As for the others, Venerable, Xiao Wu, Banana, do not use your action points yet."

"A Miao and I will be back soon. After the meeting ends, Xiao Wu, you start the meeting again in twenty minutes."

Xiao Wu was puzzled:

"T-twenty minutes is enough? I just feel like you guys are about to be invited to do something incredible? And the interval only needs to be that short?"

Because it was a meeting, and because A Miao had asked beforehand, Wen Xishu could not hide the matter of the invitation letter.

Regarding the final handling of these people, he decided to make a judgment after returning from the Desire Tower.

Wen Xishu said:

"Mm, just do as I say. Twenty minutes after this meeting ends, you consume another twenty-five action points and start the meeting. Do you understand?"

Xiao Wu nodded:

"I... although I'm useless, I will do this small thing well."

Wen Xishu said:

"Good, see you later."

The meeting ended.

When the screen disappeared, Wen Xishu and A Miao both picked up their invitation letters and pressed their handprints onto them.

Desire Tower, rest area.

The incredibly familiar hawking made Wen Xishu realize quickly that he had arrived at the rest area once again.

At the same time, he discovered A Miao beside him. A Miao was still somewhat dazed. Experiencing the teleportation of an invitation letter for the first time, these are normal reactions.

Fortunately, the hawking about the bending guide for Miyazaki Takakao coming from next door also made A Miao gradually sober up.

"Where... where have we arrived?"

Although A Miao already knew she would come here through the prompts of the invitation letter, coming this way for the first time... still made her incredibly astonished.

"Welcome to the Desire Tower rest area, A Miao. Let's officially get to know each other; you can check my ID," Wen Xishu said.

A Miao was puzzled; she originally didn't care about this, but since A-Shu mentioned it, she lightly touched Wen Xishu.

A Miao silently recited in her mind the keyword the guide had taught her for viewing a teammate's attributes.

In this instant, Wen Xishu's ID appeared in her mind.

Her first reaction was not feeling that anything was wrong, but immediately after... her eyes began to widen bit by bit, and her mouth opened slightly, yet she couldn't say a single word.

She looked at Wen Xishu with a confused, incredulous gaze.

No spaces, no symbols, no numbers... these three characters, Wen Xishu, were exactly the same as the three characters she saw after the Attribute Owner in the bunker.

Wen Xishu smiled and leaned into A Miao's ear, whispering:

"Shh, please keep it a secret."

(End of chapter)