Chapter 74

Amiao found it hard to believe, but the fact was right before her eyes; she looked at it many, many times.

She actually didn't care what Wen Xishu looked like; after all, that was just a faith. When countless people in the lower levels were in despair, that person suddenly descended, and when everyone thought they were abandoned pawns...

Someone brought back a hospital, a Level 6 hospital at that, and placed it on the second floor.

Amiao had also heard of the magic of that hospital; the medicine from that hospital could cure all diseases, and there were some top-tier medical devices that had only recently been put into use.

In Amiao's view, she was also one of the saved.

She was grateful to Wen Xishu, but many times when praying with Venerable Wen, she didn't know whose face she should use in her heart.

She could only meditate on that name.

Now, she had finally seen Wen Xishu in person, and he didn't match any of the images she had imagined. Because she had never thought that the other party would be only seventeen or eighteen years old, the minimum age to enter the tower...

Although there were all sorts of rumors outside, and some said he was just seventeen or eighteen, an unworldly genius, to Amiao, that was too counter-intuitive.

It took Amiao over a minute to accept this fact, and she said with some disbelief:

"The Lord... is actually a child."

She was thirty, which was actually still very young. If not for the torture of illness, she would still have the appearance of someone who frequented the Tower of Desire, but because of the cancer and the anxiety in her mindset, she already looked a bit aged.

In her view, A-Shu was just a child.

Wen Xishu said:

"Amiao, I'm not a child either; I just look young. Remember, please keep it a secret. When you return to the Bunker and your body is healed, you can say the Lord has manifested, but don't tell them that I am that Lord."

Amiao was puzzled:

"Actually... actually, if you hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have thought to verify your ID... I will keep it a secret."

Wen Xishu shook his head:

"I told you proactively because your performance earned my trust. Rather than waiting for others to discover it, doubt it themselves, and then be unable to help spreading it, it's better for me to do it myself. At least now I have your guarantee that you will keep it secret."

"Besides, you are afraid, and I need a means to make you less afraid."

Yes, Amiao was afraid.

Arriving at the Rest Area meant that her status had been reset.

Only when returning to the Mysterious Tower would she return to the state of being invaded by the strange, and only then would she have that overly amplified optimism.

No matter what kind of torture she endured in the strange world, those negative effects would disappear once she returned to the space where the Guide was located.

Of course, death was the exception. Once one died in the Three Towers, one died in reality as well.

After leaving that building, Amiao's blind joy vanished, and she was afraid again. Wen Xishu always felt that this Mysterious Tower was a bit like the Tower of Desire.

Did that mean that this Tower of Desire might also be like the Mysterious Tower?

In any case, he didn't want Amiao to be affected by fear, and since Amiao's actions had indeed earned his trust, Wen Xishu revealed his name.

Amiao touched her own face:

"Ah! My face seems to have recovered too!"

Wen Xishu smiled:

"It's not 'seems,' it has indeed recovered."

Wen Xishu was still quite satisfied with this game mechanism; there were finally a few mechanisms that were relatively kind to players.

Once entering the Rest Area, one's negative effects were gone.

Of course, the influences players exerted on Three Towers people would be reset with the start of the next dungeon. For example, Wen Renjing's pendant and the gradual coldness.

Once the pendant's ability was used, it would cause a large group of people in the area to develop a favorable impression of the user, and the user's own sense of presence would decrease; many things they did would not attract people's attention.

But once the duration ended, these people who had been influenced would grow to dislike the user more and more, gradually becoming filled with malice. This negative effect would persist, and persist... until the game ended.

However, if the dungeon restarted, their memories of the user would also be wiped clean.

"By the way, you've been to the Tower of Desire before, right?" Wen Xishu asked.

Amiao nodded:

"I went when I was young."

Wen Xishu smiled:

"You are still very young now. Are you still afraid?"

Amiao shook her head:

"You... you are younger than I imagined, which means your talent is even higher than I imagined. I didn't expect that the Venerable's prayers would really be effective! We really matched together, and then the Lord really is protecting us!"

"You might not believe it, but actually, at that time, your words suddenly came to my mind, and that's why I made the correct move to let the comedy star, Teacher He, leave that room."

"I'm not afraid anymore, not afraid at all!"

Wen Xishu suddenly thought...

Could it really be such a coincidence? If he didn't count himself, there were four people in the team who were all from the Xishu Divine Sect. In so many areas and so many levels, it just happened that these four people met... Could it be that the Big Baldy actually had some tricks up his sleeve?

Wen Xishu didn't think too deeply about it; he said:

"What is your initial Luck Value now?"

Amiao didn't hide it; this was actually a rather critical number:

"9 points."

Wen Xishu gave an "oh" of surprise:

"How many times have you explored the Tower of Desire before?"

Amiao recalled for a moment and said:

"Sorry, I forgot the exact number. My login device at the time was taken by the Family Planning Bureau, and my current login device is the Mysterious..."

Amiao suddenly stopped. She wasn't stupid, after all, and immediately looked around. After discovering that no one had noticed her, she let out a sigh of relief and whispered:

"No wonder... you asked me to change into a long-sleeved shirt. Oh, I don't remember the exact number, but I must have explored about twenty times."

Wen Xishu calculated silently.

In other words, Amiao's Luck Value gain from exploring the Tower of Desire once... was less than one point.

So the experience points rewarded for Level 6 completion were actually that high. He had gotten fifteen points in two times.

Wen Xishu nodded:

"Good, what is the mission description you received from the invitation letter?"

Wen Xishu still had to confirm it to prevent the missions from being different due to the invitation letters being obtained under different conditions.

After Amiao answered truthfully, Wen Xishu was also convinced that their missions were indeed identical.

Both were "The Chaebol's Youngest Son."

But whether the specific mission target was Anzhen Seven was not yet clear; he would only know after entering the Tower of Desire.

Wen Xishu thought for a moment and said:

"Amiao, the invitation letter is a very rare and incredibly powerful item. It's very likely that after we return to the Mysterious Tower again... everything will have changed."

"Including the memories of the Venerable, Xiao Wu, and Xiangjiao; they might be different from ours. Remember, don't reveal these things to them."

Amiao nodded:

"Don't worry, what you tell me not to say, I absolutely will not say."

Wen Xishu still trusted Amiao. He looked around and said:

"I want to see if there are any acquaintances in the Rest Area. Remember to hide your watch well; don't let people see it. It wouldn't actually matter if they did, but it might bring you unnecessary trouble after returning to the Bunker."

Amiao nodded. She listened to Wen Xishu and changed into a long-sleeved shirt, which was a hoodie, and she simply put the hood up as well. The wide hood made it impossible for anyone to see her eyes. In this way, there was no chance of running into acquaintances in the Tower of Desire Rest Area.

Wen Xishu praised her inwardly. Amiao was the one he had the least expectations for at the start, but she was truly quick to catch on.

Wen Xishu guessed that the matter of allocating Luck Value would have to wait until they activated the invitation letter and entered the Tower of Desire. He didn't know how the allocation would work. Amiao had nine points, and he had fifteen.

How would this allocation behavior manifest in a teamed state?

But for now, Wen Xishu had another thing to do.

He took Amiao and walked directly toward the center of the Rest Area.

Wen Xishu actually wasn't sure he would run into that couple; after all... how could it be such a coincidence every time? As the old saying goes, once or twice is fine, but not three times.

But as it happened, when Wen Xishu's figure appeared in the central area, that couple appeared once again.

"Little friend, we meet again!"

This seemed to have switched to the speaking style of traditional Xianxia novels. Wen Xishu didn't even need to look to know that the couple had arrived:

"Teacher Ji, Teacher Liu, hello. This student greets both teachers."

Ji Boda and Liu Ruyan had appeared in the Rest Area together with Wen Xishu yet again.

Ji Boda sighed with emotion:

"This fate of ours... oh, is the young lady behind you your teammate this time?"

Amiao lowered her head, not letting the other party see her face.

Wen Xishu said candidly:

"Yes. By the way, two teachers, do you have a guide for the Level 7 mission target 'The Chaebol's Youngest Son'?"

Liu Ruyan chuckled:

"You little fellow, you're really getting more and more direct. You're not even putting up chips this time, are you?"

Wen Xishu said:

"Haven't you two asked the Principal?"

Ji Boda and Liu Ruyan had indeed gone to ask.

"We did ask, and we also know your identity, little friend. It's a pity, a pity... how did you... end up in the Slaughter Tower Academy?"

"But it's not your fault; you didn't have a choice."

Upon hearing this, Wen Xishu knew it was settled; that old madman Albert was being blunt with these two.

Wen Xishu actually wanted to see how the Principal viewed these two teachers. Now it seemed that this Ji Boda and Liu Ruyan were people who could be trusted. Or perhaps they were just people who didn't meddle in other people's business.

Wen Xishu said:

"I won't say much more. I hope the teachers can help me. If there is any good intelligence in the future, I will also provide feedback to the teachers. After all, you two should know that my abilities are decent."

They were quite decent.

As teachers of the Tower of Desire Academy, Ji Boda and Liu Ruyan had very high standards. Although they couldn't compare to a freak like Wen Renjing, they still had some tricks up their sleeves in the Tower of Desire.

After hearing about the deeds of "Wen Xun" from Albert, both were very surprised. So this child... really had no background.

The background was instead a huge burden.

So Ji Boda said:

"If it were any other student, I wouldn't be so attentive. I really want you to come to our Tower of Desire Academy. Tell me first, which level and which area is the intelligence you want to know about?"

Amiao was actually very surprised too; the teachers of the Tower of Desire Academy wanted to poach Wen Xishu? She now had more and more confidence and poise.

Wen Xishu said:

"Level 7, Zicheng, keywords: Conglomerate, Youngest Son."

Ji Boda and Liu Ruyan looked at each other, both with puzzled expressions. After a good while, Ji Boda said:

"I have actually been to Zicheng, and it really is on Level 7. But I didn't receive this mission. It's strange; we've counted the missions on Level 7, and there's only one mission for Zicheng."

Liu Ruyan said:

"Wen Xun isn't lying. It seems we missed it in our count, which is normal."

Wen Xishu was startled and hurriedly asked:

"Teachers, tell me, what is the mission for Zicheng on Level 7?"

Ji Boda said:

"This level's mission is very easy to do; many people hope to be assigned to this level. Simply put, the mission for this level is to help six people achieve happiness."

"In my memory, there's a comedian who likes to lose his temper, causing him to lose roles; a writer who has written several bestsellers but has long since lost inspiration and is very lazy; a somewhat otaku college student—it's said that it's very easy for girls to clear him, and the mission is easily completed; there's also a fatty who likes to eat, who can be handled easily with some cooking skills; and then there's a lawyer who is slightly harder to handle. Usually, no one chooses to clear him."

"And there's a mother who is exceptionally strict with her child... we started with this mother at the time. Ruyan tutored her child, and I... I was responsible for clearing the child's mother."

Pfft, Wen Xishu almost couldn't hold it in. This couple, they were this open?

Liu Ruyan saw Wen Xishu's micro-expression and said:

"To the two of us, the Tower of Desire is just a game. It doesn't matter if my husband plays with women in the game. Blocking is not as good as guiding."

Although Wen Xishu didn't agree, he still had to say: "Class! Teacher Liu is awesome!"

Wen Xishu roughly understood:

"Oh, it seems it really isn't the same mission. Then, two teachers, goodbye. My friend and I are preparing to head to the Tower of Desire."

Liu Ruyan said:

"This time, do we have to turn our backs again?"

Ji Boda also stared at Wen Xishu's wrist. Wen Xishu said:

"Alright, if the old Principal trusts you two, I trust you too."

Wen Xishu generously revealed his watch.

This time, Ji Boda and Liu Ruyan were truly shocked. When they heard the Principal talk about it, they felt it was a bit exaggerated; after all, the old madman was cynical and would occasionally prank them, the teachers.

But now, after truly seeing the color of the watch on Wen Xishu's hand...

They felt their eyes had been opened.

"A student from the Slaughter Tower Academy, carrying a Mysterious Tower device, heading to the Tower of Desire... I really... don't know what to think."

After hearing this, Amiao also realized that this was... experiencing all three towers at once?

Wen Xishu said:

"Alright, two teachers, thank you for the intelligence. See you if fate allows. Our fate seems to be quite deep."

Ji Boda nodded; he and Liu Ruyan were still somewhat surprised.

They knew a little secret: the old Principal's three closed-door disciples each occupied one lineage—Mysterious, Slaughter, and Desire.

But that student from the Mysterious Tower... suddenly had that incident happen.

As a result, that student's younger brother seemed to have inherited the mantle.

But now it seemed that this younger brother was different from that original student.

Ji Boda said:

"It is my honor to witness your growth. I hope you... you can avoid making any errors of principle."

Wen Xishu knew what those errors were. He didn't think he would make any errors. He would only redefine right and wrong.

Wen Xishu activated the login device.

Amiao also activated the login device.

At this moment, the prompt that appeared in Wen Xishu and Amiao's minds was as follows.

【Currently in a cooperative state. Should the team leader, Wen Xishu, be responsible for allocating Luck Value? If choosing team leader allocation, the Luck Value will be accumulated together. The team leader spot is determined by the person with the highest initial Luck Value. It is decided by a vote of everyone.】

Amiao was moved; she had explored dozens of times, yet her Luck Value was not as high as this teenager, Wen Xishu.

She chose "Yes" without hesitation.

Wen Xishu saw a number "1" appear on the "Yes" option in his field of vision. He knew Amiao was willing to hand the Luck Value over to him.

After Wen Xishu also chose "Yes," the Luck Value allocation options appeared.

【Total Luck Value: 20 points.】

At first, Wen Xishu was puzzled for a moment as to why there were only twenty points. But he quickly realized: marginal effect.

Luck Value was not a simple addition. If it were pure numerical addition, the Luck Value should have been 24 points.

But if that were the case, the significance of painstakingly increasing Luck Value would be far less convenient than finding a teammate.

Therefore, the accumulation of Luck Value had some kind of marginal effect algorithm; it was not simply added together.

【Current Luck Value options—】

【1: Appear directly near the mission target, consumes 19 Luck Value. Identity random, initial money random, favorability random, entry time point random.】

【2: Enter the Tower of Desire game as an identity trusted by the target, consumes 12 Luck Value, initial money random, distance to mission target random, entry time point random.】

【3: Obtain money at the "Wanton Squandering" level, consumes 12 Luck Value, identity random, distance to mission target random, favorability random.】

【4: Consumes 20 Luck Value, identity random, initial money random, favorability random, distance to mission target random, but the entry time point is the optimal time point. If holding an invitation letter, this effect is enhanced.】

【5: Consumes all Luck Value and permanently reduces Luck Value by 3 points, identity random, initial money random, favorability random, distance to mission target random, entry time point random, but will activate Scorpio Mode.】

Actually, there were many other options; there were dozens of options in total.

But the subsequent options were all about how much initial money, what kind of identity, what distance, etc., only the required Luck Value was getting lower and lower, and the corresponding mission completion difficulty was getting higher and higher.

This was also the first time Wen Xishu had seen such a situation.

There hadn't been such a situation before, including what Liu Ruyan and Ji Boda had just said; Wen Xishu had already thought of it.

This time, all the differences in process and form stemmed from that special existence—Scorpio.

He and Amiao had received a hidden mission.

Without a doubt, the mission Liu Ruyan and Ji Boda spoke of was actually the six households that moved into the Miracle Building.

But in the Miracle Building, there were seven people sacrificed.

Now, Wen Xishu and Amiao were in contact with the seventh one.

【Your teammate, Amiao, has chosen to give up having Luck Value. You can enjoy all the Luck Value. Now, please make your choice.】

Luck Value was not a one-time consumable, so Wen Xishu didn't feel there was anything difficult to choose; now, all he had to do was maximize the benefits.

If there were no underlying logic problems with the Three Towers' mission mechanism, then in Wen Xishu's view, the greater the consumption, the higher the benefit.

Wen Xishu quickly made his choice.

Wen Xishu and Amiao disappeared.

As always, Ji Boda and Liu Ruyan remained where they were.

"The old Principal once said something very strange," Ji Boda said.

Liu Ruyan nodded:

"I remember; I know which sentence you're talking about. He said this child hides unpredictable good and evil in his heart. Whether he ultimately falls into good or evil... is still unclear."

"But he is indeed a genius at climbing towers. I wasn't wrong; he might really be able to compare with those three students."

Ji Boda agreed with this statement:

"Whether the end is good or evil probably depends on how we treat him, right? The old Principal should hope that everyone treats him better."

Liu Ruyan was silent for a while:

"This time, he has a teammate. This might be a good thing."

Ji Boda said:

"What if it's like last time, and only one teammate is left alive?"

Liu Ruyan shook her head:

"I bet that both this child and that woman will return safely."

(End of Chapter)