Chapter 82: Scorpio or Pisces?

Now there were two choices in front of Wen Xishu: one was a violent breakthrough, and the other was to use the necklace.

The Mysterious Tower restarted; the necklace used in the Tower of Desire could also be used in the Mysterious Tower.

However, the problem was, if he couldn't clear the level at once after using it...

Then he would be hunted down by all the green-clothed people in the entire building. This was the most terrifying part.

Wen Xishu didn't know what choice to make for a moment, and his heart began to weigh the pros and cons of the two options. He pressed "Gradual Indifference" with one hand and held the Scorpio Blade with the other.

Just as he was still thinking about whether to use a teammate to test the level of these green-clothed people...

He suddenly heard movement!

A creaking sound came; it was the sound of a door opening.

At this moment, the two guards at the door and the guard at the stairwell all turned around in unison.

"It's... Young Master Jincheng and Young Master Youxuan's friend, right."

Wen Xishu was shocked, but quickly adjusted his emotions. He really hadn't expected 42-7 to say such a thing.

"Some things, it's better to come inside and talk. Please come in."

Wen Xishu did not go in and still did not move.

As long as the guards didn't see him, and the other party didn't give a reason sufficient for him to move, he wouldn't act.

After waiting for about thirty seconds, the old man in the room said:

"The knife in your hand. It is resonating with some things in my house."

"I have been waiting here for a long time, please come in."

His tone seemed a bit tired, but seeing that Wen Xishu still had no movement, he was not in a hurry and slowly said:

"The story of Jicheng is not over yet, it's just that for you, it's over."

"You are a very special existence, but so is my master."

"However, right now, you don't need to worry that I will hurt you. Because you are the person the master is waiting for."

"And since you were able to get that knife, it means that back then... it was you who took away Young Master Jincheng."

"Then you should also know that I am not greedy now; I am very generous."

Yes, the function of the Reverse Seven Array was to make the seven sins operate in reverse.

In other words, in this array, the person living in 42-7 was actually an extremely generous person, generous to the point of being morbid.

However, according to Wen Xishu's understanding, this generosity was mostly reflected in the attitude toward money and power.

So he still didn't act.

The old man sighed:

"No wonder you were able to save the two young masters back then. No wonder... you are really cautious. But I am really not your enemy."

"Generous to my level, I don't care about anything anymore. At least... please let me complete the master's task and reach a deal with you."

"You can also continue to choose not to come in, then... you won't be able to break the array here, and I won't leave, and you will never reach the ending where everyone survives."

"Your task completion rate won't be too high, I think that's not what a powerful Tower Ascender like you wants to see. After all, according to what I know, you only have one chance."

Almost every sentence of this old man made Wen Xishu feel astonished. It could be said that the other party had already spoken out some of the core secrets of the Tower Ascenders.

How did he know? He even said words like completion rate? And knew that one could only explore once.

"Don't you want to know the follow-up of the two young masters? Or is it... you already know? No... that's not right, according to my master's understanding, you came here, which means in your timeline, you just came into contact with our world. After all, the building I am responsible for is for screening newcomers."

A little chill went down his back, and Wen Xishu finally decided not to hide anymore, because he had a premonition that there was another hidden task waiting for him.

He stepped out.

At this moment, his figure also appeared in the eyes of the green-clothed guards.

The two guards appeared in front of Wen Xishu in the blink of an eye, and Wen Xishu subconsciously wanted to raise his knife, but the old man suddenly coughed:

"Rude things, step down."

The guards disappeared instantly. Disappeared on the spot.

The old man's voice came again:

"Please come into the room."

Wen Xishu did not hesitate anymore, walked down from the stairs, and then entered the corridor.

The old man's figure also appeared in his eyes.

The old man was wearing a black suit, his hair and beard were all white, he held a silver cane in his hand, and the age spots on his face showed that he had lived for a long time.

His eyes seemed to hide the ocean, as if he could drown a person just by staring at them. But when he smiled and made a gesture of inviting him into the room...

Wen Xishu had a feeling of seeing Jia Baer again.

He instantly had a guess about this old man.

This was naturally not An Rongzai; of course, An Rongzai might also be able to pretend to be a humble gentleman, but he had seen An Rongzai's portrait.

Wen Xishu walked into 42-7. To make Wen Xishu feel safe, the old man did not close the door and sat naturally.

Wen Xishu noticed... something was echoing with his knife.

But that was not Scorpio's knife; in this room, there was only one Scorpio knife, which was the one in Wen Xishu's hand.

The old man first introduced himself:

"My name is Jin Zaimin. You hold this knife, perhaps you have already learned about me."

An Rongzai's confidant, absolute confidant... Wen Xishu knew this person; he knew it when he was exploring in his own room and doing his homework.

"Long admired, in a sense, you are the right-hand man of the Three Balls Group."

"You flatter me," Jin Zaimin smiled.

Wen Xishu prepared to get to the point:

"My task is to let you survive. Why don't you tell me how to leave here."

Jin Zaimin shook his head:

"No, it's you who need to survive; as for how many people can leave, that is your extra task."

Good guy, even the bonus points for this task were so clear.

Wen Xishu asked:

"As far as I know, you shouldn't know these things."

Jin Zaimin was silent for a while and smiled:

"Let me think, where should I start. Have you heard of the Breakers?"

Wen Xishu nodded:

"Heard of them."

Jin Zaimin asked:

"Have you come into contact with them? Do the people in your world already know about them? It's a pity, I don't have anything to entertain you with; there are many refugees outside the building, and I donated some supplies."

Wen Xishu noticed that the room was indeed very simple, much simpler than when he first entered An Jincheng's room.

But some constellation elements could still be observed.

"I have come into contact with them. The people in our world... also have some who know the Breakers very well."

Jin Zaimin said:

"Then you should be clear that even if I know everything, it is reasonable."

This sentence had already answered Wen Xishu's question.

Wen Xishu said:

"You want to say that everything about you was told to you by the Breakers? But could there be Breakers in this place? This is just... a very early place."

Jin Zaimin did not deny it:

"You can continue to ask some questions."

Wen Xishu asked again:

"Who is that Breaker?"

This time Jin Zaimin shook his head:

"Sorry, that's a secret. Our people are all over Jicheng and are about to spread to other places. And you, you were once the benefactor of the two young masters, or rather, the guide."

"The two young masters also made a name for themselves later. From my perspective, you are not our enemy. I have killed many people. I have experienced too many reincarnations. I will not hurt you who hold this knife."

Wen Xishu was shocked.

Indeed, this task on the seventh floor definitely hadn't been visited only by him and Amiao, Xiao Wu, and others. It was true that many people would die on this floor. But shouldn't those people before have died at the hands of An Youxuan?

After all, it was only after the fate trajectory was re-anchored that the owner of this room became Jin Zaimin. Jin Zaimin seemed to know Wen Xishu's doubts:

"I said, our time is different."

Too many doubts.

Wen Xishu said:

"In my common sense... this place shouldn't have Breakers."

Jin Zaimin also admitted:

"It's not that there are no Breakers. It's just that you can't meet them in this place. You are not as free as we are; you are limited by the area."

Wen Xishu understood. Very reasonable. Just like he met the hidden Breaker doctor on the 21st floor of the Tower of Desire.

But in that timeline, there were no Breakers near Tang Rui in the distant Jiangcheng.

The Tower of Desire and the Mysterious Tower were divided into levels by area restrictions, so in the same timeline, there were no Breakers in this area, which did not mean there were no Breakers in other areas.

Wen Xishu sighed again, this was figuring out everything about the Tower Ascenders.

Just like on a rainy night in Jiangcheng, Wen Xishu felt that perhaps there were powerful existences in other areas.

The Breaker who provided information to Jin Zaimin must have experienced many restarts, and each time they were not discovered by other Tower Ascenders.

This shocked Wen Xishu too much. What level of Breaker in the Tower of Desire must this be? Wen Xishu instantly thought of a result.

"I am in Jicheng on the seventh floor, Miracle Building. This area is an area that meets the difficulty of the seventh floor of the Mysterious Tower. But in the same timeline... other areas of Jicheng are likely higher levels of the Mysterious Tower, or higher levels of the Tower of Desire."

"Breakers will appear in the higher-level areas of the Tower of Desire. This Breaker is very powerful; he has figured out all the mechanisms and power of the Tower Ascenders."

"At the same time, he contacts people in other areas and masters the clues of people in other areas in cycle after cycle?"

Wen Xishu did not know if his guess was correct. But he knew that if he asked directly, Jin Zaimin would definitely not mention it.

When an NPC realizes that their camp has a super NPC who can tamper with the underlying source code, they will definitely try to hide it.

Wen Xishu was surprised in his heart, what kind of role was An Rongzai?

Jin Zaimin said:

"According to your way, the higher you go, the smaller the difference between the normal world and the obsession world. I don't need to explain too much to you, and I can't tell you who is telling these things."

Wen Xishu asked:

"Then you invited me in, what do you want to tell me?"

Jin Zaimin said:

"Reach an agreement with you. My master, An Rongzai, needs to use your power to change the future of some areas..."

Wen Xishu thought he knew An Rongzai well enough. But now he realized that he had seriously underestimated this terrifying old man. Was this old monster a Three Towers version of Albert?

He instantly sorted out the logic and couldn't help but want to applaud An Rongzai:

"As expected of the number one person in the Three Balls Group, he knew about the Breakers, knew about the Tower Ascenders through the Breakers, and knew how to change the fate trajectory and re-anchor history by knowing the various deeds of the Tower Ascenders..."

"And then by re-anchoring history, thought of using this method... to disintegrate the enemy?"

Using the ability of Bunker players to re-anchor the fate trajectory to kill those enemies who couldn't be killed from the root.

This was simply like an NPC grabbing the player's controller and then manipulating the character to kill other NPCs...

Wen Xishu really didn't expect that An Rongzai could do this to such an extent.

This time, it was Jin Zaimin's turn to be surprised:

"You... you almost said it all correctly."

Wen Xishu was convinced:

"I can understand now why those two brothers were so afraid of An Rongzai in their bones. I have one question, how did An Rongzai conquer that Breaker?"

"Or is he that Breaker? A Breaker who can remember the memories before the restart, a pure fun-seeker... would actually be tamed by An Rongzai and used by An Rongzai?"

Jin Zaimin shook his head and said:

"My master is of course not a Breaker, but he possesses the ability to control Breakers."

"I said, our time is different."

Many thoughts instantly appeared in Wen Xishu's mind. The one who could make An Rongzai kneel and beg for a miracle to descend was Scorpio.

But through his own efforts, Wen Xishu made An Rongzai lose the bet between Scorpio and Gemini. An Rongzai also lost the possibility of using the Miracle Building to complete a miracle.

But as it seems now, An Rongzai not only completed it but also learned many secrets. An old man, no matter how powerful, couldn't create something out of nothing; the one who could create something out of nothing and create miracles... was Scorpio.

But Scorpio was not the only such existence. If the constellation was a code name, then there should be twelve holders of such code names...

Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces.

Those patterns flashed in Wen Xishu's mind, and he suddenly thought of a constellation.

Pisces.

Wen Xishu hadn't come into contact with Pisces so far. But he remembered the pattern, the yin-yang fish, like a Taiji diagram, and also a bit like an Ouroboros.

These few were all related to time. And Jin Zaimin emphasized several times that our time is different.

Could it be that Pisces' characteristic was related to time? Just like Scorpio's characteristic was related to games.

Wen Xishu decided to play a card directly:

"It's Pisces, right?"

Jin Zaimin was shocked. Honestly, he had thought this young man was very powerful, but he didn't expect him to be this powerful. He suddenly had a feeling that perhaps I shouldn't have opened my mouth.

【How could he know...】

The barrage appeared, and Wen Xishu captured the barrage in an instant.

At this moment, memories appeared in his mind.

The scene in the memory looked like a park, an observation deck in a park that could overlook half of Hanjiang and Jicheng.

Beside An Rongzai was a woman. They stood together, looking like a grandfather and granddaughter.

But the grandfather's tone carried a slight unease, while the granddaughter looked very calm.

"The war you mentioned is too ethereal for me. Can a small shrimp like me eat my way up step by step and become a big fish? If I become a big fish, will I just happen to be food for someone like you?"

The woman said lightly:

"You can't see such a distant future... but with your wisdom, you already have the answer in your heart, don't you? At least, you have to become a big fish first."

An Rongzai sighed:

"I have always feared time the most. Time is like a giant whale waiting silently in the deep sea. I am afraid it won't eat me, just because I am too small."

"But you are right, if I don't become a big fish, I will only be eaten by other more lowly things."

The conversation ended. Wen Xishu saw the back of Pisces from Jin Zaimin's perspective.

That was the back of a young woman.

He had to admit that whether it was the hidden task on the seventh floor of the Tower of Desire or the task on the seventh floor of the Mysterious Tower, the difficulty was actually not high.

But the things and people involved were really one stronger than the other.

Wen Xishu continued:

"It really is Pisces. What does she want to do? The war has started; is it talking about the war between these constellations?"

"Could it be that our world is actually the battlefield for their war?"

Jin Zaimin suddenly panicked a little, and he hurriedly shook his head:

"It's a pity, I can't answer such a complex question for you, but you have passed the interview. If possible, please accept the mark and become our ally."

Although Jin Zaimin learned a lot of information about Tower Ascenders through the existence behind the scenes, Jin Zaimin was still an NPC in the eyes of Tower Ascenders after all.

He didn't know that after he made the invitation, Wen Xishu suddenly saw such a prompt in his eyes—

【Is the damage to the world by game-like rules greater, or is the damage to the world by the misalignment of time greater? Among the many forces, some choose to unite with each other, and some choose to remain silent in this war. Naturally, there will also be existences that oppose each other.】

【The war between Pisces and Scorpio has already begun.】

【You will face the following choices:】

【1: Accept the proposal from An Rongzai's forces, accept Pisces' mark, and your Three Towers journey will be easier to enter the Scorpio force area. And the main task is to destroy and restart the area. Once the choice is made, the Mysterious Tower task will end five minutes after the choice, and the rating will be the highest completion level. Pisces' favorability will be greatly improved.】

【2: Reject An Rongzai's proposal. Your Three Towers journey will have no force tendency and will be more inclined to random experience. Once the choice is made, the Mysterious Tower task will end five minutes after the choice, and the Mysterious Tower task item Scorpio Blade will be strengthened and amplified once. Scorpio's favorability will be slightly improved. But it may trigger the hostility of Pisces and An Rongzai, and affect the completion rating of this task, and the survival difficulty of this task will fluctuate.】

Seeing Wen Xishu fall into silence, Jin Zaimin thought the other party was thinking and didn't urge him.

Wen Xishu was indeed thinking. He found it a bit funny; he had only climbed the tower for the third time, and he was asked to fight Scorpio?

However, at this moment, two images did appear in his mind: one was a playful evil child, and the other was a woman with a cold face who seemed to see through everything.

It was foreseeable that one constellation represented one force... these forces were all over the various areas of the Three Towers. There were both in the Tower of Desire and the Mysterious Tower, so it was thought that there would be in the Slaughter Tower as well.

Most of them did not formally engage in war with each other, except for Pisces and Scorpio.

Because he got Scorpio's knife and broke Scorpio's game, he attracted Pisces' attention. At the same time, An Rongzai also hugged Pisces' thigh. An Rongzai also intended to use his own power to kill the enemy "from the past."

For this task, this was a win-win choice.

Choosing 1, his enemy would no longer be An Rongzai, the demon king of Jicheng, but the even more terrifying Scorpio.

Choosing 2, Scorpio might not be a friend, and Pisces and An Rongzai, the terrifying demon king of Jicheng, might also become enemies... and even the completion rate of this task might not be high.

Option 2 didn't seem cost-effective no matter how you looked at it.

However, interestingly, Wen Xishu noticed a detail: even if he chose option one, Scorpio would not lower his favorability, and although he destroyed the bet between Scorpio and Gemini, Scorpio didn't seem angry either.

"I can't be led astray by the options."

Not reaching the highest completion level in one task didn't count for much to Wen Xishu.

The image Scorpio showed was an evil child who teased others, using game-like elements to make the Three Towers world a mess.

But the Three Towers game had game content, and for Wen Xishu, who was used to using player thinking, it was actually a benefit. Otherwise, why call it the Three Towers game?

If Pisces' ability was related to time, then naturally, she would also conflict with the Bunker players. And Wen Xishu hated people who played with time from the bottom of his heart.

Bunker players had no choice but to follow the rules, but Pisces did not.

The choice Wen Xishu finally made was option 2.

【The attributes of the Scorpio Blade have been improved for the second time; check the specific attributes at the guide. Scorpio favorability +5, Pisces favorability -10. Five minutes later, this task will end, and everyone will return to the Bunker.】

【This task has produced difficulty fluctuations. If you die before returning to the guide, it will be considered a task failure.】

Wen Xishu made his choice, and although he hadn't spoken yet, he could already see hostility in Jin Zaimin's eyes.

Wen Xishu understood; dying within five minutes and the task being considered a failure was probably the current situation.

The hostility in Jin Zaimin's eyes gradually escalated into killing intent. And outside the door, several green-clothed staff members had appeared at some point.

The current survival difficulty probably already exceeded the original difficulty of the seventh floor of the Mysterious Tower.

As an offering for "Suppressing Seven," Jin Zaimin was clearly a boss-level existence in this task, and it wouldn't be difficult for him to kill Wen Xishu.

However, Wen Xishu felt this was very exciting:

"It seems my choice doesn't allow me to live."

Jin Zaimin nodded and said:

"The chairman will not make the same mistake twice, nor will he let the same person stop him twice."

Wen Xishu pretended not to hear:

"Before you kill me, can you tell me, after the seven of you die... what will happen?"

Jin Zaimin said:

"The seven-sin roots of the seven offerings will be absorbed and instilled into my child, who will become the new miracle created by the Miracle Building."

Wen Xishu understood; there were seven such demons, seven demons, all extremely greedy, extremely gluttonous, extremely lustful, extremely furious, extremely arrogant, extremely envious, extremely lazy.

And all seven were miracle products, and all seven would become seven perfect offerings...

In the end, they would be absorbed by An Rongzai.

Wen Xishu didn't know why An Rongzai could still use this ritual, but that was not the point right now.

He said:

"It's easy to kill me, but you heard it, becoming a big fish will be swallowed by the giant whale of time, and your master An Rongzai is also afraid of Pisces."

"Mr. Jin, you will die, and your child will be like you, becoming An Rongzai's food. You are the small fish that let him become a big fish. But you don't care, because everything is for the group."

Jin Zaimin indeed didn't care:

"I have contributed my whole life to the chairman, and the Three Balls Group! I don't lose to the chairman in my desire for the group to grow! Besides, I won't die."

For Jin Zaimin, these seven days were infinite; if he died, he would restart, and then through the power of the Breakers and Pisces, he would know everything that happened in the previous seven days.

So, in a sense, he was immortal, or it could be said that he had forever become a part of the Three Balls Group.

Wen Xishu nodded:

"When facing Scorpio, An Rongzai didn't choose to pin all his hopes on Scorpio's plan. On the contrary, he chose Pisces unexpectedly."

"Then this time is the same. In this world, besides An Rongzai, there is another person who longs for the revival of the Three Balls Group. His name is An Youxuan."

Hearing the name An Youxuan, Jin Zaimin suddenly stopped. Wen Xishu struck while the iron was hot:

"You can blindly trust your chairman, but if your chairman were here, he would definitely choose not to kill me, because if I survive, An Youxuan and An Jincheng will have more possibilities."

"You have followed your chairman for so long, you should understand that you should always be prepared and create more variables in everything, otherwise how can you turn the tables again and again?"

"You have countless seven days to cycle... but you will never meet me a second time. You only have this one chance to make a choice for An Youxuan and the others!"

"The possibility of not being swallowed by the giant whale might just be in this one choice!"

This bold statement really moved Jin Zaimin. He stood up and stared at Wen Xishu for a long time, and he actually had a feeling of seeing An Rongzai when he was young. He finally opened his mouth and said:

"I hope you keep your word. This won't be the last time you deal with the Three Balls Group."

The killing intent from Jin Zaimin had completely faded.

But Wen Xishu didn't feel relaxed.

This task was actually not difficult, but he seemed to have already seen the prelude to a grand war.

He didn't know what completion level he would achieve this time, or how many "constellations" would pay attention to him. In Wen Xishu's view, it was not a good thing for these constellations to notice him too early.

However, he was still optimistic:

"Forget it, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, let's get the reward first."

In a sense, Wen Xishu had shaped a powerful enemy for the Tower Ascenders climbing the Slaughter Tower—An Rongzai.

But he had a feeling that An Rongzai was somewhat different from the pure killing monsters in the Slaughter Tower.

Wen Xishu now really wanted to go to the academy and ask Albert; the old guy who had climbed to the 90th floor of the Slaughter Tower must have heard of various wars in the Slaughter Tower.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 83 =====