Chapter 84: My Own Inviolable Domain

The Bunker, eighth level. Three Towers Academy, Principal’s office.

The moment Wen Xishu woke up...

Jia Baer had already brewed hot tea and handed a hot towel to Wen Xishu:

"You've worked hard, Student Wen. Use this hot towel to wipe your hands. This is tea prepared for you; mental exhaustion is exhaustion, too."

"The Principal will return tomorrow. You were gone for quite a while this time; the Principal will be very happy to have a conversation with you."

Wen Xishu’s consciousness gradually cleared. He was somewhat surprised; Jia Baer’s service was simply thoughtful.

Had he been waiting here the whole time?

Or was it such a coincidence that he just happened to know when he would return?

"I imagine you must have brought back an incredible facility this time, right?" Jia Baer asked with a smile.

Wen Xishu shook his head:

"Not this time. Just an ordinary Level 6 completion."

Jia Baer was slightly stunned. An ordinary Level 6 completion. What a niche combination of words.

It couldn't help but remind him of the Principal and Mr. Jin from years ago.

Jia Baer laughed:

"Then I should congratulate you even more. A Level 6 completion without a facility means you obtained something even more powerful than a facility. Regardless, please keep it safe and realize its value."

Wen Xishu discovered that Jia Baer truly understood everything.

He happened to have a question to ask Jia Baer:

"The first time I climbed the tower, I was a man under a death sentence. The supplies I brought back then could have saved the entire lower level. But I knew very well that I wouldn't receive those supplies myself."

"The second time I climbed the tower, I didn't think about being able to bring back supplies either; after all, I needed to prove my value to certain people in the Academy."

"But this time, I want to know, do these supplies... still not belong to me?"

Jia Baer understood what Wen Xishu meant.

Liu Jinsen had once told Wen Xishu that he had to save enough people to trade for his own survival.

Now Wen Xishu believed he had already achieved that. He could accept extra sacrifices, but not over and over again.

Although the rewards for each exploration of the Three Towers weren't primarily about supplies—sequences, items, runes, and facilities were the focus.

But supplies were the foundation.

The Security Bureau couldn't keep embezzling his foundation every time, could they? The first two times, Wen Xishu needed to use his combat record to gain a foothold.

After gaining a foothold, he needed to take back some of his own things. He had to step by step dismantle the exploitation of himself by the Security Bureau and the Administration Bureau.

Jia Baer said:

"Don't worry about this matter. Actually, the moment you joined Three Towers Academy, we had already started handling it."

"Not just the supplies from this time; the supplies from the first two times won't be missed either."

Wen Xishu felt a warmth in his heart. He had originally planned to take a tough stance to force Three Towers Academy to negotiate with the Bunker’s high-level officials.

But he hadn't expected that the Academy... or rather, the Principal, had already been doing this.

"We can't guarantee that the supplies from the first two times can still be returned to you in the form of supplies, because survival supplies are consumed quickly, but the corresponding merit points will be deposited into your account in the near future."

"When the Bunker has a surplus of supplies, it recycles them. The Bunker has a special building that can reasonably dispose of excess resources."

"This building was brought back by the Principal and Mr. Jin many years ago. It was also after this building appeared that the policy of exchanging supplies for merit points was introduced."

"Mr. Jin and the Principal are close friends."

"After you joined the Academy, the Principal believed that the hospital you brought back was already enough to atone for your sins; that thing is a boon to the entire Bunker."

"And you wiped out the epidemic, which is an act of immeasurable merit. So the Principal doesn't think you are guilty. The Principal considers you a hero of the Bunker."

"Including this exploration, Student Wen, rest assured, not a single merit point will be missing; they will all be given to you."

"Three Towers Academy is an institution independent of politics, but in terms of status, it is no less than the Administration Bureau or the Security Bureau. No one can exploit the students of Three Towers Academy."

"The Principal has already given instructions that you can enjoy all the rights that any Academy student and Bunker citizen can enjoy. The Principal will be your backer. And he is willing to be your backer."

Wen Xishu didn't know what to say for a moment. The first time he climbed the tower, Wen Xishu could accept having everything taken away.

But he truly hadn't expected that while he could accept it, the Principal would not.

This old man was truly overbearing. Overbearing in a way that made one like him.

But then again, Jia Baer only said this now, presumably because one thing was still implied—one had to prove their value first.

He finally smiled:

"Thank you. I am very glad that I can have someone like the Principal as a backer."

Jia Baer said:

"That’s nothing. Actually, everything was earned by yourself. I hope you don't mind that we only valued you so highly after you demonstrated your worth."

Wen Xishu didn't mind that point. He felt that was reasonable. Otherwise, he would have to weigh why the Academy would do so.

Jia Baer continued:

"Also, while you were away these past two days, alumnus Wen Zhaohua has been putting pressure on the Security Bureau and the Administration Bureau. Perhaps soon, you won't need to worry about being monitored when exploring the Weird Tower."

Wen Xishu liked the Academy more and more.

"Perhaps you need to give Officer Liu a call? But regardless, Officer Liu Jinsen will find a way to publicize it. I think the fact that you have achieved three consecutive Level 6 completions will inevitably ignite a frenzy again," Jia Baer suggested.

Wen Xishu nodded:

"Okay. Since the Principal isn't here today, can I make that call now?"

Jia Baer laughed:

"Please go ahead, I will take my leave."

Jia Baer left and closed the door. Wen Xishu then dialed Liu Jinsen. It was perfect; he needed to tell Liu Jinsen that he was going to start climbing the tower again.

The call connected, and Liu Jinsen was as blunt as ever:

"Wen Xishu? Good, go ahead, I'm listening."

"Liu sir, I just finished exploring the Weird Tower, Level 6 completion. Didn't bring back a facility, but the harvest wasn't small either. Mostly just reporting to you."

Liu Jinsen had actually guessed that Wen Xishu’s call meant he had successfully returned from the Weird Tower. But Level 6 again?

How could it be Level 6 again?

Was Level 6 something easy to achieve? He truly found it hard to understand.

"You... um, you did very well. But this has also increased the difficulty of my work a little."

Wen Xishu became interested:

"What kind of work difficulty?"

Liu Jinsen sighed:

"You know, Sha Ruijing arranged for some grassroots media to promote your achievements..."

"Honestly, two consecutive Level 6s and bringing back two facilities was already absurd. Now, only a few days have passed... I have to tell them you completed a third Level 6; they can't even make it up anymore."

"Even 'cool' novels aren't written like this. The level of absurdity in your real deeds makes the people fabricating stories feel it's too absurd."

Wen Xishu was amused. Hearing this from the serious Liu sir, he found it quite interesting.

Indeed, in his past life, whether it was the founder of Xiaomi, the real-life Iron Man Elon Musk, or that Korean 'Demon King' in the esports league, the life trajectories of these people were more absurd than the protagonists in stories.

Stories emphasize structure, ups and downs, and explosions, but for some real-life cases—there are only explosions, as if they had opened their 'heavenly eyes.'

In just over ten days, three explorations of the Weird Tower, three Level 6 completions... Liu Jinsen felt it was unreal.

Wen Xishu said:

"I will give you the mission report for this exploration later, but don't worry too much; your team likely won't have a headache over me achieving Level 6 three times."

Liu Jinsen asked:

"How so?"

Wen Xishu laughed:

"I plan to climb the tower tomorrow, so, how about later? Have the headache later, what if it becomes four times in a couple of days?"

Liu Jinsen: "..."

The call nearly hung up in Liu Jinsen’s silence. After he calmed his emotions for a good while, he said:

"You plan to start climbing the tower again tomorrow?"

"Yes, there’s nothing to do in the Bunker. It’s a pity I didn't bring back a facility this time, so I have to work hard."

Liu Jinsen was like a boss who originally felt guilty and told his employee they had to work overtime.

But now, he discovered this employee was addicted to overtime and had moved into the company. Now it was his turn to panic; he was truly afraid this employee would die from overwork.

Wen Xishu gave him that feeling right now.

"I, I’ll remind you again, you can actually rest for seven days."

Hearing this, Wen Xishu inexplicably wanted to laugh. He thought of that writer, Yin Junchi.

Perhaps he really had been twisted.

"Thank you, Liu sir. Actually, besides reporting this, I have one more question."

"Ask."

"Can I go to the Slaughter Tower?"

Liu Jinsen said:

"Originally, you couldn't. At the very least, the procedures for switching towers aren't that fast. But you are a student of the Slaughter Tower Academy; it really doesn't make sense that you can't go to the Slaughter Tower. You might not know, but Principal Albert went to the Family Planning Office just yesterday."

"You can go to any tower now except the Desire Tower, but you must know one thing: everything in the Slaughter Tower starts from scratch..."

"And what would you go to the Slaughter Tower for? The attributes of the Slaughter Tower can't be brought to the Weird Tower anyway."

Wen Xishu laughed:

"As long as I can go, where do I go to collect the login device?"

Liu Jinsen truly couldn't quite figure Wen Xishu out. Without a doubt, this second young master of the Wen family was now clear-headed, no longer the foolish, crazed person he had been before.

Yet he always felt that Wen Xishu had become even more insane.

"Go find Sha Ruijing. Anything else?"

"Nothing else, Sir Liu."

The call ended. Humming a little tune, Wen Xishu left the principal's office.

The principal wouldn't be back until tomorrow, and with nothing to do for now, he planned to return to the dormitory to eat something and take a shower.

……

……

This time, Wen Xishu's tower ascent had taken a total of three days.

During these three days, some things had also happened at the academy. A second-year senior named Zhang Wei had accomplished something that caused a sensation.

This student, only in his second year, had updated the intelligence information regarding the boss-level monster, the Face-Stitcher, in the "Tower-Slaughtering Monster Illustrated Handbook."

The general content was as follows:

The original twenty-first-floor boss, the Face-Stitcher, had two phases in the "Tower-Slaughtering Monster Illustrated Handbook" in the library.

The third phase was that there was a young girl behind the Face-Stitcher.

But in the original description, that young girl was expressionless, like a puppet. Like a dead object.

No one knew what the third phase of the Face-Stitcher would be like, and everyone guessed it had something to do with that young girl.

Some said that the young girl had no life force and must be a prop for the Face-Stitcher.

Others said the girl was the real body, and the Face-Stitcher was the prop...

But now, Zhang Wei's update had provided a conclusion to these speculations.

"The girl is alive. And the girl actually doesn't have much hostility toward humans!"

"All of this stems from a person named Wen Xishu; the girl is asking about Wen Xishu's whereabouts."

Zhang Wei had told this directly to the homeroom teacher of the second-year class at the Tower-Slaughtering Academy. The homeroom teacher then told the principal.

To verify this, the principal headed to the Tower-Slaughtering Tower.

If everything was true, the description of the Face-Stitcher in the "Tower-Slaughtering Monster Illustrated Handbook" would undergo some changes.

After returning to the dormitory, Wen Xishu immediately heard Nisen talking about this matter.

This was the hottest topic in the academy over the past two days, because that rumored Wen Xishu seemed to have gone to the Tower-Slaughtering Tower.

All monsters in the Tower-Slaughtering Tower were hostile toward humans.

Yet because of Wen Xishu, Zhang Wei was not only not attacked by the girl, but was instead helped by her.

Wen Xishu himself knew the ins and outs of the whole thing.

In the earliest trajectory of fate—Jack... perhaps really did kill Jennifer. Jennifer and Jack were together forever too. But Jack was lonely.

This also led to the non-interactability of Slaughter-Jack.

Therefore, in the "Tower-Slaughtering Monster Illustrated Handbook," Jennifer was motionless, like a puppet.

But as he went to the Desire Tower and changed the trajectory of fate, this also allowed Jennifer to survive. He and Jack were simply a pair of twins supporting each other, quite similar to the An brothers.

Therefore, the girl behind Jack was alive again.

"Bro, Wen Xishu is really cool, not only does he have the weirdness, he also has the slaughter! Every student's idol is none other than him, except for that Miyamoto Yoshiki!"

Nisen shook his head and began his clumsy rapping again.

Wen Xishu said:

"How did you guys play while I was gone for these three days? Besides Wen Xishu, was there anything else interesting that happened?"

Yueyun said:

"I went to the Tower-Slaughtering Tower, and Nisen and I, one was on the third floor, one was on the fifth floor."

"We both returned successfully."

Wen Xishu immediately got excited:

"Yo, that's great, I haven't yet..."

Wen Xishu suddenly stopped.

In the Capsized Boat Hut, Yueyun and Nisen both thought he had already been to the Tower-Slaughtering Tower.

"Do you guys have Tower-Slaughtering sequences?"

Yueyun shook his head:

"My luck is relatively poor; among the enemies I killed, none dropped Tower-Slaughtering sequences. We can currently only deal with some normal types."

"The probability of them dropping items is very low."

"However, Nisen and I are considered the earliest freshmen to enter the Tower-Slaughtering Tower, besides Miyamoto Yoshiki. And you, Wen Xun. By the way, you disappeared for these few days, did you also ascend the tower?"

Wen Xishu shook his head:

"Can't say, but don't worry, I feel like the three of us will soon have a chance to ascend the tower together."

"The Tower-Slaughtering Tower is a bit difficult for me. I might need a backer. Speaking of which, who do you think is the most reliable person in the academy to lead a team to the Tower-Slaughtering Tower?"

Yueyun was puzzled; in the Capsized Boat Hut, he remembered Wen Xun had been to the Tower-Slaughtering Tower. But he did have an answer to Wen Xun's question:

"In the academy... the most reliable one is, of course, the number one person of the Tower-Slaughtering Tower, Xun Hui. But he won't pay any attention to us freshmen. He is a famous lone wolf and never takes freshmen with him."

Wen Xishu felt that if his guess was correct... perhaps there was a way to get Xun Hui to lead the team. But this required him to have a good chat with Albert.

The time was now afternoon. The principal would only return tomorrow. Wen Xishu's magic resistance was higher now.

"Tonight, perhaps I can get a bit more information about the Weird Tower Academy."

(Try to start the next dungeon tomorrow.)

(End of chapter)