Chapter 90: The Strange Tower-Style Boxed Meal

Wen Xishu knew that the second level would certainly be harder. But looking at how sharp this blade was, he thought it reasonable that it could clear the second level.

However, this blade...

The descriptive wording made Wen Xishu look forward to the scene that would follow.

When Tong Ming’s figure vanished and he entered the television world, Wen Xishu could feel that a certain restlessness, hard to perceive but definitely present, had disappeared.

"Perhaps I’m overthinking it... but my intuition rarely fails."

"Maybe it’s only when someone appraises an item and enters the usage phase that certain things can settle down."

"In other words, if one never appraises the items, perhaps something bad might happen?"

This theory had no basis; Wen Xishu had simply noticed that once someone entered the television, that chill and unease had indeed diminished.

Tong Ming entered the television world.

Level, lv2.

Aspasia and Wang Ying sat directly on the floor:

"So that’s how we were being watched by you all just now... Hahaha, how was my performance? Could it be considered heroic?"

Zheng Zai nodded:

"Captain Wang, you were very impressive. If the weapon in your hand hadn't been a blunt object like a desk lamp, you surely would have performed even better."

Wang Ying was very pleased with this:

"Indeed, if you gave me a blade like the one in this kid's hand, let alone a hundred, I’d kill a thousand!"

Zheng Zai hadn't actually intended to flatter Wang Ying, but Wang Ying’s "hundred-man slayer" strength was undeniable. However, Zheng Zai was wondering why Brother Wen had wanted the desk lamp. Brother Wen always had deep intentions behind everything he did...

So he was a bit worried that Wang Ying might ask for the desk lamp back. Thus, Zheng Zai felt it necessary to have Wang Ying recall the difficulty of killing enemies with that desk lamp.

The four people's gazes quickly gathered on the television.

The location where Tong Ming was situated was a subway station.

This was also a place with dense human traffic. After the apocalypse broke out, some Normal Types would fear sunlight.

They weren't afraid of brightness, just sunlight.

These Normal Types were actually a bit stronger than those walking on the surface, but their weakness was also very obvious: they feared sunlight.

Therefore, in sewers and subway stations, they often gathered together.

The subway station was still operating; this was also the most bizarre thing people discovered when climbing the Slaughter Tower.

Whether it was an amusement park, a factory assembly line, or a subway station... as long as the facilities weren't destroyed too severely, they seemed to still have life... and would display their functions.

In the eyes of all the soldiers who loved climbing the Slaughter Tower... places like haunted houses were the most dangerous.

Tong Ming walked through the subway station, the blade in his hand drawing a straight scratch across the floor.

He hummed a happy tune, appearing quite indifferent.

The impression he gave was that he was somewhat deranged.

Zheng Zai always felt that Tong Ming hid a streak of ferocity.

【lv2 begins. Kill 100 targets to complete the mission. You have two opportunities for outside assistance.】

As the prompt appeared, Tong Ming stopped and leaned against a pillar.

At this moment, he also heard another sound:

"The train is arriving at the station."

The sound of a subway train speeding by came from afar. Not long after, a subway train full of passengers appeared. Once it stopped, a large number of monsters surged out.

First-tier level two Normal Type, human form, characteristics: fears sunlight, but moves twice as fast as a level one Normal Type.

Seeing the speed of these monsters, Wang Ying frowned:

"It's a good thing this kid has a blade; otherwise, with Normal Types at this speed, if the numbers were too high, it would be very troublesome without a Slaughter Tower sequence or a Slaughter Tower panel!"

Wang Ying believed that if he had this blade, he could handle lv2 easily.

But Tong Ming’s strength was hard to say.

A somewhat obsessed smile bloomed on Tong Ming’s face:

"Kill! Kill kill kill kill! I want to kill you all! Hahahahaha!"

In his previous few explorations of the Strange Tower, he had always suppressed his bloodthirsty nature.

The reason he had entered the bunker’s mental hospital was because he had liked "dead living things" since he was a child.

The process of a living thing dying made him feel very happy. For example, classmates, or his younger sister.

Later, he was sent by his parents to the mental hospital; the mental hospital was actually an institution under the bunker’s Administration Bureau.

Such a malicious patient was simply incurable; the "evil child" was born that way. Unlike those who were persecuted by their parents and eventually lost their humanity—

Tong Ming had possessed love since childhood, but his heart simply enjoyed the process of watching "living things slowly die."

He didn't understand why killing was illegal in the bunker, but it wasn't in the Strange Tower.

In his previous tower climbs, his teammates had all died, which made Tong Ming very happy. Now, Tong Ming could also release that desire by killing enemies himself!

He let out a strange cry, as if he were the monster; his small body actually possessed explosive power that surpassed an ordinary person's!

Amidst his loud laughter, his blade moved at high speed, easily passing through several monsters!

Those Normal Types lacked intelligence, but they could have some instinctive reactions.

In terms of momentum, they seemed to be the humans, and Tong Ming was the monster hunting them.

When Tong Ming came at them with the blade, a few monsters even retreated.

Wang Ying hadn't expected that Tong Ming, without systematic training, would have such good physical fitness.

Zheng Zai and Wen Xishu were also somewhat surprised. Zheng Zai was astonished by the immense killing intent on Tong Ming. He was clearly a boy with a baby face, yet he had a morbid obsession with slaughter.

But an even greater surprise was only just beginning.

"Hahahahaha! Die die die! All of you die! Go to—eh?"

A Normal Type that Tong Ming had slashed suddenly bit Tong Ming’s neck from behind.

Sharp teeth pierced Tong Ming’s skin and entered his blood vessels.

The splashing blood made Tong Ming furious; he erupted with power beyond his own, actually pulling that Normal Type over with one hand, his eyes full of confusion.

Because this Normal Type should have died.

These Normal Types were mostly ragged and broken because they hadn't eaten living things for too long.

But this particular Normal Type actually looked healthier than the others.

Tong Ming angrily stomped on the Normal Type’s head. As the opponent wailed and lay dying, Tong Ming shouted, swung his blade to force back the other Normal Types, and then stabbed down, piercing the head of the Normal Type under his foot.

But a bizarre scene occurred: as the blade pierced the Normal Type’s head, not only did it not die...

Instead, the broken flesh on its body began to recover further. It regained strength and suddenly grabbed Tong Ming’s lower leg.

At this moment, Tong Ming also began to realize something was wrong.

This blade... had a problem!

The surrounding Normal Types lacked intelligence and didn't realize this blade couldn't kill them.

But their craving for flesh and blood still made them pounce on him one by one.

Tong Ming instinctively swung the blade; this strike should have been enough to bisect or decapitate several monsters...

But these monsters only became "healthier."

Finally, another Normal Type bit Tong Ming’s ear...

The Normal Type under his feet also began to tear at the flesh on Tong Ming’s lower leg.

Waist, shoulders, hair—soon, more and more Normal Types pounced on Tong Ming.

Looking from outside the television, Tong Ming could no longer be seen; one could only see the Normal Types swarming over him like flies around rotting meat.

And inside the train, there was a continuous stream of Normal Types rushing over.

"Save me! Save me!"

This was Tong Ming’s plea for help; as his consciousness blurred, he initiated the outside assistance.

Wang Ying said:

"Go in peace... there's no saving him now."

Aspasia thought the same. In fact, when the first Normal Type bit Tong Ming’s neck and drew blood, she had been surprised that the boy hadn't died immediately...

If Tong Ming lived, he might have been a bloodthirsty, skilled fighter for the Slaughter Tower; if cultivated, he would have been a good prospect.

Tong Ming wasn't dead yet; in a dying state, his flesh being gnawed away, his bones exposed, and even a quarter of his head bitten off—to the Normal Types, he was like a juicy soup dumpling. However, the Normal Type that had bitten off part of Tong Ming’s head had its throat crushed by the astonishing power Tong Ming erupted with.

Yet, in this situation where an ordinary person would certainly die, the "evil child" was still able to erupt with his final vitality, angrily rising to his feet, managing to shake off several Normal Types pouncing on him, and standing up in a posture covered in blood and rotting flesh:

"Save me! Save me! I don't want to die!"

Truly astonishing initial combat power.

Wen Xishu felt that Tong Ming was indeed a natural-born saint for climbing the Slaughter Tower. He had only seen such a situation, where one could still fight even with an incomplete head, in comics.

True innate divine strength and terrifying vitality.

He knew how to save Tong Ming. In fact, with Tong Ming’s brain, he should have thought of what to do, but at this moment, Tong Ming was already delirious.

And after Wen Xishu weighed the pros and cons—he felt that the value of this blade was not worth the drawbacks brought by someone like Tong Ming.

Because Tong Ming, under extreme emotion, had started posting bullet comments. And Wen Xishu could see the bullet comments from across the television.

【You pieces of trash! Save me! Save me! Save me!】

Sorry, the local mental patient is too rude; I don't want to save him.

Wen Xishu did not speak.

In this situation, actually, suicide would be fine; use that knife to self-harm.

Yes, the description of this knife, as it appeared to Wen Xishu, consisted of only a few words—

Redemption, Life, Non-killing, Sharp.

This immediately made Wen Xishu think that this was a knife of redemption. The characteristic of this knife was extreme sharpness, capable of easily slicing through many hard objects. But when faced with a living creature, it was a knife of healing and recovery.

Although it could not perform the miracle of bringing the dead back to life like the Tessaiga in Inuyasha, this knife was indeed a non-killing knife, a healing knife.

Wen Xishu actually quite wanted this knife—a knife that strikes at teammates—but considering that only one item could be brought out of the Three Towers... Wen Xishu felt there must be better items. The reason was simple: because this knife appeared in the "No Patient" room.

And the combat power Tong Ming displayed was overly formidable; without the attributes of the Slaughter Tower, this person was simply a template for a god of war.

Moreover, compared to this knife, he preferred to watch the drama unfolding before him: the wicked child holding a knife completely contrary to his own nature, failing to save himself even as he died...

Interesting and ironic.

Tong Ming's appearance made even Wen Xishu feel the masterful handiwork of fate. The knife of life brought along was in conflict with a wielder who loved death.

Tong Ming was dead.

Without any prompt, the television screen suddenly flickered a few times, turned into static, and finally, the screen went black.

Zheng Zai said with lingering fear:

"That child... just died like that?"

Zheng Zai did not like Tong Ming, but he had never thought Tong Ming would die.

Aspasia was also somewhat afraid:

"So... so what items in this museum are actually reliable? Even weapons... might hinder us!"

Wang Ying was silent.

What surprised him was the unreasonable strength Tong Ming had displayed. But it was true that some geniuses existed in reality.

For example, that Xun Hui; it was said that before Xun Hui entered the Slaughter Tower, he already possessed strength and speed that ordinary people could hardly reach. His appetite was even more astonishing.

Now it seemed that Tong Ming was also a freak.

Yet such a person... had died.

Wen Xishu feigned a sigh:

"This is the Trick Tower. No matter how different your style is, no matter how good your previous battle record is, and no matter how astonishing your talent is..."

"But in the Trick Tower, you might just suddenly die. The number of geniuses buried here is countless."

No matter what trajectory your life had previously followed, no matter how many people expected you to return alive, thinking of what kind of legend you would still write...

In the Trick Tower, you could suddenly die. This was also the reason why Albert did not explore the Trick Tower.

"So everyone, let's continue identifying items. Perhaps we are luckier than him?"

Wen Xishu was actually very calm inside. A person died, so what? Although in his expectations, Tong Ming had a unique style, and it would have been normal for him to die after Wang Ying and Aspasia...

But there were too many people in the Trick Tower who fancied themselves the protagonist only to come to an abrupt end, so he did not care.

Wen Xishu beckoned to Zheng Zai:

"Let's go, we should head to 4-7."

Aspasia and Wang Ying also exchanged a look, and Aspasia said:

"If even weapons cannot be trusted... then how should we choose?"

Wang Ying still had his own judgment:

"If you were the designer of these items, would you deliberately design duplicates?"

"One knife has this function, so other knives certainly won't. I think we should still prioritize finding those that possess the ability to kill monsters."

Aspasia said again:

"But... but we will be at level 3 next, right? Or will Zheng Zai and the others start the next segment first, and we are at level 4?"

"The monsters will gradually get stronger, right? Can we really find weapons that can restrain these monsters?"

Wang Ying also lacked confidence; Tong Ming's death had cast a layer of fear over his heart.

There was a feeling that this might truly be his last time climbing the tower.

But he could not say these things out loud. He just said softly:

"Don't be afraid, I'm here. Have you noticed these levels? Actually, although the monster intensity is increasing, it's different from the Slaughter Tower in reality. These monsters' attacks are simulating reality... but you've noticed their routes have patterns; they are designed."

"Their behavior patterns are simpler; otherwise, even a hundred low-level, first-tier common types would be quite troublesome."

"Let's keep looking; there must be something that can keep us alive."

"Let's go, let's go check 4-8."

Aspasia nodded; now, the only person she could rely on was Wang Ying.

Compared to the somewhat oppressive atmosphere of 4-8, 4-7, where Wen Xishu and Zheng Zai were, was much more relaxed and cheerful.

Wen Xishu toyed with this item, his mood very good; he knew that this thing might help them survive the level 3 level.

It was just that Zheng Zai had never seen this thing. Wen Xishu said:

"You shouldn't be sad because of Tong Ming's death, right?"

"No, it's just that I didn't expect... he would be the first to die."

"That's good. There's nothing to be surprised about. Look at last time, when we met in the rest area; except for the two of us, you could say everyone was a villain. But those who deserved to die, died."

Zheng Zai nodded:

"Brother Wen, you seem to be in a very good mood?"

"Yes, I think this gadget has a high probability of helping us get through level 3. It could also be level 2; after all, Tong Ming died at level 2, he hadn't passed it yet."

Wen Xishu showed the item to Zheng Zai, and Zheng Zai took it in his hand, holding it with both hands.

It was unexpectedly comfortable to hold.

"But this thing... it's not sharp, it looks even worse than a desk lamp. Is this an ornament? What is this thing called? I have never seen it, and I can't imagine how to use it to kill enemies."

Wen Xishu said:

"This thing is called a controller."

(End of chapter)