Twisting Fate

"Hello, who is this?"

"Hello, are you a doctor at Moen Hospital?"

"Hm? You've got the wrong number. I don't work at Moen Hospital, and I'm not a doctor."

The call ended. The conversation had been brief. Wen Xishu narrowed his eyes, finding the situation increasingly interesting.

After leaving the old building, he borrowed a passerby's phone and made a call.

It was the number Jack had left him for that doctor. But he had not found the doctor. It was a wrong number.

"Jack had no reason to lie to me. That wouldn't fit his character. It seems this doctor really is suspicious."

Wen Xishu looked into the distance. His next destination was Moen City's Fourth Nursing Home.

Jack's mother was in that nursing home.

As if recalling something, he suddenly quickened his pace, going from a leisurely walk to a full sprint.

Moen City, an old building in the slums.

Wen Xishu's appearance had not delayed Jack's chance to do certain things.

Unless there was a major change or redirection in the logic, the people in Desire Tower would do what they were supposed to do according to their original rhythm as much as possible.

That was their fate.

Some time after Wen Xishu left, Jack stopped staring blankly into space. He decided to go upstairs and ease his relationship with Remian.

At the end of his life, Jack hoped everyone would remember him as a good person.

But when he reached the stairwell, he heard Remian's phone call with Yulia.

Those hurtful words completely shattered Jack's self-deception.

Then he headed toward his room, only to overhear his "friend" Anderson's remarks about offering friendship as tribute.

Before death even arrived, the things he had believed were important in his life had already begun to crumble.

Jack's tears fell soundlessly onto the steps in the corridor.

This world was so awful. He suddenly wanted to see Jennifer.

That was probably the only way he could find strength and see something beautiful. He desperately wanted to hear Jennifer's happy, childlike laughter.

But at that moment, Jack's original behavioral logic changed.

Because he remembered that mysterious man had given him an Invitation Letter.

"Only open it when you can no longer bear the pain and want to see Jennifer."

He had thought he would never need that note, but he had not expected that man to seem capable of seeing the future.

Jack could already feel the pain overflowing within him.

He opened the Invitation Letter.

"Jack, my friend. By the time you decide to open this, I think you already understand that you have been deceiving yourself all along."

"There are many disgusting, awful people in this world. There is nothing wrong with being a good person, but you should not deceive yourself into believing in people who are rotten by nature."

"You do not need to know how I guessed that you were silently crying in the stairwell. I also know that, at this moment, you desperately want to see Jennifer."

"Please do not rush. Jennifer is a good child. She will attend your performance, but not now."

"She is not the only person in your life worth inviting. Your mother is still waiting for you. Why not go see her first?"

"Also, you will not die of stomach cancer. You never had stomach cancer in the first place."

"On the contrary, in the coming disaster that will fill everyone with terror, you will be luckier than anyone else."

"If you want to know everything, put away your despair for now and go see your mother first."

The nursing home was not far from the old building, and Wen Xishu sprinted the entire way.

He was racing someone against time.

The formula for creating villains in this world was simple: a terrible, harsh living environment, and a tiny amount of love.

Use that small amount of love to keep someone from giving up on life or hope amid a cruel environment.

Then destroy that love and make him realize that he had never possessed love at all. Thus, an evil villain was born.

Wen Xishu had already confirmed through Jack that Jack's evolution was inevitable and had nothing to do with his experiences.

At the same time, he discovered signs that Jack's life had been arranged.

Remian's betrayal, Anderson's lies, Yulia's disgust—those could all be explained.

But then Jack's mother also met with an accident and passed away.

All of it happened on the same day. These events were far too coincidental and tightly packed. Taken together, they were practically a powerful drug meant to change human nature.

When he heard about the doctor, Wen Xishu began wondering how the doctor had diagnosed Jack with stomach cancer.

Then he confirmed that the doctor was most likely fake.

That meant the many coincidences in Jack's day might also have been designed.

So Jack becoming a monster and destroying all of Jennifer's ties could also have been designed.

The key to saving Jennifer was, in fact, saving Jack.

"In Strange Tower, during Jack's performance, the nursing home staff said over the phone that Jack's mother had suffered an accident."

"An accident means the old woman did not die naturally. If we make a reasonable guess, perhaps this was murder from the start."

"Someone hiding in the shadows is trying to destroy Jack."

"I need to take back what I said about Desire Tower. This place is just as interesting as Strange Tower."

Moen City Fourth Nursing Home.

Most of the time, Jack's mother was in a dazed state. For quite some time now, no doctor had been willing to care for her.

That was how nursing homes were. In many nursing homes, medical staff treated the elderly very casually. The elderly who caused more trouble were often the least welcome.

Elderly people who craved attention gradually learned to behave themselves, gradually becoming dull and vacant.

If their children were filial or capable, who would send their elderly parents to a nursing home?

But Jack's job often kept him out from morning until night. He had no choice but to send his mother to a nursing home.

Some elderly people could casually reveal their savings and make certain caregivers become enthusiastic.

But Jack's mother was clearly not among them.

Jack was poor. Even though he paid the nursing home fees and some additional expenses, he still could not change his mother's situation.

But today, Jack's mother was no longer alone.

A kind-looking young doctor was actually willing to push her wheelchair and take her out for a walk.

But when she entered the elevator and realized it was going higher and higher...

She began to feel afraid.

Only then did she remember that she seemed never to have seen this doctor before.

When the elevator reached the thirty-seventh floor, the highest level of the building, she asked:

"D-Doctor... why... are we here?"

"For happiness. And glorious evolution, old lady." The doctor smiled strangely.

"I... I don't understand."

The "doctor" gently pressed a hand on the old woman's shoulder.

"Then let me explain. You are Jack's mother, and you are also Jack's nourishment. Now, it is time for you to show your value."

"The world has begun to change, and Jack is one of the people capable of changing it."

"But his personality is not suited to fulfilling his talent. He needs a little help, and I need a little happiness too."

The wheelchair approached the edge of the rooftop.

"Your fall will bring about his rise. That is the meaning of a mother's love. Touching, isn't it?"

The "doctor" spoke as if he were reading a story to a child.

But his actions filled Jack's mother with terror, and she desperately waved her hands.

The "doctor" pushed the wheelchair, accelerating into a sprint toward the rooftop's edge. Then he let go, allowing the wheelchair to roll toward the edge and plunge over.

His smile grew radiant, as though he were admiring an exceptional comedy.

But at that moment, a tremendous force suddenly yanked him back.

The white coat was torn apart by a powerful grip.

The doctor's body jerked to a stop. Then a hand seized his neck and violently dragged him backward.

"I like your way of treating patients. But unfortunately, you picked the wrong patient."

Chasing, dragging, then steadying the wheelchair—the movements flowed together in one seamless motion.

For Wen Xishu, who spent his life walking the edge of death and excelled at extreme sports, what he had just done was simple and effortless.

The "doctor" fell onto the ground. Seeing Wen Xishu appear out of nowhere, he revealed a shocked expression.

The doctor could not believe that someone had come to stop him at such a critical moment.

This was not the first time he had done something like this. How could there be a problem this time?

Interestingly, despite Wen Xishu's violent actions, the doctor looked tall and strong, yet he did not choose to fight back.

He even looked at Wen Xishu with a degree of panic.

Wen Xishu's actions undoubtedly violated Desire Tower's rule forbidding violence.

But the rules of the game only restricted Bunker people—that was, only players. They did not restrict Three Towers people.

Although this doctor was not a player, he was unusual and did not count as an ordinary Three Towers person.

Wen Xishu noticed something as well. This doctor did not even show the slightest anger.

A mastermind capable of controlling Jack's fate wore such an expression in the face of violence.

Wen Xishu found that very interesting. It seemed Desire Tower contained some existences beyond his expectations.

Two updates for now. Tomorrow's chapter will be a little longer. And, well~ please vote during the new book period.