The Gate and the Commission

When the three of them reached the top, sweat appeared on Yue Yun's forehead, and Wen Xishu's breathing became uneven and a bit rapid.

Only Nissen was hopping around, singing happily, without even a hint of breathlessness.

Wen Xishu had to admit, he was witnessing Nissen's terrifying physical talent.

If he were to go to the Tower of Slaughter and be tempered, he'd probably become a tank-level existence.

The top of the library was a huge open space, looking much like the helipads on buildings in Wen Xishu's past life.

After arriving, the three of them kept looking around, only to find... nothing.

Yue Yun said:

"I hope your legs aren't shaking. It seems we wasted our effort and have to go back down."

People who climb mountains actually know that the effort going up isn't the scary part; what's scary is having to go down when your legs are weak...

Nissen also found nothing and was a bit dejected:

"Bro, looks like our idea was wrong tonight. All for nothing."

Wen Xishu didn't speak; he looked up at the sky.

"Haven't you guys noticed, the clover is spinning slower."

The giant brass clover, viewed from the top of the library, appeared even larger.

Yue Yun nodded:

"It does seem a bit slower."

Wen Xishu said:

"Haste makes waste. Let's wait and see."

The brass clover continued to rotate.

But as time passed, its rotation speed gradually slowed, and slowed.

After a long while, it was probably between midnight and early morning—

The naked eye could easily distinguish the three leaf blades. It was like the final rotations of a fan after the power is cut off.

The rotations, circle by circle, grew slower and slower, eventually coming to a halt.

When the giant brass clover... truly stopped spinning, Wen Xishu walked to the edge of the library's top floor.

He first looked at the brass clover in the sky.

The simulated moonlight from the dome filtered through the veins of the clover's leaves... making the night hazy.

But the giant clover leaves also blocked a significant amount of the simulated moonlight, creating shadows.

One of these shadows fell upon the entrance to the Tower of Slaughter district. Another fell upon the entrance to the Tower of Desire district.

Standing on the top floor of this tallest building, Wen Xishu, Yue Yun, and the others could all see this scene.

And the last shadow... fell upon the library's top floor.

The huge, leaf-like shadow looked like an entrance to hell.

At this moment, Wen Xishu didn't need to explain anything; Yue Yun and Nissen both guessed... this shadow falling on the library's top floor was just like a door opening on the top floor!

This could, of course, be a coincidence, just a geometric pattern and play of light and shadow.

Although it looked like a door, their feet were on the shadow on the top floor... and nothing happened.

However, Yue Yun and Nissen firmly believed this was likely where treasure was hidden.

Because when their gazes fell upon this door-like shadow...

They saw a remark, a piece of garbled code.

Not a single recognizable character, just strange symbols that made Yue Yun and Nissen feel agitated.

Yue Yun thought of his mother, of that great woman begging for a bite to eat in the lower levels.

Nissen thought of the father who abandoned him and his mother. He thought of the dark jokes told in the lower levels about why Black people don't celebrate Father's Day.

They gradually started to become agitated.

"Look away."

Wen Xishu commanded.

This shout actually made them sober up. Yue Yun and Nissen, with remarkable tacit understanding, turned their heads away simultaneously and looked elsewhere.

"What... what's going on?" Nissen asked, still shaken.

He felt as if he had been grabbed by some invisible force, a great restlessness stirring within him.

Yue Yun looked at Wen Xishu, surprised that Wen Xishu was still staring at the garbled code, yet appearing exceptionally calm.

"How many characters can you recognize?"

Wen Xishu withdrew his gaze and also turned his head in another direction.

Nissen shook his head:

"Bro, what are these characters? They look like scribbles, like garbled code or ancient runes. I can't recognize a single one. Ugh, I can't look at this anymore."

Yue Yun also shook his head and said:

"I can't recognize them either. Not a single character. Can you?"

Wen Xishu thought for a moment before honestly admitting:

"I can recognize a few. There's a lot of garbled text here, and this garbled text can corrupt one's mindset."

"Don't stare at them. Stare at the characters you do recognize. If you don't recognize a character... look away, completely avoid it."

Yue Yun's eyes twitched slightly, his heart in turmoil. What was Wen Xun's background? Why could he recognize them?

Could it be that the destined person for this treasure was actually Wen Xun?

Wen Xishu ignored the "Impossible, how could he?" thoughts flashing through Yue Yun's mind due to his shock.

He continued:

"I don't recognize many characters either. Teacher, core, most, power, purify. That's it."

Teacher, core, most, power, purify.

Individually, each character could be explained, but together, they were as incomprehensible to Nissen and Yue Yun as the garbled text itself.

Yue Yun said:

"Why can you recognize some characters, while Nissen and I can't recognize a single one?"

Wen Xishu replied:

"Everyone has their secrets. I have mine, and I won't ask you why you're so driven to surpass everyone else."

"I also won't ask Nissen why he loves singing so much."

"Of course, you can tell me if you want, but that's your prerogative, not your obligation."

Yue Yun nodded, accepting his explanation.

Anyone who could enter the Tower of Slaughter Academy was not ordinary. Although the threshold for the Tower of Slaughter was much lower than the Tower of Desire.

The academies were different.

Even for the Tower of Slaughter, students graduating from the Three Towers Academy were bound to be formidable warriors.

It wouldn't be surprising if they later joined the Security Bureau and secured official positions.

This place was teeming with geniuses, so having a few secrets was perfectly reasonable.

"After the mid-term exam, I'll tell you my secret. If, by then, we haven't grown to dislike each other, I think we'll be great friends."

Yue Yun felt a sense of "He's even more pretentious than I am," but he wasn't jealous. He had a competitive spirit, but it was purely a desire to become stronger.

Nissen said:

"Wen, I knew you weren't simple. I love people with a past. My mom always told me a man should have a story."

Yue Yun looked back at the shadows:

"This thing looks like a door... You can see some of the characters. What do you think they mean?"

Teacher, core, most, power, purify.

Wen Xishu vaguely guessed that these characters could be expanded to: Teacher, Core, Power, Purify.

But what about "most"?

He thought of "earliest."

If these words were combined and expanded...

A sentence was already forming in Wen Xishu's mind.