Bunker and the Three Towers

The staff member was instantly filled with respect and said:

"No wonder you're someone Officer Liu specifically asked us to look after. You really do think of the people at every turn."

Wen Xishu could tell that Officer Liu held no small position in the Bunker.

He suddenly felt a little puzzled:

"You know who I am, don't you?"

The staff member remained gentle as he said:

"Although this is classified to a certain degree, I know that you're the younger brother of the most heinous criminal in Bunker history."

"But what does that have to do with anything? There are no villains in this world. Villains are merely the byproducts of those at the top failing in their internal struggles."

"Perhaps your older brother committed monstrous crimes, but since even Officer Liu Jinsen has stepped forward... I wouldn't find it strange if you became a hero someday."

Villains were merely the byproducts of powerholders failing in their internal struggles.

That statement was so perceptive that Wen Xishu saw the man in a new light.

Judging by his attitude, this man truly possessed an innate talent for navigating official circles.

In Wen Xishu's original world, he would definitely have been some smooth-talking Shandong local.

"What's your name?"

"Sha Ruijing."

"Good name. If this were Handong Province, someone would have to build you a basketball court. Keep it up. Your career prospects might even be better than Liu Jinsen's."

"Haha, I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare."

Sha Ruijing laughed and waved his hand. He did not care what Handong Province was.

After all, Second Young Master Wen had said plenty of crazy things before.

He immediately got to the point:

"Actually, ascending the tower is easy. Once the procedures are complete, you can ascend whenever you want. You've never ascended a tower before, have you?"

As he spoke, Sha Ruijing took out a strangely shaped watch.

It had a black leather strap covered in tiny "holes." The pattern on its face resembled the double-helix structure of DNA, and black was its dominant color.

Wen Xishu noticed that there was also a black number on the face of his watch: zero.

"This is called a Login Device. It's the tool used to ascend towers. It's managed by the Bunker Birth Administration Office and bound to your identity code."

"The Black Watch takes you to the Strange Tower, the Red Watch takes you to the Slaughter Tower, and the White Watch takes you to the Desire Tower."

Wen Xishu realized that these three colors corresponded exactly to the three dice in his mind.

He adapted quickly. Rather than showing much surprise, he simply asked:

"Through a teleporter? I thought we would... leave the Bunker through some sort of elevator mechanism, then enter three enormous towers?"

Sha Ruijing laughed.

"Hahahaha... You're very humorous. The Bunker has no exit at all. We have no way of leaving it."

That surprised Wen Xishu even more.

"You mean the Bunker's exit has been sealed off?"

"No. The Bunker simply never had an exit."

Based on Second Young Master Wen's past symptoms, Sha Ruijing felt that it was perfectly normal for him to ask bizarre questions or things that should have been common knowledge.

"The Bunker is completely sealed. There's a saying that the Bunker is alive."

"At the beginning, the Bunker only had two levels: the Function Layer and the Residential Layer."

"But as humanity continued exploring the Three Towers, the Bunker grew larger and larger. There were more and more Function Layers, and more and more Residential Layers as well."

Wen Xishu fell silent. This world was even crazier than his own mind.

If the Bunker could not be left, then Wen Chaohua's words—"We'll meet outside the Bunker"...

—seemed rather strange.

He continued asking:

"Since the Bunker can't be left, how did humanity enter it?"

Sha Ruijing shook his head.

"Who knows? Perhaps you can find the answer in the Three Towers Game."

"Some people speculate that the essence of exploring the Three Towers is transporting the towers themselves. The Bunker will grow larger and taller until... it reaches the surface."

Wen Xishu considered that explanation. It seemed to make some sense.

He asked again:

"Then have you never seen the sky? Are there plants and animals in the Bunker?"

Sha Ruijing's smile remained kind.

"The animals and plants are all in the Function Layer. The Bunker even has a zoo."

"As for the sky and the sea, you can see both inside the Three Towers."

Wen Xishu remembered that Officer Liu had said exploring the Three Towers could yield not only material rewards, but possibly technological or facility rewards as well.

So a zoo counted as some sort of facility?

He suddenly became curious—could he bring back a Foot Bath Shop?

If he really could bring one back and include foot bath services under Medical Insurance, perhaps he could even run for Bunker Chief.

Wen Xishu's desire to ascend the tower surged. Foot baths were irrelevant; he mainly wanted to contribute to the people.

Sha Ruijing returned to the topic.

"Press the button beside the watch face, and you can enter the Three Towers World."

Wen Xishu nodded, then asked:

"So I'm not qualified to use Login Devices of the other colors?"

Sha Ruijing nodded and replied rather gently:

"You are still under supervision. You can only use the Black Login Device and go to the Strange Tower."

"Even normal Bunker citizens must wait at least half a year before applying to switch towers."

"The total number of all three types of Login Devices combined is equal to the Bunker's adult population."

"But everyone wants to go to the Desire Tower, so the basic requirements for entering the Desire Tower keep getting higher and higher."

"It used to be enough to have a vocational college degree. Now even bachelor's degree holders have to compete in physical fitness. Without a Big Handle, you have to go to the Slaughter Tower."

Wen Xishu understood.

Among the Three Towers, the Desire Tower had the lowest survival difficulty.

And most likely, the process of challenging the Desire Tower was not only painless, but highly enjoyable.

That was why everyone wanted to become a Tower Ascender of the Desire Tower.

It was roughly equivalent to becoming one of those people from his previous life who had easy jobs and still made plenty of money.

Like a certain Qi Peijia who played games every day instead of updating his novels.

Sha Ruijing added:

"Of course, as we discussed earlier, this world also has people with talents and special aptitudes suited for the Desire Tower..."

"For such people, we can loosen the requirements somewhat and allow them into the Desire Tower."

"To prevent those suited for the Desire Tower from dying in the Slaughter Tower, or those suited for the Slaughter Tower from indulging themselves in the Desire Tower—"

"The Bunker established many institutions."

"The Three Towers Academy, the Three Towers Research Bureau, the Three Towers Game Allocation Office..."

"These institutions exist to systematically and objectively assign everyone to the tower system best suited to them."

"To prevent everyone from crowding into the Desire Tower."

Wen Xishu nodded. This system was quite scientific.

"But the Strange Tower is an exception?"

Sha Ruijing said helplessly:

"Strictly speaking, the monsters in the Strange Tower aren't actually as strong as the monsters in the Slaughter Tower."

"But the Strange Tower's whole thing is that it makes no sense. Quite a few people who enter die for inexplicable reasons."

"Moreover, even high-level veterans from the Slaughter Tower or Desire Tower have to start from zero when entering the Strange Tower."

"So the higher-ups believe newcomers should explore the Strange Tower instead of transferring veterans from the other two towers."

Wen Xishu completely agreed.

Losing newcomers was certainly better than losing experts.

"Actually, exploring only the Slaughter Tower and the Desire Tower would be enough to satisfy the Bunker's current survival needs."

"That was why no one had been exploring the Strange Tower."

"But not long ago, the Three Towers Joint Exploration Conjecture was preliminarily confirmed, and all kinds of policy benefits for exploring the Strange Tower arrived."

Sha Ruijing stood up and patted Wen Xishu on the shoulder.

"Brother, give it your all! Seize this opportunity and come back alive!"

After completing the tower-ascending procedures, Wen Xishu returned to prison.

His identity was special, so even in prison, he had a cell to himself.

The other prisoners had even less chance of coming into contact with Wen Xishu.

He had asked everything he needed to ask, so Wen Xishu did not delay any longer. He directly activated the Login Device.

The black watch instantly tightened, and it felt as though something had firmly gripped his wrist.

Something extended from the tiny "holes" in the strap and pierced Wen Xishu's skin.

The double-helix pattern on the watch face began spinning faster and faster.

Everything before Wen Xishu's eyes became blurry, accompanied by a strange trembling sensation.

He suddenly saw an enormous world shattering apart. Whether from the perspective of space or time, the world was being sliced into countless pieces.

Fragments from countless points in time piled atop one another until they eventually formed three enormous towers.

Some of those fragmented scenes even felt familiar to Wen Xishu... They bore a certain resemblance to his own world.

Then information about ascending the tower appeared in Wen Xishu's mind.

Welcome to the Three Towers Game.
Current maximum accessible level: Level 7.
Account not yet registered. After completing your first mission, please register with a guide.

Normally, the mission introduction would come next, followed by teleportation to the Three Towers area.

But Wen Xishu had an additional step—

Special item detected: Madman's Dice.
Madman's Dice: A magical die that overturns the rules of the Three Towers. Once acquired, it exempts the holder from certain restrictions of the Three Towers. Depending on the combination rolled, it can also unlock more Madman's privileges.
Roll the dice?