Bloody Prelude

Teammate-1.

The words "Teammate-1" surfaced in Wen Xishu's mind. He was very happy.

The possibility of Sita being a spy arranged by the higher-ups was very low, but Wen Xishu didn't like him. If such a person died, they died; Wen Xishu felt no pity.

On the contrary, knowing that it was indeed very dangerous here made Wen Xishu's heart bloom with joy.

No matter how prominent someone was before, they might not survive a minute in the Tower of Deception. This was simply wonderful.

This way, he might only need to use the rules, induce and deceive, to turn this online game into a single-player game.

If he himself didn't hide some secret, if he was as popular as Wen Renjing, Wen Xishu wouldn't mind building camaraderie within the Three Towers.

But if these people had the potential to harm him, if these people were tools used by the higher-ups to probe him.

Even if they were likely innocent, Wen Xishu wouldn't care. Admittedly, in many stories, protagonists have a perfect template of a strong comrade.

But Wen Xishu didn't think such luck would fall upon him.

Sita's body instantly became riddled with holes, as if pierced by many sharp objects. The music box grew louder.

Wen Xishu couldn't tell what tune it was, but it sounded like a school song, suitable for playing during breaks. The lyrics were very positive, and the singing was full of youthful vitality.

The first teammate died too directly, leaving the others somewhat stunned.

Although Wen Xishu didn't see what happened and chose to hide, the others didn't react as quickly as he did, so they were able to witness the bizarre and horrifying scene.

When Sita chose to purify an item, the incorrect purification directly caused a mass of black smoke to appear from the item. Then, within the hazy smoke, countless tentacles pierced into Sita's mouth, ears, nostrils, eyeballs, and even... his lower body.

One tentacle went in through his mouth, and another tentacle came out of his mouth, like two trains traveling in opposite directions.

Sita was dead.

Those tentacles were still continuously ravaging Sita's body.

At this moment, the captain, Park Mihee, shouted:

"Quick! Hide, Wen Xishu is hiding! Do as Wen Xishu does!"

This statement had an effect.

Kane and Mendemuer also chose to dodge at that moment. The huge room had many obstacles that blocked line of sight, such as table legs, scattered stationery, wall corners, and so on.

In short, they had to find a way to not appear within the tentacles' field of vision.

Zheng Zai's reaction was the fastest.

He was the first to rush towards Sita, but his body was now exceptionally agile, and his perception of fear was exceptionally clear.

Craving flesh and blood, he sobered up in an instant, terrified by the sense of crisis brought by the eerie aura.

Fear made him calm.

He regained control of his body, and the functions of this body seemed to have been greatly enhanced.

Zheng Zai, like a beast, dodged a tentacle's strike and, at an extremely fast speed, like a leopard climbing a tree, actually climbed onto a desk that was significantly taller than him.

The monster inside the clothes was continuously ravaging Sita.

When Sita was completely and utterly dead, the monster slowly crawled into the clothes.

Silence.

The music box's sound had been getting louder, the song inside had finished playing once and was starting its second round.

But gradually, as everyone hid, the music box also slowly quieted down.

Finally, it fell silent.

Another minute passed, and Wen Xishu walked out.

There were a study desk and an office desk in the room, and there was a blind spot between the office desk and the bookshelf.

Park Mihee followed Wen Xishu closely, so there were two people in this blind spot: Wen Xishu and Park Mihee.

Wen Xishu said with a smile, "Captain, your senses are truly sharp. I hid because I was scared, but I didn't expect the captain to analyze that hiding was the way to survive."

Park Mihee naturally couldn't say much. She just gave Wen Xishu a deep look. Regarding Sita's death, Park Mihee believed it was likely designed by Wen Xishu.

He knew how to make someone die according to the rules of the Tower of Deception.

Although the truth was not like that, and Sita had simply courted death himself, Wen Xishu's action of hiding did indeed allow everyone else to survive.

Under these circumstances, Park Mihee didn't want to become the person Wen Xishu disliked.

Seeing that Park Mihee and Wen Xishu had both come out and returned to the center of the study, Kane, who had been hiding by the study desk's legs, and Mendemuer, who had been hiding by the office desk's legs, revealed themselves.

Through Sita's death, Wen Xishu deduced the following information:

"There are many contaminated items, and these items might all indicate the presence of sinful energy. But there is only one item that truly needs purification. Choosing incorrectly will result in death."

"The game is very clear: it's a game of finding things and playing hide-and-seek. You have to search, and you have to hide."

"As long as I don't reveal the rules... or if I deliberately use incorrect rules to lure them into purifying items. Then they will all die."

Wen Xishu was still considering whether to do so. If he were to do it, how exactly would he execute it?

But before he could think too deeply, his attention was suddenly diverted by the sound of chewing flesh and blood.

Zheng Zai, having jumped down from the desk that was over three meters high, was gnawing on meat like a hungry hound.

That meat wasn't just anyone's; it was Sita's.

In fact, the smell of animal feces emanating from Sita had long since attracted Zheng Zai.

This scene scared everyone into taking a step back. No matter how wicked you were, you couldn't remain calm after personally witnessing someone eating human flesh.

But Wen Xishu was an exception.

Wen Xishu hadn't seen how Zheng Zai dodged the tentacles and escaped nimbly. But he remembered one thing: Zheng Zai had been very close to Sita at the time, and in that situation...

Zheng Zai could still escape to the relatively distant desk...

This was simply unbelievable.

This person possessed astonishing explosive power.

The iron muzzle on Zheng Zai had long since disappeared, clearly having been broken by his brute force.

Combining this with Zheng Zai's previous performance—

Wen Xishu formed a guess in his heart.

This wasn't an illness.

It was a sequence, the Eerie Sequence.

During his first exploration of the Tower of Deception, Zheng Zai had likely acquired a sequence with very significant side effects.

He also remembered that Zheng Zai actually possessed reason; it was just that his desires were causing his body to act forcibly.

So, Wen Xishu slowly walked over to Zheng Zai's side.

He displayed the same warm smile he had shown when facing Jennifer.

Whether facing Jennifer or the current Zheng Zai, Wen Xishu wasn't genuinely inclined to be someone who warmed others.

He knew very well that Jennifer, Jack, and Zheng Zai at this moment were all tools for his own survival.

"Eat slowly, Zheng Zai. Don't be afraid of what we'll do to you. If you really can't suppress your inner desires, then don't."

"Sometimes, people need to act out and vent appropriately. Only by actively releasing the monster within you will you gain the ability to lock it back up."

"But if it runs out of control on its own, it might be too late."

"Is it tasty? Is there enough? Do you want a bite of mine?"

Wen Xishu rolled up his sleeves.

His smile was as bright as Wen Renjing's; Wen Renjing had been just as brilliantly warm when facing the Tower of Desire inhabitants in the Tower of Desire.

At this moment, tears suddenly welled up in Zheng Zai's eyes.

He truly didn't want his monstrous side to be seen, but he really couldn't control it.

When he bit into Sita, he had felt despair deep down, even thinking that he would surely become a monster in the eyes of all his teammates.

But at this moment, Wen Xishu appeared.

It was as if he was radiating holy light.