Rehashing the Old Trick

Wen Xishu took a step forward. He had no intention of purifying the music box.

At this moment, Zheng Zai suddenly spoke:

"I'll go."

Among those present, there were two honest people.

One was Mendemuer, and the other was Zheng Zai. In Wen Xishu's opinion, Zheng Zai was genuinely honest.

But Mendemuer was still up for observation.

Kane was aggressive at first, proposing that whoever had committed the most serious crime would be the captain. This was because in some smaller prisons, there was a saying that whoever's crimes were more heinous was the boss.

Mendemuer and Kane both acted for the sake of women, but Wen Xishu felt that Mendemuer seemed too cowardly. He didn't dislike cowardly people, but he disliked those who pretended to be weak to deceive others.

As for Zheng Zai, he was honest through and through.

As Zheng Zai spoke, he had already started walking. Wen Xishu's analysis made a lot of sense to him.

The reason he had hesitated for a while was that he didn't want to leave too early.

His background meant he needed a lot of merit to be treated as an ordinary person.

So Zheng Zai really wanted to stay until the end, to achieve a higher Completion Level if possible.

Only then would he have a chance to regain his honor. Only then could he escape the negative influence of his father, and—get treatment.

But Zheng Zai truly believed Wen Xishu's words and was grateful for them.

Even after his cannibalistic quirk was exposed, someone was still willing to be so good to him, and Zheng Zai was willing to take risks for such a person.

Zheng Zai said:

"Climbing such a high bookshelf should be difficult for you all, but I can do it."

"If I die, I won't blame anyone. Brother Wen's analysis is very reasonable, but if he's wrong, don't blame him either."

"If I survive, it will prove Brother Wen's words are correct, and I want to take him back with me."

Wen Xishu wasn't particularly moved internally, but Zheng Zai's words reminded Wen Xishu of Jack.

Jack in the Tower of Desire, upon seeing someone illegally entering, his first reaction was to ask if they needed help.

For some reason, Wen Xishu had a feeling…

Although Zheng Zai wouldn't undergo the same change as Jack, he was likely at a turning point that could cause a drastic personality shift.

If, at this moment—

No one cared about him, no one paid attention to him.

As Zheng Zai was about to make his move, Kane suddenly stepped forward as well. He realized that if he didn't make a decision soon, he might not be able to return!

Those who came to the Tower of Deception were all there to change their fate, to strive to be like the new legend of the Bunker, Wen Xishu, and become famous in the Bunker.

But the prerequisite for changing one's fate was to have a life.

After seeing those strange tentacles, Kane became scared. He just wanted to return alive, even with the lowest Completion Level.

Kane said urgently:

"I'll go! Don't fight me for it!"

This was the outcome Wen Xishu wanted. He had originally planned to stop Zheng Zai. Zheng Zai was currently ranked last on his list of teammates to sacrifice.

If he performed well, Wen Xishu might even remove Zheng Zai from the list.

"Brother Zheng, it's fine for you to purify the music box, but since Kane is going, let him have the opportunity. I think you're actually unwilling to settle for rewards from a low Completion Level, right?"

Wen Xishu had grasped everyone's psychology.

As expected, Zheng Zai stopped.

It wasn't easy for Kane to climb the bookshelf; at least, it wasn't as effortless as Zheng Zai's climb, which was like a wild cat scaling a tree.

However, as a criminal who dared to gamble in the Tower of Deception, Kane's physical fitness was undeniable. Although slow, he could use the books to climb up bit by bit.

After a few minutes, he was panting, finally reaching the top of the massive bookshelf.

He saw the intricate details of the music box up close.

Wen Xishu guessed that the story here was about a girl who had been subjected to some bad things by a beast.

Four rooms, four stories. They would only form the "birdcage" when pieced together.

However, he hadn't figured out the music box's exact function.

Just as he was thinking that Kane was about to purify the music box, and Kane was also thinking that he could finally leave this hellhole—

The music box suddenly started playing again, the same energetic melody from during the break time.

Kane was stunned. He hadn't touched the music box yet, nor had he chosen to purify anything.

At the same time, no one in the vicinity had done so.

This sudden variable made Kane curse under his breath. He had no choice but to speed up and rush towards the music box.

But he was still too slow.

In the center of the room, on the bookshelves, under the fluorescent lights, on the desk, on the office desk, near the legs of the stool… black smoke appeared everywhere.

The monster was about to appear.

[Good boy, good boy! You are truly my good boy! As long as you listen obediently, your grades will definitely be very good!]

The greasy, nauseating voice sounded again.

Wen Xishu looked around and quickly chose to run towards the bookshelf, hiding in the gaps between the books.

At this moment, Park Mihee had already decided to follow Wen Xishu. Whatever Wen Xishu did, Park Mihee would do the same.

Mendemuer and Zheng Zai followed suit, hiding towards the bookshelves.

Only Kane, who had already climbed to the top of the bookshelf… didn't have time to escape.

He had been discovered.

Twisted, slippery, writhing tentacles, with a speed that humans could hardly react to, instantly pierced Kane.

And as Kane's flesh and blood were pierced, the surrounding black smoke also kept closing in.

They seemed to be attracted by the flesh and blood.

Kane's seven orifices… or rather, any slightly larger hole, whether on his upper or lower body, was filled and pierced by the tentacles.

Kane died more miserably than Sita, not even having time to let out a scream.

The monster he encountered was several times worse than Sita's.

His hand desperately tried to reach for the music box, but unfortunately, before he could touch it, he had already died at the top of the bookshelf.

Everyone did not see this scene; only blood dripped from the top of the bookshelf.

Hiding at the bottom of the bookshelf, in the gaps between the books, everyone looked at each other. Wen Xishu did the same, cooperating by putting on a surprised expression.

He had intended to kill from the start.

Kane was the next one to die.

The music full of youthful vitality ended. Mendemuer and Park Mihee looked at Wen Xishu with questioning eyes.

Wen Xishu pretended to be scared:

"Oh no… I didn't expect it to be like this. We have to speed things up!"

"If none of you go, I will."

Once the music ended, it meant that the monsters hidden in the black smoke would also disappear.

At this moment, Wen Xishu began to climb, feigning terror.

Park Mihee hurriedly said:

"Wen Xishu, what happened! You have to tell us!"

She was truly terrified.

Wen Xishu said:

"It's the anti-idle mechanism! Besides the four doors constantly closing in, there's also an anti-idle mechanism within the room itself. If we waste time and don't purify the items…"

"The mechanism will be triggered, monsters will appear on a large scale, and they might appear in the areas we were in before, which will cause our activity space to shrink!"

"We must purify quickly! Kane was just too slow! He shouldn't have been so hesitant and fidgety up there!"

"This room has an anti-idle check every so often!"

With a reasonable analysis, everyone now understood. Why did Kane's purification of items attract monsters appearing in a large area from different places? While Sita only attracted monsters from within the item?

It turned out that Kane hadn't even had time to purify, and the monster appearance just now was another mechanism!

They had to race against time!

Seeing Wen Xishu climbing slowly, Park Mihee and Mendemuer couldn't sit still!

Mendemuer stopped pretending:

"I'm sorry! I want to survive!"

He actually grabbed Wen Xishu's leg! Dragging Wen Xishu down.

The smile on Wen Xishu's lips almost couldn't be suppressed.

"I'll let you be the next person to die."