Speedrun Plan

Wen Xishu found himself intrigued.

The Bunker's strongest duo: Xun Hui of the Tower of Slaughter, and Wen Renjing of the Tower of Desire.

These two were the ceiling of their respective tower systems.

Of course, Albert wasn't the ceiling; he was beyond it. It wasn't impossible that there was someone beyond the ceiling of the Tower of Desire as well.

However, people recognized the Ladder Ranking. So, in a sense, Xun Hui and Wen Renjing were the most popular figures in the Bunker.

If he could make Wen Renjing owe him a favor... that wouldn't be bad.

Wen Xishu didn't like the Bunker's politicking. If possible, he wouldn't mind joining Zheng for a good fight.

But he was still too weak.

Everything had to be done in stages. At this stage, the only thing Wen Xishu wanted was to survive, to firmly establish himself in the Bunker, and ideally, to maintain connections with all major factions.

As for the credit that had been stolen from him, the buildings and facilities that bore his name...

Wen Xishu believed that whatever he lost, he would gain back twofold.

"Thank you both. At least I know a wrong direction. When it comes to charming people, I don't think I'm stronger than Wen Renjing, but at least... I can try other approaches."

Wen Xishu didn't plan to delay.

After getting a free strategy, he immediately turned to leave.

At this moment, Ji Boda really wanted to see Wen Xishu's wrist.

Last time, he and Liu Ruyan had noticed Wen Xishu's turning motion.

But the two of them had held back after all.

The main reason was that Wen Xishu had displayed an extraordinary background, and as a teacher, the Academy's teachers were generally quite polite to their students.

As Wen Xishu's figure disappeared, Ji Boda said:

"I don't even have the mood to climb the tower now. I just want to rush to the Principal's Office and ask clearly, what exactly is this kid's background?"

Liu Ruyan said:

"He wasn't lying. He didn't have any of the muscle excitement reactions that come with boasting. It was only after learning about Wen Renjing's regret that he became somewhat excited, an excitement like that of a challenger."

Ji Boda said:

"Do you think it's possible... that he is that Wen Xishu?"

Liu Ruyan froze for a moment, then shook her head and said:

"According to rumors, Wen Xishu's resources come from the Tower of Deception."

But after saying that, she suddenly remembered the way the young man had acted sneakily when activating the Login Device.

Her gaze turned to Ji Boda, who chuckled:

"If this is true, it's a pretty big deal. I really need to ask the Principal. If I don't ask... I won't feel at ease."

"Let's go, my dear. I wish you success, and I wish myself success. I hope we can heal the unfortunate people in this Tower of Desire soon."

Liu Ruyan nodded, and the two of them also activated their Login Devices.

The world of the Tower of Desire is a world of love.

But this love doesn't seem to come from the Tower of Desire itself, but from the Bunker.

The Tower of Desire is like a sick world, and the Bunker is the medicine. The Tower of Slaughter and the Tower of Deception are critically ill, requiring tracing the source and strong remedies.

As Wen Xishu stepped into the Tower of Desire, this concept suddenly formed in his mind. The frequent spatial transitions made his consciousness a bit blurry.

But compared to the first time, he had adapted a lot. The thoughts in his mind were quickly cleared as the scenery in his vision became clear.

The sixth level of the Tower of Desire, Jiangcheng.

The differences between cities were becoming smaller and smaller, which led to Wen Xishu not recognizing Jiangcheng at first glance. However, judging from the accents of the passersby, it seemed to be the Suzhou-Hangzhou area.

Wen Xishu liked the soft Wu dialect here, but he didn't like the local cuisine. As usual, upon arriving at the Tower of Desire, Wen Xishu received a notification.

[Tang Rui's current happiness level: 0. Mission status: Incomplete.]
[Remaining time: 47 hours 59 minutes 30 seconds.]

Due to possessing twelve points of Luck Value, Wen Xishu's appearance location this time was not far from the mission target.

Luck Value affects many things. Each time one enters the Tower of Desire, a reasonable temporary identity is assigned to begin the exploration.

Whether this identity has enemies, whether this identity is legal, how much wealth this identity possesses, the initial items of this identity, the initial location of this identity, the initial favorability with the target...

All these things are determined by Luck Value.

Even the timing of the mission insertion is determined by Luck Value.

Moreover, those who enter through an Invitation Letter often receive an additional Luck Value bonus.

For example, last time, Wen Xishu happened to arrive at a node where everything was just beginning.

In a sense, then, different Luck Values would lead to different difficulties in entering the Tower of Desire, or in simpler terms, different ways of opening it.

Wen Xishu was quite lucky this time. With an initial Luck Value of twelve and the bonus from the Invitation Letter, he appeared not far from his mission objective.

This was a bar named Empty Cup Cut. The name was a homophone for "empty grief, cutting short a young person's life in vain."

The bar wasn't noisy. The bartender was mixing drinks, and only a few people were casually seated at the bar counter. The music playing in the distance was also extremely soft and mellow.

Wen Xishu was initially thinking of asking everyone one by one if their name was Tang Rui, figuring he wouldn't be too far from his target.

By asking repeatedly, he could quickly narrow down the scope.

But suddenly, he realized he seemed to be able to sense the target. This was a feeling the previous Wen Xishu had never possessed.

Weird Sequence 37: Mental Barrage had granted Wen Xishu a certain degree of weird perception.

Those who possessed this ability would have a slight sense of their target, within the bounds of the rules.

This sense was very faint, with no clear direction, like an elusive scent or a sigh from the distant past.

Wen Xishu understood. It was the Three-Phase Power. The so-called "rules allowing" meant being able to use the powers and items from the Tower of Deception within the Tower of Desire.

This was absolutely forbidden. But because of the Mad Dice, the current Wen Xishu could use the power of his sequences.

No wonder when he met Zheng Zai before, his first reaction was that Zheng Zai's problem wasn't an illness, but a sequence.

Now he felt that sensation again. In this bar, there seemed to be someone who, like him, harbored the aura of a weird power.

Wen Xishu began to search for that person, and suddenly, his gaze met that of a girl around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old.

The girl looked at Wen Xishu, and Wen Xishu looked back at the girl.

There was a hint of confusion in the girl's eyes, as if she had suddenly sensed something, but the feeling was too faint for her to discern any details.

Wen Xishu walked directly towards the girl.

The girl had fluffy short hair and looked like a bit of a delinquent.

Her hair was dyed a striking mix of pink and green.

Her tattoos were extravagant, covering her entire arm.

She wore leather pants, but her upper body was unusually revealing, showing off a flat stomach.

She seemed like someone who should be in a bar with people headbanging wildly to ear-splitting heavy metal music, not here.

She was smoking, and the confusion in her eyes gradually turned into a daze, with a hint of intoxication.

"Tang Rui?" Wen Xishu asked directly.

"Yes, who are you?" Seeing Wen Xishu approach, Tang Rui didn't seem scared. Instead, she raised her wine glass.

Perhaps it was the slightly roguish aura Wen Xishu exuded that made her not dislike him.

Wen Xishu smiled as he watched the girl raise her glass.

It wasn't surprising that so many people chose to solve problems with a "handle" at lower levels.

With a slightly higher Luck Value at lower levels, one would get an opening like Wen Xishu's.

Under the hazy lights, the liquid swirling in the wine glass always tended to ignite passion. Moreover, the girl's appearance was the type that could move Wen Renjing.

Wen Xishu wasn't interested in such methods. If he were to get involved with a woman in a Tower of Desire instance... he would feel like he was about to screw someone over and would eventually be screwed over himself.

Time was precious. As a pure story-driven player, Wen Xishu didn't want to waste time—

He wanted to figure out what Tang Rui had experienced, and also investigate why the "Weird Tang Rui" stage was related to four different scenes.

What were the four contaminated items corresponding to the four scenes?

Why did this girl choose to commit suicide even after Wen Renjing had brought her such beautiful love?

If he had to investigate slowly, forty-eight hours was far from enough.

Therefore—Wen Xishu decided to speedrun.

He was now certain that he could use items and sequences from the Tower of Deception.

Without hesitation, Wen Xishu took out the Truth Serum Wine Cups.

"Do you dare to drink a few cups with my wine cup? This wine cup has a very magical effect. Once you drink from it, you will gain happiness."

Tang Rui didn't hesitate. She took the wine cup and started pouring.

Wen Xishu was now sure that this girl's world had truly shattered into almost nothing.

Although the Truth Serum Wine Cups were exquisitely made, drinking from a stranger's cup in a place like this, and pouring the wine almost without hesitation... was still too dangerous.

This wasn't like Jack, who had an inexplicable trust in strangers, but a complete disregard for what would happen afterward.

It was as if she was certain she was already at her worst and could never experience anything worse.

Wen Xishu thought this was great, and that it saved a lot of trouble. Appearing in a bar at the start, and cheating with Tower of Deception items to ask about cause and effect right away.

This gave Wen Xishu the feeling of playing a racing game.

What Wen Renjing couldn't achieve in seven days, he might be able to do in just a few cups of wine.

Tang Rui said:

"So you'll find happiness too?"

"Of course. I'm using the same cup as you. I don't know what will happen after we drink, but fate brought us together. Perhaps in the future, at another time, we'll bring luck to each other."

Wen Xishu poured himself a full glass as well.

He wasn't lying; there were two Truth Serum Wine Cups, and he and Tang Rui each had one.

However, Wen Xishu knew what the world of the Tower of Desire was like. He didn't mind telling a creature within the Tower of Desire his entire truth.

Tang Rui said:

"How do we play? Spin the bottle? Shake the dice?"

Wen Xishu smiled:

"You pick the rules. Just one thing – the faster, the better."

Tang Rui inexplicably found it thrilling:

"Then let's shake the dice and guess odd or even. If it's odd, I drink. If it's even, you drink."

"No problem."

Tang Rui asked the bartender for the dice. They moved away from the bar and found a slightly more secluded seat.

Her last few days of life... Tang Rui wanted to go wild.

Wen Xishu liked this kind of rapid development. However, what he didn't know was that although he would soon understand the whole story...

This journey into the Tower of Desire would be bloodier than his journey in the Tower of Deception. Fortunately, he was the one creating the bloodshed.

(Starting tomorrow, and for the next few days, the chapters will be the first small climax of this book. Familiar old readers should know, it's those big chapters with a lot of words... Although it hasn't been put on shelves yet, I'll release all the chapters that need to be explosive. I hope you won't "raise" the book during the new book period~ Thank you all.)