Chapter Summaries

Wen Xishu met with Albert and the tower climbers, revealing what he knew about Xiao Jin and correcting Mr. Jin’s mistaken belief that Xiao Jin was Gemini. The meeting ended with a warning that Mr. Jin’s actions had made floors seventy through seventy-five dangerously difficult, while Wen Xishu suspected Mr. Jin might be Ding Dong’s father.

• Wen Xishu admitted that the academy’s preview courses had been too difficult, and Albert advised him to encourage students with manageable challenges and rewards.
• Albert told Wen Xishu that the Bunker was rejecting Mr. Jin after he brought Xiao Jin inside, and that someone who belonged to the Bunker had to leave in exchange.
• Albert explained that Mr. Jin suspected Xiao Jin was Gemini because Xiao Jin had a twin brother with whom he shared thoughts and senses.
• Wen Xishu said Xiao Jin was not Gemini and explained that the twins’ apparent connection came from an item Mr. Jin wanted; he withheld that he had obtained the Heart of Fusion.
• Albert warned Wen Renjing and Xun Hui that Mr. Jin’s actions had made floors seventy through seventy-five perilous across all three towers, and the group discussed ways to overcome the threat.
• Albert arranged for Wen Xishu to meet Mr. Jin, while Wen Xishu suspected Mr. Jin might be Ding Dong’s father.

Wen Xishu advised Zheng Zai through a crisis of conscience after Zheng learned his father had been guilty despite being publicly cleared. Zheng invited Wen to join him on a special Strange Tower mission using an Eerie Conference Two-Person Entry Ticket, and Wen agreed to go when he next climbed.

• Albert urged Wen Xishu to postpone climbing a tower so he would not miss a chance to speak with Old Jin, and Wen agreed to wait.
• Zheng Zai visited Wen at the Tower of Deception Academy and thanked him, explaining that Officer Liu Jinsen had given him evidence proving his father had committed the crimes he was accused of.
• Zheng Zai struggled with whether to destroy the evidence and preserve his father's heroic public image, but decided to return it to Officer Liu Jinsen.
• Zheng Zai told Wen about his Eerie Sequence 123, its new rune, and an Eerie Conference Two-Person Entry Ticket that could summon a friend to a tower mission.
• Wen accepted Zheng Zai's invitation to the special mission but said he would tell Zheng when they could leave, since he could not leave the Bunker yet.

Wen Xishu agreed to consider William Hockner’s investment in the Tower of Deception Academy and promised to treat Xue Mingye’s strange obsession with Jennifer. After returning to the academy, Wen Xishu received a call from the Principal arranging a visit to Old Jin the next morning.

• Wen Xishu met William Hockner, who praised his tower-climbing record and proposed investing in the sea and facilities under the academy’s control.
• William Hockner offered to fund luxurious student facilities and support services to improve enrollment, and Wen Xishu asked him to draw up a contract.
• William Hockner explained that he wanted to support Wen Xishu and the Old Principal because he believed tower climbers would shape humanity’s future.
• Wen Xishu visited the Xue Family to apologize and found Xue Mingye raving about Jennifer and wanting to be tortured by her.
• Wen Xishu told Xue Fan that he could treat Xue Mingye and asked him to bring his son back to the Tower of Deception Academy.
• The Principal called Wen Xishu and arranged for them to visit Old Jin the following morning.

Mr. Jin explained that Sagittarius threatened the Bunker and outlined three plans to counter it, revealing that the best plan was for him to return to the Three Towers. He sent Albert and the elders away, then asked Wen Xishu about Longxia’s plan and the five children.

• Wen Xishu accompanied Albert and the elders to meet Mr. Jin at the Healing House on the Seventeenth Floor.
• Mr. Jin named Sagittarius as their enemy and described three possible plans, rejecting a direct defense and the elders’ attempt to reach the hundredth floor as unworkable.
• Mr. Jin dismissed Albert and the elders, then confirmed to Wen Xishu that returning to the Three Towers would restore the proper course and remove Sagittarius’s causal threat from the Bunker.
• Mr. Jin said he would clear the way for the younger generation and asked Wen Xishu how much he had learned about Longxia’s plan and where the five children were.

Wen Xishu questioned Mr. Jin about Ding Dong, Xiao Jin, and the Bunker’s origins, learning that Xiao Jin could imitate Constellations and may have split into two as Gemini. Mr. Jin admitted he could not explain the Three Towers or the forces behind them and said his final mission was to open the way for Wen Xishu and the others.

• Wen Xishu asked Mr. Jin about Ding Dong, and Mr. Jin recalled letting the child escape the Swan Project rather than allow the child to be dissected.
• Mr. Jin revealed that he had secretly raised Jin Shan, whom the Compass had led him to, and that Jin Shan later displayed powers resembling those of multiple Constellations.
• Mr. Jin said Xiao Jin vanished from the Undersea Containment Facility before Mr. Jin awoke with immense power and memories that led him to the Bunker.
• Mr. Jin explained that Xiao Jin had imitated different Constellations and split into two, leading Wen Xishu to suspect the Xiao Jin in the Bunker was one of the weakened Twinborn.
• Mr. Jin described how he entered the Bunker first and guided others there, but said he did not know the origins of the Bunker, the Three Towers, or the Zodiac Signs.
• Mr. Jin told Wen Xishu that his final mission was to open the way for them and that they would have to uncover the truth by climbing the towers.

Wen Xishu questioned Mr. Jin’s sudden decision to climb the towers and learned from Albert that Jin had refused to leave his refuge as recently as two months ago. Wen Xishu and Zheng Zai entered the Eerie Competition, where their abilities and stats were reset and Wen Xishu discovered his converted score was 530,000 combat power.

• Wen Xishu suspected Mr. Jin might be hiding the truth, while Albert recalled Jin’s successful leadership of the Bunker and said Jin had recently changed his mind.
• Wen Xishu asked Albert when he last spoke with Mr. Jin and learned that Jin had still refused to leave his refuge two months earlier.
• Wen Xishu and Zheng Zai activated their Login Devices to enter the Eerie Competition, and Wen Xishu chose the Lovebirds in Flight option from the Madman’s Dice.
• The competition reset all contestants’ abilities, items, and stats, then converted their previous progress into points for drawing cards.
• Zheng Zai received 254 points and saw contestants with far higher scores, while Wen Xishu revealed that his own combat power was 530,000.

Wen Xishu discovered that his vast point total let him obtain four powerful cards, while Zheng Zai drew cards that briefly silenced him. As the first Eerie Competition trial began, Wen Xishu studied the mirrors and coffins and believed he had solved the challenge just before time ran out.

• Wen Xishu learned that his items and abilities had earned him 530,000 points, giving him a huge advantage over Zheng Zai and the other contestants.
• The host introduced the Eerie Competition and announced that the first round, Ten-Mirror Punishment, would eliminate most contestants.
• Wen Xishu and Zheng Zai were grouped together as their section transformed into a chamber of ten mirrors and one hundred numbered coffins.
• Zheng Zai drew two Chaos Cards, which left him unable to speak until Wen Xishu's Great Healer card negated their negative effects.
• Wen Xishu revealed that he had drawn four powerful cards, including one that could transfer his damage to another contestant, but chose to investigate the puzzle instead.
• With seconds left, Wen Xishu studied the mirrors and announced that he thought he had found the answer.

Wen Xishu survived the Ten Mirror Punishment by using a God Card, while Zheng Zai survived in coffin 81; the first round eliminated most contestants. The survivors entered a second round with nearly five thousand contestants, where Wen Xishu and Zheng Zai faced a deadly statue puzzle as an Elite Species began choosing contestants to test it.

• Wen Xishu entered coffin 80 instead of the correct coffin 81, then used a God Card to survive Mother You's attack while the shadow in coffin one was devoured after their fates were exchanged.
• Wen Xishu explained that the safe coffin numbers were the squares from 1 through 10, and he and Zheng Zai emerged among the few survivors.
• The host merged hundreds of competition zones, awarded Wen Xishu 210 points, and announced a new round involving nearly five thousand contestants and five card slots.
• Zheng Zai drew two Order Cards and a Demon Energy Card, while Wen Xishu revealed that he carried five Weird Divine Cards.
• The host introduced one hundred statues whose numbers determined how many contestants could die, and an enormous Elite Species tree began ordering contestants to touch them.
• Wen Xishu used a concealment card to hide himself and Zheng Zai as he considered the clues in the statue puzzle and the colored butterflies overhead.

Wen Xishu watched the great tree test the numbered statues and deduced that the butterflies affected how many people died. After the third statue killed more than forty-eight hundred contestants, the survivors challenged the tree’s control, while Wen Xishu and Zheng Zai stayed concealed and waited for the next round.

• The great tree forced a common species to light statue number one, killing it and four nearby contestants, while the tree gained points.
• The great tree ordered two common species to light statue number two; they killed each other, and four more contestants died from the statue’s effect.
• Wen Xishu noticed the butterflies gathering around the statues and predicted that lighting the flower statue would cause mass deaths, so he and Zheng Zai retreated behind the tree.
• Statue number three became a Seven-Colored Flower and killed more than forty-eight hundred contestants, raising the tree’s score past forty thousand.
• The surviving rare and elite species demanded a new way to choose who would light the statues, and the flying monster with the highest score led their challenge against the tree.
• Wen Xishu told Zheng Zai they would wait and let the remaining contestants weaken one another, adding that the next statue would kill few people.

Wen Xishu and Zheng Zai solved Zone One’s statue puzzle, survived its eliminations, and became the first contestants to clear the round. In the lounge, the host explained the next asymmetrical match, and Wen Xishu asked whether two Heroes could face dozens of Demon Kings for extra points.

• In Zone One, the great tree forced Rare Species to light the statues, but butterflies altered the death toll and the disasters reduced thousands of contestants to a handful.
• Wen Xishu and Zheng Zai stayed hidden as the guillotine statue killed the great tree and left them alone in the arena.
• Wen Xishu deduced that the correct statue numbers followed a Fibonacci sequence and that butterflies represented mathematical operations, then lit the remaining correct statues with Zheng Zai.
• Wen Xishu and Zheng Zai advanced to the third round, shocking the host, which resolved to rig the next match to eliminate the two humans.
• In the lounge, the host described an asymmetrical match between Demon Kings and Heroes, and Wen Xishu asked to face dozens of Demon Kings with only two Heroes for more points.

Wen Xishu and Zheng Zai prepared for the third round of the Eerie Competition, Heroes versus Demon Kings, and discovered that the rules and their assigned weaknesses seemed designed to undermine the Heroes. As twenty-three Demon Kings faced 427 Heroes, Wen Xishu decided to fight them directly while resolving to protect a clever rare species contestant.

• Wen Xishu explained to Zheng Zai that the rules favored Demon Kings because Heroes had to cooperate and shared their points equally, making victory dependent on luck without someone to organize them.
• After contestants from the other zones arrived, Wen Xishu equipped combat-focused God Cards, while Zheng Zai selected cards that strengthened his defense, vitality, and chances of surviving fatal damage.
• Wen Xishu drew the Sword Hero role and Zheng Zai the Shield Hero role, but their assigned weaknesses impaired Wen Xishu's communication and made Zheng Zai appear untrustworthy to teammates.
• The contestants learned that 23 of the 450 participants were Demon Kings, leaving the Heroes badly outnumbered and demoralized.
• Wen Xishu overheard a rare species contestant reason that he could survive by turning the Demon Kings against one another, and he asked Zheng Zai to learn the contestant's name and help keep him alive.
• Wen Xishu said he would ignore the game's intended strategy and try to slaughter the Demon Kings himself, hoping to force the host to reveal the competition's secrets.

The warriors struggled to survive the battlefield as Demon Kings massacred disorganized groups, while one lone Sword Warrior used two Weird Divine Cards to defeat Demon King Twenty-Two. The Sword Warrior forced the Demon King to serve as his mount and ordered it to take him to the other Demon Kings.

• Zheng Zai's group argued at a crossroads in Area Four as a Demon King approached, leaving them unable to choose a direction or act together.
• Demon King Ten used its Split card to create six duplicates and wiped out the warriors who had nearly defeated it in Zone Seven.
• Demon King Twenty-Two ambushed a group in Area Eleven, and the Formation Warriors fled while the Magic Heroes were killed, leaving only a lone Sword Warrior.
• The Sword Warrior endured Demon King Twenty-Two's attacks with Emotion Shield and severed its arm with Emotion Blade.
• The Sword Warrior defeated Demon King Twenty-Two, threatened to kill it unless it became his dog, and rode it toward the other Demon Kings.

Wen Xishu rode Demon King Twenty-Two through the battlefield, killing warriors who were not Shield Warriors and searching for Old Zheng. After destroying Demon King Ten with his sponsored cards, he sensed Old Zheng in Area Four and hurried toward Demon King Eleven, which felt a terrifying presence approaching.

• Wen Xishu ordered Demon King Twenty-Two to kill warriors in Areas Ten and Seven while sparing Shield Warriors, and he confirmed Old Zheng was not among the dead.
• Wen Xishu confronted Demon King Ten in Area Six, and Demon King Ten attacked him with poison, flames, claws, and enhanced clones.
• Wen Xishu killed Demon King Twenty-Two, then activated Scales' Measure and Scales' Mirror Image to match Demon King Ten's abilities and stats.
• Wen Xishu destroyed Demon King Ten and all its clones, then sensed Old Zheng's presence in Area Four.
• Demon King Eleven felt an unprecedented pressure as Wen Xishu approached Area Four at tremendous speed.

Wen Xishu rushed through the battlefield, killing Demon King Eleven and Demon King One, then found Zheng Zai alive thanks to his Scarecrow Demon Energy Card. With Zheng Zai at his side, Wen Xishu decided to end the Eerie Competition by killing the remaining survivors.

• Wen Xishu killed Demon King Eleven after it tried to flee, then learned that the warriors believed their last Shield Warrior had been eaten and feared Old Zheng was dead.
• Wen Xishu left Area Four for Area Three, while the surviving warriors headed toward Area Five.
• Zheng Zai survived Demon King Eleven's attack by using the Scarecrow Demon Energy Card to teleport to Area Two, then made his way toward Area Three.
• Wen Xishu killed the seven Formation Warriors and Demon King One, which had been tormenting them and tried to flee.
• Zheng Zai revealed himself, and Wen Xishu realized he was alive; the two reunited and agreed to fight through the arena together.
• Wen Xishu told Zheng Zai he intended to kill every remaining survivor in the third round to prevent further rounds of the Eerie Competition.

The host watched the Demon Kings fall to Wen Xishu, Zheng Zai, and their allies, leaving the Heroes victorious and the Eerie Competition’s host exposed. After Scorpio warned him not to interfere and declared this the final competition, the three survivors returned for the award ceremony.

• The host watched the remaining Heroes endure as Demon Kings died in rapid succession, while Wen Xishu and Zheng Zai recruited the Rare Species Abdu.
• Wen Xishu rode Demon King Twenty while pursuing Demon King Five, and the Sword Warrior defeated the last Demon Kings as the host’s contestant count collapsed.
• Scorpio called the host, ordered him to follow procedure, explained that the surviving humans could determine the Eerie Competition’s final outcome, and told him to pass a message to Wen Xishu.
• The third round ended with the Heroes’ faction victorious and three survivors: two humans and Abdu, with no Elite Species among them.

After the Eerie Competition ended, Wen Xishu learned that humans could lock in outcomes in the Strange Tower and that other lands of obsession might be reached through special methods. Abdu evolved into a red house, while Wen Xishu and Zheng Zai vanished before receiving their human rewards, which the Guide would reveal.

• The host announced the winners’ scores, and Wen Xishu learned from Scorpio’s message that humans could lock in Strange Tower endings through highly rated completions.
• Wen Xishu realized the Eerie Competition had been exploiting monsters’ deaths and obsession to produce items and powers, and that Zheng Zai might find other Entry Tickets.
• Abdu received his reward, evolved into a red house, and pledged to serve Wen Xishu, who invited him to Wind City.
• Taurus and Libra argued with Scorpio about the loss of the Eerie Competition, then agreed to let the Guide handle the human winners’ rewards according to tower rules.
• The host returned to find that Wen Xishu and Zheng Zai had disappeared, while Abdu explained that they had been sent back to where the Guide resided.

After the Eerie Competition ended, Wen Xishu checked his rewards and examined two powerful Constellation items that could alter Strange Tower explorations. The Guide sent him back to the Bunker, warning that history was changing and his secret might not stay hidden much longer.

• The Guide told Wen Xishu that he had survived the competition and earned rewards, including Eerie Sequence 58: mutated slaughter and the Rune: unnameable desire.
• Wen Xishu learned that Zheng Zai had also received mutated slaughter and equipped the Sequence among his seven active Sequences.
• Wen Xishu examined Taurus's Horn of Competition, which created contests with favorable rules but sacrificed those who died in them to its creator.
• Wen Xishu studied Libra's Scale of Chaos, which could disable an item and summon a disruptive third faction that remained friendly to him for two hours.
• Wen Xishu questioned the cost of using the Constellations' items, then learned his completion level was six and that he had spent two days in the competition.
• The Guide warned Wen Xishu that history was already changing and his secret might soon be exposed, and Wen Xishu activated his Login Device to return to the Bunker.

After returning to the Bunker, Wen Xishu heard that its affairs and tower climbing were improving, but an assassin attacked him in his office. Wen Xishu captured the attacker, Na Gu, only to see him transform into the face of an old man Wen Xishu recognized.

• Wen Xishu returned to the Bunker, heard the Academy Spirit report on Hockner’s beach plans and the tower climbs of Mr. Jin, Liu Zizai, Wen Renjing, and Xun Hui, and asked it to learn all of Zheng Zai’s rewards.
• Wen Xishu rested in his office while Na Gu watched the Tower of Deception Academy with a telescope and fired four bullets toward him.
• Nissen and Yue Yun confronted Na Gu, while Wen Xishu deflected the first bullet and entered his deathmatch state to withstand the rest.
• Wen Xishu’s body transformed into black, bandage-like growths that spread through the academy and captured Na Gu.
• Wen Xishu demanded to know who had hired Na Gu, but Na Gu transformed into an old man’s face that Wen Xishu recognized.

Wen Xishu survived an assassination attempt by an attacker who transformed from a student into Luo Feng, and the Five Elders debated whether Luo Feng had truly attacked him. They suspected a mysterious imitator was behind the assault and ended with Luo Feng fearing that something had happened to Mr. Jin.

• Luo Feng attacked Wen Xishu, who used his mutated body, terrain advantages, and Perfect Parry to escape into the Recollection Archive facility.
• The Academy Spirit contacted Wen Xishu and ordered Jabbar to lock down the Three Towers Academy against the Five Elders, though Evelyn later visited Wen Xishu.
• William Gordon, Matthew Jones, and Evelyn questioned Luo Feng at the Luo Family residence, where he denied attacking Wen Xishu.
• Evelyn described how the assassin had changed from a Tower of Slaughter Academy student into Luo Feng, leading the Elders to suspect someone could imitate them.
• The Elders agreed they needed to find the assassin, and Luo Feng voiced concern that something bad might have happened to Mr. Jin.

After Luo Feng visited Wen Xishu to deny attacking him, Wen Xishu suspected Xiao Jin was behind the impersonation, but Xiao Jin had disappeared. The next morning, Albert told Wen Xishu that Old Jin had died in the Slaughter Tower, leaving the group grieving as the Bunker’s attempted assassination remained unresolved.

• The Security Bureau tortured and imprisoned the real Na Gu after an impostor used his identity and disguised telescope to attack Wen Xishu.
• Luo Feng met Wen Xishu in the Recollection Archive Safe House, denied being the assassin, and warned that the culprit had an unusual and distinguished identity.
• Wen Xishu suspected Xiao Jin because the culprit could transform into other people, but Xiao Jin had disappeared.
• The Academy Spirit told Wen Xishu that Albert had returned and wanted to meet him at the Garden Forbidden Grounds.
• Albert told Wen Xishu that Sagittarius had killed Old Jin in the Slaughter Tower, and the Five Elders grieved over Old Jin’s death.
• Albert asked Wen Xishu whether he had any leads on the attempted assassination.