Chapter Summaries

Wen Xishu questioned Cain and learned how Aries created the vampire Savior of the Bloodline Plan, as well as how ghost gods and literal forms of union shaped the Savior plans. After Cain died, the assassins left Crystal City free of regret, while Wen Xishu decided to seek out the Ruinbringer rather than alter the Tower's reality.

• Wen Xishu compelled Cain to explain how Aries gave him Tower power, made him a vampire, and guided his rise to rule Crystal City.
• Cain revealed that ghost gods arose from humanity's collective recognition of myths and legends, and that the Savior plans united people through different forms of fusion or control.
• Cain described the Bloodline Plan's blood-drinking society and how Aries destroyed its blood-production equipment, leaving Crystal City to decline.
• Cain burned to ash, and the five assassins celebrated their freedom and departed Crystal City without regret.
• Wen Xishu reconsidered using the Invitation Letter and asked the assassins about someone who liked playing pranks.
• Wen Xishu realized he could confront the Ruinbringer instead of changing the Strange Tower's reality to give the assassins happy endings.

Wen Xishu traced the assassins’ contracts to a Ruinbringer and used a perfect Strange Tower ending to enter the Desire Tower as Ethan, the Dark Web’s maintainer. He intercepted the contracts before the assassins received them and went to find Clara, whose information suggested she knew the plot.

• Wen Xishu learned that Canon, Cannon, Shadow, and Night Demon had all been lured into trouble by anonymous assassination contracts, and he concluded a Ruinbringer had arranged them.
• After completing the Strange Tower stage perfectly, Wen Xishu chose to enter the Desire Tower as Ethan, gaining his memories and abilities as the Dark Web’s maintainer.
• Wen Xishu left Ethan a message explaining the danger ahead, then identified the assassins’ Dark Web accounts and monitored them for incoming contracts.
• Wen Xishu intercepted Cannon’s contract to kill a disabled girl and confirmed that his intervention would prevent the assassins from attracting Reno and Von Neumann’s attention.
• Wen Xishu found Clara listed as a character familiar with the plot, located her near the Gambling Club in southern De City, and headed there.

Wen Xishu infiltrated De City as Ethan, uncovered the Pisces Society’s connection to the Ruinbringers, and killed Clara before leaving. Back at the Guiding Grounds, he gained the Fated Duel Sequence and considered using it to bring Sagittarius within reach of the Principal.

• Wen Xishu posed as Ethan and convinced Clara that he was an administrator from the Ruinbringer organization, learning that it had lost access to its resources because of a cost tied to high-floor players.
• Clara revealed that she had no way to contact the organization, and Wen Xishu exposed himself as the violent player she feared and snapped her neck.
• Wen Xishu checked Clara’s compendium entry, learned she belonged to the Pisces Society, and activated his Login Device after leaving De City.
• At the Guiding Grounds, Wen Xishu saw that his Strange Tower level had risen to 47 and received the Three Towers Sequence 49: Fated Duel.
• Wen Xishu realized Fated Duel could summon an opponent to his side and considered using it to remove Sagittarius’s range advantage so the Principal could fight him.

Wen Xishu proposed using a one-time Sequence to challenge Sagittarius, giving the Bunker a chance to confront the force threatening its future. Though the vote went against the duel, Albert decided to go anyway and set out with Wen Xishu and Xun Hui the next day.

• Wen Xishu questioned the Three Towers Guides about their origins, then returned without receiving an answer.
• The Prison appeared in the Bunker beside the Recollection Archive, and students discussed Wen Xishu's return and the Tower of Deception Academy's unusual recruitment.
• Wen Xishu told Albert, Evelyn, Xun Hui, and Wen Renjing that a nontransferable Sequence could initiate a ten-minute duel with Sagittarius, but would involve only one attempt.
• Xun Hui, Evelyn, and Wen Renjing voted against sending Albert to face Sagittarius, and Wen Xishu accepted their result.
• Albert overruled the vote, declared that he would face Sagittarius, and told Wen Xishu they would set out the next day.
• Xun Hui joined Albert's expedition, and Wen Xishu believed their battle would become a major milestone in the Three Towers War.

Wen Xishu joined Albert as he prepared to confront Sagittarius, learning that the Old Principal intended to rely on his own resolve rather than any tower item. Albert assembled a party with Xun Hui, Wen Xishu, and two first-year students, and they entered the Slaughter Tower to face the danger ahead.

• Xun Hui questioned Wen Xishu about inviting the Old Principal to fight Sagittarius, but accepted his answer and urged him to rest.
• Wen Xishu met Albert in the Materials Department, where Albert chose his old Unyielding Gauntlets and showed Wen Xishu that his hands were his true weapons.
• Xun Hui calculated that party members could reach the seventieth-floor region together, and Albert chose Nissen and Yue Yun as the two inexperienced recruits.
• Nissen and Yue Yun agreed to join the expedition, while Evelyn and Wen Renjing accepted the plan and kept it secret for a week.
• Albert Napolitano, Xun Hui, Wen Xishu, Nissen, and Yue Yun formed a party and entered the Slaughter Tower; Wen Xishu prayed that the Madman's Dice and the Scorpion Dagger would help in the coming battle.

Wen Xishu and his companions reached the Seventy-Fourth Floor, where Albert revealed the power of his Unity Sequence and defeated a Black House and a Red House with effortless punches. When Sagittarius silently launched the Arrow of Fate, Albert shattered its causal force, and Wen Xishu activated Fated Duel to summon Sagittarius into the mortal world.

• Wen Xishu chose Smooth Sailing, Unimpeded Passage, Two-Stage Chain, and Damage Cap from the Madman's Dice, then received the Plugin Eye ability from the Scorpion Dagger.
• Albert led Wen Xishu, Xun Hui, Nissen, and Yue Yun through Isaacra and destroyed a Black House hiding inside the church with a single punch.
• A Red House invaded their memories, but Xun Hui spread his Selfless State across the group, and Albert killed the creature with another punch.
• Albert told Wen Xishu that his Slaughter Sequence 7, Unity, strengthened a chosen foundation with all his Sequences and runes, and encouraged Wen Xishu to keep helping others grow.
• Sagittarius's Arrow of Fate trapped Wen Xishu in a deep-sea vision and pierced him with causal damage, but Albert broke the arrow's force with his fist.
• Wen Xishu activated Fated Duel, and Albert shielded him from a sacred presence before welcoming Sagittarius into the mortal world.

Albert protected Wen Xishu from Sagittarius’s arrows while seeking a way to defeat him and uncover the agreement behind the attack. Albert combined offense and defense in a single punch, shattered Sagittarius’s elemental arrow, and knocked his warhorse from the sky, leaving Sagittarius grounded.

• Church bells stirred Albert’s resolve and brought Sagittarius’s thoughts back to the human world as Sagittarius revealed his blue-armored form and targeted Wen Xishu.
• Sagittarius’s second arrow tore through Isaacra City, but Albert struck it head-on and shielded Wen Xishu from harm.
• Sagittarius fired a crimson elemental arrow that transformed the surroundings into a sea of hellfire, forcing Albert to defend Wen Xishu rather than attack.
• Albert split the flames with the force of his punch and carried the blow onward, striking Sagittarius’s warhorse and sending it crashing to the ground.
• Sagittarius landed in the dust after losing the exchange, while Albert remained ready to fight.

Sagittarius fought Albert with increasingly powerful arrows, but Albert’s Slaughter Sequence, Return to One, transformed his unwavering commitment to punching through obstacles into a counter to the death arrow. Albert’s final punch broke space and damaged Sagittarius’s armor, leaving Sagittarius shaken as memories of the Church surfaced.

• Sagittarius fired his poison Cursed Arrow, but Albert stopped it with a compressed punch and exhausted its energy.
• Sagittarius shot a fifth arrow infused with Netherworld death energy, which rotted Albert’s hand and began spreading through his body.
• Albert laughed and gathered his remaining strength, regenerating the decayed flesh as he prepared his strongest punch.
• Albert’s Return to One let his determination to punch through death create power that countered the arrow’s decay.
• Albert’s punch broke space and cracked Sagittarius’s armor, while Sagittarius lost his balance and recalled the Church.

Albert resisted Sagittarius’s Arrow of Nihility by reliving the loss of Alesia and Mother Matina, then broke through the Gluttonous Beast Arrow with renewed resolve. Wen Xishu survived the Arrow of Annihilation through the Madman’s Dice and his other abilities, giving Albert the opening to defeat Sagittarius, while Wen Xishu reached for the god’s memories.

• Albert relocated the battle with Sagittarius by entering a spatial fissure, and both fighters emerged near another Gothic church.
• Albert’s Arrow of Nihility forced him into memories of his childhood, his meeting with Alesia and Mother Matina, and their deaths during the apocalypse.
• Albert rekindled his fighting spirit, shattered the Arrow of Nihility, and neutralized Sagittarius’s Gluttonous Beast Arrow with a punch.
• Wen Xishu survived Sagittarius’s Arrow of Annihilation by combining the Madman’s Dice, Earth-over Marsh Trapped Beast, Smooth Sailing, and the floating comments.
• Albert struck Sagittarius with a devastating punch that shattered his armor and left him mangled, ending the showdown.
• Wen Xishu crawled to Sagittarius and touched the forbidden floating comments, accessing the god’s memories as Albert prepared another punch.

Albert defeated Sagittarius, but Sagittarius revealed that killing him would make the other Constellations vastly stronger and could doom humanity. With seconds left, Wen Xishu woke and proposed a way to neither kill Sagittarius nor let him escape, then began a Ritual that shocked Sagittarius.

• Sagittarius accepted defeat as Albert prepared to kill him, while Wen Xishu took longer than expected to search Sagittarius's barrage.
• Sagittarius explained that the remaining Constellations grew stronger whenever one of them died and warned that killing him would make Leo and the others nearly unbeatable.
• Albert hesitated as the countdown ran down, weighing killing Sagittarius against letting him return.
• Wen Xishu woke with fifteen seconds remaining and told Albert they could neither kill Sagittarius nor let him go.
• Wen Xishu told Albert to hold Sagittarius down while he performed a Ritual, and Sagittarius froze when he saw an impossible item.

Wen Xishu used the Heart of Fusion to link his fate with Sagittarius and pressured him into ending his hostility toward the Bunker and answering questions. Sagittarius began explaining that the Three Towers War was a struggle to resurrect God, but the deeper mysteries remained unresolved.

• Wen Xishu used the Heart of Fusion to establish Fate Resonance with Sagittarius, making Sagittarius's fate depend on Wen Xishu's while leaving Wen Xishu in control.
• Wen Xishu persuaded Sagittarius not to choose death and declared the treaty void, offering cooperation against Leon and other Constellations.
• Wen Xishu demanded that Sagittarius stop attacking Bunker climbers and explain Mr. Jin, the Three Towers War, Doomsday, and the curse that drove Constellations to kill one another.
• Sagittarius agreed to answer some questions and explained that the Three Towers War was fundamentally a war to resurrect God, naming Cain of Crystal City as another being chosen by the towers' power.

Sagittarius explained how the Constellations and national god-making plans sought out potential vessels, then revealed that Longxia planned to fuse all its Gifted into one creation. He left Wen Xishu with the prospect of an unimaginably powerful being shaped from Longxia’s many myths and legends.

• Sagittarius told Wen Xishu that Aries sought vessels tied to myths and legends, while other Constellations searched for different kinds of Gifted or grew stronger through other means.
• Sagittarius explained that the Constellations did not know why they had been created or who had assigned them their mission, and said three gods—Desire, Mystery, and Slaughter—would be born among the Bunker people.
• Sagittarius revealed that Gemini originally consisted of one person, who could designate a younger brother and grant him tremendous authority; Scorpio hoped to become that brother.
• Wen Xishu asked Sagittarius about Jin Zhenyuan, the Heart of Fusion, and Longxia’s god-making plan.
• Sagittarius said Longxia’s leaders, faced with countless myths, legends, and potential saviors, planned to fuse all the Gifted into one being.

Sagittarius explained how Jin Zhenyuan, Phoenix, the Heart of Fusion, and the failed Hidden Dragon Plan shaped the conflict surrounding the Three Towers. After learning Jin Zhenyuan remained alive and had vanished, Wen Xishu proposed that he and Sagittarius cooperate.

• Sagittarius revealed that Longxia’s attempt to fuse its people into a god produced a fragmented, mad consciousness.
• Sagittarius explained that Jin Zhenyuan guided Phoenix to create the Compass, then used another item Phoenix left behind to make the Heart of Fusion.
• Sagittarius said Aries and Libra interfered with Jin Zhenyuan’s plans, after which Jin gained power, broke with Longxia, and took his faction into the Bunker.
• Sagittarius recounted how Jin deceived Capricorn, violated their pact, and triggered the battle in which Sagittarius’s arrow struck someone else; Jin remained alive but had disappeared.
• Wen Xishu concluded that Jin’s encounter with Aries and Libra and his use of the Heart of Fusion might explain his mysterious abilities.
• Wen Xishu offered to join forces with Sagittarius, and Sagittarius accepted by taking his hand.

Wen Xishu and Albert defeated Sagittarius and ended their second journey to the Slaughter Tower, earning the Constellation’s respect and new rewards. Three days later, Wen Xishu received a rune and a device that could summon Sagittarius’s full-power strike, leaving him prepared for future Strange Tower challenges.

• Sagittarius agreed to conceal his defeat, revoked his treaty, and vanished after promising to help Wen Xishu with a future enemy in the Strange Tower.
• Wen Xishu and Albert returned to the Bunker’s route, then Albert continued toward the ninetieth floors while Xun Hui led Wen Xishu, Yue Yun, and Nissen through the seventieth floors.
• At the Guiding Grounds, Wen Xishu claimed his rewards, including Slaughter Tower level 29, more Sequence and inventory slots, and the Anger Stacking Constellation Rune.
• The Red Slaughter Head gave Wen Xishu Starfall, a device that could summon Sagittarius’s full-power attack at a cost determined by Wen Xishu’s Strange Tower performance.
• Wen Xishu realized Starfall could serve as a powerful safeguard on future Strange Tower journeys and looked forward to using it.

Sagittarius decided to leave the Chaos Domain and roam the Three Towers Battlefield after realizing Wen Xishu might be connected to one of his siblings. In the Bunker, Evelyn confessed her fears to Albert, then resolved to return to the Desire Tower and confront the danger behind Ruinbringer.

• Sagittarius spoke with Warhorse about his loneliness and chose to leave the Chaos Domain, believing Wen Xishu's connection to his sibling made the outside world less frightening.
• Albert visited Evelyn at the Garden Forbidden Grounds, and they celebrated his victory over Sagittarius in the Principal's Office.
• Evelyn admitted she feared losing Albert, but Albert said his hatred of the monsters that ruined the world drove him to keep fighting.
• Albert rejected Evelyn's confession and explained that his purpose was to climb the Slaughter Tower and kill the monsters of Doomsday.
• Evelyn told Albert that Pisces might be behind Ruinbringer and that she had encountered a dangerous organization on the Desire Tower's ninety-first floor.
• Evelyn decided to resume climbing the Desire Tower and try to eliminate Ruinbringer at its source.

Wen Xishu began his sixteenth Strange Tower exploration, entering the Balance Tavern mission with a skill-proficiency bonus and a team of eager recruits. He learned that the party had to escape the Balance Forbidden Grounds before a curse countdown expired, and set out to challenge the first stage.

• Wen Xishu left the Bunker and entered the Strange Tower's fiftieth-floor mission, Balance Tavern, hoping to master skills and retain their enhancements.
• Wen Xishu received a Scorpion Dagger bonus that let skills gain proficiency in combat and potentially retain evolved effects after exceptional completion.
• Colonel Devin introduced Cavintim and Elsa to Wen Xishu, and the three explained that they needed his leadership to escape the Balance Forbidden Grounds.
• Colonel Devin told Wen Xishu that the Balance Curse would kill them if they remained, while the tavern's guidance offered escape to the Pure Land or death fighting through the monsters.
• Wen Xishu saw a one-hour curse countdown appear above the party and agreed to lead them into the first stage.

Wen Xishu led Devin, Cavintim, and Elsa through the first stage, where they cleared a ruined supermarket and earned an S rating before recruiting Hacker Bog for the next challenge. When Stage Two began, the Balance Curse demanded that they abandon one member of their five-person party, leaving Wen Xishu one hour to find another way forward.

• Wen Xishu and his team fought their way through the supermarket, and Cavintim evolved into a Weak Point Striker after killing the Flesh Ball Monster.
• Wen Xishu raised Limit Break Kick to level three, led the team out of the first stage, and earned an S rating with 30,000 Tavern Currency.
• Wen Xishu spent 25,000 Tavern Currency on targeted recruitment, bringing Hacker Bog aboard for the Mechanical City stage.
• Wen Xishu learned about Devin's, Cavintim's, and Elsa's painful pasts while the team rested at the Balance Tavern.
• When Stage Two began, the Balance Curse declared that the five-person party exceeded its limit and required Wen Xishu to abandon one member within an hour.

Wen Xishu learned that the balance curse would erase someone if the Tavern exceeded its population limit, so he sent Devin, Elsa, Cavintim, and Borg to the second stage while staying behind to face it. The Madman's Dice inverted the curse's effect, leaving Wen Xishu alive and reducing the Tavern's population count from 5/4 to 3/4.

• Borg explained that the balance curse fixed the number of living beings in an area and killed someone whenever another entered.
• Devin offered to stay behind, but Wen Xishu decided to face the curse himself and sent the four others to the second stage with his Compass and gloves.
• Wen Xishu removed himself from the team, appointed Devin its leader, and started the second stage, sending Devin, Elsa, Cavintim, and Borg away.
• When the curse took effect, Upside Down prevented Wen Xishu from being erased and inverted his population cost, changing the count from 5/4 to 3/4.

Devin’s squad overcame the mechanical-animal district with Borg’s help, retrieved an Energy Core, and escaped with Devin badly wounded. Back at the tavern, Wen Xishu used the core to help Elsa heal Devin, then revealed that the district’s mechanical creatures were part of an experiment connected to the Balance Curse.

• Devin persuaded Borg to follow the Compass, and the squad fought through mechanical beasts while Borg hacked their defenses.
• The team reached the Energy Core, and Devin took it while Borg redirected the mechanical creatures; Devin was shot during their escape but made it through the door alive.
• Wen Xishu welcomed the squad back, and the Energy Core removed the cost of Elsa’s healing skill for a short time.
• Wen Xishu reported the team’s SSS-rank clear rewards and explained that the mechanical animals had been created in an experiment meant to evade the Balance Curse.
• Wen Xishu said the scientist behind the experiment might be recruitable and could potentially turn people into mechanical lifeforms that used no population slots.

Wen Xishu recruited Nicole, whose dream-singing ability could help with the next stage, and learned about the Balance Curse in her former refuge. He entered the Illusion stage alone in a deserted town, where a countdown and a faceless statue signaled that the dream was turning dangerous.

• Wen Xishu saved his coins for targeted recruitment and chose not to restore Colonel Devin's arm yet.
• Nicole joined the team and explained that her singing reached people in their dreams, while the Balance Curse had caused deaths and conflict in her former refuge.
• Wen Xishu reassured Nicole that her ability would help, then deployed the full team into the next stage.
• Wen Xishu appeared alone in a misty, deserted town and followed the sound of students reciting toward a school as the number in his vision fell.
• A faceless statue appeared behind Wen Xishu, and as the number dropped to 8, strange footsteps approached from the classroom corridor while he feared turning around.